MOTTOES. 
315 
Mottoes. 
Every tribe has its Motto, some of which may, perhaps, 
be regarded as war cries, others as terms of reproach. 
Some are given them by other tribes, such are generally 
scornful ones : — 
1. Waikato lioehoe ivaka nukenuke. — Waikato paddles are crooked. 
A simile drawn from their shape, which unlike others, are crooked, 
this is applied by their enemies to their general character, as being 
deceitful. 
2. Waikato taniwa rau. — Waikato has its hundred taniwas, which 
signifies, that it has its hundred great and powerful chiefs ; a great 
man being called “ he ika,” a fish, or “ he taniwa,” a crocodile. 
3. Te wai nui a Tarawera. — The great water of Tarawera is a 
name to express the number and power of the Wanganui natives. 
4. Te koura puta roa. — A simile drawn from the Cray fish, 
which, though the legs may be pulled off, escapes amongst the 
stones; so the Wanganui natives cannot be taken. 
5. Nga keri keringa a Ruauoko. — The digging of Ruauoko.* Ru 
is the father of rivers ; it is an exclamation of admiration for the 
Wanganui river, and its perpendicular cliffs. 
6. Mo tai tangata ran. — A saying for the number and power of 
the Nga ti rau kawa. 
7. Nga ti awa te toki, te tanga tanga i te ra. — The Nga ti awa, 
the toki which does not move about in its socket. The fastening or 
tying of the hatchet, which cannot be loosened by the heat of the 
sun : to show that no attacks could weaken them. 
8. Te lcaraka i ruia mai i runga 0 Rangi-atea. — The karaka, 
which was sown on Rangiatea, a mountain of Hawaiki, too great 
to be overlooked. 
9. E kore Taranaki e ngaro he haraheke to ngae nui , no roto no 
W aiwiri. — Taranaki cannot be destroyed ; flax is its forest inland 
to Waiwiri, that plant being there so abundant as to supply all 
their wants. 
10. Rangi tiki te upoko, ivaka herehere. — The top-knot of heaven 
encircles its head. A motto for Rotorua. 
11. Nga ti Maru koliao rau. — Nga ti Maru is like a hundred eel 
holes, referring to the many little scattered divisions of this tribe. 
t This name implies that the river was a volcanic fissure, Ru being the word 
for earthquake. 
