PUHIWAHINE – MAORI POETESS

Te Ao Hou, March 1960, Page 10

PUHIWAHINE – MAORI POETESS by PEI TE HURINUI JONES

HE WAIATA KI ANA WHAIAIPO (SONG OF A COQUETTE) 1. Kaore hoki koia te rangi nei, Whakawairuhi rawa i ahau; Taku tinana kau te noho nei, Aku mahara kei te purei atu 2. Ka pikitia te pikinga i Herepu, Tai heke tonu ko Paripari, Taurakuraku ki a Tanirau; Kauaka i ara, na Kataraina. 3. Ka tika tonu, e, taku haere, Orahiri, ko koe Anatipa! Kei riria mai e Huriana, Ka nui rahi rawa te whakama. 1. Never before such a day as this; Inert and so languid am I. It is only my body remaining still— My spirit, alas, is in playful mood. 2. Up the ascent from Herepu I go, 5 Thence down to Paripari; There to flirt with Tanirau. Forbidden! Of course, he belongs to Kataraina. 3. So on my way I go to Orahiri. Ah, there you are, Anatipa! 10 Now Huriana will surely chide me, And great would be the shame. 5. Herepu.—A hill at Waiteti near Te Kuiti. 6. Paripari. A village near Te Kuiti. 7. Tanirau. A Maniapoto chief of the Rora sub-tribe. Better known, in later years, as Taonui. 8. Kataraina. Wife of Tanirau. 10. Orahiri. A village between Te Kuiti and Otorohanga. Anatipa. A chief of the Maniapoto tribe. 11. Huriana. Wife of Anatipa. 14. Rangitoto. A high range at the headwaters of the Waipa river. Eruera. Hauauru's baptismal name. Hauauru is the “West Wind” in James Cowan's “Maori of New Zealand.” Hauauru successfully rebutted a counter-claim to the Rangitoto Block in the Maori Land Court, by quoting this verse.

4. Ahu tonu atu au ko Waipa Kei Rangitoto ko koe ra Eruera! Mere Tuhipo! he wawata kau atu, Te mea ra nana i tuatahi. 5. Ka hitimitia mai e Marata Me raanga tonu te wake ki Kihikihi, Kei reira tika hoki Maniapoto, Ko Rahurahu, ko Raureti. 6. Ka raanga tonu te wake ki Kawhia, Kei Ahuahu hoki ko Te Poihipi; Engari tera kua moe maua Riterite rawa hoki ki te marena. 7. Ka hoki muri mai taku haere, Ka tomokia te whare o Ripeka E hara, e kui, he tahakura naaku Tau awhi-po au ko Reihana. 8. Ka mutu hoki au ki te tai raro, Ka hokimai au ki Tuhua, Ka noho au te kei o taku waka, Ka tukutuku nga ia ki Paparoa. 9. Kei raro iti atu ko Topine; Tirohia kautia ake tera, E wehi ana au he rangatira— Kaore i ara, he koroheke! 10. Konihi tonu te tere a taku waka, Ka u ana ko Waipãkura! Tau awhiawhi ki a Te Tahana Matarorangi! kei riri mai koe. 11. Ahu tonu ake au ko te papa-ra, Taurakuraku ki a Meiha Keepa; E kui, Makere! kei riri noa koe Kua kino koe kua nui o he. 12. Kei te piiti hoki i Whanganui Ma Te Oti Kati au e peehi mai Pi-owha! ko we! ko hooma! Piri pi koaeata! Hu toro iu, kamu mai perehi? Hei ha! Hei ha! Hei! 4. Onwards, I now journey to Waipa, And at Rangitoto are you, O Eruera! Mere Tuhipo! this is but a daydream 15 For him who was the first of them all! 5. Ere Marata hits at me I shall hurry off to Kihikihi, Where I shall find Maniapoto, Rahurahu and also Raureti. 20 6. I shall then hasten on to Kawhia; For at Ahuahu lives Te Poihipi, He who was the one I espoused, And as if truly wedded were we. 7. Now returning along my pathway, 25 I shall enter the house of Ripeka; All's well, grandam, I'm only dreaming Of the night when I embraced Reihana. 8. I now depart from northern lands, And I return to Tuhua, 30 Where I will sit at the stern of my canoe, And carefully descend the rapids of Paparoa. 9. Just below there lives Topine; One can but look up at him! I fear him, for a chief indeed is he— 55 But really, it is because he is so old! 10. How swiftly moves my canoe now To the landing place at Waipakura! Joyfully I shall embrace Te Tahana. Now Matarorangi! You are not to chide me. 40 11. I am on my way to the hotel, For a sly flirtation with Meiha Keepa O grandam, Makere! do not be angry For you are unworthy with your many faults. 12. Now on to the beach at Whanganui 45 Where Te Oti Kati will subdue me With his, Be off! Go away! Go home! Please be quiet! Who told you to come to my place? (With a la de da!) and a hei ha hei! 15. Mere Tuhipo. One of Hauauru's wives. 17. Marata. Another wife of Hauauru. 18. Kihikihi. The home of Rewi Maniapoto. Maniapoto. Rewi Maniapoto, the defender of Orakau. A Maniapoto chief of the Paretekawa sub-tribe. 20. Rahurahu. Raureti. Cousins of Rewi Maniapoto. 21. Kawhia. The harbour of that name on the west coast of the North Island. 22. Ahuahu. The name of a village on the Ahuahu peninsula to the south of the Oparau river, which flows into the Kawhia Harbour. Te Poihipi. A Maniapoto chief of the Karetoto sub-tribe. 26. Ripeka. Wife of Reihana. 28. Reihana. Better known, in later years, as Wahanui. A well known Maniapoto chief. He was noted as an orator, and was accorded the distinction of speaking at the bar of the House of Representatives on the question of liquor in the King Country. 30. Tuhua. A high range above the Taringamotu valley, also the name of the district. 32. Paparoa. Rapids in the Wanganui River, 33. Topine. Topine Te Mamaku, a high chief of the upper Wanganui valley.

38. Waipakura. A village near Pipiriki. 39. Te Tahana. A chief of the mid-reaches of the Wanganui River. 40. Matarorangi. Wife of Te Tahana. 41. Pub. Maorified in the original text as papara. Refers to the Rutland Hotel. 42. Meiha Keepa. A loyalist chief of the lower Wanganui, and known in colonial history as Major Kemp. 43. Makere. Wife of Meiha Keepa. 45. Beach. Maorified in the Maori text as piiti.