THE KNIGHT ERRANTRY OF TAMAHAE

Te Ao Hou, October 1958, Page 11

THE KNIGHT ERRANTRY OF TAMAHAE by LEO FOWLER Once upon a time, somewhere, I should judge, about the time that Queen Anne sat on the throne of England, there lived on the East Coast of the North Island, three brothers. They were great-grandsons of that Apanuiwaipapa who gave his name to the great tribe of Whanau Apanui, which, in the days I am speaking of, occupied the East Coast from Te Kuri a Whare (the Watch-dogs of Whare) which are two small islands off the coast near Tauranga, right down to Tikirau which Captain Cook was later to rename Cape Runaway. The names of these brothers were Kaiaio, Te Ehutu and Tamahae and all of them became famous in one way and another. We are concerned in this story with but two of them, the eldest, whose name was Kaiaio and the youngest who was called Tamahae. You could not imagine two brothers more different in character. As the elder Kaiaio was the upoko-ariki or paramount chief of his tribe. Indeed so many illustrious lines of descent converged in him that he started off a new tribe of which he became the eponymous ancestor. To be an eponymous ancestor is a great thing in any man's language for it means that your name goes down in history almost forever. Put more simply it means a man who gives his name to all his descendants. The original Scotsman named Donald was the eponymous ancestor of all the McDonalds, the original Irishman named Suanassey became the eponymous ancestor of all the Irishmen named O'Suanassey. So Kaiaio, when his descendants became so numerous that it was necessary for them to break away into a sub-tribe, gave his name to them. They became known as the Whanau-a-Kaiaio, or the family of Kaiaio, a name they still bear. In addition to becoming an eponymous ancestor Kaiaio became moderately famous in another way. Had he been one of those stalwarts who love fighting and destroying their fellow men he might have become even more renowned. As it was, he was only a peaceful man whose interests tended to be useful rather than destructive, and this, naturally, tended to limit his fame. Among the useful arts he practised was the pursuit of agriculture and, in particular, the cultivation of the kumara. He had what the pakeha calls a 'green finger', and what the Maori calls ringaringa makura. He became widely known as one who had skill in developing bigger, better and more prolific types of kumara. Not being averse to talking about his exploits and achievements he left behind many sayings of which one of the best known is “ko tahi taku huata, ki runga hauruia

te mano, te mano, te mano”. A free translation of this would be to the effect “for every kumara I plant in my garden at Hauruia there follows a progeny of thousands”. It may well be admitted that Kaiaio was not much different from you and from me in his fondness for talking about his hobby. As his hobby was connected with food he had some justification for considering it important. Food was probably the most important single thing there was to the Maori of that day. Tamahae, the youngest brother, was interested in the kumara only as an article of diet. He sometimes became bored with Kaiaio's talk about the kumara he had planted, was planting or intended to plant. “It that all you can talk about?” said Tamahae one day when Kaiaio was talking about some new strain he was developing. “Kumara? Pah ….! Food? Bah ….! You talk about nothing but food.” And he spat disgustedly. Kaiaio paused in his discourse and looked tolerantly at his youngest brother. “My dear Tamahae”, he said gently, “do not scoff at food. When you go forth to your glory in battle remember it is food which ensures your conquests. Battles are not won by starved men. Indeed it could be said that the victories of Tamahae were planted with the kumara of Kaiaio.” Tamahae was silent for awhile. The chiefs waited anxiously for his reply. The Maori of old, like the pakeha of old, were a touchy people. Bitter and lasting feuds had started from much smaller differences of opinion. They had heaved a sigh of relief when Tamahae, at length, answered his brother in equally gentle a tone. “You are right, my elder brother,” he said, “I will remember your words. Every time I win a battle I will remember your kumara.” Tamahae, though the youngest brother, was most noted as a warrior. He was a doer of doughty deeds which are preserved in the memory and story of his people. He is remembered as among the greatest of all the warriors of Whanau Apanui. From his earliest boyhood he delighted in practising his weapons. Like the European knights of the previous centuries he was always looking for trouble. Whenever he heard of a warrior who had a reputation for skill with any particular weapon he would seek him out to master his skill. He became expert in the use of patu, or short club; he became noted in the employment of the hoeroa, or throwing club, and he became, above all, renowned as the wizard of the taiaha, the favourite fighting weapon of chiefs. He became, in fact, so expert that no one in his neighbourhood could stand up to him. Tamahae had a purpose in acquiring these skills. He had a great and growing injury to avenge. His grandmother, Kahukurahihiata, had been slain while on a visit to Mahia by the Ngati Rakaipaaka. His uncle Kaimatai had been killed while on a visit to avenge the death of Kahukuramihiata. Tamahae yearned for the day when he would go south and wipe out this insult. But Kaiaio made him wait until he, the elder brother, thought the time was ripe. “But, Kaiaio,” complained Tamahae, one day, “My skill is becoming blunted for lack of adequate practice.” “Well,” replied Kaiaio, slyly, “if you have really exhausted the taiaha, you could turn to the mastery of the ko.” The ko is a digging stick, and Kaiaio was gently hinting that work is always a substitute for boredom. Tamahae pretended to consider this advice seriously. “Thank you, no,” he said after awhile. “You,” Kaiaio, are so completely the master of that weapon that it would not become me to challenge you.”