One early morning, there was a crowd of us going on to a marae for the opening of a newly renovated meeting house. Hariata was in her late forties by then. As dawn broke, our large group made its way across the marae, the calls from the old women sounding out one after the other. Hariata had been positioned among the kuia as usual but, on this occasion, halfway across the ground she felt a sudden prod in her back, by which she understood the time had come for her to use her voice.

Though it was unexpected, because the duty of kaikaranga was usually reserved for much older women, her mouth flew open and her karanga sounded out over the marae. I was walking several rows behind her. Beside me was the jealous one whom I’ve already mentioned. As soon as Hariata began her call, this one cursed and muttered strings of vile words against her.

As a result, just as Hariata was concluding her karanga, she fell to the ground unconscious and was carried to a shelter to recover.

I didn’t go straight to Hariata to tell her what I’d overheard. I went to the old ones, but they already knew. Some of them had heard the bad words, too. When Hariata recovered, they told her that she must rise above ill-speaking. What had happened was a good lesson, they said; and they told her that she should be grateful for the experience. It would help her to know what her gifts were and to understand that she had power within her to counteract any such evil. They said nothing at all to the one who caused the trouble. It was as though they were leaving her to stew in her own bitter juices.

Of course I’ve been carried away telling all this, Grandson. If I’d written it down it wouldn’t be so jumbled. All I want Aki to hear is what I’ve had to say about Ela. Never mind the rest. That’s the trouble. It’s all stuck here on this gadget. You can’t take it back. And it should be in a different order. Anyway, as long as he knows that what happened to Ela was nothing to do with me. My ungenerous thoughts disappeared as I came to know her. She was kind. She was lovely. She married for love, as I did, as Aki did. Just play those bits for him, Grandson, and never mind the rest.

Chapter 25

Aki