Mihirangi was a woman who resided in the stage between a girl and a woman. Mihirangi’s eyes sparkled with the mischievousness of youth. Her body was full of the knowledge that a full life was yet to come and the youthful impatience with not yet understanding the ways of the elders. Yet, if you glanced closely you could see that below her childish being, Mihirangi was set to become a powerful woman. Already in her few years she held a mana which awed those in her surroundings. Whenever one came across Mihirangi talking with anyone young or old, the compassion, understanding and patience would be held in her eyes. She would be sitting upward, neither forward crowding the person’s story or backing up as uninterested. She been raised by her Kuia learning the Whakapapa of her whanau from a young age and therefore was secure in the knowledge that she came from a long line of noble warriors and travellers and hers would be another life in the life of a lineage of many.
Her Tupuna would smile in the skies above and the ground below would bloom secure in the knowledge that Mihirangi was going to be a proud Rangatiri of her people. Perhaps for the reason that everything seemed to be going alone perfectly, even the Tupuna did not foresee in time to alert the Kaitiaki of the danger which was on its way. For as many of us know when a young woman is at this stage of her life, where she is secure in the knowledge of where she has come from, and where she is going, she is in the greatest danger. For these vulnerable powerful females hold a Mana which is so precious. Other lesser beings who do not understand the transformation which has yet to take place believe that by possessing this woman, they can also possess the Mana from such a creature. The Taipo cannot understand. The Mana which before lived on the surface for all, instead becomes buried deep inside the soul of a person. They themselves can never possess this Mana. The tragedy of such an occurrence is that instead of one of the destined being able to take their place amongst their people. They are instead destined to wander. A modern day pilgrim searching for their alma the hard way in a land full of strangers. Until they discover, that their mana lies within them and with the path of their Tipuna, for a leader is not only created, but born.
The events which caused Mihirangi’s Mana to become locked in the depths of her heart are a story which will remain close to her heart for all time. Yet without details, all human beings understand the tragedy of first love. Many are never able to transcend this moment. For the moment when a youth knows the all the elements of the universe are on their side, aligned in that moment for a single moment of life. When this ecstatic harmony ends, as it does, as it must, drips of dissatisfaction begin to enter the edges of the soul. Once these drips become a sea, one begins to feel as if there is no land left! It seems that within moments, beauty that existed moments before begins to vanish in quick succession.
Breathe continues to supply us with life, as it always has, as it always will. Breathe as it pulses through the heart and soul of each human being began to flow through Mihirangi’s body with a force of anger and a discontentment which she until that day had been blessed not to have felt. Mātauranga, Mōhiotanga and Māramatanga were not in balance. Hell is pulsed through the body in a matter of breathes. Those close to Mihirangi knew that something had changed within the child, yet her remaining light continued to be shed upon others as it always had. Therefore the day of her seventeenth year in which Mihirangi’s life path was thrown in a different direction went unnoticed by most. The ravaging in her heart, although deafening to Mihirangi herself, could not be held by any, except by the Tipuna. They wept beside her.
Mihirangi’s pilgrimage started in a rather unobserved way, on the week following her graduation from high school she packed her backpack and went to say goodbye to her Kuia. Her Nan looked at her with wisdom and compassion and whispered the words “E kore e hohoro e opeope o te otaota:” A large force is not easily overcome. Mihirangi, although she heard the words, could not understand the meaning in her new consciousness of pain. So she just kissed her Nan, for what would be the last time and got in the van with her Uncle to the airport.
London was fantastic. So much noise, so much life, so much distraction in every direction, rather than walk past faces who knew her history and her family’s history. She saw only a sea of nameless faces and it felt fantastic. She rode on the top of the number 36 bus and watched the sights and sounds of a city pulsing with life. She had arranged to stay at the house of a cousin who had moved to London some time ago. But instead she followed the sound of jazz to this small club and sat listening, enthralled.
After some time a man came up to her, he knew, as men unconsciously know, of the state of her mind. He knew the loneliness she felt, because he felt it too. But too much time in a cosmopolitan city such as London and one starts not to notice the passing of time. The small intricacies of nature, therefore Kyle did not recognise the loneliness pulsing through his body. He only knew how to cure it, albeit for a short time. Mihirangi did not make it to her cousins house that night, she did not make it to her cousins house that week. It was a month before they met again, and once again she was being led, rather than leading. However, she needed to take rest for some time.
The first night with Kyle, Mihirangi discovered the art of controlled abandon. The dark whispers of her heart had calmed. That night Mihirangi crept onto the roof and sat for some hours, barely moving. She crept inside, into Kyle’s arm and fell into the first peaceful sleep that she had had in a year. She did not acknowledge or recognise that although the demons had quietened, as was custom when a child is becoming a woman. Her Tipuna had left her also. In place of the knowledge of self Mihirangi took a spiritual journey which did not include the study of the ancient texts. Instead she followed their rites and rituals without understanding that is so important in these journeys. She thought herself untouchable. Primarily she sought liberation through sex, her young supple womanly body merged with Kyle’s numerous times throughout the day. Her power was growing but so was his. Sometimes he would choke her as she came. She loved to feel his hot rough body on top of her, she loved to let her demon spirit run wild, while her mind could rest. At the point of orgasm, she found some peace. After some time, for it was London, and all the years merge into one. Mihirangi began to fast.
