432 Transactions. 



This is tlie first song I liave selected : — 



Haramai, E tama ! 



E huri to aroaro ki Turanga-nui-a-Rua, ki Whangara. 



E hara i konei, he ingoa whakahua no Hawaiki-nui-a-Rua-matua, 



Ka waiho nei hei papa mo te kakano korau a Iranui, 



Hei papa mo te kumara i maua mai e Tiunga-rangi, e Haronga-rangi ; 



Ka waiho nei hei niana mo Maahu ki Marae-atea. 



Tenei, E tama ! Te whakarongo ake nei ki te hau mai 6 te korero, 



Na Tu-wahi-awa te manu-whakatau i mau mai i runga i a Tokomaru 



Parea ake ki muri i a koe, he atua korero ahiahi. 



Kotahi tonu, E tama ! Te tiaki whenua, ko te kura-nui, 



Te manu a Rua-kapanga, i tahtma e to tipuna, e Tamatea, 



Ki te ahi tawhito, ki te ahi tipua, ki te ahi na Mahuika, 



Na Maui i whakaputa ki te ao ; 



Ka mate i whare huhi o Reporoa, te rere te memo 



E tama — e — i ! 



[Tbanslation.] 

 Come hither, son, and turn thyself 

 With face towards the east. 

 There thou wilt behold 



Turanga-nui-a-Rua,* and likewise Whangara,t 

 Names that originated in far Hawaiki, 

 In Hawaiki-nui-a-Rua-matua, 

 Now left as a korau plantation for Iranui, 

 And also as a field for the kumara, 

 Brought hither by Tiunga-rangi and Haronga-rangi, 

 Now left as a renowned mana for Maahu. 



Listen, my son, for I hear rumours spoken 



That the manu-whakatau was brought here 



By Tu-wahi-awa on the " Tokomaru " (canoe). 



Reject this story as an idle tale. 



One guardian only, son, had this land, 



The kura-nui, the bird of Rua-kapanga. 



Destroyed by your ancestor, by Tamatea, with subterranean 



and supernatural fire, 

 The fire of Mahuika, brought to this world by Maui. 

 Thus were they driven to the swamps and perished; 

 Thus was the species lost, son ! 



[Translation of the Latter Portion of the Song, by Rev. T. G. Hammond.] 



son, the only one who took care of the land 



Was Te Kura-nui, the bird of Rua-kapanga. 



Your ancestor Tamatea lit the sacred fire, 



The fire obtained by Maui from Mahuika and brought to the world, 



And they (the birds) were destroyed, 



Even the breed of them in the swamps of Reporoa. 



The second song selected is of a later period, and is a lament composed 

 by Hau-te-horo for his ancestors and relatives who were killed by Ngati-Ira 

 at Pnem-makn (Tolaga Bay). Tawhipare gave a feast of crayfish to his 

 intended victims, and this food apparently causes thirst. Tawhipare pre- 

 pared for this by placing an ambnsh round the only available water, so 

 that those who went to drink would be slain. Many were killed, but in 

 the struggle for water some of the warriors jumped into the pond with 

 their heavj^ flax 'pueru cloaks, and, saturating their garments, they ran 

 back to the pa and gave relief to some of their people. This incident gave 

 the name to the affair — pueni, a garment ; makii, wet. 



* Gisborne. f A place north of Gisborne. 



