ENZB - 1856 - Shortland, Edward. Traditions and Superstitions of the New Zealanders

CHAPTER IX

LITERATURE OF THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

CHAPTER IX.

SELECTIONS FROM SONGS, CALLED "WAIATA," WITH TRANSLATIONS.

THE different kinds of composition already noticed perform merely the office of an accompaniment to dancing, or other movements of the body. That which we shall next introduce to the reader, called waiata, is intended to be sung by one or several voices in harmony, but without the aid of any action. It is the song of love, or hatred, or grief, or any other sentiment with which the poet is inspired. If a woman is forsaken by her lover, she gives vent to her feelings in a waiata. If a chief falls in fight, or by the murderous hand of a treacherous enemy, his wife, or some near relative, celebrates his praises, and denounces a curse on the kin of his foe, in one of these effusions.

In this, the poetry of the New Zealanders, the terminations of verses do not form rhymes; but each sentence is metrically arranged, and it often happens that, for the sake of preserving the metre, the same word is divided, one part of it ending a line, while the other part of it begins the line follow-

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ing. The mode of singing the waiata much resembles the chanting in cathedrals; there are, moreover, a variety of chants in use suitable to diversity in the metre of the waiata.

WAIATA I. 1 Tera te pukohu Mau tonu mai Pukehina. 2 Ko te ara tonu ia I haere ai taku torere.	ODE I. Look where the mist Hangs over Pukehina. There is the path By which went my love.
Tahuri mai ki muri ra Kia ringia atu He wai kai 3	Turn back again hither That may be poured out Tears from
Aku kamo. E hara ra I a au nana rawa i 4 Tuatahi, nau rawa i Tuapeka i te iti	My eyes. It was not I Who first spoke of love. You it was who made advances To me when but a little thing.
I a au; noreira te Ngakau i whakawairangi ai. He konohi aroha noku ki A koe ra.	Therefore was my heart made wild. This is my farewell of love to thee.
1 This song was composed by a young woman forsaken by her lover. The time of the first stanza is made up by prolonging the sound of the final vowel of the word torere--e-e; that of the second stanza by similarly prolonging the sound of the final vowel of the word kai--i-i. 2 Pukehina is the name of a hill between Maketu and Te Awa-o-te-atua. 3 Kai, poetic form of kei. Kawa i. The a and i unite in singing to form a dipthong. 4 Kai, poetic form of kei. Kawa i. The a and i unite in singing to form a dipthong.

WAIATA II. 5	ODE II.
Kaore te aroha	My regret is not
E whaki ake nei. Puna	To be expressed. Like a spring,
5 This song was composed by a young woman who was carried away prisoner from Tuhua (Mayor Island), in the Bay of Plenty, on the occasion of Tohi's expedition to surprise it. The pathway from Maketu to Rotorua passes over Mount Parahaki, where she is supposed to be resting by the way-side, gazing at her native island.

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Te roimata	The tears
Ka hua i aku kamo. Aha	Gush from my eyes.
Te Kaiuku,	I wonder whatever is Te Kaiuku 6 doing:
Nana ra waiho mai. Tahi	He who deserted me. Now
Eke nei au	I climb upon
Te hiwi ki Parahaki; mara-	The ridge of Mount Parahaki;
ma te titiro	From whence is clear the view
Te motu ki Tuhua. Tahi	Of the island Tuhua.
Au ka aroha	I see with regret
Te hiwi ki Taumo 7 ki a	The lofty Taumo,
Tangi-te-ruru; 8	Where dwells Tangiteruru.
Kia wakakai au ma-	Let me hang in my ear
ka o Taniwha. **	The shark's tooth.
Ka pai au, ka purotu. Wai 9	How fine, how pretty I'll look.
Te kaipuke	But see, whose ship is that
E waihape atu ra? Nou	Tacking in the distance?
Na, e Te Hu, 10	Is it yours? 0 Hu!
6 The name of her lover. 7 Taumo. The name of a high hill at Tuhua, where there is a Pa. 8 Tangi-te-ruru. The name of the Chief of Tuhua. 9 Wai, poetic form of nowai. 10 Toru, or Nga Toru, another name of Pohiwa.

** Maka o Taniwha. The tooth of a species of shark which frequents the coast of New Zealand, but particularly the Mayor Island, where it is frequently taken by the natives. It is very large and powerful, and difficult to catch. The largest of the teeth are so highly prized for ear-drops that they are not to be procured, even at Tuhua, for less than the value of thirty shillings or two pounds sterling. This ornament is, however, of secondary value to the kahurangi, or pounamu stone of the first water. The following song in praise of the latter alludes to this:--

E hara tena:	That is worthless:
He iwi ika tena:	That is the bone of a fish.
Ka pa ano ko te iti pounamu,	But were it the little pounamu,
Ko te kino inamata,	That ancient source of evil,
E tau te wheoro	The fame of which reaches
Ki tua atu o te rangi. E!	Beyond the limits of the sky. Eh!

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He tau na Pohiwa. 11 E rere ana ia	You husband of Pohiwa, Sailing away
Te tai ki Europi. Homai, e Toru,	On the tide to Europe. 0 Toru! pray give me
Tetehi ki a au. Ahumehume tahi	Some of your fine things; For beautiful are
Te kahu a te Tipua. 12 Kati	The clothes of the sea-god.
Au ka hoki	Enough of this.
Ki aku pepepora,	I must return to my rags,
Ki aku kore noa iho.	And to my nothing-at-all.
11 Pohiwa was daughter of Rangihaeata's sister, and great niece of Te Rauparaha. She was, at that time, living with a European, as his wife; and having plenty of fine clothes, was the admiration of her country-women. 12 Tipua, a fabulous monster supposed to inhabit the ocean or the lakes. It is here used for the white man.

WAIATA. III.	ODE III.
E to, e te Ra, rehurehu ki te rua:	Set, 0 sun, in the mists of your cave,
Ringiringi a wai he roimata ki aku kamo.	While tears flow like water from my eyes.
He mea mahue au i te hikoinga-wae	I am a forsaken one since you have gone,
Nou, e Tarati. E whakangaro atu ana	0 Tarati. Now is vanishing from the sight
Nga kurae, ko Waiohipa ra. Whakaauahi ana te tara ki Mitiwai.	The point of Waiohipa, And the cliff of Mitiwai is fading away like smoke.
Kei raro taku atua e aroha nei au.	Beneath (that cliff) is the god of my love.
Kati te wairua te mahi te haramai.	Have done, spirit, the work of intrusion.
Ka te tokorau atu ki tou taiwhenua;	Now that you are absent in your native land,
Ka muta ai, ranei, te rangi kanehetanga. E!	The day of regret will, perhaps, end.

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WAIATA IV. 13	ODE IV.
E ua, e te ua, ua mai i waho na,	Rain, rain, raining down from without,
Kei roto au nei huri ai ki te whare.	Here I am within (my hut) knowing not what to do.
Ko te riri a te rangi, te mauru te hau.	Now that the wind has moderated, the anger of the sky appears.
Nui noa, e Wae, 14 o'rongo piharoa. 15	Very great, 0 Waero, is the fame of your hatchets.
Te homai nei kia tui i taku ringa, 16	Why give you not one to me to suspend at my wrist,
Kia mau atu au te kaho tu ki te whao.	That I may bear off the sapling which grows in the wood.
Ko to te tapapa, haumaruru tonu iho.	But here I sit doubled up like a sick person.
No raro nga turi ka hui whakarunga,	My thighs bent up under me,
He ahua tiara. E hau, to' tere	As one who is on a journey. 0 wind, oh! for thy swiftness,
Hei whiu i a au te rehu ki Pounui. 17	To whirl me off to the mists of Pounui.
Kei tae ki reira, e kore muri e hokia mai,	Were I only once there, nothing should tempt me to return,
Hei manatunoa ma te tangata ki taku whare	To be an object of commiseration, for those at home
Ka tangi nei roto. E!	To lament over. Eh!
13 This song was made by Raunikura, grandmother or great-aunt of Te Awhe, a chief of Ngati-Tamatera, who resides on the banks of the Waihou, or Thames River. She went to visit Waero, the father of Kahukoti, who had obtained possession of several axes from one of the first ships which had touched at that part of the coast. She hoped to return home with a present of one of these new treasures. But being disappointed, she gives vent to her dissatisfaction in this song, which is supposed to be composed in a lone hut, while the rain falls in torrents on its roof. 14 Wae, contracted for Waero. 15 Piharoa; Mo te toki. Ou rongo piharoa, fame of your foreign hatchets, 16 "Tui i taku ringa" refers to the practice of thrusting the hand through a loop attached to the handle of the hatchet, by which it hangs suspended at the wrist. 17 Pounui, one of the islands on the west side of the Hauraki Gulf.

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WAIATA V. 18 Haere ra, e koro, e. I tou tira ko koe anake, Kia wakairia 19 koe Irunga o Waiwetu. Ae kata 20 ra, e Koro, e. Kei hoki wawe o koutou waewae.	ODE V. Go, sir, alone, companion-less, to he set up as a spectacle above Waiwetu. Yes, laugh on, sir; take care your feet return not quickly.
Kore nei aku toto Te inu mai ai koe. Kua pakihi au I nui ou rangi ra--i.	I have no blood left for you to drink. I am exhausted in celebrating the greatness of your fame.
Mawai e ranga Tou mate i te Ao? Ma te po tu mai Irunga o Tirohanga? Ma te po taka mai Irunga o Kaihinu? A, engari ra ia, Tenei, e Hika--e.	Who shall sing your death to the world? Shall it be the mist stationary above Tirohanga? Shall it be the mist gathering round Kaihinu? Yes! better let it be so, sir.
Tenei tou roro, Ko te kowhatu e tu ki te ahi-kai; Kia reka iho ai Taku kainga iho--e.	0 that this were your brain! this stone that lies by the food-fire! so would I devour it with thorough satisfaction.
18 This song is a lament in honour of a chief slain by an enemy. The second stanza refers to the custom of cutting the flesh of the face, arms, and breast, at times of public mourning. In the third stanza the speaker asks who will avenge the death of the chief referred to; the mist being a figurative expression for the men of the country named. The last stanza is a New Zealanders form of curse. 19 Wakairia. When an enemy was killed, his head was often cut off and baked over an oven. Thus preserved, it was sometimes exhibited on a pole. 20 Kata. When the head was preserved as just described, the lips were drawn apart, so as to expose the teeth, and give to the features a grinning expression, to which the word kata (to laugh) refers.

WAIATA VI.	ODE VI.
Kaore te aroha Mohukihuki ana.	Love does not torment for ever.

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Te panga mai kei ahau Me he ahi e toro Kei Hukanui, e Moka. Tenei ka tata mai, Kei tohu mai, e Kiri, Kei te au ko te moe. Kei te matatu tonu I te roa o te po, Kai-toro-puku ai Te aroha i ahau.	It came on me like the fire which rages sometimes at Hukanui. If this (beloved) one is near me, do not suppose, 0 Kiri, that my sleep is sweet. I lie awake the livelong night, for love to prey on me in secret.
E kore ra e puakina, Kei rangona e te tini. Te putanga ki waho ra, Me tohu aku mata. Nga parae ka takoto Ki Tauwhare ra ia: Ko te ara tonu ia I whan' atu ai au, Kia urutomokia Te whare o Rawhirawhi. Kei riri mai, e whae; He nui parahaere. Mau ano te tinana Maku te ata o te tapara-kau-atu. E! 21	It shall never he confessed, lest it be heard of by all. The only evidence shall he seen on my cheeks. The plain which extends to Tauwhare: that path I trod that I might enter the house of Rawhirawhi. Don't be angry with me, 0 madam (addressed to Rawhirawhi's wife); I am only a stranger. For you there is the body (of your husband). For me there remains only the shadow of desire.
21 In the two last lines the poetess coolly requests the wife of the person, for whom she acknowledges an unlawful passion, not to be angry with her, because "she--the lawful wife--has always possession of the person of her husband: while hers is only an empty, Platonic sort of love." This is rather a favourite sentiment, and is not unfrequently introduced similarly into love songs of this description.

WAIATA VII. 22	ODE VII.
Tera ia te tai o Honipaka 23	There far away is the tide of Honipaka.
22 This song was made by Te Rauparaha. A lament for his native place Kawhia, abandoned by him. 23 Honipaka, a hill at Kawhia.

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Ka wehe koe i au--e.	Alas! thou (Honipaka) art divided from me.
He whakamaunga atu nahaku	The only tie which connects us
Te ao ka rere mai	Is the fleecy cloud drifting hither
Ra runga mai o te motu e tu	Over the summit of the island
Noa mai ra koe 24 ki au--e.	Which stands clearly in sight.
Kia mihi mamao au ki te Iwi ra ia	Let me send a sigh afar to the tribe,
E paria e te tai--	Where the tide is now flowing--
Piki-tu, piki-rere,	The leaping, racing,
Piki-takina mai.	Skipping tide.
Te kawai muriwhenua,	Oh! for the breeze, the land-breeze,
Te kawai tutere.	The stiff breeze.
Tena taku manu,	That is my bird,
He manu ka onga noa,	A bird that hearkens to the call,
Huna ki te whare.	Though concealed in the cage.
Te hau o Matariki! 25	Oh! for the wind of Matariki!
Ma Te Whareporutu	Then will Te Whareporutu
Ma te rahi Ati-awa	And the great Ati-awa
E kau tere mai ra.	Sail swiftly hitherward.
Ka urupa taku aroha na--i.	So ends my song of love.
24 Koe--mo te motu, mo Honipaka. 25 Matariki, the Pleiades.

WAIATA VIII.	ODE VIII.
Nui noa ou riri, e Pohani, ki au,	However great your rage against me, 0 Pohani,
E kore au e ngaere.	I will not stir.
E kore au e ngaere. He maire 26 tuao	I will not stir sooner than the maire standing in the grove,
Ma te toki e tua.	Which the axe must fell.
I haere whakakoko ki Muriura ia,	He went in haste to Muriura,
Te tiunga o Meke,	Swift as Meke,
Hao noa e te puku.	The greedy fellow,
Hua noa ianei me atawhai au	Supposing I should be kind to him,
Hei ora mo * *	And satisfy his desires. * *
26 Maire is a species of yew; its wood is one of the hardest in New Zealand.

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WAIATA IX. 27	ODE IX.
Korero-hau mai te rangi,	When the sky speaks in storms,
Kei whakarongohia.	Don't pay attention.
Kei whakarongohia;	Don't pay attention;
Hurihia iho i raro iho	Cover it over, placing it under
I te toka, i a Turapa.	The rock Turapa.
Tukua ano au	Let me go
Kia kite	To see
I te kainga	The land
0 Ariki-mate-o-kore-kai.	Of Mr. Sick-for-want-of-food.
Tera te tangata ikemoke	The restless fellow there
Ka riro ki tahiti	Is off to a far country,
Ki te hukahuka o te tai.	To the extremity of the tide.
Ka whiwhi au	When I have obtained wealth
Ka rawe	And riches,
Hoki ana.	I return.
27 This kind of waiata is called a 'tau.'

1856 - Shortland, Edward. Traditions and Superstitions of the New Zealanders - CHAPTER IX