PROVERBIAL AND POPULAR SAYINGS OF THE MAORI NGA WHAKATAUKI ME NGA PEPEHA MAORI Na KINGI IHAKA Ko te amorangi ki mua, ko te hapai o ki muri. He whakatauki tenei e mohio whanuitia ana. Ko te “amorangi” he tohu atua. Na, ki te whaka-hokingia mai ki nga tikanga o tenei ra, me ki e penei ana te whakatauki nei: “Ko te Atua ki mua, ko nga kai ki muri.” I te taenga tuatahi mai o te Whakapono ki Aotearoa nei, e mau tika ana tenei whakatauki. Ka mahingia e nga kaumatua e nga kuia hoki a ratou mahi katoa, tae atu ki te tunu kai, i nga ra o te wiki, mutu atu ana i te Hatarei, kia noho tapu ai te Ratapu; kia kore ai he mahi, he aha. No roto i enei ra, kua tahuri nga tikanga katoa; kua waihongia ko nga kai ki mua, ko Te Atua ki muri rawa- Ko te tui whakapahuhu a Kahukura. E ai ki nga korero, ko Kahukura te Maori tuatahi i mohio ki te raranga kupenga ika. Tera tetahi ropu turehu, e mahi ana i ta ratou kupenga i te po, i te mea, he po anake hoki nga wa e puta ai nga turehu ki a ratou mahi. Na, ko Kahukura, kahore i tawhiti mai i te ropu nei. Ko ia, kei te whakapapa i te mahi nei. Katahi ka toko ake te whakaaro, pai ke tana whakauru atu ki roto i te ropu turehu nei, kia ata kite ai ia he aha ta ratou mahi. Ko tona taenga atu, kei te huhuti te iwi ra i ta ratou kupenga ki tonu i te ika. Ka khakaaro a Kahukura me tahae e ia te kupenga ra. No ratou ka timata ki te tuitui i nga ika, ka tukuna e Kahukura kia taka atu nga ika ki te moana. Ko tana hiahia kia mau nga turehu nei i te awatea, kia whakarerengia ai e ratou te kupenga. Na wai ra, ka puta mai te ra, me te hohoro hoki o te whakangaro o nga turehu i a ratou, mahue ake te kupenga. Koia nei te putake mai o te whakatauki nei “Ko te tuitui whakapa-huhu a Kahukura, hei whakamaharatanga ki te mahi tinihanga a Kahukura. Nga uri o Whaitiri, whakapaparoa kai. E korerotia ana, i nga wa o mua, ki te tae ana tetahi rangatira nui ki tetahi kainga, i te nui o te mana o taua rangatira, korekore ana he kai; ara, ka ngarongaro katoa nga ika, nga manu me era atu. Na ko Whaitiri, me te mea nei, he tohunga nui, i whakahuangia ai hoki tona ingoa ki roto i tenei whakatauki. The emblem of the god in front (first), the food bearers to the rear (last). This is a well-known Maori proverb, and when given a modern version, it reads: “God first, and food last.” When Christianity was first introduced into this country and until recent times, this proverb as appertaining to God was strictly observed. The elders did all their manual work during the week, on Saturdays the meals for Sundays were cooked in order that Sundays could be kept holy. In recent times, however, the order has been reversed—Food first, and God after—well after! The disengaged thread of Kahukura. It is said that Kahukura was the first Maori who knew the art of making fishing nets. He acquired this through bribery. A group of “turehu” (light skinned fairies) were seen making nets during night time for it was only during night time that the turehu attended to their work. Kahukura happened to be near at hand. He decided to join the band and to ascertain what the turehu were doing. On his arrival, he was amazed to find the group hauling a net full of fish. It was then that he decided to plan for the theft of the net. Whilst they all proceeded to tie the fish in bundles, Kahukura purposely caused some of the fish to slip back into the sea. By this means, he delayed the departure of his friends for should daylight arrive they could immediately disappear and the net would be left behind. Eventually, daylight arrived and in their hurry the turehu forgot the net. Hence the origin of this proverb, in memory of the trickery of Kahukura. The offspring of Whaitiri who caused the scarcity of food. Whenever a person of importance visited a village, their ‘mana” was said to have a strange effect and banished food supplies. Food products, such as birds, fish, etc. deserted their usual haunts and disappear for quite a time. Waitiri apparently was noted for his “mana” and his descendants acquired this unusual “gift” and wherever they went, food became scarce!