Kai Tangata

This is the first song I saw from them in YouTube after scrolling through my suggested video list. I was instantly hooked on them the moment I heard the intro.

The song’s title literally translates to “eat people” (cannibalism) and refers to the ancient Maori war-time practice of ritual cannibalism. Victorious Maoris often celebrated by cutting up and roasting the flesh of those they have slain in battle, as an ultimate act of disrespect to them. Kai Tangata is also an ancient term for war party.

The video is a representation of the historical accounts of the early 19th Century Musket Wars, an extremely bloody part of New Zealand's history.

It is also a tribute to Hongi Hika, the great chief and war leader of the Ngapuhi tribes from the north. Armed with muskets, he and his warriors attacked and annihilated the Te Arawa people, who were still using traditional weapons made of wood and stone.

I hope this song's subject matter doesn't mess up your appetite.

Hatupatu

This song is about a boy named Hatupatu from the Te Arawa tribe, who was lost in the forest after being separated from his brothers during a hunting expedition. He was then captured by the mythical creature Kurangaituku, who had the body of a woman and wings and head of a bird.

She kept him imprisoned in her cave as her slave, and prevented from escaping by blocking the entrance to her cave when she leaves to hunt for food. Hatupatu then recites an incantation which unblocks the entrance and enables him to escape. But before doing so, he first kills all of Kurangaituku's pet birds, save for one, Riroriro who manages to fly off and inform her of the boy's escape.

An enraged Kurangaituku flies off in search of the boy. She recites an incantation which allows her to leap over mountains and manages to catch up with Hatupatu.

The boy then skillfully maneuvers through various obstacles, and tricks Kurangaituku by leading her into the the hot springs of Whakarewarewa. He adeptly leaps over one, with the monster in pursuit. But due to her bulk, she is unable to leap over the hot boiling pools and falls into one, where she is scalded to death.

Rū Ana Te Whenua

This song is a tribute to band members Henry and Lewis de Jong’s great great great grandfather, Te Ahoaho, who fought and died in the historic Battle of Pukehinahina, in Tauranga.

You can read more about it here:
https://folksong.org.nz/ru_ana_te_whenua/index.html

BONUS INTERVIEW VIDEO

And to wrap up this week's edition of #MetalWeekend from me, here is a nice video interview of the band and their family.