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A story of Hatupatu & Kurangaituku / Una historia de Hatupatu y Kurangaituku
Written by Hana Mereraiha. Illustrations by Munro Te Whata. English translation by Hana Mereraiha. English narration by Lizzie Dunn. Spanish translation and narration by Mariana Suarez.

This story was brought to you by our amazing partners at Latin America CAPE. Find the full 'Legendary Links; project and other language combos for this story here.
āEnglish | Spanish |
Once upon a time there was a young man called Hatupatu. He was a bit of a tricksterāextremely talented with extraordinary abilities. | HabĆa una vez un joven llamado Hatupatu. Era un poco pĆcaro, extremadamente talentoso y con habilidades extraordinarias. |
Hatupatu followed in the footsteps of TÄne (deity of the forests) as he moved through the god's majestic forests sharpening his art of casting spells. | Hatupatu siguió los pasos de TÄne (dios de los bosques) mientras se desplazaba a travĆ©s de los majestuosos bosques de su dominio, Hatupatu perfeccionó su arte de lanzar hechizos. |
āAccording to all accounts, Hatupatu was somewhat of a sorcerer but he was still in pursuit of magical prowess. āIn spite of this, he knew he had talents beyond those of other mere mortals but those talents were latent. | SegĆŗn cuentan los relatos, Hatupatu era un hechicero, pero todavĆa estaba en busca de habilidad mĆ”gica. A pesar de esto, sabĆa que tenĆa talentos mĆ”s allĆ” que los otros simples mortales, y esos talentos eran evidentes. |
ā | ā |
āOne day Hatupatu was practicing his art of sneering birds in the great forest. āLittle did he know, he was being stalked by a terrifying bird-woman known as Kurangaituku. | Un dĆa, Hatupatu estaba practicando su arte de atrapar con lazo los pĆ”jaros en el gran bosque. No se dio cuenta que estaba siendo acechado por una aterradora mujer pĆ”jaro conocida como Kurangaituku. |
āKurangaituku was a fearsome monstrosity who had a half human appearance. āHer nails were gnarled and sharp as was her prominent beak, shaped in a curve. | Kurangaituku era un monstruo temible que tenĆa una apariencia medio humana. Sus uƱas eran nudosas y afiladas, al igual que su prominente pico, en forma de curva. |

She ensnared Hatupatu and took him back to her cave. | Ella atrapó a Hatupatu y lo llevó de regreso a su cueva. |
When they arrived at the cave, Hatupatu saw many of the children of RÄhua (the deity of enlightenment). | Cuando llegaron a la cueva, Hatupatu vió a muchos de los hijos de RÄhua (dios del conocimiento). |
āThese were the children gifted to TÄne with a number of other species upon Taneās arrival to the 12th heaven on his famous search for the baskets of knowledge. | Estos fueron los niƱos dados a TÄne con muchas otras especies a la llegada de TÄne al dĆ©cimo segundo cielo mientras estaba en busca de las cestas de conocimiento. |
TÄne then brought these creatures back to his forest; among them the tūī bird, the green mÄnuka beetle, the cicada, and the cricket. All of them were held captive by Kurangaituku. | Luego TÄne trajo a estas criaturas de vuelta a su bosque; entre ellos el pĆ”jaro tūī, el escarabajo verde mÄnuka, la cigarra y el grillo. Todos los cuales fueron cautivos por Kurangaituku. |
Hatupatu was overwhelmed to see all these creatures and tried at his first opportunity to escape the cave, only to fail.
Hatupatu se sintió abrumado al ver a todas estas criaturas e intentó en su primera oportunidad escapar de la cueva, pero fracasó.
Some time passed and Hatupatu became accustomed to being the captive of Kurangaituku. | Pasó algún tiempo y Hatupatu se acostumbró a ser cautivo de Kurangaituku. |
Day in and day out his food consisted of mere morsels. He gradually became accustomed to the bird-womanās habits and attuned to the sounds of nature. | DĆa tras dĆa su comida consistĆa en meros bocados. Poco a poco se acostumbró a los hĆ”bitos de la mujer pĆ”jaro y se adaptó a los sonidos de la naturaleza. |
āHatupatu marveled at the fact that she was a master of all soundsāher ability to echo the delicate sounds of all the birds of the great forest of TÄne belied the strength of her body and the grotesqueness of her wings. | Hatupatu se maravilló del hecho de que ella era una maestra de todos los sonidos: su capacidad para hacer eco de los delicados sonidos de todas las aves del gran bosque de TÄne contradecĆa la fuerza de su cuerpo y de sus alas. |
Kurangaituku also became accustomed to Hatupatuās habits and began to give him free reign in the cave. | Kurangaituku tambiĆ©n se acostumbró a los hĆ”bitos de Hatupatu y comenzó a darle mĆ”s libertad en la cueva. |
āHatupatu was absolutely bemused by her skill and her sorcerer-ability to control the birds who would flock towards her. āSo mystified was he that he felt he should try to match those skills. Thus, he started to practice and plot his escape. | Hatupatu estaba absolutamente perplejo con su talento y habilidad hechicera para controlar a los pĆ”jaros que acudĆan hacia ella. Tan desconcertado estaba que sintió que debĆa tratar de igualar esas habilidades. AsĆ, comenzó a practicar y planear su huida. |
āOne day Kurangaituku left to go hunting and Hatupatu decided to put into action his strategy to escape his incarceration from the cave to return home to Te Motu o Tinirau (known also as Mokoia Island). | Un dĆa Kurangaituku fue de cazerĆa y Hatupatu decidió poner en prĆ”ctica su estrategia para escaparse de su encierro en la cueva para regresar a su hogar en Te Motu o Tinirau (conocida tambiĆ©n como Isla Mokoia). |
āHatupatu was aware of the riskiness in attempting to escape but his sheer belief in his own abilities as a newly found master of his now well-formed craft spurred him on. | Hatupatu estuvo consciente del riesgo de intentar escapar, pero la confianza en sus propias habilidades como maestro de su reciente y bien testeadas aptitudeslo impulsó a arriesgarse. |
āHatupatu ran out of the cave. āHis escape was so swift that his footsteps caused the land to shudder. | Hatupatu salió corriendo de la cueva. Su escape fue tan rĆ”pido que sus pasos hicieron que la tierra temblara. |
āHowever he did not count on the shrill screech of one of the birdsāthe Piwaiwaka calling to Kurangaituku, | Sin embargo, no contó con el chillido estridente de uno de los pĆ”jaros: el Piwaiwaka llamando a Kurangaituku, |
āāEscaped! Escaped! Hatupatu has escaped!ā | Ā”Escapó! Ā”Escapó! Ā”Hatupatu ha escapado!'. |
ā | ā |
āKurangaituku heard the call of her beloved pet and set about chasing Hatupatu. | Kurangaituku escuchó la llamada de su amada mascota y comenzó a perseguir a Hatupatu. |
ā | ā |
āHatupatu arrived at a rock and worked his magic saying, | Hatupatu llegó a una roca y ejecutó su magia diciendo, |
āāRock! Rock! Open up!ā. | 'Ā”Roca! Ā”Roca! Ā”Ćbrete!'. |
āThe rock rumbled, bursting open its door whereupon Hatupatu swiftly entered. | La roca retumbó, abriĆ©ndose asĆ Hatupatu entró rĆ”pidamente. |

After a short time Hatupatu reappeared and headed towards the hot springs of the Whakarewarewa. | Después de un rato, Hatupatu reapareció y se dirigió hacia las aguas termales de Whakarewarewa. |
He was again being chased by the bird-woman, Kurangaituku, who was close in pursuitāso close he could feel her fiery breath rolling down his neck. | Nuevamente fue perseguido por la mujer pĆ”jaro, Kurangaituku, que estaba cerca al acecho, tan cerca que podĆa sentir su aliento ardiente sobre su cuello. |
āHatupatu began his art of a ritual charm for more speed, to be fleet of foot. | Hatupatu comenzó su arte de un encanto ritual para darle mĆ”s velocidad y poder correr rapidamentre. |
ā | ā |
āMeanwhile, Kurangaitukuās breathlessness caused her to lose a feather, a black feather. | Mientras tanto, la falta de aliento de Kurangaituku le hizo perder una de sus plumas, una pluma negra. |
ā | ā |
āHatupatu also left behind a footprint at the place now named āTe Tapuwaekura o Hatupatuā (The Footprint of Hatupatu). | Hatupatu tambiĆ©n dejó una huella en el lugar ahora llamado 'Te Tapuwaekura o Hatupatu' (La huella de Hatupatu). |
ā | ā |
āIt was not long before they both arrived at the hot bubbling springs and geysersāover which Hatupatu jumped demonstrating his physical skills and avoiding the dangerous hazards of those hot springs. | No pasó mucho tiempo antes de que ambos llegaran a las aguas termales y gĆ©iseres sobre los que Hatupatu saltó, demostrando sus habilidades fĆsicas y evitando los peligros de esas aguas termales. |
āSuch expertise in terms of navigating the lands of the hot springs and geysers was beyond Kurangaitukuās skill. | Tal pericia en tĆ©rminos de navegar por las tierras de las aguas termales y los gĆ©iseres fue mayor quelas habilidades de Kurangaituku. |
As her eyes became fogged with the steam and she was overcome by heat exhaustion, she fell into the bubbling hot pools never to be seen again.
Cuando sus ojos se empañaron con el vapor, el calor la venció, sey cayó en las burbujeantes aguas termales para nunca mÔs ser vista.
The outsmarting of Kurangaituku through physical strength and ritual charm was the first test Hatupatu passed. | El ingenio de Kurangaituku a travĆ©s de la fuerza fĆsica y el encanto ritual fue la primera prueba que Hatupatu pasó. |
He then returned to the cave of Kurangaituku, to the place of his metamorphosis into enlightenment, where he saw a black feather lying at the gateway. | Luego regresó a la cueva de Kurangaituku, al lugar de su metamórfosis en iluminación, donde vio una pluma negra tirada en la puerta de entrada. |
āIt is there that a burning desire engulfed his being to return to the place of his belonging. āHe gathered the feather, binding it to his head as a sign that he had passed his first test in lifeāan ability to transform darkness into lightāand returned to the Island of Tinirau with the once enslaved birds of Kurangaituku following close behind. | Es allĆ donde un ardiente deseo envolvió a su ser y de regresar al lugar donde pertenecĆa. El recogió la pluma, atĆ”ndola a su cabeza como una seƱal de que habĆa pasado la primera prueba en su vida, la capacidad de transformar la oscuridad en luz, y regresó a la isla de Tinirau con las aves que una vez fueron esclavizadas por Kurangaituku. |
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