54 TUTIRA 



ancient that their meanings have become lost, and occult allusions 

 almost or quite impossible of elucidation. In the folk-lore tales and 

 tribal legends the exact Maori phrase descriptive of any striking custom 

 or statement has been preserved. Alas ! from what the writer has been 

 able to gather from the annals of the Ngai-tatara alone, he is cognisant 

 of the wealth of material that must have elsewhere perished. 



The lands described under the designation Tutira were included 

 in the immense territory of old, claimed or occupied by the Ngati- 

 kahungunu a countryside stretching from Gisborne to Woodville 

 from Turanga to Tamaki. Descent is claimed by the Ngati-kahu- 

 ngunu from Kongo -kako, whose son Tamatea arrived in the fast- 

 sailing Takitimu, one of the most famous canoes of the great lieke or 

 migration from the mythical Hawaiki. In this great tribe were in- 

 cluded the hapu living on or possessing interests in Tutira. Formerly 

 it had been known as Ngai-Tatara, but later, for reasons yet to be 

 told, it was styled Ngati - kuru - mokihi : it was made up of two 

 minor septs the Ngati-moe and the Ngati-Hinerakai each of which, 

 moreover, possessed its own especial cultivation plots. The two were, 

 however, indissolubly allied " hoa matenga" friends together to the 

 death. There were also intimate ties of blood and friendship connecting 

 them with the neighbouring hapus. In the accompanying map are 

 marked the boundaries of the lands of the Ngai-Tatara, and the names 

 of the sub-tribes by whom they were surrounded. 



Although there were pas stockades built on Tutira, yet within its 

 boundaries the Ngai-Tatara were in great degree wanderers. At any 

 rate they did not chiefly put their trust in stationary fastnesses ; rather 

 they relied on stout hearts and active limbs ; " Ko to ratou pa ko nga 

 rekereke" "their pas were in their heels" : that was the tribal motto. 

 Like the Douglas of old, they preferred to hear the lark sing rather 

 than the mouse squeak. Their temporary camping-grounds were chosen, 

 doubtless, according to the seasons and the conditions of food supply. 

 As another local proverb has it : " Ka pa a Tangitu, ka huaki a 

 Maungaharuru, Ka pa a Maungaharuru ka huaki a Tangitu." 

 "When Tangitu" the deep-sea fishing-ground offTangoio "is closed, 

 Maungaharuru " a mountain range prolific in bird life " opens ; when 

 Maungaharuru closes, Tangitu opens." 



Man, like other animals, is dependent for his maintenance and 

 increase on the nature of the soil in his possession. The Maori is a 



