Waikare-Moana.. (Concluded) The Sea of the Rippling Waters.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXI, Issue V, 30 July 1898, Page 132

Waikare-Moana.. (Concluded) The Sea of the Rippling Waters.

ONE might spend weeks exploring’ the iM'iiutiful wooded shores of the lake of the many arms. The whole region abounds in picturesque points, and almost every headland has a legend attached to it, or was the scene of a memorable incident in old .Maori history. We must refer the reader to Mr Elsdon Best’s little book for vivid descriptions of the scenery of the lake and the tales that are associated with it. One of the largest of the arms of the lake is the Wairau-Moana, a tine sheet of water divided from the main lake by the Straits of Manaia. This locality appears to be particularly sacred to the name of Maahu, ‘a name to conjure with,’ says Mr Best on the classic shores of Wairau-Moana. Te I’a-o-Maahu, Te Wai-kotikoti o Maahu, Te Puna-a-taupara, all testify to the celebrity in these parts of that'my th.ieal individual whose son Hau Mapuhia fashioned the Waikare-Moana Lake in the days of old. ‘Another relie of Malm,’ Mr Best tells us, ‘is his sacred dog, an animal possesed of strange powers, and which lives beneath the waters of Te Roto-nui-a-ha, a small lake at Te Tapere, where are also two other lakes, known as Roto-ngaio and Roto-roa. The aforesaid dog has the faculty of matakite or prophecy, and is heard to bark beneath the waters of the lake whenever the death of a chief is near.

‘Te Wai-kotikoti-o-Maahu, is the name, of a spring of water, and a a sacred place (tuahu*) of Maahu of old, where the most sacred operation of hair-cutting was performed on his thrice sacred head. It was also a waiwhakaika of that ancient warrior, where, after the hair-cutting ceremony, he went through the rites of the wai taua, of which there are several, all attended with many sacred karakia (incantations) and due solemnity. The tira was one of these, a rite by which the sins and evil thoughts of the members of a war party were wiped out, and they went forth on the war trail with a clean sheet, prepared to serve the god of war, Tu, with faithful devotion. In this tira ceremony the tohunga, or priest, took off all his clothing and donned the maro-huka, the sacred girdle. In this scant attire he went to the wai-whakaika, where he formed two small mounds of earth, in each of which he placed a twig of the kara-

*Tuahu, a place where Incantations were offered up and other rites performed; an altar, in fact, though unlike one in shape.

Photon, by

E. W. Saunders.

mu tree, called a tira, or wand. One of these is the tira ora, or wand of life, and the. mound of earth it rests in is the tuabu-o-te-rangi (the altar of heaven). The other is the tira mate, the wand of death, the mound being puke-nui-o-papa (the great hill of earth). By means of his potent karakia the priest causes the tira mate to absorb all the sins and evils of the members of the taua (war party)—

that is, it is the aria (or medium) of those evils. The priest then dons his tu-maro (war girdle) and proceeds to weaken the tribal enemies by means of makutu (or witchcraft), which comprehends a vast series of prayers, incantations and ceremonies, the final karakia being those named maro and wetewete. ‘Also at the holy spring was cut the

hair of the tauira or students of the wharekura, a building where the ancient lore, genealogies, and history of the tribe were taught. At the completion of the lesson in wharekura—that is, at dawn of day—the priest led the scholars to the spring, where he cut the hair of each one with a flake of mata (obsidian), which rite was termed wai kotikoti. After this came the wai-whakaika and wai-taua, as described above.

‘A lone rock with a single stunted tawai-tree growing thereon, the smallest of islets, lies 100 yards from the shore; it is Te Whata-kai-o-Maahu, where that old warrior was wont to store his food.

‘From the fern ridge at the head of the lake a most beautiful view of the Wairau branch is obtained. The lake

lies far beneath, broken into innumerable inlets, with bushy islets and points; the ranges shelve steeply down to the lake shore; the range of Whareama cuts off the view of the main lake, though great Pane-kiri is still in evidence. A great silence broods over the shining waters of Wairau; the forest, the waters, the hills of this ancient abode of man are silent with

the desolation of a passing race. The fighting pas of old lie numerous before us; the lake shores are covered with the sites of former cultivations, each hill and point, bay and isle carries its legend of the long ago, when the children of the soil were numerous in the land of the ancient people.’

No one who visits Waikare-Moana must neglect making an excursion to the sister lake of Waikare-iti, which lies to the north-east of the Star Lake, and is connected with the latter by the Aniwaniwa and its tributary, the Mangupuwerawera creek. We venture to give in full Mr Best’s account of the trip he made to this beautiful locality.

‘Waikare-iti Lake lies east of the Aniwaniwa Stream, and 1s about 500 feet higher than Waikare-Moana. One

fine morning found us setting forth and pulling down the coast line to the Whanganui-o-parua Inlet. Past the lone Whakangaere Rock, another famous ahi-titi of former days, and Kakata, so named from a sister of the famous chief Te Purewa, though it was no laughing matter for poor Kakata (laughter), for she was drowned here, together with six others, by the upsetting of a canoe. Then to the Hinaki-o-Tutaua, which exists in the form of a rock, but as to what use that cheerful tipua could make of a hinaki (eel-basket) is unknown; still it serves a useful purpose, for if a north-west wind is blowing, and one does but stroke the rock with the hand, the wind will at once change to the south, which same is useful information, as during a south wind this side of the lake is sheltered. And Te Heru-o-Hine-pehjnga, where doubtless that maiden of yore was wont to prepare her simple toilet, inasmuch as this was a famous place for the heruheru fern, of which combs were made. Along the shore are many signs of ancient occupation, but now ko te moana anake e. tere ana (there remains nothing but the drifting- waters). We now pass cliffs of blue papa, and the effect of the green shrubs and blue cliffs is quite striking; and the two rocks known as Tuara and Ruatapunui, which stand out in the lake, and many delightful coves and little beaches which make one yearn to camp down for a while. At Kirikiri was a famous moari, or swing, in former times, where the young people amused themselves by swinging out and dropping into the deep waters. ‘We camp at Te Papa.ki for the night, this place being at the head of the inlet, and, besides I>cing a good camping ground, is well situated for the advance on Waikare-iti. A boat, can pass up the Aniwaniwa Creek here to the. first fall, but the big falls of Papakorito are some distance further up.

‘The next morning sees us ferried across the head of the inlet and landed

on the right bank of the creek, from which spot a two hours’ walk up the range brings us to Waikare-iti. On reaching the top of the hill, we descend a small spur for a short distance, and see through the trees before us the calm, silent waters of Waikareiti. This beautiful lake is surrounded by low hills covered with dense forest, which extends to the water’s edge, the branches trailing in the water in many places. There are none of the great cliffs and ranges of the larger lake here; th e scenery is not grand, as is that of Waikare-Moana, but it is nevertheless very beautiful, there being many little islands in the lake, all densely clothed with bush. One longs for a canoe at canoeless Waikare-iti to go out and explore those lonely islets, and paddle across the shining waters. We are fortunate in happening upon the one spot on this side, apparently, from which a good view of the lake can be obtained. A great rock juts out some distance into the lake, and on this rock we seat ourselves, disturbing thereby two whio (mountain-duck) which were taking a siesta below. The lake is probably a mile and a half across, but the view of the further shore is almost concealed by the islands, of which there are six--Motu-torotoro, Motu-ngar-ara, Te Kaha-a-tuwai, Te One-o-tahu, Te Rahui and another, of which our guide did not know the name. Truly a lovely scene this on such a day, the calm, clear waters glittering in the rays of the sun, the lone, silent waters, surrounded by dense forest, and, in the far distance, the snowcapped peak of Manuaha. There are no signs of ancient cultivation here, as on the shores of the ‘Star Lake,’ I nt this place was occupied by the NgatiRuapani Tribe as a place of refuge. When harassed by enemies in their kaingas at Waikare-Moana they would retreat here and occupy the numerous islands in the lake, drawing their supplies probably from the surrounding forest, for the diminutive maehe is the only fish found in these waters, though wild fowl were formerly numerous, including the whio, rnaka, weweia and kaha, the latter a large bird whieh nested in the branches trailing into the water on the shore line. The timbers seen here include the tawari, toatoa, tawai, horoeka, tawhero, parapara or houhou, neinei, miro, papauma, horopito kaponga, and the punui fern, with many others of that beautiful tribe. The outlet from Waikare-iti is by a swift stream, which flows with a heavy fall towards Aniwaniwa. Creek.

* A weird and silent place is Waikareiti, with its unexplored isles ami great forest: a most beautiful and unknown spot, but bearing no sign of the presense of man. Verily the Bohemian spirit longs to go and explore those silent islands and search for traces of ancient occupation thereon, from the

days when the ‘children’ of Ruapani and the ancient Tauira held these lone lands. But we lack the time to go a canoe building, so we turn and retrace our way to the camp at Aniwaniwa —• at least some of us do; but our worthy guide stoutly maintains that we are on the wrong trail, and, as we refuse to believe him, he set off on his own sweet way, with the result that he got lost and wandered around the spurs of the range while we are in camp discussing sundry viands furnished by the great harbour of Parua —to wit, puwha (edible thistles) and kakahi (shell fish). And in returning we got a fine view of the lower falls of Aniwaniwa through the overhanging forest trees, which same is a truly fine sight, for the mass of foaming waters falls in two great leaps some 60 feet to the stream below. As we are striking camp we hear a hail from across the inlet, and there behold our lost guide l .standing on a long sandspit running out into the lake. And as we pull out into the lake he wades out into the water to be picked up, looking very forlorn and comical. So we lay in and take him on board amidst many jeers and jibes from the ‘children,’

Photon. by

E. W. Saunders.

which somewhat annoy the old fellow, inasmuch as he remarks that he never knew so many fools to be contained in one boat—which same is distressing to a fine mind. Be not cast down, O faithful Waiwai! for truly art thou a goodly comrade and a cheerful, when camped in the lone places of the earth. And thou art the man who kept a given word, and turned to help the strangers from across the snowy mountains when the whole of Ruapani had said. Waikare-iti should not be trodden by the Pakeha. Kia ora koe (May you live)!’