Another Way Of Passing Power To The Successor
The supreme tohunga [priest] of the Ngati-Tuwharetoa tribe almost two hundred years ago was Tai-Pahau, who lived at Waihi
This is now a pretty little village on the southern shore of Lake Taupo, near Tokaanu, with a waterfall tumbling over the wooded cliff in its rear. and the steams of hot springs coiling up close to the quiet waterside.
Tai-Pahau was the uncle of the high chief Te Heuheu Tukino, who in his old age was overwhelmed by the great landslip at Te Rapa, near Waihi, with fifty of his tribe.
At the time of this story, Te Heuheu was in the prime of his life, a powerful and very active warrior.
The time came when the venerable priest, who was probably about a hundred years old, lay dying.
He lay in his house attended by one of the youngest of his daughters, Te Wai-Aromea.
Te Heuheu had marched out on a war expedition against the tribes of Lower Whanganui and the West Coast.
He had gone as far as Poutu, on the shore of the lake Roto-a-Ira, some twelve miles from Waihi.
When he left the home village with his fighting men he did not realise that his old uncle’s end was so near, otherwise, he would have deferred his march.
On the day that Te Heuheu camped at Roto-a-Ira, the aged wise man felt that his end was at hand, he knew he would not see another sunrise.
So he called to his daughter, and he bade her despatch a swift messenger to Poutu and urgently recall the chief, leaving the warriors in camp.
“Tell him,” he said, “that I am at the point of death. He will know what I want.”
The old man’s instructions were obeyed.
The messenger departed at his utmost speed.
It was already night, it would be late when the runner reached Te Heuheu, and it would be well after midnight before the chief came to Waihi.
The dying tohunga waited patiently, he would know intuitively when his nephew was at hand.
“Raise me up,” he said to his daughter.
He was reclining facing the open door of the small house.
Presently he called to Te Wai-Aromea. “Turn me,” he said, “help me to turn so that my right side is toward the door.”
This his daughter did, and the old man sat there, propped up with his thick mats, he sat in a listening attitude, with his head slightly bent, inclined from the door.
In a few moments, a figure darkened the doorway and, stooping, quickly entered.
It was Te Heuheu.
By the light of the small fire that burned in the middle of the whare he saw his uncle and he knew from his attitude exactly why the dying wise man had sent for him.
Without a word, Te Heuheu bent down by the priest’s side, and opening his mouth, closed it tightly on Tai-Pahau’s right ear.
The whole of the ear was in his mouth; his teeth closed on it close to the head.
The dying man gave two, three convulsive jerking gasps, and his spirit left his body.
Te Heuheu loosed his tooth-grip of the tohunga’s ear, and with a parting murmur, he pressed his nose to the other’s, in token of farewell.
By that act of 'ngau-taringa' [to bite the ear], he had absorbed the hau [spirit] of the dying man’s sacred wisdom and supernatural powers, which were very great indeed.
“Te Heuheu stayed not a moment longer in the house of his dead uncle.
He returned at once to his war-party at Poutu, by the track through the forest and over the Ponanga-Pihanga range.
It was not yet dawn when he rejoined his sleeping warriors, who indeed had not known of his absence.
He was a very powerful, tireless man, but even so, he would not have done the bush journey so swiftly from Poutu to Waihi and back again had it not been for his recitation of karakia, the hoa-tapuwae, which supernaturally lengthened his stride, and smoothed the way before him.
When the morning came he led off his war-party on the southward march.
Now, according to, Te Heuheu the younger [his grandson], the wairua (the spirit) of Tai-pahau became my grandfather’s guardian and guide, and all the tohunga wisdom of Tai-pahau became part of him.
His uncle’s wairua was his counsellor and protector all through that fighting expedition.
When danger from a more powerful enemy was in the path, the wairua foresaw it and Te Heuheu took another route.
Whatever tactics the wairua counselled Te Heuheu carried out.
The spirit of Tai-Pahau forbade him to go on through Taranaki, and to this command he gave heed and he returned to
Taupo from Whanganui.
Every threatening danger or disaster was averted or circumvented.
Te Heuheu [the Grandson] further said that his grandfather was not able to transfer in like manner his sacred powers to the son, Patatai, later known as Horonuku.
The reason that he was unable was because Te Heuheu perished suddenly, overwhelmed in the great landslide at Te Rapa (in 1846) and that Patatai at that time, was absent at his birthplace at Rangitoto (in the King Country).
Hence Horonuku, although a learned man, did not possess the peculiar occult wisdom which would have passed to him had he in his turn been able to perform the filial rite of ngau-taringa..
to give an idea of the time involved,
Te Heuheu Horonuku was the father of Te Heuhen Tukino who died in 1888.
The first of the below posts has a list of the previous posts of Maori Myths and Legends
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/how-war-was-declared-between-tainui-and-arawa
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-curse-of-manaia-part-1
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-curse-of-manaia-part-2
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-legend-of-hatupatu-and-his-brothers
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/hatupatu-and-his-brothers-part-2
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-legend-of-the-emigration-of-turi-an-ancestor-of-wanganui
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-continuing-legend-of-turi
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/turi-seeks-patea
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-legend-of-manaia-and-why-he-emigrated-to-new-zealand
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-love-story-of-hine-moa-the-maiden-of-rotorua
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/how-te-kahureremoa-found-her-husband
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-magical-wooden-head
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-art-of-netting-learned-from-the-fairies
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/te-kanawa-s-adventure-with-a-troop-of-fairies
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-loves-of-takarangi-and-rau-mahora
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/puhihuia-s-elopement-with-te-ponga
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-story-of-te-huhuti
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-trilogy-of-wahine-toa-woman-heroes
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-modern-maori-story
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/hine-whaitiri
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/whaitere-the-enchanted-stingray
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/turehu-the-fairy-people
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kawariki-and-the-shark-man
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/awarua-the-taniwha-of-porirua
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/hami-s-lot-a-modern-story
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-unseen-a-modern-haunting
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-death-leap-of-tikawe-a-story-of-the-lakes-country
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/paepipi-s-stranger
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-story-of-maori-gratitude
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/by-the-waters-of-rakaunui-1
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/by-the-waters-of-rakaunui-2
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/bt-the-waters-of-rakaunui-3
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/bt-the-waters-of-rakaunui-4
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/te-ake-s-revenge-1
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/te-ake-s-revenge-2
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/te-ake-s-revenge-3
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/te-ake-s-revenge-4
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/some-of-the-caves-in-the-centre-of-the-north-island
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-man-eating-dog-of-the-ngamoko-mountain
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-story-from-mokau-in-the-early-1800s
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/new-zealand-s-atlantis
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-cave-dwellers-of-rotorua
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kawa-mountain-and-tarao-the-tunneller
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-legend-of-fragrant-leaf-s-rock
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-tale-from-the-waikato-river
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/uneuku-s-judgment
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/at-the-rising-of-kopu-venus
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/harehare-s-story-from-the-rangitaiki
with thanks to son-of-satire for the banner
This is a curation bot for TeamNZ. Please join our AUS/NZ community on Discord.
Why join discord room? Here are 10 reasons why.<
Enjoying the bump? Please consider supporting your fellow Kiwis with a delegation. How? Read here.
For any inquiries/issues about the bot please contact @cryptonik.