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TE TOA TAKITINI
Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper.
Number 60,
Hastings.
1st August, 1926.
NEW ZEALAND AND ITS NATIVE PEOPLE.
At the banquet for the world’s newspaper proprietors in Sydney there was praise for New Zealand – for its strength, its prosperity and its hospitality. Sir Henry Brittain said:
They were deeply moved by the wonderful welcome given them in New Zealand. The loyalty of the Dominion was obvious and consequently they were delighted. They developed a great love for the Maori. No other native people in the world has such understanding. [In English] (For the Maoris they conceived the warmest affection. There was probably no more intelligent native race to be found.)
By Lord Byron.
Snatch from the ashes of your sires
The embers of their former fires;
And he who in the strife expires
Will add to theirs a name of fear
That tyranny shall quake to hear.
[Snatch from the ashes of your forebears the ashes of their fires of former days; and he who falls in battle will add to theirs a name to be feared and which will cause evil men to tremble.]
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Published by the Rev F A Bennett and printed at Cliff Press, Queen Street, Hastings, HB.
BISHOPRIC OF AOTEAROA.
The members of the Synod of the Bishopric of Aotearoa have been summoned to meet at Wellington on Wednesday, 4th August. It has been arranged that Maori families in Wellington will provide them with accommodation. Sir Maui Pomare will host two (he will cover their expenses); the Hon A T Ngata, two; Henare Bennett, four in his home, and he will also cover the expenses of two; Mr Love of Petone, two; Kingi Tahiwi, one; and one of the young Te Arawa women who is married to a Pakeha in Wellington, two. We warmly thank the families living in Wellington for their help to the Churc
On Thursday at 9.30 a.m. the Synod members will gather at St Paul’s Church where there will be a celebration of our sacred service, the Lord’s Supper. Choosing a bishop is a sacred task and so it is right that the work of this Synod begins with this sacred service.
After the service the Maori members only will meet to determine their procedures. At 10 o’clock on the Friday morning the New Zealand Bishops and the Maori members will meet together. After a discussion of all candidates the Bishops will lay three names before the Maori members.
The Bishops will withdraw from the meeting leaving the Maori members only to decide which of the three is to be Bishop of Aotearoa.
It is hoped that the completion of this awesome task will be achieved well and amicably. May the Spirit of God guide all the members of the Synod that their work may be according to the will of the Heavenly Father. May the whole Church pray to God to send his enlightening Spirit on the members of the Synod when they meet to appoint a Bishop for the Maori People.
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MISSION.
From 16th to 23rd April the Mission was held in the Parish of Waiapu. It was led by Canon Arthur Williams. Day and night it was blessed and it was blessed by Ngati Porou who undertook this particular work of the Church. Distance or the need to ford rivers did not dampen the enthusiasm of the old women, the old men, the children, who came to the Mission by car, on horseback or on foot each night. The Mission was held in the carved Ngati Porou Church in Tikitiki. The church was wonderful, the congregation was wonderful, everything was wonderful. The sermons were thought-provoking and clear, they gave guidance, they stirred us up, they moved us. During the day the main work was prayer and ministry to those who were suffering from various illnesses. There was a separate service for this part of the congregation, some 30 people. The service took place on Monday 26th. People gave praise and were happy at the measure of benefit they had received.
Two of these days were Sundays. Ngati Porou of the Parish of Waiapu could not be contained in their building. The main Sunday was Soldiers’ Day (Anzac). Half the congregation were able to get into the building while half had to stay outside. The offering on this Sunday was £11 10s, a thank-offering to God for the work of the Maori Church in the Diocese of Waiapu. One hundred and seventeen people took Holy Communion on these Sundays. On 27th the Canon left us to go to the Parish of Hikurangi, to Pine Tamahori and his Elders. Our thoughts turned to the Mission at Hiruharama.
Koro, Arthur, the Parish of Waiapu has thanked you face to face and we ask you to come again in the future. May God bless and strengthen you.
P Kohere
Rangitukia. 30.6.26.
TE HOUKAMAU’S REPENTANCE.
R[eweti] T K[ohere]
Number 58 included accounts by Joseph Baker of Te Kani-a-Takirau and Mokena Kohere. This his account of Houkamau, a Ngati Porou chief. Baker writes:
‘At this time (perhaps 1850) the Rev G A Kissling lived at (1) Kawakawa, a village to the north of Waiapu. He had not been there long when he became ill. He gave up his work and returned to live in Auckland. One of the difficulties he faced in his work was Te Houkamau’s opposition to him. He was the chief of Wharekahika, a belligerent elder.
In 1853 we sailed from Auckland on the schooner,
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the Dolphin, of 40 tons. After six days of good sailing we reached East Cape but here we met with a foul wind from the south and returned to Kawakawa. We stayed at the home of (2) the Rev Rota Waitoa, the first ordained Maori minister. He was our host for many days while we waited for the day when we could go on by land. It was twenty miles to Waiapu but because of (3) the state of the tracks and our inability to obtain horses, it took us two days to get there.
Rota Waitoa was totally devoted to his work and over many years it was very fruitful. When we arrived he was building a (4) beautiful church and because it had been recently painted it was clearly visible from the sea. When he started his work (5) Houkamau had troubled him. Houkamau thought that the coming of a Pakeha missionary had been a bad thing, and now this Maori had come from whatever place and from a different tribe, and according to (6) Maori custom he was a terrible enemy to his people. According to Houkamau this was an infringement of his mana and he would not flinch.
Then Rota’s thoughtfulness and courage brought him around. Houkamau took himself to Rota and listened like a little child. Soon he joined the group preparing for baptism, and as a sign of his penitence he implored Rota to make him a church cleaner and a bell-ringer for the Lord’s house.
Notes
(1) The Pakeha renamed it Te Araroa to avoid confusion with the Ngapuhi Kawakawa.
(2) This man came from Otaki and belonged to Ngati Raukawa. His son, Hone Waitoa, was the third minister of Te Kawakawa. He has since died leaving no descendants.
(3) It is 73 years since this party used the East Cape roads but they are still bad. RTK lives at East Cape.
(4) The name of this church is St Stephen’s; it is one of the first Ngati Porou churches. Renovations are in hand. Inside St Stephen’s is a brass plaque commemorating Rota Waitoa and his son, Hone.
(5) This is Te Iharaira Houkamau, father of Te Hatiwira Houkamau. Outside St Stephen’s church is a memorial to Te Haiti
(6) This is a Maori practice and it is not followed by other peoples. Nor will someone reveal his status lest he be asked, ‘Who are you? Where do you come from?’ Since Maori are to have their own bishopric, Maori custom requires that he be a Maori because Pakeha come from different peoples.
(7) For a believer all he does is sacred if it is right – there are no great works and no insignificant works but all works are important. A girl said that the sign that she was a believer was that she swept under the mats; if she did not believe she would only sweep the places that can be seen. A sign of a chief is a humble heart.
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MEETING OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND.
26th June 1926
Chairman: Rev Canon W H Keretene.
The meeting began with prayer. The two members for Waimamaku were elected; the minister of the Parish and Hone Toi were appointed. Altogether the members are:
Rev Canon W H Keretene (Chairman)
Rev K T Harawira (Secretary)
Rev W N Panapa (Treasurer)
Rev H Tauraua
The minutes were read and agreed. The Chairman said:
‘I greet all the members who have come. This practice grew following the visit of the Indian Bishop to this country. They are fruits of his visit. My hope is that we will take up these tasks with enthusiasm and that we follow the example of our elders who have passed on in carrying out this work. I am very happy at the speed with which most of our people have returned from the work of Ratana. It may be that this is the last meeting of this Committee because in August a Bishop will be chosen for the Maori People and we do not know how he will organise things. But whatever happens, may God continue to strengthen us to do his will.’
The Motions Agreed.
(1) That the name of Rev P Matene be replaced by that of Rev W Panapa in the books of the Committee’s Bank because he has become one of the Treasurers.
(2) That someone be appointed to inspect those Parishes without a minister at present, until the time comes when it will be undertaken by the Bishop of Aotearoa.
(3) That this Committee guarantees the £5 to help the church at Whirinaki.
(4) That this Committee urges all the ministers to help the Whirinaki church.
(5) That this Committee urges all ministers to be diligent in ensuring that collections are taken every Sunday.
(6) That this Committee asks the Rev K Poata how much money was collected on the day of the opening of the Pakanae church and what has happened to it.
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(7) To request the Committee running the whole Parish of Hokianga its procedure for dealing withits funds for the year 1926.
(8) That this Committee directs that all Parishes offerings be banked with the Government Post Office.
(9) That the Committee brings before the Archbishop the following matter: Should the bread (wafer) be dipped into the wine during the Communion for individuals suffering from infectious diseases?
(10) That the Committee advises the ministers to require their lay readers to take services throughout the Parish.
(11) That the Committee authorises the Chairman to withdraw money from the Bank if the Archbishop asks this Committee to meet the expenses of travelling to Wellington.
(12) That the Committee agrees to pay Auckland for the printing of the Synod Report (£12 12s 0d).
(13) That this Committee thanks the local people for their kind hospitality to the members of the Committee.
Accounts
Income Expenditure
£ s d £ s d
In the Bank 217 0 0 Printing 12 12 0
Cash in hand 10 0 0 Laymen 14 0
Contribution
Otiria 1 2 0
Whangarei 1 2 0
Pamaouria 1 2 0
Fund 2 18 0
Contribution
Mangakahia 1 2 0
Kaikohe 1 2 0
Hokianga 1 2 0
Fund Hokianga 8 2 0
Offering Waimamaku 1 8 5
Contribution Waimate 2 0
_______ ________
246 0 5 13 6 0
________
To Balance £232 0 0
Districts whose contributions we have not yet received should send them to Rev W N Panapa, Box 45, Kaikohe.
Examined and found correct.
K T Harawira, Secretary.
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POUKAWA BLOCK
Shareholders in the Poukawa Block met at Te Hauke on 26th July, 1926. More than 60 people attended. The following motions were passed.
(1) The shareholders in Poukawa agree to the draining of the lands adjacent to Lake Poukawa, Number 13.
(2) That the Maori Trustee be asked to come in person to Te Hauke when he is free, to discuss with the committee set up by the Poukawa shareholders the means whereby Poukawa can be made fit for settlement.
F A Bennett
Chairman.
Poukawa Committee
This is the Committee set up to further the matters concerning Poukawa.
Hori Tupaea Te Peeti Timu
Dan Ellison Joe Brown
Tangatake Hapuku Whakatangi Thompson
P H Tomoana Materita Puhara
Tangiora Pukepuke Mere Kingi
Ngaruhe Tuta
Kehoma Hokianga Jack Hone
and F A Bennett, Chairman of the Shareholders’ Meeting.
PEOPLE’S PLEASURES.
R[eweti] T K[ohere].
Pleasure is a thing, perhaps the thing, most desired by people. Just as people are not all alike so their preferred pleasures are not alike. When someone is a child their pleasures and games are those of children. When a child becomes a teenager they seek pleasures suitable to their ages. When a person reaches maturity they seek pleasures appropriate for them. A person’s pleasures reveal what they are like, good or perhaps bad. It is right that young people play and enjoy themselves; if they don’t play and enjoy themselves there is something wrong.
There are three kinds of pleasures – of the body, of the mind and of the spirit. Running, jumping, haka, sports are pleasures for the body; reading books, writing stories, listening to lectures or to entertaining talks are pleasures for the mind; faith, praying to God,
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seeing good things, sweet songs, playing music are pleasures for the spirit. ‘At that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.’ [Luke 10.21] ‘When they saw the star … they were overwhelmed with joy,’ [Matthew 2.10] A pleasure – a very great pleasure – of faith.
People’s pleasures are not the same. Some people’s pleasures are not pleasures for other but are rather unpleasant and a cause of distress. While getting drunk may be a pleasure for some, for others it is disgusting. Drunkenness is a pleasure of the flesh like laziness, fornication and gluttony. The character of a person determines the character of their pleasures. Some people take pleasure in everything and in all places even though they are alone. They find pleasure in their work, their home, their children, that is, their hearts are springs of joy and pleasure. Such people suck out the good things of the world. Every day is pleasing to them. They find beauty in the rising and the setting of the sun, they hear sweet songs in the flowing water and in the singing of the birds in the forest and in the sky. For them the mountains, the hills, the trees, the clouds, the fields covered with green herbage, are a beautiful painting. This is their painting, a picture spread out before them every day. They look, and wonder and praise bubble up in their hearts to the Creator of these things. Their hearts are springs of joy and gladness which will never dry up. They sing with the shepherd-king who sang: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. One day tells its tale to another, and one night imparts knowledge to another.’ [Psalm 19.1-2] They have ears that hear the music of the spheres and eyes that see the glory of those things. The long days and the long nights are feast for their hearts. Their hearts throb in concert with the beautiful things of the world. Such people do not seek pleasure in gatherings of people, in the deaths of people, in dancing, in horse-racing, There is dancing in their hearts all the time. Many people are blind and deaf; they do not see they do not hear. ‘They have eyes but they do not see, ears but they do not hear.’ [Psalm 115.5-6]
The supreme pleasures, without fault, without bitterness, without thorns, are the pleasures of the heart and the spirit. A genuine pleasure is reading books. Books bring so much to you; they bring as friends to your fireside the wise people of the world, those who have died and those who are still living. Why should anyone be lonely when they have such friends in their books and newspapers?
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The pleasures of the rich differ from those of the poor. The rich get pleasure from beautiful clothes, costly clothes, things that satisfy the deceptive heart. Those with money find pleasure in horse-racing, driving cars, expensive foods, and travel abroad.
Although they are poor people still experience beautiful pleasures, pleasures that are perhaps despised by the rich. This is the purport of the words of Thomas Gray, a wise English poet, about the pleasures of the homely.
Let not Ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys and destiny obscure;
Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile
The short and simple annals of the poor.
[Elegy Written in a Country Church-yard.]
Likewise, you with your silk clothes, travelling in shiny motorcars, spreading our hundreds of notes, do not look disdainfully on the poor and their pleasures, lest you mistakenly think that only money brings pleasure. Presently, perhaps, you may be laughing on the outside but inside you may be weak and shrivelled.
The true pleasures of people are in their work and their thinking. The pleasures of a married man are his wife, his children, his work and his home. The man who does not finds pleasure in his own home goes to the pub to find pleasure, to get drunk, and uses up his money to give pleasure to other men, forgetting his wife and his children, and , as Ngati Porou has it,
Ko te ruaki anake e tae ki te wahine.
‘All the woman gets is the vomit.’
In some Maori villages the houses are such that a man wants to run away; there is nothing to engage his heart. Some men find great pleasure in improving their homes and cultivating their vegetable and flower gardens. This is a real pleasure. One of my great pleasures is caring for my roses. It is a great joy to watch the sprouting and growth of food, the swelling and the blooming of the roses. God created the flowers to bring joy to people’s hearts. As Christ was going about he observed the lilies blooming, plucked some, and said, ‘Remember the lilies of the field.’ [Matthew 6.28]
One of the world’s pleasures is fishing. People come from far-away lands to New Zealand to fish, not to fish for food but as sport. Well-to-do Pakeha fish for pleasure. What can compare with dragging the fish on the line, jerking it when it surfaces,
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seeing if coming up, and bringing it flapping into the boat? Anyone who says that this is not a pleasure must be asleep! Pakeha speak of the pleasure of trout fishing. Some Maori do not get any pleasure in fishing; to them it is an act of desperation. If they go to fish for moki they do not eat on land or at sea, they don’t smoke a pipe, because they are anxious not to infringe tapu. This is not killing food but a religious act. Some people are more afraid of the laws around fishing than of the laws of God.
One of my great pleasures is scooping up granite trout, which is why I said,
Ko tangata koko kehe o Pouretua nei.
I am the man from Pouretua here who scoops up granite trout.
The granite trout is sweet but add to that the catching of it and it gives even more pleasure. If our work is also a pleasure we forget that it is work.
One thing that gives more pleasure than anything else in the world is children; and those children who give most pleasure are those who are beginning to learn to speak. Some people are averse to children; they find them wearisome and a burden. People who think in this way are mistaken. I wonder at people who don’t have children; I am moved by their fortitude, and that they don’t get bored with themselves. A house without the noise of voices and the singing of children is like a house of the dead. When one returns from work or from a journey and the children run to call out and welcome you there is no joy, no pleasure like it. Life in the world is made worthwhile. The children direct the elders in the right ways. The Psalmist says: ‘Children, are a heritage from the Lord …. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.’ [Psalm 127. 3 & 5]
I am a homely person and my pleasures are homely. I don’t yearn for the towns, for people whirling about, for roars and jingles and uproar. The noise I like is the twittering of the birds, the blowing of the wind, the surge of the sea, and the singing of children.
Matthew was famous among Pakeha as an entertainer and comedian. That was the seed-bed of his wealth. A man went to the doctor for him to diagnose his illness. After examining him the doctor gave him this advice. ‘I don’t have any medicine for you. Your sickness is of the mind and the heart. But go and listen to Matthew to laugh and be entertained. That should be sufficient medicine for you – a good laugh, a bit of pleasure.’ Then this man answered, ‘Alas, I am Matthew.’
A person may be rich, he may live in London, he may have access to the world’s entertainments, but if his heart is not right he will not know real pleasure and that peace of God which is past understanding. Here are some words from the Psalmist:
‘You show me the path of life; in your presence is fulness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures for evermore.’ [Psalm 16.11]
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LOWLY OCCUPATIONS.
T Wi Repa MB
‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it well.’ [Ecclesiastes 9.10]
This is a time when we aspire to the lofty positions exemplified by the Pakeha. The Maori child wants to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or perhaps an architect, or whatever. These are good signs. They are signs that our aspirations are advancing, our thinking is expanding, and the well-being of the people has increased. And it is not only our hope. We see that some of us have attained these positions. They are to be followed.
But do not forget the more lowly occupations which are, indeed, most of those in the world. You may desire the eminent positions but you may also desire the lowlier occupations. This is the question to be asked: Which are the occupations which will bring most benefit to people? The richer a person, the more his kudos in the world. The short answer to this question, though, is it is the lowlier occupations. It is those who make money, those in occupations below those mentioned ab0ve. Therefore, people, don’t despise lowly occupations.
In the town of Auckland it is not the doctors or lawyers who are on top of the list of names of the rich. Rather it is those who sell clothing, the brewers, the merchants, the directors of companies, the contractors, and many other occupations; only then come the doctors and the few lawyers.
As I am writing I am thinking of the children of my area of the Tai Rawhiti. What I write is for them to think about. Most Maori live in the area which begins at Gisborne town and includes Uawa, Tokomaru, Ruatoria, Tikitiki, Te Araroa, Wharekahika, as far as Te Kaha and ending at Opotiki. This is where the sun rises [Te Uranga o te Ra]. From Gisborne to Te Araroa is 110 miles. Te Araroa to Opotiki is 100 miles, more or less. Let us look at the condition of the Maori along this 200 mile highway.
The Strength of the Maori in these Days.
In the Gisborne area 423 adults voted in the recent parliamentary election. This is the number of people who voted in Gisborne Town, Manutuke, Te Muriwai, Waimata, Takipu and Whangara, This is a large town of nearly 17,000 people. These are the kinds of work done by the people – top occupations, middle occupations and low occupations. In this large town, [of the 423 mentioned above], only one is a lawyer, there are no blacksmiths, no carpenters, and only one is a salesman. There are no Maori working in the banks, in insurance businesses, in merchant shops or in bicycle shops. There are some in the office of the Maori Land Court. I really would like
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some young Maori to learn how Pakeha run shops in the hope that when they had done well at this they would set up stores for themselves in their own areas and find that they could make a good living. Besides the occupations of lawyer or doctor, the Government and the Department for Maori Affairs have opened up highlyesteemedother ways to achieve this. However, what I would like to see is the space opened up on that ladder filled – that is, the middle of the ladder. All these occupational skills should be acquired. But an occupation cannot be learned if it is not taught by experts in each task.
Uawa is one of the large Tai Rawhiti towns. It is thirty-five miles from Gisborne. This town is the meeting-place for the district. It is the heart of the area. There are shops, hotels, banks, the post office, and a whole lot of valuable things. But the town has grown because it is fed by the surrounding district. Uawa is one of the most fertile areas of the Tai Rawhiti. The hapu is Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. This is a highly thought of area for its land. In the recent election, 136 adults voted at Uawa and Mangatuna. A lot of Maori money comes in to sustain this town of Uawa. But there are no Maori running shops, or doing carpentry or blacksmithing. Nor are there children learning Pakeha jobs. These are the jobs that would provide us with a living were we to undertake them. We ought to give thought to this situation. It seems as if we are the givers of money to make the Pakeha fat. This is not right.
At Tokomaru, 156 adults voted last summer. Here there are some Maori who have land and farm it, and that is right. But only Pakeha are doing the essential jobs in the town of running shops and offices, carpentry and blacksmithing. Although Maori work at the abbatoir at Waima, this is part-time work. There is one Maori store and that is the office of the Mangahauwini Corporation with the billiard room next door. Consider this. The Maori are the local people and the majority of the population. But the people who have moved in, the minority group, are the Pakeha who are sucking out the blood of the majority. This is the way of the world. Grasp this. Let the elders and the children be united in their thinking. Let the elders share their insights with the world to help the children achieve what they want. Don’t let the elders shut the door on the children.
Rua-a-Toria and Tikitiki are large centres in Waiapu. These are the meeting-places whence flow the produce of the ten thousand acres of land flowing with milk and honey. They stand a expet the cross-roads. At Tikitiki is the large Maori store, ‘The Waiapu Farmers’ Co-operative Trading Company,’ and the large Maori hall.
There is a branch of the ‘Waiapu Farmers’ Co-op’ and the ‘Company Hall’ at Rua-a-Toria.
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The Ngati-Porou Dairy Factory is at Rua-a-Toria. But most of the shops are owned by the Pakeha. There are some small businesses run by Maori. They are carriers transporting loads on lorries and managers of some billiard rooms. New businesses that have started are dairy farming and drilling for oil [?pao hinu]. Some Maori are learning jobs done by the district council: roadwork under Pakeha supervision, contract work gravelling roads, contract work making roads, and contract work building bridges. By taking contracts one makes a great deal of money but few Maori know how to manage them. The reason perhaps is that they have not worked under good teachers in order to learn. When that is done, a person can proceed on the basis of his learning. Were I asked in what job one could earn money fastest, I would say, by contract work on roads or bridges. But a child should submit his mind to experts for perhaps three years to learn the ways of work.
May the children have aspirations and the parents help their children to realise their aspirations, so that their children can undertake all the skilled work of the Tai-Rawhiti,
THE PROPHESYING AND SECOND SIGHT OF US MAORI.
P[araire] H T[omoana]
It is right that we question, in these days of Pakeha learning and the new world, what is the value to them of these activities, and if it has been established whence come the significant ideas of theirs concerning things that came down from former days and which are disappearing. What we have is support for what they do and their customs in what our ears have heard and what has been told us, the recitals of the stories of the canoes that came here from Tawhiti-nui, Tawhiti-roa, Tawhiti-papamamao, and Te Hono-i-Wairua. It is right that in these days of learning we should desire confirmation of their stories so that we can celebrate their achievements.
The first stories told by the elders in their Whare Maire and Whare Wananga [houses set apart for instruction in sacred lore] when ideas were ordinary and obscure [?pōkē – dark, gloomy; poke – soiled, dirty], were expanded and sweetened by sugared mouths and teasing hearts and so the valuation placed on them by those born during the past three hundred years is different, as it is right up to this day when ideas are being continually amended as the Maori mind is being advanced by the learning and understanding of the time.
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Take a look at this story we have heard: Maori were cannibals. It is not the case that this was the food that sustained them or that they hungered for. Rather that served as a punishment when there was resentment or wrongdoing. One’s tribe or hapu may have been in that situation. That was an obvious justification [?mau-ariari]. Great and many were the marae where important and deep thoughts were to be found among those awaiting the flowers of those banks of the human mind, the wrinkles of whose cheeks were covered, and who could stand and explain those coverings. Such people were called prophets or seers! From such an appearance of those flowers one could read the motions of that alert mind. One can also tell how that person has been aroused although there are many instances; it is the Maori heart grasping in ecstasy at the picture of things that originated at Hon0-i-wairua many centuries before we left there. Because of this knowledge that some of them had some were set up as prophets and some as seers. Now those who do not have the ability to interpret the flowers or the fruit seek them out, although they still eat and see. Therefore, those prophets and seers assist them and they have status on the marae and spread all kinds of seeds which bear fruit and are gathered, as the scripture says, ‘As a man sows so shall he reap.’ (Galatians 6.7)
Consider the stories about this canoe, about Takitimu. This was an awesome canoe, a sacred canoe. Its crew were called sacred, noble, according to the status accorded by Maori genealogy. There were prophets, tohunga, seers, on that canoe, as indeed on all the canoes that sailed here over the Moana-nui-a-Kiwa [Pacific Ocean]. But although they travelled separately they all shared the same conviction, that being on board their canoe was a sacred matter and that they should be of the same mind. Not a single canoe sailed selfishly with the foolish idea of not giving a gift to their steersman, or giving praise for the many blessings on the way that brought them to this distant land. Each canoe had the fruit of his work, good or bad.
It would take a long article to give a complete account of that group of prophets and that group of seers. But there was split into two when they came to the time of committing the stories to writing. So let me begin my explanation when the country’s stories began to be set down as they were discovered by those in the past who were born in the time of peace in the country, writings set down for those to come.
In the 1880s prophets emerged. In those days there arose from Waikato a prophet. Potatau raised up a prophet, Te Ua. His idea was to set up a Separate Church with the Angel Michael
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to be guide to him and his group. He explained that that angel had given him a pattern prayer. This what it was like:
Hau te kororia!
Hau te kororia!!
Hau te kororia!!!
Rire! Rire!! Rire!!!
Hau! Hau!! Hau!!!
This prayer is different. It is right to say that the ideas in this prayer are strange. As I understand it, those words mean something like this:
He pai (kororia) te patu (ara te hau)
He pai (kororia) te patu (ara te hau)
He pai (kororia) te patu (ara te hau)
Rire (ready) Rire (ready) Rire (ready)
Patua (hau) Patua (hau) Patua (hau)
[What is meant by hau? W Greenwood in ‘The Upraised Hand,’ The Polynesian Society, 1942, p.7, does not translate it but says ‘The faithful would respond “Rire, rire, hau” (Mercy, mercy, hau). This response seems to have taken the place of the usual “amen” used in Christian ritual.’
Paraire Tomoana translates hau as ‘strike.’ My rendition of his explanation would be:
It is good (glorious) to strike (that is, to strike)
It is good (glorious) to strike (that is, to strike)
?Ready (ready) ?Ready (ready) ?Ready (ready)
Strike (strike) Strike (strike) Strike (strike)
- Barry Olsen]
Bur by the practices and the teachings of those who have taken up those things called rituals by that Separate Church we see the flowering and the divisiveness of the fruits of those prophetic activities. Look at what has been said about Kereopa and Patara, things handed down by Te Ua, whose disciples they were known to be in those days. What are we to make of what was sworn by those disciples that there would be no-one to speak to us in these days? But it is right that we say that if they had a basis for their separate activities in those days and they swore an oath to amongst themselves that they would be loyal to their ways, it would be like making a contract in these days. That is, those would be the ‘articles’ of their association. But it seems that it is possible to hide an aspect of the agreement within the words, namely, that we believe that what the ‘manager’ of our cause does is good. The outcome is the death of Rev. Volkner at Opotiki.
(To be continued.)
By Shakespeare.
‘Tis too much prov’d, that, with devotion’s visage,
And pious action, we do sugar o’er
The devil himself.
Hamlet III.1.47
This is very clear, namely, that we smear over
The very outside of the devil’s body
With the sugar of religion
And works of faith.
[450]
A SCHOOL SONG
For Hukarere and Te Aute.
The following waiata has the old pupils of Hukarere and Te Aute College welcoming ‘The New Generation’ as if they are the ‘visitors from afar,’ ‘the rare white heron,’ in these days. The words are also suitable for use by these two schools for welcoming their visitors. It is possible also to add many references appropriate to each marae. It is best if it is sung with both voices, male and female, and with actions that fit the words. Perhaps our ‘many warriors’ can work out actions as a gift to our many hui.
‘Welcome’ (Duet)
By P H Tomoana.
Tune used at present: Coral Sands of Hawaii (Adapted)
The first verse by female voices:
(1)
Welcome, friends.
We love you,
We salute you, we weep with you.
Welcome to Hukarere!
The Chorus (repeat)
All:
Welcome, friends.
This is the new group.
‘Visitors from afar.’
‘Rare white herons.’ (*)
Female Voices:
Welcome to Hukarere.
Let me salute you.
Male voices:
I am here at Te Aute.
All:
Friends, welcome.
The second verse by male voices:
(2)
At last, love
Is really (**)
Experienced in the heart.
Welcome to Te Aute.
Notes (*) Sing in two parts. Those behind sing the lower part.
(**) Sing in two parts. Those behind sing the upper part.
(Congratulations – The Editor.)
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