Te Toa Takitini 5
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Te Toa Takitini
(Which grew out of Te Kopara)
Te Kopara followed Te Pipiwharauroa.
Te Pipiwharauroa followed He Kupu Whakamarama
which began in 1898.
Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper.
(Maori Version at PapersPast.)
Number 5, Hastings, 12 December, 1921.
Greetings for Christmas and the New Year.
A Prayer
Almighty God’ you have given us your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin: grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
This is the time for us to turn our thoughts to God’s blessings to the whole world through the birth of his Son on that first Christmas Day. We are familiar with the greeting the Pakeha use at this time: ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!’ Te Toa Takitini sends this same greeting to you, its chiefs on each marae, all the people who support out paper. May all of you know more and more material and spiritual blessings.
SOME MAORI CHRISTMASES.
This time of the year called Christmas is a time when great blessings have come on the Maori People.
The Migration from Hawaiki. When the Migration from Hawaiki arrived our ancestors saw the ‘kura’ – ‘red feathers’ – glowing on the shore and they seized their own ‘red feathers’ and threw them into the water. When they arrived on land they discovered that they had mistakenly thought that the pohutukawa flowers were ‘red feathers.’ So we see that the pohutukawa was in bloom when the canoes of the Migration arrived from Hawaiki. The name Pakeha give to the pohutukawa is the ‘Christmas flower.’
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This shows us that it was Christmas time when our ancestors were fortunate enough to land here on Aotearoa and we Maori became known as the ‘tangata whenua’ – ‘the people of the land’ of these islands.
Kupe. Kupe came and then returned to Hawaiki, to Rangiatea. The people asked, ‘Where is the place your canoe reached, Kupe?’ ‘You must sail with the sun, the moon, and Venus on your right,’ answered Kupe, ‘but you must sail on the twenty-eighth night when the lunar month is Tatau-uru-ora.’
This month, Tatau-uru-ora, occurs at the end of October and beginning of November. The distance from Tahiti, the island where our ancestors lived for a long time, to Aotearoa is 2,500 miles. Rarotonga is 1,860 miles from Aotearoa. If it took two months to sail from that faraway place, the canoes would have landed at Christmas time.
Tasman 1642. The first Pakeha to see these islands was the Dutchman, Tasman. On 18th December his two ships arrived off Raukawa territory. They sailed up the West Coast and arrived off Ngapuhi territory at Christmas time. He called the islands off Te Rerengawairua, the ‘Three Kings’ in remembrance of the Magi who brought their expensive gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, at the time of the birth of the Child at Bethlehem. Ancient commentators say that the Magi were Kings and that there were three of them. It was at Christmas that Tasman arrived there.
Captain Cook 1769. It was on 8th October, 1769, that Captain Cook set eyes on the East Coast. Turanga was the first place he landed. He sailed around the coasts of Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu and was here over Christmas. He left in March 1770.
Mr Marsden 1814. It was on Christmas Day, 1814, that this first preacher of the Faith amongst Ngapuhi at Whangaroa. His text was, ‘Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all the people’ (Luke 2.10).
Christmas 1921. We Maori are gathering to honour Ratana’s invitation. The object of the Hui is to stir up the spiritual side of
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the whole people. From the above comments we see that it is right to praise our Heavenly Father for his many blessings to us at Christmas time. But the greatest blessing was the sending of his servant, Mr Marsden, in 1814 to pacify our ancestors, to stop them fighting amongst themselves, to foster disgust at cannibalism, to cast off the works of darkness.
For more than one hundred years we Maori have been basking in the warmth of the Faith. However we are not able to say that we are as strongly committed to growing the Kingdom of our Lord as were our parents and ancestors. We do not have the same enthusiasm as our parents had. Therefore we must see to it that we are not carried away by fruitless practices.
Christmas is a time of showing love – the love of God for mankind. Let us not waste this love. The Magi loved and gave their precious gifts. What are the signs of our love for the blessings God has given us.
Be kind. Be aware. Be men. Be strong. Our thoughts go back to the final words of our father: ‘Hold to the faith.’
Allow the Child born at this time to come into our hearts and live there. If we hold on to these instructions we will truly know the meaning of this greeting: ‘Merry Christmas an a Happy New Year.’
AN INDIAN BISHOP.
The New Zealand Church has invited the first Indian to be consecrated as a Bishop, Bishop Azariah, to visit us. On 23rd May he arrives here in New Zealand. He is the Bishop of the Church in the Southern part of India. The number of Church people in his Diocese has now reached 342,000. It is right at we Maori should arrange for this famous man to visit a Maori marae where we can pay our respects to him. People who have studied the way from Hawaiki say that India is Hawaiki-pamamao. Therefore it is right that we show hospitality to our relation, the first person to rise to this lofty height, this sacred peak. It is said that he is a very learned man having studied in the Indian universities and also in the leading English universities.
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CARE FOR THE SICK
Pohe Hemi.
Friend, please send this article out in your paper to be carried to the many marae of these islands to alert people to be aware of the characteristics of the many illnesses carried by the world’s many winds. Our hope is that ways will be found of combating them. As the Tamatea Council have appointed me as Inspector within all their districts and also because I had the idea of sharing with the people of these islands what has become clear to me as I have observed of these illnesses, I have written these articles. However I am not a doctor but this is for me a labour of love and it is clear to me that in some places people do not know the symptoms of the illness that is afflicting them. It is better to go to the doctors, trained people, but for those who are in places far from doctors it is good that they know what symptoms to look for so as to set at ease their troubled hearts. In recent years an illness has spread throughout this country, the ‘Flu, (Influenza). Because a lot of effort was put into dealing with it the death toll from that illness has now reduced. Although many of us were carried off, much was learned at that time and since we have received information about that illness I was appointed. It is right that you should know how that illness affected us in the early days and so I shall point out what was done about that illness.
‘Influenza.’ The onset of the illness is a snuffling in the nose. Second comes a cough. Then there is shivering, the head and the eyes are sore, the whole body is weak, there is pain in all the joints of the body. This is how the illness manifested itself at the beginning, that is, in the past years. In the outbreak this year some people have suffered stomach sickness, ‘Poisoned Gas,’ indigestion and a desire to vomit. In such cases the temperature has risen to over 100ºF.
You should know ways in which to diminish the severity of that illness. First, do not let the sick person get cold but keep them warm at all times. Secondly, it is important to care for the stomach by taking laxatives such as flax, pills, Cod Liver Oil, Epsom Salts, Senna Leaves and other things which will expedite evacuation because foul matter builds up quickly in the stomach.
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Another important thing is, after using these things, and excellent thing to take medicinally is ‘Brandy’ or whisky. Most of the medicines for that illness are available everywhere, but if they are not available in your areas then it is alright to get those I have mentioned. It is also good to boil bluegum for fifteen minutes with the lid on. But take special care that the patient does not get chilled. Make sure the towel laid in the bed is dry. The patient may take two tablespoons of brandy or whisky, but administer it according to the age of children under the age of fourteen, that is, one teaspoonful or seven drops three times a day.
But if the patient has stomach pains and they are getting worse then apply a hot flannel. Put the flannel in steaming water. After applying it to the stomach, replace it with a cold one for five minutes, and after that with the hot one for five minutes. Make five applications ending with the hot flannel -1,2. 1,2. 1,2. 1,2. 1,2 – for a total of twenty-five minutes. After the applications smear the place with ‘Olive Oil’ to [pauni - ?close] the pores of the skin to prevent the cold getting in. The patient should stay in bed for five days while all this treatment is being carried out. If the serious state continues the patient should stay in bed for eight or nine days. Heavy foods should not be eaten during these days.
As the disease abates one may carefully satisfy the desire for food, but still with soft foods. Such, people, are the words I thought to send you to make clear to you my ideas and to share what I have observed over these past years, in the hope that people will be healthy and in response to the request from Te Toa Takitini to send something for it to carry. I share these thoughts with the people, not looking for recompense from the printers, and under the shelter of the Creator.
From your servant in this part of our work.
Pohe Hemi,
Inspector for the Department of Health in the Tamatea District.
EXERT YOURSELVES! HELP THE CHURCH.
To the people of each parish in the Diocese of Waiapu.
My friends, greetings in the blessings of the Creator, who has brought us to the last days of the old year when we can look back at the peak of the echoing cliffs which speak of the good and the bad,
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the rights and the wrongs, and the pleasures and the burdens of the situations of the days that gone before and the ideas and the hopes we have for the days ahead. Last Sunday we received a letter from the Bishop of Waiapu telling us of the problem the Church has of a lack of money to provide stipends for the Maori Ministers and the Mission Houses at Te Hauke, Manutuke, Tokomaru, Ruatoki and Whakarewarewa. This is because of small returns of interest from the Trusts which contribute to the growth of the Stipends Fund. One of those Trusts is Te Kopanga (St Lawrence Estate), bequeathed by Mr Williams in memory of his parents. The profits from that land go to the Japanese Mission, the Chinese Mission, the African Mission, the Melanesian Mission and the Maori Mission. In good times the amount that comes to the Maori Mission is £850 each quarter. But when things are difficult the amount goes down to £185 a quarter and it is said that that will decrease even more because of the dramatic drop in the price of wool and everything affecting farming. The Bishop has arranged that all contributions from the Maori side and the Pakeha side on Sunday 27th November will go to the Stipend Fund for the Maori Ministers., and because for these two months there will be no stipends for the Maori Ministers he asks us TO GIVE GENEROUSLY TO THE CHURCH OFFICE. As a result of this bad news about the Church, the Gift of our parents, our ancestors, we add our thoughts.
We see that this announcement is right and we acknowledge the problem faced by the Church, therefore we ask our Church family to make every effort to heal this serious sickness and to be united on that day and the following days in praying to the Creator that ways and every means may be opened up and made viable to get the medicine appropriate for this illness.
From your true friends in the Lord:
Pukepuke Tangiora
Mohi Te Atahikoia
Meihana Taorangi
Hoani Ratima
Pohe Hemi
Katene Pukerua
P H Tomoana
Hori Tupaea
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Tuahine Renata
Te Rawaho
W H Nikera
Taranaki Te Ua
Rev Pene Hakiwai
Rev F A Peneti
This notice was produced by the Committee representing the Parishes of the Hastings District.
We have received the following amounts in response to the above notice.
Omahu £6, Pakipaki £2, Kairakau 10/-, Tangoio £!, Kohupatiki £3, Te Hauke £2/2, Waipawa £2, Moteo £2, Waimarama £5, Waipatu £2, Porangahau £2/9, Takapau 10/-. Total: £28/11/-. Our thanks to you all.
THE DEATH OF HOPERE URU, MAORI MEMBER FOR TE WAIPOUNAMU.
On the evening of Tuesday, 29th November, 1921, Hopere Uru, Maori Member for Te Waipounamu, died in Wellington Hospital. His was not a sudden death. He became ill last year and during this sitting of Parliament he had been continually affected by illness. In this last confinement he was carried off by the strength of the illness.
He was fifty-three years of age. He was born at Tuahiwi, Kaiapoi, a descendant of Tuahuriri, and belonged to Ngaitahu and many other hapu of Te Waipounamu. He was one of us at Te Aute in 1889 and 1890. It was a time when the descendants of chiefs from all parts of Te Waipounamu were there – the descendants of Taiaroa, Tame Parata, Keretai, Topi, Raniera Erihana, and other chiefs of that island. Hopere was someone who participated enthusiastically in sports and he was known there also for his involvement with the military cadets. He was one of Tunuiarangi’s party that went to the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria; he and Taranaki Te Ua were the elders of the Maori group that went to the coronation of King Edward; and he was the elder of the Maori party that went to the opening of the Australian Federal Parliament. When the recent war began he prepared himself to go but he was prevented by the doctors. As he got older he was part of the group making plans for the Maori People and his thoughts turned to standing as member for Te Waipounamu. Twice he stood against Tame Parata and then against Taare Parata but he did not succeed. At last he entered Parliament on the death of Taare Parata in 1918. He was liked by the Members of Parliament
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and ministers listened to what he had to say on matters concerning his people. Ngaitahu’s main concern was to see a settlement of its Claim relating to the sale of the lands of Te Waipounamu in the past. Taiaroa and, after him, Tame Parata, took up this matter in their days. From the time of Taare Parata questions were asked about this matter and when Hopere Uru entered Parliament the Ngaitahu Claim was included in the matters to be considered by the 1919-1920 Commission. This was the Commission that looked into Aorangi, Patutahi, and other matters. My friends, this was a battle. Te Heuheu came down from the cold, as did Uru. These were some of the ropes linking the old world, as Tamahau proverbially said, with the new world whose time was coming. They sought out Hone Heke and Taare Parata and others of your young people called upon by you to stand before you on the Wellington marae. Many tributes were paid to him by Pakeha members of the Government and of the Opposition too. Some of those tributes spread to us, the remnant, to the whole Maori People.
A T Ngata.
Wellington,
1st December, 1921
THE DEATH OF A BISHOP.
On 29th October, the Primate of New Zealand, Bishop Neville of Dunedin, died, aged 84. He was the longest serving Bishop if this office having been fifty years upon the Bishop’s Throne. The Bishop was compassionate, strong and wise. Because there are few Maori in his Diocese we Maori did not get to know him well. Farewell, sir!
A DISTRESSING MATTER.
To the Editor of Te Toa Takitini.
I appreciated greatly the article by W P Hawaikirangi about one of our chiefs, Te Heuheu Tukino, who has departed from this world to the next.
It was a small part of the article that caused me some distress, the part about the contributions of the tribes. What was missing were the ‘tearful burdens.’ It was said that Te Arawa’s ‘tearful burden’ [pikaunga roimata] amounted to £200. But this did not correspond to their actual gift. What of the £55? The total amount Te Arawa gave as its ‘tearful burden’ was £255.
Therefore the 300 Maori garments and the £400 presented by Tuwharetoa – these were the ‘tearful embodiment’ [roimata tinana] from Tuwharetoa and other tribes that came to the tangi for Te Heuheu Tukino.
Best wishes,
M M Tumatahi,
Taupo
24/11/21
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PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.
The sitting of Parliament was delayed this year because of the Prime Minister’s visit to England for the meeting of Prime Ministers in London.
Parliament was opened by the Governor on 22nd September and has now been sitting for six weeks. There is serious work to be done this year. This year has its problems in that New Zealand’s funds have depleted, and the prices received for wool, mutton, beef, butter and cheese have dropped. These are the source of the well-being of the people of these two islands. Therefore the Pakeha folk have been discussing the ways in which the Government uses money, the amounts used by the Departments and officials. The ministers have got their heads down in their departments and are looking at and asking questions about which works are to be completed, which projects might be suspended, and which departmental officials could be dispensed with. The seas are troubled in the Government Departments. So much for that.
The drop in the price of wool and livestock has affected farmers throughout the two islands. The Government has approached them to pay their taxes but they are unable to do so. Now we have heard that the railways are suffering and are not making money. When the Government accounts for the six months up to 30th September came out it was revealed that the amount used to run the railways – labour costs, coal, and other things – was greater than that received from ticket sales and the transport of goods by rail. Nothing remained to pay the interest on the large amounts borrowed by the Government from abroad to pay for the construction of the railways. Likewise in the case of the Post Office and the Telegraph Department the money spent was one thousand pounds in excess of the amount received during the six months. This large Government Department has no money left with which to pay the interest on the millions of pounds borrowed to build the post offices and the telegraphs and other Post Office equipment.
Lest you are holding your breath, there is some consolation for the Government in these vexations. This week the Customs Tariffs Bill has been introduced setting taxes on good imported from abroad. This will provide the tax money needed to pay for sugar, tea, beer, tobacco, shoes and other goods and food that people need.
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One’s thoughts go back to the haka performed by Tuta Nihoniho and his hapu at the dedication of Porourangi Meeting House in 1888:
‘E tohe ki te reeti, ki te hoko, ki te kukuru-pakara!
Whakataua i nga ture, hei!
Whakataua i te whenua, hei!
I nga mema te kohuru,
i te Kuini te koheriheri;
ka raruraru nga ture,
ka raparapa ki te pua torori, i aue!’
[I am indebted to New Zealand Folk Song for some of the following translation. See http://folksong.org.nz/te_kiri_ngutu/index.html]
[There is dispute over rates, over sales, over tobacco leaf.]
The laws are spread-eagled over it.
The land is spread-eagled.
The Members have done this black deed
And the Queen has pulverised us
The laws of the land are confused.
For even the tobacco leaf is singled out.
No wonder the Government, Pakeha and Maori, is seeking tobacco leaf, given this burden of problems.
MAORI CONCERNS.
Now I am getting questions from all over the place asking when we are going to deal with Maori concerns. If the questions are about petitions we are going to deal with them now but it will take the remainder of the year to deal with them. Those from the West will be deal with later. We begin this week with those from the Tairawhiti. But most are scheduled for 22nd of the month and beyond. Those of Te Wairoa will be processed next week and afterwards those of other areas. But most of the petitions before us are those of Ngati Kahungunu as far as Te Wairoa.
Concerning Puketitiri. Hawkes Bay, the Commission looked into this last year and produced a report. This was land reserved by Maori when the sale of extensive areas of Ahuriri went through, and it is right that a law be made giving the Maori Land Court power to address the question and to determine who has a right to that land. I have received a letter from the Minister of Lands saying that he has prepared such legislation for presentation to this Parliament. When the law empowering the Maori Land Court is passed then you will be able to appear before the Court to make your claims.
Concerning Aorangi, also in Hawkes Bay, this was land mistakenly taken by the Crown in former purchases. This petition was raised before the Commission last year. The Commission found that the Government purchase did not cover that land, but it was entangled with the purchases of neighbouring lands. It covers more than ?7,000 acres. It was found that the Maori side was right and there had been a doubling up of the Pakeha settlement on that land and that the Crown had no undisturbed land in hand to give in compensation. The Commission gave no
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guidance one way or the other as to a solution for the injustice suffered by the owners of Aorangi. They put it back on the shoulders of the Government. Some of the people who brought the case thought that the fish had been brought to land and all that remained was to cut it up. But the Commission’s Report says that it is for the Governor and his Ministers to determine what happens. Now we have asked the Minister of Maori Affairs about this matter and other matters reported on by the Commission. He has said that he will direct a question to the Crown Lands Department so that the Government may start to consider whether they will give land in compensation or money, and, if money, how much. So it is left for the Government to make an announcement and for us to see what happens. If it is alright, that’s good. If it is inadequate then you’ll want to be paid more. And when that is completed then you can start cutting up one another, disputing the claims of this one’s ancestor or the lack of a claim of another.
In later weeks I will look at progress on some of the major matters affecting Maori – Patutahi, matters relating to the Lakes, the Maori Land Tax Act, and other issues facing Parliament.
This is my first effort, Sir Bennett, in response to your request to send articles for our newspaper.
A T Ngata,
Wellington,
9th November, 1921.
THE TRIBAL TERRITORY OF TUHOE.
In 1896 the Tuhoe lands came under the Act requiring the investigation of the claims of each hapu and to determine the tribal boundaries. The land within the Tribal Territory of Tuhoe is 656,000 acres. Under that Act the land is not to be sold or leased and only the Crown may purchase or lease it with the approval of the All Tuhoe Committee. In 1907 the investigation into the Tuhoe land claims was completed and the Orders were signed by the Minister of Native Affairs. At that time a section of Tuhoe wanted the Government to purchase some of the lands and a hui was held at Ruatoki. At a hui in 1910 the All Tuhoe Committee agreed to the sale of lands lying between Waimana and Maungapohatu. From July 1910 to March 1912, 40,795 acres of these lands were purchased by the Government. In that year Timi Kara [James Carroll] took up the post of Minister of Native Affairs. During his time there were fewer purchases of the land that had been made available by the All Tuhoe Committee
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at the instigation of some of Tuhoe. When Mr Herries took on the role of Minister, for two years he investigated, being uncertain about the titles, and then he gave instructions to proceed with the purchase of all parts of the Tribal Territory, thrusting aside the All Tuhoe Committee. Here is a list of the purchases during the time he was Minister:
Year ending 31st March / Acres
1916 84,770
1917 56,741
1918 64,303
1919 42,673
1920 29,996
1921 9,404
April 1921 to 31st July
16,394
On 31st July, 1921, the total area purchased by the Government was 345,076 acres. The amount paid by the Government was £193,076. The Government purchases involved 44 blocks. Of these blocks it is clear that some belonged to people who were not part of the agreement to sell, namely, Ruatoki 1, 2 and 3, Tapatahi, Whaitiripapa, Manuoha, Paharakeke, and Waikaremoana. The problem with these blocks was the entanglement of the interests purchased by the Government with those of people who had not sold. Those purchases were no good to the Government, nor were they to the owners. It was thought that the best way to proceed was by way of consolidation, consolidating what the Government had purchased and consolidating the interests of the remaining people. One day in August the hui met at Ruatoki to discuss ways of consolidating the interests, and to consolidate those of the Tuhoe people who had not sold. The hui sat for one month then it moved to Te Wairoa to get the thoughts of the people of that area who had interests in the Tribal Territory. On 13th September all the investigations concluded and the Enquiry moved to Wellington to draw up its report. On [? 31st] October the Report was finished and given to the Ministers. On 7th November its officials were empowered to go and lay down the division of the blocks between the Crown and the Maori, and between those ropu who retained their interests.
Later I shall write and clarify the basis on which decisions were made about the lands of the Tribal Territory, including Waikaremoana Block.
A T Ngata
Wellington
9th November, 1921.
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OUR NEWSPAPER.
P[araire] H[enare] T[omoana]
‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ [Edward Bulwer-Lytton]
Greetings to you, descendants of the many canoes that brought our ancestors from Tawhiti-nui, Tawhiti-roa, Tawhiti-papamao, from the Hono i Wairua. They would overcome the Moana-nui-Kiwa despite the foaming waves, encouraged by the words of those they left behind on land, ‘Sirs! Wait until the days of the moon known as the Tamatea are past and then sail.’ This shows us that, although they were left behind standing on the dry land and alive, they knew from words and tidings brought back by the man that it would be a good land, a great possession. Their thoughts were directed south from Hawaiki-mai-tawhiti with love and in the hope that those travelling to that land would get there, and so they gave voice to the words, ‘Wait until the days of the moon known as the Tamatea are past and then sail.’ Surely it was right for the heart to ask, ‘Were not your ancestors foolish to muster their party to cross this great ocean? Didn’t they pray to their native gods to enlighten them? Would their prayers be answered?
[The next seventeen lines are illegible.]
They battled with the sea and the wind, holding the prows of the canoes towards the south;
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they fought here with the returning tide of Rakau-nui; they observed here the star, Antares, which the canoes followed throughout the nights to bring them to the [Whakaki] sea. They were troubled by the [korekore-a-rawea]. By the Sacred Offerings and the living Sacrifices they came to [te po o Tangaroa] which they carried to the land which lay before them as they gazed on their new home where the glowing cheeks of the pohutukawa were revealed to them. Tuhaepo mistakenly thought that they were red feathers shining there and he threw away his red feather adornment. So we have ‘Te Kura-pae-a-Tuhaepo’ – ‘The Washed-up Adornment of Tuhaepo.’ We see from this that although they were all strong people, some of them were susceptible to wrong thinking. But they had one thought: to get to land. They worked together. They made speed. They paddled. The most important of these things is Love. They prayed that all their bodies might be granted strength and it was given to them as was the sacred word, ‘E kai.’ [?Eat] These were the things that brought our many canoes to this distant land.
TOA TAKITINI. [MANY WARRIORS]
Let me add to the above article an explanation of the name given to your newspaper – Toa Takitini. It is something that is said in the Heretaunga Valley. Tuhoto-Ariki went to fight Te Whare-Upoko at the pa called Pari-Waiehu on the Tukituki River near Kahuranaki. The pa was not taken. The war party returned. When it was seen to be retreating, Koromahue, a son of Te Whare-Upoko asked, ‘Are you indeed Tuhoto-Ariki?’ He replied, ‘Yes. That’s me.’ Then Koromahue called out, ‘Come back and let the two of us settle this one to one.’ He was proposing that they fight one another with weapons. At this Tuhoto-Ariki called out,
‘E ta! Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini taku toa.’
‘Man! My strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many.’
[cf Nga Pepeha 93]
Whereupon Tuhoto-Ariki turned to his war party and called out, ‘Who is that fellow? Come back and attack the pa.’ Then the war party returned. That fellow was involved in single combat and was captured and the pa fell. Te Whare-Upoko fled and stopped in another of his pa called Makamaka-a-Kura. Now you know why this name was given to our paper. In support of this name, it expresses the hope that you will all support this paper, and hence these words of explanation which I hope you appreciate. Te Pakaru-a-te-rangi says,
Huia ma tatoui kia kotahi.
‘Let us gather together as one.’
Nau ko to rourou naku ko te rourou ka ora te manuhiri. Nau ko to rakau naku ko te rakau ka whati te hoariri.’
‘By your food basket and mine the guests will be satisfied with food; by your weapon and mine the enemy will be destroyed.’ [cf Nga Pepeha 1981]
When Tama-te-rangi was asked to stand and demonstrate his skill with weapons, he did not stand. He was asked again and again but that elder did not stand. At last one of his elders called out,
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‘Sir, are you not going to stand up? Sir, won’t you stand up?’ Then the elder turned round and looked at him and spoke.
He ao te rangi ka uhia, he huruhuru te manu ka tau.
‘As clouds deck the heavens, so feathers adorn the bird.’ [cf Nga Pepeha 352]
(The man was embarrassed that he was not suitably dressed for wielding weapons.) The other man ran and covered the elder with the appropriate garment. The elder said, ‘Now it’s alright.’ It was because that elder hid himself that we have the name for such an incident. It was one of your elders, Te Hapuku, who said,
Era o koutou i ko tikina atu whakawhaitia ma. Kaati rawa te Kopua nei.
‘You there, go to it, come together and block up that deep hole.’
It is out of love that I bring together these thoughts. These elders – Noa, Huke, Tareha, Paora Kaiwhata, and Renata Kawepo, have given us this dying speech: ‘After I depart, hold fast to the faith.’ Churches have been erected. Their wish has been honoured. In these days the voice that has been used by the Holy Angels to embody the faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is that of your relation, Wiremu Ratana. All the works of native tohunga have been consigned to the fire so that the human body, the Temple, is left free for God alone. All these values are bound together by God in the hope, the desire, the will, the faith, that goodness and life will be the fruits that emerge for us, the canoes which float here in the thoughts of each group of survivors of the people who crossed over to this place with rats and kumara as food, and the word. ‘My strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many.’ But the hope is that we will not be warriors who just climb trees or who fight, but that we will be warriors who produce food for those whose bellies are empty. Therefore help the paper to publish, to spread, to build up all those practices which bring glory to our Creator, to the Lord of lords.
REJOICE AND BE GLAD ON CHRISTMAS DAY AND HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Mohi Te Atahikoia
As I was sitting in the doorway of my house a thought came to me about what is going on in the world and about the days to come. At that very moment my eyes turned
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towards the sky and I saw the clouds moving rapidly as the sun was setting. The first cloud that arrived was black. Soon after, a red cloud rushed forward. After these a white cloud emerged. It came on so rapidly that very soon the black cloud and the red cloud disappeared. Presently the whole sky was white from the brightness of this white cloud. At last I gathered my thoughts, there sprang up within me ideas about the world and about the times to come. My thoughts were restricted to myself only. I saw that there was darkness over the face of the earth. My thoughts went back to my childhood, to when I was listening to the elders, to what I have seen in my days. As these things came to me I heard close to me a loud voice calling out to me, ‘This is what the coming days will be like. This is what it means. There will be great darkness on the earth. Blood will be shed by the nations of the world. But only by the bright shining of the light will the spirit of a person find relief from the darkness and the shedding of blood. It is his personal mana that will bring about his re-creation.’ At that time I experienced a yearning love for our ancestors because of the strength of their love towards us and their perception that the time was coming when we would face difficult things and afflictions. And I realised that they had given us, their descendants, two gifts – first, the law of God and second, human law. My thoughts returned to the days when they were searching, to the customs and the things they accomplished in those days. I realised this: that the chiefs of each hapu had adopted the Faith. They had no desire to stanch the words of the Faith. They had been taught to read and to learn the Scriptures. With the Scriptures laid before them they had a great love for the Law of God. They knew that the Faith would lead them to do what was right and that what they did would confirm the Faith. Now you remnant of the people, we elders know how strongly our forebears kept the Faith right up to the time they were dying and uttered the words, ‘Hold fast to the faith.’ One thing they spoke of was how Heaven was the home where they would find rest. So, you remnant, Christmas Day draws near.
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It was on that day that God came into this world out of love for the world. God had shown through the Prophets that at this time the Messiah would come into the world. But at that time no-one believed in the Christ. Rather the Kings sought to kill the Christ. Therefore a command was given that all the male children should be killed but Christ was not amongst the many children who were killed. There was no feasting, no rejoicing, no-one believed, but people came from a different country, Magi from the East, bringing him gold, frankincense and myrrh. But their friends acclaimed him, the heavenly hosts sang: ‘Glory and honour and peace on earth and goodwill to men.’ Those who spoke of that time were the Prophets but they were not believed. In these days schools have been set up to teach our children the Scriptures. Part of what has been taught to them is: God gives to some, knowledge, to some, the work of prophesying, to some visions, and to some the interpretation of tongues. Some are given the power to heal. That Spirit has given understanding to those who preach this word: Do not store up for yourselves treasures upon the earth where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal., but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consumes and thieves do not break in and steal. Many people have heard these words but have not obeyed them, instead they have neglected to heap up heavenly treasure in favour of storing up earthly wealth by farming. There’s no money in believing in God. Now there is to be a great celebration of Christmas at Ratana this coming Christmas and it right that we make every effort to gather there on that day when the day’s activities will centre on giving glory and honour to God the Father for sending his only Son into the world out of love to bring us life, and, as he has given the power to heal to our relation, Ratana, let us go and gather together on that day bringing all our illnesses to lift up our united voices in the hymns and prayers celebrating our Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.’ Don’t let us be contentious like the notice that has appeared concerning that ‘Christmas.’
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THE NAME OF THE PAPER.
Mohaka, November 11th, 1921.
To the Editor of Te Toa Takitini.
Greetings, my friend. Congratulations on the new name for our paper, although I am sad at the loss of the earlier names, but that’s alright. The world goes on and knowledge increases. Likewise I want our paper to flourish.
Te Pipi was the first name of our paper. It is a native bird, and when that bird sings Maori know that it is summer.
After that it was given the name Te Kopara. This links it with the proverbial sayings of the ancestors.
(a) He iti te kopara kai-te-rerere ana i runga i te puhi o te kahika.
Although the bellbird is small it flies to the crown of the white pine. [cf Nga Pepeha 430]
(b) He iti te matakahi, pakaru rikiriki te totara.
A wedge may be small but it can fragment the totara. [cf Nga Pepeha 431]
But now it has been named Te Toa Takitini. This name, Te Toa Takitini, is a Ngati Kahungunu saying by Paterangi. This man, Paterangi, is a descendant of Kahungunu.
Kahukuranui
Hinemanuhiri
Hingaanga Pakora
Paterangi
Ngati Kahungunu engaged in battle at Tukuauparu; the warrior Paterangi led his war party. It was then that Paterangi spoke his proverbs:
(a) Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini.
My strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many. [cf Nga Pepeha 93]
(b) He tokomaha ki te mahi kai, ka hinga te hoariri.
With many to work providing food, the enemy will fall. [cf Nga Pepeha 781]
(c) Ko te rourou ma tena ma tena ka ora te manuhiri.
By each small basket of food the guest is provided with food. [cf Nga Pepeha 1593]
The name of our paper is a good one. It makes clear to all that something that cannot be done by a single person can be done if many get involved.
People, support our treasure so that its circulation grows and there are many seeds of wheat for it to scatter over our many marae.
This is a good paper for those of the old world to read, besides those of the new world who have two eyes and see many other papers.
The Pakeha say that a person who doesn’t read a paper doesn’t know what is in front of him while a person who takes a newspaper even knows about other parts of the world.
Congratulations to Te Toa Takitini, for when it began its journey it had only eight wings and now it casts many seeds of wheat onto our marae.
Best wishes to the Editor.
H P Huata.
R T K AND RATANA.
To the Editor of Te Toa Takitini.
My friend, I am writing, having seen the letters by R[eweti] T K[ohere] concerning Ratana in Te Kopara and Te Toa Takitini in past months and also in the NZ Churchman this month (November).
He is right when he speaks of Ratana’s failure to pray and his lack of concern for the whole congregation when he is examining the sick. But think about it and remember:
1. There have been prayers at the beginning and the worship of God has been completed before he begins to examine the sick.
2. Ratana is a layman and perhaps does not know the ways of the Church. (He says that he has not been to university.) Therefore he does not follow the Church’s practices when it comes to healing the sick. And where can one find a minister who engages in that important practice? Many are ignorant about this and so do not practise it.
3. Ratana is a Maori, not a Pakeha, and he knows the ways, the thinking and the tapu of the Maori.
He proceeds on the basis of his own knowledge, and ‘a tree is known by its fruits.’ Te Manaro says that nearly 25,000 people have signed the book declaring that they will not return to the native gods and the native tohunga. This is important and good fruit.
He rangai maomao ka taka i tua o Nukutaurua e kore a muri e hokia.
A shoal of fish that passes around Nukutaurua will not return. [cf Nga Pepeha 677]
Who is to condemn?
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Some of what R T K says, I believe is not right. He says that Ratana is a ‘Maori tohunga’ like Te Ua. How does he know? It is just his own perception. When Ratana came to Waiapu, R T K and others had already made up their minds what Ratana was like, They did not question him, they did not examine him, to see if his ideas are right or wrong. They watched what he did and listened to him for only two nights, but they were convinced he was ‘a tohunga.’ So that was what he was. John 7.51 says, ‘Does our law judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing?’ That is, question a person and become aware of what he is doing. R T K knows very well the practices which reveal a person to be a Maori tohunga.
For a long time W T Prentice of Napier and I contended with Maori tohunga who came to Hawkes Bay to deceive people. Some of them were put in prison. The two of us spoke to Ratana and questioned him and saw what he was doing in his own home and in Waikato and Hawkes Bay, and we neither saw nor heard any native practices.
For two weeks the Rev H Huata stayed with and went about with Ratana here in Wairoa and his conclusions are the same as ours. The Rev H P Manaro spent three months travelling with Ratana’s group as they instructed and taught the people of each village, and according to him Ratana is not a Maori tohunga and he does not use native practices.
So here are four of us who have the same ideas about Ratana, and we are the ones who have seen him at work and have asked him questions. Deuteronomy 19.15 says, ‘Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be sustained. Ratana’s important work is not the healing of the sick but his battle with Maori tohunga and the native gods of the ancestors (Ephesians 6.12).
He says that it is not his power only that brings healing but the turning of people from their native gods to the true God with penitence and prayer to God to heal their sicknesses. In such fashion they are saved by a firm faith in God and are healed. R T K says that not a person from his area was healed. Should he ask whose fault this is?
Not a single person from Nazareth was healed although Christ was there often. Perhaps R T K and some of his friends will say that there are no Maori tohunga,
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no native gods, amongst his people, therefore there was no reason for Ratana to go there. How does he know that Ratana is a Maori tohunga when he does not recognise the Ngati Porou tohunga?
I know of a tohunga in Waiapu who seeks to get Ngati Porou to give him money, to give him girls so that he can interfere with them, according to them. It is not I who makes this accusation but I know one of his ‘malevolent gods.’ Why has he not condemned him?
Has R T K seen the malevolent gods of the Maori People or not? If not, let him come to Ratana for the ‘Christmas’ to see many of those things at Ratana so that he can identify the tohunga in his own area.
I love R T K because he is not at fault; it is we Pakeha who are at fault.
He came to Te Aute College as a Maori; he emerged from the Te Aute and Christchurch University as a Pakeha.
I am very grateful to him for his strength and his boldness in writing his thoughts about Ratana, because if one thinks that Ratana is a Maori tohunga it is right to devote one’s abilities and knowledge to overthrowing him.
Greetings to you ‘Re.’ You are not a person who sees both sides. But look into things carefully, toss them over carefully, so that you are well-informed before you say, ‘Yes, he is a tohunga,’ or not.
Arthur F Williams.
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FUNERAL RITES.
To the Editor of Te Toa Takitini.
Greetings to you, manager of our paper. My hope is that people will help and support our warrior, sharing the same visions, and then, perhaps, by seizing upon the depths of ideas it will go forward and grow vigorously. It is what remains of Te Pipiwharauroa and Te Kopara and others who have passed on, but our ancestors said well,
Ngaro atu he tete, puta mai he tete.
‘When a chief dies another comes forth.’ [cf Nga Pepeha 1030, 1766]
Therefore, people, be stout-hearted. Don’t weary of supporting our paper. The time will come when we will see the benefits. A right thing about the Pakeha is his newspapers. How many Maori papers have all disappeared!
I have seen the article by my friend, Hori Tupaea, in which he says that we should make our funeral rites less onerous and follow the example of how the Pakeha deal with their dead, such as burying the dead one day after the death. My friend, I agree with this proposal from beginning to end. Our ancestors are no longer alive in these days to support Maori practices. We cannot hold on to the former customs. How can this generation of young people retain them when they are being swallowed up in the all-enveloping Pakeha world? Perhaps they will retain the haka and the poi and the [mahi pokirua ?dances] and other uses of the language of our ancestors. But it is right that we consider carefully what we do for our dead because we are now clinging to life and to the soil, and the future of the Maori is uncertain and depends on hard work and the growing of potatoes and corn and whatever we can get to give us a small living. Therefore you do well to think ahead. The important thing is providing for you, your wife and your children. Therefore I support Hori Tupaea’s proposals when he says that we should place increasingly less importance on funeral rites. But the right thing is for you to show your love, to look beyond the shutting of their eyes, and to ask if this is not a word of advice to leave with those who are still alive.
Tame Arapata,
Makaraka,
Gisborne.
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CHRISTMAS GREETINGS.
To the Editor of Te Toa Takitini.
My friend, greetings. I am delighted with our treasure, a source of pleasure which brings tears to the eyes of old men and women, a cause of moistening also for the leading scholars of the remnant. Therefore, Te Toa, I send you out as the cable which links me to many marae.
A Greeting at this Time of the Year.
Therefore it is an important and appropriate thing to send out a single greeting to the remnant of the brown-skinned Maori destined by your ancestors to wander over Aotearoa [the North Island], Te Waipounamu [the South Island] and Wharekauri [the Chatham Islands]. ???????
‘Greetings to you all in the midst of the great blessings which come to us from the Heavenly Places at this time of the year. ???????
From your humble friend,
Hemana Pokiha.
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THE UNVEILING OF A MEMORIAL IN MASTERTON.
On 14th December, 1921, a stone commemorating the peace and spirituality was unveiled in Masterton Park. Its significance is explained in the following greeting to A T Ngata.
We welcome you, the Hon A T Ngata, high and mighty one, feathered ornament of the heavens, the lordly leader, chosen to be the spokesman of the people in the house of wisdom.
You have come here to be the agreeable spokesman to our two peoples in the Wairarapa, to pacify the authority, the awesome, the sacred, and to remove all the constraints of the [pare kawakawa].
We say a few words to explain the thinking behind our precious stone. It is a reminder of the covenant involving the words of the Holy Trinity and the Holy Angels and King George V, causing us to remember the blessings received from their mother which she agreed with our ancestors and forebears. It binds us, their descendants, to peace and contented hearts amongst our chiefly elders and our hapu within the territory of Pooti-riri-kore. Therefore we have set up this sign as a reminder to our generations [he toi tupu, he toi ora, he toi i ahua mai i Hawaiki Kurawaka - ?of our growth, of our life, of our origin in Hawaiki (The phrase comes from a karakia. See Williams p.431)].
1839 – the faith arrived.
1866 – peace was made
1881 – a monument was set up by our ancestors for their descendants after them at Ngatauewaru, Wairarapa..
Therefore forty years afterwards we are, on this day, setting up this sign for their descendants standing here, Maori and Pakeha, as a reminder of the faith in this public place for the tribal area of Pooti-riri-kore.
We rejoice and are very happy that you have come to see the fulfilment of this project.
GOD HAVE MERCY ON THE KING AND ALL HIS PEOPLES.
From your friends in the district of Pooti-riri-kore.
T T Te Tau
Aperahama Anaru
Masterton
4/12/21
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‘THANK YOU’
*Paratene Ngata sent us this.
Donations to the paper – 13/6.
Mohi Te Atahikoia, Joe Aranui, Tai Mitchell, Rev Hemi Huata.
Name / Address / Payment / Subscription Expires
Haki Roihana / Te Kaha / 5/6 / 8/22
Rev F Spencer / Remuera / 6/6 / 8/22
Te Teira Maihi / Tangoio / 10/- / 8/22
Paora Pene / Mokai / 9/- / 8/22
Hoani Huriwai / Kahukura / 14/6 / 8/23
Wi Takoko / Kahukura / 20/- / 8/22
Peta Nepia / Nuhaka / 6/6 / 11/22
Herewini Te Maaro / Port Awanui / 6/6 / 8/21
Daniel Campbell / Hokianga / 6/6 / 8/22
Bishop of Waiapu / Napier / 10/- / 8/22
W Prentice / Napier / 6/6 / 8/22
Te Wahapango / Clive / 11/6 / 8/21
Rakete Tipene / Chatham Islands / 15/- / 8/22
Peia Koria / Tokomaru Bay / 16/6 / 8/22
T Halbert / Makaraka / 18/2 / 8/22
Wharepapa Perepe / Tolaga Bay / 7/9 / 8/22
Hakopa Ratima / Hastings / 6/6 / 8/22
Mohi Te Atahikoia / Pakipaki / 6/6 /8/22
Hori Niania / Pukehou / 6/6 / 8/22
Joe Aranui / Pakipaki / 6/6 / 8/22
Miss Bulstrode / Hukarere / 20/- / 8/22
Waikura Tautuhi / Te Kaha / 6/6 / 6/22
Whaaka Parakau / Lottin Point/ 10/- / 8/21
Tai Mitchell / Rotorua / 6/6/ / 8/22
Matekino Hauraki / Towai / 6/6/ / 11/22
Wi Pewhairangi / Tokomaru Bay / 20/- / 8/22
H Tuterangi / Coromandel / 13/- / 11/22
Rawaho / Waimarama / 6/6 / 8/22
Turu Ryland / Tokomaru Bay / 14/- / 8/22
Hariata Arihana / Raukokore / 10/6 / 8/22
Ngahuia Tihema / Port Awanui / 10/6 / 8/22
Rev Hemi Huata / Mohaka / 6/6 / 8/22
Wepiha Te Wainohu / Mohaka / 6/6 / 7/20
Pitiera Te Wainohu / Mohaka / “ / 12 /22
Ropitini Tio / Mohaka / “ / 12/22
Himi Peti / Waipiro Bay / “ / 10/22
Hatara Matehe / Waipiro Bay / “ / “
Wi Pepere / Port Awaznui / “ / “
Hone Pohe / Waiomatatini / “ / “
Turei Maki / Waiomatatini / “ / “
Marara Kaua / Kahukura / “ / “
Riwai Te Whai / Waiomatatini / “ / “
Renata Tamepo / Opiki, Tokomaru Bay / “ / “
Hiria Te Kauru / Ruatoria / “ / “
Karaitiana Poi / Taupo / “ / “
Mohi Tapimaunga / Port Awanui / “ / “
Maraea Te Iritawa / Kahukura / “ / “
Paratene Ngata / Waiomatatini / “ / “
Paratene Tuhaka / Waiomatatini / “ / “
Heni Peka / Kahukura / “ / “
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