[25]
TE
TOA TAKITINI
Ehara
taku toa i te toa kotahi engari he toa takitini taku toa.
-
Tuhoto
Ariki
My
strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many.
Registered
at the GPO as a Newspaper.
Number
3
Hastings
1st
September, 1931
DEATH, WHERE IS
YOUR STING? [1 Corinthians 15.56]
[Canon] C
Mortimer-Jones
Death, passing on,
we see as a birth into a better kind of life in which some roads are opened up
to [nga mana nunui - great powers].
Look at the eyes
of the child in the womb which will eventually be exposed to the light of the
sun shining over the earth. It is the same with the eyes in the darkness of
death which cannot see the sea or the land.
This is just one
part of the life which God has prepared for us. It is a beginning, according to
Scripture, a birth into the wonderful things heaped up for us in the future,
when we will reach maturity in Christ.
We wonder at the
things of this world. Look at the caterpillar [anuhe, mokamoka].
Eventually it will have wings and be beautiful. A seed may be very small but in
time it wewill become a totara or a kauri. But these very small things show us
the greatness of God’s power. And so we believe of the spirit within the human
body.
Death is the door
to that life which people of faith long for. Christ said to the thief who
trusted him: ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise.’ [Luke 23.43] In the Hebrew
language Paradise is the good place where people live after they die. Christ
also said that he was going to prepare a home for us in the house of his
Father. [Joh 14.2]
Christians need not be anxious for those they
have loved, of whom they thought highly, people who trusted iin our Lord Jesus
Christ, because we are close to him whatever the terrible state of the world.
The sting of death is unconfessed sin (great sin) but
Published by the Rev P Hakiwai and P H Tomoana and printed by
Lovell & Painter, Queen Street, Hastings, HB.
[12]
we give thanks
that we have been given the Victory because in Christ Jesus the sharp sting of
death has been taken away, the ransom for our sin has been paid by his death on
the Cross. It is a wonderful thing that we know in our hearts that we live and
are loved ‘in the hands of Jesus.’ We will not be overtaken by disaster. We
will not be overcome by sin or by suffering. We have crossed from death to
life. [1 John 3.14]
‘Almighty
God, the souls of those who have departed from here in the Lord are with y0u. The souls of believers live joyfully
with you, freed from the burdens of the body. We praise you that you have taken
our friend from the evils of this wicked world, and we pray that you will soon
complete the company of those you have chosen, and that your kingdom will soon
come, and that we and all who have put their trust in your holy Name may know
joy of body and soul in your eternal glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[The above is my translation
of the Maori version of the following prayer from the Burial Service in the
Book of Common Prayer. – Barry Olsen]
Almighty God, with
whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and with whom
the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the
flesh, are in joy and felicity : We give thee hearty thanks for that it hath
pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful
world; beseeching thee, that it may please thee, of thy gracious goodness,
shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom;
that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of thy holy name, may
have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal
and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
OUR PAPER
Greetings to you
who support our paper. We have appreciated your kindness, especially at the
time our paper was brought to a standstill by the earthquake and the
destruction of the Diocesan Office in Napier. Since then our paper has been
very weak.
Now we are working
at this great treasure. So far we don’t know what the [Diocesan] Office’s views
are or those of other supporters of your treasure.
These
are the comments that have reached us:
‘There are more and more articles
about things outside the faith.’
‘No-one is writing articles about
good things.’
‘Money from the
Williams Memorial Trust Fund (said to be £150) has been withheld because
political articles have been included.’
Because of such
things, one of the contributors has been reluctant to write for us. He was not
taught to write articles about the Church and its teachings but he holds to and
is committed to the faith. This is the only marae on which people’s hearts are
stirred up to support this treasure. But because of this agitation relating to
the treasure we have reduced the size of the paper to 12 pages. Perhaps you are
content with this and we can stay with this arrangement. We are very disheartened
because the ideas we have require far more pages; the thoughts of our
contributors need more; and it would not be right to abridge their extensive
and excellent articles for the people at large. Therefore, we are printing
these things.
The cost of
printing your treasure is now smaller – six shillings a page. This price has
never been so low before. The writers were reminded by the Office before the
earthquake that the Office had been owed money for twelve months. Before the
earthquake there had been no reminder from there or elsewhere.
Now, the man who
is most assiduous in sending in articles and also in giving advice is R[eweti]
T K[ohere] alone. We have not received letters and articles from the ministers
even though Te Toa Takitini is sent to them free of charge.
This is a treasure
that should receive strong support from the Church. While it is true that these
are difficult times it falls to you to address the new burdens of the New Year.
So, that is why we
have said these things. If this situation continues there will be no help
coming for our treasure. This would be a very heavy problem.
People, bless this
treasure. Strengthen it and make its life easier. If you can remember us who
work on ur treasure, thank you ladies and gentlemen. You will strengthen the
paper which is known throughout the Maori world, Te Toa Takitini, produced by
the Missionary Church and all its elders.
[27]
HELP AFTER THE
EARTHQUAKE
After the
affliction the country showed us their love; there was an abundance of food and
clothing and expressions of sympathy. People had everything. Everyone had
sufficient butter, jam, meat, and other things in those days, indeed more than
before the earthquake. That was good. People had what was needed to sustain
body and soul. But the body’s revulsion at what we had experienced will not be
quickly forgotten. Added to this are the widespread reminders of the
destruction of our towns and the battering of our homes. But, with the passing
of time, love will grow cold and we will depend on the Government’s sympathy
and law-making.
After the
earthquake the Government Ministers came to see our plight. At this point the
Government decided to provide money to help with our troubles. The Government
also called for donation. The Government contributions and these donations
amount to the millionsw we have heard of and which are being spent now.
The Maori Minister
asked the Maori of Heretaunga and Te Wairoa to manage the reconstruction
amongst Maori. Maori were to do Maori crafts and were to receive payment
quickly. Given the limited damage to Te Aute College the work there was to be
done first. There was no shortage of volunteers and the work was completed
within two months. Work on the Mormon College and Hukarere School has not been
taken in hand. It will take thousands of pounds to restore these.
[28]
Here, the
repairing of Maori homes has begun. Since March, 500 of 0ur houses have been [?takioti
- ?repaired]. Perhaps no more than 50 are still to be done before the work
is completed. Of all the help we have had, perhaps most from our young people
who have learned to wield hammers, lay bricks, and stick together stones. A
Pakeha was delegated to advise on all aspects of rebuilding the houses. That
Pakeha has said that he will get those young people jobs when a start is mad on
rebuilding the towns. This says a lot. It shows how quickly Maori can pick up
skills.
One was of helping
which the Maori Minister has proposed is his scheme for extending farming to
other parts of the country. This is something new to us. Perhaps this is
because people do not have large shares in land and so we are late in learning
of this scheme. Another thing was the new law relating to Merchandising. One
puts down money and therewith purchases something. But if a Maori has no money
the small jobs he does just give him a living. The Maori Minister is proposing
to make £2000 available to us to help. If we get that we will be alright. The
proposal is going through now. The uses to which the money may be put are
buying milking cows, buying appropriate seeds, improving fences, buying manure,
and improving cultivations. Wha stage is this at? We are not yet able to thank
the Minister for the help he is giving to Ngati Kahungunu.
Since the
earthquake the Maori Minister has fed us with flour, sugar, tea and potatoes.
This has cost £250 a month. At the end of September this help will stop. We
want this help to continue. It is not going to happen unless we we wrongly
think that it will always be there to feed us, and we do not shake ourselves
into going to the cooking shed. [?ka kore e kereu ake ki te kuhu]
WEEP, PEOPLE, OVER
OUR LOSSES.
One
can rightly say that people have gone reluctantly to the life to come, and
especially here in Heretaunga. Our hearts are disquieted at the loss of our
friends who have taken the road to the after-life. Perhaps the waiata is right:
‘But the race of men is departing
And gathering in the after-life.’
Aorangi, the wife
of W H Nikera, has died. She die suddenly at Pakipaki on 25th July.
There was a huge funeral for this woman. She left five small children and their
father.
[29]
Death is death,
but when the heart of a sick person is content it can be said that they live
and the hearts of the living can be at peace.
This is how it is
with the deaths here in Heretaunga. On the second day, Ruiha, the wife of the
Rev Hakiwai died in Royston Hospital. At the end of August she went there to
have her appendix removed. The operation went well judging by her appearance
and the words of the doctor. But soon afterwards she had a heart attack and
this beautiful woman was taken, one of our ‘Mothers,’ and lamented by the country and those who knew
her. She was a woman committed to helping with the projects of the Church. But
the place where she had the most impact was Ruatoki where the two of them spent
ten years. Many children from Matatua went to Hukarere and Te Aute on their
initiative. The whole country contributed to Ruiha’s tangi which lacked nothing.
The local branh of the Church’s Hymn Singing Group also grieved. As guidance to
other Church choirs we print below the hymns sung over Ruiha.
[Now is the hour – Po atarau]
On a moonlit night I dreamed
That you were going far away.
Goodbye! Ruiha, farewell!
And leave me weeping here.
----------
The tears flow from eyes
Like the waters of the Ngaruroro
River.
My love for you will never end.
Goodbye,
Ruiha! Farewell.
----------
[Hymns
from the Maori Prayer Book]
Hymn 13 1 Kahore ra konei etc.
Brief
life is ur portion etc.
Hymn 105 E
te kahui iti nei etc.
O
little flock etc.
Hymn 154 Nui
mai te paanga o te hau etc.
Fierce
rolled the tempest etc.
Hymn 130 Ka
mahue Ihipa etc.
Egypt
is left behind etc.
Hymn 62 Ko
Koe e Te Atua etc.
We praise you now, O God, etc.
Hymn 152 Piko
nei te maatenga etc.
When our heads are bowed
with woe etc.
The Burial Service
was conducted by the Rev N T Wanoa; Canon Mortimer-Jones, Hastings; the Rev
Geddis, Puketapu; and the Rev Priorly, Westshore.
----------
Following the
overturning of their car, Aati Whitiwhiti, his wife Tatu-o-te-Rangi, and their
four year-old son died in hospital. There was great lamenting and distress at
this tragedy. Drunkenness was the cause, the cars were too close on the road,
and the accident happened.
[30]
This burial fell
to the Ratana Church and their choir sang very well. Their ministers were the
Revs Hohepa Tipene and Rapihana. At the request of Mrs Roera Tareha, the Vicar
of the Taradale Church of England took part in the burial. The Rev Frost spoke
at the burial and was complimented on his forthright words.
----------
Kingi Kamau has
also died. He was one of the few young men who was well-informed about the
history [whakapapa] of the country. Although he was not widely known in Heretaunga
and deeply loved and mourned. The Mormons conducted his burial.
----------
Te Ranoriwa has
also died. He was a grandson of Te Ponatahuri of Te Hauke, one of the
descendants of Tarahui. These are the many deaths here in Heretaunga in recent
days.
----------
We have also
received news of the death of Elsdon Best, the Pakeha who was a true Maori. He
was one of the experts who brought together the important histories of the
country, notably that of Matatua. Because you have heard of his significance we
shan’t say more about him now, but eventually we will pass on the story of this
elder. The Bishop of Aotearoa spoke at the funeral in Wellington.
You who live on
this country’s many marae, weep with us, weep for us, weep over our losses.
This is what this paper of ours is like: Tears, a putting aside of exshaustion.
I cannot love my bird
Who keeps away the evening.
My heart enters the house only to be
smitten
Look at that duck there.
It is not a native bird.
Fetch it and look at the feathers
Mottled in imitation.
Where is Korotau? He has gone,
Gone away to pluck food,
The leaves of the tree, causing it
to shake.
It is carefully set apart to protect
the house
As an orator on a high peak,
Bespotted like the game birds,
And imagining itself to be from
Aotearoa.
By
Te Toa Takitini
[31]
TOKA-A-KUKU
Editors, greetings
to you both.
I thought that the
discussion about the battle at Toka-a-kuku had finished when Wi Repa was silent
and did not answer the article by ‘Angiangi te Hau,’ printed in October last
year. Then in August this year the subject was raised again by Koopu Erueti.
Ten months on the articles were there for him to see but he directed all his
words at me and not one word to ‘Angiangi te Hau.’ It would have been better
had Koopu Erueti’s article been published in the winter so that the writers and
their challengers did not get bored.
Koopu’s accounts
echoed those of Wi Repa and he comes across as the hands and voice of Wi Repa.
I would have liked it better if someone had spoken on behalf of Te
Whanau-a-te-Uhutu. Toka-a-kuku, after all, is their pa and not Koopu Erueti’s.
Koopu has nothing
much to say even though he has had many months to write his article. He says
two main things.
First, Wi Repa had
not heard mention of the name of Kakatarau, but that of Te Wera, as if they
were both grandchildren of Te Wera. What part did they play in this matter? It
is perhaps right that the two of them had not heard but that deoesw not mean
that someone else’s ears had not heard that perhaps Kakatarau was not involved.
Perhaps the two of them were ignorant and had not heard of the battle at
Rangitukia in 1834 when Kakatarau defeated Te Whanau-a-Apanui. The battle at
Toka-a-kuku was in 1836, two years later. Te Whanau-a-Apanui quickly forgot
Kakatarau. Let them forget him.
Secondly, the army
of Kakatarau/Te Wera was very large indeed if we are to fulfil the dreams of
Koopu Erueti and Wi Repa, while that of Te Whanau-a-Apanui was very small
[gathered] from Tikirau to Hawai. (These were the areas held by these people.
Kakatarau and Rangitukia are forgotten.)
It is a widespread
story that Kakatarau organised the expedition to Toka-a-kuku, and that the
women sang of ‘the army of Pape,’ that is of Kakatarau. But there is no account
that says that all the men went, from the Wairarapa to Wharekahika, so that
there wasn’t a man left in the villages. It is obvious that the men would have
had a long and arduous journey, mainly through thick bush. Smith’s account,
1800, has the outsiders who came to support Toka-a-kuku arriving by land and
sea. Those who have seen Toka-a-kuku know that it is a very large pa; it would
certainly not be right just to have one person inside.
Ngarara belonged
to Ngati-Awa, and it was to avenge a death that that tribe came into
Ngati-Porou territory.
[32]
Getting revenge
was one of the reasons why they came to Toka-a-kuku, so why wouldn’t Ngati-Awa
help Te Whanau-a-Apanui? There is some hesitation about the telling of the
story.
In 1910, Te
Pipiwharauroa published Mohi Turei’s account. He was a leading Ngati-Porou
orator. In 1930-31, twenty years after, Wi Repa and Koopu Erueti published
their criticisms. Before this neither Wi Repa nor Koopu Erueti, or others such
as Te Whanau-a-Apanui, Ngati-Awa, and Manihera Waititi, criticised the orator.
Te Manihera also wrote for Te Pipiwharauroa.
Smith’s accounts
came from his questioning of the elders and the orators. Wi Repa and Koopu
don’t take this into account. Smith’s last visit to Te Kaha was in 1900.
Mohi Turei says
that 250 of Te Whanau-a-Apanui were killed; Smith says that 140 were killed at Puremutahi!
I don’t wish to pronounce on these deaths for the numbers come from someone in
those far off days.
Koopu
Erueti says that I wrote rashly when I said that it was [? manamanahau –
? elation] that took Te Whanau-a-Apanui to Rangitukia. I did not think that
that was an inappropriate word. However, Koopu wrote rash words when he said:
‘If it is the
case that I am a descendant of a chief who went to assemble an army from many
tribes in order to do battle with a very small tribe, I would not be saying
that my ancestor was a great fighter lest I be murmured about by the country’s many
tribes.’
As for the ‘inappropriate’
word, Koopu Erueti does not know whether it is bad 0r not. He says that my what
I regard as a good word is ‘rash.’ He is making much of something trivial and
belittling something important.
The name of
Kakatarau haunts Wi Repa and Koopu Erueti. And, since I am a descendant of
Kakatarau, the words picked out by ‘Angiangi te Hau’ are all directed at me. Is
it my fault that I am a descendant of Kakatarau?
Wi Repa and Koopu
Erueti point out the paths taken by Kakatarau. Te Wera whom they glorify
belongs to Ngapuhi and not to Te Whanau-a-Apanui; it was his guns that were
heard.
Although Te Wera
had guns he was unable to overthrow Toka-a-kuku. It was also strongly fortified
and Wi Repa says that it could only have been taken by using cannons. Te
Whanau-a-Apanui was saved by the strength of the pa and not by the bravery of
the people, and also because the besieging army returned home because of a
shortage of food and because they had achieved the revenge they sought.
One
can find these words of mine in Te Toa Takitini, Number 103.
‘The
ancient stories are sacred. We did not write them. Let us leave them in the
form in which they came down to us, whether bad or good.’
[33]
I write for the
following reason. I too know that people have passed down differing accounts of
Toka-a-kuku, and I am not exulting over what happened as Koopu maintains I too
have read of the death of my ancestors at Te Piki-a-te-Atawhina and at
Wharekura, and I have no desire to hide the stories or to speak contemptuously.
Perhaps we should
end this discussion.
R[eweti] T
K[ohere]
East Cape.
MATTERS RELATING
TO MAORI LAND
This is a district
in which there are an increasing number of conversations and much thinking
about the settlement of what remains of Maori land. There are some areas in
which people are working the remaining lands which have been returned to them
as a result of the important enquiries carried out by the lawyers and the
administrators. Some take possession of their lands legitimately, some have
been fortunate to do so through their perspicacity, some by shrewd discussions
or by other means which are well-known in these days, [? while others by
knowing how to overturn such conversations have suffered.] But if such people
have carefully informed themselves of the way of doing this, and its
consequences, they will thereby be prepared quickly to complete what is laid
down by the law for getting compensation. The discussions have concluded about
the law dealing with the rights of the Maori People with regard to lands
wrongly taken within the areas of land wrongly confiscated by the Government.
The
following are the kinds of land.
Land wrongly
confiscated by the Government.
(a)
Land
confiscated which had been sold to Government.
(b)
Land
which it had been promised would be returned to the Maori.
There
are some other kinds of land which fall under this remembered category, notably
land which is still productive and which is seen to be yielding profits in
these days of taxes and rates, and other things that bring benefits to the
Government.
But the issue that
concerns us is the excessive time being taken by the Government to put int0
effect some of those decisions. Let us look at the Aorangi Case and at how long
that place has been wrongfully kept. The Court has given its decision [? tae
noa ki te whakaheaheatanga - ? even commenting on the foolishness of it
all], but the Government has yet to pay compensation.
One of the first
people to set up the petition was Horomona Te Rongoparae who has died. Another
involved in the petition is Ihaia Hutana who happily is still alive. But there
are many, many children and grandchildren of these people. The important thing
for them and for other hapu with shares in this block, following the
[34]
decision of the
Maori Land Court, is that they may ‘eat the fruit’ of this business.
So when will the
Government do what has been required? There is talk of settling people on the
land and some tribes are eager to be involved in this. The Maori Minister is committed
to helping them with this. But we look at this and we ask ‘How do we get money
to finance such projects?’ The Court has laid down what has to be done but the
Government says, ‘There is no money!’
It is right that
we talk about these decisions. Money is being used to help settle people on
their land. All those with shares in the land welcome the Court decision and
are prepared to work their small pieces of land that were wrongly taken. The
decisions of the Maori Land Court have been made and explained. However, not a
single indication has been given that the process will be speeded up and the
memorialised compensation paid. But we are hearing that money to help has been
given to some other tribes to which the Government owes money.
We have also heard
that the present parliament has been asked for some funds to be spent on the
Maori People to facilitate settling them on the land. It is not clear that the
Government will do this, and meanwhile those who deserve such payments will
remain in debt.
Nor do we forget
the large amounts paid to people for looking into those very difficult cases.
How many thousands of pounds have been spent on those cases? And, furthermore, they
have shown that the Maori are right. But in these days the Government has said
that there is no money while money is being spent on settling people and
helping thse to whom the Government is not in debt. It seems very easy to give
help.
It is true that
the Government has made every effort to help the Maori People, but that was
perhaps in the past. Loans were available early on. This shows that there ws no
lack of love or willingness to help. The Government, we see, still has the same
attitude but they are bestowing money and their help in different places. They
are spreading their efforts among the country’s tribes, and encouraging swift resolution
of issues relating to an individual, a family, a hapu, or a tribe, to speed up the
work of settlement and of farming so that Maori land at present lying idle becomes
productive. Money will achieve this. But given the thousands and thousands of
ways money can be dispersed. It is up to him [?the Minister] and the officials of
the Treasury Department to set up ways to prevent wasteful expenditure and to
set up
[35]
procedures and
rules for dispersing money to others and for saving money and ensuring
employment. And so we have this word from the new boy, Tipoki-te-Rito, KIWITEKO
[? Rock-solid Kiwi].
THE BISHOP OF
AOTEAROA
We have heard that
the Bishop of Aotearoa has been very busy in Te Waipounamu. The Bishop
responded to an invitation to go there. One of the things he has been doing is
making people aware of the distress caused in Hawkes Bay by the recent massive
earthquake. He carries with him a projector and slides and people have welcomed
his talks and his meetings. While he was here he caught the flu and went to
hospital for a few days before being discharged in good health. This week he
has returned and is to go to Turanga if the weather is good.
FLU
This illness has
spread widely in Hawkes Bay. The Department of Health has issued precautions
against the illness. If you are feeling unwell, lie down in the house and keep
warm. Take a laxative to clear out your bowels. Once you are feeling a bit
better, stay quietly at home for two days before going out. It is also good to
drink hot lemon juice. Take these precautions lest the illness becomes
pneumonia and gets worse and you have pain in the chest. This is a sign that
you are not looking after yourself. Be strong, people, even though the news is
scary and you hear about the spread of the illness. Be strong. Be stout-hearted.
Listen to the advice of the doctors. They are the ones who will ensure our
health. Be sensible, be gentle, and take the advice of the Health Department.
Don’t think in the Maori fashion and reject the advice because it comes from
Pakeha. Be clear in your heart and mind and always be on the look-out for and
aware of the Maori practices and beliefs that still compete in our hearts.
BLESSINGS
Te Toa Takitini is
very aware of the many blessings bestowed by the Government, especially by the
Maori Minister, on the hapu of Heretaunga following the devastating earthquake and
in the circumstances of that time.
From February up
to the present day, Hawkes Bay, from Porangahau to Tarawera, has received food
and clothing from the committees of the International Red Cross, Every two
weeks lorries full of provisions have brought, for great and small, the same
amounts of flour, tea, sugar, potatoes, butter, rice, candles, loaves, meat and
clothes.
[36]
These blessings
have been coming for a long time. Some have withdrawn, and before long others
will stop too, and we will be left without flour, tea, sugar and potatoes. At
this time we have been told that this help is coming to an end. Seed potatoes
have also been distributed.
The
work that is now starting is help with establishing garden plots and farms
under the settlement plans. There have been perhaps fifty to sixty applications
for help received by the Settlement Office run by the Maori Minister, and those
with clear titles have been able to start work. Seeds for oats, wheat, potatoes
and grass have arrived along with fertilizer. It is right that those hapu who
are among the first to receive this help should express praise as well as
gratitude from the depths of body and soul, and this should come from the
bottom of the heart of everyone of the Aitanga-a-Tiki [Progeny of Tiki] who
lives, still stunned, on the banks of the Tutaekuri, the Ngaruroro, and the
Tukituki Rivers, the camping places left by Taraia and Te Aomatarahi as
battlegrounds for the generations after them. Although they are living as a
remnant and solitary, pushed about by the tenor of the times, they are
justified in saying together, though parted:
Heretaunga hauku nui! Heretaunga
ara rau!
Hawkes Bay with its plentiful dews.
Hawkes Bay with its one hundred paths.
[cf
Nga Pepeha 690 – 691]
It
is right that we sweep aside the bewildering events of recent days and uniting
our loving and sorrowing hearts give thanks for the love shown to us, the help
we have received, and the tears shed for us. And we add the lament of our
father, Timi Kara:
Tatau! Tatau!
We need each other.
THE MAORI OF OLD
AND OF TODAY
Maori
have many proverbial sayings about hard work in their days. Two of these are:
Mauri mahi, mauri ora.
A working soul is a healthy soul. [cf Nga Pepeha 1792]
He toa taua he toa pahekeheke; he
toa mahi kai he toa mau tonu.
A
warrior friend one can let go; but a friend who cultivates food is one to hold
on to. [cf Nga Pepeha 764, Te
Pipiwharauroa 25, p.9]
If one was to have
a healthy body one needed food. Food was important to Maori. If the Maori’s
food store was full he was a happy soul. Although the Maori engaged in many
activities, only one thing urged him on. There was a time for war and a time
for whipping tops. There was a time for trapping birds and a time for cooking
shellfish. There was a time for casting spells and another for plucking fern
shoots. There was a time for eating people and a time for drying dogfish. By
this variety of activities on the part of the Maori he kept his body healthy. A
Pakeha said, ‘I came across the Maori. They must be the noblest of the
indigenous peoples of the world, for their health, the strength of their
bodies, and the sharpness of their minds.’ This describes the Maori of
yesterday.
Then the Pakeha
arrived. The Maori learned his ways and his works. The Maori went after the
faith and the money of the Pakeha. He did the things which were consistent with
the faith. The Pakeha did things that would satisfy his desire for money such
as
[37]
felling the bush,
making roads and erecting fences. Mind you, the Maori did the hard work in
those days. Money was sweet, but a coolness came upon the industrious Maori. He
found a ‘short-hand’ way of getting money which was to set fire to Papatuanuku
– the earth. So the country’s lands were burned off. That was good and it
showed that the Maori was in control. The Maori would work when he decided to
and for as long as he decided. He no longer thought about the store of food but
about the store of shillings. Up to the present day he has covered his eyes. The soil of some was destroyed. Some went to
live in swamps and others on the peaks of the hills.
The faith was one
thing that was [? whakaakuto] by the Maori who was grasping at the many
devious ways of the Pakeha at that time. The faith brought by the Pakeha was
good. It was the confused faith of the Maori that constricted him. It was the
abilities of the Pakeha which he brought from abroad that led Maori to trust that
by means of his faith they would be able to work miracles if they stayed close
to the Pakeha. So the Maori sat there waiting for God to do things for them.
This attitude was the foolish burden the Maori carried. Their clear conviction
was that they should follow the Pakeha closely.
Today the Maori
has re-invented himself. He has seen that nothing is to be gained by living as
he did before, but rather he should do things the Pakeha way. He also realised
that he had covered his eyes. For one thing, the Pakeha run swiftly to the
contents of his baskets and got gratification for his work. It is not that he
works harder than the Maori. No. By many distractions the Maori is left behind
disillusioned. But here is a word of wisdom: ‘In times to come they will be
equal in the race.’
THEM
R[eweti] T
K[ohere]
Them! They are
three very small creatures but they are well-known everywhere and no-one likes
them – they are truly the enemies of humanity. Their names are Mosquito, Flea,
and Blowfly.
The bite of the
Mosquito is like that of the Flea but he stings. He makes his presence known by
his song – his pao [a derisive song]. The time he strikes is at night
when a person is asleep. He stings and it is painful. When someone tries to
slap him he isn’t there; he flies and sings and his song is one of
satisfaction.
The Mosquito’s
favourite home is a forest, a lake, a pit, or stagnant water. The Pakeha says
that one gets malaria from a Mosquito bite. During the first years of the
construction of the Panama Canal many men died of malaria
[38]
because of the
many lakes there. The lakes were filled in or kerosene was poured over them and
the Mosquitos disappeared and the deaths stopped. There is no malaria in New
Zealand.
When a Flea bites
someone he does it by stealth. He doesn’t have a warning derisive song like the
Mosquito. Although a weary person has a comfortable bed with Kaiapoi blankets,
if he is attacked by a Flea his sleep will not be sweet and he will toss and
turn all night long. Sleep will fly away because of the itching caused by the
many legs of the Flea.
Before a Maori
bishop was appointed I heard Apirana Ngata say that the right bishop for the
Maori People would be a man who knows what it is like to be bitten by a Flea.
Apirana had experienced Flea bites on his travels around our many marae. I
heard of an important man who, when the business was done, had to sleep in
houses where there were Fleas; he was appalled and sleep fled far away. I envy
those people who don’t feel the bite of a flea; whenever and wherever a Flea
bites I squirm While they snore. Perhaps such people belong to Ngati-Mamoe [the
Sleepy Tribe].
There are two
reasons why there are many fleas in a house. First, dogs come inside or are
close to the house. Second, the house is dirty, it is not swept or the floors
are not scrubbed.
We
Maori don’t have a song about our Flead. The Pakeha have one. When Robert Burns
saw a Flea [Burns actually saw a louse. – Barry Olsen] on the hat of a
beautiful lady he wrote these words:
Ye ugly, creepin’, blasted wonner,
Detested, shunn’d by saunt an’
sinner.
How daur ye set your fit upon her –
Sae fine a lady!
Gae somewhere else and seek your
dinner
On some poor body. [To
a Louse – Burns]
Flea is up to no
good. He does not distinguish between people – all are the same to him –
whether boys or girls, fishermen, members of Parliament, publicans or bishops;
he does not despise the thin, the elderly lady, the ugly, the lowly – they are
all sweet to him.
The Pakeha says
that it is the Flea that spreads the bubonic plague.
That is enough for
now about the Flea. Let us tyurn to his close relation, Mrs Blowfly. Blowfly is
born in boggy filth. She treaures a stink.
[39]
She thrives on a
foul smell. Her food is whatever is rotten. Wherever there are people, there
she is sniffing. She has a sweet tooth when it comes to sugar. She fouls food.
She dirties windows.
Why should we be
frightened of the Blowfly? Blowfly is small but she is the source of illnesses.
She spreads the germs of bad diseases – typhoid fever, consumption, and other
diseases. This is how she spreads these.
She lands on foul-smelling things, on things that are rotting, then she
takes off and lands on people’s foods – sugar, bread, meat, crayfish that has
been steeped in cold water, and other foods – and contaminates those foods with
her feet. When someone swallows those foods they also swallow the bad things
smeared over them by the feet of Blowfly. These descend into the stomach and
become the seeds of the illness. It is true that not everyone who swallows
Blowfly’s jam will fall ill, but some will die as surely as those who fall in
battle. This is the message given by doctors.
Our young men who
went to the war tell us that this was one of the worst things they suffered in
Egypt and Gallipoli, a plague of flies. As soon as food appeared it was beset
with flies. It was black with them. When someone put jam on his bread he had to
put it into his mouth quickly so as to prevent the bread and jam being covered with
flies. And even if he put the food quickly into his mouth that didn’t deter the
flies, they flew into the soldier’s mouth and were swallowed as well. Eventually the soldier would get used to
eating flies and if he was hungry he would even find them sweet. Perhaps it was
the soldier’s iron stomach that stopped him from falling ill, but some did.
It is wrong to
leave the lids off our latrines or to spread rotting material about. The right
thing to do is to cover our latrines and to bury decaying things. Even though a
person may not fall ill, it is a dangerous thing to eat the jam that has been
trampled over by Blowfly.
Mosquito,
Flea and Blowfly are small creatures but they are the causes of illnesses and
other distress to people; they are the enemies of the people. Perhaps the Ngati
Porou proverb refers to them.
He iti mapihi pounamu.
Small, but precious greenstone. [cf Nga Pepeha 428]
A man led his
horse to the table and stood there. He wonderd that there were no flies
swarming around the table and expressed his gratification. The head of the
table said, ‘There are flies, big ones, but a little while ago they rang the
dinner-bell at the pub. The flies heard the bell and flew to the pub for dinner.
Presently, when they have finished their dinner they will return to swarm
around here. This is their home.’
Beware of Blowfly.
Our fear of her should be greater than our fear of ghosts. A person’s ghost
hasn’t struck anyone down, but Blowfly, in her thousands, we have perhaps not
been really aware of, and Blowfly’s shots are hidden and stealthy.
That’s enough about
Them.
Ratou, ratou! Tatau, tatau!
Them, them! Us, us!
[40]
