42: The Stone Bird (Pt 2)

In our previous article on this artefact we covered the story of the carved bird, how it was found and Tainui's subsequent claim that it was the sacred bird mentioned in their traditional song. Here we examine the story in regard to reality vs tradition. If you haven't read the Korotangi article - do so now. (22:The Stone Bird - 12th February http://tangatawhenua16.wix.com/the-first-ones-blog#!22-The-Stone-Bird/cgla/56b01b0a0cf2b4e0b614379c)

Now - keep in mind Maori tradition and belief sometimes ignores reality because we all know that Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island) is a not an old wooden canoe. Legend says it is a canoe. If you say what is written below (which is just something to consider) is wrong, then I ask you if the South Island on NZ was really once a canoe? It can only be yes or no and in that light let's consider the following.

In 1889 a Pera Kiwi was asked to give some account of the Korotangi, and so supplied the following:— “That bird, the Korotangi, was a parera [grey duck] and it was a wise bird, remarkable for its powers of second-sight; it could foretell coming troubles, and so warned the people when enemies were about to attack them. That bird belonged to Te Haupa of the Tainui clan. The cause of that bird's death was connected with its habit of frequenting places where food was cooked, and on one occasion it was driven away from such a place and felt so abashed that it wandered away in a state of despair. It went from Kawhia to Aotea, but the people of that place failed to catch it; the owner of the bird came seeking it, lamenting his loss as he came; at Pourewa he chanted the following lament for his bird:— [The version of the chant given by Pera differs a little from the Tuhoe one given above; the lines are not in the same order, and the bird's name appears as Korotangi. The word whakataeore in line 10 is given as whakataero; lines 7-11 and 12 are omitted; line 6 appears as the last line but one, the final one being— “Te parea koe ki te huahua pohewahewa mai no Potoru.”] “As Te Haupa concluded his song the lost bird appeared from a swamp near by, and he caught it, whereupon that bird informed him that it was about to die, owing to its feeling of shame at having been banished from the family circle. So it came to pass that the disconsolate bird expired at Aotea and was buried at the edge of the swamp. Now when a certain European named Neiha was engaged in- 59 after days in digging a well or water-hole he found that bird, but it was turned into stone.” The entertaining account given by Pera introduces some new features into the tale, the possession of the power of speech by the original bird being not the least remarkable of these; those vocal powers, however, seem to have become petrified with the body of the hapless creature. Pera has made excellent use of his opportunities and has given us a good sample of the powers of imagination possessed by the Maori. 'Tis thus that folk tales come into being.

Apparently the bird (a grey duck) was caught by a fisherman, who kept it as a pet, but during his absence his wife ill-treated the bird, hence it escaped. The man never found his bird, merely some of its feathers, and so he composed the song given. The name of the bird, Korotangi, is still used as a term of endearment, we are told, though it appears as Korotau in the song given. Some think that possibly the pet bird was named Korotangi after a stone relic brought from Hawaiki. In Mr. John McGregor's collection of Maori songs we find two versions of the song about the Korotangi, so it seems even maori had different versions of the same son? In the first version the bird's name appears as Korota, and the story is much the same as Mr. Graham's. In the other version the bird is called Koroto, corrected later to Korota. Very confusing.

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Korotangi bird8

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After the stone bird was found, we were told that the Tainui tribe claimed that their ancestors brought the stone bird from over-seas. Now it may be possible that this holy relic was brought with Tainui but why would they bury it and leave it in the roots of a tree that when a storm blew it over was already 400 years old? You might hide a holy item from your enemies, you don't bury it, plant a tree over it and then forget where it is. That's is an insane suggestion yet that is what Tainui's assertion actually means. Also keep in mind there was no story of a stone bird in their history before this discovery. The only possible item that is missing we know they talk about is the object that sat inside Te Uenuku. (See Sidestep: Te Uenuku http://tangatawhenua16.wix.com/the-first-ones-blog#!Sidestep-Te-Uenuku/cgla/56a8220b0cf22a80b02992).. Yet the song concerning a living bird here in this land is presented as proof that the foreign Korotangi stone carving was known to their forbears. It is like someone saying a magical being appeared and left and when you find a similar looking rock you say the being is now in the rock. We wouldn't believe that, so why do Maori? Maori reasoning is a difficult thing to follow, and Pera's gifted effort leaves us baffled and near speechless. Evidently the Maori possessed a song concerning a partially-tamed duck, and, when the carved bird was found, endeavoured to connect the two and so claim the latter. There is nothing in the song to show that the half-tamed duck possessed any of the amazing powers mentioned above. Pera's account will not square with that given in vol. 22 of the Transactions, and on the whole the case for this so-called Maori artifact must be entered as ‘not proven.’ It was not fashioned by Maori hands because before leaving Hawaiiki they were not Maori. But we know it was not fashioned by any Polynesian hands either. The type of stone it is made from does not even exist in the Pacific!

So we have a living sacred bird that died - and we have no reason to doubt that that part of the story was true. But then we have a dead duck (excuse the pun), buried and then eventually turning into a stone bird which isn't a duck, and about 1/2 the size of the real one - as proof that it existed? Then, and only after it was discovered, we have a tradition, yet none existed prior, that the stone bird was brought with them from Hawaiiki. yet no one knew what it was when it was found until a woman's emotional sight of it made an unlikely connection and the living bird tradition is now forgotten. And now there is a new story (previously undocumented) that a stone bird was always with Tainui and in fact came with them in the canoe. Seeing as it is not a Polynesian artifact means that it was indeed made somewhere in Asia. That would mean Asian's reached Hawaiiki or the surrounding islands...yet there are no stories of that ever occurring and we know how strong oral tradition is.

There is a second thing. A Maori chief, Te Ngakau of the Ngati Mahuta, commented that 'This is not a Maori bird, look at the carved feathers, it comes from a distance...a foreign land or over the sea'. He considered the 'korotangi' to be so tapu that he pleaded with one who held it to throw it into the Waikato river lest she suffer makutu, or bewitchment. he didn't believe it to be anything of Maori origin, yet still tapu.

A further note on form. The head and beak of this bird resembles that of the flat billed prion and two other species. But the tail is different. It could be a copy of an extinct bird we know nothing about or a fanciful interpretation by the creator of the artifact - most likely Indonesia or elsewhere in Asia. But was was it? I discovered that old ships would often carry items/devices/talismans that represented deities. They often represented female figures...or birds. Now the Korotangi has a hole in the base therefore this bird was once attached to something. Bird talisman's on ships were meant to provide the ship with sentient life and therefore, protection. Some were ducks as they could fly, walk and swim. Some say the Korotangi is a duck, some say a dove, I reckon it's a seabird. Whatever, the bird would represent a migratory bird an these symbols were used in Egypt, Italy, Greece and India. I maintain that regardless of whatever it arrived here in NZ from another source or it arrived in the Pacific and was brought here by Maori, that the item was once attached to a ship. It's an unproven theory and it suggest the bird came from the west not the east which would fit it's overall design.

We don't make claims very often. But in this case we are going to say that the stone bird is not the Korotangi, (for that bird is clearly dead if it was ever alive), and it did not come with Tainui canoe. But it was found, it was buried and it was done so because it was so foreign to them when they saw it, that it was disposed of - as all sacred or feared items are. Whether it was a gift from those who landed here, or jetsam from a shipwreck is totally irrelevant.

If Maori are great with their history as we assume them to be, then this bird does not belong to Tainui as it is not a Maori item, nor a Maori relic, nor even a Polynesian one. The story of bringing it here does not fit any prior tradition and in fact was made up on the vain hope it was some magical thing that would bring better fortune to Tainui. It isn't and it hasn't.

It is a stone artifact that should be in TePapa as an example of an unexplained artifact from an unexplained but Pre-European source.