“Tiwhatiwha te pō, ko te Pakerewha, ko Arikirangi tēnei rā te haere nei.” | “Dark, dark is the night. There is the Pakerewha. There is Arikirangi to come.”
– Toiroa, Ngāti Maru elder, 1766
Toiroa’s prophecy above foresees pakerewha and a time of darkness. He made this prediction three years before the Endeavour arrived.
Confusion and bloodshed followed the Endeavour’s arrival – as the animation below shows.
The prophecy
Tiwha tiwha te po
Ko te Pakerewha
Ko Arikirangi tenei ra te haere nei
Dark, dark is the night
It is the Pakerewha
It is Arikirangi who is coming this day
***
Ko Nukutere,
Ko Nukutere.
Ko Tawhiti,
Ko Tawhiti.
He Atua,
He Atua.
Ko te Pakerewha,
A ko te Pakerewha.
It is Nukutere,
It is Nukutere.
It is Tawhiti,
It is Tawhiti.
A God,
A God.
It is the Pakerewha,
It is the Pakerewha.