The Maori: Yesterday and To-day
A Waikato River Song
A Waikato River Song.
A famous cannibal warrior: The Chief Taraia Ngakuti, head of the Ngati-Tamatera tribe, Ohinemuri, Upper Thames. Died 1871.
Kei runga riro
page 166
Nga manu mohio
Ko Mumuhau
Ko Takereto
Tiraua ka waiho
Nga ki-titiro.
A tena, tena!
Hukere, hukere!Ngiha te ahi
Ki Maunga-tautari,
Hei a Rangi-ngatata.
No na no,
Te huruhuru
Kei ana tapa.
Hukere, hukere!(Translation.)
Above us fly
The birds of knowledge,
Mumuhau and Takereto,
Wise birds that bid us watch
The omens of the sky.
That's it, go along!
Quickly, quickly dip!
Yonder blaze the fires
On Maunga-tautari's height,
The fires of Rangi-ngatata.
See our feathers flying,
The plumes of our canoe.
Now quickly dip your blades.
The two birds mentioned here as “wise birds” were certain sacred birds that according to legend lived on Repanga (Cuvier Island), at the entrance to the Hauraki Gulf. They were believed to foretell the weather; that is by their cries and the manner of their flight the people knew when rain and high winds were coming.