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TE HUĀNGA PĀKIKI
Tākiri ake ana te haeata i te umurangi, ka heke iho a Te Kawenga i te ara e pīkau ana i ngā tahā i whītikitia ai ki tāna kawerapa. Ko te hīkoi ki te puna tāna mahi tuatahi o te rā.
‘He mea mōrearea pea te noho o tō tātou papakāinga i waho o Te Ngutu, te waharoa o te pā. Manohi anō, he tino tata rawa tō tātou whānau ki te puna waiora,’ te whakamārama a tōna kuia. E ai ki a Te Kawenga, e kore rawa tēnei kōrero e paku whakamauru i te hōhā o taua mahi.
Ka whai te kōhine nei i ngā maioro o te pā kia puta atu ki te huarahi e ahu atu ana ki ngā ngakinga kai me te puna kei tua atu rā. Kei ngā taha o te huarahi he rākau whau e puāwai ana ānō nei kua ruiruia e te puaheiri. Ohorere ana tāna peke ki te piko o te ara whāiti nei kia kore ai ia e tukia e ngā kaimahi e tākawe ana i ngā kete e kī ana i te kirikiri. I Ōrongonui kua taha ake nei, i rangona tuatahitia ai te tangi a te pīpīwharauroa e kūī ana i te puhikaioreore o te kahikatea. Nā konā, kua tīmata te whakatika i te one mō te awe kāpara.
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Ka koropiko a Te Kawenga i te puna, ka mihi atu ia ki te hunga e taetae mai ana. Ka āta tō ia i ngā tahā ki te mata o te wai.
‘E kare, kua hoki kē mai tō pāpā i Pūponga?’ Ko te pātai tēnā a tōna tuakana a Kakati.
‘Kāhore anō. E kore ia e hoki tonu mai i mua i te whakaotinga o te para me te ngaki māra.’
‘Pēnei au, he mahi kē atu i te whakarite māra kai e haere ana ki reira, ki taua kūrae.’
‘He aha i pēnā ai ō whakaaro?’
‘Inā tata nei, i te waiwai a Te Tarata mā i ngā aka kareao i te repo, i Ngā Ana Wai, hei kawe atu ki Pūponga.’
‘Kia ahatia?’ te ui a Te Kawenga.
‘Ehara te aka kareao i te taputapu tika hei huhuti pakiaka, nē rā? Ahakoa āku pātai, auare ake. Kāhore tonu rātou i whāki mai i te take o tā rātou mahi.’
‘Kei te whakataka noa iho rātou ki te hī pioke. Mōhio koe, ko Te Tarata te kaiwhakahaere o te taputapu hī. He aha atu anō?’
‘E aua, engari ka whakarongo pīkari ōku taringa ki ā rātou kōrerorero.’
‘Ohiti rawa koe, e hoa,’ te whakatoi a te teina e whakamau ana i ngā kawerapa.
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Tae rawa atu ki te tomokanga ki ngā māra kai, ka tūtaki atu a Te Kawenga ki tōna whaea, ki a Whiu rātou ko ōna tēina. I te noho te whānau i waho i ngā paenga toka e karapoti ana i te māra.
Ko tā rātou kai he mānga tuna o inapō. I te mau pākē rātou katoa hei ārai i te hauhau o te ata.
‘Kia āta inu i te wai kei pau,’ te kohete a tō rātou whaea. ‘Mō te roanga ake o te rangi taua wai māori. Ākuanei, mā koutou katoa ahau e āwhina ki te whakawhenumi i te pungarehu me ngā kotakota ki te one, kātahi ka rite kia whakatōngia e Kui ngā kōpura kūmara.’
Ka ngoengoe mai tētahi pūkeko kapakapa i aruarumia ai ki waho o te māra e te koroheke, e Te Hape.
‘Aiii ... manu whakahōhā! Kia whakatōngia ngā kōpura, ka whakatūngia he tāepa. Mā tēnā ka ārai atu ēnei whakapōrearea e konihi haere mai nei i te repo,’ tāna kī.
‘Māku a Matua e āwhina ki te whakahie atu ki ngā pūkeko,’ te tohu a Piri.
‘Āhea tō tātou matua hoki mai ai?’ te pātai ohotata a Te Kawenga.
Kīhai tōna whaea i whakahoki kōrero. Kātahi anō ka oti i a ia te kai o te ata te whakapai, ā, kua kotahi atu ia ki ngā kete i whakarārangitia ai kei waho i te wharau o te kaitiaki i te ngakinga. Kei muri i a ia ngā tamariki e tūtārere ana. Ka hiki ngā tēina i ngā kāwai o ngā kete hei kawe atu ki tō rātou ake māra.
‘Kei te mahi ngātahi a Matua rātou ko Te Tarata mā?’ te kimikimi anō a Te Kawenga.
Ka titiro pī a Whiu. ‘E kī, he aha koe e uiui mai nei?’ tāna pātai i a ia e keri ripa ana ki te oneone kua kauhuritia.
‘I pātai mai a Kakati i te aha a Te Tarata mā ki Pūponga.’
‘Hei aha atu mā tō tuakana,’ te kī taikaha a tōna whaea. ‘Hoki iho rā, tiki kete ai.’
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Nō te poupoutanga o te rā, kua oti te mahi. Nāwai, ka kake ake te whānau i te aupikinga maunga ki tō rātou kāinga. Amuamu ana ngā tamariki i te hiakai.
‘Kāhore e kore kua whakaritea he kai e Hākui mā tātou,’ ngā kupu whakatenatena a tō rātou whaea. ‘Kia manawanui, e āku pī tītī.’
Ka tū noa a Te Kawenga kia pai ai te mātiro atu ki te takutai moana. He tai timu, he rangi paki, mārama noa
te kitenga o Te Rōutu o Ureia i tua atu i te Waitematā. Tērā te wā i kitea e ia te wai e kōriporipo ana, e whati ana ki taua ākau, ahakoa marino ana te moana. Ka whakapono mārika ia i te rapirapi te taniwha tapu a Ureia i tōna tuarā ki tōna heru tokatoka.
Nō tētahi pō o Hereturikōkā i te whare tapere, i rangona tuatahitia ai e Te Kawenga ngā pūrākau mō Ureia, mō te taniwha nāna nei te waka o Tainui i ārahi i roto o Tīkapa Moana. E ai ki ngā kōrero, i ētahi wā ka kau tonu atu taua kaitiaki o Hauraki ki te kare kōrekoreko o Te Waitematā. Nā konā, ka mātai ngā karu o Te Kawenga i ia kūrae, i ia ākau moana, nōna e heke iho ana i tōna pā o Maungawhau. I a ia e tamariki ana, ā, ka noho ā-puni te whānau ki te hao ika i te raumati, he horokukū nōna ki te kuhu ki te wai. Otirā ka kī taurangi tōna kuia, mā te whai i ngā tikanga kohikohi mātaitai e noho haumaru ai ia, ka mutu, me uaua kē te wehe atu a Ureia i tōna rua i Te Kirikiri.
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Nō te tūtakinga atu ki ōna tēina, ka oho mauri rātou i te tioro o te kangakanga a tō rātou kuia. Tae kau anō rātou ki te papakāinga, kua puta kē a Kui i te rua kūmara me te tāhoro i ētahi kōpura ki te papa.
‘Pokotiwha!’ ka hāparangi tōna waha. ‘Pirau katoa. Nā wai tēnei kete kōpura i raweke?’
‘Tē taea e te tangata te kuhu ki roto. Ko koe anake ka uru ki te rua,’ te whakahoki a Whiu kia tau ai tōna wairua. ‘He kōhao pea kei te tuanui. Kua katia tonutia te kūaha i ngā wā katoa.’
Kātahi te kuia ka hoki atu ki roto i te rua, ka mū haere tāna kohukohu i a ia e tirotiro ana i te toenga o ngā kōpura. Ka noho anipā te whānau, he wehi nō rātou he tau nihoroa kei te haere. Ka āwhio a Whiu i te rua kūmara, ka āta whāwhā i te tuanui.
‘Anei te raru,’ ka hamumu tōna waha i a ia e tohu ana i ngā tapa mākini o te rauwhare tōtara. ‘He puare. Kua ngaua e te kiore e ngana ana ki te hou atu.’
‘Te māringanui kotahi anake te kete kua kino,’ te kī a Kui i a ia e puta ana i te rua. ‘Ehara i te mea me kai aruhe mō te roanga ake o te makariri e heke mai nei, tamariki mā,’ tāna kimo ki ō rātou kanohi kua māoriori noa. ‘Tonoa a Pōkere kia whakatika i te tuanui. Me tāpoa o roto me kore noa e tūpono kua uru atu he kiore.’
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I tērā pō i a Te Kawenga e kānoti ana i te ngārehu ahi i roto i te wharepuni, ka mātaki ia i a Kui rāua ko Whiu e mātai ana i te whānau mārama hei whakatau i te rā tika kia whakatōngia ngā kōpura kūmara. Kīhai i whakaaetia te uru atu a ngā tamariki me ngā wāhine rangatahi ki te māra i taua wā. Heoi anō, e hia kē ngā wā kua mātaki noa a Te Kawenga i ngā mahi a ngā pakeke nā runga i te mōhio, ki hea noa iho ia, ina kitea tōna wāhi huna. Ka mahara tonu ia ki ngā pātai pākiki a tōna huānga i mua tata atu, engari kāhore tētahi paku mea rerekē i toko ake. I ia kōanga, i whakarite ai ngā tāne i ngā ngakinga kia tata rawa atu ki tō rātou wāhi hī ika, ā, ka maoa te hua hue i te raumati hei kai mā rātou. He tino manako ōna kia haere ngātahi ko tōna matua ki te puni hī ika ki te Mānukanuka o Hoturoa. I ētahi wā, ka tono a Kahotea i tāna mātāmua hei āwhina i a ia. Kāhore a Te Kawenga i
te amuamu mō te nui o te mahi nō te noho ngātahi me tōna matua. Pārekareka ki a ia te whakarongo atu ki āna kōrero mō ō rātou tūpuna nō Ngā Oho, mō tō rātou tohungatanga ki te hanga i ngā pā tūwatawata o Tāmaki-makau-rau.
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‘Hei Tangaroa-whakapau, hei ngā pō e toru ā muri mai. Kātahi te kaha tīaho mai o Kōpu,’ te whakatau a Kui.
‘Kua whakaritea te oneone?’
‘Āe e Kui, ahakoa te ngenge o tēnei tinana,’ te aurere a Whiu. ‘Hei āpōpō tātai au i te arorangi.’
‘Pai noa. Tatari tonu ana te tohunga ki te tuku karakia ki ngā kōpura.’
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Ka ngoki a Whiu ki roto i te wharepuni ki te moe i te taha o āna tamariki. Ka rongo a Te Kawenga i te awhi mahana a tōna tinana. Ka whakakōpania e Kui te whatitoka me te matapihi, kia pōuri ai ā-roto i te whare.