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CH. v.
OF OLDEN TIME.
61
And to the bright light of day,
This kohukohu is offered for you,
The kohukoku of the Ruahine.
He is free, he is no longer tapu.
This kohukohu is offered for you,
The kohukoku of the Ruahine.
He is free, he is no longer tapu.
The female Atua were then fed with the kohukohu as in the former case. Then part of the kohukohu was offered for the mother, Whaka-oti-rangi.[1]
Turn away Night,
Come Day.
This is the kohukohu of freedom,
And deliverance from tapu.
This done, Ihenga took up another kohukohu, and held it aloft in his hand, while Kahu chanted thus:—
Close up Night, close up Day,
Close up Night as the soft south wind.
The tapu of the food
And the mana of the food,
The food with which you are fed,
The food of Kutikuti,
The food of Pekapeka,
The food of Haua-te-rangi,
I eat, Uenuku eats.
I eat, Kahukura eats.
I eat, Rongomai eats.
I eat, Ihungaro eats.
I eat, Itupaoa eats.
I eat, Hangaroa eats.
I eat, Ngatoro-irangi eats.
I eat, Tama eats.
- ↑ Kearoa and Whaka-oti-rangi being both sacred female ancestors—wives of Ngatoro and Tama, represented the Ruahine, the swallowing of this food by whom was requisite in removing the tapu. The tapu, or sacredness of Kahu, was supposed to be transferred to the kohukohu, and when this was eat by the ancestral spirits, the tapu was deposited with them.
