PONGA AND PUHIHUIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20333, 14 August 1929, Page 14

PONGA AND PUHIHUIA.

Sir,—l have read with interest the letters which have been appearing in your columns on this subject of the story of Ponga and. Puhihuia, I notice that your correspondents agree on one point—that the Maori and English versions published by Sir George Grey in 1854 and 1855 respectively wero supplied, to him by Mr. John White. But they differ ift their theory as to the ultimate origin of the story. Mr. Graham contends that the story had no origin outside the fertile brain of Mr. White. Neither party to the dispute appears to be aware of the fact that yet another version was published in Chapman's New Zealand Magazine in December, 1862, to which my attention has been drawn by Archdeacon H. Williams. In this appears " Sketches of the Past Generation of the Maoris, by Major Charles Heaphy, No. 2, ' Puhc Hina, a Legend of Mount Eden'," who slates in a footnote, " This story, which the natives assert is true, was written down as nearly as possible as repeated to Mr. John White and the writer." This statement is very explicit, and is difficult to reconcile with Mr. Graham's theory. A perusal of Major Heaphy's version disc'os®,s that in the main it resembles that published by Grey; but there are differences, the most important being the scheme that the meeting" of the lovers oi igiuated with Puhihuia, which by the way is spelt Puhc Hina. It should be noted also that Heaphy repeats the detail contained in White's longer' version that the incident was connected with a feud between Ngati Kahukoka and Nga Iwi, which, as has been pointed out by Miss larker, does not occur in Grey. The version published by White in his "Ancient History of the Maori," Vol. IV., may have been obtained independently from another Maori source, or may contain amplifications bv Whito himself. John Kenderdine.