Some of the chants were amazing mixtures of English and Maori; some were all pidgin-English, softened by the melodious Maori tongue. Here is a specimen of the daily chants, intoned by all the people as they marched round and round the holy pole. The priest shouted, "Porini, hoia!" ("Fall in, soldiers!"); then "Teihana!" ("Attention!"), and they stood waiting. Then they chanted, as they got the order to march:
| Translation. | |
| Kira | Kill |
| Wana | One |
| Tu | Two |
| Tiri | Three |
| Wha— | Four— |
| Teihana! | Attention! |
Round the sacred flagstaff they went—men, women, and children—chanting:
And so on, a marvellous farrago of Maorified English words and phrases. It was Te Ua's "gift of tongues," they imagined, that had descended upon them.
Night and morning, too, the sound of Hauhau prayers rose from the great camp. Here is one, the "Morning Song" ("Waiata mo te Ata"), in imitation of the English Prayer-book:
| Translation. | |
| Koti te Pata, mai mariré; | God the Father, have mercy on me; |
| Koti te Pata, mai mariré; | God the Father, have mercy on me; |
| Koti te Pata, mai mariré; | God the Father, have mercy on me; |
| To riré, riré! | Have mercy, mercy (or peace, peace)! |
| Koti te Tana, mai mariré; | God the Son, have mercy on me; |
| Koti te Tana, mai mariré; | God the Son, have mercy on me; |
| Koti te Tana, mai mariré; | God the Son, have mercy on me; |
| To riré, riré! | Have mercy, mercy! |
| Koti te Orikoti, mai mariré; | God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on me; |
| Koti te Orikoti, mai mariré; | God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on me; |
| Koti te Orikoti, mai mariré; | God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on me; |
| To riré, riré! | Have mercy, mercy! |
| To mai Niu Kororia, mai mariré; | My glorious Niu, have mercy on me; |
| To mai Niu Kororia, mai mariré; | My glorious Niu, have mercy on me; |
| To mai Niu Kororia, mai mariré; | My glorious Niu, have mercy on me; |
| To riré, riré! | Have mercy, mercy! |
The more warlike chants ended in a loudly barked "Hau!" the watchword and holy war-cry of the rebel bushmen. Very wild they were, these savage hymns, haunting in rhythm, and stirring the people to a frenzy of fanatic fire.
Kimble Bent joined in these Hauhau war-rites like any Maori, and marched, chanting with his wild comrades, round and round the Niu.