Page:Maori Religion and Mythology.djvu/91

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CH. vi.
NAMING LAND.
77

Arriving at the hills they rested, and Kahu sought a shelter under a rata tree, which he named Te Whakamarumaru-o-Kahu (Kahu's shelter). Thereupon Ihenga perceiving that Kahu was giving his own name to the land, pointed to a matai tree; for he saw a root jutting out from the trunk of the tree resembling a man's thigh; he therefore named it Te Ure-o-Tuhoro. He named it after his father's ure to weigh down the name of Kahu, his father-in-law, so that the place might go to his own descendants. And it went to his descendants, and is now in possession of Ngatitama. As they went on Kahu's dog caught a kakapo, so he named the place Te Kakapo. A little further on they came to a part of the hill where a stone projected from the face of the cliff. Then Kahu chanted a karakia called Uru-uru-whenua:—

I come to Matanuku,
I come to Matarangi,
I come to your land,
A stranger.
Feed thou on the heart of the stranger.
Put to sleep mighty spirits,
Put to sleep ancient spirits.
Feed thou on the heart of the stranger.

So he named the place Matanuku, which name remains to this day.

Arriving on the banks of the river Waikato he crossed over and rested while food was being cooked. The young men were very dilatory, and Kahu was angry at their laziness; so he named the place Mangare. Afterwards they came to the river Waipa, crossing which they passed over Pirongia to Waingaroa, and thence along the sea beach to the mouth of the river Waikato. Here