Written & narrated in te reo Māori by Hana Mereraiha. Illustrations by Munro Te Whata. English translations by Hana Mereraiha. English narration by Lizzie Dunn.
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.
Māori | English |
Tērā tētehi taitama, ko Hatupatu tōna ingoa. He tinihanga tana momo, he tūmatarau, he pūmanawa tuaiho. | Once upon a time there was a young man called Hatupatu. He was a bit of a trickster—extremely talented with extraordinary abilities. |
He rite tonu tana haere ki te nehenehe nui a Tāne, ki reira whakakoikoitia ai ōna pūkenga whiu mata. | Hatupatu followed in the footsteps of Tāne (deity of the forests) as he moved through the god's majestic forests sharpening his art of casting spells. |
E ai ki te kōrero he rūanuku a Hatupatu engari i te rapu tonu ia i tana kurahuna. | According to all accounts, Hatupatu was somewhat of a sorcerer but he was still in pursuit of magical prowess. |
Ahakoa rā ia i mōhio he pūmanawa i a ia kāore i ētahi atu tāngata, kāore tonu ērā pūmanawa i pakari. | In spite of this, he knew he had talents beyond those of other mere mortals but those talents were latent. |
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Nōna e whakamātau ana i āna mata nanao manu ka tūpono ia ki tētehi kuia hautupua, mutunga mai o te whakamataku, whakaweriweri, ko Kurangaituku tōna ingoa. | One day Hatupatu was practicing his art of sneering birds in the great forest. Little did he know, he was being stalked by a terrifying bird-woman known as Kurangaituku. |
Ko ōna maikuku he roa, he koi, ka mutu, he kaha ōna ngutu he pewa tonu te āhua. | Kurangaituku was a fearsome monstrosity who had a half human appearance. Her nails were gnarled and sharp as was her prominent beak, shaped in a curve. |
Tē aro i a Hatupatu i te whakamomokatia ia e te kuia mōrihariha rā ka mauheretia atu a Hatupatu ka whakahokia ki tana rua. | She ensnared Hatupatu and took him back to her cave. |
I tā rāua taenga atu ki te rua ka kite a Hatupatu i te mahi a ngā manu a Rēhua (Atua o te māramatanga); | When they arrived at the cave, Hatupatu saw many of the children of Rēhua (the deity of enlightenment). |
Nāna ētahi manu i takoha ki a Tāne nō tana pikinga ki te toi o ngā rangi ki te tiki i ngā kete o te wānanga. | These were the children gifted to Tāne with a number of other species upon Tane’s arrival to the 12th heaven on his famous search for the baskets of knowledge. |
Ka kawea mai e Tāne aua manu rā ki tana wao nui; he kōkō, he kekerewai, he tātarakihi, he pihareinga, katoa katoa he mōkai nā Kurangaituku. | Tāne then brought these creatures back to his forest; among them the tūī bird, the green mānuka beetle, the cicada, and the cricket. All of them were held captive by Kurangaituku. |
Ka hopo a Hatupatu, ka ngana ia ki te whakarere i te rua rā engari kāore i riwha.
Hatupatu was overwhelmed to see all these creatures and tried at his first opportunity to escape the cave, only to fail.
Ka rere te wā, ka taunga haere a Hatupatu ki te noho i te rua herehere o Kurangaituku. | Some time passed and Hatupatu became accustomed to being the captive of Kurangaituku. |
Ko tana kai i te ao i te pō he kaimata, he ako i ngā tikanga a te kuia, he whakarongo hoki ki ngā reo o te taiao. | Day in and day out his food consisted of mere morsels. He gradually became accustomed to the bird-woman’s habits and attuned to the sounds of nature. |
He tohunga a Kurangaituku ki ngā reo katoa, ka mutu, hāunga rā tana tinana mārohirohi me ōnā parirau rīrā, ko tana tino kurahuna ko tana mōhio ki te whakakōrero i ngā manu o te wao. | Hatupatu marveled at the fact that she was a master of all sounds—her ability to echo the delicate sounds of all the birds of the great forest of Tāne belied the strength of her body and the grotesqueness of her wings. |
Waihoki i wāia haere a Kurangaituku ki ā Hatupatu tikanga, i tukuna ia kia mahi tāna i pai ai. | Kurangaituku also became accustomed to Hatupatu’s habits and began to give him free reign in the cave. |
Whakamīharo atu ana a Hatupatu ki ngā pūkenga o te kuia manu, me tana tau ki te tuku mata e whakararata mai ai ngā manu ki a ia. | Hatupatu was absolutely bemused by her skill and her sorcerer-ability to control the birds who would flock towards her. So mystified was he that he felt he should try to match those skills. Thus, he started to practice and plot his escape. |
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I tētehi rangi ka puta a Kurangaituku ki te mahi kai, ka noho a Hatupatu ka tīmata tana whakamahere rautaki kia puta ai ia i te rua, kia hoki anō ki tōna kāinga, ki Te Motu o Tinirau (e mōhiotia nei ko Mokoia). | One 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). |
I mōhio pū a Hatupatu ka tino uaua te whakatinana i tāna rautaki, engari i whakapono ia ka taea. | Hatupatu 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. |
Ka oma a Hatupatu i te rua, haruru ana te whenua i ōna tapuwae. | Hatupatu ran out of the cave. His escape was so swift that his footsteps caused the land to shudder. |
Ka pararē mai ngā kupu i te waha o tētehi o ngā pīwaiwaka a Kurangaituku, | However he did not count on the shrill screech of one of the birds—the Piwaiwaka calling to Kurangaituku, |
'Kua puta, kua puta, kua puta a Hatupatu!' | ‘Escaped! Escaped! Hatupatu has escaped!’ |
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Ka rongo te kuia i te karanga o tana mōkai, ka tahuri ia ki te whai i a Hatupatu. | Kurangaituku heard the call of her beloved pet and set about chasing Hatupatu. |
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Ka tae a Hatupatu ki tētehi toka ka tukuna e ia tana mata tārei taiao, | Hatupatu arrived at a rock and worked his magic saying, |
'Huakina mai!' | ‘Rock! Rock! Open up!’. |
Ka pakō mai te toka rā, ka puare mai te tomokanga, kuhu wawe atu ana a Hatupatu. | The rock rumbled, bursting open its door whereupon Hatupatu swiftly entered. |
Taro ake ka puta anō a Hatupatu kua anga atu ki ngā puna waiariki o Te Whakarewarewa. | After a short time Hatupatu reappeared and headed towards the hot springs of the Whakarewarewa. |
Me te aha whakatata mai ana a Kurangaituku ki i a ia. | He was again being chased by the bird-woman, Kurangaituku, who was close in pursuit—so close he could feel her fiery breath rolling down his neck. |
I taua wā ka tīmata tā Hatupatu takutaku karakia e tere ake ai tana oma. | Hatupatu began his art of a ritual charm for more speed, to be fleet of foot. |
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Ka hēmanawa a Kurangaituku kamakere ki raro ko tana raukura, he pango te tae. | Meanwhile, Kurangaituku’s breathlessness caused her to lose a feather, a black feather. |
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I mahue hoki ko te tapuwae o Hatupatu, nā, kua kīia tērā wāhi ko Te Tapuwaekura o Hatupatu. | Hatupatu also left behind a footprint at the place now named ‘Te Tapuwaekura o Hatupatu’ (The Footprint of Hatupatu). |
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Kāore i roa ka tae rāua ki ngā waiariki, e koropupū ana te werawera, ka tarapekepeke haere a Hatupatu i ngā puna me tana pai hoki ki te kaupare i ngā mōreareatanga o te waiariki. | It was not long before they both arrived at the hot bubbling springs and geysers—over which Hatupatu jumped demonstrating his physical skills and avoiding the dangerous hazards of those hot springs. |
Kāore i pērā rawa te mōhiotia o ngā nuku o te whenua waiariki e Kurangaituku, | Such expertise in terms of navigating the lands of the hot springs and geysers was beyond Kurangaituku’s skill. |
Ka hinga ia i te werawera, ka taka ki te waikoropupū ki reira oti atu ai e.
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.
Koinei te putanga tuatahi o te ihu o Hatupatu i tētahi whakamātautau, ko tana wero he whakamahere rautaki, he tuku karakia e ora ai ia. | The outsmarting of Kurangaituku through physical strength and ritual charm was the first test Hatupatu passed. |
Ka hoki a Hatupatu ki te rua o Kurangaituku, ki te taiao nāna tōna kurahuna i tō mai ki te ao kikokiko, ka kite atu ia i te raukura pango e takoto ana i te waharoa. | 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. |
Ka rongo ia i te matemateāone. Ka tīkina e ia te raukura rā kua tīponatia ki tana pane hei tohu i te putanga o tana ihu mai te pō ki te ao mārama. Ka hoki ia ki Te Motu a Tinirau, ki tana tuarā ko ngā manu mōkai a Kurangaituku e whai ana i a ia. | It is there that a burning desire engulfed his being to return to the place of his belonging. He gathered the feather, binding it to his head as a sign that he had passed his first test in life—an ability to transform darkness into light—and returned to the Island of Tinirau with the once enslaved birds of Kurangaituku following close behind. |
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