Whakaeke

Waitete, te kurī a Tūrongo

There are many Māori narratives about dogs, each tribe has their own historical narratives. This is our story about Waitete, Tūrongo’s pet dog. I have used this dog to relay Mahinarangi’s journey from the tribes of the Takitimu canoe on the East Coast in the hope that this story may continue to be told amongst my own people. I also want to uphold the accounts about this dog, as it was this dog that guided Mahinaarangi and her travelling party. The stories of Waitete have been omitted from our historical narratives, I'm not sure exactly why however, these are the accounts my elders passed on to me. As they relayed the stories to me, I thought of Waitete who would keep these accounts alive in my memory.

Maori lyrics

Kauhehei kei runga
Kahotea kei raro

Noho ana mai ko te tapairu tapu roa, mana nui tiketike

I Piri ai ki te ngākau marū i whakarerea Te Whare o Ngarue e hika e…i!

Waitete peropero mōkai nā Tūrongo

I waiho atu ki te Kōpua nui a Taraika eieieie!

Auē hī auē hei auē!
Hei huruhuru mō ngā waewae o te uri o Paikea ariki tamatoa nā Uenuku!

Hei mohorangi mā te mokopuna a Kahungunu ure paratī paratī auē e hika!

Moooi moooi Au! Au! Au! Auē!

Tō ihu e kurī ki te apataki

Ka whakararo te haere ki Te Wairoa hōpuapua hōngenengene matangirau

Auē whakauta te haere e hika ki Te Waikaukau o Haumapuhia

Hukehuke i te ara ki Huiarau kei tua ko te iwi kākahu mauku

moumou kai moumou taonga moumou tāngata ki te pō
Moooi moooi Au! Au! Au! Auē!

E Tete inumia te au o O-Hinemataroa e rere ana ki Te Mānuka Tūtahi

Nā Toroa ko Ruaihona ko Te Tahinga-o-te-rā! eieieie!

Auē e hika ko te kāwai o Rākeitekura ko Mātaatua

Takahia atu rā te takutai o Toitehuatahi

Ki ō huānga o Ranginui, he tama nā Tamatea-pōkai-whenua, pōkai moana
Moooi moooi! Au! Au! Au! Auē!

Kei Kaimai ko te whatinga o te whare wāhi awa! E tuku e hika!

I Te Ara Pōhatu auē kei Whenuakura te putanga o Te Hinu ki te ao

Hikihiki, e hika, ki Te Wai-ō-mōu
Hikihiki, e hika, ki Te Awa-a-Taikehu
Hikihiki, e hika, ki Te Horahoratanga
Hoatu, e Tete, kimihia, e Tete

Hongihongi i te hau, ko ngā kaokao o Tūrongo
Kei Rangiātea āhaha

English lyrics

Kauhehei is above
Kahotea is below

There resides the high born paramount chieftainess

Who abated an aching heart, the result of Te Whare o Ngarue being forsaken, alas!

Waitete the pet dog of Tūrongo
Who was left near the waters of Taraika
(rhythym chant)

To serve as a companion for the descendent of Paikea, the firstborn male of Uenuku

A pet dog for the grandchild of Kahungunu who was renowned for his prowess with women
Here boy, here! Bark, bark, bark!

Let your nose lead the retinue, boy
So that we may travel north to Te Wairoa-hōpuaua hōngenengene matangirau

Let us travel inland to the bathing place of Haumapuhia

We shall persevere along the path to Huiarau, there yonder reside the people clothed in the mauku fern
who are lavish with food, goods and people who are lost to the underworld
Here boy, here! Bark, bark, bark!

Tete, drink now from the O-Hinemataroa stream that flows to Te Mānuka Tūtahi
It was Toroa who begat Ruaihona, who then begat Tahinga o te rā

Alas, my friend, it is the ancestral lineage of Rākeitekura of Mātaatua

Traverse the path along the coast of the bay of Toitehuatahi to your kin of Ranginui, to the son of Tamatea who traversed the land and the sea
Here boy, here! Bark, bark, bark!

Kaimai is where the waters of the womb broke

Descend now, my firend, the Te Ara Pōhatu path to Whenuakura, to the place where Raukawa was born

Carry him, my friend, to the Te Wai-o-mōu
Carry him, my firend, to the Waikato River
Carry him, my friend, to Horahora

Go fourth now, Tete
Sniff out the scent of your master who resides in the Wharepūhunga region at Rangiātea

Arise, my dear dog
Bark, bark, bark
Return to me, my dear dog
Bark, bark, bark

Rest now, boy, at the feet of the multitude
Come boy, come! Waitete the dog of Tūrongo
Bark, bark, bark