PROVERBIAL AND POPULAR SAYINGS OF THE MAORI NGA WHAKATAUKI ME NGA PEPEHA MAORI Na H. T. M. WIKIRIWHI Kua tae mai te tono mai a “Te Ao Hou” ki ahau, kia tukuna atu ki a ia etahi o nga whakatauki i korerotia e ahau ki te reo irirangi i nga ra ki muri. Na reira, he ruarua nei nga whakatauki mo naianei. I whakaae ai ahau ki tana tono, he mohio noku ki te kore e whakarapopototia enei korero, ka ngaro me he Moa. He kupu whakamarama i te tuatahi. E ngawari ke ki ahau te whakahua “Whakatauki” i te “Whakatauaki” na reira ka whakahuangia e ahau te kupu tuatahi. Tuarua, ko nga whakatauki ka uru ki roto i ta tatou pukapuka, no nga iwi katoa, na reira, he tono atu tenei ki a koutou, mehemea kei te he nga whakamarama, nga korero ranei, koia nei te wa mo te whakatikatika, na, me tuku mai a koutou korero ki ahau ki Putiki. Wanganui, ki te Etita ranei o “Te Ao Hou.” Ko nga whakatauki nei ma a tatou tamariki, me kore ratou e kite i te pai o ta te Maori whakahua i te kupu, a, me kore ratou e ngakaunui ki te hopu, ki te manaaki, ki te atawhai, i nga maramara whakatauki a o tatou tupuna, kua waiho ake nei ki te whaiao, ki te ao marama. 1. “E kore ahau e ngaro, he kakano i ruia mai i Rangiatea.” Ko tenei whakatauki no tenei waka no Aotea. Ko te iwi kei te pupuri tonu i tenei whakatauki mai i mua, tac noa mai ki tenei ra, ko Ngati Ruanui, a ko etahi hoki o nga karangaranga hapu o Ngarauru i roto o Taranaki. I mua i taku whakamaoritanga i tenei whakatauki ki te reo Maori o te ao hou, me whakamarama e ahau te tikanga o etahi o nga kupu o te whakatauki nei. Ko Rangiatea te ingoa toopu o nga moutcre c karangatia ana ki te reo pakeha ko te Society Group. Otira, ki te tirohia e te tangata ki nga mapi pakeha o nga moutere o te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, ka kitea iho te ingoa ehara i Rangiatea, engari Raiatea. Na te whakahua ki te reo o nga Maori o aua moutere i pera ai te takoto o te kupu, engari ia, kotahi tonu enei kupu e rua. Mehemea ki te hoki whakamuri rawa nga korero, ka kitea te timatanga mai o tenei ingoa. Rangiatea. Ki nga MAORI The Proverbs presented here are among those discussed in my radio talks some time ago. I have agreed to publish them in Te Ao Hou knowing that if these sayings are not printed, they will disappear like the Moa. There are one or two explanations which I wish to make. I prefer the Maori word “Whakatauki” to “Whakatauaki” for the English word “Proverb,” hence I have used the former. Secondly, the proverbs which I have quoted, are taken from the sayings of the various tribes throughout New Zealand, and I make a special request to all readers to forward any explanations, comments or corrections either to me at Putiki, Wanganui, or to the Editor of Te Ao Hou. These proverbs are mainly for our young people in order that they may appreciate the methods by which our elders used these sayings, and in order that they may endeavour to preserve, hold and use the few remaining proverbs which our ancestors have bequeathed to this world of progress and light. 1. “I will not disappear, the seed broadcast from Rangiatea.” This proverb originates from the Aotea canoe. The tribes which have used this proverb from its very beginning till now are the Ngati Ruanui, and some of the sub-tribes within the Ngarauru Tribe of Taranaki. Before I proceed to explain the modern meaning of this proverb, a few comments regarding some of the words used are necessary. Rangiatea is the name given to a group of islands known in the English as the Society Group. However, a search of a map of the islands in the Pacific Ocean reveals that the name Rangiatea does not appear, but that Raiatea is the name given. It is due to the pronunciation of the natives of those islands that the word appears as Raiatea, but Rangiatea and Raiatea are one and the same place. Should we refer to earlier history, the origin of the name Rangiatea can be easily traced. According to the ancient legends of our ancestors, Rangi married Papatuanuku with the result that they had several children. (Should