Waikaremoana

Te Ao Hou, December 1956, Page 44

Waikaremoana by David Wai Wai, Huiarau Maori School, Ruatahuna I mua o te taenga mai o te Maori ki te Urewera, kahore kau he moana ko Waikaremoana te ingoa. I te taha o tetahi awa i Hopuruahine i tua mai o Ruatahuna, i noho tetahi koroua raua ko tana tamahine ko Haumapuia te ingoa. I tetahi po, ko mea atu te koroua nei ki tana tamahine kia haere ki te tiki wai i te awa hei inu mana. Kahore i tino roa ka hoki mai a Haumapuia ka hoatu i te wai ki te koroua nei, a pau ana i a ia te inu. No tetahi o nga po, ka tono ano te koroua nei i tana tamahine ki te tiki wai mona, engari kahore a Haumapuia i haere. Katahi ka mea atu te koroua nei ara ka mate ia i te hiainu wai, haere ana te tamahine nei me tana rama o te ahi. I a ia e haere ana, ka pupuhi te hau, weto ana te rama, hoki ana a Haumapuia ki te whare ki tiki i tetahi rama ano. No te taenga ki te whare, riri tonu atu te koroua nei, a no te putanga mai ki waho, ka maranga te koroua katahi ka whai i muri i a Haumapuia. I a Haumapuia e tiki wai ana, katahi te koroua nei ka ngoki atu i muri i a ia, ka pana hoki i a ia ki roto ki te awa, toremi ana. I te koroua ra e titiro atu ana ki roto ki te awa, ka kite a ia i tetahi taniwha e hirere haere ana ki te wahi kei reira nei te moana inaianei. Ko te taniwha ko te tamahine a te koroua nei, ko Haumapuia, a i tana riri, hirere haere ana ki te kimi i tetahi huarahi e tae ai a ia ki te moana. Na tana mahi hirere haere i nga hiwi nei, i hanga a Waikare-moana. Mehemea ka titiro tatou ki te moana, ka kite tatou i a Haumapuia, he rimurimu, i roto i te moana. Before any Maoris came to the Urewera country there was no Lake Waikaremoana. Once there lived an old man and his daughter, Haumapuia, beside a river at Hopuruahine, near Ruatahuna. One night this old man told his daughter to go and fetch some water from the river because he was thirsty. After a while Haumapuia, the old man's daughter, came back and gave the water to the old man after which he drank it. The next night the old man told his daughter again to go and get some more water but Haumapuia refused to go. After awhile the old man told his daughter that he would die of thirst, so his daughter went with a torch from the fire to the river. While she was walking along a gust of wind came and blew the torch out, so Haumapuia had to go back to the whare to get another torch. When she reached the whare the old man was very angry and after she had left the old man followed Haumapuia. While Haumapuia was getting more water the old man crept up from behind and pushed her into the river and she was drowned. When the old man was standing there looking into the river he saw a Taniwha rushing along to where the lake is now. The Taniwha was Haumapuia, the old man's daughter, and in anger she rushed round and round looking for a way to reach the sea. It was this rushing around amongst the hills that made lake Waikaremoana. We can still see Haumapuia, now a bunch of weeds, if we look at the lake.