From the earliest period of Maori history Tokanu has been an important place of native settlement, and it is still one of the principal strongholds of the Ngatituwharetoa. It is likewise, at the present time, one of the most jealously-guarded entrances to the King Country. Situated, as it is, in the very centre of the island, it formed in former years the point at which the chief war-tracks converged. During the early days, when tribal wars were frequent, there were three main tracks (existing to this day) which were principally used for conveying intelligence throughout the island. One came from Whanganui, in the south, across the Rangipo table-land to Tokanu, while two others diverged from the latter place, one striking west, through that portion of the island now known as the King Country, and thence to the north. The other passed along the eastern shores of Lake Taupo, and thence to Maketu. The natives told us that in war-time men belonging to the various tribes through whose territory the tracks passed, were stationed at different points, and they, by moving rapidly from place to place when in receipt of information, conveyed it thus from one end of the island to the other in an incredibly short space of time.
Besides its many other historic associations, Te Rapa, an old pa near Tokanu, was the scene of the terrible catastrophe by which Te Heuheu, the great warrior chief of the Ngatituwharetoa, met his death, with sixty of his followers, by a land-slip, which overwhelmed his pa during the night, in the month of May, 1846. The site of this terrific fall of earth may still be traced, while the name and fame of Te Heuheu still resounds from Tokanu even unto the lofty peaks of Tongariro, where the Maori hero, armed even in death with his spear and mere, awaits the sound of the last trumpet. It was in memory of Te Heuheu's untimely end that his brother, Iwikau, composed the following lament, which for poetic diction and pathos has no equal in the Maori language:[43]—
See o'er the heights of dark Tauhara's mount
The infant morning wakes. Perhaps my friend
Returns to me, clothed in that lightsome cloud!—
Alas! I toil alone in this lone world.
Yes, thou art gone!
Go, thou mighty! go, thou dignified!
Go, thou who wert a spreading tree to shade
Thy people when evil hover'd round!
And what strange god has caused so dread a death
To thee and thy companions?
Sleep on, O Sire, in that dark, damp abode!
And hold within thy grasp that weapon rare,
Bequeath'd to thee by thy renown'd ancestor,
Ngahuia, when he left the world.
Turn yet this once thy bold, athletic frame!
And let me see thy skin carved o'er with lines
Of blue; and let me see thy face so
Beautifully chisell'd into varied forms;—
Ah! the people now are comfortless and sad!
The stars are faintly shining in the heavens!
For "Atutahi" and "Rehua-Kai-tangata"
Have disappear'd, and that fair star that shone
Beside the milky way. Emblems these
Of thee, O friend beloved.
The Mount of Tongariro rises lonely
In the South; while the rich feathers that
Adorn'd the great canoe "Arawa,"
Float upon the wave, and women from the
West look on and weep!
Why hast thou left behind the valued treasures
Of thy famed ancestor Rongomaihuia,
And wrapp'd thyself in night?
Cease thy slumbers, O thou son of Rangi!
Wake up, and take thy battle-axe, and tell
Thy people of the coming signs; and what
Will now befall them. How the foe, tumultuous
As the waves, will rush with spear uplifted;
And how thy people will avenge their wrongs,
Nor shrink at danger. But let the warriors
Breathe awhile, nor madly covet death!
Lo, thou art fallen, and the earth receives
Thee as its prey! But thy wondrous fame
Shall soar on high, resounding o'er the heavens![44]
The small, picturesque island of Motutaiko, which forms one of the most conspicuous and attractive features when looking from Tokanu over the lake, is formed by an oblong mass of rock, with precipitous sides, which arise abruptly from the water. It is mostly covered with a dense vegetation, which casts its fantastic shadows upon the shining surface below, and altogether it is a very pretty and a very romantic-looking place. It is accessible only on one side, and the water surrounding it is said by the natives to be of enormous depth.
As with most remarkable places situated in solitary positions, the superstitious mind of the Maori has made this curious island the abode of an evil spirit or taniwha, one Horomatangi, who appears to act the part of a kind of Neptune of the lake. He is said by the natives to live in a submerged cave on the western side of the island, where the rocks are steepest. Ever on the alert, in fine or foul weather, whenever a passing canoe goes by, he stirs up the elements, and, causing the water to surge and roll, upsets the frail bark, and carries off its living freight to his abode beneath the lake. On this account natives, when navigating the lake, steer clear of this island.
FOOTNOTES:
[43] Te Heuheu was the most powerful chief of his time, and exercised a widespread influence over the Maori race, who regarded him in the light of a deified being. He is said to have been a man of herculean proportions, standing seven feet high.
[CHAPTER XV.]
THE RANGIPO TABLE-LAND.
Along the delta of the Upper Waikato—Mount Pihanga—The Poutu River and Lake Rotoaira—Boundaries of the Rangipo—Scenery—A fine night—A rough time—A great storm—The karamu as fodder—Banks of the Upper Waikato—Another start—More bad weather—Flooded creeks—Pangarara—Te Hau.