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The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions. Awatea, Taranaki, Nga-Ti-Hau Nga-Ti-Rua-Nui [Vol. VIII, English]

Chapter I

page (5)

Chapter I

O woe is me, o woe is me my parents
As near me is thy flow o Kohutu
That I escape the land of cannibals,
And I will meddle not with that hero,
Called Tu-te-rangi-whakataka,
Who has his perfect knowledge now
Of all the mountain ranges of Tara-naki.
What come ye back to see?
As we in silence sit and live
Nor heed thy threat o Karewa
Who let the Nga-ti rua-nui live
Nor swallowed them, As open now
Thy stomach is o Ko-oka o
Nor are the dead cut up with
Parekeneke axe, while still is
Heard the noise of stone at Wai-tara
(To cook the dead) at Koutu-o-rangi-hawe
And cook the brains of One-mihi
As food to deaden hunger of the Mounga.
When my uvula croakes o Tama-hiri
To give thy brain a welcome to my teeth