On the Wings of Birds

AFTER

Hinewai was packing, Tania helping, both feeling so excited at the thought of returning to their lives on the other side of the desert and lake, and Kahu – it took awhile, but Kahu had built a new village – not out of the ruins, but closer to the great Lake Taupo, amidst even more precarious, volcanic steaming eruptions – his people were used to the rumbles and the continual thermal activity, they knew where to build and where not to, they knew where to step and where not to, they knew when to get into hot springs and recognized the signs and knew when to get out, before the water reached boiling point, they knew which areas to avoid, and which areas were calmer than they appeared to be. Even the horses knew which areas were dangerous and which were not, so long had the Te Arawa lived in the wild terrain. Rebuilding and helping what was left of his people had kept him too busy to feel too lonely, except when he retired for the night, when he was so tired that the fleeting thoughts of missing his wife barely began before he was snoring, and his dreams were always the same…

Bare breasts. A girl. Beside him, crouching below the leaning bar in the small wall-less public gathering kiosk of this desert border stop-over resting place. Her long dark hair hid her face from him, as she focused on what she was doing. She seemed to be applying that strong perfume he had noticed, to herself. Around her thighs, her breasts, then she turned her face up to him while her hands continued deliberately and sensually up and around her throat, that’s when her hair fell back from her face, and they looked into each other’s eyes. For a moment, they just blinked at each other, neither knowing who was the most surprised, then, with a cute little dimpled half smile and a finger at her lips, she indicated for him to keep quiet. Kahu was too captivated and curious at the sight of the youthful female with a woman’s body, but innocent looking cosmetic and tattoo-free face of the girl squatting before him, to say anything, anyhow. Then with the same finger, she indicated that he leans closer. When he did, she whispered, “drink, please…?”

He’d roll over in fitful sleep…

Kahu looked deeply into the eyes before him. He was trying to recognize the dark eyes he remembered through the soft green make-up that softened her eyes, that this girl was wearing. Was she mocking him, letting him know they’d met out in the countryside? “I have seen an entertaining sight in your territory, something I will never forget…!?!” He held his hand out so she could place hers in his, to help her rise again.

She was glad he did, for this close to his handsome face, she was afraid her knees would not support her, as she straightened. “How intriguing…?!?”

He held her hand to his heart. “Very…!?!”

He’d grab at his bed mat and twist it…

“Good to meet you Hinewai, you remind me of someone I saw recently…”

“Really?” Hinewai hoped he wouldn’t mention the Kiwa trading post in front of her father, “I don’t venture too far from home…“

“No? Not even in the desert?”

“The desert?!?” Hinewai teased, “that place attracts furtive drunkards, who like to fight…isn’t that where our brave captain Hauku found you?!?”

Kahu grinned. If the proud princess was attempting to mock him, he would play along with her tantalizing game, especially when the more she said, the more he was convinced he had found his mysterious fighting girl. “Makes you wonder what the great captain of the mighty Makimoi army would be doing in a place like that, doesn’t it?!?”

“Finding covert royalty, apparently…”

And toss and turn in his deep sleep…

“So…” she placed a wary hand on his pile of coins, “do you pay for everything Kahu, including a…bride?”

“If I find the girl I’m looking for, I’ll do anything for her…!?!”

“Anything…?!?”

“Anything…!?!”

And sighs in his sleep…

Kahu takes a sip of his drink without taking his eyes from hers. “Do you know anything about a small, young female fighter…?!?”

Tilting her head to a side, Hinewai pretended to consider the question. “No…I don’t believe I do!?!”

“I believe they call her the…Warrior Princess?!?”

“Oh, her?!?” Hinewai turned to Tania, “what was it you called her earlier on today?” But Hinewai continued before Tania had a chance to answer, “a fairy-tale, that was it…a fairy-tale…” she turned back to Kahu, “don’t believe everything you hear, Kahu…”

And Kahu would wake with her soft voice resounding through his head, “don’t believe everything you hear…”

“Damn!” he cursed, “where are you Hinewai? Messengers have reported that ‘The One’ has been impregnated…surely you’re not going to make sure her baby grows up safely too? Where are you?”

Blinking, he looked at the little dug-out canoe he had made ready for her return, to use as a bath and he grinned remembering how he had joined her in her bath at Manaia…he grinned also as he remembered how they’d spent that last supper there cuddled in each other’s arms, uninterested in the lavish platters of food that ware being placed before them…he remembered how they held hands right up until he’d mounted his horse, ready to leave…and he remembered how she’d climbed up the fortification walls with her maid Tania to wave to him as he and his men left, and how he kept looking back until he could no longer see them…

He walked around his new town that she had not yet seen and stopped to admire the bird totem he’d had made…she had mentioned how his original village had lacked Pou Whenua, Maori totem poles, he’d said at the time that life in the land was changing, that plans had been made to build a Christian church instead, but since the newcomers, led by a Maori traitor destroyed his home, kill most of his people and take others to be slaves, he was determined to bring back the Maori beliefs and ways and had a Manaian bird totem made and erected in the middle of the town square, just for her, and for Arnie. Arnie had stopped preaching or attempting to baptize anyone, before the attack, he had been becoming more Maori in his views than English, and chose which side he’d rather be on, and it came to pass, that two priests and a hotelier in the area preferred to convert themselves, embrace the Maori way of life, than the other way around – unfortunately, news of the wayward priests had reached Auckland, and had been taken against their will back to that city, with the rest of the few English that lived there. not realizing that they had left one behind because he had hidden in his underground cellar, and the hotelier never returned to Auckland, restocking his wares from the Awhia’s suppliers for their Kiwa pub. Kahu could see him in his new bar right now, with a new Maori wife, they waved to him, and he was tempted to join them, but he needed a stronger beverage than the alcohol that the bar had to offer, to put Hinewai out of his thoughts, but attempts at growing Kawa had failed on his territory…it grew only in a few not so cold coastal areas of the new land anyway, like the sea side of Mount Taranaki, the tepid Hawkes Bay, and far north, the Bay of Islands, and unknown to him; later, it would be successfully grown at Marlborough, but generally, New Zealand’s climate was too cold for the plant that the Polynesian people of the Pacific loved so much…so he just waved back to them and carried on to soak in one of his favorite natural hot spring pools…this also bought back memories of he and Hinewai laughing and splashing each other in the water, so soon afterwards, he went in search of his only remaining son…

He found Tama warrior training, his mother Katea watching and encouraging and cheering her grandson. She hardly even turned to Kahu as he approached, she couldn’t take her eyes from the boy and he noticed the proud smile, the happy glint in her eyes and feeling a little pang of jealousy, he wondered, why he had no memories of her ever spending time with his first sons, who their Waikato allied tribes believe had been taken to a life of slavery in England…she even clapped and laughed…he shook the thought from his mind and clapped and laughed along with her.

Upon Kahu’s arrival, the trainer stopped, bowed, and sent Tama to his father. Just the way the boy sauntered confidently as he walked, reminded Kahu of Hauku. So did the way most of the youth’s sleek black hair had slipped out of his training topknot. The youth was already nearly as tall as Kahu – he was going to be taller, like Hauku, Kahu realized, then he and Tama playfully wrestled for a moment, but Katea intervened and took Tama in her arms, and the three made their way back towards the royal residence…

On their way, Tama looked at his father. “Heard anything about mum yet?” He asked him.

Kahu was not surprised. Although Tama had no memories of Hinewai, he always asked about the mother who had abandoned him. Kahu shook his head. “No…”

“But the latest messengers left long ago…”

Kahu had also been counting the days. “It’s almost another full moon. It’s been almost a full moon ago when they left…” he couldn’t hide the fear in his quivering voice…

****** ****** ******

No winds stirred; no clouds moved…only swift shadows silently glided over the desolate dunes. The brilliant moonlight made the desert terrain appear almost as bright as day as a band of northern Maori horsemen slid from their horses and crept up on the sleeping, smaller group of travelling Te Arawa messengers. There had been no attacks since the one when Hinewai and her sisters and maid escaped to Manaia, so the messengers had not bothered taking turns at sleeping and guarding, and they were easily overtaken. A sharp Mere Greenstone club made for beheading, held at a throat, was all that was needed to find out the reason for the travelling messengers. The north men made sure that the other messengers never woke up. The terrified speaker was bound and was allowed to live until he showed the north men where Manaia was. Unfortunately, there were no Awhia in the vicinity at that time to help, or warn the Manaian…

Takari pulled up his horse in surprise so suddenly, that it whinnied and reared in protest. A sweat broke out on his own forehead at the impressive sight in front of him. He blinked uneasily, swallowed, and took a deep breath. By the time his men had caught up with him, he’d returned to his usual, cocky, arrogant self…

At the sight of Manaia, the other north men gulped, and looked at each other in both surprise and dismay – the northern tribes believed that the Manaian tribe was small and they were, until the Raro sea people moved in, and then also united with the Rauruan – so what lay before them, twinkling brilliantly in the early rising sun, was a strategically placed large fortified village on a natural raised foothill plateau at the base of the great snow-capped mountain – enabling the Manaian to see enemies approaching from all directions for as far as the eye could see – one side protectively backed up against the mountain, and there were sheer cliffs on the north side – unlike most villages with a large one room hall and a few smaller shelters, this place had one to second floor structures with balconies, and it was fortified with the highest palisades that they’d ever seen, and even from a distance, they could see some guards in calculatedly positioned towers, and others pacing at the top of the highest wall – and where most villages were surrounded by a protective trench with a wall of sharp pointed poles, this one had four layers of those – and where most had two totem poles symbolizing their ancestral beliefs and/or tribal patterns on either side of the main entrance gate, this place had several, with the carved bird head of the Manaian sharp large beaked hawk God of protection, periodically placed around the great wall, facing all directions, a giant one can be seen raised in the middle of the town, this one also had callosal carved wings on either side of it, and others can be seen imposingly facing the ocean, up on the top of the edge of the cliffs – most villages had some carved and dyed artwork on and in the main hall, and their main ship, but these far west people loved art and craft so much, that just about everything was intricately decorated, including the sharpened protective layers of poles, whose only purpose was to help keep intruders out…

Oooohs and Aaaahs of admiration involuntarily went around the group of north-men.

“Not so small,” one of them gasped with fear, “not so simple…”

Another looked at their leader, and swallowed. “Perhaps we should go back for more reinforcements, Takari?”

Takari, who had been speechless at the grand sight before them, decided it best to act more confidently than he felt, and grinned. “Don’t be silly, we’re just the messengers, remember? They’re expecting Te Arawa messengers and escorts to return the Te Arawa Princess to Prince Kahu…they will open the gates for us, and welcome us in…” and added to himself, ‘and imagine how famous we would be if it was us who made this grand place on the glittering Taranaki mountainside, fall…’

Still, the other persisted, “I will go, and get your father, and his army…”

“My father’s old and retired!” He sounded resentful to his own ears. At the sight of the impressive fortified town in front of them, the others had lost their confidence. He softened, and sighed. “Alright, you go get more men, but don’t bother my father. He is too far away anyway. He is older than he acts, but the doddering old fool could never refuse a challenge…”

His men grinned at him. “Like father like son,” one of them said good naturedly, but Takari scowled and glaring at the man, Takari ordered, “You, go also! Two of you, go and get warriors from our own battalion who should now be nearing Kiwa…gallop all the way, and back again, if you have to! The rest of us will befriend the guards and act as though we’re interested in them, their pretty town, and what they do. When we see you returning, we’ll let you in…” he turned to the others, “now, let’s go and be the Te Arawa messengers that the…” he cleared his throat, “unsuspecting Manaian, are expecting…”

Before the entrance in the great wall, Takari again, had to hide a panic attack from his men. In front of it, the wall was even higher than they’d thought. And it didn’t help when a golden muscular, shiny jet black haired, obviously the lead warrior, appeared before them up on the wall, wearing only a short pareu loin-cloth and a few Moa feathers wrapped around his calves, below his knees. And the sun shining in their eyes as they were forced to peer up at him, didn’t help, either – it seemed to accentuate Hauku’s rippling muscles as it shone on him - Takari lost some of his composure when he had to shield his eyes from the sun while trying to look up at a warrior that was so sure of himself, that he didn’t hide behind any of the jutting poles on the wall from possible spears, arrows, or bullets. Nor were there any normal formalities, or niceties, not even a ‘clearing of the throat’, a formal sign that he was about to speak, from the cocky warrior up on the wall…

Just an insolent, “What do you want?”

This unnerved Takari even more so. “We…we come in peace…” Takari waved his hand to include his men, “we are Te Arawa messengers…”

“So, speak…”

Takari hadn’t expected such a blunt response. “We have a message for…for…” he’d forgotten her name. He looked at his men, but they didn’t seem to remember it either. “For the Te Arawa Princess…”

The warrior on the wall cocked his head to one side and yawned, as if he was tired of this tirade. “I am quite capable of passing a message on…”

Takari shifted uncomfortably on his horse. “We…” he swallowed, “we were also sent to escort her back to her husband…”

At which, and to the surprise of them all, the gates were flung open, and a happy Hinewai ran out to greet them.

“No!” Hauku called from above, “I haven’t identified them yet! At least ask them for proof of who they say they are!”

But the excited Hinewai was inviting the strangers in…

Mitaroa however, did expect they all go through the formal protocol, but Hauku refused to be the one to formerly challenge and invite the visitor’s leader to accept the Fern leaf that would be placed before him, a tradition to immediately identify peace, or war. So Nikau, now the second in charge of the Manaian warriors, performed the act, expertly twirling his Tai-Aha spear, before placing the leaf in front of Takari, and stepped back to see if Takari would pick it up. Takari did. Which set off amongst cheers, a welcome dance by some of the loveliest Manaian women, showing the messengers that they had company during their time at Manaia, should the visiting men desire it. Even if it was just company at the next step in the formalities, dinner…the sort of banquet that would take hours to prepare…

But Hinewai was so excited about the messenger’s arrival, that she did not wait, she was making her way to her apartment to put on one of her loveliest dresses, when Hauku grabbed her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

She pulled herself away from him. “Getting ready for dinner!”

“I don’t mean that, I meant inviting strangers into our home!”

“Don’t be absurb! They’ve come to get me, make sure I get safely back…”

But Hauku interrupted her. “How do you know they’re Te Arawa? Kahu’s men?”

Hinewai sighed. “Oh, Hauku…after all this time? You’re married, and about to become a father. You have to let me be with my spouse and son too…”

“You’re so eager to return to Te Arawa that you didn’t make sure that they are who they say they are…”

“Stop this Hauku, no-one else could possibly know that Kahu sent messengers to get me…”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course…”

“Do you know them? Do you recognize them? Do you remember seeing these men at Te Arawa?”

Realization dawned on her. She started to shake her head, then stopped. “I was there for only a short time,” she gasped more to herself than to him, “I didn’t get to know everyone there…”

“Even just a couple of them? One of them?”

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. The messengers were middle-aged men, not youngsters, who may have changed while growing up, since she was there.

“It’s not often,” Hauku continued, “that people just join a tribe, like me. Usually, a tribe is made up of an original family, like you…”

Hinewai looked as though she was going to faint. He caught her in his arms. “Oh, Hauku, what have I done…?”

“Oh, Hinewai…I’ll inform Mitaroa, and make sure our army is armed and ready, and not drinking, tonight…”

She blinked up into his eyes, hopefully. “There’s only a few of them…”

“With probably many more waiting outside!”

“But Takari accepted the Fern leaf of peace…”

“Which means nothing these days, we were an honorable people once, but one of the first things we’ve learned from the European, is that it is possible to lie…”

And before the lavish evening meal was finally prepared, they were attacked from both outside, and inside, their beautiful home…but before the night was over, the Manaian had killed many of the north-men, only a handful, including Takari, managed to escape back over the marsh scrub into the dark dunes of the desert…

First thing that the Manaian attended to afterwards, was to check that all the women and children were alright. They were. There were a few casualties and injured warriors, but considering the hordes of north-men running through the gates and scaling the layers of fortified walls earlier, it seemed like a miracle that they’d won. Mitaroa though, was one of the seriously injured. Still, as he was being made as comfortable as possible, he thanked Hauku, for being so well prepared, adding, “and since I don’t have a son, no heir, I leave Manaia in your most capable hands…”

Hauku nodded. “I will look after your lovely home Mitaroa, at least until Tairi’s son is ready to rule…”

Mitaroa nodded and held out his hand to the next leader who, like him, will never be the Royal ruler of Manaia. “You are Chief of the army, and now I make you Chief of Manaia. After what you did tonight, you deserve to be more, Hauku, but like me, you can’t be…”

Hauku took Mitaroa’s outstretched hand in both of his. “Looking after our people is more important than being a King. Don’t worry. I will look after the real Royal family, and Tiari’s child, our future true King, with my life…”

“So will we,” the royal uncles Hepa and Apero nodded together agreeingly, and Hepa added to Hauku, “we are deeply indebted to you, and you have our full support…thank you and your men for saving us and our town…”

The old Queen Akura nodded as well. Then she surprised everyone by approaching the heroes Hauku, and the son-in-law she had at first hated and then mostly ignored. “We lost a few good men, but we won this attack on us…after accepting the Fern leaf, making us believe they came in peace,” she shook her head, “that’s betrayal, that’s unbelievable, that’s…” she wiped tears from her cheeks, “that’s the end of that tradition, it doesn’t mean anything, anymore…I thank you both, Hauku and Mitaroa, for looking after us, for saving our town…”

Hauku bowed to her, and Mitaroa painfully managed to smile up at his mother-in-law. “Thank you, my Queen…”

Mitaroa then tried to comfort his daughters, who were sobbing all over him. “It’s alright, my daughters, I have loved living in this land,” he looked up adoringly at the full moon shining so brightly that it illuminated the snow on the contrasting dark mountaintop, “in the shadows of the glorious, majestic mountain…”

“You may not be King, but you made this place what it is today, father…” Hinewai sobbed, but he no longer heard her. “You…Mitaroa the designer, the builder, the artist, the dancer, the fun-loving entertainer, and…the illusionist…”

****** ****** ****** ******

Hinewai kept busy helping as much as she could with the cleaning up and rebuilding of Manaia. She was in the middle of helping a carver work on a new main Manaian totem, as the other had been so burned and damaged that it could not be repaired, when Hauku approached her. “You don’t have to do this,” he said to her, “I can arrange for our own messengers to escort you back to Kahu…”

Hinewai shook her head, and continued working. She felt guilty. It was her that had let the north-men in.

“It has been a few new moons since that attack,” continued Hauku, “we have to continue our lives, you must return to your husband and son…the Awhia came across the real messengers and took their bodies back to Te Arawa. Kahu must be worried out of his mind, about you…”

Hinewai kept working, ignored him.

He grabbed her hands. “Hinewai, stop it!”

She shook her head again, and glared up at him. “No, you stop it! I caused this tragedy! Send messages if you have to, but I’m not going with them!”

Her shoulders started shaking uncontrollably. He held her close. “It’s not your fault. Reina told me how you’d been packed, ready and waiting for ages…you were so excited thinking that the real messengers had arrived…”

“Yes…so excited that I ignored everything you taught me…but I can’t return now Hauku, I must try to look after what’s left of my people…Reina and Tairi are due to have their babies, we must protect them, Hauku! Those north-men have families, those people will want revenge…I started this, and I will finish it!”

The fortifications were hardly repaired and replaced when hordes of north-men, led by Takari, were seen spread out across the horizon, the dust from their speeding horses kicking up all around them. The sight was terrifying.

Hinewai was up on the ramparts with Hauku, examining the new workmanship, when the enemy were sighted closing in fast on horses and at the same time a shot was heard, and a guard fell silently backwards from the wall…

Hinewai gasped. “They’ve got guns, Hauku…”

Hauku had never seen a gun. “What?”

Another shot spun another guard around, but he was just grazed across his shoulder…still, he managed to twirl and throw a rock poi weapon which found its mark, and put one enemy and one gun out of action. This action showed Hauku that not all was lost, and he immediately ran around his stronghold yelling orders to his men and as a result, enemy horses were being felled by the pois wrapping around their legs, while their riders were being either knocked out by the pois, or hung as the twirling pois wrapped themselves, the swift motion tightening around their necks, instantly hanging them, while the flying bullets were useless unless his men stood still – for the expertly maneuvering of pois meant continual moving, twisting and turning, so after that first fatality, Hauku’s men now felt more confident, and several of the enemy were killed for each, one Manaian – the enemy had believed that they had the superior weapon, so did not bother bringing the deadly pois plus, they had to discard their guns to climb the walls with both hands – they did however have the close combat club, knife and sword-like Maori weapons strapped to them so what initially started as a seemingly unfair and magical onslaught, ended up being a normal Maori war after all, with the so-called superior English weapons hastily discarded.

Noticing that their men were doing well despite the enemy having guns, Hinewai almost flew down the ladder and ran towards Tairi’s apartment…most of the town’s men were running to help their warriors defend their town and people, even those that were not trained fighters, yelling at the women and children to start climbing up the mountainside…

Hinewai was pleased to find Reina and Tairi together, Tania was with them also, along with their old Beagle dog. “Oh, good, you’re all together – Takari has returned with a horde of gunmen, but Hauku and our men are not making it easy for them, regardless…” both Reina and Tairi were holding their huge bellies, and Hinewai wondered how far they’d get, but went on, “Tania, help them up the mountain…”

Tania blinked uncertainly as she looked at the sisters who, in their last stages of pregnancy, could hardly walk, let alone climb. “What?”

Hinewai nodded. “OK, our warriors are doing well, so perhaps up the mountain won’t be necessary…” she looked from girl to girl with some hope, “but…what about the temple area…can you at least try to get up the cliffs?”

Then a sound of breaking a part of the fort wall and crashing amidst cheers of success as some of the enemy commenced pouring into the village bought the girls out of their momentarily fearful reverie and into action.

“Quickly,” Hinewai helped Tairi to the door, “they’ll open the gates to let the rest in, now…”

They didn’t have to be told twice, Tania helped Reina to the door, and Hinewai peeked out before letting them go…a quick look shocked Hinewai, the enemy were already pouring in through the open gate and were chasing the townspeople towards the mountain…Hinewai quickly closed the door, turned to the girls, with a finger over her lips, indicating they not make a sound…another peek out of the window a moment later showed Hinewai that their own men were now chasing the enemy who were chasing the townspeople up the mountainside…she turned back to the others, and nodded. “They’re all going up the mountain, so we’ll go up the cliffs…”

“Tairi hesitated. “Are you sure?”

Hinewai was used to people obeying her without question. She was about to say that of course she was sure, when she remembered how instinctive Tairi had been as a child. “What do you think we should do Tairi?”

Tairi blinked at her sister, “I don’t think we should go out of this door…”

Hinewai looked out of the window again, all the fighting was going on at the base of the mountain. “It’s safe for us to get to the cliffs now, let’s go…”

But they had hardly stepped out of the doorway, when the dog growled, and Takari suddenly appeared before them…the girls and Takari were surprised.

Hinewai groaned. She should have listened to Tairi. She instinctively put herself into a warrior’s stance.

Takari laughed.

“Run!” Hinewai yelled at the girls, and they did.

Hinewai unleashed her building/cooking knifelike utensil. She had had no chance to get to the barracks to get any of her fighting weapons, or to her room for drugs. Takari laughed again. Now that she needed it, seemingly, her warrior princess status had finally been forgotten. He lunged at her with his Tai-Aha, but to his surprise, she swiftly dodged the spear and he noticed, without lifting her feet too far from the ground, and with knees relaxed. “So,” he looked surprised, “you’ve had some fighting training?”

“All Manaian women and children are taught some self-defense…”

“But knowing, and doing, you’ll find, are two very different things…”

“Yea…so you have nothing to be afraid of then, do you?”

They had been circling each other, now he took another jab. Again, she deftly avoided the weapon and swiveling on the balls of her feet, with her back to him, grabbed his spear and pulled it so he was drawn towards her awaiting knife. It found its mark, but he was also a swift experienced fighter, and managed to move out of the way just in time so the injury was only a small cut and not a serious one, as she’d intended. Now that they were closer, he threw a sudden punch which connected with her jaw and the force should have knocked her to the ground, but all the impact did was turn her head…he was stunned that she was still standing, and the fearsome snarl on her face as she turned back to him made him hesitate…long enough for her to hit back and to his surprise, he reeled backwards – that’s when the dog jumped at him, making him lose his balance, and it was him who found himself on the ground. He was so bewildered at the small woman’s strength, and her attacking dog, that again he paused – long enough for her to twist his spear from his grasp and hold it above him…his eyes wide, he was about to plead for his life, when more of the enemy started pouring through the gate and were throwing their spears at her – were the entire population of north-men coming, she briefly thought to herself, that’s when the dog turned and ran after the girls, and with a reluctant sneer, she turned on her heels and ran, following the girls and the dog before her - but now, she had a better weapon than her little knife, she had Takari’s own Tai-Aha spear…

The girls hadn’t gone too far from her in that time though, Hinewai groaned, she had planned to have the enemy chase her in the opposite direction, but she found herself having to help Tania push and shove and pull the pregnant girls up the temple cliffs – even the dog was pulling Reina’s dress, trying to help his owner. The area towards the cliffs was quite densely forested though, so she hoped that the lush plants hid them and the enemy would continue following the others climb up the mountain and for awhile, it appeared that way, until Tairi had a contraction – she did not scream, or make a sound, but the unexpected sudden pain, like a sword being driven and twisted up her spine made her wince, and the movement caused a loose stone to noisily rock and roll slowly down the cliffside, immediately catching Takari’s attention – this seemingly renewed the four girl’s strength, it didn’t matter now how many stones they were dislodging as they moved as fast as they could go, because it caused an avalanche of rocks to rain down upon Takari, so he spent too much time trying to prevent them from hitting him, and the rolling stones also caused him to slip and slide, slowing his progress…

Meanwhile, the fighting at the main front entrance was over, with the Manaian being the winners of the war at the wall - so now Hauku and his remaining warriors, he’d already sent half his men to chase some of the enemy that had managed to get in earlier and go after the fleeing residents that ran to the mountain, and he and rest of his men were also now able to go join the fighting on the foothills so luckily, his attention was also captured by the rolling stones and looking in that direction, saw the four girls nearing the temple area, with Takari slipping and sliding but never-the-less advancing closely behind them. He sent the majority of his men after the larger populace scanning the mountainside, and took a few with him on the climb up the cliffs…and it didn’t help any of them when the stones, some quite large rocks, bumped into plants, causing the birdlife to flap and frantically scream their objections all around them…

Finally, the girls crawled onto the top of the cliffs and kept throwing stones and branches, anything that lay around on the temple ground, at the still advancing Takari. Even the larger dislodged boulders did not stop him. At this stage, the girls had no idea that Hauku with some of his men were also following, and were also having to fight through sticks and stones to get to save them.

But…when Takari was nearing the top, Hinewai went to kick him back down, he caught her foot instead and twisting it, caused her to topple, and as if she weighed nothing, flung her over the edge…the edge that she had sat on so many times under the peaceful moonlight before…the edge where she had so often leaned against the totem where she’d stared out to the sea towards the place her father had come from, so far away that they could not see it…the edge where often, it was the only place where she could go to be alone…and think…and make decisions…and the edge where she and Hauku had sat and talked when she’d returned to Manaia…the very same edge that Hauku had warned her, not to fall over…

Hauku had reached the top just in time to see Hinewai go over the edge…he ran to stop her and reach out, but he was too late, too late to help her…for a moment, all he could do was watch her and her eyes watched him as she fell…all he could do was watch, and saw her twisted shape lying on the sharp rocks far, far below, in shock, in disbelief…for a moment…then he heard Takari’s sneering happily nearby…

He turned to face the despicable man. “You think that killing a woman is something a brave warrior should be proud of?”

“She attacked me, first…”

Although it was obvious Tairi was in the throws of giving birth, she stood, fists clenching, and unclenching, “she was about to kill you, with your own Tai-Aha, when more of your men entered our village and threw spears at her! She was about to kill you!”

“With your own Tai-Aha?” Although sad, Hauku repeated what Tairi had just said.

“What Tai-Aha?” The lying Takari grinned, opened his empty palms, “what Tai-Aha?”

“This one!” Reina had picked up the weapon that Hinewai had put down so she could use two hands to pull the girls up onto the cliff, and shoved it into his back.

A surprised Takari staggered and screamed, as Reina pulled it out again. He took a step closer to Hauku and when the few men that Hauku asked to accompany him reached the top, they saw Takari make an attempt at grabbing Hauku, when the dog jumped at the man and pushed a terrified Takari over the cliffside…

At the same time, between Hauku’s other men that followed the enemy going up the mountain after the townspeople, too late, the enemy realized that they were surrounded – in the middle of Hauku’s warriors, and his townspeople, and surrendered – Nikau though, second in charge, with his Aiotia warriors, upon hearing of Hinewai’s death, in a rage he’d never known he was capable of, had the surrendered slaughtered…Hauku hadn’t minded, for it would take a while now for the north-men to get a new army as large as this one had been, together again…

****** ****** ******

Hauku had never been much of a speaker, being trained to fight for as far back as he could remember, he was more of an action man than a talker, and since Hinewai’s death, he became even more silent, and solemn. He was Chief in charge of the Manaian, but he would never be King, the King had been born on the clifftop when Hinewai died – Matakatea, Tairi had named her son, which meant visionary – Hauku sighed – it seemed like his whole life had been visionary – dreams of soft eyes turning sad in the sand dunes, sympathy in the Manaian nursery, and finally, to respect and admiration in the barracks – he’d had natural fighting instincts and a swift cunning mind to match which caught the attention of the village leader Mitaroa, who had promptly put him in charge of the warriors and training, from a young age – no-one knew his age precisely, but it was usually fully adult men who led – his prowess was even discussed by the older men who wondered if he had inherited his skills from expert ancestors, which fed rumors of being the unbeatable child that had been birthed out of the unbeatable desert…

He spent much of his time when not training and teaching, in Mitaroa’s meeting hall, sitting on Mitaroa’s raised chair, in deep thought – pondering on his unusual past, present and future – the people were an organized lot, so did not need much leading ‘per say’, so were the meetings of those in charge of various labors, such as food hunters/gatherers/growers/cooks, builders of buildings and boats, or meeting with the advisors who are now too old to work but had valuable expertise from years of working to help the beginners, allt being an orderly lot, so Hauku was grateful for the time alone – but perhaps he had too much time alone, for what started out as general ponderings gradually turned into resentments and these resentments were all targeted towards Kahu…if only he’d ignored the Te Arawa at Kiwa, if only he’d let them continue on their journey home, if only he’d never bought them to Manaia, to Hinewai – he targeted himself also, if only he’d been tenderer towards her, if only he’d told her that he loved her, if only he got to the clifftop in time…

At his home on the other side of the desert and lake, Kahu also, was seething – and likewise, blamed Hauku – Hauku had been too tough on Hinewai, Hauku had left proposing to her too late, and she had accepted Kahu’s proposal, and Hauku had arrived too late to save her from Takari on the temple clifftops – in Kahu’s mind, Hauku had not cared for her enough, ever…

So inevitably, with too much pondering, turning to too much seething, bought on the next war – after several full seasons of peace, between the Manaian and the Te Arawa…

But this time, it was not Manaia that was being attacked by the north-men, or the Te Arawa, Hauku decided that he was going to do the opposite – as far back as he could remember, it was the Manaian who were always defending their village, it was the Manaian who the north-men and the Te Arawa despised, and while sitting on Mitaroa’s raised seat in the royal hall seething at the senseless death of Hinewai, Hauku decided, no more defending and rebuilding, he was going to lead his men on a vengeful attack on the Te Arawa. So with her uncles Hepa and Apero’s consent, for they also, had truly loved their brave niece, Hauku led his best men, including the also heartbroken Nikau, to war against the man who had managed to marry the warrior princess…

They were not used to the smoking and steaming sulphur; which happened periodically almost all over the volcanic new land, but they had never seen it nearly as condensed as this on Te Arawa land…they were not used to the sliding slippery terrain either; and often, they could not see more than a few meters in front of them – their horses also, many of which they’d inherited from the numerous deaths of the north-men’s recent attack on Manaia, reluctantly whinnied in the precarious atmosphere, until they decided it easier to leave the noisy horses and continue on foot – too late though, for guards had heard the horse’s pitiful objections, and had warned Kahu…shadows turned into swift warrior assaults and melted into the mist before Hauku’s men had a chance to retaliate…too late, as they were victorious because they knew their domain, the Te Arawa were winning this war…clashes of weapons were the only eerie sound in the misty atmosphere, and the odd yet sudden geyser spurts, did not help…unlike the north-men, both the Manaian and Te Arawa did not make a sound as they fought, and did not make a sound as they fell…

Hauku watched as his men were silently being cut down all around him…it was spectral, and Hauku was spooked, almost as if it was too impossibly unbelievable for him to comprehend…Hauku had never lost a battle before, he was stunned, and felt helpless, as he watched his men being felled all around him…then silence…then shivers went up his spine as he realized that he was alone…but only for a moment…there were no sounds of horses, no sounds of weapons…no sounds of men and he knew…Kahu was right behind him. He didn’t know what to expect as he turned to face his rival, but he hadn’t expected to face a man with no weapons, hands outstretched, empty palms, in the universal ‘no combat’ sign, before him…

For a moment, they sized each other up, a warrior’s habit.

Kahu had planned to blame Hauku for Hinewai’s death. But now that they faced each other, all he could manage was, “how did she…die?”

Hauku swallowed. “She fought to the end,” his voice quivered, “saving her sisters…”

Kahu raised his outstretched hands, as if he wanted to hug Hauku…and suddenly, for the first time in his life, Hauku felt as though he could do with a hug…he took a step closer…they were about to embrace, when a swift silent warrior, rushed out of the mist, and drove his Tai-Aha into Hauku’s side…

“Noooo!” Kahu tried to get between Hauku and his attacker, but it was too late, “nooooo…”

Hauku looked at the young man who had managed to hurt him in his moment of weakness, and he blinked in surprise…for the face that he looked at, was his very own…the young face that looked up at him, was his own face, albeit a younger version…the young man looked exactly like him…

“Noooo!” Kahu screamed again, “that’s your father!”

For a moment, Hauku and the younger man just looked at each other in bewilderment…then as realization appeared in the younger man’s face, the younger man’s face twisted in a combination of anger and disbelief, then with shocked awareness and disappointment, shoved the spear further into Hauku...

Hauku reached out to the young man as his legs gave way, and he started falling towards the ground. Kahu grabbed Hauku into his arms and before a stunned Tama, the two older men sank to the ground together. Then the stunned younger man also let himself slump to the ground, in shock.

Hauku looked between Kahu and Tama. “My…my son?”

Kahu nodded as tears filled his eyes. “Yes…your son.” He tried wiping his tears away with a hand. “But that’s not all, Hauku…you’re my…we’re brothers…”

Hauku frowned. “What?!?”

“We both have the same mother…”

Hauku’s lifelong hazy vision of a pretty lady in the desert suddenly became as clear as if she was standing in front of him…sad, heartbroken eyes…of Queen Katea…

“There’s more…”

Hauku blinked up at his enemy…

“Haven’t you ever wondered about your…lighter skin?”

“I’m not that much lighter,” then Hauku noticed the darker arms cradling him, “alright, just a tad…”

“Haven’t you ever wondered about your black…sleek hair?”

“It’s not that much darker,” then he noticed Kahu’s mix of wavy dark and light brown tones, “although I seem to be the only one who has problems keeping my hair tied up in a warrior’s top knot…”

“Haven’t you ever wondered about your…squinty eyes?”

“Everyone squints in the…sun?”

Kahu held him closer, Tama kept his eyes to the ground.

Hauku winced in pain. “I…I never was very good with doing the Pukana Haka bulging, lizard eyes…”

The two men managed to laugh…

“What are you trying to tell me, Kahu?” Hauku gasped.

“We have the same mother, but…your father, was…Chinese Samoan. He was my father’s best fighter. He was put in charge of warrior training. My father loved my mother so much that he forgave her indiscretion…but every time he saw you, you reminded him that she had also loved another…and he made her give you away…she did, but he still saw you from time to time in the village, and ordered her to get rid of you completely…”

“So she took me to the desert…”

Kahu nodded, “if it’s any consolation, the desert is a long way away from here, she took days, many heartbreaking days, to finally do what she had to do…”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Would you have believed me?”

“Probably not…”

“I didn’t know myself, when we first met…”

“Did…Hinewai know?”

“Yes…but she thought it best to protect you from the truth…”

“Or protect you…”

Kahu nodded, “or to protect us both…”

Hauku swallowed. “She was…something, wasn’t she?”

Kahu nodded, tried unsuccessfully to sniff back some tears…”I waited for her return…some said that if she wanted to be with me, she would be…others told me she’d never come back, but I never believed them…I never lost hope…”

“She was packed and ready to return…so excited to go back to you, that she wanted to believe the fake messengers…”

Now the tears were streaming down Kahu’s face. “How ironic…it was you who caught me at Kiwa, and took me to her father, and her…”

“I have always regretted that stupid decision…I didn’t realize how much I loved her, until she chose you…”

They managed to laugh a little again, between tears…

“The ironies of life,” Kahu smiled at his brother.

Then Hauku turned to his son, and his last words were, “How about that…” he smiled at Tama, but Tama was still too stunned to look at either of the men, “my son, a Te Arawa prince…”

Kahu placed his forehead on Hauku’s, and whispered, “our son Hauku, Hinewai’s, yours, and mine…our son…”

****** ****** ******

Reina’s and Tairi’s sons were almost old enough to commence warrior training by the time the north men had reorganized themselves and returned, this time with a larger regiment of English soldiers brandishing larger guns, muskets.

Without husbands, Reina and Tairi lived together – not that they hadn’t had any hopeful suitors, but both had not yet met anyone that they thought could replace the rather magnificent men who had fathered their sons, to date - their sole purpose in life was devoted to bringing up their boys – making sure that they were happy and safe – once they were warrior training, then, they thought, they might be able to concentrate on other needs, so, with more threatening north men surrounding their village, without hesitation, they grabbed their sons and ran for the mountain. The Beagle dog died soon after his attempts at saving Hinewai so he wasn’t with them, this time. They were the first to commence climbing, and with the terrifying noise of the guns being fired behind them, moved as fast as they could, helping each other as they went, silently, making sure to keep hidden beneath trees - they did not cease climbing, not even when the gunfire stopped. They were still fit young women and surprised themselves, when they finally allowed themselves to rest a moment, as they sat and looked around them, for they were quite high, higher than they’d ever ascended the mountain before, and it was their decision to run and climb as soon as they knew that they were being attacked, that saved them…

The sun started setting and they knew that they would never make it down again before nightfall, they were too afraid to descend yet anyway, so they started looking for a suitable, not too steep, area to spend the night. This high, the temperature was also cooling quickly – there were even patches of snow on the ground and looking upwards, noticed that it got denser - that’s when they realized that they hadn’t grabbed more clothing than what they’d been wearing to help keep warm during the night, so fast had they fled – carrying things though would have slowed their ascent, and tired them before they’d gone far, so at first they were glad that they hadn’t had to carry anything, until they found themselves huddling close, to keep warm – they couldn’t make a fire, that could disclose their exact position – and this high, plants were getting scarcer, there were no suitable large leaves to wrap around themselves either – that’s when they heard a long lost, but familiar sound…

“Atu?” Tairi looked around, and heard it again. She jumped up, calling, “Atu, Atu, where are you?”

“Your hawk?” Reina doubted it, “even if it is your hawk, after all this time, it wouldn’t remember you…”

But Tairi wouldn’t listen, “of course it would!”

“But…surely it would be dead, by now?”

“Old, yes, but not dead…they live for about twenty full seasons…”

The others followed her, not sure what they were more afraid of – the enemy that may have conquered their home below, or the large bird that Tairi was now looking for…

Tairi made cooing sounds and the bird went silent, as if in disbelief. She made some more, then the bird excitedly flapped its wings and appeared in front of them. Behind it, there was a crevice where obviously, the bird nested – Tairi put her arms around it and burrowed her face in its chest – it let her – with one hand, she indicated to the others to crawl into the crevice – it was small, but they climbed in, then Tairi did also, and so did the bird. – and tired from their long climb, started to drift off to sleep curled up in Atu’s nest…

“So this is where you ended up,” yawned Tairi just before she fell asleep, “you returned to our mountain home…”

When they warily made their way back to their village the next day, the bird flying over them, it was an overcast, cloudy day. The grey drizzle emphasizing the carnage of war. Still, they found that once again the Manaian had won, the few remaining north men fleeing for their lives and now, the Manaian army also had a collection of muskets from their dead attackers, to add to their growing collection of weapons, in readiness for the next onslaught…

It was a sad sight as Tairi and Reina approached the village with their sons. That’s when Reina remembered her duty was to help the Half-God child find a bird, and bring a feather back for proof, to prove that he was truly strong enough to lead them…so she told Tairi to call Atu, and encourage him to settle on her son’s arm…the clouds started clearing, and when their exhausted and mournful people looked up at the girls and their sons descending from their great snow-capped mountain, they saw the sun shine down on their young half-God King, not only with one feather, but with a complete hawk, and with renewed hope, they cheered…

EPILOGUE

It took several attempts before the combined Manaian/Rauruan known as the Mountain People were finally conquered by the north-men armies of English and converted Maori. An army battalion was even set up in the area in the form of a siege. But it wasn’t until more came with machine guns as well as muskets, that they finally conquered the people of the great Mountain. It is believed that because the natives of that region believed that they had a Half God Chief, Tairi’s son, Matakatea, that made them feel invincible. Matakatea also changed the name of the Manaian people to Ngati Tairi, after his mother. He was proudly referred to as Kingi (divine King), because they won so many wars, and for so many years, against all odds…

Kahu died soon after the last war between the Manaian and the Te Arawa, of injuries that he received from that war – storytellers say he died of a broken heart at the loss of both Hinewai, the enemy warrior Princess that he fell in love with while looking for a wife, and the half brother Hauku that he had both hated, and loved.

Te Arawa proved to be the only unconquered and converted, in Maori history – Hinewai’s and Hauku’s son Io’Tama, who became known as Rawa Tama when crowned, but simply called Tama, who took over Kahu’s reign, had the reputation of being the fairest leader to his people, and the fiercest and most formidable Maori warrior to conquer – in the end, a peace treaty was offered instead, and he accepted it, as long as he was still allowed to look after and lead his people and as a result, formed what is recognized today, as the great Tuwharetoa nation.

When my grandmother told me this story, she was so proud of her grandmother, the Warrior Princess of the Mountain People. Hinehou (called Hinewai) was her heroine. She predicted that I’d write this story one day, but at that time, although I enjoyed listening to her, and finding out about our ancestors, I, being a modern day mixed blood New Zealander, did not think that I would, because ‘the past was the past’, and humans have been conquering each other since the beginning of time – I’m glad that I did get around to writing it though, because it wasn’t until I was putting her words on paper, that I fully understood her, and her grief, at what happened to her people, but also pride, for being a descendant of two great nations.

It is more probable that Hinehoe became Hinewai at Te Arawa, where bathing in the hot springs was a way of life – she had the reputation of always being scrupulous with the care of her weapons though, so I decided to portray her in this story as one who was always fastidious with her own cleanliness as well.

While a child and discussing our Maori/Rarotongan/European ancestry with my mother, it was her that first told me that we also had Chinese/Samoan blood. When my grandmother later mentioned Hauku, both my mother and grandmother did not know much about his father, what happened to him, and when enquiring with other relatives, I found out that he had been a master fighter who was hired to be the lead warrior and trainer of the Te Arawa army, but had been exhiled from the tribe because of his affair with the Queen, but no-one knows what happened to him, or where he ended up. The King hoped to keep his royal blood line pure but ironically, fate and destiny happens regardless of what we mere mortals do, to try to change it…

In my research, I could not find the name of the first pub at Te Arawa/Rotorua. The first licensed pub there was built in the late 1800’s, so the one in this story, obviously must have been built before pubs were required to be licensed. My grandmother, or other relatives, could not remember the name of the proprietor either. All they know is, he married Nahera, then another Maori woman after Nahera was captured and taken to Auckland.

The Awhia were generally thought of by the Maori as not mortal. Probably because they had mastered the desert. Some think that they were not real, and were created to help keep the children from wandering too far into the precarious desert alone. It could have been any traveler/s, who took the baby Hauku to Manaia. Relatives are under the impression that the Kiwa trading post was owned by an Englishman and operated by a peaceful northern Maori, the two more interested in making money, than war.

Some names have been changed slightly, to prevent controversy (what one tribe sees as an enemy, or traitor, others saw as heroes to be proud of – still, most northeast/southwest Maori of the north island would recognize these characters) – some of the main characters like Akura, (who was allowed to keep her royal status and possessions) and Nahera, I did not change, including the sisters (and their sons), Tania, Hauku, Kahu and Tama. I did use their shortened versions, to make it easier for readers.

Note also, it is not uncommon for many Maori, like the other people of the Pacific, to have more than one name – the first name given to a babe, and another given at puberty, especially royalty, was common practice, in Polynesia – children were also often named after ancestors, so would end up having at least two varied, yet similar names.

Other discrepancies could be exact locations – in my grandmother’s story, Manaia was north of the mountain; however, according to maps, which I showed my grandmother, it is south – her explanation was, the original Manaia was north and Queen Akura Matapu was named after a river, which is north of the mountain, so I believe her so in my story, I kept it in the north – which is more probable for the Rarotongan Mitaroa and his mother Riri and great grandmother Erena to land in that area, rather than sail around the mountain as well, after a long trip at sea, they’d be anxious to land. Possible escapees fleeing from the scene of the final conquering of the Manaian settled in the south and renamed the area after the original Manaia. Never the less, from these people, there are now several separate yet combined tribes of the Mountain people of Taranaki.

During this period, there were two rogue Christian priests who were sent to baptize the Maori south of Auckland and settled at Te Arawa; however, they became native instead – during my research, I couldn’t find one named Arnie so I assume that his also, was a shortened version of his real name, or perhaps a nickname he used if his real name was too difficult for the Maori that he lived with, to pronounce correctly.

Tania, or Thusania, had planned to go back to Te Arawa when Hinewai was killed. She also, loved Kahu, and hoped to comfort him. However, with news of his death, she decided to stay with the people she had lived with and loved for so long. When the English finally conquered the mountain people however, against her wishes, they forced her to return with them, insisting that they were rescuing her. None of my relatives know what happened to her, after that. We hope that she was finally reunited with her brother.

THE END