Stories from Whakaki

Te Ao Hou, November 1957, Page 44

The last instalment of our folk tales gathered by the Papamoa Maori School are a series of stories all from Whakaki and are the genuine work of children. We shall be glad to publish any corrections of these lively tales. Stories from Whakaki HE WAHINE O WHAKAKI I mua, he repo katoa a Whakaki (Nuiarua) a he mahi nana te whakamaroke i tenei wahi i te Rotoke. Ko te poutapeta, i te wahi kei reira nei e tu ana te whare o Mr J. Peakman. Ko te toa i Opoho, te waapu i Paka a ko te whare karakia tuatahi i Pohotapu. I taua wa, e toru nga pa i Whakaki, ka Otarautu, ko Pohotaipu me Tarata. Ko Hinetawaiwa Ewaewa te taniwha o reira a, he tuna kore whiore. Ka kitea ana te taniwha nei, he torotika tonu, a ki oku whakaaro, kahore e mate, no te mea kei te ora tonu i tenei ra. A Teomaru, ko te tamahine a Mahu te rangatira o tona iwi. Ko te pa, e rua maero te tawhiti mai i te wai. I tetahi ra. i tana mate wai, katahi a Mahu ka unga i a Teomaru ki te tiki wai mona. I te timatanga kahore a Teomaru i whakaae, engari i te kaha o te inoi a Mahu, katahi a Teomaru ka whakaae, ki te tiki wai mona. Katahi a ia ka waha A LADY OF WHAKAKI by Tawhi (Form II) Whakaki (Nuiarua) was once all swamp; it was very hard to keep it drained during the winter season. The post office was where Mr F. Peakman's house is now, the shop was at Opoho, the wharf at Paka and the first church house was at Pohotapu. There were actually three pas in Whakaki, whose names were Otarautu, Pohotaipu and Tarata. Hinetawaiwa Ewaewa is a taniwha which lives here. It is in the form of an eel with no tail. Whenever it was seen it was straight and it is still alive to this very day. I think it will never die. Teomaru was a daughter of Mahu, who was the chief of his tribe. The pa was about two miles from where water was to be seen. One day Mahu sent Teomaru to get water for him in two calabashes (hue) because he was very thirsty. Teomaru shrugged her shoulders to refuse. Mahu begged

i tana tamaiti, ka tango i nga taha e rua, katahi ka haere. Ko te hiahia o Mahu he patu i tana tamahine kia mate, a no te haeretanga o Teomaru i roto i te ngahere, katahi a ia ka whai haere i muri a kahore i kite a Teomaru i a ia. No te taenga ki te wai, a i a ia e tuohu ana ki te tiki wai, me te tamaiti i runga i tana tuara, katahi a Teomaru ka panaa ki roto ki te wai e Mahu, ka toremi tahi raua ko tana tamaiti. Ka titiro a Mahu ki a Teomaru raua ko tana tamaiti i roto i te wai, katahi a ia ka mahi tetahi tohu kohatu, a ka tuhituhi i runga, “Kei konei e takoto ana te Pohatu o Teomaru.” and begged Teomaru to get him some water until finally Teomaru picked up her child, lifted him on to her back, took the two calabashes (hue) and started to walk. As she crossed the bush Mahu who wanted to destroy her followed her without Teomaru noticing him behind her. When she saw the river, she slowed down, very relieved. While reaching for water, with her child on her back, she and her child were pushed into the river and drowned. Mahu who had drowned Teomaru and her child stood watching them, then made a stone, and written on it was: ‘Kei konei e takoto ana te pohatu o Teomaru.’ HE TANIWHA I nga tau kua pahure ake nei, tera etahi tamariki, he tungane he tuahine, a ko nga ingoa ko Rata ko Rau. Ko te hiahia o nga tamariki nei he haere ki te kau i roto i te awa, a no tetahi ra katahi raua ka haere. No te taenga ki te awa ka whakaritea e raua me kau haere raua mo tetahi wa iti. Kahore a Rata raua ko Rau i mohio he taniwha ano i reira, no reira noho ana raua a he haora pea i mua o te po katahi raua ka mea ki te puta ki uta, a no te meatanga, katahi raua ka pa ki te taniwha nei. No taua wa tonu ka ngaro nga tamariki nei, a kahore ano kia kitea, a kahore ano hoki kia kitea te taniwha nei. HINE O RANGI I nga tau kua taha nei, tera tetahi kotiro ataahua, ko Hine O Rangi te ingoa, e noho ana i roto i te ngahere i Whakaki. Ko te kotiro nei, e aroha ana ki tetahi rangatira o tera taha o te moana. A TANIWHA by M. Kahukura (Form II) Many years ago there lived, a brother and sister whose names were Rata and Rau. One day the two children wanted to go to the river to have a swim. Arriving at the river, Rata and Rau decided to paddle around in the river for a few minutes. Not knowing that a Taniwha lived in that pool, they stayed there until an hour before dark. When Rata and Rau decided to get out of the water they both felt the taniwha. The next minute the children had disappeared and were never found again. Nor is there any trace of the taniwha. HINE O RANGI by Agnes Smith (Form II) Many many years ago there lived in the forest of Whakaki a beautiful maiden called Hine O rangi (Lady of the skies). This maiden was in love with a young chief from across the sea, and whenever mist covered a certain hill which now bears her

I nga wa e tauria ana tetahi hiwi i te kohurangi, haere ai a ia i runga i tana waka ki te one i te wahapu o te awa ki te tutaki i tana tahu. Ka penei ana, riri ai nga atua ki a Hine O Rangi raua ko tana tahu, a i te harawene hoki, whakatupuria ana etahi hiwi i waenganui i te awa me te moana kia kore ai nga tangata nei e tutaki. No tetahi o ana haerenga ki te wahapu o te awa kahore i puta mai tana tahu, a i te kaha o tana aroha ki tenei tangata katahi a Hine O Rangi ka mate i te wahi tonu e tatari ra a ia. I enei ra, ka rere ana te wai o tetahi awa i reira, ahakoa he pehea te pai o te ra, maringi mai ai te ua, a ko tenei ua ko Hine O Rangi e tangi ana. Ka mutu ana te tangi ka haere tana wairua ki te one i te taha o Nepia ki tana tahu. Ko te kainga o te tangata nei ko Moremore. I te mahinga o nga pakeha i tetahi awa kia uru mai ai nga kaipuke nunui, i whakatakotoria e ratou etahi poraka raima. I te hokinga atu o nga pakeha i tetahi o nga ata, kua huri ke hia nga poraka nei e te tahu a Hine O Rangi a kei te takoto penei tonu inaianei. KO TE TOHUNGA I TE HANGI I nga tau maha kua pahure ake nei, tera tetahi tohunga rangatira. Ahakoa he rangatira, he tangata matapiko, i te mea kahore i tika ana mahi ki etahi o nga tangata o te iwi. No tetahi ra, katahi ka whakaaro nga tangata nei ki te patu i te tohunga kia mate a no tetahi po ka patua. No muri te patunga, katahi nga tangata nei ke mahi hangi, ka tao i te tohunga. I era wa he mahi makutu te tohunga, a no te whakaarotanga kua maoa te tohunga katahi ratou ka hura i te hangi. I te huranga, titiro rawa ake ki roto i te rua kahore kau he tohunga hei kai ma ratou. HE KURI TAPU I te wa e noho ana taku kuia i Turanga, haere ai ona matua ki te whakangau poaka i te ngahere. I tetahi o raua haerenga, i whakaaro taku kuia i rongo a ia i tetahi kuri e pahu ana i waho o te whare. I te aranga i te ata, katahi a ia ka haere ki waho kia kite ai i ona matua e hoki mai ana, engari ko tana anake i kite ai, ko tetahi koti e iri ana i runga i te keeti. Ka titiro taku kuia ki te koti nei, katahi ka mea ki te tiki i te koti, engari kahore e makere mai i te keeti. I taua po kahore a ia i haere ki te moe, a no te moenga o nga tungane me nga teina katahi a ia ka haere ki waho ka huna i muri o tetahi rakau. Kahore hoki i roa, ka rongo a ia i te keeti e tuwhera ana, a ka kite a ia te tetahi tangata me tetahi kuri e haere mai ana i te ara. I te korero Maoritanga atu o te tangata nei katahi te kuri ka tangi ka aue. No te rongohanga o te matua o taku kuia i te turituri katahi ka puta mai ka patu i te kuri i runga i te mahunga. I te huringa ki te hoki ki roto o te whare, ka hinga ki runga ki te ara, ka mate. name (Orangi), she would sail down the river in her canoe to the mouth towards the beach. There she would meet her lover. Every time this happened the Gods grew very angry and jealous of Hine O Rangi and her lover so they caused hills to come up between the sea and river, and this prevented the lovers from meeting. When Hine O Rangi saw this she was broken hearted and died, where she had waited in vain for her lover at the mouth of the Whakaki river. Now to this day, whenever the water cuts through the bar to the sea, no matter how fine the day is there is sure to be a little shower, and that is Hine O Rangi weeping. When she has finished weeping she goes in spirit to be with her lover at the beach near the break water in Napier. Today he haunts a special place there known as Moremore. When the pakehas tried to build a channel to let the big ships in, they had put big blocks of concrete on this special place. When next morning came they went to look at it but Hine O Rangi's lover had turned them all over, and today it is still like that. THE TOHUNGA IN THE HOLE by Ahenata Walker Many years ago there was a very noble, very mean tohunga. He was mean, because he was not fair to several men of a Maori tribe. One day these men planned to kill this mean tohunga. Night came and the men were all together at a certain place. Not long after they had assassinated the tohunga, they dug a hole (puare) and put him inside it. Then they lit a fire and waited for the tohunga to cook. Soon, they thought it was time to take the tohunga out of the hole, but to their amazement there was no tohunga for the men to eat. In those days tohunga's could cast spells. THE TAPU DOG by Matha Raweti Many years ago when my grandmother used to live in Gisborne, her mother and father used to go out into the bush to hunt for wild pig. While her parents were away, she thought she heard a dog barking outside the house. Early the next morning she awoke and went outside to see if she could see her mother and father coming home, but instead of that she saw a coat hanging on the gate. My grandmother began to stare with amazement, she stood there looking at the coat, then she tried to take it from the gate, but it would not come off. That night she would not go to bed with the others. After her brothers and sisters had gone to sleep, she crept out of the house and hid herself behind a tree and waited. No long after she heard the gate open, and a man came up the path leading a dog. On is saying some words in Maori, the dog began to howl loudly. Her father hearing this noise came out and hi the dog on the head with his hand. As he turned to go back inside he fell down on the path dead.

KO TE TANGATA O NGATIPANEKAKA I nga tau maha kua pahure ake nei, i te wa e whawhai tonu ana nga Maori ki a ratou ano, tera a Ngati Hinepu o Hereheretau, i whakaekea e Ngati Panekaka o Waikaremoana. I waimarie ai, i mohio a Ngati Hinepu, a i te whakaekenga a Ngati Panekaka, e noho tatari mai ana ratou. No tenei, katahi te hoariri ka huri ka oma i runga i nga hiwi ki te one, a, i muri tata i a ratou ko Ngati Hinepu. No te taenga ki te one, katahi ratou ka keri i tetahi awa i te wahi whenua whakawehe i tetahi roto me te moana, a na te rere kaha o te wai nei i whakawhanui te awa nei a kore ana a Ngati Panekaka i mau i a Ngati Hinepu. Engari kotahi ano o Ngati Panekaka i mahue ki tenei taha o te awa, a no te taenga mai o Ngati Hinepu, katahi tetahi tohunga ka huri i te tangata nei hei roku. E huri ana a Ngati Hinepu ki te hoki ki Hereheretau, ka kite ratou kua maroke te roto nei me nga awaawa, a e takoto ana nga tuna me nga inanga. Na te mea kahore i tono nui te kai i aua wa ka mea nga tangata nei ki te noho i te taha o te roto, a ka tapahia te wahi nei WHAKAKI no te mea i ki katoa ratou i te kai i konei. No tetahi wa katahi ka pupuhi tetahi tupuhi oneone a kati ana te awa nei, a no te uanga katahi ka ki te roto me nga awaawa i te wai. Katahi ka mea nga tangata o Whakaki ki te keri i tetahi awa i roto i te oneone ki te moana, a i a ratou e keri ana katahi ka ua a e karangatia ana, ko te ua nei ko nga roimata o te tangata o Ngati Panekaka i mahue nei i ona hoa. Ka timu ana te tai ka kitea atu te roku totara nei. I tenei wa e kiia ana, ka tuwhera ana te tahuna, ka tangi te tangata nei ara te roku, e takoto nei i roto i te one. THE WARRIOR OF NGATIPANEKAKA by Maude Smith (Form II) Many years ago when the Maoris were still declaring war among themselves a tribe from Waikaremoana called Ngatipanekaka came to attack the people of Hereheretau known as Ngatihinepu Fortunately the Ngatihinepu were prepared and waiting for the attack. Taken by surprise the enemy turned and fled over the hills towards the beach, and as they realized Ngatihinepu was close on their heels, the enemy quickly dug a creek from the lagoon to the sea which was divided by a narrow strip of land. As the water rushed into the sea the creek began to widen into a big channel thus preventing the Ngatipanekaka surrendering to the Ngatihinepu. Unfortunately for the enemy one of their warriors was left on the other side of the channel and he began to cry. When the Ngatihinepu tribe came upon him, one of the tohunga turned him into a log. When the Ngatihinepu tribe turned to go back to Hereheretau they noticed the lagoon and the little creeks around it had gone dry and to their amazement they saw many different kinds of fish known as eels, and inanga lying about. As food was scarce in those days the Hereheretau people decided to live near the lagoon, naming their new settlement Whakaki which means plentiful. As time went by a sand storm arose which blocked up the dam and the rain filled the lagoon and the creeks. The Whakaki people decided to dig a creek through the sand to the sea. As this was being done it began to shower and this is known to be the tears of the Ngatipanekaka warrior who was left behind by his comrades. When the sea goes down a totara log is seen jutting up. Today the people think that when the bar is opened he weeps and it is said that it is this log. A bar is a sand bank which separates the lake and the sea.