Lyrics

       There! The dart is thrown about repeatedly

       Wharepūhunga is enveloped in mist
       The dart can be seen gliding in the distance
       Towards the peak of the mountain

5     There! The dart is thrown about repeatedly

       At Pureora, Rangitoto and Titiraupenga
       Tarapīkau is seen indistinctly moving about
       I whistle and I hear his whistle in return
       He whistles through a bent finger
10   And is deceptive, indeed

       The fairy folk are a strange race
       They’re cunning, crafty and full of tricks

       Te Atakohu resides in the western hills
       She dwells on the land, while Tamakaiuru dwells in the sky
15   She will cast your dart

       There! The dart is thrown about repeatedly

       Whanawhana-i-te-rangi resides at Puawhe
       Fly forth to Te Aroha to visit Te Ruaiti
       And from there to Taputeuru

20   His home is at Pukemoremore

       The fairy folk are a strange race
       They’re cunning, crafty and full of tricks

       Womenfolk, don’t show your delight
       Te Rangipōuri is attempting to persuade you
25   Menfolk, hold fast
       There, his glowing dart flickers in the distance  

       There! The dart is thrown about repeatedly

Explanation

According to my female elders, a favourite past time of the patupaiarehe is to throw darts amongst each other as they travel to and fro between the mountains. It was a competition, they would cast their darts to see whose would fly the fastest. It’s their sport. Each mountain had one patupaiarehe who was the chief of all the fairy folk of a certain mountain, ridge top or forest. This poi was composed so that the stories about the patupaiarehe live amongst this generation. In traveling to each mountain and the different regions we acknowledge the Māori tribes of those mountains.

1. Ara rē
I would here my female elders saying ‘ara rē’, which means ‘look’, or ‘over there’, next to the listener or further away.

2. Pūkohukohu te tuhu ki Wharepūhunga
Wharepūhunga is a Ngāti Raukawa mountain and is inhabited by the patupaiarehe.

3. tiu
A pere or tiu is a dart.

4. Ki te maunga e tautari mai rā
It was Rakataura who said, ‘Ko whea tērā maunga e tautari mai rā?’ He was referring to Maungatautari.

7. Tarapīkau
Tarapīkau inhabits these mountain tops. His mana is likened to that of Tāne.

8. Whio atu, whiowhio, whio mai
When my elders would go pig hunting, they would whistle, if their whistles were returned they knew Tarapīkau was near and headed in a different direction.

9. Korowhiti, korowhiti, korowhīrona
Tarapīkau would whistle to confuse the people.

10. Tekateka
False, untrue.

11-12. Ko te iwi paiarehe, ko te iwi tupua. He māminga, ara rē nanakia, he nukanuka
A deceitful race.

13. E Te Atakohu
Te Atakohu is a female patupaiarehe, she inhabits the forests and mountains of the west, from Pirongia to Karioi, near Raglan.

14. Tamakaiuru
Tamakaiuru is an atua who is also known as Tūkaiteuru. He appears as a meteor and is a brother to Te Atakohu.

15. Tārearea
A tārerarea is another name for a dart.

17. Puawhe
Puawhe is the patupaiarehe name for Pirongia.

17. Whanawhana-i-te-rangi
Whanawhana-i-te-rangi is the chief patupaiarehe of Puawhe.

18. Topa atu ki Te Aroha ki Te Ruaiti
Te Ruaiti is the chief patupaiarehe of Te Aroha.

20. Pukemoremore
Taputeuru lives at Pukemoremore (Tauwhare).

24. Kei te whakawai mai rā a Te Rangipōuri
The patupaiarehe Te Rangipōuri was a womanizer. He composed the song, Kāore te rangi nei te pēhi whakarunga, a lament for his Māori wife.

26. Tērā tōna pere muramura e teretere mai rā
This was a special dart that belonged to Te Rangipōuri.