29/09/21
HAKA
Once there was a strong, fierce, brave and smart chief named Te Rauparaha. He was a great warrior and had many enemies. Also he was feared by many other tribes. Then one day he decided to go look for reinforcements because his men weren’t enough to help him so he went to lake Rotoaira and asked their chief Te wharerangi. Then Te Rauparaha found out that his enemies tohunga was using magic to find him.
The chief, Te Wharerangi told him to hide in the potato pit. In the bottom of the pit it was pitch black and a wahine called Te Rangikoea had so much mana that she weakened the magic. Te Rauparaha pressed his ear against the wall and the voices and the footsteps of his enemies Then muttered to himself, “Will I die? Will I die? Will I live? Will I live?” Then he heard the footsteps and voices getting fainter and fainter until all you could hear was birds singing. Then he exclaimed, “ Onwards the sun shall shine on me again!” When he got home he told the story to his tribe and his tribe turned it into a Haka and that is how it was repeated for generations and that’s how we know it today!
Whiti te ra!