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the Mountain Man, the Tūhoe people are called the Children of the Mist.
Hiki ake te kohu e;
Ko Hine-pūkohu-rangi
Tāpapa ana ki ngā kōawa
Hei kākahu mō
Papa-tua-nuku
Hora nei te moenga
Mō te tipua nei a Te Maunga1
Ki runga o Ōnini e2
Ka hono ki a
Hine-pūkohu-rangi
Hurainga ko ngā rarauwhe
Kia puta ko Ngā Pōtiki3
Ngā uri o Te Maunga
Ngā Tamariki o te Kohu
The mist rises;
It is the Mist Maiden,
lying in the gullies
as a cloak for
Mother Earth.
The bedding is laid
for our ancestor Te Maunga.
on top of Onini.
so that the Mist Maiden
can entwine herself about him.
Fold back the fern fronds
so that the Tuhoe people may emerge
They are the descendants of The Mountain
The Children of the Mist
1. In some versions on the internet, people have written "te maunga" - the mountain.
But Te Maunga is a person.
2. Onini is near Ruatahuna, on the left bank of the Manga-o-rongo stream. =>
3. The Tuhoe people are descended from Tūhoe Pōtiki, and were first known as Ngā Pōtiki.
Guitar Chords
This song is being sung here in the key of B minor.
On a guitar you can use the bar chords Bm, G, A, Em and D.
Or you can put a capo on the second fret and use these easier chords.Capo +2
Am Hiki F ake Am te G kohu Am e;
Ko F Hine-Am-pū-G-kohu-Am-rangi
Dm Tāpapa ana ki ngā C kōa-Am-wa
G Hei kākahu mō Papatuanu-Am-ku
The Children of the Mist
The Tūhoe people of the Urewera forest call themselves the children of the mist because they trace their spiritual ancestry back to Te Maunga, who was lured to earth from the skies by Hine-pū-kohu-rangi (girl-patch-mist-sky).
Hinepūkohurangi later became the mist and Te Maunga became the Urewera mountains.
According to evidence presented to the Waitangi Tribunal, all of Tūhoe are descendants of Potiki I, also known as Potiki-tiketike, who was the offspring of the union of Te Maunga and Hinepūkohurangi. Thus all Tūhoe are descendants of the land itself.
The Mist Maiden is called Tairi-a-kohu by the neighbouring Ngati Kahungunu people. They tell of how she seduced their ancestor Uenuku and turned him into a rainbow.
Another story of Tūhoe origins tells of Murakarake who lived west of the Urewera forest lands. When his people were defeated in battle, he escaped with his two sons Tama Kaimoana and Tūhoe Potiki (Potiki II) across the inhospitable Kaingaroa plains.
Near the Whakatane River they stopped to rest for a while. Unable to find food for his famished sons, Murakarake told his older boy Tama to kill and eat their dog and give the choicest parts to young Potiki. Tama Tama killed the dog, but ate most of it himself, causing Potiki to wail loudly. Murakarake awoke and reproached Tama, but the boy jeered at his old father causing him to fall on their fire in a fit and burn his penis; hence the name Urewera. (Lambert, 1936)
Tūhoe Potiki settled in the Urewera and married three women: Tomairangi, Kokomukatarawhere and Paretaranui, the ancestor of Ngāti Manawa. Potiki's descendants became known as Ngā Potiki.
In a later generation, Te Rangitiriao, a direct descendant of Potiki, married Rakeiora, daughter of Tamakihikurangi of Te Hapuoneone and a direct descendant of Toi.
A proverb encapsulates the relationship between these various ancestors:Na Toi raua ko Potiki te whenua, na Tūhoe te mana me te rangatiratanga.
From Toi and Potiki I is the land, from Tūhoe is the prestige and the rank. (Tribunal, 2007)
Dr. Hirini Melbourne
Tuhoe, Kahungunu.
Composer, university lecturer.Hirini Melbourne devoted his life to promoting Maori language, culture and music. Of Tuhoe descent, he was a native speaker of Maori. As a student at Auckland University in the 1970s, he was a member of Maori activist organisation Nga Tamatoa, which petitioned Government to have Maori taught in schools as part of its focus on Maori identity.
He began writing songs and stories to fit with the urban experience of Maori of his generation and turned his frustration with the quality of educational resources for Maori into action by becoming editor of Maori School Publications.
In a class of his own, he led the resurgence of traditional Maori music, and over the years he has composed many Maori songs, including the popular Tihore Mai Te Rangi, and he has produced more than 20 recordings.
His discovery of traditional Maori musical instruments led him on a journey of discovery around New Zealand as he researched their histories and uses through asking the old people. Working with with musician Richard Nunns and instrument-maker Brian Flintoff, he led the revival of a Maori tradition that was almost stamped out. He has used these Maori instruments in the feature films Mauri and Once Were Warriors, and these instruments are now widely used by musicians and in kapa haka performance.
He served as a member of the board of the New Zealand Film Commission and the New Zealand Music Commission and as an assessor for Te Waka Toi and the Arts Board of Creative New Zealand over many years. He also composed music for various festivals, productions and orchestras.
In 2002, he was diagnosed with incurable cancer. At that time he was teaching in the School of Maori and Pacific Development at Waikato University, and working for his doctoral thesis on the history and development of Maori Music.
In March of that year, his university awarded him an Honorary Doctorate, and in July he received the Te Waka Toi Exemplary Award for outstanding leadership and service to Maori arts and culture.
In the 2003 New Year Honours, Dr Melbourne was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori language, music and culture. He died not long after, at his family home in Hamilton, on Jan 6 2003.
The range and depth of Hirini's knowledge and activities in Maori language, music, literature and historical research was formidable: he made an enormous contribution to New Zealand's cultural landscape.Webpage put onto folksong.org.nz website 1 October 2012
