Whispers of Waitaha : traditions of a nation

Chiefly English; some Maori ; Title on p. [3]: Whispers of Waitaha : the grandmother stories ; Genre: Folklore ; Genre: Texts ; The trail of understanding -- The first voice. Deep in the universe ; The great journey of life begins anew ; The sacred journey of Kurawaka and Rakaiwaka ; The sacred numbers of the chosen ; The beacon stars ; The long awaited departure -- The second voice. The sacred trails of the grandchild genealogy ; The trails in the land ; The ancient grandmother patterns ; The children of the Creator ; The dreaming ; The challenge of Tane -- The third voice. The knowledge of the light and the dark ; Our Grandmother Earth ; An old story ; The beautiful land ; The trails of Waitaha in the land ; The stars and their synchronising activities ; The impregnation ; The marriages ; The journey into the Pacific Ocean ; The procedures of settling the land ; The trails of Rongomaraeroa ; The great expanse of the oceans of Tangaroa ; The medicines ; Farewell message -- Matriarchal blessing -- Matriarchal message ; "Our elder grandmothers instructed the teachers of the families to: 'hide our nation, hide our information, hide our belief systems in the wananga of silence, to wait the time of Tumatawera.' The teachers kept everything hidden in the mokopuna. The grandchild became the nation's library and all information was concealed inside the minds of the mokopuna. The patters of life, the patters of the universe and the patterns of the families were faithfully transferred across into the mokopuna for the future in the time of Tumatawera. The wisdom keepers had seen in the smoke of the ritual fires the 'strangers,' making huge changes in the way life would be controlled in Waitangi-ki-Raro. No prayers would again be sent to Io the parentless creator both male and female in essence. No gathering as elder teachers in public. No elder teacher practices and no gathering of our people. Fear had come with the stranger. Tahana Rerenga o Io had come and gone in his universal flight in the heavens measuring the time ...