Tane

Te Ao Hou, December 1966, Page 12

Tane All over Polynesia, Tane was held to be a great god, next to Tangaroa. In New Zealand he superseded Tangaroa in importance. The word Tane, in the present language, means man or male; but I do not know if the name indicates any meaning. His full name was Tane nui a Rangi (Great Tane of Heaven). In Sir George Grey's collection he is called Tane Mahuta, and there he is made the god, or personification, of trees and birds. There are also indications here, in the south, of his having had to do with woods and forests, but a great deal more with the origin and final destiny of mankind. Ka mutu te mahi a Tane ki ona matua, ka haere, ka porangia he wahine mahana. Ka porangi ki nga maunga ki nga wai matatiki, When Tane had separated Heaven and Earth (his parents), and adorned each with becoming beauty, and was now at his leisure,

ki nga rakau, ki nga manu: kahore hoki i kitea he wahine mahana. Ka tahuri mai ki tona hakui, ki a Papatuanuku. Ka ki atu te hakui: ‘Hoki atu. Nahaku hoki koe. Nai te wahine mahau; whakaahua i te oneone.’ Na, ka haere a Tane, whakaahua i te oneone, he wahine mahana. Ko Hinehaone te ingoa o taua wahine Ka noho i a Tane, ka whanau he tamahine, ko Hineatauira te ingoa o tenei tamahine. A, ka tupu, ka kaumatua, ka noho i a Tane, he wahine mahana. Kahore ia i matau, ko tona hakoro ia. Kua ngaro noa atu tona hakui. Ka noho raua, ka whanau ki waho: ko Tahukumea, ko Tahuwhakairo, ko Tahuotiatu, ko Tahukumeatepo, ko Tahukumeateao. Muringa ra ka haere a Tane, ka porangi ki a Rehua, ki te tuakuna. Ka tae tera ki tetahi kainga i runga nei, ka ki atu tera: ‘Kahore he tangata i runga nei?’ Ka ki mai nga tangata o taua kainga: ‘He tangata ano i runga nei.’ ‘E kore ranei au te tae?’ ‘E kore koe e tae; ko te rangi tenei i kumea e Tane.’ Na, ka wahi ake a Tane, noho ana i runga i tera rangi. Ka haere ake, ka tae ki tetahi kainga ake, ka karanga atu: ‘He tangata ano i runga nei?’ ‘He tangata ano.’ ‘E kore ranei au e tae?’ ‘E kore koe e tae; ko te rangi tenei i tuhia e Tane.’ Ka wahi ake, ki tera rangi. Ka tae atu ki tetahi kainga, ka karanga ake: ‘He tangata ano i runga nei?’ ‘He tangata ano.’ ‘E kore ranei au e tae?’ E kore koe e tae; ko te rangi tenei i rohea e Tane.’ A—whenei tonu tae rawa ki te ngahuru o nga rangi. Na, ka tae ki te kainga o Rehua. Ka haere mai tana tuakana kia tangi raua. Ka tangi makure a Rehua; na Tane te tangi karakia: – Tipia, tahia, ngakia, rakea; Tipia te rangi kia rahirahi, Toto mai i waho. Wariki o te rangi Auaha tou ingoa, Ko te rangi puaiho, Turuturu o te rangi; Kia mau ai, ko Tane anake, Nana i tokotoko te rangi tou.' No te mutunga o te tangi ka matau a Rehua, ko Tane tenei. Ka ki atu a Rehua ki ona tangata, kia tahuna he ahi. Ka ka te ahi. Ka homai he ipu. Ka mahara a Tane, kei whea ranei nga kai ma enei ipu i homai nei? Ka tirohia atu e wetea ana e Rehua te upoko—i herea te upoko. Wetea ana, ka ruia ki nga ipu—he koko e kai ana i nga kutu o te upoko o Rehua. Ka ki nga ipu i nga koko, ka mauria he wandered about among trees and birds to find a wife for himself; but found none. Turnning to his mother for advice, she directed his attention to Hinehaone, a maid formed out of the soil. With her he had one daughter, called Hineatauira (Maid of the glistening Morning). After this, the mother, Hinehaone, is lost sight of, and when the daughter, Hineatauira, grew up, she became Tane's wife, without her knowing that he was her father. They had several children, the names of which indicate a drawing toward death, corruption and the world of night. Once Tane made a journey to the heavens, to visit his elder brother Rehua. Who, or what this Rehua may have been I cannot find out, except that he dwelt in the tenth strata of the heavens. When Tane came to the first heaven, he called up: ‘Are there men above?’ The answer was: ‘There are.’ ‘May I come up?’ ‘No, this is the heaven that has been stretched out by Tane.’ Still Tane went up, and onward, till he came to the second heaven, when he again called up: ‘Are men above there?’ ‘There are.’ ‘May I come up?’ ‘No, this is the heaven that has been painted by Tane.’ Still he went up, and onward, till he came to the third heaven, when again he called up: ‘Are there men above there?’ ‘There are.’ May I come up?' ‘No, this is the heaven the bounds of which have been fixed by Tane.’ So he went on through other strata, till he came to the tenth heaven, where he found Rehua. When the two met, they both sat down to have a cry together. Rehua cried carelessly, but Tane cried, with a meaning, in verses. (The verses are hard to be understood, and, if translated, would not carry with them the poetical beauty they bear in Maori. They begin as if he had met Rehua cultivating the soil; and are then to the effect that the ground is cleared, carpeted, and beautified by the cultivator, which adds to the splendour of Heaven; and then end: ‘Whatever be thy name, it was Tane who has set the Heaven. Hereby Tane made himself known to Rehua.) When Rehua had learnt, by the crying, that his visitor was the great Tane, he had a fire made, and empty vessels brought. Tane wondered where the food was to come from. Presently Rehua untied his head, and shook out of his hair a lot of birds, tuis, into the empty vessels, and then had the birds killed and

ki te ahi, ka kohua. Ka maoka, ka mauria mai ki te aroaro o Tane. Ka kiia mai e te tuakana kia kai. Ka kiia atu e tera, e Tane: ‘E kore au e kai. Titiro rawa ahau, e wetea ana mai i roto i tou upoko. Ma wai hoki te kai, i kai ai i nga kutu o tou upoko.’ Na reira i mataku a Tane, ki te tuakana. Te kiinga atu a Tane ki a Rehua: ‘E kore ranei e haere i au.’ Kiia mai e Rehua: ‘E haere i a koe. Ka hua te rakau, na, rere atu te manu, ka tau ki reira kai ai.’ ‘Me aha! Ki te mea ka tangi te hau, ka maroke te kaki o te manu, ka tae ki te wai: me ta ki te kaha.’ Ka tae atu a Tane ki te kainga o Nukuroa raua ko Tamatea-kaiwhakapua. Ko nga wahine anake i rokohina atu; ko nga tane kua riro ki te whai kiore. Tokorua nga wahine. Kotahi te wahine i noho, kotahi te wahine i whakapekapeka. Na ka mea kai ma Tane; he kiore te kai. Kahore ia i kai. Kiia atu e ia: ‘Ko te kai tenei a o korua nei tane?’ Ka ki mai nga wahine: ‘Ae.’ Ka kiia atu e Tane: ‘Me waiho tenei kai ma a korua ariki, ma Te Tupuao raua ko Hinekitaharangi.—Na ka kiia atu e Tane, kia haere raua ki a raua tane. A, ka haere aua wahine. Rokohina atu e noho ana nga tane. Na ka korero atu: ‘Kua noho maua ki te tane. Ko tenei toku hoa i whakapekapeka, ko au ia i anga atu.’ Ka ki mai te tane nahana te wahine i whakapekapeka: ‘He aha koe i whakapekapeka, te tahuri atu?’ A ka kiia mai e nga tane: ‘Haere ki to korua manuwhiri, apopo maua whana atu.’ Na te ata haere mai nga tane ki te kainga, ka homai i te mataahi ki a Tane. Kahore a Tane kia hiahia atu ki taua mataahi—he mea kiore e kai ana i nga tutae, e ketu ana i a raua paruparu. Kahore kia kainga e Tane; i mataku i reira; na te tangata i mua. Na ka hoki mai a Tane, ka tae mai ki te kainga o tona hakui. Na, kahore tana wahine i reira. I runga ano i te kainga o Rehua a Tane, ka ui atu a Hineatauira ki tona hungoi, ki a Papatuanuku: ‘Kei whea toku nei tane?’ Kiia mai e te hungoi: ‘E, ko tou tane! Ko tou hakoro ra pea.’ Katahi ka rongo a Hineatauira he tamahine ia na Tane, ka mate i te whakama. Ka poroporoaki ki tona hungoi, kiia, kia noho a Tane i te ao, hei whakatupu i a raua nei hua; ka haere tera ki te po, hei kukume i a raua nei hua. Na, ka hoki mai a Tane ka ui atu ki a Papatuanuku: ‘Kei whea toku nei wahine?’ Ki mai te hakui: ‘Kahore ia wahine mahau. Kua riro ia, kua heke. Kiia iho koe, kia noho i te ao hei whakatupu i a korua hua.’ Ka haere a Tane ki te whai atu i tana cooked. But Tane did not eat of them, because it is against the tapu religion for an inferior to eat anything that has been in contact with the body of a superior, and Rehua is called Tane's tuakana, which means either an elder brother, or a descendant from an elder branch of the house. Then Tane asked: ‘Cannot I catch some birds?’ ‘Yes,’ answered Rehua, ‘when the trees bear fruit and the birds feed on it; when the wind blows and their throats get dry, and they fly to the water to drink, then snare them.’ (There is more of the tale of this sort, as when Tane went to another place in that region, where people lived on rats and were out rat-catching; but I can see no meaning in it. In Sir George Grey's collection, this sort of tale is attributed to a visit of Rupe to Rehua. Now Rupe is a different person from Tane, and belong to a later period. Also this catching and cooking of birds and rats seems to indicate a later period than that of the gods. But the following is more godlike again:—) While Tane was absent, Hineatauira asked her mother-in-law (the Earth): ‘Where is my husband?’ ‘What!’ replied Papatuanuku, ‘thy husband! he is thy father.’ When she heard this she felt so much ashamed that she took leave of her mother-in-law, and went away to the world of night below. When Tane came home again from his journey to the heavens, he asked his mother: ‘Where is my wife?’ ‘Thou hast no wife any more,’ was the reply; ‘she is gone to the Po (world of night).’ Then Tane also went down to the nether world, to bring her up again, if possible. There he wandered about for a

wahine, i a Hineatauira. Na mahana ka tae atu ki raro, ki te po; kopikopiko noa atu. Mana ka tae ki te whare, ka ui atu ki te poupou o te whare. Kahore hoki he waha kia ki mai. Ka ui atu ki te maihi o te whare; kahore hoki he waha kia ki mai. Ka mate tera i te whakama, ka nunumi, ka tawhe ki te tara o te whare.—Na ka ui mai te tangata o te whare: ‘E haere ana koe, e Tane, ki whea?’ Ka kiia atu e Tane: ‘E whai atu ana ahau ki ta taua tuahine.’ Ka ki mai te tangata o te whare: ‘E hoki, e Tane, ki te ao, Hei whakatupu mai i a taua hua. Tukua tonu au ki te Po Hei kukume i a taua hua nei.’ long time in a lone, dim, shadowy night. At last he came to a house, but saw no living being. All was still. He spoke towards the pillar of the house, but received no answer, he spoke toward the gable of the house, but received no answer. Then, when he went confused and ashamed along the wall of the house, he heard someone inside the house, calling out to him: ‘Where, Tane, art thou going?’ ‘I am following our sister,’ he replied. Then that one inside said:— ‘Go back, Tane, to the world of light, To train up our children. Leave me here, in the world of night, To draw down our children.’