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Waka - Maori Canoe

Long ago, Rata wandered sadly along the bank of the stream. He thought of his father who had died.

"I must bring him home," thought Rata, "but how am I going to do that?"

He stared at the trees in the forest and said to himself, "I need a waka, a canoe that will be big enough to hold many warriors."

He walked through the forest looking for a suitable tree. "Miro ... rimu ... kahikatea ... tawa ... tanekaha ... totora. Yes, totora it shall be."

Early the next morning Rata returned to the forest and chopped down the totora tree. He left it where it fell and went home to rest. The next day, when he returned, the tree trunk was no longer lying on the ground. There were no chips of wood lying around nor any twigs or leaves. Rata stared at the trees around him and with a start, he recognised the totora tree that he had chopped down yesterday.

The totora was growing tall and proud again as though it had never been touched. Rata was puzzled and little a fearful.

He took up his axe and began to chop down the totora tree again. The chips flew into the air and after a while the totora fell to the ground once more. Rata trimmed the tree trunk. He stripped off the bark and when the night came he returned home.

The next morning when he arrived to haul the log out of the forest Rata could not find it anywhere. All he found was the totora tree standing tall and silent.

For the third time Rata chopped the tree down. He trimmed it. He shaped it. He began to scoop out the inside of the canoe from the trunk. When night fell, he left the half-formed canoe and returned home.
 
Later that night, he took down his fighting spear, crept out of his house and quietly stole back into the forest. As he approached he could hear strange singing and he could see light shining through the trees. He held his breath and crept closer.

Then he stared in amazement.

Birds were scurrying backwards and forwards, carrying leaves and twigs in their beaks. Thousands of insects swarmed all over the log replacing chips and filling up the hollow. And as he watched, the half-formed canoe disappeared and was replaced with a smooth trunk that glowed red in the light. Then the birds scurried around the trunk pushing twigs, leaves and branches on to the rapidly forming tree.

Branches that he had hacked and tossed away so carelessly were slowly dragged by hundreds of little creatures towards the fallen totora. Every piece of bark that Rata had flicked off with his axe was hunted for and taken back to the tree.

All the while, the strange singing floated in the air above the forest. Rata could not bear to be hidden any longer. He stood up and stepped into the light. At once the singing stopped and the light went out. Rata was alone.

"Come back," he whispered. "Come back. I am sorry I cut down the totora tree. Please forgive me. I did not mean to harm it. I just wanted to build a canoe to go and fetch my father. My father is dead and I have to go and find him. Please come back. I can help you lift up the totora tree. I'll do anything you want to make up for what I have done."

He began to lift the heavy tree and then all at once he felt it move, turn slowly, lift off the ground and then settle on the stump he had cut it from. Rata put his arms around the tree and said, "please forgive me, totora, I did not think I was harming you when I cut you down."

And as he held on to the tree, he felt thousands of little legs run over his body and on to the tree trunk. Rata shut his eyes for a moment and then very slowly bent down until he was able to pick up the little creatures and lift them into the tree.

When the dawn came, Rata was alone. The totora tree was whole again. Every little creature had disappeared.

"I shall never cut down another tree again." said Rata.

"You may," said a voice close to him. "But you must ask Tane Mahuta, god of the forest and birds, for permission. He created all these trees and birds for Papatuanuku the Earth Mother. Ask him when you want to use any of it."

Rata turned to see who was speaking. There was no one beside him. With a sigh, Rata turned to go home promising that he would not disturb the totora tree any more.
His heart leapt when he saw a war canoe sitting on logs that stretched in an endless line through the forest.

"Mine?" he whispered.

"Yes," replied the voice.

"Rata's waka."

The End

Statue of Pania overlooking the ocean in Napier

This is the Maori legend of how the Kiwi, New Zealands National Icon, lost its wings. 

One day, Tane Mahuta, the god of the forest, was walking through the forest. He looked up at his children reaching for the sky and he noticed that they were starting to sicken,as bugs were eating them.

He talked to his brother, Tanehokahoka, who called all of his children, the birds of the air together.

Tanemahuta spoke to them.

"Something is eating my children, the trees. I need one of you to come down from the forest roof and live on the floor, so that my children can be saved, and your home can be saved. Who will come?"

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

Tanehokahoka turned to Tui.

"E Tui, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Tui looked up at the trees and saw the sun filtering through the leaves. Tui looked down at the forest floor and saw the cold, dark earth and shuddered.

"Kao (No), Tanehokahoka, for it is too dark and I am afraid of the dark."

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

Tanehokahoka turned to Pukeko.

"Pukeko, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Pukeko looked up at the trees and saw the sun filtering through the leaves. Pukeko looked down at the forest floor and saw the cold, damp earth and shuddered.

"Kao (No), Tanehokahoka, for it is too damp and I do not want to get my feet wet."

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

Tanehokahoka turned to Pipiwharauroa.

"Pipiwharauroa, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Pipiwharauroa looked up at the trees and saw the sun filtering through the leaves. Pipiwharauroa looked around and saw his family.

"Kao (No), Tanehokahoka, for I am busy at the moment building my nest."

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke. And great was the sadness in the heart of Tanehokahoka, for he knew, that if one of his children did not come down from the forest roof, not only would his brother loose his children, but the birds would have no home.

Tanehokahoka turned to Kiwi.

"E kiwi, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Kiwi looked up at the trees and saw the sun filtering through the leaves. Kiwi looked around and saw his family. Kiwi looked at the cold damp earth. Looking around once more, he turned to Tanehokahoka and said,

"I will."

Great was the joy in the hearts of Tanehokahoka and Tanemahuta, for this little bird was giving them hope. But Tanemahuta felt that he should warn kiwi of what would happen.

"E kiwi, do you realise that if you do this, you will have to grow thick, strong legs so that you can rip apart the logs on the ground and you will loose your beautiful coloured feathers and wings so that you will never be able to return to the forest roof. You will never see the light on day again."

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

"E kiwi, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Kiwi took one last look at the sun filtering through the trees and said a silent goodbye. Kiwi took one last look at the other birds, their wings and their coloured feathers and said a silent goodbye. Looking around once more, he turned to Tanehokahoka and said,

"I will."

Then Tanehokahoka turned to the other birds and said,

"E Tui, because you were too scared to come down from the forest roof, from now on you will wear the two white feathers at your throat as the mark of a coward. Pukeko, because you did not want to get your feet wet, you will live forever in the swamp. Pipiwharauroa, because you were too busy building your nest, from now on you will never build another nest again, but lay your eggs in other birds nests. But you kiwi, because of your great sacrifice, you will become the most well known and most loved bird of them all."

The End

In the beginning there was no sky, no sea, no earth and no Gods. There was only darkness, only Te Kore, the Nothingness. The very beginning was made from nothing. From this nothingness, the primal parents of the Māori came, Papatuanuku, the Earth mother, and Ranginui, the Sky father.

Papatuanuku and Ranginui came together, embracing in the darkness, and had 70 male children. These offspring became the gods of the Māori. However, the children of Papatuanuku and Ranginui were locked in their parents embrace, in eternal darkness, and yearned to see some light. They eventually decided that their parents should be separated, and had a meeting to decide what should be done.

They considered for a long time - should Rangi and Papa be killed? Or shall they be forced to separate?

Finally, Tumatauenga, the god of War, said "Let us kill our parents". However, Tane-Mahuta, the god of man and forests, and all which inhabits the forests, thought that Rangi and Papa should be separated. He thought that Ranginui should go up above, to the sky, and that Papatuanuku should should go below, to dwell on earth. All the children, including Tu, the God of War, agreed with Tane.

Tawhiri Matea, the god of winds and storms was the only child who did not wish for his parents to be separated. He feared that his kingdom would be overthrown. One by one the children tried to separate their parents. Rongomatane, the god and father of cultivated foods, tried without success. Haumia Tiketike, god of uncultivated food also tried.

Then it was the turn of Tangaroa, the god of the sea, and Tumatauenga, the god of war, but neither Tangaroa nor Tumatauenga could separate their parents.

Lastly Tane-Mahuta rose. Strong as the kauri tree, he placed his shoulders against his mother Papatuanuku and his feet against his father Ranginui, and he pushed hard, for a very long time, straining and heaving all the while. Rangi and Papa cried in pain, asking their sons" why do you wish to destroy our love?"

After a long time Tane finally managed to separate Rangi and Papa, and for the first time the children saw the light of day (ao Marama) come streaming in. Once this happened, Tawhiri Matea, the god of winds and storms, and who had been against the separation of his parents, left for the sky to join his father.

The turbulent winds and storms on earth are caused by Tawhiri Matea, in revenge for this brother's acts.

Now that the separation of Papatuanuku and Ranginui was complete, and there was a sky and an earth. However, there was just one missing element, and Tane decided to create a female. From an area named Kura-waka Tane took some clay, and modeled it into a woman. He then breathed life into it, and created Hine-ahu-one - the earth formed maiden.

Tane and Hine had a beautiful daughter called Hinetitama. When Hinetitama grew, she had daughters to Tane. One day Hinetitama asked Tane who her father was, and on discovering that Tane was the father of her children, she fled with shame into the night, to a place called Rarohenga, the underworld. From then on she became known as Hine-nui-te-po, the goddess of the night