Hatupatu and the Bird-Women

This week in we did Literacy tumble. In Literacy tumble we have 2 tasks to do for the week. This week one of the tasks to do was Hatupatu and the Bird-woman. We had to SMRF a doc and do the work on it. Here's My Work!!!

Hatupatu and the Bird-Woman

Adapted from Te Ao Hou The New World, No. 53 (December 1965, p31)

When Hatupatu was hunting one day for birds in the forest, he met a woman who was spearing birds for herself. This woman had wings on her arms, and claws instead of fingers. Her lips were long and hard and pointed, like a bird's beak, and she was using them as a spear. Now the woman speared a bird with her lips, and just at the same moment Hatupatu threw this spear at a bird, but missed and hit the woman. When he saw this, he ran away in terror. But the Bird-Woman soon caught him, for with her wings she could travel as fast as a cheetah. Then the woman, whose name was Kurangaituku, took Hatupatu home to her cave, and kept him prisoner there.

This woman never ate anything but raw food, and she gave him only raw birds to eat. He pretended to eat these but hid them instead. At dawn each day the Bird-Woman went out to spear birds, but Hatupatu stayed at home. When she had gone he roasted the meat he had hidden, and looked at all the possessions in her cave. There were pet birds and lizards, a taiaha, and piles of precious cloaks: flaxen cloaks, cloaks of dogs fur, and cloaks of red feathers.

Every day Hatupatu wished very much that he could escape and take them with him. One morning he said to the Bird-Woman, “When you go hunting today you had better go a long way, and travel over a thousand hills. When you get there, you will find birds for us.”Kurangaituku agreed to this, and she went. Hatupatu stayed behind as usual, roasting birds for himself and thinking, “I wonder how far she’s travelled by now?” When he thought that she was far enough away, he began to gather up her flaxen cloaks, her cloaks of dogs fur, her cloaks of red feathers, and her taiaha.

He thought to himself, “How great I will look when the feathers on these cloaks are stirred by the wind.” He used the taiaha to attack Kurangaituku’s lizards. Soon they were all killed. Then he struck at the perch where her little pet birds sat, and he killed all of them except one. One little bird escaped, and flew away to fetch back the Bird-Woman. When he found her he cried, “Our home is ruined, our things are all destroyed.” “Who has done this?” replied the Bird- Woman. And the little bird answered, “Hatupatu. Everything is gone.”

Then the Bird-Woman hurried back to her home. She had made only three strides when she reached the cave, and found nobody there. But the little bird showed her where Hatupatu had gone, and she ran on. Hatupatu heard her behind him, and he thought, “I’m done for now.” So he repeated a magic charm he knew, “Oh rock, open for me, open.”

Then the rock opened, and he hid inside it. The Bird-Woman came running past the rock, but she could not see him, and she ran on.

After her voice had died away in the distance, Hatupatu came out of the rock and kept running. When he came to Rotorua, the Bird-Woman saw him once more and chased him, throwing stones at him as she went. But then Hatupatu came to the boiling springs at Whakarewarewa. He jumped over the springs, but she tried to run through them and was burnt to death.

Then Hatupatu came to the shores of Lake Rotorua. His home was on Mokoia Island in the middle of the lake. He dived in and swam under the water to the island, and there he was united with his parents, who had thought for a long time that he was dead.

QUESTIONS:   (answer underneath each question in a different colour and in detail.)

Question 1: What was the Bird-Woman’s name?

Kurangaituku

Question 2: List 3 of the possessions of the Bird-Women?

Pet birds, different types of cloaks like dog fur and red bird feather cloaks and taiaha.

Question 3: What was the Bird-Woman using like a spear? Why?

Her lips, long, hard and pointed like a bird's beak, she was using this as her spear because it was pointed, sharp and was able to throw herself far enough to catch her prey.

Question 4: Why did Hatupatu pretend to eat the raw birds, but hide them instead?

He hid them because they were raw and he could only eat cooked birds.

Question 5:It says….and piles of precious cloaks….What does the word precious mean?

Precious means special or something that is valuable.

Question 6: What did Hatupatu kill in the cave?

Birds and the lizards.

Question 7: Why did he steal the cloaks?

Because they looked nice and he wanted to take it to his island.

Question 8: It says …….he struck at the perch…. What does this phrase struck at the perch mean?

It means he hit a stick or a nest made out of sticks that something like a parrot stands on.

Question 9: How did the Bird-Woman get back to the cave so quickly?

She has wings so it gives her an advantage to fly fast like a cheetah.

Question 10: How did the Bird-Woman die?

She tried to run through Hot Springs then she got burned and died.

Question 11: Why had his parents thought that Hatupatu was dead?

They thought he was dead because he had been gone for a long time so they thought he died.

Question 12: Do you think Hatupatu should have stolen the Bird-Woman’s possessions?

No because it didn’t belong to him but at the same time yes because she died and because he had the chance to.

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