Kōrero: Te aitanga pepeke

Whārangi 4. Te waeroa me te namu

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Ko Haumia te atua o te aruhe. Heoi, e ai ki a Ngāi Tūhoe ko Haumia hoki te tipuna o ētahi o te aitanga pepeke. Inarā, nā Haumia ko te mōnehu, nāna ko waeroa, ko namu, ko rōtāne, ko wai atu.

Noho ai ēnei ngārara ki roto i te rarauhe. Otirā, hei oranga i te ngau o te waeroa me te namu, ka miria e te tangata te tarawai o te rarauhe ki tōna kiri.

Ka ngaungau i te tangata

He kōrero tuku iho mō te ngau kino o ēnei o te aitanga pepeke. Ko Namuiria te tipuna o ngā namu katoa. Nā Tūmatauenga a Namuiria i patu, nāna hoki te hau o Tū i tāhae. Hei utu, ka whakaekea te tangata e ngā iwi o Waeroa me Namupoto. Ka kōrero a Waeroa kia tatari mō te pō kōkiri ai te tangata, kei kitea, kei patua tōna rahi i te awatea. Ka whakahoki a Namu, ‘Me pakanga i te awatea. Ahakoa tini mātou ka mate, kia ahatia. Ko te mea nui kia rere te toto. Ki te tatari koe mō te pō whakaeke ai, kei te kā tonu ngā ahi; ka mate koe i te auahi’.

Nō te pūaotanga o te ao ka whakatika ake ngā tini namu. Hauwarea. Ka pakipakia, ka mate te tini namu i a Tūmatauenga. Ka mātaki a Waeroa i te parekura namu, ka taka te whakaaro, he pai atu te tatari kia pō, kia pai ai te waiata ki te taringa tonu o te tangata. Ki te mate, kia ahatia. Ka whakautu a Namupoto, ‘Kia ahatia ki te mate au? Ko te mea nui kia rere ōna toto. Mā ngā uri o Mahuika anake taku riri e tāmi. Kātahi ahau ka rere, tāua tahi!’ Koinei te take ka ngau te namu i te awatea, ka ngau te waeroa i te pō. 1

Kupu tāpiri
  1. Te Pēhi (Elsdon Best), Tuhoe: the children of the mist. Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Board of Maori Ethnological Research, Te Rōpū Poronihiana, 1925, wh. 778; 993. › Back
Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Bradford Haami, 'Te aitanga pepeke - Te waeroa me te namu', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/te-aitanga-pepeke/page-4 (accessed 5 May 2024)

He kōrero nā Bradford Haami, i tāngia i te 24 Sep 2007