TE VAITOA

Te Ao Hou, June 1961, Page 52

TE VAITOA Ite ata ote Turei, tiki ana ahau he waka moku, haere ana ahau i te taha hauauru ote motu mataki-taki haere ai. 10 o'clock tae atu ana ki te otinga ote huarahi, ko te Toa-roa, te ingoa ote wahi nei. kaore he whenua mania, he pari tu tonu. I ahau e hokiana. ki Uturoa, peka atu ana ahau ki te kite i te marae nei i a te Vaitoa, ka rawe hoki. 2 eka pea te rahi o tenei whenua, mania pai. Ko tenei marae te ahu kowhatu piri tonu ki te moana. 18 ft te roa, 8 ft te whanui. Te teitei me te whanui o e tahi o nga kowhatu e tae ki te 8 ft. Ka rahi tenei ahu. I patai ahau ki etahi tangata, he aha te ingoa o tenei whenua, te whakautu, ko Vaitoa te whenua, ko te marae ko Tainui. I tenei po e noho ana me te whakaaro “Kei whea te Pae Pae o Turi”. I te ata, moata tonu taku ara, ki runga i taku waka, ko te whenua o Faaroa taku e whaia tia ana. Kotahi haora au e haere ana ka tae ki te whanga o Faaroa, oti ana te huarahi i konei, heere ana ahau ma raro. Ko taku mahi he patai atu ki nga iwi o te wahi nei, mea, kei whea te Pae Pae o Turi. He maha ratou kaore i mohio, waimarie taku tutakitanga ki etahi iwi mohio. na ratou te tohutohu mai, e kite ana koe ite hiwi teitei ra, kei te take tena marae, kei uta hohonu. He roa ahau e haere ana i roto ngaherehere, ka tutaki ahau i etahi tangata, e rua, katahi ka me atu ahau, “E hoa ma he tauhou ahau ki konei, e rapu ana ahau ite Pae. Pae o Turi”, ka riro ko raua i kawe i ahau ki taua wahi. Ka nui te hari me te mihi o te ngakau i ahau ko tae mai nei ki te whenua a to tatou tupuna o Turi, whenua ataahua, whenua nui te Kai. E tupu nei te hari, uru, vi, mape, meia, papaia, me etahi atu o nga kai huhua noa. I ahua e tu nei, e titiro nei, hoki ana nga whakaaro ki te wa ia nehe ma, heke ana nga roimata, pupu mai ana te aroha, mihi na te ngakau. Te whenua tumu e, kia ora ra, nga maunga poroporoaki, me nga awa whakatauaki, kia ora ra. Te Moana-nui-a-kiwa, kia ora ra, te iwi e tau nei, nga uri whakatupu o nehe ma i waiho tia ake hei takahi i nga takahanga waewae, kia ora ra. I tenei ra kei te tu tonu te Pae Pae, 1 ft te teitei, 75 ft te roa, 35 ft te whanui, kei runga i te puke tenei Pae Pae whare, kei rero iho te awa e rere ana ki te moana. Tenei ra te kaenga i whakarerena atu ra e ratou ma, kauria ana te moana uri uri, u ana ko Aotearoa. No te mea ko to haere te ra, hoki ana ahau ki Uturoa, kua pouri tae atu ana. He Ratapu tenei, he korerorero te mahi, na taku hoa i homai ki ahau he putiputi, me tana whakamarama mai, ko tenei tiare—putiputi, he tiare Apatahi, te tiare Tahiti, te tiare Apatahi kotahi enei. Kotahi te rereketanga, te tiare tahiti e wha ona rau, te tiare Apatahi, e rua. Ko te tiare Tahiti, e tupu ana i nga motu katoa, te tiare Apatahi, ko tenei anake te motu e tupu. Kaore e tupu i waahi noa iho, kotahi anake te waahi e tupu ai ki runga i te tihi o Temahani maunga. Ahakoa te whakamatau o tangata ki te whakatupu i whenua ke, kihai i tupu, no reira ka whakaa-ronui tia tenei tiare i enei motu katoa. Ko te ata o te Mane tenei, e whanga ana i te manurererangi mai i te motu o Pora Pora, kei te ki te uahu i te tangata, kua timata te heke mai o te ua, me aku mihi kei te rere penei: E tangi e te ua, pupuhi ra e te hau, nga tohu aroha a o tatou tupuna. I ahau e piki atu ana i to matou manurere, ka rongo ahau i te karanga mai o aku hoa e maha, “Parahiraa e Ra-i e, aita e haamoe te ho-i faahou mai”—“Haere ra e Rangi e, kaua e wareware te hoki mai ano.” Kua oti. (Continued from page 47) “You know—a tapu. When a person drowns the local Maori elders declare a place tapu or out of bounds until the body is found or for a certain time after the drowning. And you see,” he continued, speaking slowly as if to a child, “a girl was drowned last year at Watering Bay and the area was tapu. They never did find the body; only a bathing cap that could have belonged to a holiday-maker. But her mother claimed it was Moana's—that was the girl's name. Excuse me, looks like some business over there.” And folding the grey cloth the barman had moved away to a chattering laughing group that had settled at the other end of the bar. And so he had stood alone at the bar hearing again the surge of the sea and looking at a shell lying in the palm of his hand; a small white shell, smooth and rounded.