On Taupo Moanga Beach.

New Zealand Mail, 3 December 1896, Page 13

On Taupo Moanga Beach.

BY STEFP CASSANDER. (Specially written for the New Zealand Mail.) £% HIEP NGATORO (short for the head fcff'L of the Ngatoroirangis) humbly presented himself at the wliare of his enemy Tamateapo, chief of the tribe that bore his name at Aetipu. Ngatoro felt he was getting old, and desired to end his days in peace. There had been a longstanding feud between the two tribes, and the two chiefs were now about to end all bickerings by making the final arrangements for the marriage of Wi Tuhu, son of Tamateapo, with Murita, daughter of Ngatoro. For the past seven years the unfortunate lovers had been ready for the great cerem®ny of marriage; but just as everything had been definitely arranged, some quarrel between the two tribes would ever put the affair off for periods ranging from, nine to eighteen months. No. wonder poor Murita despaired of getting united to the good and brave Wi Tuhu. The last year’s postponement was caused solely on account of the well-known Huka Falls incident.

It appeared that Wi Tuhu and some o£ his father’s canoe men were in the vicinity of Marawai, the village of the Ngatoro, and were bragging about what they could do in the way of skimming rapids. The Ngatoro villagers remarked, in a casual way, that certain rapids were known to them that they thought would be impossible for anyone to skim. Wi Tuhu said he would like to see them, so the Ngatoro took him round to the higher part of Te Huka where the water lies calm. After considerable banter Wi Tuhu and his crew embarked in one of his father’s war canoes. The Ngatoro people ran along the bank and cheered as the Tamateas safely got through the first and second rapids, yelling to the runners on the banks that it was canoeing for wahine, and not for men. At the third rapid the son of Tamatea realised his trouble, and just managed to save himself by a desperate leap on to a certain ledge of rock, leaving his crew to their doom. Even as he leapt the craft was sucked under by the foaming torrent, and nothing more was ever seen of the remaining followers of Tamatea, some eighteen all told. Of course, the above ended in a broil between the two tribes, and a year passed before the two chiefs made it up. Now it only wanted the marriage of Murita to Wi Tuhu for everlasting peace, so this very morning, as stated at the beginning, the two warriors had decided to get this marriage off as speedily as possible. So Wi Tuhu was summoned to appear before them, and they told him that the union would take place almost immediately, and that the ceremony would be the grandest that had ever taken place in the North Island, and that he would soon be the possessor of much land, many horses and canoes.

To all this Wi Tuhu listened with great patience, but with a troubled look and manner.

‘ Why not at ease and happy looking, little chief ?’ said old Ngatoro. ‘ That I should and would be, brava fathers,’replied Wi Tuhu, ‘ but the heart of the lovely Murita has turned as cold as the snow on Rangitoto peak. It has warmed to Kani, the half-caste, my greatest enomy, and now I know the enorny of ye both.’ Both the old chiefs on hearing this became very angry and dailced about shrieking many oaths and curses at Murita for being unfaithful, at Wi Tuhu for being a fool, and at Kani for being an interloper. Both swore immediate vengeance on the latter if he persisted in the attachment. Kani was the first mailman appointed by the Government to rido with the military messages from Taupo as far as Tokaanu. Ho came from Poneke (Port Nicholson) and twice a week he used to stay at Marawai, the home of Murita and the Ngatoro. Ho had a little old-fashioned yacht’s dingey (no one knew how it got on the lake) that he used for fishing, and it was the clever way in which ho used to manipulate the tiny craft with one paddlo fixed in a niche at the stern that captivated the heart and admiration of Murita. Ho could propel the dingey along at a marvellous rate and with a single turn of his wrist could make it turn right round, or by another action make the little shell go sideways. All these tricks were marvelled at by the simple Maori canoeists. It was on these occasions that Murita used to watch and admire him making’ his little pakeha boat waltz on the lake. Kani also looxed very fine on his Government white pony. Kani was also very big and handsome, and wore pakoha clothes, including high-legged boots with, spurs, and to Murita he eclipsed Wi Tuhu, who was after all only a simple savage, though a son of the great Ngatoro. The now two angry chief's then summoned Murita to their presence, but she refused to come, and hid herself in tho scrub until tho old men became calmer. They then waylaid Kani and asked him for an explanation. He stated that lie one morning found Murita looking at him while he was sculling about in his little boat, and when he came ashore she spoke to him, at which he was very proud and pleased. Another morning he asked her to come out on the lake with him in his littlo boat, and she came, and she had since that time accompanied him often after sundown in many walks along the pumico shore of Taupo Moanga. She had also met him and conversed, when he was returning on his pony with the mail. And now they loved each other and nothing but death would separate them. Kani admitted that it was very cowardly and mean that ho

/_ ... ... .. should pursue his amours secretly, but he feared the consequences of discovery for Murita, more than for himself. The two chiefs conversed aside for a little while, then fiercely told Kani that he must give up Murita as she was not for he, but for Wi Tuhu, son of Tamateapo, and for Wi Tutra only. After more angry korero Kani began to lose his temper and used some bad pakeha words to the old warriors, which made Ngatoro say: c Then the tapu will be on the maiden so long as thou seekest her ; but the followers of us both likewise loveth Murita, and they will remove the tapu : thou knowest liow, half-bred, thou hadst better go some other ways on thy little horse/ So the Ngatoroirangis iflaced the tapu on Murita, and she could no longer speak, walk, sing, dance, eat nor paddle with the two tribes. Nevertheless she continued to meet Kani when he appeared on his pony, and f u o go out on the lake with him. Tdut of late Kani’s appearances were 'getting fewer and fewer, and certain friendly warnings had made him very caritious. He had now retired from the mailman’s work, and was replaced by another half-caste.

It was their last evening. To-morrow morning Kani had agreed to come round at sunrise and carry her off to a friendly tribe across the lake. Murita must give up the Ngatoro, never think of Wi Tuhu, and be ready t<o tiy with Kani before sunrise.

Kani came as promised, but said the water was too rough, which really was the <iase, and he must put the flight off till tomorrow.

To-morrow came, but no Kani. The 'morning after, but no Kani. After the fifth morning Murita spoke to one of her former companions, ‘ Auruhoe, tell me is the half-caste Kani alive; has he been seen ? If he is dead, then surely the tapu is on mo no longer’/ but Auruhoe turned away, and Murita knew that the tapu was not removed.

‘A nd thus I am tapu/ soliliquized Murita, one sunrise following the meeting with the girl Auruhoe. ‘ Kana will be put away in three more days by my father’s people. No, Kani will not die, because I myself will remove this tapu/ Then the beauteous maiden, the pride of the lake, launched her canoe, and in it placed a bag of stones, stones made of burnt hematite, for there were no stones on the beach other than pumice, which is no stone really. Murita pushed off in the direction of the little island in the centre of the inland sea called Motutaiko.

On, on, eight, nine miles paddled the handsome chief’s daughter. Never had she been so far alone. She never stopped until she could plainly see the Pohutukawa growing on Motutaiko. The sun by this time was well up, and she looked back at her village of Marawai, but this was difficult to see, as the green waves were making the small canoe plunge. Still she was enabled to make out the smoke rising from some of the larger whares. She could also see some of the big canoes being filled by the fishermen. ‘ Oh, thou art angry, Taupo,’ said Murita, as one wave dashed over her, ‘ but if I chose to live I could easily defy you and paddle on to your baby Motutaiko/ She scarcely made any effort to paddle, just barely keeping the canoe in motion and balance. She was making for that certain spot in the lake between Motutaiko and Te Karaka Point, where the water is always in commotion, even in the calmest weather, and near this the Maoris could never be persuaded to go. They call it Horomatangi’s iTrap. Every man, woman and child round the lake knew of it. Probably it is really a submarine volcano, or it may be a small maelstrom, caused by opposing currents. Slowly Murita neared this fatal spot, and thought, ‘ Would Kani do this for me ? Yea, Kani would. Ido what Kani would do/ So thought this foolish, love-stricken maiden, little did she know what a coward she was dying for. She glanced fondly at Tauhara Mountain in the north, then eastward to the Manganamu range, then looked back to her village, then to the west to her dear friends Mounts Rangitoto and Tuhua, with the ancient pyramidal Titiraupenga towering above the rest,- but between her and the woody mountain of Kaimanawa a great green wave gathered, larger than the others. Quickly she threaded her bare feet into the raupo strings of the sack of burnt hematite.

Down canoe, down shimmering 1 body, down black hair, like the end of a rope disappearing in the ocean. Only one cry, ‘ The tapu is gone!’ and the great green wave rolled right on to the little island. Tradition says nothing ever comes to the surface when once sunken in Taupo Moanga. There is no flotsam. Nothing ever comes to its shores; but Murita’s paddle did. When the angry Ngatoro (most of them were sad), after wasting one day in .searching for tho body of poor Murita, called at Tokaanu to see if Kani knew why the tapu had been removed, the head man of the place told them that Kani only yesterday had started far south to his mother’s tribe at Poneke. The Ngatoroirangi should have known better than to waste a day after the find-*-ing of the paddle.