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Puhi.
The puhi custom among the natives was a singular one, and deserves mention here. Williams's Dictionary gives the following meanings of puhi: (1) A betrothed woman; (2) a much-courted unbetrothed young woman. Neither of these definitions appears to describe the puhi among the Tuhoe Tribe. A betrothal here is termed taumou,* of which more anon. A puhi among Tuhoe was a girl of good family, first-born daughter of a chief, who was rendered tapu—i.e., she was not allowed to have sexual connection with any man, nor to perform any work except such as the weaving of the better-class garments, as korowai, aronui, kahu-kura, maro kopua, &c., which work was equivalent to the “fancy work” of ladies among us, a light and genteel employment. She would have some attendant to cook for her, and was under restriction in many ways. These puhi were not allowed to marry, or, at least, such was often the expressed intention, though they might fall from grace in after-years when tired of single life. The idea was to make her an important person—” Ka whakapuhitia hai wahine rangatira”—in the tribe, a lady of rank, to be treated with respect and looked up to. If a puhi were detected in illicit intercourse with any man she
[Footnote] * Taumou was the name of the function or custom; the girl was not termed a taumou.
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was degraded and the tapu taken off her. No girl of the common people could be a puhi, nor yet a younger daughter, but only the tapairu (first-born daughter of a chief's family). The puhi was a renowned personage (he wahine ingoa nui), for such was the object of the custom. Hine-i-turama was a famous puhi until she fell from grace. She fled to the forest and there gave birth to a child (afterwards known as Tuwairua). A search-party found her by hearing her singing a lullaby over her child in the depths of the forest. Huinga-o-te-ao, of the ancient Maruiwi, was a famous puhi, she who died the tragic death near O-hiwa. Nahau was another renowned puhi, so tapu that she could do nothing for herself, hence the saying, “E noho ra, E Nahau ! Tena te ia o Rangitaiki hai kawe i a koe.”
The following song, termed a Waiata mate kanehe, was composed by a puhi of days gone by who had fallen in love with a man named Kau-i-te-rangi. She thus addresses him:—
Tera te waka i a Kau-i-te-rangi—e
Kapokapo ana mai me he rau harakeke.
Tera, E Pa ! Ka makamaka i o rimu
Kia hemo ake ai nga tapu i ahau
Kapo ana koe ko te whakahoro e roto
Oma ana ki matenga
Kia patua i roto Tuhapari e te ika
E ta te moari, e te tau—e
Tuakina a Piha, ka whiu ki te pari.