Research source

And the high-priest rose, and in a wild chant he invoked Tangaroa the Ocean God, and called upon many a deified…

Date of account: Published 1907
Source: Te Tohunga: The ancient legends and traditions of the Maoris
Reference: Te Tohunga: The ancient legends and traditions of the Maoris · selected passage 28
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

And the high-priest rose, and in a wild chant he invoked Tangaroa the Ocean God, and called upon many a deified ancestral spirit

Published source text

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Source passage

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And the high-priest rose, and in a wild chant he invoked Tangaroa the Ocean God, and called upon many a deified ancestral spirit. Loud pealed his awa-moana, his rhythmic storm-assuaging incantation (beginning “Unuhia, unuhia te pou tapu, ko te pou mua, ko te pou roto”). He besought the gods to draw out the canoe from the dread tumult of water, the sacred canoe that once grew as a tree (pou-tapu) in the enchanted Forests of Tane--to save from the throat of the Ogre of the Depths the ship of Ngatoro’. He called upon the spirits of Ruarangi, of Maui-tiki-tiki-o-Taranga, to descend by the path of Tawhaki the God-man from the heavens, and “clear from perils all the ocean track of Ngatoro’.”

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

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