THE LOST MARUIWI

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 16, 26 May 1939, Page 6

THE LOST MARUIWI

FOLK OF THE W AIM AN A ( SURPRISES AND BATTLES | i In the lcist issue the story of the ( capture of One pa, Waimana, by the . Maru.iwi was described. The cap- ( tivos were taken to a bluff over the f Waimana river, and as part of a ruse to cover his escape. Te Rangi.tu-mai, j son of the chief of the captive people j borrowed a taiaha and gave an exhibition of the bayonet drill of tlie oldtime Maori. j To and fro along the space between , his captors he pranced, leaping to ] avoid imaginary blows, thrusting Her '| cely at the air mid all so well exe. , cuted that the onlookers applauded ; him. [Meanwhile, his father, the tat- ; tooed old warrior chief Tama.ru a* rangi, lay spread-eagled and bound to the ground, earnestly engaged in ] repeating quietly an old-time karakia of t'he Maori designed to render his , son ilect of foot. , As Te Rangi bounded forward yet ; again, grimacing wildly at the onlookers he glanced at his father who rais'ed his head slightly, and the son knew that the old man had finished his incantation and that the time had come for his break for liberty. With increased vigour he swung the taiaha, bounding along the narrow lane until he reached the clifl'-head and then jumped clear of the bluft &nd into the waters of the Waimana below. Tn a few moments he reached the further shore and was seen speeding across the flat. By tlie time the purStiers had reached and crossed the river Te Rangi had disappeared in the scrub. From those gathered on the cliff.top came the cry "Go on! We will catch you before long. and as the sun sank T?-m,a-ruarangi was 'slain and the Maru-iwi started in pur suit of Te Rangi. Tlie fugitive had sped down the Waimana gorge and made, his way lc the KLwi.nui pa on the foothills between Te Teko and laneatua. He told the peopie of that pa. who were his relatives, that he was the sole suf vivor of his village and that the Maru.iwi would soon be thundering at the gates. Tho next morning the Maru.iwi reached the pa. Rongo-karae, the chief 6f the Kiwi-mi 3 peopie. selected a goodly number of fighting men and retired with them into a ia-rge house named Toka.nui, which stood on the topmost terrace of the pa. He caused the uprights of the front part of the house to be loosened uno all the lashings to be cut so that the front wall of the house might be pushed over from within, thus causing it to fall into and cover the porch Meanwhile the others were endeavouring to withstand the fierce onslaught of the Maru-iwi at the outer defences. The attackers succeeded in capturing the lower terrace of the pa and the garrison retreated to the next upper one. They called upon Kongo to bring forth his men and assist in the defence,, but, rather like King Edward at Crecv when the Black Prince appealed for reinforcements he replied that his men would remain in the house and that theie was plenty of time. Before long Maru.iwi had gained another terrace of the fort, and aigain Kongo was implored to assist. He said ''Leave them lie until the hand of the enemy touches the thatch, of Toka-nui. Then they will come out and fight!" Before long the enemy had forced their way to the citadel, and seeing that the house was full of people, crowded into the porch anil started to tear off the thatch of the front wall, that they might get p,t the occupants. It was another little miscake of the Maru-iwi for when Kongo saw that the porch was crowded with th e enemy he cried "Na! Katahi na ano!"' and his men thrust over the heavy .wall which fell upon the people in, front. They then sprang out and attacked the main body of the Maru.iwi, who perhaps dismayed at the fate of their van_ were defeated. The survivors fled back to their pa where their women and children were with the Kiwi-nui people following and slaying. At the Wai.one stream, a tributary of the Owhukatoro, one of the fugitives, Kotore-nui, was caught and slain. Hence the stre,am ! n after times has been called Kotorenui. The pursuers camped there for the night and next morning .advanced to attack Hiwi-roa,, the Maru.iwi pa but th e bird had flown and was on the wing for Napier. The fugitives turned and defeated a force of Te Teko natives who had pursued them to tlie Kainga-roa plain and, it is said, piled up tlie dead bo.

d.'cs at the base of ;i tree. The survivors of this party lied, and sought sonic means bv which to avenge their defeat. They found it in the kete poutama, a singular rite of Black [Magic performed to weaken and unnerve enemies to cause them to become powerless. To perform this rite an £ 'ahi tapu" or sacred fire was necessary and it was kindled on a spot since called To Ahi-a_nga-tane in com memoration .. x Tlie god appealed to was Irakewa who was never a very nice penson. Then, says the story, the powers of the god we. r e seen. The lightning flashed, a fierce storm lashed the earth, fiei'v portents were seen darting through the air. It was a sign from the gods that the Maru-iwi were ,1. stricken host, fordoomed to dogs and vultures dead men though still in the world of life. With the evil spells affecting them they hurried blindly l on to reach a haven of rest. Men tell strange stories of their actions. How as they toiled on over the plains they collected and carried bundles of sticks to'servo as fuel when camped, but when night fell fresh alarms arose and fires and ca.mp were deserted and again the weary wayfarers struggled on through the night. At last in one of these nocturnal stampedes they came, in .storm and darkness, to the rugged canyon near Pohue on the Napier.Taupo road, and it is said that the fugitives failed to see the cliff in the darkness and fell over, while those in the rear were ignorant of the fate of their'companions hurrying on, themselves fell over. Thus most of the Maru-hvi perished in that chasm and their tribal name became lost to the world, ft is said that only seven survivors reached Iferetaunga.