SONGS OF THE MAORI by W. W. BIRD (conclusion) The next group contains the tangis or laments inspired by misfortune or disaster. They have a close resemblance to those arising from the preceding causes. There is the element of suddenness by which the spirit is aroused and the heart stricken so that the feelings burst forth in mournful song. One of the most striking of these, really magnificent in expression, is that of Te Heuheu Iwikau for Te Heuheu Tukino II, buried in the great landslide at Tokaanu in 1846. The following account is given by Sir Apirana Ngata in his explanation of the tangi:— “This is one of the most famous laments of the Ngati Tuwharetoa and it is fitting that there should be a solemn character in the tangi for the death of the mighty chief of Taupo—Te Heuheu, and his people—in the landslip of one side of Mt. Kakaramea in the night of the 4th of May 1846. It is said that the slide was caused by the eruption of a mud volcano on the east side of Kakaramea. (The visitor to Tokaanu may still see the traces of this immense slip and the steaming hillside whence it came).” Te Heuheu Tukino was a great chief by descent, he was also a distinguished leader in many fights around Taupo, in Waikato and in the southern part of the North Island from Hawkes Bay to the Hahia Peninsula. He was also a renowned tohunga, and as such was tapu or sacred in his person, keeping apart from the people. It is said that he himself had seen signs of coming disaster. The black shags had settled one after the other on Te Upoko o Waipare—a rock in the lake near his home. But he thought that such a warning could not possibly be meant for him. He and his people lived at Te Rapa, situated immediately below Mt. Kararamea between Tokaanu and Waihi. It was night when the sides of the mountain began to rumble, the trees shook and the stones rattled. Hearing the noise, Te Heuheu appeared at the door of his whare and, thinking it was some monster of the lake—the taniwha, Te Upoko o Waipare—he directed a powerful karakia or incantation against it. In his ear, he wore the famous Kaukaumatua, a greenstone pendant which came from Hawaiki. The village was completely buried in the slip and Te Heuheu and his people—from 40 to 60 in number—were overwhelmed, there being only one survivor. The body of Te Heuheu was found and his bones were carried to be placed in a cave on Tongariro mountain. This is a translation of some of the verses: See! the dawn leaps up from the ridge of Tauwhara's peak It is my dear one, perhaps, who thus returns to me Here am I left alone to weep in the world Thou art gone from me, my treasure. Farewell, thou great one, farewell thou terrible one Farewell, thou rata tree which sheltered us from the breeze. What fell demon hurled thee from us? Sleep on, o father, in thy house of death, The cord of Kaukaumatua is fastened in thine ear, But Te Ika a Ngahue is left behind As a keepsake for us. Turn hither thy stately form, thy broad figure That I may see thy skin graced with the dark tattoo Thy face lined with a hundred markings.