Sleeps Standing: A Story of the Battle of Orakau

by Ihimaera, Witi

  Te Wāhanga Tuaono

  Te Haerenga nui o Moetū

  1.

  Pāpā Rua, Pāpā Rua …

  Āe, e ‘Mona, e rongo atu nei au i a koe. Kia eke ki te wā, māu tō tamaiti e kōrero atu mō Moetū me te pakanga i Ōrākau.

  Nāku a Haimona rāua ko Amber i whakaoho kia kore ai rāua e mahue i tō rāua waka. Tērā te haeata e tākiri mai ana i runga i ngā hiwi, nau mai, e te ao, haere rā, e te pō.

  Engari a roto i a au, e pō tonu ana i te mea kua tae ki te wā e hoki ai taku mokopuna nō Ngāti Kangurū, tana wahine me tana puku.

  I tīkina atu a Hūhana i te haerenga atu ki te taunga waka rererangi. Te āhua nei i pai ki a ia taku kōrero inapō, e mahana mai ana ia i te ata nei. ‘Me mataara au,’ ka mea ia. ‘Ko koe pea hei piki tūranga mōku.’ Ko te āhua nei i kuhuna kaikātia ōna kākahu, e mau tonu ana i ōna hū kaupoai, kātahi rā.

  I a mātou e whanga ana ka tae putuputu mai te whānau katoa, e hinamoe ana, e mata kohore ana i te whakangahau i te pō rā. ‘Haere mai, awhiwhi mai,’ tā rātou ki a Haimona. ‘Māu mātou e kōrero kia whānau mai tā tātou punua kangarū, nē?’

  Ka kata ia, ‘Mō te whakatoi, kāore he painga i a koutou.’

  Māngi mai ana i a rātou te haunga o te waipiro. ‘Kia tūpato kōrua,’ ka mea a Hūhana, ‘kei haurangi hoki kōrua.’

  Ka whakaaro au, hei āwhea rawa kite anō ai au i taku mokopuna nei i roa e ngaro ana i a mātou?

  Kei a Hūhana te kupu whakamutunga. ‘Taihoa,’ ka mea ia ki a Haimona, ‘kāore anō kia mutu te kōrero mō Moetū.’

  ‘Kia tere,’ ka mea au ki a ia. ‘Ākuanei karangatia ai rāua.’

  Ka karukaru mai ia, ka tīmata ia ki te kōrero. ‘Kia kite koe i ngā whakaahua o te hunga i mate, o ngā mauhere rānei e kore rawa atu koe e kite i ngā tamariki. I pēnā ai nā te mea nā Mōetū rātou ko Kararaina, ko Ngāpō i whakaputa ō rātou ihu.’

  2.

  ‘Moetū,’ ka karanga a Kararaina.

  E whakatata mai ana te Pākehā. I te kangakanga te hōia i whakararua e Tihei, i te whakakīkī anō ia i tana pū hei pupuhi i a Moetū.

  ‘Āwhinatia mai,’ ka inoi a Kararaina ki a Tihei rāua ko Erana. E ora tonu ana a Moetū engari e tūāmoe ana; kua tū i te matā, e rua ngā matā i wero i tōna pokowhiwhi. Kātahi ngā wāhine rā ka hoatu i ā rāua pēpē ki a Areka rāua ko Rāwinia, ka amo haere i a Moetū.

  I muri i a rātou a Patu e āwhina ana i a Ngāpō ki te huhuti ake i te ara i haere ai rātou.

  ‘Kia tere! Kia tere!’ Ka hāparangi te waha o Kararaina. Kua kī tonu te pū a te Pākehā.

  Ka whakaara ake ia i tana pū —

  ‘Ha! Kei whea rā?’ Ka karanga ia ki tana hoa.

  Kua horo atu ngā tamariki ki tua o te pā harakeke, ki roto ki te repo.

  Tau rawa iho te pō, kua tae kē rātou ki tua o te repo, ā, ka oho ake a Moetū.

  ‘Kei te kaha rānei koe ki te whīkoi?’ Ka pātai a Kararaina.

  Ka mea ia. ‘Me whīkoi e puta ai tātou i ngā hōia nei.’ Nā Tihei rāua ko Erana i tīhae mai ō rāua panekoti hei tāpi i tōna tūnga, engari i te pipī tonu mai te toto. Aua atu, i koke tonu a Moetū. Ka pā tana whakahau. ‘Kaua e takamuri, me whakapiri.’

  Nō te weheruatanga rā anō i whakatā ai rātou.

  ‘Kāore tētehi i mahue?’ Ka whakatika rātou i tō rātou hōpuni. Ka tatau a Moetū i tōna tira: e rua tekau mā waru. Ka ohorere, ka tahuri ki a Kararaina: ‘Aī, ko wai e ngaro ana?’

  Ka tatau anō … ‘E toru tekau,’ kātahi ka tau tana mauri. ‘I wareware ngā pēpē te tatau.’

  Tirehe tonu atu a Moetū.

  Ka mea a Kararaina. ‘Kia nui hoki te toto.’

  Kua kore ia e mōhio me aha. Me koke rānei, me noho tonu rānei. ‘Ngāpō, me aha tātou?’ Ka pātai ia. ‘E kore tātou e matara i ngā hōia me e amohia ana a Moetū. Hoatu koutou, mā māua koutou e whai atu.’

  I te tukunga iho, ka mea a Ngāpō, ‘Me whai tātou i tā Moetū i kī ai, me piri tonu tātou ki a tātou. Me whakatā tātou, e ngehe ana, e hemokai ana tātou katoa, ā, me whāngote a Tihei rāua ko Erana i ngā pēpē. Me kimi piringa mō tātou.’

  Nā Ngāpō i hanga ki te rākau me te harakeke tētehi kauamo, ā, nā rātou ko ngā tamatāne a Moetū i amo haere ki runga ake i te maunga. Kīhai i matara ka kite rātou i tētehi tauwharenga hei piringa mō rātou, he wai anō i reira. Nā Ngāpō rāua ko Kararaina i tuku ngā tamariki pakeke ki te kimi kai — he hua rākau, he aka harakeke, he huhu, he aha atu rānei i kitea i rātou. I a rātou e kimi kai ana ka atoa e Ngāpō rātou ko Tihei, ko Erana, ko Patu he pōrukuruku ki te huruwhenua me te akaaka. Nō tō rātou kuhunga ki roto ka tūtakina mai tō rātou piringa.

  Nō te aonga ake o te rā, ka rongo rātou i ngā waewae o ngā hōia e kōnekeneke ana i kō iti atu. I te whakangote a Tihei rāua ko Erana i ngā pēpē kia kore ai e tangi. E rua ngā rā e noho pēnei ana, e whakarongo ana ki ngā karanga a ngā hōia i waho, i puta noa rātou ki te kimi kai i te ngahere.

  Kātahi a Moetū ka oho ake i tana moe. ‘E Kara … e Patu … Ngāpō … me whakawhiti tātou i te aukati.’

  Ko te raru ināianei i mua i a rātou ngā hōia e haere ana, nō reira i whakaaro ai a Moetū ki te ārahi i ngā tamariki ki te tonga-mā-uru, ka tohipa haere i ngā hōpuni hōia i te pōuri o te pō. Nā ngā tamariki pakeke ngā whaea i āwhina ki te tīkawe haere i ngā pēpē. Nō te taenga rawa ake ki Te Rohe Pōtae i whakaae ai a Moetū kia tū rātou.

  3.

  ‘Kātahi a Moetū ka mahara,’ ka mea a Hūhana ki a Haimona, ‘ki te toimaha o te mahi i utaina ki runga i a ia e te rūnanga kaumātua i te kīnga atu ōna kia waiho mā tōna ngākau ia e tohu.’

  Ka kōrero atu au. ‘Nā, ko ngā mahi i whai mai i rite tonu ki te pakanga i Ōrākau te nui whakaharahara.’

  ‘Me whakahoki e tātou ngā tamariki nei ki ō rātou kāinga,’ ka mea a Moetū ki a Kararaina.

  Ka wāhi ruatia e ia ngā tamariki. Mā Kararaina rāua ko Ngāpō ētehi tamariki tekau mā tahi e ārahi whakateraro; i tū mai a Ngāpō ki te tiaki i a Kararaina, engari ehara i te mea me tiaki ia e tētehi. Mā Moetū rātou ko Tihei, ko Erana e ārahi ērā atu mā te ara roa ki te tonga, ko Patu tētehi.

  I uaua ki a Moetū te tuku i a Kararaina. ‘Ehara i te hanga noa iho ngā āhuatanga kua pā ki a tāua, ka kite anō rānei tāua i a tāua?’ ka pātai ia.

  ‘Wai ka hua, wai ka tohu,’ ka utua e Kararaina. ‘E tangi tonu ana au i taku tuakana, he pani au nā te mate, nā te whawhai, ā, me whakahoki e au ēnei tamariki kei pani hoki rātou. Ko wai anō e mōhio ka puta he mōrehu ki te ao i te pakanga? Me pēwhea au e whakaaro ai ki ngā rā kei te heke tonu mai, inā hoki kei ngā rā o mua atu aku mahara e pōraruraru tonu ana.’

  Ko te kitenga whakamutunga tēnā o Moetū i a Kararaina, e nunumi atu ana rāua ko Ngāpō ki roto i te ngahere.

  I takahi a Moetū mā i te huarahi ki te tonga-mā-uru, ki Te Urewera. I āta haere rātou, i te mea, i waho tonu rātou i te taumarumaru o Te Rohe Pōtae. He rerekē hoki te āhua o tō rātou tira haere, kia pātaitia e te tangata ko wai, nō whea hoki rātou, ka whakahokia e Moetū. ‘Nō Ōrākau mātou.’

  Kīhai i roa, ka horapa te kōrero mō tētehi tamaiti, ko Moetū te ingoa, e whakahoki ana i ngā whaea tokorua me ētehi tamariki ki ō rātou kāinga, ā, he rite tonu te manaakitia o rātou e ngā marae i tae ai rātou. Ehara i te mea i ngāwari tā rātou haere, i te marau haere ngā hōia i ngā kāinga, ā, i mate rātou ki te huna i ngā hōia eke hōiho. I aukatia hoki te haere a te Māori i te pō, ahakoa e haere atu ana ki te tangi, ki whea atu rānei, kāore i whakaaetia kia haere i muri atu i te 6 karaka.

  E rua marama i pau ka tutuki te mahi a Moetū, ā, nāna ngā tamariki katoa i āta whakahoki ki ō rātou iwi. He nui ngā mātua kāore i puta mai i te pakanga, ā, i te whakahokinga o ngā tamariki ki ō rātou kāinga, ka pupū ake te aroha, te mamae me te tangi a te ngākau.

  I tētehi kāinga i hoatu e tētehi matua tētehi hōiho ki a Moetū, kua koroheketia. Engari i rawe tonu te kaha o te hōiho rā ki te kawe haere i ngā whaea me ngā
tamariki moroitiiti. Nāwai rā, ka rata a Moetū ki te kakī mārō o tana hōiho, ka ngenge ana tōna hōiho ka tanewha noa, i ngā ahiahi ka whati te hōiho rā ki te awa, inu ai, kāore e nuku, ā, ka mate rātou ki te noho.

  He tikanga anō tā Moetū mō te āhua ki te whakahoki i ngā pani o Ōrākau. Mau tonu ia ki tāna, he patapatai i ngā tāngata, ahakoa te mōhio o ngā tamariki ki ō rātou whanaunga. Ka noho a Moetū i te taha o ngā kaumātua ka patapatai i a rātou, kāore ia i tuku noa i ngā tamariki. I tohe anō a Moetū mō te āhua o te whakanoho i ngā tamariki i waenganui i ngā whānau, ā, ka tatari ngā tamariki kia mutu āna whiriwhiri.

  ‘E hē, Moetū,’ ka utua atu e ngā kaumātua.

  I te paunga o te marama tuatahi ka tae a Moetū ki Ruatāhuna, ka whakahokia atu a Tihei rāua ko Erana me ā rāua pēpē ki ō rāua hoa tāne. I pūrere mai rāua i Ōrākau, engari kāore rāua i mōhio kei whea ō rāua hoa wāhine. ‘Mōhio tonu māua ka tiakina e koe, e Moe,’ ka mihi rāua ki a ia.

  Wehe atu ana he tamaiti, wehe atu ana he tamaiti, ka kaha kē atu te auwhi o te ngākau o Moetū, ā, taihoa ake mahue ai rāua ko te kuku o tōna manawa.

  Ko Patu hoki te whakamutunga. I eke hōiho rāua ki Te Wairoa. I reira ka tūpono atu ki te matua kēkē o Patu. Kia kaha mai hoki tana pākiki i te tangata rā: ‘Māu a Patu e whakatupu hei tamaiti nāu? Kaua e kaha rawa te whakamahia ōna. Kia pakeke ia ka riro i a ia ngā whenua o tōna pāpā?’

  Ki konā ia patapatai atu ai, kāore tonu a Moetū i kite i tētehi take e kore ai a Patu e noho ki tōna matua kēkē; kāore hoki he mate o te tangata rā. Ka hongi ia i a Patu. ‘Kei te kāinga koe ināianei,’ ka hamumu atu ia.

  Nō tōna wehenga ka tīmata a Patu ki te tangi, ka whai haere i a Moetū.

  ‘Me noho koe ki konei, e Patu,’ ka mea a Moetū.

  Kāore a Patu i mārama: ‘Engari māku e mahi,’ ka karanga atu ia, anō nei kua pakeke.

  Pā tonu mai te reo o Patu ki te taringa o Moetū nōna e whakawhiti ana i ngā awaawa mā runga i tana hōiho, ‘Māku, māku, māku.’

  4.

  Ka pā mai te karanga kia ekea te waka rererangi.

  ‘Kua tae ki te wā,’ ka mea au ki a Hūhana.

  ‘Kaua e māharahara,’ ka kī mai a Hūhana, ‘kāore te waka rā e rere kia whakaaetia rawatia e au.’

  Ka ahu mai a Moetū ki Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa.

  Kua tae noa mai a Te Haa, tōna teina, a Mihaere me ngā mōrehu o Rongowhakaata. Nō tā rātou kitenga atu i a Moetū e haere mai ana ka pupū ake te aroha, ka tangi te reo pōwhiri.

  ‘Kua oti i a koe tāu nā mahi, e Moe?’ Ka pātai a Te Haa. ‘I hau mai te rongo mō te tamaiti kawe tamariki, mōhio tonu atu mātou ko koe rā. He tamaiti koe i te haerenga atu, he tāne koe i te hokinga mai. Kua hoki mai koe me tō hōiho kaumātua … kua whai tamaiti hoki? Kia tere mai hoki.’

  ‘Kei whakaiti koe i taku hōiho,’ ka utua e Moetū, kua pakeke hoki tōna reo, nā reira ka tuku a Te Haa mā i a ia kia kōrero. ‘He tika tāu, he tamaiti tāku.’

  I runga i te hōiho a Patu e moe ana. Kāore a Moetū i kaha ki te whakarere atu, nā reira i hoki ia ki te tiki i a ia. ‘Māku a Patu e atawhai,’ ka mea ia ki te matua kēkē o Patu. ‘E tango ana au i te tamaiti nei, hei aha māku tō whakaae, tō whakahē rānei.’

  Kite tonu atu te matua kēkē o Patu i te nui o tōna aroha mō te tamaiti rā me tō Patu mōna. ‘Ka ora i a koe,’ ka utua e ia.

  I a rāua e wehe atu ana, ka ngunguru a Patu ki a Moetū: Kei noho koe ka whakarere i a au ā muri ake nei.

  ‘Ka hoki anō te iwi ki āna mahi, ā, kāore i ngaro noa i te rokiroki o mahara ngā rā i Ōrākau. Ahakoa te rere o te wā, he hokihoki tonu te mahi a ngā mahara o Moetū ki a Kararaina. Ka taka i tētehi rangi …’

  E rima marama i muri mai, kei waho, kei ngā māra ngā tāngata o te kāinga e whakatō kānga ana, kātahi ka oho a Moetū: ‘Kia hiwa rā!’

  Nā Te Haa ia i whakatū hei taituarā mōna, hei tūtei matatauā hoki. Ka tuohu ia ki raro, ka hāpaitia ake tana pū.

  Puta ake ana i te tapa o te waerenga tētehi tauā. Nāwai i kitea noatia atu te ngahere, ka kapi te wāhi rā i te tangata.

  Ko Tū, ko Rongo rānei te haere mai nei?

  Nō te hokinga mai o Te Haa ka kino kē atu te noho i waenganui i te Māori me te Pākehā, i waenganui anō i ngā Māori i kūpapa ki te Kāwanatanga me te Kīngitanga. Kua mutu ngā rā o te houkuratanga. Kāore te iwi i mōhio i taua wā kotahi tau atu anō ka riri rātou ki ngā hōia o te kāwanatanga i Waerenga-a-Hika i te Whiringa-ā-nuku o te tau 1865. Ka aranga i reira te ingoa o Te Kooti Arikirangi.

  Ka whakahiwa a Te Haa i a Rukupō ki te tauā. Kātahi ia ka kite atu ko wai te rangatira o te ope e whakaeke mai ana … kātahi rātou ka tū.

  Ehara, ko Rewi Manga Maniapoto tonu.

  Kua tūrohi, kua pau hoki te hau. I te rerenga i Ōrākau, i papahoro te iwi rā ki roto i te ngahere, ā, i te whāia tonutia rātou e ngā hōia. Ka tū te ringa o Rewi ka karanga ki te iwi, ‘E Pō, e te iwi, tēnā koutou.’

  Ka tohua e ia tētehi o ngā tamawahine kia puta ki waho. Ehara, ko Kararaina. Ka titiro a Rewi ki te iwi, e kimi ana, e rapu ana. Kātahi ka tohu ōna mata ki a Moetū, ka tungou tana pane, ka hau te reo:

  ‘Tēnei te tuku atu nei i tēnei tamāhine nā mātou ki a koutou hei wahine māna, mā Moetū, hei tohu i tō mātou whakaaro nui ki ngā mahi i riwha i a ia hei hāpai i te iwi. E hoatu nei ia i runga i te ngākau whakaae ōna, o tōna iwi anō hoki e pae nei.’

  Ka puta a Moetū ki te tūtaki i a Kararaina … engari i mua tonu i a ia a Patu e oma atu ana.

  Ka toro atu ōna ringaringa ki te awhi i a ia. ‘E Patu, taku kuru pounamu,’ pari ā-tai tonu te roimata i ōna kamo. ‘Kua kite koe i tō whānau hōu? Kei te kimi au i tōku.’

  Ka tū ia, e hiki ana i a Patu. Ka rere te ringa o Moetū ki tana pūkoro, ka kumea mai tētehi rīpene whero i roto. ‘Kua tupu mai ō makawe,’ ka mea ia.

  Nāna i tiki atu te rīpene i te rua i tapahia ai ōna makawe, ā, mau tonu ana tae noa ki tērā wā.

  Ka noho a Rewi me tōna iwi, ka whāngaia ki te kai, ka pōkaia hoki he ō mā rātou.

  Kātahi ka korikori te ngahere i kō atu.

  ‘Me haere tātou,’ ka mea a Rewi.

  Ka titiro a Moetū ki a Kararaina. ‘Waiho mā māua rātou e nuka,’ tana kōrero ki a Rewi, ‘mā māua e tahu he ahi i runga ake i te hiwi hei whakakonuka i a rātou.’

  Ka mihi a Rewi ki a rāua, ka pakiri mai ōna niho, ‘Kia kapi i a kōrua te mata o te whenua.’

  Kātahi ka nunumi atu rātou ki roto i te ngahere.

  ‘I moe rāua?’ Ka pātai a Haimona.

  ‘Ko wai te tangata e māia ki te whakarere kau i te kōtiro ātaahua?’ Ka ui makihoi atu au. ‘He nui ā rāua tamariki, katoa he ingoa nō ngā tāngata i hinga i te pakanga i Ōrākau, kia mau tonu ai ngā kōrero mō rātou, arā ko Whetū, ko Ōrākau, ko Rewi, ko Hineatūrama, ko Kākā … tokowhitu katoa rātou.’

  Ka tāpirihia atu e Hūhana, ‘Ā, ko te mātāmua o ngā tamariki, ko Patu,’ ka piri mai ia ki a au. ‘Nā konā i whakanuia ai a Moetū e tō tātou whānau. He mātua atawhai rāua ko Kararaina nō Patu. Ko te here o te aroha i waenganui i a rātou, kāore i taea te wewete.’

  Ka titiro au ki taku tuahine, ki a Hūhana: ka nui te whakamoemiti a taku ngākau kei konei tonu māua.

  Kātahi ia ka mea ki a Haimona. ‘Nō te kāwai tāua o Patu.’

  Ka mimingo ngā pāpāringa o Haimona, kātahi rāua ko Amber ka whati atu ki tō rāua waka e tatari ana i a rāua. Heoi anō, pīoioi atu ana a Amber.

  ‘He mōhio a Rewi —’ ka karanga a Hūhana, ‘ka ora tonu te iwi i ngā tamariki.’

  Ka kōtui mai tōna ringa ki tōku, kātahi ka hamumu tana waha kia rongo ai te katoa e mātakitaki atu ana i te waka e rere atu ana: ‘Engari me kaha ake i te māpu e tū atu nei.’

  Kua mōhio noa atu ngā huānga o Haimona ki te āhua o tō rātou kuia, ka toe tonu ia. Kua oti i a au te kī, he whānau ngutu atamai anō tēnei: ‘Ka nui hoki tō mātou aroha ki a koe, e kui.’

  Rewi Maniapoto, by an unknown photographer.<
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  Alexander Turnbull Library, P2-2882

  Raharuhi Rukupō, Rongowhakaata chief and renowned carver, appears as the instigator of Sleeps Standing but oral conjecture still sometimes circulates around the question of whether he might actually have been at Ōrākau. Although the name ‘Raharuhi’ is mentioned in written accounts, the possibility remains a tantalising mystery. Rukupō is reported to have fought in other battles during the Land Wars and would have sent warriors to support Rewi. His portrait, carved as a pou under his supervision in the 1840s, is in New Zealand’s oldest surviving wharenui, Te Hau Ki Tūranga, and is pictured here with one of his descendants, Witi Ihimaera, in 1973.

  Tourist and Publicity Department

  Lieutenant-General Sir Duncan Alexander Cameron, GCB, who was in charge of the Waikato campaign and arrived with reinforcements on the third day of the siege. Photograph taken 9 September 1863.

  England and the Maori Wars, A. J. Harrop, New Zealand Times, Whitcombe & Tombs, 1937

  Lieutenant-General Duncan Alexander Cameron (fifth standing soldier from the right, in front of the gun carriage) with a group of soldiers of the Colonial Defence Force. Taken 29 April 1864, at sunrise, on the morning of the attack on Gate Pā, just a few weeks after Ōrākau.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, PAColl-3396-1

  Gustavus von Tempsky in the 1860s. He was captain of the Forest Rangers and was promoted to major in recognition of his service at Ōrākau.

  Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

  Brigadier-General Carey, commander at Ōrākau. Photograph by Hartley Webster, c.1860.

  Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

  A scene from the film Rewi’s Last Stand showing the Ōrākau warriors singing their war songs to encourage reinforcements who had arrived on the edge of the bush but were kept back by British fire.

  Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19250618-41-1

  A re-enactment of the battle performed at the Pageant of Empire at Wembley, London, in 1924, showing the chaos of bombardment. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19240911-53-1