...Cook Straits and between the smaller islands in that region. Hence the old song is figuratively true. I will sing, I will sing of my ancestor Kupe. He,...Mana and Aropawa Were divided off and stood apart. He explored the West Coast of the South Island and that of the North, finally departing for the Home...

...time elapses, a tradition based on historical fact may by accretions of the marvellous become extorted into a myth. Similarly, when the proud descendant...those islands and prove that they were separated from •E. Best, 1922: Maori Myth and Religion (Dominion Museum Monograph, No. 1, p. 15). the mainland....

...contained in the metaphorical and allusive expression. He takes the following Maori song as an example : I will sing, I will sing of my ancestor Kupe. He it...divided off and stood apart. " Literally speaking", says Dr Buck, "it is childish to expect a European to believe it. The fact remains, however, that Kupe...

...splitting these islands one from the other and the song that commemorates the event goes like this: I will sing, I will sing of my ancestor Kupe! He it...Mana and Aropawa Were divided off and stood apart. The South Island looked inviting and Kupe became obsessed with the desire to explore it beyond the...