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WAKATAUKt, OR PROVERBS. 
sought after ; but let a woman be ever so plain, men will 
still eagerly seek after her (literally run off with). 
4. Ko Waitaba nga tangata, ko kawe ke te ngakau. 
The men truly are Waitaha in name, but their hearts are any- 
thing and everything (Waitaha was once a tribe celebrated 
for number and courage). 
5. He kino kai e kore, e rere ki te pai tangata, he pai tangata e 
rere, ki te kino kai. 
The bad quality of food a man eats will not affect his good 
qualities, or lower him ; but his good qualities will raise or 
sanctify the food. 
6. Ka ruku ruku a huna, ka horahora a papaka nui. 
He who has a thick garment fears not the rain ; but he who 
has only a thin one flees to the house as soon as it begins. 
7. Ka waia te wahie mo takurua, ka mahia te kai mo tau. 
Fuel is only sought for against winter ; but food is cultivated, 
for the whole year. 
8. Ma pango, ma wero ka oti. 
When gentlemen and slaves unite, the work will soon be done. 
(This refers to the custom of chiefs painting themselves with 
red ochre and slaves with charcoal, before they went to war.) 
This appears to be a reference to the ancient black race. 
9. Ka hia nga kui kui i hoki ki toitoi. 
How many old women are there who return to youth ? — Toi 
toi is synonymous with the English word toy, expressive of 
the struggle young men have to gain their wives. 
10. He kai tangata he kai titoki, koke mahia, e tona ringaringa, 
tino kai tino makona. 
Whoever trusts to another man’s labour for his food, will be 
disappointed; but he who labours with his own hands, 
will have enough and to spare. (The titoki is a tree whose 
fruit is only in season for a short time.) 
11. Nau i waka aua te kakahu, he taniko taku. 
You wove the garment, I put a border to it. (A proverb used 
when a person accuses another of having brought any evil 
upon him, of which in reality he himself was the cause.) 
12. Tenei ano a mutu, kei roto i tona ware pungawerewere. 
The spider is not seen when hid in his web ; so the real inten- 
tion of the man is concealed in the recess of his heart. 
18. He ta nga kakaho i kitea e te kanohi o te tangata. 
