ATIAMURI LEGEND.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 227, 25 September 1929, Page 9

ATIAMURI LEGEND.

ROCK OF HAATUPATU

ANOTHER VERSION

Mr. H. D. Dansey writes:—l was much'interested in the legend of Haatupatu and Kurangaituku given in the "Siar" of the 23rd. The version, however, is very different from that told me as a lad over 45 years ag-j by lhakam KahUttO, the para mount chief of that part of the country. "Now, my son, as you are a stranger in these parts, it is necessary that I should warn you of the rock of Haatupatu, which "we will pass on our left. When passing you must either close your eyes or look in the opposite direction; disobedience of this will surely bring aitua (bad luck) or even the same tragic end of Kurangaituku. However, on your return this way you may look upon the rock and inspect it, for you will no longer be a stranger. You will then pay your respects to them, by placing a sprig of manuka or fnni at the foot of the rock. "Kurangaituku was an ogress, who lived iin the depths of that almost impenetrable forest country towards Taranaki. Although cruel in many respects she was exceedingly fond of birds as mokais (pets). These she caught with her long, prehensile fingernails and duly transferred to her cave, a portion of which was partitioned on" as an aviary. Her pets were tended with the greatest care by her slave Haatupatu. ''Now Haatupatu was a dwarf, and one day while Kurangaituku was absent from home, he, on mischief bent, killed these birds with the exception of one, a riroiii'o, which escaped. This, little bird flew over the mountains, and after considerable search found Kurankaituku and told her what had happened. She at once returned to her cave to find the bodies of her pets strewn all .round the place, and the home a shambles. She wept bitterly and swore vengeance on Haatupatu, who was nowhere to be seen. In a trice she was on a mountain top, for she could stride from peak to peak, and there she scanned the- spaces. Towards the horizon and in the direction of Atianmri she spied a tiny figure of a man. Another look and she was satisfied it was Haatupatu. With great, swinging strides she followed in pursuit and soon Haatupatu became aware that the ogress was not only following him, but was dangerously close on his heols. "As Kurangaituku was about to entwined her frightful clams around Haatupatu, the latter appealed to this very rock to save him. He cried, 'Matiti matata.' The rock opened and closed, completely sheltering Haatupatu. In due time Haatupatu emerged only to find Kurangaituku waiting for him. Now, round this moutain of Maungaiti you will see openings in the ground at almost equal spaces; some of these are overgrown and others time has obliterated. These mark the places where Haatupatu, in his desperation to escape, 'dived into the earth and emerged further on, only to find Kurangaituku still pursuing. ' Some 20 miles from here there is a place named Pakaraka, where Kurangaituku followed Haatupatu. This is marked by a rock bearing distinct marks of the ogress , claws. Haatupatu eventually found his way to Whakarewarewa and there Kurangaituku had him almost at her mercy, but the slave, being small in stature, was able to dodge between the boiling cauldrons of that region. Kurangaituku, handicapped by her unwieldy proportions, was less fortunate and was scalded to death."