130 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



" Te Aratawhao." 



Voyage of the ' Aratawhao " Canoe to Hawaiki in order to 



obtain the Kumara. 



I will now give a short account of the most important event 

 in the history of the Bay of Plenty tribes — viz., the introduction 

 of the kumara, or sweet-potato, whereby the lot of the aboriginal 

 tribes was much improved. Previous to that important event 

 the natives had but one cultivated plant, the hue, or gourd, 

 which was, however, a very poor article of food, and could only 

 be eaten in the early stages of its growth — i.e., in the kotawa 

 state. The vegetable foods of the aboriginal tribes were prin- 

 cipally fern-root, mamaku, berries, various plants used as greens, 

 also the young undeveloped leaves of various Cordyline, and 

 the tap roots of at least one variety of Cordyline. Of these, the 

 principal item was the aruhe, or fern-root, which was the great 

 stand-by of the aborigines. Presumably the first settlers in 

 New Zealand did not bring seed sweet-potatoes with them, 

 although they brought seeds of the gourd, and also introduced 

 dogs of the ruarangi breed. 



About twenty generations ago the old-time fort Kapu-te- 

 rangi, whose earthen walls still crown the cliffs of Whakatane. 

 was inhabited by the descendants of Toi, among whom one 

 Tama-ki-hikurangi was probably the most important chief. 

 These people were known by the tribal names of Te Hapu-one- 

 one, Te Tini-o-awa, &c. And it fell upon a certain fine morn 

 that one Kura-whakaata, a daughter of Tama-ki-hikurangi. 

 was walking on the beach, or bank of the river, beneath the pa 

 mentioned, when she espied two strange men lying upon a rock 

 hard by the river-side, and also heard them repeating the follow- 

 ing invocation in order to cause the sun to shine brightly, and 

 thereby warm their chilled frames, for they had undergone 

 much hardship from exposure in their long canoe voyage from 

 the isles of Polynesia : — 



Upoko ! Upoko ! Whiti te ra 



Tenei to wahine te aitia nei 



E te aoao nunui, e te aoao roroa 



Tu atu te makariri 



Earamai te werawera 



ll.it ire mai te mahana 



Torohei ! 



The following being a different version of the same : — 



Upane ! Kaupane ! Whiti te ra 

 Tenei to wahine te aitia nei 

 E te ngarara nunui, e fce ngarara roroa 

 Upoko ' Upoko ! Wlii t i te ra. 



These two men were brothers named Taukata and Boaki, sons 

 of one Rongoatau of far Hawaiki. and they had made the long 



