Soon after Tuhuruhuru [ Helmet] was born, Tinirau [Tiny] endeavoured to find a skilful magician, who might perform the necessary enchantments and incantations to render the child a fortunate and successful warrior.
Kae [Border] was the name of an old magician, whom some of his friends brought to him for that purpose, and in due time Kae arrived in the village where Tinirau lived, and he performed the proper enchantments with fitting ceremonies over the infant.
When all these things had been rightly concluded, Tinirau gave a signal to a pet whale that he had tamed, to come on shore, this whale’s name was Tutunui. [Great noise]
When it knew that its master wanted it, it left the ocean in which it was sporting about, and came to the shore, and its master laid hold of it, and cut a slice of flesh off, to make a feast for the old magician.
He cooked it, and he gave a portion of it to Kae, who found that it was very savoury, and praised the dish very much.
Shortly after, Kae said that it was necessary for him to return to his own village, which was named Te Tihi-o Manono. [The top of the teeth]
So Tinirau ordered a canoe to be got ready for him to take the old magician back, but, Kae made excuses, and said that he didn’t want to go back in the canoe, and remained where he was.
This was a trick on Kae’s part, his real objective was to get Tinirau to permit him to go back upon the whale, Tutunuiu., for he now knew how savoury the flesh of that fish was.
At last Tinirau lent Tutunui to the old magician to carry him home, but he gave him very particular directions.
Telling him, “When you get so near the shore that the fish touches the bottom, it will shake itself to let you know, and you must then, without any delay, jump off on the right-hand side.”
He then wished Kae farewell, and the old magician and the whale started through the water, with the old magician seated on the whales back.
When they got close to the shore at Kae’s village, and the whale felt the bottom, it shook its self as a sign to Kae to jump off and wade ashore, but it was of no use.
The old magician stuck fast to the whale, and pressed it down against the bottom as hard as he could, in vain the fish continued to shake itself.
Kae held on to it and would not jump off, and in its struggles, the blow-holes of Tutunui got blocked with sand, and the fish died.
Kae and his people then managed to drag up the body of Tutunui on shore, intending to feast upon it, this circumstance became afterwards the cause of a war between the two tribes.
When they had dragged the body of Tutunui on shore, they cut it up and cooked it in ovens, covering the flesh up with the fragrant leaves of the Koromiko tree, before they heaped the earth upon the ovens.
The fat of Tutunui adhered to the leaves of the Koromiko, and they continue greasy to this day, so that if Koromiko boughs are put on the fire they become greasy, and the proverb says “There’s some of the savoriness of Tutunui”.
Tinirau continued anxiously to look for the return of Tutunui, and when a long time had elapsed without its coming back again, he began to say to himself, “Well, I wonder where my whale can be stopping?”
When Kae and his people had cooked the flesh of the whale, and the ovens were opened, a savoury scent was wafted across the sea to Tinirau, and both he and his wife knew very well that Kae had killed the pet which they had tamed for their little darling, Tuhuruhuru, and that he had eaten it.
Without any delay, Tinirau’s people dragged down to the sea a large canoe which belonged to one of his wives.
Forty women forthwith embarked in it, none but women went, as this would be less likely to excite suspension in Kae that they had come with hostile intent.
Just before the canoe started Tinirau’s youngest sister asked him, “What are the marks by which we shall know Kae?”
Tanirau replied, “Oh, you can not mistake him, his teeth are uneven and all overlap one another.”
Away the paddled, and in due time they arrived at the village of the old magician Kae.
His tribe all collected to see the strangers, towards night, when it grew dark, a fire was lit in the house of Kae, and a crowd collected inside it, until it was filled, one side was filled with visitors and the other side with people of Kae’s own tribe.
The magician himself sat at the foot of the main pillar which supported the roof of the house, and mats were laid down there for him to sleep on,
But the strangers did not yet know which was Kae, for it did not accord with Maori rules of politeness to ask the names of chiefs, it being supposed from their fame and greatness that they are known by everybody.
In order to find out which was Kae, Tinirau’s people had decided that they would try by wit and fun to make everybody laugh, and when the people opened their mouths, to watch which one of them had uneven teeth, and thus discover which was Kae.
In order, therefore, to make them laugh, Raukatauri exhibited all her amusing tricks and games, she made them sing and play upon the flute, and upon the putorino [pipes], and beat time with castanets of bone and wood whilst they sang.
They played at Mora, and the kind of game where many motions are made with the fingers and hands, and the kind of game where, while the players sing, they rapidly throw short sticks to one another, keeping time to the tune that they are singing.
Raukatauri played upon an instrument like a Jews harp for them, and made puppets dance, and after they had done all these things, the man that they thought was Kae had never smiled or even once laughed.
The Tinirau party consulted together, and said, “What can we do to make that fellow laugh?”, and they thought for a long time.
At last, they thought that they should all sing a droll comic song and at the same time, they made curious faces, shaking their hands and arms in time with the tune.
When they had finished their song the old magician could not help laughing out loud and those who were watching closely at once recognized him, for there they saw pieces of the flesh of Tutunui still sticking between his teeth, and his teeth were all uneven, and overlapped one another.
From this, a proverb has been preserved among the Maori.
If anybody, on listening to a story told by another, is amused at it and laughs, one of the bystanders says, “Ah, there’s Kae laughing”
No sooner did the women who had come from Tinirau’s see the flesh of Tutunui sticking in Kae’s teeth than they made an excuse for letting the fire burn dimly in the house.
Saying that they wanted to go to sleep, their real reason was so they would be able to perform their enchantments without being seen.
The old magician suspected something, so he took two round pieces of mother-of-pearl shell, and stuck one in each eye socket, so the strangers. observing the faint rays of light reflected from the surface of the mother of pearl might think that they saw the whites of his eyes, and he was still awake.
The women from Tirirau’s went on, however, with their enchantments, and by their magical arts threw everybody in the house into an enchanted sleep, with the intention of carrying off Kae by stealth.
As soon as Kae and the people in the house were all deep in this enchanted sleep, the women ranged themselves in a long row.
The whole way from where Kae slept down to the canoe, they all stood in a straight line, with a little interval between them.
Then two of them went to fetch Kae, and gently lifted him up, rolled in his cloaks, just as he had laid himself down to sleep.
They placed him gently in the arms of those who were waiting at the door, then to the next until they reached two women in the canoe ready to receive him, and they laid him down fast asleep as he was.
When the women reached the village of Tinirau in their canoe, they again took up Kae, and carried him very gently up to the house of Tinirau, and laid him down, still fast asleep, by the central pillar, that supported the ridgepole of the house.
This was the same place as he would sleep in his own house, the house of Kae was, however, a large circular house, without a ridge pole, but with rafters springing from the central pillar, running down like rays to low side posts in the circular wall,
The house of Tinirau’s was a long house, with a ridgepole running the entire length of the roof, and resting on the pillar in its centre.
When Tinirau heard that the old magician had been brought to the village, he ordered his tribe that when he made his appearance in the morning, going to the house where Kae was sleeping, all should call out loud, “Here comes Tinirau,” “Here comes Tinirau,”
This was to suggest that Tinirau was coming as a visitor into the village of Kae, so that the old magician, on hearing them, might think that he was still at home.
In broad daylight next morning when Tinirau’s people saw him passing through the village towards his home, they all shouted aloud, “Here comes Tinirau, Here comes Tinirau.”
Kae, who heard the cries, started up from his enchanted sleep quite drowsy and confused, while Tinirau passed straight on, and sat down just outside of the door of the house, but so he could see in.
Tinirau saluted Kae, saying, “Salutations to you. O Kae.” and then he asked him, saying, “How come you here?”
The old magician replied, “Nay, but rather, how come you here?”
Tinirau replied, “Just look, then, at the house and see if you recognize it?”
But Kae, who was still stupefied by his sleep, looking down and around, saw that he was lying in his place by the foot of the pillar, and said, “This is my house”.
Tinirau then asked him, ”Where was the window placed in your house?”
Kae started and looked, the whole appearance of his house appeared to be changed, he at once guessed the truth, that the house he was in belonged to Tinirau.
The old magician, who saw that his hour had come. Bowed his head in silence to the earth.
They seized him and slew him, and thus perished Kae.
The news of his death, at last, reached his tribe, and they eventually attacked the fortress of Tinirau with a large army, and avenged the death of Kae by slaying Tinirau’s son.
Info From Sir George Grey
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-spread-of-the-descendants-of-hoturoa
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/tainui-canoe-travels-from-hawaiki-to-new-zealand
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/myths-and-legends-of-new-zealand-intro
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/how-this-series-began
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-warrior-deeds-of-kaihuma
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/how-kaihamu-killed-his-enemies-at-waiatapu
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/tupahau-goes-fishing-at-marokopa
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/maki-s-battles-in-tamaki
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/karewa-s-fights-with-the-ngapuhi
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-continuing-battles-of-the-tainui-people
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/the-story-of-maru-tuahu
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/continuing-maru-tuahu-s-story
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/kiki-and-tamure-the-two-sorcerers
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/te-rauparaha
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/some-of-the-stories-of-tawhaki
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/some-more-of-the-stories-of-tawhaki
https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/rupe-s-ascent-to-heaven
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