Please refer to comments from NAOMIINNAPIER for corrections on kupu,
Little tiny treasure, treasure of renown,
The treasure who came from below Awarua;
The noble treasure, the famous treasure,
The treasure from afar off, the treasure of Tuhaepo!
A strange visitor is he, lately arrived here:
He is Te Umurangi, descended from Te Whatuiapiti.
Welcome, O son, welcome to this world of life.
You are to be ritually strengthened with the kahikatoa,
With the tumatakuru and the taraongaonga;
These were the thorny obstructions that you, O Kupe,
Bequeathed unto this world.
Climb up, ascend by the suspended way,
The pathway of Tawhaki when he ascended on high,
And there found Maikuku-makaka,
Attended by Hapai of Maui, and greetings were uttered:
'My beautiful lady!' 'My handsome man!'
A tribute for you two, O loved ones.
Ascend upwards, O son, with a full mouth.
You are of the highest, from the apex of the sky above;
You are descended from the Sky-Father, the Far-reaching Sky, you are from Tane himself,
You are from the Apa, from the awesome-Apa-of-the-heavens, the Apa-of-heaven's-lightning-flash;
Enter the dwelling-house-of-the-heavens, it is the rumbling-noise-of-the heavens.
It was Te Matatohikura who begot Maru and Apa-of-the-origin,
And from him are you descended.
Not with us, O son, are the sacred teachings.
They were not imparted by your forebears,
Not even the ancient propitiatory rite, the firestick ceremony;
The firestick of your ancestor Tura,
Which he took in his travels o'er the wide world.
When his fire was alight, it was sought by Kura;
The earth oven, Tumatere, gave food back to the world.
Hence Turanganui of the witchcraft,
For the destruction of mankind.
It was the possession of witchcraft
That beset our pathway with the numbing hazards
Of ailing old age, accidental slipping and sliding.
The priests are at the shrine yonder performing witchcraft;
They are Tamairiakinaterangi and Te Hekengaorangi.
Only Taramuru stands steadfast.
Feast your eyes on the close-pressing mist
Out to sea above the hapuku reefs
Maunungarara and Wharerauaruhe,
The property of Takopaiterangi, Te Aratotara
And Te Huawaiparea, that cunning fellow.
Come now, my sons,
It is time for your nephew
To have the cloak fastened about him.
Feast your eyes on Marokotia.
Clean the wax from your ears
That you may hear, and listen to
The speech of your ancestor Nohoatu,
Who is now addressing us two
From Te Arai of Turanga,
Where Hinerakai died of shame in the torchlight,
Rudely gazed upon (hence was she called, 'the Maiden-gazed-upon').
Belatedly you came but yesterday,
Without thought of danger awaiting you at Awarua;
You slid into the waters
And landed at Hauraki.
Then the voice of Tutawirirangi was heard,
'O sons! Here is food to eat!
It has been hauled ashore and cut up;
The heart is to be cooked, eaten and consumed—
The heart of Karotimutimu from Taurangakoau.'
Now haul the great canoe until it drags upon the sands,
Let it rest upon the ponga,
Let it rest upon the mamaku,
Let it rest upon the teeming insects,
Let it rest upon the young fern shoots,
O son of mine!
