THE TIPUA.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9919, 27 December 1897, Page 5

THE TIPUA.

[BY JUDGK GuDOBOK.] To the old type of Maori, and ia raanj instances to their modern representatives, the world ia full of uncanny things, instinct with a life derived from the occult and spirit world, and having little if any connection or Byirpathy with I**-* ll j l * B pursuits. Such things are, of course, invisible to the European eye and undream* ot by our prosaic Anglo-Saxon ..ace, whose training is alone sufficient to prevent them either seeing or appreciating those supernatural manifestations which are ' but ordinary incidents of Maori life. At-the day it would hardly bo jfiuropean who could give a coheiWl*'Recount of the Maori theory of the spirit; =-world, and the reason is obvious, for tne modern Maori knows verj little more of the subject than his '- pakeha " triend, and even the few remaining ••tohungas" have for the :uost part either beeu badly instructed or Have forgotten their anoient lore. The Maori view of this subject c*«*u only be gathered from the remarks which occasionally escape them, ancl these, however peculiar they -**ay appear to us, are not irrational. " The god of whom x speak is dead," said a witness in the Native Land Court. "But," said die Court, "gods do not die." " You ..re mistaken," replied the witness, " gods do die, unless there are - tohungas' to keep them alive." Here we have a thoroughly Maori idea, but it is not new. The sentiment is almost identical with that which all anoient writers t >uts into the mouth of a heathen deity----=«l When the people cease to believe in you as gods you a*e dead." Fortunately, the Maori has not ceased to believe in his ancient gods, with their natural attendants, the " Eamiolia,'* "Kura," and "Tipua," not to mention the minor manifestations of the powers of the outer world, and hence these things are to him very much alive, and iv evidence. The word Tipua is not unfcequently translated by the English word denion as an equivalent; and it may occasionally bear that signification, bnt more often it would be better rendered by the expression "uncanny thing." All that is uncommon, or that seems to possess unaccountable powers or virtues, is properly called a "Tipua," and in this category may be inoluded stones, trees, pieces of wood, or even fish; • provided always that the appearance or behaviour of the thing in question is sufficiently curious. Take for example "Hinengutu." This "tipua" is but a simple knot of " totara " wood ; yet if Maori tradition can be accepted, it has for ages revolved in regular circles, in a pool of the Wheao river, but unlike all other pieces of wood, has been unable to escape down stream. It is this successful conflict with the ordinary laws of nature, that has established" the right of Hinengutu to be considered a " tipua." I have heard Maoris assert that they have experimented by throwing other pieces of wood into the same pool, and that these, after following Hinengutu for two or three revolutions, finally drifted away, leaving this uncanny totara knot to continue on ita never ending course. Hinengutu has " mana" of a sort, and is popularly supposed to resent any liberties taken with her. On one occasion a party of the colonial forces, while out on the war path, succeeded in noosing this "tipua," and fished her up for examination • she was, of course, returned to her natural element without delay, but none the less the Maori portion of the force were convinced that misfortune would befall some one or mora members of the party; and sure 'enough within two hours heavy and unexpected rain fell, to the very great satisfaction of the Maoris, who felt that they were lucky to escape so easily from the wrath of a " tipua," and were, moreover, by no means displeased to find the pakeha so decidedly in the wrong. As for fish "tipuas,"lhaveheardof but one, and that was a very wonderful kahawai, known by the name of Pururau. The tale may perhaps be classed among big fish stories, but the tradition is, that the kahawai was first seen near Wliangaparaoa, in the Bay of Plenty, and was known by the fact that a 'small tree grew out of the back of its head, and that part of the tree was always above water. This ~ demon fish was followed by a man and woman, named respectively Tanepatua and Mamoe, who, for some reason, had devoted, themselves to its capture, and carried with them a net of great" mana " and eacrecWßss, suitable for so great a purpose. This patient and long-suffering pair followed their prey for months, but were unable to effect its capture until they reached Waingongoro, on the west coast of this island, where they where at last successful. The woman Mamoe is said to have cohabited with Te Hokato, of Whanganui, and this fact enables us to fix approximately the date of Te Pururau's capture, inasmuoh that there are thirteen generations since | the time of Te Hokato, probably abont 350 j years. Of quite another type is the Tipua RuaI whango, who is popularly supposed to reside in a cave to the south of Kawhia. Presum ably this Rua whango is a spirit, for no one has ever seen it; all that is known is this— That its voice has on several occasions been heard, warning those who come to gather "pipi" (shell fish) to desist from injuring the children of the " tipua." I have not been able to ascertain that anyone required a second warning, and, therefore, the guardian of the " pipi " beds has not found it necessary to personally interview intruders, and, perhaps, for this reason nothing is known of the personal appearance or social history of this " tipua." One of the most interesting of all Tipuas, is a rock called Nenuku Tuwhatu, which may yet be seem near the mouth of the Aworua creek, in the Kawhia harbour. This particular stone was, and perhaps stilt is, the possessor of peculiar virtue, and of old had great repute among childless women, who were wont to resort thither in great numbers. The efficacy of these visits would appear to be beyond doubt, for there is yet a man living who is known as the son of Uenuku Tuwhatn. This is but one of many instances of Phallic worship among the Maoris. Trees, also, are in certain cases objects ol veneration to the Maori people, not so much because they are trees, but chiefly for the reason that in the opinion of the Maoris trees are capable of absorbing " mana" from either man or weapons. Until quite lately there was an exceedingly old totara tree lying in the Manga*o*rongo stream, at no great distance from Otoro.hangfa NowtUs.UeewuibrsailyflritolMi,

"tipua," and was called Papataunaki, the hame being derived from the fact that, some | %hirteen generations ago, one Ruatekli, an •"Qceator of the N'maniapoto tribe, while on » bird snaring expedition, noticed that there was a nest of young parrots in this tree, which even at that remote period, was hollow, though otherwise flourishing. In order to reach the young birds, the chief used his greenstone axe, papatunaki, to enlarge the opening into the nest, and while bo engaged the stone axe parted from the wooden handle, and was forever lost within the hollow tree. Now this axe, like Te Awhiorangi and other notable weapons of old days, was possessed of great " maua;" indeed it was the dwelling place of a spirit, and it would seem that the sacredness thereof must have communicated itself to the tree, which was ever after regarded by the Ngatimatakore as an object of venetion. Very gradually the tree fell into decay, and at last was uprooted by a gale of wind ; but even then it did not lose its " mana "; for we are told that about the commencement of the present century the great warrior, Wahanui—the first of that name — paid a visit to the fallen monarch, and apostrophised it in these terms :—" So you are the sacred tree of whom the Ngatimatakore are so proud. Let ua see if your ' mana' is proof against fire ?" and so saying, he lighted a small fire on the prostrate tree. When the fire had kindled sufficiently to give forth some heat, the huge log began, it is said, to tremble all over, and finally, with one mighty effort, rolled itaelf into the Manga-o-Rongo stream. Here it lay for more than sixty years, until the Native Land Court opened at Otorohanga in 1885. Then, at last, Papataunaki broke loose from the position it had ■o long occupied, and floated some distance down the stream. This circumstance was referred to by Hanaura, chief of N'Matakore, in the Court, as an ill omen for his tribe, indicating that their land and mana were about to pass away from them. As for Wahanui, who had committed this wanton outrage on a sacred tree, his punishment followed quickly, for " tipuas" may not be injured or even insulted with impunity. Up to this period he had run a long and successful career as a warrior, and though he had on more than one occasion shown* remarkable ability and activity in getting out of the way of the Whanganui people, yet his reputation was good. A man cannot always be brave, or successful, but Wahanui had had his full share of success, and in the opinion of the best Maori authorities might have died in his bed but for this freak of childish jealousy against Papataunaki. As it so happened he fell in battle against Ng_ti Raukawa only a few weeks after the affair above recorded, and was eaten by that tribe with much satisfaction, for they had a long list of injuries to wipe out. Wahanui was one of those old time warriors, of whe m tales little short of the marvellous are told, but it does seem to be true that he was a man of extraordinary strength, nnd that he used a spear like unto a weaver's beam, with which he was wont to spear men and toss them playfully over his head. There is also another tale, which would lead to the belief that he was a very fat man, for I have heard the N'Raukawa as a mere matter of history, allude to two basket* of fat. On second thoughts, I will not pursue the subject; pakchas have such unaccountable prejudices, and are so easily shocked at the doings of other people, that I should not like to hurt their feelings. Papataunaki no longer exists as a tree. I regret to say that Mr Edwards, of Te Kiokio, has split his ancestor up and used him for posts, and, worse still, has used the chips and splinters for cooking purposes— an act of cannibalism which had the effect of relieving him ot the presence of his tribe for many weeks, for they, at any rate, could not tolerate such awful impiety.

Papakauri is another enchanted tree, whose history is even more mysterious than , that of Papataunaki. It is moreover surrounded by such a web of superstition, of i the unexplainable variety, that I doubt my ability to juake myself intelligible to Europeans. lam indeed conscious that the | pakeha side of my brain does not understand tbe tale as related to mc, whereas to the Maori aide it is clear-enough. I think that I have already remarked that " tipuas"-are An exception to the rule, that all things are subject to the great natural laws that govern the unrverse. " Tipuas " obey no law, whether human or divine, but are somewhat amenable to "karakia" when uttered by a tohunga-of reputation. With this preliminary warning, I will-commence my tale by Baying that at one period of its history Pa-pakauri was a tree pure and simple, aod that it subsequently became a "tipaa," but at what particular stage of ita-existence it changed its nature and became possessed of a spirit is not known. Stilt less is it known why it did all of those things which I am about to -record, and which are matters of history among tbe Ngatimarn of Hauraki. At that remote period, when as I have-said, Papakauri w-a» a tree, it grew and flourished at Opokuxa, in the vicinity of Okauia, on the Waihou river *. bat after a while it came to pass that this tree was uprooted, and lay for many years, until a flood of more than usual magnitude brought the trunk down the river towards Hauraki. With the tree came a certain Ngarara (probably a lizard) named Hinarepe, who it would seem was also a tipua. inasmuch that <n routs it landed at Te Konehu, a ••Tunga Uira," aad there bit a atone, which was the shrine of the lightning at that place. Now this act had the greatest possible significance, since tbe mere fact of biting anything has the effect of removing the "mana of the person or thing bitten to the biter thereof. Therefore tins action of Hinarepe removed the "mana,'' which in this instance was represented by the lightning, from the stone at Te Konehu. This done, Hinarepe returned to and the two floated down stream until they reached Te Kairere, where the former "SRpua" landed, and established another "Tunga Uira" with the lightning it had taken from Te Konehu; and when it had done- these things, the two "tipua " floated out into the Hauraki Gulf and touched at Hauturu (the Little Barrier}, where Hinarepe landed, and passes out of this-story. Papakauri, deserted *by its familiar spirit returned to tbe Waihou river, and was moving quietly back to its old home at Okauia, when it was seen by Maiotaki, a chief of Ngatimaru, who, being a man of experience, recognised that the log was a " tipua," from the fact that it was moving up the river against the stream; he therefore stopped it by a powerful incantation. Meanwhile the the chief Tamure, at Okauia, had missed bis sacred tree, aud forthwith had opened up communication with his gods, in order to discover the whereabouts of this errant member of his tribe. In a very short time he was informed that hie "tipua" was at Waihou, and he at once started off in his canoe, to recover his familiar spirit. While yet a long way off, at Hnrrau, he stood up in his canoe and chanted a most potent spell (ngare) of such "mana," that it even affected Maiotaki. who by this means, became aware that Tamure was trying to recover Papakauri. Then began toe great struggle betwenthe rival tohnngas. In vain did Papakauri try to free itself, the gods of Maiotaki held it fast until Tamure—who by this time had arrived upon the scene—bad to confess himself vanquished, and yielded gracefully, ■aying, "-you have our ancestor, behave generously to him." The dispute having ended amicably, Maiotaki invited Tamure to his village, and an the following morning permitted him to obtain a share of the lightning from the shrine at Kairere. This doae, Tamure covered his head with some of the garments which had been propitiatory offerings to Papakauri, and returned to Te Konehu, where he restored the lightning to the store at that place. It is certain Tamure did not rob Te Kairere of all of its lightning, for it is still a * c tnnga uira," and the lightning never fails to record the occurrence of serious misfortune to the chief descendants of Maiotaki. The flashes were seen on the instant that Kohu fell La battle at Otama* rakaii, and the same omen of death or disaster marked the fact that Whaiapu had been drowned off the island of Waiheke.

I may explain that the expressions lunga uira, or rua kanapu. are used to denote any place where lightning is frequently Been to quiver, as though hanging over that particular place, and these names have reference to one of the most deeply seated of all Maori superstitions, viz., that every tribe of Mana has one or more places where, in the event of actual misfortune happening to leading members of the tribe, the lightning **■ seen to flash like a cobu-K» downwards to the earth. It is said that not infrequently tbe lightning does more than tbis^uat-is t»ta_.to*-H.i. •y-W-HT^mia.

fortunes, and that tohungas, who are learned in such matters, could determine by i the appearance of the flashes whether the i misfortunes were present, or to occur in the near future. Should men of the tribe be absent on some distant warlike expedition and encounter a serious reverse, the lightning would in such case notify to those remaining at home that there had been a reverse. •* Tunpa uira" are not tribal; in some cases, where a family is known to be of exalted rank, it will be found that they are the proud possessors of a place ot this description all to themselves, and I need hardly say that for a family to possess a "Tungauira" is a very great distinction, since it is absolute proof that the powers above and of the nether world recognise their rank. Flashes of lightning seen over one of the peaks of the Wharepuhunga m-untain were of old regarded as an evil omen for the brave tribe of Ngatiraukawa, and the same phenomena seen over the hill known as Te Ihu o te Heruheru was an omen of death for the family of Wahanui, tor in all such cases it was held that the lightning spoke as a god to the people of the land.