| The Beds of the People | ||
Told by Mateo Veriveri |
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| Ite hare o te gagata tuai-era-á ina he ro'i. | In the homes of the ancient people there were no beds. | |
| Iraro-á te moega-haga, he maúku te me'e heriki oroto o te hare; | On the ground, for sleeping mats, there was grass, heriki [grass] inside the house. | |
| he moega te me'e heriki ana moe i te pó. | heriki [grass] was their mats when they slept at night. | |
| He-to'o-mai etahi ma'ea regorego pararaha mo garua, he-haha'o kiraro ki te moega. | They took smooth flat stones for pillows which they put under their [grass] bedding. | |
| He-eke kiruga te tagata, he-moe; | The people would step on top [of the grass bedding] and lie down; | |
| he-to'o-mai i te nua, he-pu'a, he-haúru. | they would take a cape, cover themselves, and sleep. | |
| Te moega hai gaatu ana tui, he-iri ki te rano, he-huhuti i te gaatu, he-to'o-mai, he-ma'u ki te hare. | These mats of totora, when they sewed them, they would climb the volcano, they would pull out totora reeds, and take them, and carry them home. | |
| Ki tu'u ki te hare, he-taûki ki te raá, he-hakapakapaka. | Upon arriving home, they hung them in the sun and dried them. | |
| Ki pakapaka te gaatu, he-to'o-mai, he-tui te gaatu hai haupaka. | Once the totora were dry, they took them, they sewed the totora with haupaka thread. | |
| Ki oti te kero te moega, he-viri, he-hakarere iroto i te hare. | Once finished working the mats, they rolled it up, they left it inside the house. | |
| Etahi korohua i-vâanaga-mai ki a au, ananake hare etahi tagata hakarogo ki te taû'a | An old man told me that [in] every house there was a man listening for enemies | |
| ana tu'u-mai ki te hare tutu i te po. | who might come in the night to set fire to the house. | |
| Ina eko pu'a i te nua, | He did not cover himself with a cape at all, | |
| hai me'e nua itiiti ana-pu'a ki te hoto, | [but only] with a tiny cape covering his shoulders | |
| ai ka-veveri-no i te po i te takeo. | to stay awake114b in the cold of the night. | |
| Koai ite, te taû'a te tu'u-mai ki te hare tutu, ki rivariva-ai ana tere te tagata i te po. | Who knows, enemies might come to burn the house and it would be good if the people escaped in the night. | |