TUHOE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10419, 17 April 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

TUHOE LAND.

THE UREWERA COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE. [DY ELSDO.S , BEST.] This above district, generally known as the Urewera Country, but now officially known as Tuhoe Land, is situated between the Waikaremoana Lake and tho Whirinaki River, and extends north and south from Ruatoki in tiio Whakatano River to Maungataniwha and the headwaters of the Waiau. This rugged and littlr-known region has attracted considerable attention of late on account of it having recently been opened up by the Government by means of roads, tho long-standing hostility of tho Urewera tribo having been overcome by the agency of fair and just treatment and respect for their tribal rights. Also, because a now departure has been made from the ordinary methods of dealing with native lands, the district of Tuhoe Land having , been proclaimed a special reserve for thft Urowera tribe, the management of its affairs being left) to a great extent in native hands, The greater part of this reserve U composed of tiie watersheds of tliu headwaters and tributaries of the Whakatane, Waimana, and Whirinaki Rivers. Tho country is of an extremely broken and rugged nature, its characteristics being high and steep bush ranges, with narrow valleys, containing but little flat land, the soil being of a light unit often poor nature, Nearly the whole area is covered with forest, with the exception of native clearing-! for purposes of cultivation, and a fow small open tracts, such us at To Wluiti, on the Whirinaki Kiver. There is on ihe Upper Whirinaki, Upper Okahu, ami Mangawiri stream- , , a large area of imgniticoiit totira timber, while the natives clarify all forest lands under two heading*—Hunua and Uruora— tho former term being applied to forests, which contain no good products, such as the tawai (fngus) tracts on the great Iluinran range, while the latter name i< used for the ordinary forest growth of tho lower lands, which contain torn, iniro, kahiiiatea, and other trees, on which great numbers of pigeons, kak-i and koko, aro both snared und shot, this being possibly tho only district in which the ancient methods of bird taking alo still in vague. The road now under construction through Tuhoe Land, and which will connect with the EirtCoast system at To Wiiirua, will afford tourists a good opportunity of seeing a typical New Zealand forest in ilsa primitive state, untiurred by the destroying axo of the pakeha, or the ever-marching wiro fence, which harassed] tho soul of man. The scenery from Te Wluiti or Fort (iaiatsa across the ranges tn the lakes is line iu the oxtreme, while the varied and picturesque scenery of Waikae-iti and Waikare-moana, both so lir.Ue known, will doubtio's provo a (rreat attraction to travellers and jight-aeors, inasmuch an the surroundings are so different to those of tho lakes of the Thermal District. When rendered accessible by road and boar, those mountain lake?, and the numorous islets therein, will prove an idei! *pot for tho genus " camper." TIIK MAORIS OF TUHOK LAND. Tho natives oi Tuhoe Land are known as Ilia Urewera or Tuhoo tribe. They are uf two linen of descent, namely, from tho aborigines of New Zealand on the nuo side, and from the Maori of tlw Mataatun migration on the other. By aborigines we mean tho nuinoiou-- tribes of Polynesian origin which wore found occupying these islands on the arrival of tho ancestors of the present Maori, some nineteen or twenty generations ago. Mataatua win the namo of one of the principal vessel* of that migration, which brought the old sea rovers of Polynesia from far Pacific \Am to the Great White World of tho south, the Aotearoa of die .Maori. Most of her crew, including Toroa, the priest and commandor, landed at Wlmkatane iu the Bay of Plenty, then occupied by the ancient tribes of Hapuoneone and To Tmi-o-Toi. Here the migrants from tho (jfraut Ocean of Kiwa sottled and gradually overcame and absorbed tho people of the laud. Ngati-Awa are tho principal tribo descended from thocrewof Mataatua,and from this mixed stock the Urowera hapus (subtribes) trace their doscent from tho historical migration from llawaiki. These liapa take tho tribal name of Tuhoe from Tuhoepotiki, groat grandson of Toroa, and that of Urewera from Mun kareke, son of Tuboe. Those ancestors, however, did not hold this district but lived at I'utauaki, or Mount Edgecumbe, and it was not until the time of 'iWliaki, some ten generations ago, or say '250 years, that their descendants succeeded in subduing the aboriginal tribes of Tuhoe Land. The principal tribes of the bncrata whonua or aborigines occupying this region at that time were; Maruiwi in the Waimana Valley, Ngapotiki and Ngati-Ha on the upper Whakatano and at M-iunga-pohatu, NgatiMaru or To Tini-o-Maru in the Waikaro Valley, Tuahau at Manana-a-Tiuhi, Kotore in the Pukareao Valley, Te Marangaranga at To Whiti-nui-a-Toi and the lowor Whirinaki, the Ruapani descendants of To Tauira at Waikaremoana and a division of Te Tini-o-Awa on the lower Wbakatene.

The Maruiwi of Waimana were expelled from thai) valley by the warlike Maori, in tlio time of Tainaruarangi, about 14 generations back. They fled by Rangitaiki towards Napier, though many of them perished by tailing into a chasm near Pohue, on the NapierTapu road, as in terror they hurried onward through the darkness ol night, honco comes the oft-quoted expression, "To Hoko a Mnruiwi kite Po." Ngapotiki and Ngati-Ha were defeated by Tawhaki and others of that ilk ten generations back, and their descendants are nov» generally known as Tamnkaitnoana, who still hold the lands about Maungapohatu. The Kotore tribe of Pukarino fell before Tununawa-pohatu and his brother Taiwera about 200 years ago, and their lands passed to the iNgai-Tawhaki, who still retain them. Kuapani and Te Tauira, of the east lands, became mixed with the Horouta migrants of the Bast Caast, while Ta Marangaranga, of Whirinaki, were conquerod by a mixed force under Tangiharuru and his uncle Wharepakau, aboub 270 years ago. It was thus that the newcomers overcame the original people, and, as they became more numerous, gradually pushed their way into the interior.

The original habitat of the aborigines was doubtless identical with that of the later Maori, namely the isles of Polynesia, and they were but an earlier migration ot that far-reaching race of sea kings who explored the vast island system between Asia and America long centuries before western mariners dared follow the setting sun from the Pillars of Hercules. In comparing tlio various traditions anent the coming of the Maui people, or tangata wlienua, to this land, together with the genealogical supports thereto, ib may be stated that they first settled in these isles about 900 years ago, and that some 400 years Inter the Maori of the historic migration appoared on the scene. These same Maori, trained to war in the crowded isles of Polynesia, were not slow in taking advantage of the milder race of Tβ Ilca-a-Maui, as soon as they were sufficiently numerous to do so. Some of tl«ao ancient tribes, such as To Tini-o-Tuoi, of Matahina, do not appear to have been by any means a fighting people, and thus Maori and aboriginal gradually intermixed and became as one race in the land of Toi, of Awa, and of Potiki.

The majority of the ancient tribes trace descent from the common ancestor known as Toi-kni-rakau who flourished in the classic vale of Whakatane foine twentythree generations, or about 575 years back. The Hapuoneone, Maruiwi, and Potiki tribes, however, claim a different line of ancestry. In regard to the latter a most singular tradition is preserved. Hine-pukohu-rangi was the goddess, or Maid of the Mist—as the name itself lignifies—and by the display of her charms in the form of the beautiful white mist which you may see rising in early morning from the waters of Ruatahuna, she lured to earth Te Maunga, the mountain, and these tiro semi-deities became one, and their offspring was Potiki, "The Child," from whom sprang the Nga-Potiki tribe, So saith the legend, and should you go into camp with tiivt defendants, the Children of the

Mist, who dwell In the shadow of Maungapohatu and under snow-clad Huiarau, it would not be well to cast tho gloom of doubt on thatold-tima story. The tribes of Tuhoa Land are probably the most direct descendants of that former race, and appear to think more of their aboriginal descent than of that from the Mataatua migrants. In connection with this there are two very noticeable things to an otlinologi'fc, and which -may be traced to the above fact. .FirH, that in this district are found a great number of native words in use, which are not known in other parts of the country, and which are probably survivals of the dialects spoken by the aborigines, preserved unto our Mine by the scute of isolation in which those people have over remained. Many of these are what may bo termed sacerdotal words, and bear the impress of great antiquity. And again, although the Tuhoo are well versed in tho ancient lore of this lairi, yet (hey would appear to fall behind other East Coast tribes in their knowledge of rho Hawaikian fatherland. Also their remote, deified ancestors are distinctly those of the " tangatu whonua, , ' such as Maui, Mara, Rua, H.ui, Tam-i-waho, Pou, and Maahu — names to conjure with in Tuhoe Land. The district i?, however, specially rich in traditions concerning; the ancient inhabitants of New Zealand, and also in survivals of ancient customs Probably in no other part of the colony could so line a collection be made of ancient karakin and information pertaining to tho customs, rites, and various ceremonies and beliefs of the ancient Maori. SONGS AND TRADITIONS. The powers of memory displayed by primitive man, accustomed to oral tradition, is auiHziii;; to us, who have for so many centuries relied on written language to preserve the knowledge and achievements of past generations. I have 'is a neighbour an old man of Tuhoe, who has dictated to me from memory, without hesitation or reference to book or person, no Ic-?h than 341 native songs and Karakia (incantations). Should I desire him to relate genealogies, general history or folklore, his memory is equally reliable, and is a constant source of marvel to me. The student of folk lore, or general anthropologist, will find among the Children of Toi a veritable mine of wealth, which, if not collected within this generation, will inevitably be lost for evermore when the few remaining kaumatu? of Tuhoe pass away. Many of those ancient customs and ceremonies aro of world-wide occurrence among primitive and semi-civilised peoples, and carry u« back to the old-time races of the Asiatic Fatherland. Such are tho ceremonies pertaining to the first fruits of cultivated food product*, the o inaten<;a, or food prepared for a dying warrior or chief, and which enables him to undertake the long journey to the spirit world ; tho signs of a former knowledge of phallic worship, most ancient of human faiths. As also the rua koha of Tuhoo Land and ancient Koine, the singular practices of divination, the wondrous lire ceremony, the strange custom? of uniuruwhonua and human sacrifice, with many others which were known and practised byi the ancient Maori and other Polynesian descendants of the old-time races of tho cradle of the world. FOOD SUPPLIES. The aborigines hail but one cultivated plant, tho hue, or gourd, which was but an inferior article of food, though providing useful vessels for containing water, and in which to proserve bird* and rats for winter use. The coast tribes possessed a plentiful supply of fish in the all-providing ocean, but the interior tribes had chiefly to depend on tho products of the forest for their food supply. This consisted principally of rats, birds, fern root (aruhe), pikopiko, mamaku, and other species of ferns, with berries of the hiuau, tawa, mataii, and other trees. Other trees and plants furnished food to a lesser degree, such as puhou, raupo, pohue, kaoho, and tii. To the?-) may be added eels, several varieties of fungus, insects, wood grubs, and earth worms. It will thus be seen that those inland people had by no means an abundant food supply, though somewhat varied, and it muse havi entailed a constant struggle to provide sufficient food to carry them through the winter months. It was not until just prior to the arrival of die Maori fleet before mentioned that the kuinara or sweet potato and taro were introduced into those islands, Their cultivation, however, has never been successful in the interior. Tho kuinara was, indeed, grown hero, as also tho taro in some places, but they never throve, and would not keep for winter use, but decayed in the stores. CLOTHING. The clothing of the Tuhoe tribes was not equal to that of the coast natives, inasmuch as the better varioties of flax did not grow in their country, they had but the inferior kinds, holding but little fibre, found growing on cliffs and hill sides. The other fibres used were those of the toi, or mountain palm, and of various kinds of tii (cabbage tree). Bushmen and those living in remote places, or as refugees, had often no clothing save very rough coverings woo veil from leaves of the mauku fern—hence the expressions: "Ruatahuna kakaliu mauku" and " Ruatahuna paku kore." It is only of late generations that the superior varieties of flax have been cultivated in Tuhoe land. In traversing the snowy ranges of their country, these people wore sandals and a kind of logging woven of flax or the tumatakuru plant and stuffed with moss. In later times pigskin was used for these purposes. A STURDY RACE. It will thus be seen that the natives of this region, living as they do in a high lying and mountainous country, have ever been cut off from many of the advantages enjoyed by tribes occupying the coast lands. On the other hand, however, they have been freer from marauding parties and from general tribal wars, Their hard life, hard fare, and rigorous winter climate developed a tribe of singularly hardly mountaineers, brave and self-reliant, as all hill-dwelling people are, and ever ready to band together against a common enemy, or to prevent the invasion of their beloved mountains. Although never a numerous people, for reasons already stated, they have held their lands against) all-comers and even subjugated a considerable area of country without the original boundaries of their district. Albeit war parties from the low lands have penetrated to Kuatahuna and Maungapohatu, even taking pas and defeating parties of Tuhoe, yet those same marauders have ever been remarkably glad to retreat from the rugged country and wild bushmen of Tuhoe Land. Neither would many moons wave before they saw the spears of Tuhoa advancing to obtain utu for the invasion of the vale of Ruatahuna. For this ia tho saying: " The handful ot Tuhoe laughs at death." Te Wh»iti-nui-a-Toi, Tuhoe Land.