256 
TRADITIONS AND LEGENDS. 
adzed out the canoe Punui,* sewed on the top sides,, and got 
everything ready to go to sea, they found the thicket was 
so dense, that it could not 
repeated this karakia :■ — 
Waea turihunga, 
Waea taramoa, 
Ka puta ki waho, 
Ko Witi ko Matuku, 
be launched. They therefore 
Thrust aside the thicket, 
Thrust aside the brambles, 
And Witi and Matuku 
Shall come forth, f 
The thicket immediately opened, but in vain did Rata call 
out, pull away, pull away, the canoe would not move, in vain 
did they hawl, not an inch would it stir ; Rata had dammed 
up the stream, but there was not sufficient water to make it 
float, then they karakiad to the god of rain, he called to 
the sky, pull out the plug of the reservoir of rain ; he had 
no sooner uttered the words than down came the torrents 
filled the river, floated the canoe of Rata, the warriors 
embarked, it glided along, reached the open sea, and they 
pulled over to Matukffis residence ; on arriving at the 
place, where they expected to find him, they discovered 
that he was from home, but the woman they were in search 
of was within ; they asked her how they might most easily 
capture Matuku ; she advised them to place a large noose 
over the door, and conceal themselves in the sides of the 
house ; but she recommended them by no means to attempt 
to catch him by the neck, but by the waist, as in the former 
part he was too strong to be held ; they soon heard him 
coming, for he made the ground shake under his feet as he 
went along, he had a load of human flesh on his shoulders, 
which he threw down as he approached the door ; the 
woman called to him, but suspecting some treachery, he 
said : — 
* This canoe had three other names : — 
The first, Riwaru, because the damp of the forest made it green. 
The second, Tuirangi, when it reached the sea, it was painted and orna- 
mented. 
The third, Pakawai, when it was drawn up on shore. 
f This is a saying for the beginning of a quarrel : — Push aside the barriers, 
and anger will burst out. 
