Page:Life·of·Seddon•James·Drummond•1907.pdf/406

 Eruera te Kahu and Ratana Ngahina, chiefs of the Ngatiapa tribe, led their people in the singing of this finely-phrased mourning chant, an adaptation of an apakura:—

Haere ra, Hetana, i te ara haukore, Taku ate hoki ra, taku pa kairiri Ki te ao o te tonga; Taku manu-korero ki te nohanga pahii, Taku manu hakahaka ki runga ki nga iwi. Houhia mai ra te matua Ri te kahu Tahu-whenua; Houhia mai ra te matua Ki te kahu Taharangi. Marewa e te iwi Nana i whitiki taku motoi-kahurangi, Ka mau ki te taringa; Taku koko-tangiwai Ka mau ki te kaki: Taku pou-mataaho e tu i te whare. Kia tu mai koe i te ponaihu o te waka, Kia whakaronga koe te wawara tangi wai hoe, I roto Poneke, I te Runanga-nui, Waiho i muri ne i to pukaikura—i!

Pass on, Hetana, along the quiet ways, The beloved one of my heart, my shelter and defence Against the bleak south wind. My speaking-bird that charmed the assembled tribes, That swayed the people’s councils. Clothe him, the Father, with the stately garments, The very fine mats Tahu-whenua and Taharangi, Place in his ear the precious jewel-stone, The greenstone kahurangi, Hang on his breast the koko-tangiwai, Of glistening lucid jade, Oh, thou wert a prop within the house; At the prow of the canoe thou wert, Ears bent to the plashing sound Of many paddles In the waters of Poneke, In the contentions of the People’s Council. Our prized kaka-bird has gone, The plumes alone remain.

Then came the chiefs of the Greenstone Land. A big half-caste chief, Timoti Whiua, who is better known as George