JOURNAL

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 2, Issue 52, 19 December 1850, Page 3

JOURNAL

Of an Expedition Overland from Auckland to UNKOWN iranaki, by way of Rotorua, Taupo, and the West Coast, undertaken, in the Summer of 1819—50, by His Excellency the Gover,-nor-in-Cuief of New Zealand. [Continued from our last J The Killing of Pekf.iiava. After the death of llotiipuku, the tribes inhabiting llotorua heard of what had happened and sent a messenger called Ilororita, or some such name, who came to our biave heroes and told them that there was a Taniwha which ate men at the Awa Hon. They found out this Taniwha much in the same way thai the one in the plain of Kaingaroa had been

discovered. Tlie (ravelling parties fiom Waikato and from Patere to Kotorua, as well as those from Kotorua to those places, were lost, no one knetv where. As soon as tlie tlirec hundred and forty brave fellows heard of this they arose, and at the Awa llou they had all the particulars explained to them. They asked where he (the Taniivha) lived, to which the inhabitants replied " He lives either in the water or on shore—who lias seen him to know 1" So they imagined that he must be like the one which they had already killed. Then tliey fetched some supple-jack from the adjacent forest to make a taiki * which when brought they wove with brambles, using two or three layers of supple-jack. This being done they twisted a rope to hind round the taiki and another for the Taniwha. And they made all their arrangements, as far as circumstances would allow, the same as on the former occasion, such as waiting for a favourable wind, &c., which done tliey set out, repealing incantations a3 they went along, the names of which incantations were, the puui, wero-taniwha, tumangai and a great number of others. So tliey arranged themselves at a distance and gradually drew nearer and nearer to the fountain inhabited by the monster, which is called te Wharo Uri, till at length they arrived at the top of the river's bank. Then they performed their religious services, and the whole three hundred and forty were gathered in one party. They called for the bravest man in the party, and one of the chiefs, called l'itaka, arose. He and his friends got into the taiki, which was ornamented all over with tufts of pigeons' feathers, and to which ropes were fastened, and a large stone to make it heavy ; they were all then thrown into the fountain which bubbles up from under ground. Whilst they sunk under water their friends on shore occupied themselves in the duty which had been assigned to them, namely in repeating great numbers of religious incantations of various sorts, some calculated to have a weakening effect 011 the monster, whilst others were to give additional strength, courage and nerve to his assailants. When lie found them coming, lie elevated the spines and scales on his back with pleasure at the thoughts of having a feast of men. l'itaka and his friends, 011 arriving at the bottom, found the Tauiuh.i quietly in his place. The brave fellow stretched forth and fastened the rope round the monster, which done he gave n pull at the line by which he had been lowered as a signal to those above, who immediately hoisted away and brought them all up, men, Taniwha, and all together ; a feat however which they never could have done on account of the weight, had it not been for the kurakias which they made use of. Well tliey got him up at last and dragged him 011 shore, when some men rushed forvvaid to attack the jaws of the iish with their weapons (die reason he is called a lish is because lie came out of tlie water). The fame of this feat was immediately noised abroad throughout Kotorua, and the tribes all Hocked together to see their enemy, lie lay on shoie where they had dragged liiiu, looking just like a hlackwhale. He was not however ipiite so long as a full grown whale, but more resembled a calf, or young whale. 'I hen they set to work to cut up this tish for food, and they cut the (lesli of his. ribs which lay exposed " like the trunk of Tune Muhula."\ When tliey got into his stomach they found a great number of dead bodies, just like a a sepulchre of skeletons heaped togethei, which had been suallowed up in former days ; there were whole bodies of men, women and children ; immense numbers of mats aiid garments of all descriptions, besides heaps of weapons " ci./ectvil tot/ether like the luhmehuuta oj iljnui." Then they put his body in calabashes for fond ami for oil, and tliey ate him up. Hut the bodies were buried in a hole in the ground. So they returned to their pa, which is called Manguiigu, and this proverb was applied tu tbem —" Turn, o neck to thy work, the eating of 'J'aniivhus " (T<» he continued )