The Story of Pare and Hutu

Te Ao Hou, March 1965, Page 13

Pare inside her house. The Story of Pare and Hutu Na, tērā tētahi wahine puhi ko Pare te ingoa. He tino rangatira taua wahine, i noho ki tōna whare, ā, e toru taiepa o taua whare, he whare māhihi, arā, he whare whakairo. Te mea i noho puhi ai a ia, hei tino rangatira a ia mō tōna iwi, kāhore hoki i rite tētahi o tōna iwi ki a ia te rangatira. Ki te mea ka haria te kai mā taua wahine, me hoatu ki te pononga tuatahi, māna e hoatu ki te tuarua, māna e hoatu ki te pononga tuatoru, ā, mā te tuatoru e hoatu ki a Pare. Ko roto o tana whare he mea whakapaipai rawa ki te kaitaka, ki te korowai, ki te tōpuni, ā, ko ngā mea whakakakara he kawakawa me ngā mea kakara katoa a te Maori. Na, ko ētahi o ngā rā o te tau he rā tākaro nō te iwi — he tā pōtaka, he teka niti me ērā atu tākaro a te Maori, ā, i tētahi o aua rā tākaro, ka tae mai ki te kāinga i a Pare tētahi tangata rangatira ko Hutu te ingoa, ā, ka tākaro tahi a ia me te iwi o Pare. He tino mōhio rawa a Hutu ki te tekateka niti, ā, ki te tā pōtaka anō hoki. Ka niti te iwi, ā, ka rere anō hoki te niti a Hutu, ā, ko tāna niti te mea In former days there lived a woman named Pare. She was a ‘puhi’: a girl of noble birth who unlike other girls, was kept carefully guarded and was not permitted to have love affairs. She lived on her own in her house, a beautiful carved building with three fences around it. The reason for her being kept apart was that since she was of such high rank, among her people there was no one of equal standing to take her as his wife. When food was brought to her it was given to one of her slaves, who gave it to a second slave, who gave it to a third, and this third slave gave the food to Pare. The interior of her house was wonderfully decorated with the most beautiful cloaks: fine white cloaks edged with taniko work (kaitaka), fringed and tasselled cloaks (korowai), and cloaks of black dogskin (topuni). The house was sweetly scented with leaves of the kawakawa, and with all of the other perfumes known to the Maori. Now there were certain days of the year which were set aside by the people for games and amusements, such as whipping the top, throwing darts, and all the other games of the

i tino rere ki tawhiti rawa. Ka whakamīharo te iwi ki te rere o te niti a Hutu, me te mea anō hoki a taua iwi he tino mōhio a Hutu. Ka rongo a Pare ki te umere o tana iwi, ka haere mai a ia ki te whatitoka o tana whare mātakitaki atu ai ki te mahi niti a te iwi me te niti anō hoki a Hutu. Ka niti anō te iwi, ā, ka niti anō a Hutu, a nō ka rere te niti a Hutu, rere ana, ā, tae noa atu taua niti ki te whatitoka o te whare e nohoia rā e Pare. Naomia iho taua niti a Hutu e Pare, mauria ana e ia ki roto ki tana whare. Tēnā e haere atu ana a Hutu ki te tiki i tana niti, kihai i hōmai e Pare. Ka mea atu a Hutu kia hōmai tana teka e Pare, ka mea atu a Pare, ‘Me haere mai koe, e Hutu, ki roto ki taku whare, kia kōrero ai ahau ki a koe, nō te mea he nui noa atu taku pai ki a koe.’ Ka mea atu a Hutu, ‘E kore ahau e pai kia haere atu ahau ki tōu whare; he kotahi ahau, he iwi nui tō iwi, ā, he manene ahau ki tōu whenua. E kore te ware e tika kia haere atu ki tōu whare, ki tō te rangatira. Waihoki, he hoa anō tōku kei tōku kāinga, me āku tamariki anō.’ Ka mea atu a Pare, ‘Kāhore he tikanga o ēnā kupu ki a au, nō te mea he tino nui pū tōku pai atu ki a koe. He tino mōhio koe ki ngā tākaro katoa; nāu te kaihōtaka e tino ngunguru ana i ō te iwi katoa, nāu te teka e rere rawa ana i ō te iwi, nā reira i tino nui pū ai tōku pai ki a koe.’ Ka tautohetohe rāua, ka mea a Hutu e kore rawa a ia e pai kia haere ki roto ki te whare o Pare. Ka mea atu a Pare, ‘Me pēhea koia i te nui pū o taku pai ki a koe?’ Kihai a Hutu i pai, ā, hopukia mai ana a Hutu e Pare, tōia ana ki roto ki tana whare, a, tūtakina ana te tatau. Ka tohe anō a Hutu kia haere a ia, ā, puta ana a ia ki waho. Ka whai mai anō a Pare i a ia, ka tahuri mai a Hutu, ka kī ki a Pare, ‘E noho koe i te kāinga, wāhi iti ka hoki mai anō ahau.’ Haere rere tonu a Hutu, ā, ka kite a Pare i a Hutu e haere oma ana, ka poroporoaki atu a Pare ki a Hutu, ka mea, ‘Haere rā, e Hutu, haere ki tōu kāinga,’ ā, hoki ana a Pare ki roto ki tana whare, ka karanga i ana pononga kia whakapaia tōna whare, arā, kia mahia ngā mea o roto kia pai. A nō ka oti te mahi i ana pononga, ka noho ko Pare anake i roto, nāna anō a ia i tārona. A nō ka rongo te iwi kua mate a Pare, ka nui tō rātou pōuri, ka mea rātou, ‘Ko Hutu anō hei utu mō te mate o Pare.’ Ka runanga taua iwi ki te whakatakoto tikanga e mau ai a Hutu. Ka haere te torohē ki te hopu i a Maori. On one of these occasions there came to Pare's village a nobleman named Hutu, who joined her people in their games. He was very skilful both at throwing darts and whipping the top. The people threw their darts, then Hutu threw his one, and it was Hutu's dart which flew the furthest. All of them marvelled at the flight of Hutu's dart, and they shouted their praise of his skill. Hearing the noise, pare came to the door of her house to watch her people and Hutu throwing their darts. Again the people threw their darts, and again Hutu threw his one. Hutu's dart flew right across, and landed by the doorway where Pare was standing. Then Pare picked up Hutu's dart and took it into her house. Hutu went to fetch it, but Pare would not give it to him. When he asked her to return it, she said, ‘You must come into my house, Hutu, so that I can talk to you, for I like you very much.’ Then Hutu said, ‘I do not want to come into your house. I am alone, and your people are many. I am a stranger in your country. It wouldn't be right for a person of low birth to go into the house of one of such noble birth as yourself. Furthermore, I have a wife and children at home.’ Then Pare said, ‘These arguments mean nothing to me, for I love you. You are the most skilful at the games; your top sounds the loudest, and your dart flies the furthest, and because of this, I love you.’ They argued in this way for some time, Hutu saying that he did not want to go into Pare's house, and Pare saying, ‘It makes no difference; I love you very much.’ When she saw that Hutu still would not agree to go in, Pare took hold of him, pulled him inside the house and shut the door. Hutu insisted on leaving, and he went outside, with Pare following him. Then Hutu turned to Pare and said, ‘You stay here, and in a little while I'll come back again.’ Then he ran off quickly. When Pare saw that Hutu was running away from her, she called after him, ‘Farewell, Hutu! Go to your home!’ Then she went back into the house and told her attendants to set in order her house and all her possessions. When the attendants had done this and Pare was left alone, she hanged herself. When the people heard of Pare's death they were overwhelmed with grief and said, ‘Hutu

Hutu, ka mau, ka arahina mai ki te kāinga o Pare. Ka tae mai ki reira, ka arahina a Hutu ki te whare o Pare, ki te wāhi i takoto ai te tūpāpaku. Ka mea atu te iwi ki a Hutu, ‘I hopukia ai koe, he mea nā mātou, ko koe te utu mō Pare, ā, me mate anō hoki koe.’ Ka mea atu a Hutu, ‘E pai ana, otirā taihoa e tanu te tūpāpaku. Tukua ahau kia haere, ā, waiho te tūpāpaku nei; taihoa e nehu, kia hoki mai ahau. Kia pō toru ahau, kia pō whā, ka hoki mai ai. He tika anō ko au te utu mō tō koutou ariki.’ Whakaae ana te iwi ki ngā kupu a Hutu, a, haere ana a Hutu i tāna haere noa atu, karakia ana a ia i a ia, pau katoa ngā kī tao, ngā mata i a ia te mea ki a ia, ka ahu tana whakaaro ki Te Reinga. Ka whakatika a ia, ka ahu ki Te Rerenga Wairua, ka kite a ia i a Hine-nui-tepō. Ka mea atu a ia ki a Hine, ‘Kei hea te Pare and Hutu going up from the underworld. must die for this.’ After they had met together to decide on the best way of capturing Hutu, a war party was sent out to find him, then took him to Pare's house, to the place where the body was lying, and told him, ‘We made you prisoner so that your death might pay for the death of Pare.’ ‘Very well,’ said Hutu, ‘but do not bury the body. Let me go now, and do not bury the body until I come back. I will be gone for three or four days, then I will return. It is right that I should die in payment for the death of your princess.’ The people agreed to this, and so he left them. When he was a good distance away, he began to chant all of the spells and incantations which the priests recite when they are concerned with matters involving death and the spirit world. After this he went towards the spirit world, and saw Hine-nui-te-po, the Great Lady of the Night. He asked her, ‘Where is the path that leads below?’ Hine pointed to the path by which dogs go to the spirit world, but after Hutu had given her his greenstone mere she showed him the right path, the one that men use. Hine habitually acted in this deceitful manner, telling the truth only when bribed to do so, and in this way she collected a great deal of property. Then Hine prepared some food for Hutu. After pounding some fernroot she put it in a basket, saying to him, ‘When you are below, eat sparingly of this food, so that it lasts for a long time; for if you eat the food down there, you can never return to this world.’ Hutu said that he would do as she instructed him, and Hine added, ‘If you bend your head downwards you will find it easy to fly down to the dark world; for when you are nearly there, a wind from below will below your head upwards again, so that you will be able to land squarely on your feet.’ Hutu flew down to the land below, and when he arrived he began to look for Pare, asking the people, ‘Where is Pare?’ They told him, ‘In the village.’ Having heard that Hutu had come to the spirit world and was asking for her, Pare refused to go outside her house. Hutu tried to think of some way of seeing Pare. He taught the people in the village to play at darts and whipping the top, the games known in this world. So the people played with Hutu, but Pare did not come out of her house to watch them. Hutu was very sad at this, and said to

ara ki raro?’ Ka whakaaturia e ia te ara rerenga kurī, kātahi ka hoatu e Hutu ki a Hine-nui-te-pō ko tana mere pounamu. Kātahi rā anō ka whakaaturia te ara rerenga tangata. Ko tā Hine-nui-te-pō hanga he māminga, kia riro atu ai he taonga māna. Kātahi ka taka kai a Hine-nui-te-pō mā Hutu; ka patua he roi, ka meatia ki te kete, ka mea atu a Hine ki a Hutu, ‘E tae koe ki raro, kia āta kai i āu kai kei hohoro te pau, nō te mea ka kai koe i ō reira kai, e kore koe e hoki ake ki te ao nei.’ Whakaae ana a Hutu, a, ka kīia atu anō e Hine, ‘Me tuohu tō māhunga ki raro ka rere pai ai koe ki te Aopōuri, ā, ka tata koe ki raro, ma te hau o raro koe e pupuhi, ka ara anō tō māhunga ki runga, ā, ka tū ō waewae ki raro.’ Ka rere a Hutu ki raro, a nō ka tae a ia, ka haere a ia ki te rapu i a Pare. Ka ui a ia ki ō reira tāngata, ‘Kei hea a Pare?’ Ka kīia mai, ‘Kei te pā.’ Ka rongo a Pare ko Hutu kua tae atu ki Te Reinga, a, e ui ana ki a ia, kihai a Pare i puta mai i tana whare. Ka rapu a Hutu i tētahi mea e kite ai ia i a Pare. Ka ako a Hutu i te iwi kāinga ki te tākaro i te teka niti, i te tā kaihōtaka, i te tākaro i mōhio ai rātou i te ao nei. Ka tākaro te iwi rā rātou ko Hutu, otirā kihai a Pare i puta i tōna whare kia kite i aua tākaro. Ka pōuri a Hutu, ā, ka mea anō a ia ki te iwi rā anō, ‘Me tiki he rākau roa, ka topetopea ai e tātou ngā manga.’ Ka taea taua rākau, ka topea ngā manga. Ka kaikauautia taua rākau, ka mea a Hutu, ‘Me whiri he whakaheke.’ Ka oti ērā, herea ana e Hutu aua taura ki te toitoi o taua rākau, ka mea atu a Hutu, ‘Kumea ngā taura!’ Ka kumea e te iwi rā, ka piko iho te matamata o te rākau ki raro ki te whenua. Ka noho a Hutu ki te pito o te matamata o taua rākau, a, ka tono a ia i tētahi o taua iwi kia noho i tōna tuarā. Ka noho taua tangata ki te tuarā o Hutu, ka karanga a Hutu ki te iwi e pupuri rā i ngā taura, ‘Tukua kia rere anō te matamata o te rākau ki runga!’ Ka tupana ake anō te rākau rā, me te noho o Hutu rāua ko tērā e mau rā i tana tuarā. Ka umere te iwi rā ki te pai o tērā tū mōrere, ā, ka āhuareka taua iwi ki taua mahi. A nō ka roa taua mea e tākarohia ana, ā, ka tae te rongo ki te iwi katoa. Ka rongo anō hoki a Pare i taua mahi tākaro hou, ka haere mai a Pare ki te mātakitaki, a, ka koa a Hutu i te mea ka kite atu a ia i a Pare. Titiro atu ana a Pare ki taua mahi, ka āhuareka hoki a the people again, ‘Fetch a tall tree, and let us cut off its branches.’ They brought the tree, trimmed off its branches and cut off the top. Then Hutu said, ‘Let us plait some ropes.’ The people pulled on them until the top of the tree bent down to the ground. Hutu sat right on top of the tree, and told one of the people to get on to his back. When they were ready, Hutu called to the men holding the ropes, ‘Let the top of the tree go up!’ The tree sprang upright again, with Hutu and the man on his back holding on tight. The people shouted with joy when they saw how good the swing was, for they were very pleased with this new game. After they had been playing the game for some time, all the people in the district heard of it. Pare was also told of the new game, and she came to watch it. Hutu was overjoyed to see her. When Pare saw the game she was delighted, and went up to Hutu and said, ‘Let me also sit on you shoulders and fly up on the swing.’ Hutu was very glad at this, and said, ‘Hold on tight to my neck, Pare.’ Then he told the people to pull the tree right down to the ground, as far as it would go. Then he called out, ‘Let it go!’ When they let the tree spring back, it went up with such force that the ropes attached to it were thrown so high that they were caught in the land above. Then Hutu climbed up the ropes with Pare on his back. He grasped hold of the grass growing at the entrance to the underworld, pulled himself up, and arrived at the upper world, this world of ours.’ They travelled on to the village where Pare's body was lying, and her spirit went to the side of her body, entered it, and took up its abode there; and Pare was alive again, a living person in this world of ours’. Pare's people were overjoyed at seeing their

ia ki taua tākaro, ka haere atu a ia ki a Hutu, ka mea atu, ‘Tukua hoki ahau ki runga ki ō pokohiwi noho ai, kia rere au i tēnā tū mōrere.’ Ka koa a Hutu i te wā i tae atu ai a Pare ki runga i a ia noho ai. Ka mea atu a Hutu, ‘Kia kaha tōu pupuri i taku kakī, e Pare’, a, ka mea atu a Hutu ki te iwi rā kia kumea te rākau rā kia tino piko iho ai te rākau rā ki te whenua. Ka oti, ka mea a Hutu, ‘Tukua!’ Tukua whakareretia ana te rākau e te iwi rā, ā, nā te kaha o te turapanatanga ake o te rere o te rakau rā, i whiu ngā taura e mau i te rākau rā, ā, mau tonu atu aua taura i te whenua o runga. Ka kake a Hutu me Pare anō i a ia e mau ana i aua taura, a nō ka mau ana ringa ki ngā otaota o te kūwaha o Te Reinga, piki tonu atu, ā, tae ana rāua ki runga. Ka tae mai rāua ki te ao nei, ka haere tonu, ā, ka tae ki te kāinga i takoto ai te tinana o Pare. A nō ka tae te wairua o Pare ki te taha anō o tōna tinana, tapoko tonu atu tana wairua ki tana tinana ki reira anō noho ai, ā, ora tonu ake anō a Pare ki te ao nei hei tangata ora anō. Ka moemiti te iwi o Pare ki tō rātou ariki ka ora mai. Ki tā rātou, he mea karakia e Hutu i hoki ake ai anō te manawa o Pare. Ka mea te iwi me moe a Pare i a Hutu; ka mea atu a Hutu, ‘Me aha āku tamariki me tērā hoa ōku?’ Ka mea te iwi o Pare, ‘Me punarua.’ Whakaae ana a Hutu, ā, tapā ana te ingoa o Pare ko Pare-hutu. princess again, and said that it was the power of Hutu's chants and prayers which had brought her back to life. Pare must marry Hutu, they said. When Hutu asked, ‘What about my children and my other wife?’ they answered, ‘Pare shall be your second wife.’ Hutu agreed to this, and from this time onwards, Pare was known as Pare-Hutu. A Ngaitahu Account This Ngaitahu version of the story of Pare and Hutu is taken from John White's ‘Ancient History of the Maori’, volume II. The translation is a new one. A very similar account is recorded in ‘Te Ika a Maui’ by Richard Taylor, who collected most of his material in the Taranaki district. There is another interesting version, recorded by Hare Hongi, in which almost exactly the same story is told of a man named Miru and his sister (see ‘Journal of the Polynesian Society’, vol. V, p. 118). In this as in many other stories, it is the woman who takes the initiative in courtship. This was often the Maori custom. In this case, Pare's high rank enables her to be especially forthright in her approach. The darts with which they played were thin, light rods, about three feet in length. There was a kind of swing or ‘giant stride’ (‘morere’ or ‘moari’) which consisted of a tall pole, often slanting over a stream, to the top of which were attached plaited ropes on which the players swung. But there was no morere of the kind described in this story.