Ko te matua tuatahi tenei. Mutu kau ana, na ko te matua tuarua. Ko te tutu-ngaruhu a te Hope-o-Tuhourangi. He koikoi te rakau a enei, hipae ai te whakanoho, ano e arai atu ana i te hoariri kei taea te Kuini. He kai-tangata tonu atu te ahua o etahi, ko nga uri ra hoki o Tutanekai, o Tuohonoa, o te Rangikatukua, o te Rangiteaorere, o Kawatapuarangi, o Puwhakaoho. Ina ta ratou puha; “Koia ano koia ano, Koia ano he peruperu, Ina hoki te taiaroa, Whakatirohia mai ki te whana, Parerewha, parerewha ….” Tutu ana te hei-hei i ta ratou ngaki. Ka oti ka whakatika ratou, na, katahi ano te Kuini ka kite atu ano hoki i nga kuini Maori, e kui ma, a whre ma, e hine ma. E toru rau ratou. Ko nga nunui, ko nga rarahi o nga koata e wha o Te Arawa. Na Tu Morehu, toa o Ngati Pikiao i whakaara tenei puni wahine, na te kanapa tonu o tana patu pounamu i tataki te karanga; “Tena i ruia i ruia!” “Utaina e, Utaina e.” Tau ana te tu a te wahine, he mea tia ki te piki raukura, ki te huia, ki te korukoru, tatua rawa nga hope ki te piupiu, kei raro ko nga maro whero, he kanohi to te wahine he kanohi to te tangata, titiro ki runga, titiro ki raro. Ka kori te tinana, ka tirohia atu nga taonga o te ra: He Hei-tiki, he pekapeka, he mako he huruhuru kiwi, kereru, kaka, he korowai, he topuni, he kaitaka, he tewhatewha te rakau, he patu pounamu he paroao, he taoroa, he koikoi, he poupouwhenua, he tokotoko. “Toia ma i te waka, Ki te urunga te waka, Ki te moenga te waka, … … …” E piu ana te kapa wahine me te huri whakawatea haere, na, kua tuwhera te ara hei haerenga atu mo te manuhiri ki to raua ahurewa. Kua oti te wahi ki te matua-powhiri a Te Arawa, kuaeke mai te Kuini: “Ki runga ki, Te Paepae poto, O Houmaitawhiti.” Heoi ano inaianei, ko nga whaikorero, ko nga tuku taonga, me nga poi, me nga haka a nga iwi o te motu, hei whakanoa i nga tapuwae o Erihapeti raua ko Piripi. Hoki ana i konei nga whakaaro ki a Apirana, te tangata i manako ki to tatou Maoritanga. I Waitangi ko te poi ki te Kuini he mea waiata ki te rangi rara: “He putiputi pai koe, Katohia … ….” Na Apirana tenei waiata i tito, na, i ona ra ko ia tonu te kaitataki i nga haka-taparahi i kawea mai i tenei ra e ona iwi o te Tairawhiti. Ko nga tino haka enei a taua a te Maori: ko Kapanapana and from the throats of a hundred men their first chorus swelled into a roar, and the war dance thundered as they landed back on the ground, only to rise in the air again, the compact leaping force was like a bird soaring from its snare. This was the first war-party. Ending their spirited challenge, the second force immediately started the peruperu—the war-dance of the waist of Tuhourangi. Their weapons were the koikoi—long spears sharpened at both ends—and these were held in the horizontal position, as if in readiness to deny access to their Queen. Some of these men looked like real man-eaters, for were they not descendants of the fighting chiefs Tuohonoa, Tutanekai, te Rangikatukua, Rangiteaorere, Kawatapuarangi and Puwhakaoho. This was their chorus:— it is quite so, it is quite so the peruperu is quite so— when a captive man is flaunted before the clansmen his eyes are wide open, wide open. The welkin rang as they danced. When it was over they leapt aside and ran back to reveal rows of women ready to welcome their Queen—they too were Queens of their respective tribes, many were grandmothers, others were mothers, and many were maidens. Three hundred altogether. They came from every hapu and whanau of the Arawa Confederation, all were big women, great women in their own right. Mr Tu Morehu a Ngati Pikiao chief from Rotoiti was the fugleman, an expert with the greenstone mere, his flashing blade was the signal for the mixed party of men and women to break into the final dance of the powhiri:— “Now the weapon is shaken, shaken. Embark Embark.” This was an awe inspiring sight, as the women were decked and plumed with feathers of rarest colours, the white, the red, and the black, and the korukoru, the piupiu skirts rattled as they swished to and fro, with red foundation skirts beneath, and men and women flashed their eyes glancing upwards, then down to the ground. Their bodies were trembling in excitement, so gaze upon them, feast upon them, see the precious greenstone hei tiki, and the pekapeka, ear-rings from the Mako shark, the cloaks of feather from kiwi, pigeon and parrot, the cloak of the extinct Maori dog, the taniko bordered cape, the weapons of polished maire clubbed spears, the greenstone axe, and the whale bone mere, the long spear, the shorter doubled pointed spear, the pointed taiaha, and the carved walking stick. “Drag hither the canoe, To its resting place the canoe, To its sleeping place the canoe, … ….” The ranks begin to open out as the dance reaches its climax, and the way is open for the visitors to walk forward to their raised balcony. The traditional Arawa welcome ceremony is complete, the Queen has walked,