THE NAMING OF THE RIVERS.

Maori Record : a journal devoted to the advancement of the Maori people, Volume 2, Issue 14, 1 August 1906, Page 22

THE NAMING OF THE RIVERS.

Kn te pop o a Te Bangitakoru mo tana tamahine , mo Wharaurangu E hine aku, ki to kunenga mai i tawiti, . Kite whakaringaringa, kite ■ whakawaewae, Te wakakanohi-tanga, ka manu, e hine, te waka i a Ruatea, Ko Kurahaupo, ka ifi mai.'taua,., i runga i Aotea ko te waka iaa T uri, Kau mai taua te ngutu Whenua kura, Hanga iho te whare Rangitawhi; Tiria mai te kumara, Ka ruia mai te karaka kite taiao nei; Karia iho te pou Tamawahinei, Ka waiho i Nga tua hine, i a Nonoko-uri, I a Nonoko-tea; ko te Hererunga, ko te Korohunga. Kapua mai e Hau ko te one ki te ringa, , Ko te tokotoko. Ka witi ite awa, Ka nui ia, ko Wanga-nui; Tiehutia te wai, ko Wangae-hu; Ka hinga te rakau, ko Turakina; • Tikeitia te waewae, ko Tikei; Ka tatu, e hine, ko Manawatu; Ka rorohio nga taringa, ko Hokio; Waiho te awa iti hei ingoa monako Ohau; Takina te tokotoko, ko Otaki; Ka mehameha, e hine, ko Waimea; Ka ngahae nga pi, ko Wai-kanae; Ka tangi ko te mapu, e hine, ka kite koe i a Wai-raka; Matapoutia. Poua ki runga, poua ki raro, Ka rarau, e hine. Ka rarapa nga kanohi, And she remained immovable. Ko Wai-rarapa Te rarapatanga o to tupuna, E hine ka moiki te ao, Ko te pai a Waitiri; Kumea kia warea Kaitangata ki waho ki te moana; Hanga te paepae, poua iho, te pou Whakamaro te rangi, ko Mere-mere: Waiho te Whanau, ko te punga O tona waka ko te Awhema. Kati, ka waka mutu, e hine.

Te Rangitakoru’s nursery sony for his daughter, for Wharaurangi. O, my daughter, when you came from afar, And your hands were formed, and your feet, And your face, you floated, O daughter, In the Kurahaupo, Ruatea’s canoe, , When you embarked in the Aotea, the canoe of Turi, You forded the Whenua kura at its mouth, There was made the house of Rangitawi; Let us plant the kumara, And sow the karaka, in the land bordering the sea; Sink deep the post Tamawahinei, Leave it for Nga tua hine, from Nonoki-uri, From Nonoko-tea, the Hererunga and Korohunga. Hau took up some sand in the palm of his hand, and his staff. When he crossed over the river, Finding it was wide he called it Wanga-nui; Splash the water, that will reach Wangaehu; The length of a fallen tree, is Turakina; Having many times lifted up his feet, Tikei; When his heart sank within him, Manawatu; When the wind whistled past his ears, Hokio; The small river he called, Ohau; When he carried his staff in a horizontal position, Otaki; When he prayed, O daughter, it was Waimea; When he looked out of the corner of his eye, Wai-kanae; When he became weary, my daughter, he reached Wai-raka. • He repeated an incantation, She became fixed above, and fixed below, My daughter, when his eyes glistened with delight, He called the place Wai-rarapa, It was the rejoicing of your ancestor, my daughter. The sky became cloudless, On account of Waitiri’s good will. She then enticed Kaitangata out to sea: She placed the plank across, And drove it in a post to hold on by called Meremere. ’ ; She left to her offspring, Punga, the anchor of his canoe, As his name, Awhema. Enough, it is .finished, O my daughter.