6 Ti'iuisactions. — MiaceJIaneoiis. 



2. TutakahinaJdna and Te Roiroiwhemva. 



Tiitakahinahina walked upon the waters. He had no parents. His wife's 

 name was Kaihere. They had one son, called Te Roiroiwhenua. When the 

 son was born, Tiitakahinahina told his people to get in a good supply of food 

 and firewood. Then he died, and was buried by the wall inside the house, the 

 ftice downward and the back upward. The ojrave was fenced round. Now the 

 sun was withheld by Kuineateao, by Kumeatepo, by Unumiatekore. Then it 

 was dark on sea and land. The darkness was so great that no road could be 

 seen to fetch food and firewood. The people used what there was in the house. 

 Then they broke up in the house what they could, to keep the fire burning. At 

 last Te Roiroiwhenua heard the voice of his father, speaking in his grave: 

 " Here I am buried, look where the earth heaves up." Then Te 

 Roiroiwhenua went to the spot and listened. He heard a gnawing inside the 

 grave; it was the maggots, gnawing at his father. Then he saw two of them 

 crawling out of the grave inside the fence, a male and a female. He caught 

 the male, to be roasted in an oven ; but the female he let go. The oven was 

 lieated with sacred tire. Then Tamatea (perhaps identical with Tawhirimatea, 

 the personal name of the wind) came and shook the oven. Now there came 

 a start, and the first sign of the morning appeared. The morning advanced. 

 First the birds sang: "Light of the day." Then the people shouted: 

 " Daylight." 



Some of the Maori tohunga say that Te Roiroiwhenua is identical with 

 Tangaroa; others say he is not — only before, the Morning was with Tangaroa ; 

 but after the shaking of the oven, the Morning was with Tamatea. Perhaps 

 the tale is a skeleton only, left of what may have been a good poem, the 

 deeper meaning of which has been lost. 



3. Rangi and Papatuanuku, 

 Rangi means Heaven in the common language, and is here used as a proper 

 name, but Papatuanuku is the personal name for the Earth {te ivhenua). These 

 two were not worshipped as gods, but were regarded as the parents of all 

 visible nature. 



Rangi, having been lamed in the duel with his uncle, could no longer stand 

 upi iglit, and had, therefore, to lie always flat on the earth. The consequence 

 was a still darkness; no wind could blow, no light could shine. Not- 

 withstanding th(^y had many children. Most of tJiem were cripples ; some 

 had orooked, drawn-iip logs, some hail stiff stretched out legs, and other 

 deformities; however, a fiiw had sound limbs. The most conspicuous among 

 the latter was Tane ; also Paiao ((-loud), Tawhirimatea (perscmal name of the 

 Wind), deserve to Ix' mentioned. In Sir George Grey's collection, the follow- 

 ing <'liildn'ii of HeavcMi and K;trth aic named : — 



