TE
TOA TAKITINI
Registered
at the GPO as Newspaper.
Number
85.
Hastings.
1st
September, 1928.
A
PRAYER FOR THE BISHOP CHOSEN FOR AOTEAROA.
Heavenly
Father, you have called your servant, Frederick Augustus, to be head of the
Church amongst your Maori People; we pray that you will pour upon him the power
of your Holy Spirit. Give him the Spirit of wisdom and guide him that he may be
fitted for this great and sacred office. Father, show your love to your servant
that he may be conformed to your will, that he may be a blessing to the people,
and glorify your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(The
Bishop of Waiapu has said that this prayer is to be used at all services.)
[A Photograph of the Rev F A Bennett.]
Published by the Rev F A Bennett and printed at Cliff Press, Queen
Street, Hastings, HB.
[836]
Te
Toa Takitini
Registered
at the GPO as a Newspaper.
The
price of the paper is 10/- a year.
Send
letters to ‘Te Toa Takitini,’ Box 300, Hastings.
Te
Toa Takitini,
1st
September, 1928
THE
BISHOP FOR AOTEAROA.
On
14th August, a meeting of the Bishops was held in Wellington. On 15th
they chose the person they thought would be suitable to be the first to hold
the office of Bishop of Aotearoa. They chose Frederick Augustus Bennett for
this position, the one who is writing this.
My
people, the first thing we must do is praise our heavenly Father for calling
his humble servant to this important and sacred position. Although this may be
a mistake in the eyes of some, what more can be done since I have been called?
Secondly,
we must thank all our Bishops and the members of General Synod of New Zealand for their goodwill and their kind
thoughts towards us, the Maori People.
Thirdly,
I thank the Maori members of the Synod of Aotearoa for the excellent way they
dealt with this matter, for their love, and for their commitment over the past three years which has resulted
in the people receiving this sacred gift.
Fourthly,
I thank the hundreds of people who have sent telegrams and letters in Maori and
English. One was from London from the grandson of Mr Samuel Williams, an
some from Australia and all parts of Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu.
My
people, This is not the occasion for a speech; I have not yet started my work,
This is a time for silence and prayer. Pray for me that I may have a pure heart,
that all wrong things that may hinder the good work of the Holy Spirit may be
taken away, and that I may be given a humble heart that I may be able to fulfil
part of this holy calling.
I
will not be fit for this if I do not have the support of the country.
Therefore, my people, have sympathy for your servant. What honour attaches to
this office? It is to be disregarded. What is important is that our spiritual lives
are enhanced and grow and bear much fruit for the benefit of the people and the
glory of God.
The
Consecration Service
On
2nd December the Service of Consecration of the Bishop of Aotearoa
will take place in Napier Cathedral.
The thinking of the Archbishop who set that date was that it was the first
day of the Church’s new year, the First Sunday of Advent – a day beginning the
new year. ‘Since it would be a new day for the Church amongst the Maori
[837]
it
would be an appropriate day for the consecration of your Bishop.’
Secondly,
the offerings from all the churches of the Church of New Zealand on that day
will be given for the work of the Church amongst Maori. The thoughts of the
Pakeha will all be turned to the Maori People that day.
At
meetings of the people of Heretaunga it was pointed out that the people here will
be very busy with shearing during November and December, and there will not be
many people to care for visitors from the country coming to the consecration.
The Archbishop was made aware of this concern, and was asked if it couldn’t be
arranged for 14th October or during the week between Christmas and
the New Year.
It is hoped that all the Maori clergy in the
country will be present that day, ans that lay-representatives will be chosen
from each Parish.
THE
NURSE FOR HERETAUNGA.
The
nurse for the Maori in the Hastings area has arrived. Her address is 105
Gallien Street, Hastings. Her telephone number is 339. Bennett has presented,
on behalf of all the Maori of Hastings, a new car for her work so that it will
be easy for her to go around the sick of the Maori villages. The cost of the
car is £266. It is a ‘Elyno’ [?Eleanor] made in England. As a result of explanations
as to why this car is needed, it was sold to us for £200. One hundred and fifty
pounds has been paid and the remainder owed is £50. An appeal has been made to
the people of Hastings for the £50 so that it does not hang over our heads. The
nurse now has the car. This nurse is for all Maori and works under the authority
of the Government. The Church has no
authority over her.
BISHOPRIC
OF AOTEAROA
Congratulations
Received.
Many
letters and wires have arrived with congratulations on the achievement of our
Bishopric of Aotearoa. We don’t have room to print all the greetings. We will
print some now and some will appear in the next edition. We have received 160
and they have not stopped coming.
I
was taken by Sir Apirana to the Prime Minister’s office to hear the presentation
by the deputation about Maori schools. There we met the Archbishop. His
telegram had gone to Hastings; he was unaware that I was in Wellington.
Consequently, the first person to hear of the conclusion of the story of
the Bishopric was the Minister of Maori Affairs, our Prime Minister. In the rooms
of Parliament this matter had been debated by the Maori Synod for three years,
so it was appropriate that it was concluded there, though it was chance that it
was settled there at this time.
[838]
Hon
G Coates
The Prime
Minister has spoken of his happiness and delight that one of the Maori
Ministers has been chosen for this position.
Sir
Maui Pomare MP
I am very happy
that you have been chosen for this office. It is right that you should have
this honour. All the Maori People think so. Greetings.
Sir
Apirana Ngata
Greetings to you who
have been called to this post which the Maori People hoped would be filled by one
of their own who will be able to translate for the Maori heart the principles
of the faith in the coming Pakeha world. May the Creator bless you and the people
support you.
Te
Tau Henare MP
Greetings. Our desires are
fulfilled. Enjoy sitting in this lofty position. Kia ora.
Hare
Uru MP
(A spoken
congratulations.) May you be greatly
blessed in this sacred office. Do come to the marae of the Maori of Te
Waipounamu.
Hon
J A Young MP
Congratulations
to you who have been called to this lofty office. My prayer is that Heaven will
care for you and that for many days you will cultivate the Lord’s garden
amongst the Maori People. You are the right man for that work.
H
E Holland MP (Leader of the Opposition.)
Congratulations on this great honour
that the Church has bestowed on you.
Thomas
Seddon MP
All the
descendants of Seddon are happy that this great honour has been conferred on
you.
F
F Hockly MP
I am sending my
congratulations to you on your being elevated to this important position. I
hope you will have many years in this
post and that many good fruits will emerge for the Maori People. Kia ora.
W
J Girling MP (Wairau)
I am very happy that you have been
chosen for this important position.
Rev
Alwyn Warren, London.
Blessings upon
you. (This man is a grandson of Mr Samuel Williams of Te Aute College.)
Sir
Douglas MacLean, Wellington.
Many congratulations to the first
Bishop of the Maori People.
Dr
Wi Repa, Te Araroa
Tai Rawhiti
salutes you. You deserve this honour for
the many years you have spent building up the people. May the heavenly One
bless you and may you live long to promote those things that will benefit the
people. Matthew 25.21.
Rev
Pine Tamahori, Ruatoria.
At last I have
heard the news that you have been chosen as Bishop for the Maori People.
Congratulations to you. May the Father bless and guide you that you may do what
is for the good of the Church among the Maori People,
Tame
Halbert, Turanga
Long
life to you. Be a man! Be strong! [cf Nga
Pepeha 2565]
W Bird MA, Wellington (Chief inspector of
schools.)
[839]
Greetings,
captain of the canoe. Many congratulations to you.
Rev J McWilliam, Auckland. (Teacher of the
Maori Ministers.)
Best
wishes to you, Bishop.
Raureti Mokonuiarangi, Matata.
Ascend
to the heights of your ancestor, Puhaorangi. Kia ora.
E Te Tuhi (Wesleyan) Kawakawa.
Congratulations
on the honour bestowed on y0u.
St Stephen’s School, Auckland.
The
staff and pupils of St Stephen’s School congratulate you on being chosen for
the office of Bishop of Aotearoa and pray that yu will receive Heavenly
blessings.
Te Kani, Turanga.
Greetings
to you, the Father of the Church, the Father of the people.
Harawira, Waitara.
I
am delighted that you are to take this office. Kia ora.
Hemi Te Paa, Naumai.
We
are overjoyed that you are to be the first Bishop of Aotearoa.
James
Rukutai, Auckland.
The Maori Group in
Auckland congratulate you on being chosen as the first Bishop for the people,
and hope that you will be blessed for many years to come.
Victoria
School. Auckland.
Greetings, first
Bishop of the Maori People. We are delighted that you will be put in place to
lead us. May you have increasing health
and may the heavenly Father guide you at all times. From the Maori girls of
Victoria.
All
Ngapuhi, Kaikohe.
Greetings to you,
the man who is to fulfil the visions of the Maori People. May you dwell under
the shelter of the Lord.
Taiporutu
and Te Arawa, Ohinemutu.
May the Lord
bless you in the weighty responsibity for which yu have been chosen. Be strong.
Pass on our thanks to the chiefs of Ngati Kahungunu who have supported you in
the days leading up to your becoming our first Bishop.
W
Pukuatua, Ohinemutu.
The news has
reached Ngati Whakaue that wings have been put on the great bird of Taane. Greetings.
WELCOMING
THE BISHOP OF AOTEAROA.
When
the people of Te Kohupatiki and Pakowhai learned that their minister is to be
the Bishop for the Maori People they gathered at the Minister’s house to
congratulate him, to weep, and to assure him of their love. Among the gifts
presented to him was one very special one – Ihakara Rapana gave him his silver
cup, the cup he won when he became Wrestling Champion of New Zealand and
Australia. Many people stood to express the congratulations of the people – Ihakara
Rapana, Te Hore, Riri Potaka, Sam Wehi, Te Piwa, Te Aue, Ripeka, Erena, Rani
Riripotaka, and the last elderly lay of our village, Te Paea Tiaho.
Thank
you for your kindness. Your love will not be forgotten. May the heavenly Father
[840]
send
upon you his blessings for your great love for his servant.
#
One
evening, also, the Rev P Hakiwai, Hemi Rapaea, Uru Davis and P H Tomoana
arrived to greet the Bishop selected for the Maori People. Thank you for the
fine speeches and your great appreciation of this gift given to the Maori
People.
PANAPA
TUARI
On
the night of 23rd August Panapa Tuari entered peacefully on the long
ret. He was 83 when he died.
The
hapu of Heretaunga greatly loved this elderfor his goodness, his gentleness,
his kindness. Many groups came to lament over him.
On
the day of his funeral many of his Pakeha soldier friends from the days of the
Maori Wars of 1863 to 1870 sere present.
This showed their great affection for that elder as not one of them was under
the ag of 84.
Three
ministers officiated at the funeral service for Panapa – the Revs Hakiwai, Ra
Rangiaho and Bennett. Panapa was a man faithful to the Church to the day of his
death. He was committed to the project for a Maori Bishop and was afraid that he
would not see the fulfilment of this hope. He was thrilled at the accomplishing
of this matter and that that Maori Bishop prayed over him while he was still
conscious. An hour afterwards he said, ‘I want to go to sleep.’ He lay down and
entered upon the long rest.
Altogether
he had 23 children. Most have died. Those still living are Meri Hakiwai of
Omahu, Mrs Billy Walker of Waipawa, Mrs Warena of Whakatu, Bob Tutaki of Omahu,
Pera, and Pita Panapa of Hastings. There are many grandchildren.
Farewell,
Koro. Go to the Father. Farewell to the last of the Church elders. Bequeath to your
children, your grandchildren, your grandchildren, and those who come after you,
your kind spirit and your goodness.
PROVISION
FOR THE MAORI BISHOP
THANKS
In
Te Toa Takitini for June (p 794) we thanked Lady Carroll for her contribution
to the stipend for the Bishop.
We
also thank one of the country’s chiefly women for her large gift sent to the
Editor of your paper and which he has passed on to the Diocesan Office in
Napier. That woman is Rihitoto Mataia of Paeroa and her gift was fifty pounds
(£50).
This
was her accompanying letter.
Paeroa,
30th
July, 1928.
To
the Editor.
Greetings
to you and to all who follow what goes on in our country. As I see it, some of
the mana of the ancestors has brought about the idea of the Bishop of Aotearoa.
And so, may it have the blessing of our Father who has quickly brought about
the fulfilment of the idea.
Rihitoto
Mataia
NGA
MOTEATEA
We
have received from Te Raumoa [Balneavis] noticed that the price of Ngata’s book
containing the waiata of our parents and ancestors has been raised to 10/- a
copy. When the cost of production was investigated, 7/6 was found to be too
little. Three hundred copies have now been printed. Those wanting a copy should
send 10/- to Te Raumoa in Wellington, with the following address on the
envelope:
Secretary,
Native Minister,
Wellington.
[841]
‘GIVING
AND GETTING.’
Rev
Peni Hakiwai
A
composer of a waiata has said: ‘A wealthy person gives little; a wise person
says little.’
We
do not agree with this. A different practice is that the wealthy person is
generous in giving; the wise person is someone who generously shares his wisdom
with others.
This
matter of giving and getting is a trying one. Say you have a candle. If you
touch a candle with yours the two of them burn together. Yours does not
extinguish the flame of the other, rather, they burn together. Likewise,
whatever you give you will not be left poor. Learning, joy, and other things ….
What happens when you share your learning? It is not used up; rather, it
bubbles up in a different way. The quantity of what your give is the quantity
given to you. The pathway of true joy is the way of giving. It is a true saying
that if one helps with food or a shilling one will get much satisfaction. If
you do not give, what you have is diminished, it is stolen, it is eaten up by
grubs. In giving we receive.
The
Jordan River flows to the Sea of Galilee. Emerging from there it flows south to
the Dead Sea. What is the end result? The water of the Sea of Galilee is good
to drink because it gives up the water it receives, while the water of the Dead
Sea is not good to drink because it has no outlet. Rather, the sun evaporates
the water so that it does
[842]
not
overflow. What is left is disgusting salt water. Nothing lives in this sea.
I
observed a [?kanepo] man who believed that a certain desirable thing was
his alone. Was this perhaps like the Dead Sea? He was no good to the world.
It
is said of the hedgehog that what it treasures is the fruit of the grape. At
night it goes around under the vines and spikes the ones that have fallen, on
his bristles. When he arrives at his hiding place the juice of the grapes has
dripped out and only the skins are left. That is what the man is like who
gathers up everything only for himself – he ends up with that dried up food.
A
proverb says: ‘That is not lost which is given to a friend.' This is true. If you
give something for a great cause, that is right, it will not be lost, rather you
will be filled with satisfaction and joy as a result of your giving. This is
the best thing in the world. Consider Mr Reade of Auckland. He is a
millionaire. He gave 800 acres to England to finance their building of warships.
That was very good! That elder was so happy that he went out fishing. Think of
all those who gave millions of pounds and their possessions for fighting the
recent war. Who ar the people who are honoured in the eyes of the world? Is it
those who give them gifts or is it those who are content to accumulate
possessions? Which is the greater thing, giving or gathering, giving or
getting?
The
Maori practice, if the Maori have not gone astray, is to sound a trumpet so
that the world will hear about his giving. If he has to wait for a response the
Maori is putting pressure on to get it. If he has to wait a long time, that is
the end of his giving. He grumbles, he is stingy. The Maori conforms to human
ways, that is, give in order to get. This is where he goes wrong. The Maori
thinks that the friend’s response to what he has given should be like God’s
response when he gives to the work of God. Oh Maori, what about your life, the
wind, the sun, the beautiful things that you receive so freely? God has given these
to you without strings attached.
Give,
and it shall be given to you. I believe that if Maori first learn how to give
for the work of God they will flourish.
‘Give,
and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, [from God], will be
put into the folds of your clothes,’ [Luke 6.38] says our Lord. Give to God and
God will give you his many blessings. (Malachi 3.10).
LET
US BE UNITED
A
Sermon
R[eweti]
T K[ohere
‘O
how good and pleasant it is,
When
a family lives together in unity.’
(Psalm
133.1)
It
was good and pleasant to live together in unity;
[843]
If
we are divided there is no good, but there is tension and quarrelling. If a
husband and wife are divided then there is trouble for the family, for the
household, for the children. If a hapu is divided then there is trouble and no
work is completed. It is the same with the tribe if it is divided. If there is
agreement all is well, there is sweetness; if there is division there is
conflict.
The
cause of the Great War which has now ended is that the peoples of the world
were divided, there was no goodwill, no love. The nations were divided, there
was contention, envy, and hatred, which resulted in war, bloodshed, and sorrow.
If the nations still live divided, if there is no goodwill and no agreement
then war will again be inevitable. The state of the world is not as the angels
said:
Glory to God in the highest,
Peace on earth and goodwill to men.
I
will tell you a parable to explain. The tide has gone out revealing the deep
holes and pits. In the holes ar little fish. The little fish think and proclaim
that they have the supreme hole; there are no others. Then the tide changes, it
floods in, it is high tide, the rocks are covered and all is sea. With the
disappearance of the hole the small fish emerge and they discover other small
fish from other holes and they gather together, greet one another, laugh, talk
and play together.
The
world’s problem is that there are many holes – an English hole, a French hole,
a German hole, a Russian hole, numerous holes. All the great nations of the
world are divided and they are afraid of each other. There is but one medicine
for this situation and that is for the tide of the boundless love of God to
cover over the holes, to make them disappear, to make them one, so that there are
no longer English, Germans, French Russians, Americans, and so on, but all are
one in the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.
There
are other deep holes, two of them. One is white and the other is black, or one
is Pakeha and the other Maori. Most of the people of the world are dark skinned
– there are three coloured people for every white person. Therefore, if these
holes remain separated perhaps the time will come when there will be fighting –
a dreadful war. There is only one medicine to prevent this and that is the
blood of Jesus Christ to reconcile them, because there is no difference between
Pakeha blood and Maori blood, which is all red, and not white and black.
The
Church of Jesus Christ in the world is divided – separated into many holes. The
prayer of Christ is not yet answered that those who believe in him should be
one as he and the Father are one. When the Apostles and others were together on
the day of Pentecost and ‘were all of one mind’
[844]
the
Holy Spirit descended upon them. The Holy Spirit will not descend on the Church
in these days because it is divided, we are not ‘of one mind.’
Well,
it may perhaps be the fault of the Pakeha, the majority people, that there is
division, that the Church lives in a hole. There are many Church holes of the
Maori People these days. Besides the old Churches, the Missionary Church
[Church of England], the Catholics, the Wesleyans, who all have their own holes,
in these days we have the Mormon hole, the Seventh Day hole, the Ratana hole,
the Ringa-tu hole, the Tutekohi hole, and many other holes. Maori are divided
in their worship, they vie with one another, they live in holes. The faith which is supposed to bring people
together is [? tihoehoe sic, ?
tuhoehoe – in turmoil], and we Maori People are divided. My desire is to
see the Maori People unified under the Maori Bishop. There is a Pakeha saying,
‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ There is strength, awesomeness, and
authority in unity, but if there is division there is weakness, scattering, and
breaking up. The only remedy is if the tide of the love of God comes in to
spread over and cover up the many holes. As a people we Maori are now only a
remnant in the world; we are pushed out by the Pakeha. So let us come together
as one in the love of Jesus Christ. Division is a sign of lack of love, of
contention, of alienation. ‘United we stand; divided we fall.’ Let us stop
living in holes. Rather let us dive into the tide of the love of God so that we
are united and show the truth of the words of the ancient Psalmist:
Behold, h0w good and how pleasant it
is
For brethren to dwell together in
unity. [Psalm 133.1 AV]
INFLUENZA
Dr
Ellison
People,
greetings to all of you who suffer illness and afflictions. Kia ora. Kia ora.
You
are aware that when the Pakeha came to this land, infectious diseases spread to
all parts of the country. Most of these infectious diseases were unknown to our
ancestors and our tohunga. Influenza and measles were the diseases that struck
down the people in the olden days.
However,
people will not have forgotten the influenza epidemic which spread to all parts
of the country in 1918 and which afflicted people, both Maori and Pakeha.
We
are seeing at this time an influenza affliction like that Influenza Epidemic
but it is not so severe in its effects or so widespread. The influenza is spreading
around our people and it is the elders who are badly affected. But don’t think
this is just a disease of the elderly: no, it affects everyone. And because of
my concern
[845]
for
the people I have repeated the following information so that we can all work to
prevent this terrible illness or restore those who have caught it.
This
disease takes many forms; for some it is mild, for others it is very serious.
The germs of this illness ar carried on people’s breath, on their phlegm, and
in their coughing.
The
situations in which the disease is spread are at meetings or where air is contaminated
by people.
Therefore:
Wash
the house each week to ensure that it is clean and sweep it every day.
Open
the windows so that stale air can escape.
Don’t
go near people who have influenza.
Be
careful about sharing a hongi. It is sufficient to shake hands to convey
goodwill. Cover one’s nose.
Shorten
and simplify hui and dances and tangi, so that the disease is
eliminated.
Do
no sit or lie down in wet places or in places where there are draughts.
Cough
or sneeze into a handkerchief.
Put
the sick person in a separate room.
Arrange
[a line is missing].
This
medicine is available from chemists, from Maori nurses and in Maori schools.
Wash
rooms where the sick person has been with soap and hot water.
Carers
should not stay long beside someone with the illness.
Do
not sleep in the same room as the sick person.
The
Patients.
When
someone gets the illness, put them to bed. They should not get up until the
temperature goes down. However there are alternative ways if the illness is not
serious.
Put
the patient in a separate room. Arrange for just one person as a carer.
Set
aside a bowl for phlegm and for coughing. Put ‘carbolic’ or ‘Jeyes Fluid’ into
such bows at the beginning. If clothes have been contaminated by coughing and phlegm,
burn them in the fire.
The
patient’s dishes and cups must be washed in boiling water.
The
sick person should not go to other houses or gatherings until the sickness is
healed and the coughing stopped.
[846]
The
carer should wash their own hands in water mixed with disinfectant after coming
out of the sick room and before having their own meal.
For
the throat the patient should gargle with Condy’s Fluid which we have spoken of
elsewhere. Wash the inside of the nose with that fluid too. He should not
wander off to the homes of people who are well.
If
someone starts to have a temperature or a headache or pains in the joints or the
chest they should go to bed and not get up until these symptoms have gone. Do
not delay going to bed until the coughing is very bad.
Take
Castor Oil in the evening and the morning as well as Epsom Salts. Only soft
foods should be given to the patient, and if they have a temperature they should
have only milk. Lemon juice mixed with hot water is good but, if the
temperature is very high, the juice should be mixed with cold water and should
be drunk slowly.
For
adults, it is good to take two Aspirin tablets on the first day and to drink brandy
mixed with hot milk. Warm the feet with something such as a bottle filled with
hot water. Wrap it in a cloth and put it under the feet to warm them. If this
is done the temperature of the patient will go down, which is the right thing. If
the sweating continues, dry the body of the patient with a towel and put him or
her into dry clothes. Do this quickly so that the patient doesn’t get cold. It
is also good to rub the patient’s body with liniment or warmed oil. Salad Oil
or Olive Oil are good for this. Keep the body warm at all times; do not allow
it to get cold. The above advice is good for all kinds of colds.
If
the influenza has become very serious and the above procedures seem to be
having no effect or the carer is unable to follow the advice, it is good to
fetch the doctor. The following arw the signs of the seriousness of the
illness:
(1)
The
temperature is very high.
(2)
Pain
in the stomach as well as the chest.
(3)
Pain
along with diarrhoea.
(4)
Pain
in the chest.
(5)
Vomitting
sometimes.
(6)
Weakness
of the whole body
The
patient’s pillow should be raised up. They should not be required to speak, and
not many people should be allowed in the patient’s room at the same time; they
use up the fresh air from outside which comes into the room, and it is not good
for the patient or others who need fresh air. Keep the feet warm and check
frequently that there is a bottle of hot water under them. Place a Linseed
Poultice or some Antiphlogistine on the chest where there is any pain alongside
the ribs or on the back. With the sick elderly, do not do those procedures
which make them sweat very often.
Don’t
give the patient potatoes or meat or similar foods. Milk is the very best food.
When
the patient is getting better they should not be allowed to do any heavy work
for a long time until they are no longer breathless.
So
much for the advice, people. You who are well should take care of yourselves,
an you should be kind and dedicated to helping those who are suffering this
disease.
I
finish here.
My
best wishes to you for the years to come.
From
your servant,
Pohau
Erihana.
Head
of Health for the Maori People.
[847]
TUBERCULOSIS
: CONSUMPTION
Part
I
T
Wi Repa. MB, ChB
This
is the worst affliction of Maori: it is known as the ‘Maori disease.’ It is
said to be the result of witchcraft or black magic. Maori say that is an
illness passed on to their descendants by those who suffer it. Given this
supposition, it is passed on by someone when they are under the power of the
disease. It is, though, a maori disease, a normal disease, in that it is
passed on from parents and ancestors. When a family suffers in this way it is known
as a whare ngaro, a lost house.
A
Maori Disease.
This
is an appropriate name for this disease. It is right insofar as the disease is
endemic amongst Maori. Of one hundred people with the disease, the majority are
Maori. But the elders of the Maori People maintain that this
[848]
disease
is peculiar to Maori. We cannot agree with this. God did not assign separate
diseases to each race. Adam was told, ‘You will die.’ That death would happen to all his descendants.
And we say that we are some of his descendants. However we are different in the
strength of our bodies and we live in different places. And there are different
illnesses in hot places such as West, Central and East Africa. There are different
diseases in countries where the sun’s rays are not so hot. However there is one
cause of all diseases – ignorance of the rules of health. The outcome of this
ignorance is uncleanness. Filth is the grower and the feeder of sickness whatever the sickness.
We
doctors have studied that illness known as the ‘Maori disease.’ We observe that
the same disease in your Pakeha friends is called a ‘consumption.’ Its new name is
‘tuberculosis,’ that is, mate kohi – wasting disease. If a Pakeha child
grows up in the stale air of a filthy house with an emaciated father or mother
it will get the disease of the father or mother. Similarly if a Maori child grows
up in the stale air of the filthy house of this father who unthinkingly coughs out
his tuberculosis phlegm or spits out his tuberculosis spittle, he will get the
wasting disease. This is widely understood by the great and educated nations of
the world. This is the difference. The Pakeha wants to eliminate this disease.
They have delegated this to the doctors, the people who have attended the
medical colleges. Meanwhile Maori are asleep in the conviction that they alone
have that disease and they have nothing to do with the doctors. They think that
a Maori atua – god, is the source of the disease. So what do we need to
defeat the Maori atua? By and by I will show you the weapons for the Maori
war party to use against the wasting disease.
An
Inherited Disease
I
am surprised at this Maori idea. It is true. This is an inherited disease. But
our explanation of how the disease is passed on is different. Our elders who
have passed on to the afterlife said that it was witchcraft that caused the
disease to pass on from the parent to the descendant. The name of this
affliction was a patu whakairi [a hanging blow, but cf Williams – mate
whakairi]. Others called it a toto tarewa [a suspended ?toto]. But such are the
explanations given by the ignorant people of the world, white, black, or what
have you – those whose minds have not been educated. When I started at medical
school there was a similar word to this for matters relating to illness which
one didn’t understand. That word was ‘ideopathie.’ As we gained more knowledge
that word gradually disappeared from our writings related to our studies. Now
our explanation of the passing on of the wasting disease or the flying disease
is that it is a communicable disease, a disease passed on by one person to
another. Here is how it is passed on. A man or a woman gets the disease. They
sleep in the guest house. Some stones to serve as a fender for a fire are
brought in.
[849]
A
charcoal fire is brought in. The door and the window are closed to keep out the
cold. It gets warm. The fresh air of the evening is shut out by the people and
is burned up by the fire inside. The air inside the room Then becomes stale. The one with the wasting
disease coughs. He spits under the floor mats or beside the fire. The germs of
the wasting disease are in the cough. When it dries it mixes with the dust, it
floats up and is sucked in by the children who are breathless because of the air in the closed up building.
This occurs every night. The children, or some of them, get the parent’s
wasting disease. It is said that it is witchcraft that causes the children to
get the illness: whereas it is the parent with the wasting disease who passes
it on to his child or children. Be aware of this: it is not being a child that causes
him to get the disease but his contact with his diseased parent. Our fellow
believers have discarded witchcraft; the cause of the illness is ignorance of
the laws of health. The fruit of this ignorance is sleeping in the house with
foul air. The outcome of this is that the wasting disease is passed on to a
person’s descendant or descendants. There are no ghosts in this explanation.
Rather, the ‘great ghosts’ are ignorance and its offspring, filth.
Part
II
A
Notifiable Disease
This
is one of the illnesses which one is required by the Law to tell the Department
of Health about. These illnesses are called ‘notifiable diseases.’
In
1926 the number of people with tuberculosis reported by doctors to the Health
Department was 1,318. In 1925 it was 1,247. The reason why the Department of
Health is notified is because that Department is responsible for everyone’s
health. The Department will send its inspectors to advise those with
tuberculosis so that the disease is confined and not spread to everyone.
In
the ten years from 1911 to 1923, 7,902 people in New Zealand died of various
forms of tuberculosis. From 1917 to 1927, 7,753 were killed by tuberculosis. In
1927, 727 people with the wasting disease were swept to death. Southern Africa
is the place with little tuberculosis. Australia has more. New Zealand has
slightly more. The countries with most deaths from tuberculosis are Germany, Spain,
Ireland, Norway, France, Japan and Finland. In Japan there were 2o deaths from
tuberculosis in every 10,000 people. In New Zealand there were 5 deaths from
tuberculosis in every 10,000 people. It is clear to us that in every country in
the world this disease is laying waste to people. A name given by the world’s
newspapers to tuberculosis is the ‘White Plague,’ that is, the ‘Epidemic of the
White Peoples.’
[850]
AN
EXAMPLE FOR THE MAORI PEOPLE.
R[eweti]
T K[ohere]
Children learn by example. Their examples are their
parents, their ancestors, their siblings, their friends, their teachers, and
people they see and hear. The child is good if the example is good and is bad
if the example is bad. But people go on learning all their lives. And a main
way of learning is from examples. An example for a man is someone wiser and
better than himself. Many people do not go astray, are not mistaken, do not fall,
don’t get into trouble, and if they find people who are wiser than most and
upright, such people are good examples. It is the case though that most people jeer and avoid thinking. If a
tohunga emerges they don’t enquire of the minister; if they become ill they don’t
ask the doctor or nurse or some appropriate person about it; if they are
perplexed at heart they do not consult understanding people, thoughtful people,
wise people.
The Pakeha are an
educated people so Maori look to them as examples. It is the case that an upright Pakeha is an example. Bad
Pakeha can be friendly while upright Pakeha tend to be reserved. Such Pakeha
don’t approve of their fellow Pakeha who latch onto Maori, live in Maori villages, and teach Maori
to use bad language, to curse, to despise worship, and who bring in alcohol and
want to be drinking partners.
Of all the peoples
of the world, I think the best race are the Scots. They provide an example for
a us Maori. I am not saying that the Scotsman has not faults. What people does
not have faults?
The whole world accuses
the Scots of being mean. It is right that this is a characteristic of that
people. But I think this is right for them and not a fault. Their meanness is preserving
treasured possessions, husbanding things, being careful. They are like this
because most of their land is not very productive and making a living is
difficult for them. This is one important reason why the people have developed
a strong instinct to be careful with money and property; and this is a reason
why Maori suffer – the waste of property. Consider how much land has been sold
by Maori. With what fruits? They are negligible. The land remains but the money
received for it has vanished. Many rich Maori have become poor, they have no
land, and in their arrogance they have squandered their money. Were they like the ….
(To be
continued.)
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