A FRAGMENT OF A MAORI LAMENT

Aotearoa, or the Maori Recorder, Volume 1, Issue 2, 1 January 1862, Page 4

A FRAGMENT OF A MAORI LAMENT

FROM SIR GEORGE GREY’S COLLECTION, RAGE 10

Nought but the spreading leaves Of Kongotau’s and Paul’s progeny* Seem pleasing now,- like honored guests Treasures held in high repute my sons, By your aged mothers. I ' - Now distant from us; who may teli the distance ? f I fetched you from Hawaikif Where ye were created infants, and anon , Ye grew to manhood ; Thy fathers now that ye are gone Will move the winds that play in death’s dark chambers \\ And the ill omens will be seen again And weariness and faintness will o’ertake the tribe. Ye were favored with baptismal rights Of Tutorohakina and Tutenganahau § That ye might in battle fields, my sons, Ward off the wielded weapon, - . And ward off that dread that scares at times the brave. • - ; Mighty ye were in fight, greedy of renown As were your fathers at Kairau ®j[ of yore. Ye flew to battle fields—plunged beneath the wave as the Kawau** And drew up thence thcHakuft from the great deep sea.

Your fame shall gain the lofty summit of Haumatao||H And when the lands beyond shall ask, “ whose sons are these ? ” “ They were known,” we’ll say “ when victories were won; They were known when standing On the bow Of the canoe, or moving on the armies Lifting high—making great their people” Yes ye were known ; tho’ young and tender then Your arm gave stroke for stroke. Ah ! why did I not leave my son at Ngaengae-)§ Then Totaraiahua had not seen thee, Nor levelled at thee the fatal gun And now ye haste away in companies to Maaukau^ You and your fathers. . Now let the yearnings of my spirit cease Since ye nobly fell in battle.

*Pani, Eongotau and Mania, the parent kumaras or sweet potatoes from which the numerous varieties the poet calls “ progeny ” have been propagated. fThe land of spiritseternity. JHawaiki, the country of the New Zealander prior to. his landing on the New Zealand shore. ... ... [[The poet supposes that departed spirits have power over the winds of the “ po ” or eternal night. r § Deified men. r •fName of a place. . **A sea-bird—emblem of a great chief " ft The fish, barracuda. As the sea-bird captured its prey from among many fishes choosing the best, so his sons struck down in the fight the renowned chieftains of the tribes. I) 11A mountain. . . . §§A place. „ f The family cemetery. The idea is that the departed ancestors would conduct the spirits of his sons to the abode allotted to them. ' '