SPECIMEN OF MAORI POETRY.
Lament for the great laupo Chief Te Heuheu.
BY HIS BROTHER IWIKAU. See o'er the heights of dark Tauhara,s mount The infant morning wakes. Perhaps my friend Returns to me, clothed in that light some cloud!— Alas! I toil alone, in this lone world. Yes thou art gone ! Go thou mighty ! go thou dignified ! Go thou who wert as spreading trees to shade Thy people when evil hovered round ! And what strange god has caused so dread a death To thee, and thy companions ? Sleep on O Sire, in that dark damp abode! And hold within thy grasp that weapon rare, ! Bequeathed to thee by thy renowned ancestor, Ngahue, when he left the world. Turn yet this once thy bold athletic frame ! And let me see thy skin carved o'er with lines Of blue; and let me see thy face so Beautifully chiselled into varied forms; — Ah I the people now, are comfortless and sad ! The stars are faintly shining in the heavens ! For "Atutahi" and 'Rehua-kai-tangata" Have disappeared j and that fair star that shone Beside the Milky Way. Emblems these Of thee, O friend beloved! The mount of Tongariro rises lonely In the South; while the rich feathers that Adorned the great canoe "Arawa" Float upon the wave ! and women from the West, look on, and weep! Why hast thou left behind th valued treasures Of thy famed ancestor Rongomaihuia, And wrapped thyself in night ? Cease thy slumbers, O thou son of Rangi! Wake up ! and take thy battle-axe, and tell Thy people of the coming signs; and what Will now befall them. How the foe tumultuous As the waves, will rush with spears uplifted ; And how thy people will avenge their wrongs, Nor shrink at danger. But let the warriors Breathe awhile, nor madly covet death! Lo thou art fallen ; and the earth receives Thee as its prey ! But thy wond'rous fame Shall soar on high, resounding o'er the heavens! This lament will be found in Sir George Grey's invaluable collection of Maori songs, &c , page 28. It is printed in stanzas, hence the mode of translation.
Permanent link to this item
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MMTKM18550101.2.29.4
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1 January 1855, Page 31
Word count
Tapeke kupu
354SPECIMEN OF MAORI POETRY. Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1 January 1855, Page 31
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