[2173]
TE TOA TAKITINI
Registered at the
GPO as a Newspaper.
Number 110
Hastings
1st
November, 1930
THE MOST FAMOUS
BOOK IN THE WORLD – THE HOLY BIBLE
C M Bennett (Te
Aute College)
If we go to most
parts of the world we will see things that we are familiar with in our homes,
but which are not yet know in other parts of the world – the car, the writings
of Shakespeare, electricity and other wonderful Pakeha things which are known
only in some places in the world. But we shall see that there is a book which
has reached places that most people do not get to; we can say that it is
everywhere. The book is the Holy Bible. It has reached places which have not
been reached by roads, or by trains, or by prospectors such as those who go
looking for gold. The Bible has reached all these places, and it can truly be
said that there is no place still unreached by the Bible if you seek it out.
But
this is not to say that the whole world has all of the Bible. We are not saying
that you will find the Bible in Eskimo igloos or in African kraals. No. What we
are saying is that every people throughout the world will be able to read the
Bible in their own language when, without a doubt it will have been translated
into that language; maybe not the whole Bible but part of it such as the New
Testament. This book has been planted in all parts of the world. Altogether one
hundred and eight of the world’s different languages
Published by Rev P Hakiwai and P H Tomoana and printed at
Cliff Press, Queen Street, Hastings, HB.
[2174]
Te Toa Takitini
Registered at the GPO as a
Newspaper.
The price of the Paper is 10/- a
year.
If you are sending money for the
paper, send it to PO Box 227, Napier.
Send articles and letters to Box 300, Hastings.
have complete
Bibles, and another five hundred languages have a part of the Bible. The number
of copies of the Bible or the New Testament distributed each year is more than
fourteen million. We see how right the saying is that each person is
strengthened by reading the Bible in their own language as is the case with us
Maori and our Bible.
What is this
Book?
We call the Bible
a book. The right name for it should be the books, because there are sixty-six
books in the Bible. There are all kinds of wri9tings in the Bible – songs, folk
stories, love songs, proverbial sayings, prophecies, and accounts of what
peoples did in the past – what the Pakeha call ‘histories.’
All these things
can be found in the Bible. But although there are many different writings and
many different books, it contains one main theme – God, and the manifestations
of God. Only one book in the Bible does not mention the name of God, the Book
of Esther. The name of God is not mentioned in this book and I don’t know why
it was given a place in the Bible.
The Jews say that
their faith was established between them and God and their writings are the
seal of what was established. This is why these writings are called ‘covenants’
[testaments]. There are two parts of the Bible. The first part is called the
‘Old Testament’ and the second, the ‘New Testament.’
The Old
Testament.
This part tells
about what was done by Egypt and other nations, particularly the Jews, when
they lived under the laws of Moses. There are thirty books in the Old Testament.
[2175]
There are many
different kinds of writing n this part. First, there are the books of the law. Second,
there are histories of what happened to the nations before the birth of Christ,
Third, there are wise sayings and prophecies. Fourth, there are psalms an
abusive and derisive songs.
The law books are
the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
The books from
Joshua to Esther tell of the nations before the birth of Christ. They are
histories.
Job, Psalms,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah
are all books of [wisdom] and songs, many derisive songs and cursings.
Sixteen books
remain. These are the books of prophesy. The writers of some of these are
known, some have been given pseudonyms, and we do not know the writers of
others. It is said that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament,
but if we look at the last chapters of Deuteronomy we find there an account of
the death of Moses. Was Moses able to foresee his own death? It was also said
that David wroe the Psalms but there is no agreement on this.
The New
Testament.
There are
twenty-seven books in the New Testament. These books are of three kinds. First,
books telling of what happened, i.e. history. These are the four Gospels and
the Acts of the Apostles. Second, the letters. Third, the visionary book by
John called ‘Revelation.’ The Gospels were written after the Ascension. Before
they were written, what God had done was passed on by word of mouth. The
Apostles thought that some of what Christ did might be forgotten so Mark wrote
his Gospel. This ws the first Gospel to be written and John’s was the last,
some one hundred years after the Birth of Christ.
[2176]
The Books of
the Bible Whose Authors are Unknown.
The following are
the books of the Bible whose writers are not known. Some people claim to know
the writers but not everyone agrees. Some writer are simply not known by
anyone. Those about whom there is doubt are marked with a question mark.
The Old
Testament
1
Judges Samuel ?
2
Ruth Unknown
3
1 & 2 Samuel Unknown
4
1 & 2 Kings Unknown
5
1 & 2 Chronicles Ezra ?
6
Esther Unknown
7
Job No conclusive
ideas
8
Ecclesiastes Unknown
9
Nahum Nahum ?
The New
Testament
1
Hebrews No agreement on
this
2 2 Peter No agreement on this
Dates Known by
the Jews
The
Creation of Heaven and Earth 4000
BC
The
Flood 3200
BC
Israel
goes to Egypt 1700
BC
Pharaoh
is enthroned 1095 BC
The
enthronement of David 1055
BC
The
enthronement of Solomon 1015
BC
The
Fall of the Kingdom of Israel 722 BC
These dates may
not be right but this was the belief of the Jews. I don’t think that they are
right because the world’s brains contain much more knowledge now and the earth
is certainly more that four thousand years old – much, much more.
[2177]
THE OPENING OF A
CHURCH
‘We, the people of
this area, invite you to the consecration of this church to the honour and
glory of God, and in memory of our ancestors wh0 kept the faith it will be
called ‘All Saints Church.’
The above words
explain completely why those hapu of Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, and Ngatikahu were
moved to build their church, along with the hapu of Te Patukoraha. People who
came to this hui were very complimentary about how Maori had completed this
building and its furnishings and how everything had been paid for before the
opening. Congratulations, Te Patukoraha, on your beautiful treasure that you
have erected in memory of your ancestors. By it you have kept and extended the
bequest of your ancestors in these days.
On Saturday, 27th
September, the tribes arrived on the marae at Kareponia. Th marae is below on
the plain and the church stands on the hill. Early on the Sunday, at the time
arranged, all the people went up the hill. There were too many people to get
into the church and the Consecration Service took place outside. Afterwards the
communicants went into the church where the Lord’s Supper was celebrated. Canon
Keretene conducted the Consecration Service. The clergy who attended were the
Rev Trill, Pakeha Vicar of Kaitaia, and the Revs H M Paerata, A Paerata, H W
Kaipo, Mutu Kapa, H Parone, H Tarau and W N Panapa. The Lay Representatives
were R P Kingi, Pereiha Tauhara, Pene Ngatote, Eru Ihaka, Henare K Waiaua,
Wairama Maihi, Herepata Rapihana and others. After the Consecration Service
outside, the Ministers, the Lay Representatives, and the communicants entered
the building and took Holy Communion.
At 3 o’clock in
the afternoon all the Ministers and Lay Representatives Gathered in the church
where two people were licensed as Lay Readers for the Oruru district. After
Evening Prayer the people were invited to the meeting of the Standing Committee
that night. The Chairman of the Committee observed that life was being made
easier by the way all Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, and Ngatikahu had set about
cultivating their lands in those days. The Standing Committee met that night.
[2178]
THE REPORT OF THE
MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE THAT MET AT KAREPONIA ON 28TH OCTOBER, 1930
Present:
Rev Canon W H Keretene (Chairman), Rev W N Panapa (Secretary), Rev H Tarau, H K
Waiaua Esq.
Deputising
for th0se who were absent, namely, namely, Rev H Paraone, R P Kingi, Eru Ihaka.
The following were elected for this session: Rev M Kapa. Hoori Herepete, Aporo
Waaka.
The
Minutes were read and
approved.
The Accounts were presented and passed.
A Question. The Rev M Kapa asked, what does the
Committee think of the Combined Services involving the Christian Services that
are held in these districts?
Answer. They are good. The same things are being
done in these days in all areas of life. The nations, the great powers of the
world, as well as the churches, are coming together to test their unity.
Christ’s prayer was, ‘That they may be one as we are one.’ [John 17.22]
The Motions
Passed.
(1)
It was
agreed that the Parish of Oturu pay less into the Fund while they are
contemplating building their own church.
(2)
In
order to encourage the Elders of these tribes when they gather together in
Kaitaia for worship, a memorial is to be placed in the church to commemorate
those buried in the Kaitaia cemetery below the church, and the Committee is
asked: (A) To designate one Sunday every
year, or some time each year, for a service for these tribes – Te Rarawa, Te
Aupouri, and Ngatikahu – in Kaitaia Church. (B) To designate the First Sunday
in Advent, 30th November, as the first of these services. (C) To
aske the local people to arrange a time during the year for tidying the
cemetery.
(3)
The
tribes of Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri and Ngatikahu ask that Reweti Pomare Kingi be
re-instated as Lay Reader for the Paihia District;
(4)
The
Standing Committee was asked to agree to a Minister being sent as Chaplain to
the Young Farmers’ Group when they visit the Tai Rawhiti.
[2179]
(5)
These
tribes request that Hoera Kanara be re-instated as Lay Reader in the Parenga
District.
(6)
(A)
That the business year for the Committee
be from 1st January to 31st December. (B) Since
there is only one more meeting of the Committee this year, the Committee is to
give each member one half of the Stipend Fund of his district that the
Committee holds.at
(7)
That
the Committee considers the needs of the Kareponia church and that the money
required be paid out of the emergency fund.
(8)
That
the Committee makes a contribution to the marae.
(9)
That
the Committee thanks the local people for the help they have given the
Committee and for their hospitality to all who attended this hui.
A
Notification to the Districts
(1)
The
amounts paid to the Ministers. i.e. half of the Districts’ Stipend controlled
by the Committee, were: Canon Keretene
£3/15, Rev Kaipo £3/15, Rev
Paerata £4, Rev Kapa £4/10, Rev H Paraone £6/18, Rev Poata £3/4, Rev Te Hau £3/15, Rev Panapa £6/5, Rev Harawira £3/15, Rev Taurau £3/15, Rev Karaka £3/5, Rev W Matene £3/15.
(2)
The
Districts are reminded that the Committee sits in December, the last meeting
for the year. Therefore, collect together your Fund money, your proportion as
agreed of the amount of this year’s contribution to the Ministers’ Stipend
Fund.
(3)
The Districts and/or the people who have not
yet sent their contributions to the Maori Bishop’s Stipend Fund are requested
to think about it urgently.
MAORI LANDS
When Sir Apirana
Ngata was addressing the Amendments to the Land Act and Maori Claims in the
House ‘Washing Up’ Bill he said, ‘The settlement of the claims of Maori people
to their portions of land is progressing well. In some places the titoes have
been completely agreed as hoped for by the Pakeha. The actions of the President
of the Court have been challenged by the Government with respect to the
consolidation shares between the hapu. The object of this consolidation of
titles is to enable Maori to work their own land and to do what they wish with
it.
We have agreed
that land that is no use to Maori should be burnt over. Places not bought by
the Crown may be given to others.
[2180]
Some areas of
Taupo with a Government valuation of 4/6d have been sold to the Tree Planting
Company for 30/- an acre. This is not a breaking of the laws of the House
because it benefits the owners of the lands.’
Tau Henare said, ‘The
Maori Minister knows the needs of the Maori People very well, therefore, I ask
the House to support the Minister in every way in his efforts to help the
people. It is right that he should help the people while some land remains to
them. With Government financial help and perseverance, in time Maori will stand
with their Pakeha friends in working together for the country.
Tuiti Makitanara
said that he saluted the Maori Minister for the strength with which he gave
voice to words of encouragement for the years to come. He hoped that the
Consolidation laws would result in Ngai Tahu benefitting from their ancestral
lands which remain scattered.
Mr Coates said
that he was uneasy about the money being used to improve Maori lands lest Maori
not get a return. There were still many Maori in two minds about getting work
out of fear that they will not get recompense from the Government. Therefore he
asked the Maori Minister not to urge Maori to prematurely ask for payment from
the Government. Wait until the Maori has clearly shown his commitment to his
work. The Government is dedicated to the Maori. He is asking the Maori Minister
to set up a Commission to look into Maori problems. It is also appropriate that
he congratulates the Maori Minister for his strenuous work for this people.
Sir Apirana Ngata said
that it is right to be cautious about the amounts used on Maori lest they
become a heavy burden for Maori. He supported what Mr Coates said and he would
push the Government to set up a Commission to investigate the difficulties faced
by the Maori People.
Mr Coates said
that one of his great hopes is that there will be no hurry to levy rates on the
lands being worked by Maori. The burden should be eased until we have begun to
see profits being made by the land-owners, then they can pay rates. He hopes
that the various Local Bodies – County Councils, Hospital Boards, River Boards
and others – will consider this.
Sir
Apirana Ngata said that the Local Bodies know that the following types of land
do not have to pay rates.
(1)
Swamps
and mountain tops.
(2)
Communal
Maori land and burial grounds.
(3)
Land
worked for less than one third of the rating year.
(4)
Areas that cannot be worked and land that will
not yield a profit or anything to justify it being rated.
[2181]
LETTERS RECEIVED
To Te Toa.
Kia
ora. I strongly support R[eweti] T K[ohere]’s four responses to Ratana in the
August Te Toa.
1
RTK
says that the Treaty of Waitangi is still alive. Thank you for this.
2
RTK
says that the Maori People will survive by farming. Thank you for this too.
3
RTK
says that Ratana’s activities are designed to make him King. Thank you very
much for this.
4
RTK
says that the people’s money is used up by their annual visits to Ratana Pa,
and the money the people collect finances Ratana’s world trips.
Thank you, my friend RTK. I support all four
of these contentions. You are so right. This is the subject I raised outside
our Association. If you want to question me about it I will explain everything.
Remnant, swim for the shore! Best wishes
to the Maori People.
Reweti P Kingi
To Te Toa.
Greetings.
I have heard from
some of Ratana’s Apostles that Ratana is loyal to the current Government. Now
‘Te Whetu Marama’ has set out Ratana’s programme to entice people to vote for
his son whose platform includes (1) Rewriting the Treaty of Waitangi and (2)
Maori Self-government, etc. My lads, these alone are sufficient to bring them
into conflict with the Government. Where is the loyalty that I heard about?
Presently, perhaps, people will be offered some bait to get them to help that
candidate.
Although the
election has taken place and Te Tomo is now Member, a stron wind has been
stirred up by the above matters in our part of the world. I study it and
question it.
H P Pukeroa, Hangatiki.
NGATI-POROU
Part VI
R[eweti] T
K[ohere]
Ngati-Porou had
another industry, another way of making a living, before the Hauhau Incursion
in 1865: it was whaling.
Whaling
This was a major
occupation in those days, a job that provided people with money. Maori saw the
Pakeha whaling ships and it is said the Pekama Waikare and Tahanga from
Ngati-Porou went on boar the whaling ships. Pekama eventually got to England.
He was the first person from Ngati-Porou to visit England. Wwe don’t know what
happened to Tahanga. There is a story that he died on Te Wai Pounamu.
[2182]
The places where
whales were found were Te Mahia and Waikokopu, but the main Ngati-Porou rivers were
the ‘wharves’ from which many whales were killed. That of Te Whanau-a-rua at
Tokomaru was Te Mawhai. This river was where Henare Potae and his older brother
Arapeta operated. To the north of Te
Mawhai, close to Tuparoa, is Kaimoho and the leading man on this river was Mita
Te Hape. At the heart of Ngati-Porou is its river, Tuhimata, close to Te
Awanui. Karaitiana Pakura was the leading man on this river. Te Wharariki is
the river of Te Whanau-a-Tuwhaka-iri-ora. This was a large village in those
days. At the mouth of the River Awatere is Waipao. Piri Karokaro, a Pakeha, was
the leading man working from this river. The half-caste offspring of this
Pakeha were all great seafarers. At Tikirau was the Te Whaiti River.
The boat belonging
to Naera Tikimapu and his Pakeha friends sailed from Te Whaiti with Naera in
the prow of the boat. When it latched on to a whale it was hauled far away and
disappeared. The following boats could not find it. The boat was pounded by the
whale’s tail and split from the prow to the stern. Everyone presihed except Te
Naera who managed to swim to shore. When he arrived on land he crept into a
cave and lay down. When he was at last found he was close to death; he was
found lying in the sea.
Many Ngati-Porou
words are English words that come from whaling and some mistakenly think that
they are Maori words. Some examples are: kuuru (school, crew), matere
(masthead), weku (wake), pauta (spout), e hi pauta (there he spouts), raati
(lance), puruki (fluke), taraipaata (tripod/trying pot), kauna kawhe (cow and
calf), hira (hill), raina (line), paahi (fast), waapu (wharf), weera (whale).
There are more but these will do for now.
In my days, when I
was a child, Ngati-Porou was still killing whales but not in the numbers that
were caught formerly. For one thing, there were fewer whales, and the price
received for the oil had dropped. When I got into a whaling boat my seat was
called an [? awheroa].
The whalers had
their own language, a remarkable language, a hilarious language. The captain’s
language was the most extraordinary, especially when he was encouraging his
crew when they were chasing the whale or climbing into the boat.
But enough about
this Ngati-Porou activity! We turn now to the work that has made Ngati-Porou
famous – sheep farming.
(Part VII, the
article about Ngati-Porou and sheep farming has to be delayed until I am free
to gather further information and set it all down. Let us all take a break!
Don’t be anxious – there will be other articles. Kia ora! RTK)
[2183]
REWETI PITA KINGI,
SWIM FOR THE SHORE
A response to the
article by Reweti Pita Kingi of Otiria, Ngapuhi, which appeared in Te Toa
Takitini, 1st August, 1930.
Here I am answering
the words of Reweti Pita Kingi of Otiria, Ngapuhi, which appeared in Te Toa
Takitini, 1st August, 1930.
Reweti
Pita Kingi, I say to you, swim quickly to shore.
1.
You say that I am rejecting the Bible.
2.
You say that I am practising as a
tohunga.
3.
You say that my aim is to get money and
that I am deceitful.
4.
You say that I have spent £40,000.
5.
You say that I own the Association’s
land.
6.
You say that I own Ratana Pa.
These are the
important ‘foods’ in your article. And so, I say to y0u, my friend Pita, swim
quickly to shore because of what you have written. Yes. And be aware that there
are laws in this country dealing with slander.
If you do not swim
to shore you will be arrested by the Policeman, and the Policeman will send you
to the Judge, who will hand you over to the Constable, who will consign you to
the deep waters of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa [the Pacific] until you have paid the
uttermost farthing. Then you will be allowed to swim to the shore. You call
upon the Remnant to swim to land. That cannot happen, Pita Kingi, because the
Remnant are not in the water. It is you, Reweti Pita Kingi, who are in the
water and it is you who must swim to shore.
You people who ar
reading this newspaper, I agree with Reweti Pita Kingi when he says that he was
an Apostle in the Ratana Church.
Yes, people, he
was registered as a Permanent Apostle in this Church, and, furthermore, he
preached this ‘Enlightenment’ for three years. And, furthermore, so powerful
was this man’s preaching that it was as if Christ was speaking through him. He
set about preaching and criticising the Church of England which he had forsaken.
He went about preaching among Ngati Kahungunu. You know, people, that he was an
excellent preacher.
‘Tokerau. During
his contention I became aware that he was not taking seriously his calling to
be an Apostle but wanted to become a Member of Parliament, so
[2184]
I said to Reweti
Pita Kingi, ‘Friend you already have an important calling,’ but he did not
listen.
When the time came
for the nomination of a man to stand for the Tai Tokerau in the election I put
forward Paraire Paikea. Pita Kingi was angry with me. This was Pita Kingi
climbing to the top of the kauri and falling and almost being killed. This was
when Reweti Pita Kingi really left: he tumbled into the mud he had abandoned
before he entered into this ‘Enlightenment.’
And so, I say to
you Reweti Pita Kingi, swim for the sh0re lest you are lost in the mud and the
salt water.
Therefore, swim to
land, and if you reach the shore you may be chosen by all Ngapuhi to stand in
the 1931 election, and then you will get the Government money that you long
for.
Therefore, tribes
of this country, make every effort to distinguish between what is true and what
is false and stupid and foolish like the foolish words of Reweti Pita Kingi.
T W Ratana, Ratana Pa.
THE WISE MEN OF
THE DEEP
‘There go the
ships; there is that Leviathan whom thou hast made to play therein.’ Psalm 104.26 AV.
When I was a child
a major occupation on Te Tai Rawhiti was whaling, catching pakake [Balaenoptera
rostrata] and tohora [Balaena australis – southern right whale], and
there were many whales in those days. In winter the whales went north and in
summer they went south. In these days one does not see whales and one wonders
why they have disappeared. Perhaps they are very few in number, or is there no
food for them in the warm sea so that they go to the cold seas in the far south
which is the whale’s forest where there is much food?
The freezing
southern seas have been empty for many years but in these days there are very
many whaling ships there. Last summer there were four vessels of 17,000 tons
there and the whaling companies are getting large ships. Altogether there are
8000 Pakeha chasing whales in the icy southern seas. The men who made known the
abundance of whales in those seas were Captain Scott and Shackleton, both of
whom sought to get to the South Pole and both died in the Antarctic.
The main people
who are destroying the whales are the Norwegians. They have twenty-three large
ships and one hundred and twenty small boats.
[2185]
There are twenty
small boats to one large one. The small
boats approach the whale and shoot it with a harpoon gun. When the whale is
dead it is filled with air so that it does not sink. It is left floating while
the boat goes in search of more whales. If there are no more then they return
to collect the dead ones. A flag stuck in them helps them to find them.
Sometimes one ship can kill ten whales in one day. After the killing they are
towed to the large mother-ship. When the dead whales reach the mother-ship they
are hauled on board through an opening in the stern. Once on the deck they are
cut up. The blubber is melted down for oil; the bones and the other parts
become [?waiakau]. Twenty whales may be cut up and boiled in a single
day.
THE WORDS USED
ABOUT THE TREATY OF WAITANGI
There are problems
about speaking about people who have died especially if what is said is not complimentary
and if those people are highly regarded by others. Therefore I am uneasy writing
this article lest I be attacked by the Maori People for demolishing their idol
– an idol we share. But I think that that idol has feet of clay like most of
our human idols. Because of the number and the strength of the words of praise,
I questioned myself. ‘Hey! Are you right
to be upset in this way?’
In support of
their Petition to revise the Treaty of Waitangi, the Ratana people have been
saying, ‘People who know say that the Treaty of Waitangi is dead and rotting.’
But they do not know who those informed people are and they don’t give their
names. The Ratana people were right to say that I had named someone. In Te
Pipiwharauroa, Number 90, page 11, for September, 1905, one finds these words:
‘Timi Kara said that Fitzroy’s interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi was
wrong. It was wrong to open up the sale of land to ordinary Pakeha. It was
wrong for the Maori People to be fighting the Government. And there were faults
in the laws made by Parliament of which some Members are Maori.
When Timi Kara
spoke these words he had presented his Bill for the Settlement of Maori Lands,
known at the time as the ‘Plunder Bill.’ The Maori People and Pakeha friends of
the Maori were stirred up by that Bill and the severity of some of its clauses.
That Bill gave the Government the right to buy or lease Maori land even though the Maori did not consent. This
was Timi Kara’s Bill, that of the Seddon Government. It was criticised by the
Opposition, by Massey, by Herries, and by Tianene [?Jennings]. They said
that it transgressed the Treaty of Waitangi. Subsequently, perhaps because of
the strong opposition, Timi Kara thought again.
[2186]
He embraced the
Treaty which he had said was dead. The Plunder Bill came about at the urging of
the Pakeha who wanted to settle on Maori land, and both Seddon and Timi Kara
were afraid that their Government would fall, and the concern of such Members
of Parliament was to win the election, right or wrong. At that time Timi Kara
was Member for a Pakeha electorate. The ‘Plunder Bill’ proposed by Seddon and
Timi Kara was closely scrutinised by the British Parliament; Te Arawa Lakes, Land
Confiscations, and other matters which Timi Kara had not taken in hand during the
many years of his Government. Mr Coates ended the sale of land on the Tai
Rawhiti. Therefore, people, honour our men appropriately. Give honour to the
right person. Give honour where it is deserved. We should not overlook failings
and deny honour to someone wh0 deserves it and give it instead to someone who
doesn’t.
What we say today
will be discussed by many generations to come; do not cause them to go astray
or mislead them by saying what is wrong. Some people say that Maori survived
because of Timi’s policy of ‘taihoa’ – ‘by and by.’ They have indeed benefited.
I say that this came about through Mr Coates’ Government. Who brought this
about? To say that it came about through his [Timi Kara’s] Government is wrong.
Apirana Ngata listed in Te Toa Takitini the important works done by Mr Coates,
and Apirana belongs to a different Party from Timi Kara.
Here is what Ihaia
Hutana wrote in last April’s Te Toa Takitini: ‘We are right to say that this
man is the World’s prophet….. We and our tribes say that had this man not been
born the Treaty of Waitangi would have rotted away.’
It was Timi Kara
who said in Parliament in 1905 that the Treaty of Waitangi was breached when
Maori fought the Government. How could Maori have been loyal?
It is true that
Timi Kara was a great man, but I cannot call him the ‘World’s prophet’ if he
said that the Treaty of Waitangi had rotted away. It the Treaty was rotting
then it was Mr Coates who brought medicine and made it sweet again. The Treaty
is alive whatever Timi Kara may have said. My Ratana friends don’t need to
worry about the Treaty; the Treaty is fine.
Editors, please
publish this article. Don’t be scared that I may be attacked by the Maori
People. You two will survive to carry articles if
[2187]
I am attacked for saying
that our idol had feet of clay,
That idol says, ‘Tatou,
tatou’ [We belong together].
R[eweti T K[ohere]
RAURETI TANIRA
MOKONUIARANGI
I want you yo know
that Raureti Tanira Mokonuiarangi has died, leaving behind his many hapu in the
Te Arawa area.
I salute the
remnant of Te Awateatua for their thoughtfulness in coming to share their love
and the pain they endured at the loss of their chief, and for the satisfaction
given by their decision that Raureti be buried in Rotorua.
It is right that I
express my great gratitude for this. First, the Pakeha built their large ships crewed
by seamen, officers and a captain. While the ship was at sea, if a sailor died,
he was committed to the sea. Then, if an officer died, when the ship reached land
that officer was buried there. The ship sailed on. But when the captain died he
would be taken to England to be buried there.
This situation was
comparable. Raureti has died. The hapu gathered to lament and to decide on the
burial of their chief in Rotorua. The Captain of the ship of Rangitihi,
Raureti, has died and he would be buried there.
Our ancestors
would give instructions at their departure that they be placed with the friends
of their childhood and among their parents’ hapu. But those instructions were
given when they were slipping away.
I
would also point out that the one name covers Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Likewise, in the days of our forebears, the final instructions encompassed both
as in ‘A mountain, a man! A mountain, a man! As in the following sayings:
‘Ruawahia is the mountain;
Mokonuiarangi is the man.’
‘Putauaki is the mountain;
Ramgitukehu is the man.’
‘Whakapukorero is the mountain; Rerehu
is the man.’
So the
Mokonuiarangi men before Raureti lie at Te Awateatua, but their stature was nowhere
near that of Raureti for prestige, for learning, for nobility, and for h0ow he
stood on the country’s many marae and participated in many Government projects.
Therefore, we will
not cease to lament and be sad at his departure.
Farewell, Koro
[Sir]! You will not be forgotten!
[2188]
RANGI TAHURI KAA
To the Editors.
Greetings to you
both.
Please publish
this article about the death of Rangi Tahuri Kaa on 22nd August.
Although she was only thirty-two when she died, this lady was known for her
good works and her good nature. So there has grief and distress and expressions
of regret on the part of her people for the deprivation of a life at her
premature death. Were she still alive, who knows what she would have achieved?
She supported her people in all they did – in their difficulties and in their
faith. Although Tutua marae was her home she was active on all the marae.
Through her efforts Tutua meeting-house was decorated and she was making plans
for the enlargement of the building when she died. When her husband, Te Rauna
Kaa, was made Lay-reader for the Parish of Te Kawakawa (Te Araroa) she was a
great help to him and accompanied him to the services. She was not anxious and
she did not bore people. She was brought up by her parents and grandparents.
Rangi-tahuri was
loved by her husband, her children, her parents and her people. Although she
did so much she did not neglect her children. Her mother partnered her at
sport. She was compassionate towards people’s weaknesses. If she was criticised
or someone was angry with her she would say, ‘Ma ana hoki,’ [?’I could
be wrong’]. For this and for her laughter there was no-one like Rangi-tahuri;
her laugh could be heard above that of all the others. Now we have lost
Rangi-tahuri, her voice and her laughter; she is lost to her marae and to her
home.
The mature
thinking of this young person led her to begin to learn her own genealogy. It
was right that she did so because she was descended from the chiefs of
Ngati-Porou. She was in the senior line of the grandchildren of Te Houkamauj.
Her parents and
elders grieve for their flower who has been plucked by Death. An irretrievable
treasure! But although she lived only
for a few years she has left a wonderful example.
Farewell,
farewell, Rangi.
I
search in vain.
Where
have you gone?
You
are in the thatch of the meeting-house.
Wait,
come back!
The
sun is blotted out.
We
were to be married.
I
can no longer see clearly Te Awhenga
Because
of my
Falling
tears.
[I
have not found the source of this waiata. – Barry Olsen]
Our distress is
great and felt by the tribe.
Sound,
sound the clarion, fill the fife!
To all the sensual world proclaim,
One
crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth and age without a name.
[The Bee – Thomas Osbert
Mordaunt, 173o-1809]
R[eweti] T
K[ohere]
[2189]
OUR ‘TOA TAKITINI’
[MANY WARRIORS]
We have come to
the time when we look back over the past year and gather our thoughts about the
work we have done, the precious things we have cared for and blessed and
supported, and y/our achievements.
There will be
outcomes of things you have done or facilitated and your heart may experience
regret at the things that went wrong or that turned out differently, or
pleasure at the many good outcomes and blessings, or at hearing or seeing what
others are thinking and doingf.
At that time you
may realise that you have failed to spread the enlightenment that your paper.
Te Toa Takitini, provided. You haven’t grasped it! It is very important that
knowledge is shared and that people are aware of your ‘Toa Takitini.’ The more
people who know about the paper and the more of your friends who understand it,
the more people will take it. The more people who subscribe to the paper the
stronger it will become, and the stronger it is the better it will fly, and it
will spread the news of the country in the Maori People’s own language and
share their heartfelt thoughts.
We also want to
share the stories of your ancestors who have gathered in the after-life. Therefore we want your help to recruit
subscribers to our paper.
You should know
that the Williams Tribe have been great benefactors of our paper. They have set
aside £200 from one of their funds for ‘Te Toa.’ You should also knows that up
to this time this paper has only published articles; it has not published notices
and advertisements like Pakeha papers. It is notices and advertisements that
sustain Pakeha papers.
[2190]
Therefore the
managers of the paper thought it good to allow such things, provided they do
not conflict with the paper’s standards, if it cannot be sustained just by the
subscriptions alone. Friends, this paper of ours has been largely devoted to
articles about our Church. You have thought that only articles about the
Missionary Church [Church of England] should be published. But, for a long time
now, you will have seen that this paper of ours has spread inf0rmation for the
Maori Pe0ple and, therefore, we have received a request that this paper that we
and our leaders produce should provide you with information about material and
spiritual things, about the environment, about the animal world, about history,
about Parliamentary debates, about contemporary issues, about the Polynesian
Islands, about the leading nations and the great peoples of the world, so that
all are brought together in your ‘Toa Takitini.’ In this way we will fulfil the
name by making available the learning, the language, the strengths and the
character of each person in their work, their utterances, and their stature. We will
bring together their thoughts and their works to reveal to the world every
aspect of ‘the warrior’ – above, between, below and under. But the main concern
is to continue to publish articles in our paper about us, the Maori People, to
gather together the wonderful stories of our ancestors, their sayings, and the
beautiful proverbs that are being lost. These are days when families, hapu, and
tribes come together for various purposes. Friends, why shouldn’t you set up a
group in a village or at a residential hui where there could be discussions of
matters relating to the sayings of our ancestors? It would be good, too, if the
ministers of the Churches could promote such usage of the language in sermons,
perhaps by including two or three proverbs. Preaching is a fine place for this.
A Pakeha minister said: ‘People disappear but the land remains. [Whakangarongaro
he tangata, toitu he whenua. Cf Nga Pepeha 2537] But in these days
of faith it is right to say, People disappear, but the Faith remains.’ That’s
good! There are many similar things that will stimulate many speakers and activists to be involved and
which our paper will spread to each marae, no matter which Church it is.
Articles explaining the Churches, or words of disagreement, will all be
published but we are careful lest people get angry with us and abandon us. Therefore we may delay printing some things while
we seek clarification or correction form the ‘Many Warriors’ from this
mountain, or that valley, or that bay, that plain, the river, or that sea.
[2191]
This
also is the source of the name of your paper. Tuhotoariki was cdhallenged by a
warrior to engage with him in single combat. Knowing the man who was
challenging him to be a great warrior, he called out,
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi,
engari he toa takitini taku toa.
My strength is not that of a single
warrior but that of many.
[cf
Nga Pepeha 93]
Tuhotoariki went
and assembled his warriors and they went and defeated his challenger. Likewise,
with regard to our paper, it will not survive if there is only one warrior to
bless it, to support it, and to feed it ten shillings a year. The two of us are
here waiting for the proffered weapon of each warrior. Give some thought to the
people whose faith and hope and love you will foster. Think about them and
about the foundations of the faith and the love experienced by the ancestors in
the days of darkness when they were fortunate to welcome the fathers, the
ancestors of the ‘Williams Tribe.’ They spread the Faith widely and supported it
right up to the time when Herbert Williams took on the role of Bishop of Waiapu
from his father and grandfather. Then their ‘grandson,’ their ‘youngest brother’
was born and was taken under the shelter of their wing, becoming the Bishop of
Aotearoa. And we thought, ‘It is right that all our warriors are united at this
time.’ But it is difficult to achieve unity swiftly or hastily – better that we
grasp it gently, that we look into it carefully, that we are carefully moulded
together. Although there are divisions and splits, take heart. Be respectful to
each other that the Good Spirit will reveal the weaknesses of the spirit of
antagonism, the divisive spirit. Only then will we soon see the defeat of the
war-party of Division by the war-party of Right.
[2192]
But the thinking
of our many, many warriors throughout the country is that if you truly love us
you will send us your ideas, even if you cannot write in Maori. Send them in
your own language as you normally write articles. We have our spectacles, our
ears, and our translators. The two of us, your servants, are here waiting,
especially if the paper is short of articles. But it would be very good if you
could tell us of the spreading of the Gospel on your marae in past times and
right up to the present, and by doing so you will please us. It will be a gift
to the ‘Williams Tribe’ if Te Toa Takitini become a marae for heaping up the
fruit of the Faith which was planted by their ancestors among the Maori People
in past times. Ministers, you are the close descendants of the ‘Williams Tribe’
and this Great Fund of Love! You can truly be called ‘the Many Warriors.’ You
belong with Tuhotoariki and the ‘Williams Tribe.’
THE DEATH OF LADY
CARROLL [HEENI MATEROA]
Lady Carroll died
on Saturday, 1st November. There was just a brief answer to the
heartfelt question asked by the family, the descendants and friends on the
country’s many marae, ‘What is significant about the death of a Materoa?’ But
the title ‘Honourable’ made very clear to the remnant of the country that this
was Lady Carroll. Nor was it openly referred to as a tragedy - it was not, or
as a death – it was not like that. Rather she passed into the hands of the aged
women.
Heeni
Materoa has departed – the young woman seen as very special by her parents, her
tribe, and by the whole country. She began her journey beyond the undulating
country of Turanga-makau-rau. Her nobility was seen in her distinction, her
speech, and her activities among the young people. She was greatly admired by
all the elders. That special character, that of Te Materoa, was honoured. And
she was pursued!
When
she became a woman her name was on the lips of the whole country, ‘Ah, Materoa!’
And she would blush. [Tu-a-mokopuna ana tera kohine. ? In this the girl
was like a grandchild.]
As an adult this elder assumed her chiefly
role, [?kuru-tona-rerewa]. In this role she studied the contents of oratory,
the deep pools of genealogy, and the waiata of her ancestors, the lineage that
linked her to many of the country’s marae, in ordee to grasp the thinking of their
people. She visited many marae, especially from the time Timi became a Member
of ParlHeeni Materiament. The two of them travelled widely, within the country
and to other parts of the world. For Sir James and Lady Carroll their place was
on the Lofty Mountains and the Gleaming Pools of Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu. In
her the proverb of her ancestors was fulfilled:
Wania
nga waewae o to tamahine kia pai ai te haere i roto i nga parae o Makauri.
Massage
your daughter’s legs so that she will look good on the fields of Makauri.
[cf
Nga Pepeha 1334]
Now,
today she has left us. She has gone to her parents, to her brothers, and there
is no wise person left to whom we can say, ‘Ah, here is the lineage which we
could not work out. And we cannot now get Heeni Materoa, Riparata, Te Huinga,
or Lady Carroll to complete it.’ She would have explained this because of her
participation in the groups that met in the houses set apart for instruction in
sacred lore – the Whare Maire, the Whare Wananga and the Whare-kura.
It
is the fall of a Totara, decorated with scroll patterns. Mind and heart are
crushed, because the forest which sheltered us Maori People is diminished. The
Mother of the country is gone, the hidden pearl of the generous heart, the
mother of the widow and orphan. Go to your brothers, to your parents, to your
ancestors, to the great gathering. Go to the home prepared for all of us.
Farwell! Farewell! Farewell!
