| Hotu Matu'a Sends Men to Bring Moai Tautó to Easter Island. | Hotu Matu'a Sends Men to Bring Moai Tautó to Easter Island. | |
| I-noho-mai-era te Ariki i Anakena, i te hare Tupatu'u, he-kî ki te tagata erua: | Once the King had settled in Anakena, in Tupatu'u house, he told two men: | |
| "Ka-hoki ki Hiva, ki te kaíga, ki te moai ma'ea; ka-to'omai! Ku-rehu-ana imu'a i te haga. Ana tomo-atu korua kimu'a ki te haga, e-ata kahara korua o hahati îa, i mahaki, i a Tautó, i te Ariki". | "Go back to Hiva, to our homeland, to bring a stone statue. It has remained in front of the bay. When you land in the bay, be very careful not to break (the statue of) colleague Tautó, the Ariki47". | |
| He-oho erua tagata iruga i te vaka. | The two men went on their boat. | |
| Ina he vave, ina he pari, ina he tokerau. | There were no waves, big or small, there was no wind. | |
| He-oho tou tagata era, he-tomo ki Hiva. | Those men went, they arrived in Hiva. | |
| I-tomo-era, he-û'i, e-maroa-ana te moai imu'a i te haga. | When they had arrived, they saw the statue standing in front of the bay. | |
| He-hahati i te gao o te moai Ko Tautó. | They broke the neck of moai Tautó 48. | |
| He-hati te vave, he-hú te tokerau, he-hoa te ûa, he-hetu te patiri, he-topa te homo kiruga ki te kaíga nei. | The waves broke, the wind blew, rain fell, thunder roared, a meteorite fell on the island. | |
| He-ma'a te Ariki Hotu Matu'a, he-tagi: | [At that] King Hotu Matu'a knew (what had happened) and he lamented: | |
| "A, ku-hahati-á te nao o te moai, o Tautó, o te Ariki; kai kakara korua i a mahaki". | "Woe! The neck of moai Tautó, the Airiki, has been broken! You did not handle my colleague carefully." | |
| He-ragi ki te tagata vere ta-ûeve: "Ka-turu korua, ka-û'i i a mahaki ná ku-tomo-á kiuta kiruga ki te one, ná iruga i te one, i Hiro Moko". | He called out to his servants and told them: "Come down (to the beach), see my colleague who has landed on the beach, he is on the beach, at Hiro Moko." | |
| He-oho te tagata, he-tu'u, he-u'i, ku-tomo-á kiuta. | The men went, they arrived (at the beach), they saw that (the statue) had landed. | |
| He-to'o i te moai Ko Tautó, he ariga nó, he gao. | They took moai Tautó, just the head and the neck. | |
| He-ma'u, he-oho ki te Ariki, he-avai ki te rima o te Ariki O'Hotu Matu'a. | They carried it to the king's house, and delivered it in the hands of King Hotu Matu'a. | |
| He-tagi te Ariki, he hakari, he va'e, he rima i Hiva-á i te kaíga. | The King cried; the body, the legs, he arms had stayed in Hiva, his homeland. | |
| He-tagi te Ariki: "Ka-oho-mai koe mai Hiva, mai te kaíga kai nui, gutu oone". | The King cried: "Welcome from Hiva, the land of abundant food, of dirty lips!49 |
Note 48 It seems that, to spare themselves the trouble of carrying the heavy statue whole to their boat, they broke its neck and only took the head.
Note 49 Meaning: a land where people go about with their lips dirty, greasy, because they have abundant food; an ideal land, for him, because it is a land of succulent and abundant food.