A TRAVELLER'S PRAYER

Te Ao Hou, March 1965, Page 6

A TRAVELLER'S PRAYER I arrive where an unknown earth is under my feet, I arrive where a new sky is above me, I arrive at this land, A resting-place for me. O spirit of the earth! The stranger humbly offers his heart as food for thee. Ka u ki Matanuku Ka u ki Matarangi Ka u ki tenei whenua Hei whenua, He kai mau te ate o te tauhou. In former times it was believed that certain rocks, trees and springs were the homes of spirits (tipua). Travellers passing by one of these enchanted places would recite this prayer to the spirit who lived there, at the same time pulling up a twig, a frond of fern or a handful of grass, and throwing it as an offering on to the rock, or into the waters of the spring. In this way they propitiated the spirit of the place, which might otherwise have been angry at the intrusion.