Kā Pepeha o kā Tūpuna, by Tahu Pōtiki.

“Karia kā puna, Āhua kā puke. Kia raraka Tatare a Tānemoehau.”

“Dig the wells and raise the hills. Burst forth the Sharks of Tānemoehau.”

Tānemoehau was the matriarchal ancestor of Kāti Kuri. Rakaitauheke attempted to inspire his relations by describing the gathering of chiefs as sharks or dogfish of their great grandmother. There are a number of variations of this pepeha although they all retain the common ‘shark’ theme.

“Kia whati te tai, kia pao te torea, kia ina te harakeke a Hine-Kakai.”

“When he tide recedes the torea (oyster catcher) strikes. The flax of Hine-Kaki burns.”

The above pepeha was recited by Parakiore, the son Tūrākautahi and Hinekai, on the beach at Katiki, just south of Moeraki. It is said that Parakiore was a very fast runner and that there was no other quicker than he. The northerners were losing the battle because the Taumutu contingent had stood back and refused to fight. As the enemy approached Parakiore, he responded with the above statement. He then promptly lifted his wife onto his back and piggy-backed her down the beach, so quickly that he still outran his pursers.

“Ko Kuratawhiti te mauka kākāpō. Ko au te takata.”

“Kuratawhiti is the mountain home of the Kākāpō. I am the man that lays claim to it.”

This pepeha is a version of the statement made by Tūrākautahi and his mōkai as he laid claim to Kuratawhiti, a mountain peak in the Torlesse Range. The exclamation came as a result of Tūrākautahi and other chiefs of the time competing to seize the neighbouring mountain peak of Whata-ā-rama, reknowned for the prized kākāpō feathers required to create chiefly regalia for their daughters. Aware that he was losing the competition to claim Whata-ā-rama, Tūrākautahi sent his slave to the tree top to sight Kuratawhiti and he subsequently uttered the above words asserting his mana over the peak and it’s resources.

Source: Te Karaka, 1998, Makariri / Winter, p. 9