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I thought, my child, I had severed the hold of night over us
When at thy birth the fruitful winds of years of plenty blew,
And met in crowds, and heralded the coming Pleiades,
And banished famine, hunger, want, and death from man.
Then man was guided to the island Wai-ro-ta;
The star Pu-anga led him to Raro-tonga,
Where he built the house Maru-ao-nui,
And, guided by Te Whaka-ha, he went to Hawa-i-ki,
And built the house called Rangi-aio,
And placed the twins of Tai-nga-hue the sun and the moon
Far in the sky, as signs for ever in the heavens.
Ancient Maori lament of Tu-rau-kawa for his murdered child.