A Farewell for an Enemy

Te Ao Hou, March 1961, Page 34

A Farewell for an Enemy by PAENGA-HURU OF NGATI TAMA (Port Nicholson) ILLUSTRATIONS BY DENNIS KNIGHT TURNER This taunt was sung to the dried head set on a stake of one of the chiefs of Ngati-Ira, the original tribe of Wellington-Hutt Valley, displaced by Ngati-Tamara in the 1820's. The word kata refers to the way the lips were drawn back so as to expose the teeth, giving the dried head a grinning aspect. I am indebted to The New Zealanders, London, 1830, for the following recipe for dried head: “The skull is first emptied of its contents, the eyes and tongue being likewise extracted; after which the nostrils and entire inside of the skull are stuffed with flax. At the neck, where the head has been cut from the body … draw the skin together like the mouth of a purse, leaving, however, an open space large enough to admit the hand … then wrap it up in a quantity of green leaves, and in this state expose it to the fire until it is well steamed; after which the leaves are taken off, and it is next hung up to dry in the smoke, which causes the flesh to become tough and hard. Both the hair and teeth are preserved, and the tattooing on the face remains as plain as when the person was alive. The head, when thus cured, will keep for ever, if it be preserved dry….” pp. 219–220. With the coming of the pakeha, dried heads acquired a new value, in terms of trade. No slave or inferior person was safe. After the tattooing chisels came the axe; the industry could not keep up with the demand; dried heads were, on occasion, sold “on the hoof”. For instance, Marsden records in his Journal that having displayed an interest in the process, he was offered several still breathing heads by Pomare, but this free homedemonstration was not to Marsden's taste.

Haere ra, ho a Riri Haere ra, e koro e I tou tira ko koe anake, Kia wakairia koe I runga o Waiwhetu. Ae kata ra, e koro e, Kei hoki wawe o koutou waewae. Kore nei aku toto Te inu mai ai koe. Kua pakihi au I hui ou rangi ra-i. Tenui tou roro, Ko te kowhatu e tu ki te ahi-kai; Kia rekaiho ai Taku kainga iho-e. Mawai e ranga Tou mate i te ao? Me te po tu mai I runga o Tirohanga? Ma te po taka mai I runga o Kaihinu? A engari ra ia. Tenei, e Hika-e. Farewell to an Enemy Farewell, noble sir, Where are your friends? Let them all see you Standing over Waiwhetu. Bare your lips, sir. Well may you grin, But be careful, lest your feel Bring you back too soon. I have no more blood For you to drink. I am done, I can no longer Honour your great name. Would this cooking-stone Were your brain— I would eat it, And it would taste good, sir. Who will mourn Who will sing your fame To the world? Perhaps the mist that sits on Tirohanga, Perhaps the mist Gathering on Kaihinu. Yes. Better leave it at that. sir.