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Revenge of Tumatauenga Introduction

Tumatauenga now seeks revenge on his siblings for not standing with him against Tawhirimatea.

Revenge of Tumatauenga

But now the savage mood came over Tumatauenga the war guardian, wrath of man. Since Tanemahuta and the other three had left him to withstand Tawhirimatea on his own, he felt a wish to injure Tanemahuta and Tanehokahoka. Besides, he knew that the offspring of Tanemahuta and Tanehokahoka were increasing and were making the earth more lovely, and he feared that they might become his enemies. He therefore gathered some of the long stringy leaves of the ti whanake tree and twisted them into nooses, and when he had made enough he went into the forest setting snares, and hung them in cunning ways. Soon the offspring of Tanehokahoka were caught in his snares and lay trembling, unable to fly away, and became his food. He also gathered the children of Tanemahuta and ate them, extracting their healing properties.

Next, Tumatauenga took revenge of Tangaroa for being no help to him against Tawhirimatea. He sought out the sea guardian´s offspring, and found them leaping and swimming in the water. He cut down strips of Tanemahuta flax and wove them into nets, and dragged them in the sea and hauled out Tangaroa children. And he cooked them, and made them common, and ate them.

After that he took revenge on the meekest of this brothers, Rongomatane and Haumiatiketike. He found them by their tell-tale leaves, which still show man where food is growing. From a stout piece of one of Tanemahuta trees he shaped a digging-stick, or ko, and with some flax he plaited baskets, and dug up the children of Rongomatane and Haumiatiketike, and by cooking them desanctified them and made them common, and he ate them.

His four brothers of the earth and sea, Tumatauenga had now defeated entirely, and their offspring were his food. But Tawhirimatea he could not defeat nor make into food. And so Tawhirimatea, remains as an enemy for man today, and both are eternally at war.

Thus Tumatauenga, the guardian of war, is man, but only the spirit and not the body, for man was not yet made, there being no woman.

When Tumatauenga had completed the conquest of all his brothers he assigned certain karakia to each of them. These karakia were to make their offspring plentiful for his food. There were karakia proper to Tanemahuta, karakia for Tangaroa, for Rongomatane and for Haumiatiketike. There were karakia also to Tawhirimatea to give favourable winds, and karakia to Ranginui to give fair weather; and to Papatuanuku, the Earth, to produce all things in abundance. There were also karakia for man himself, suited to the different occasions in his life: karakia for the naming of an infant, for protection against sickness, and for strength and victory in war. And karakia for all of his belongings, for his houses and fortifications, his spears and his war clubs.


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