Kimble [Kimball] Bent An Unusual European Who Deserted The British Army And Joined The Hau Hau #18

Next morning, after the first meal of the day, had been set before the warriors by their women and had been quickly eaten, the war-chief came out of his house, taiaha in hand, and walked out on to the village square in front of the sacred praying-house.

“Friends,” he cried, as he stood there on the marae, “I salute you! You have eaten and are content, for the proverb says, ‘When the stomach is filled, then man is happy and satisfied’

(‘Ka ki te puku, ka ora te tangata’).

Now, rise up and grasp your weapons, for I wish to see you dance the haka and the tutu-waewae of war.”

When the men were assembled on the parade ground, in their dancing costume of a scanty waist mat, Titokowaru cried in a loud voice and prophesied, saying,

“Kaore e tu te ra, kaore e titaha te ra, ka tupono tatou kia to tatou whanaunga”, meaning,

“The sun will not have reached its zenith, the sun will not have declined, before we have joined issue with our relatives”, the white soldiers.

“Then,” said Tutange, “we danced our haka with the fire of coming battle in our hearts, and we hardened our nerves for the fight.

For we knew that Titoko was a true and powerful prophet (poropiti whai-mana, tino kaha), and we believed that that day would see bloodshed again around Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu."

Tutange Waionui, who was now to distinguish himself as a daring young warrior, was but a boy.

He was not more than fifteen or sixteen years old but was a strong, athletic youngster, full of fire and courage, and as agile as a monkey.

He was of the momo rangatira, or “blue blood” of Taranaki, tracing a direct descent through a line of high chiefs and priests from Turi, the great sailor who navigated his long mat-winged canoe Aotea to the black iron-sand beach of Taranaki from the far-distant Hawaiki, the beautiful palm-fringed island of Rangiatea (Raiatea, as its people call it now) in the Society Group.

His father, the old warrior, Maruera Whakarewataua, had carefully schooled him in the business of arms, the handling of the spear-tongued taiaha, most beautiful of Maori weapons, the quick and fatal use of the tomahawk, both the terrible long-handled one and the short hatchet, or patiti, as well as the musket and shot-gun and rifle of the pakeha.

So here, now, was young Tutangé on his first war-path.

That morning, when the very air seemed full of rumours of battle and death, Tutange was girded with the sacred war-mat, the maro-taua.

“My father's sister,” says he, “called me to her, together with certain other young men who were of rangatira rank, and who had not yet fought the white man.

She was a chieftainess, by name Tāngamoko, she was of ariki birth in the Ngati-Ruanui tribe, and being possessed of mana-tapu and of a knowledge of charms and incantations, she was as a priestess amongst the people.

She called us to her and told us that she was about to make us tamariki tapu, that is, sacred children, for the coming battle.

She girded us each with a fine waist-garment, the korowai, made of soft dressed and closely woven white flax, with short black thrums, or cords, hanging down it. These flax vestures, falling from our waists to our knees, she had made herself.

They were the garments of war, she had karakia'd [chanted] over them and charmed them so that the bullets of the enemy should not touch them, and so that we, their wearers, might conquer in the fight.

And very proud and confident tamariki tapu we were now, parading the pa in our bullet-proof korowai, and dancing our weapons in the air as we leapt with our elders in the haka and roared out the great chorus of the war-song beginning,

‘Kia kutia—au— au’ and that other one which our fathers had chanted when first they set up the Maori Land League,

‘E kore Taranaki e makere atu’ (‘Taranaki will not be cast away from us’)

“One of the songs which we chanted as we wildly danced was this.

“‘Whakarongo ai au
Ki te koroki manu
Whakaorooro ana i te ngahere.
I na-wa e’

(‘I'm listening for the voices,
The singing of the birds,
Sounding, echoing in the forest’)

The ‘singing of the birds’ was a figure of speech for the voices of the soldiers on the march.

“That maro-taua was all the clothing he wore in the fight.

Round his brows he bound a handkerchief, which held in place my tipare rangatira, my chief-like war-feathers.

My weapons were a double-barrelled gun (tupara), and a short-handled tomahawk, which I carried stuck in my belt.

Image Source

He had strapped a cartridge-holder around himself.

E tama! Now I was ready for my first battle.”

Meanwhile, what of the pakeha-Maori in this nest of Hauhaus?

Info From

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-continuing-story-of-te-kahureremoa-s-search-for-a-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

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/how-the-art-of-wood-carving-was-passed-from-te-apanui-to-wepiha

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/another-way-of-passing-power-to-the-successor

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/matakite-the-gift-of-second-sight-and-some-of-the-recorded-times-it-has-been-used

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-cave-of-wairaka

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-tale-of-how-mount-tauhara-got-to-where-it-is-now

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/te-ana-o-tuno-hopu-s-cave

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/stories-of-an-enchanted-valley-near-rotorua

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/utu-a-maori-s-revenge

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/where-tangihia-sailed-away-to

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-curse-on-te-waru-s-new-house

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-fall-of-the-virgin-s-island

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-first-day-of-removing-the-tapu-on-te-waru-s-new-house

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-maori-detective-story

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-second-day-of-removing-the-tapu-on-te-waru-s-new-house

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-story-of-a-maori-heroine

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-tale-from-old-kawhia

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-stealing-of-an-atua-god

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/maungaroa-and-some-of-its-legends

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-mokia-tarapunga

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-memory-of-maketu

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-tale-from-the-taupo-region

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-tale-of-the-taniwha-slayers

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-witch-trees-of-the-kaingaroa

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/there-were-giants-in-that-land

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-tale-from-old-rotoiti

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-lagoons-of-the-tuna-eels

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-legend-of-takitimu

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-white-chief-of-the-oouai-tribe

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/tane-mahuta-the-soul-of-the-forest

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/a-tale-of-maori-magic

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-s-1

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-s-2

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-s-3

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-4

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-5

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-6

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-7

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-8

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-9

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-10

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-11

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-12

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-13

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-14

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-15

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-16

https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kimble-kimball-bent-an-unusual-european-who-deserted-the-british-army-and-joined-the-hau-hau-17

with thanks to son-of-satire for the banner