Te Pipiwharauroa 32

Te Pipiwharauroa 32

No. 32
1900/01/10

(Maori Version at NZETC)

[1] Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama, Number 32, Gisborne, October 1900.

SPRING

Farewell, Te Pipiwharauroa, farewell! Since your time is near for you to mate. You and the flowers of summer emerge together; you are the markers of the year. The good things emerging in the flowers – the beauty to be seen, the scent to the nose, reminding the heart that, yes, summer is near! It is the same with Te Pipiwharauroa. He makes things known to the ear, penetrating to the heart, things for the spirit to consider. This bird sings beautifully, the publisher of the places and the times.

When he is singing people know that it is summer. When he says ‘Whitiwhitiora’ the heart knows that it is summer, it is the eighth month when the sun is above. We have left behind the ‘Whitu’ [the seventh month] and people know that it is time to plant food because Te Pipiwharauroa makes it clear.

Welcome, Bird, to the resting places where you will sit wherever you choose, whether you sit on a totara, a puriri, a white pine, a mapou, a pahengahenga or a tutu. You don’t mind which tree you sit in. You alight on a tree and there you sit.

‘Welcome, Bird. It doesn’t matter that you are not concerned with the fruit of what you do for us. Then the Pipiwharauroa is beautiful. There it is rustling its wings….’

People, languages, tribes, gatherings of people, we have climbed above to one of the great sustainers of the Pakeha. By having a newspaper we have heard accounts of all places, we have gained understanding of the development of their thinking, we have turned to engage in activities which promote the well-being of body and soul. The Maori proverb says; 

Patua i tahatu o te rangi, waiho te tangata haere wa kia haere ana kia rongo ai i te kupu korero.

 ‘Strike at the horizon, but leave the casual traveller alone so that you may hear the news.’  [cf Nga Pepeha 2128]

 

Another Maori proverb says: 

 Waiho Waimahuru i kona noho ai, e haere ke ra nga korero i runga o Tawhiti-a-Pawa.

‘Leave Waimahuru sitting there; the news will go rather over Tawhiti-a-Pawa.’

                                                            [cf Nga Pepeha 60. He Konae Aronui p.24]

 Waimahuru is a village a long way from the road and, for that reason, they do not hear the news. Tawhiti-a-Pawa is a mountain; there is a road there. Below it towards the sea is Waimahuru; it is cut off by the Waihi river and it was not possible to make a road there, and so one had rather to go by way of Tawhiti-a-Pawa.

People, be generous in feeding our bird. The river which will prevent the progress of our bird is its not being fed. Those who live at Tawhiti-a-Pawa will be fed while a person living at Waimahuru will not be fed – will not hear the news. It gives our bird great pleasure that people hear stories for the body and the soul of the precious things given by God to the world, uniting body and soul. So let our bird’s luggage go and bring all together.

I write down the last part of a song I heard at Parihaka which says: 

‘There it is, there it is, my bird up there, over land, over sea, travelling as a messenger.

These, these the messengers of Mahuru-i-te-Rangi which have taken and are scattering.

Kui, kui, whitiwhitiora! This, this is summer and the month of the life-giving harvest.

Welcome, welcome!’

Just as we have received pictures of General Roberts and others whom we have not seen in person, so let everyone be aware of the faking of the spirits conjured up by the native tohunga which they offer as treasures.

Nikora Tautau.

[2]  


TALKING

Work takes up much time. People’s work goes on – on horseback, on the ground, at home, and doing others jobs, outside, or in the bush. Because of this it is difficult for a person to find time to sit quietly and think about what makes for a life.

But if a person does sit down quietly some time and think about what occupies his body, and about his mind then perhaps he will discover something different and will wonder. Now I invite readers of Te Pipiwharauroa to join me in thinking, in looking together at some aspects of the Maori mind, so that together we may see more clearly this extraordinary thing, gossiping, particularly scandal-mongering.

We will not be long in our deliberations before we realise this, that we, the Maori as a people are quick to believe what we hear, while our relations, the Pakeha, are very cautious when it comes to what they hear. If a Pakeha sees something written down in a newspaper or a book then they will believe it. I speak of the people generally; there are some Pakeha who will believe in vague rumours. Perhaps some of us are like that, too. We know that Pakeha can be quick to believe in news that is not true since, when Ladysmith had not been relieved, news came that it had been liberated and it was believed that this was so and flags were flown in celebration. It was not long before it was announced that it had not been liberated. For another thing, in the case of the news we receive of the fighting, many things are found to be false soon afterwards. It is true that this happens, but I believe it is perhaps out of anxiety or longing. This is an easy trap to fall into. So do not let it be said that the Pakeha are a tale-bearing people like us Maori. But you have this practice.

Let us continue our deliberations. Soon we shall realise that the Pakeha does not accuse someone only on the basis of hearsay. Should a Pakeha hear that something malicious has been said about him, he goes to look for written confirmation, perhaps in a newspaper, to verify it.

We Maori, as soon as we hear of such talk we make an accusation; and when the one we have a quarrel with comes around we find that the accuser is wrong. Now we have learned that to get the truth we can bring the person before Pakeha justice. The Maori committees have acted in similar ways following Pakeha practice. However, that’s enough of this kind of talk.

We now agree that we are a people who are quick to believe what we hear. This is a bad thing. What is the basis for this, what? It is just that we have within us this wrong attitude. What should we call this attitude? Perhaps we should call it ‘blind faith’.

This is how we think. There was a person, a relative of this one, perhaps a child. By and by he is given a name so that he can be identified.  So, the story is told to  a person and it is believed, and rapidly that story is told to others. Hence it is right that it should be remembered as the child of ‘blind faith’ and given the name ‘Tale-bearer’. The idle talk goes round, eventually reaching its own places. Let us say that Toko was the man who first uttered those words. What he said he said to Moko concerning a man called Ia. This is what he said: ‘I went away to Ia. He was drunk at Te Awanui. How terrible. He was threatening to strike the Pakeha owner of the pub.’ Moko spoke to a man called Ika. Ika went away with the story, but this was what he said, ‘Moko said to Toko, he came upon Ia who was drunk. No-one restrained him. The Pakeha at the pub hit him. He had stolen a pair of shoes. How terrible!’ The story travelled on until it came to the ears of Putiputi, Ia’s girlfriend, but the remnants had been abandoned so that the story was now completely false. It had been made up by people; it was carried along; it fattened as it went; and eventually reached a different country. It seems that we have amongst us a child of ‘Tale-bearer’; his name is ‘Fatten the story’.

Is it not the case that women are more likely to do this extraordinary thing of making up a story, passing it on, and embellishing it?  We Maori have a saying: ‘It is not the woman.’ [?Ehara i te wahine.] About a man who seizes on to stories it is said: ‘That man is like a woman.’

A man goes from Te Kaha to Te Horo, and, on returning home is asked to speak about his journey. He tells everything, right up to the point where he was told by the moth chrysalis that they were to be married by the flea at Pikoko. The account is seen to be made up of falsehoods. When he arrived at Omaio he said that a letter had arrived from the Queen instructing him to go to take the place of Roberts in the Transvaal.

A person who continues to speak ill of another he has left behind will be seen to be of little worth in all his work. So, when the writer of this article returned home this year he heard it said, [3] ‘He was sent to take services at Wairuru but he didn’t take services because the hall was dirty.’ This is completely wrong.

Here are some words to conclude our discussion:

(1) If a person witnesses something being done then he may speak of it.

(2) If a person sees a story from abroad in a newspaper then he may speak about it.

(3) Should one hear the story spoken by the man it concerns then you may believe it.

(4) Be careful about passing on stories lest the story changes when it is passed on.

(5) No-one is able to tame the tongue (James 3.8).’

Tau-Hou.

A WORD ABOUT LEARNING

In Number 20 we put into Maori the words of William Shakespeare concerning sleep uttered by Henry IV, King of England. These were some wise words from that man – words of instruction, words of farewell, from that man to his son, who was going to the country of the French. I cannot give a full explanation of the significance of all those words, but I hope people will ponder them and turn them over in their hearts two or three times, elucidating the difficult words..

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1613. He was one of the geniuses of the world. He was said to be the ‘Revealer of the heart of man’.

Instructions to a Son

There; my blessing upon you!

These are a few words of instruction to your heart.

Be noble. Do not give tongue to your thoughts.

Do not do anything that is the fruit of wrong-thinking.

Make friends, but not of all people.

Your friends, when you have tested them,

Bind to your soul with steel bonds,

Do not callous your hand with entertaining

New-born, unfledged companions.

Do not enter into quarrels, but if you do,

Be a man, so that the enemy may fear you.

Give your ear to people but your voice to few:

Consider a man’s words, but keep your own counsel.

Let your dress be consistent with your wealth,

Not according to what the eye desires; good but not showy,

Because the nature of the heart is revealed by the dress.

The Frenchmen of high degree

Are people who choose carefully and thoughtfully how they dress.

Do not go into debt or lend money;

One loses both money and friend by this practice,

And by borrowing the edge of industry is blunted.

The most important thing is to be true to yourself,

Let your trustworthiness be as certain as that of the night following the day,

And, then you will not be false to any man.

Farewell: my blessing implant my words in your heart.

[There – my blessings with thee!

And these few precepts in thy memory

See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportion’d thought his act.

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

Of each new hatch’d, unfledg’d comrade.

                        Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,

Bear’t, that th’opposed may beware of thee.

Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice.

Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgement.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;

For the apparel oft proclaims the man.

And they in France of the best rank and station

Are of a most select and generous choice in that.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all – to thine own self be true;

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!

 

Hamlet, Act 1, Scene iii.]

There are many wise words in these few verses to feed the mind, and by feeding we strengthen the spirit, just as the body and the soul are fed in order to become mature. These are some of the wise words:

‘Give thy thoughts no tongue.’ Do not be in a hurry to disclose your thoughts to people.

‘Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.’ Working to earn money to pay off debts is wearying and burdensome because the things obtained by credit have been used up. Many Maori suffer through borrowing. The Pakeha have a saying: ‘It is better to go hungry to bed than to get up with a weight of debt.’ The great Apostle says: ‘Owe no-one anything, except to love one another. (Romans 13.8)’ [Do not leave lying long there what it is right to give someone, only love one to another.] Failing to pay debts is theft, a sin, since the money belongs to a person and because someone is not willing to work hard to pay the debt. 

‘For the apparel oft proclaims the man.’ Just as some women wear reddish dresses, or green, or shiny yellow, or many colours, and one would mistakenly think they were a rainbow! One of the esteemed people of Ngati Porou is ‘Kahu-kura’ [Red cloak]. Let the appearance of our clothes be pleasant. 

 R T M Kohere

[4] 

THE HYPOCRITE

This is a Pakeha word; were it pronounced in Maori it would be ‘hipokiriti’. This word is used often in the New Testament; the word is indeed used by Christ. The Bible translates it into Maori as a ‘deceitful man’, but this does not adequately convey the meaning. Sometimes the ‘deceitful man’ is evil, but sometimes he appears not to be evil but is a man who speaks pleasantly and laughs. Real evil is lying and thieving. The origin of this word ‘hypocrite’ is in the theatre; it describes an actor who changes his appearance and his actions to become a different person, the person being depicted by him in the play. But in these days it is used to describe someone who believes in his character while failing to see himself as a ‘deceitful man, a hypocrite’. Christ called the Pharisees ‘hypocrites’. ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, deceitful people, hypocrites! You are like white-painted sepulchres, beautiful to look at on the outside but inside they are filled with dead people and all kinds of filthy things. And you also, while you look upright on the outside, inside you are full of deception, hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23.27-28).’ Now the meaning of our word is made clear by Christ’s word concerning the sepulchre: outside it has been made to look good, inside there is evil and decay. That is what hypocrisy is like.

This word ‘Pharisee’ describes a man who has set himself apart. The Pharisee thinks of himself as a holy man while all others are sinners. When the Pharisee and the Publican went to the temple to pray, the Pharisee set himself apart, ‘the Pharisee stood by himself’. [Luke 18.10-14] When Christ preached he spoke strongly against the Pharisees, showing up their deceitful works. The Pharisees thought of themselves as holy people while their deeds were wicked. They stole and they ill-treated widows. Christ was much more angry with them than with those who admitted their sinfulness. The sect of the Pharisees was very evil in the days of Christ, but we must not mistakenly think that all Pharisees were bad. Some Pharisees were men of integrity; Nicodemus and Paul were Pharisees.

Pakeha, good and bad, dislike ‘hypocrites’ and find them disgusting. As I see it, amongst Pakeha believers there is no antipathy to works of faith. But there are many ‘hypocrites’ amongst the Pakeha, the people from whom we get our word ‘hypocrite’. In Maori villages which are spoken of as villages of faith, I think there are more ‘hypocrites’. The Maori hear the veritable voice of Scripture, the words of Scripture are freely laid before them, but their works go against [the Scripture]. The bell rings in the morning and the evening, but adultery, drunkenness, blasphemy and many other bad things go on. A church-opening ceremony is arranged, and immediately afterwards the local people get drunk, and that church will not be blessed. The lay representatives go to church gatherings but on returning home go back to the ways of the world. On Sunday a man goes to take communion, on the Monday he is going astray at the pub. I have truly seen this. But I don’t say that everyone is like this.

Will God agree to a person having two jobs, working for him at one time and working for the devil at another? There is no half allegiance to God. All people in the world can be divided in two. They are in the light or in darkness, they are alive or dead, they are inside the kingdom of heaven or outside, they have the choice of heaven or hell, the Christ or the devil. ‘No-one can serve two masters (Matthew 6.24).’ ‘A person who wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself the enemy of God (James 4.4).’ ‘The person who is not my friend is my enemy; the person who does not gather with me, scatters (Matthew 12.30).’ ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If Jehovah is God then follow him; if Baal, then follow him (1 Kings 18.21).’ A final verse is the message of Joshua to the family of Israel when he was near death: ‘So, if you despise working for Jehovah, choose now who you are going to serve… I and my household will work for Jehovah (Joshua 24.15)’ People, it is for us to take these words to ourselves. If it is Christ let us be set apart for him, if Satan then be set apart for him. There is no half-allegiance to God

[5] 

NEWS FROM WELLINGTON

Wellington is full of Maori these days. All the people of the country are there. The great matter which has drawn them there is the bill designed for the disposal of the lands and the remnants of the lands of the Maori. Waikato and their King, Mahuta Tawhiao, are in Wellington.

Although Mahuta had not yet arrived, the leaders in Wellington pressed for the passing of the Board Bill, but this was prevented by the Prime Minister. A large welcome was staged for Mahuta by the people in Wellington. Te Heuheu spoke for those assembled. The leaders who spoke at the welcome for Mahuta and his people were Timi Kara, Wi Pere, Tame Parata, Tamahau Mahupuku, Hone Paerata, Wikitoria Taitoko, the daughter of Keepa Taitoko, and others. Timi Kara urged the king to leave behind the old ways of thinking and the practices of past times and to think together about what will benefit Maori. Wi Pere said to Mahuta that they were appealing to Mahuta as chief to chief, not as chief to king. The word ‘king’ was a new one to the Maori ear, a word from afar, not from we Maori. In his own territory he was perhaps king. The Tai Rawhiti waiata to Mahuta was: 

Maringaring ai te wai o aku kamo
Rona hekenga tonu. 

‘How the water of my tears pours out, 
dropping continually.’ 

Mahuta agreed with the words of Timi Kara since he said some of the same things: ‘Goodbye, my ancestors! Goodbye, heavens! Goodbye, land on which we stand! Goodbye, my authority! A new day, a new dawn has shone. We shall not bring to this meeting place the old wrongs, a new day has begun, a new dawn.’ Afterwards the king’s band played ‘God Save the Queen.’ Then began the lamenting, the hongi, the honouring of the dead, and the expressing of love for the things lost.

The Government is considering two bills, the first is that favoured by the Kotahitanga at Rotorua, and the Waikato Council Bill. In response to Hone Heke’s request for the reason why the Government was looking at the two bills, the Prime Minister said that he wanted to make a single bill from the two. One of the members said that the Government was dependent on the Waikato King.

[We think that the Government is intent on making much of the Waikato King as if he were the great king of all Maori. Will they be boasting tomorrow? Waikato are wrong in thinking of their king as the king. - Editor]

Some of the Pakeha members said that they would not be happy for a Maori to be chief over the Pakeha. Frazer, the member for Napier, said that if the Government were not careful the Maori people would become poverty-stricken. Hone Heke said that Maori were a farming people who wished to work their lands, but the law laid down should be a good one. If the arrangements for the management of Maori land were not beneficent then there would be troubles like those in the past. Only Hone Heke spoke at length about this matter. Where were the other Maori members?

A TSUNAMI

[lit. Tide of Paniwhaniwha (a fish like a small snapper); Te Aka – tai aaniwhaniwha]

Galveston [8th September 1900, Galveston Hurricane], an American town of 30,000 people, has been overwhelmed by the sea, by the Tide of Paniwhaniwha. That town stands on an island, but the tidal wave travelled six miles inland. 5,000 people died; 5,000 were saved; 10,000 were left homeless and without food; 4,000 houses were destroyed; 8 large ships were smashed; and altogether the cost is £3,000,000. Because there were so many dead it was not possible to bury them and some were cremated using the timber from the wrecked houses; 1,100 were thrown, weighted down, into the sea. Many corpses have not yet been washed ashore. Many of the survivors have gone mad because of thirst.

There was appalling and base behaviour on the part of thieves and plunderers. By night they went to take the clothes from the dead, to search for money and possessions, and to take rings from dead women. Soldiers and police were assigned to protect them. Black people behaved worst; ninety of them were shot by the police. We are very shocked as we see the wickedness in people’s hearts, people created by God to conform to his own image. How many Maori have the same thoughts? We think there is not one - Maori being a people who treat the dead with awe. ‘The love of money is the root of all evil.’ [1 Timothy 6.10]

[6]

 THE RISE OF KITCHENER

We are sad that the wings of our bird are so small, meaning that we’ve not been able to summarize here the stories of Lord Kitchener, one of the warriors we hear of in dispatches from Africa.

Herbert Horatio [Horatio Herbert] Kitchener was born in 1850, the son of Colonel Kitchener, an Irishman. Although he was poor, that gentleman did his utmost to see that his children would achieve great things by sending them to good schools.

Herbert wished to become a soldier and he was well educated in military matters. He learned other things as well – bridge-building, road-making, and laying down railways. He qualified as a surveyor. According to his former school friends Kitchener was very good at mathematics.

In 1870 he was commissioned as Lieutenant. (The great war between the French and the Germans broke out that year.) Kitchener did not want only head-knowledge, things learned at school, but also the knowledge gained during fighting, so he went to France and joined the French army. The French were defeated in that war but Kitchener achieved what he wanted – seeing in the flesh the fighting and entering into all its miseries.

After this he was sent to assist Major Conder in surveying the land of Canaan; they had many workers under them. Kitchener’s bravery was seen there. He was a very good swimmer. One day when it was very hot and they were swimming Major Conder was carried away by the current. It was with difficulty that Kitchener saved him. They arrived on shore exhausted and only after being worked on for a long time was he [Conder] restored to life. Soon after this their camp was attacked by more than 200 local robbers. Major Conder was the first person to be struck in the head with a weapon; he fell down. A second blow from the weapon would have killed him but Kitchener parried it, and, not having weapons, he knocked the enemy down with one blow to the face, laying him out on the ground. After this incident Major Conder said to bring their work to an end and return to England, but Kitchener was not long in England and returned to finish the work they had left.

When England seized the island of Cyprus, He was sent to survey the island and was made Governor. After that his rise through the English army was rapid. In 1883 he was made a Captain and in 1884, a Major. He was in Egypt during those years. Troubles had arisen in southern Egypt as a result of the activities of the Khalifa, a prophet of the Arabs and the Blacks. (The activities of that prophet were like those of Te Ua and Kereopa in the Hauhau times, that is, stirring up the black people against the Europeans.)

There were many examples of Kitchener’s bravery and of his knowledge of tactics. He was the officer in charge of cavalry. He was wounded at this time; he was hit in the neck by an enemy bullet. He was made a Colonel and joined the army sent to save General Gordon. He proposed a way for the advance of that army, but it was not approved by the General in charge or by the War Office. The outcome was that General Gordon was not saved but was killed by the Blacks on 26th January, 1885.

After this, Kitchener was made a General and all the armies in Egypt were put under his control. There were two major engagements with the Blacks at Atbara and Omdurman where many thousands of Blacks fell. The Khalifa was killed and his standing in the world was gone. The English took the Sudan, all the huge area which lies to the south of Egypt. [7] The death of General Gordon was avenged.

As a result of these achievements for the Kingdom of England, the Queen heaped honours upon him and made him a Lord. The English Parliament voted him a gratuity of £30,000. Kitchener is a strict man. One does not go against his word, and he is feared rather than liked by soldiers.

Newspapers are saying that soon Lord Kitchener will be sent to conduct the war in Transvaal. He will bring it to an end and set the country to rights.

Consider the character – strictness, bravery, and skilled with weapons. The whole world knows other achievements of Kitchener – his conduct and his appearance, his brave actions and his survival.

THE WAR IN TRANSVAAL

The eyes are beginning to be able to take a rest from looking in the newspapers for news of the war and the ears from listening for stories on the radio of the fighting between the English and the Boers because the final end is near. Transvaal now belongs to the English. First, it is a conquered land, and second, it is an abandoned possession: Kruger has abandoned it and has run for his life. He is perhaps living at Delagoa Bay or perhaps he is sailing on the sea. The Boer wisdom has come to nothing and has ended in defeat. If they had listened to what was said they would still be living as leaders in their own land. As it is they have moved or been seized. 

He tangi to te tamariki, he whakama to te pakeke.
The children cry and the adults are ashamed. [cf Nga Pepeha 733]

The Boers thought that the great powers would help them, that they would not let their kudos be destroyed by the English, and that perhaps the Opposition in England would speak up for them, but on seeing England’s resolution and recognising the justness of England’s war, those powers knew that the best thing was to remain silent and the strutting Boers were given up to the storm [? Hau-o-kino]. A noblewoman who went to nurse the Boer sick and wounded, and a member of the English Parliament who supported the Boers, both described them as a wicked people, a treacherous people, a base people. Most of the Boer soldiers have gone into the Portuguese territory because the English have gone as far as the northern border driving them out. Only the Boer General De Wet is still chancing his arm, but it is not a justified stand.

There has been no negotiated peace in Transvaal; there has been conquest. And there is no word of the defeated. Some of the Canadian soldiers have returned home as will, soon, those of other colonies. General Buller is on his way now, returning home. When he departed the soldiers lined the road for a mile cheering Buller. With the return home of Roberts, most of the soldiers will return and some of the colonial soldiers will also go to England to celebrate the arrival of Roberts. This will be a very great day. Now with the large ships arriving we cannot forget the sick troops on board.

On 11th of this month last year the war against the Boers began and took up the whole year. Much evil and much pain resulted from this war, but by and by we will see the good results. The defeats will be forgotten and the victories remembered.

A day is being thought of as a day of rejoicing for the ending of this war. There is no firm decision as yet. There will be grand celebrations here in Gisborne. £40 has been set aside for the purchase of rockets and other similar things. The soldiers will parade and the bands will play. Games and a mock battle will take place. The children will provide a feast. A medal will be given to each child who comes, Maori or Pakeha. The committee wants many Maori to attend and to do haka and other entertainments. A cow is to be cooked on the marae; the Maori have been requested to cook it in a hangi for eating. Welcome, welcome all the people of the East Coast on the day to be arranged at Turanganui-a-Tara.

THE WAR IN CHINA

There is not much news of the fighting in China but we await the punishment of the Boxers for their acts of killing. Because the Government is in hiding, an end to these trouble cannot be arranged. The heart of China has not yet been subdued and the Boxers are still wickedly active.

The army of the Powers at Peking is suffering from cold but stays there to frighten the Chinese, however the Russian and French soldiers may return to the coast. Count Waldersee [Alfred Graf von Waldersee], the general of the main army, said that it was not possible to pursue the Government of China into the hinterland because he had too few soldiers.

[8] 

Russia is the power responsible for many battles in the northernmost part of China. It is said by the newspapers that Russia treats the Chinese abominably, killing the wounded, the prisoners, the women and the children. Perhaps these reports are false. But the Chinese are difficult to keep as prisoners as they will not remain peaceful, moreover the Chinese will not save European prisoners, the wounded, the women or the children.

Missionaries have been killed by the Chinese. How many have died? But the fact is that from ancient times Christians have been persecuted. One person reports that to his knowledge 50,000 Chinese Christians have been killed! Through persecution one distinguishes true Christians from hypocrites, the wheat from the chaff. Perhaps it would be good for the Maori Church to be persecuted so that one might discern the faithfulness of a person, the stoutness or otherwise of the heart.

WAIKATO TANIWHA-RAU / WAIKATO OF MANY CHIEFS  [cf Nga Pepeha 2636]

(by Apirana T Ngata MA LLB)

Part I

Koia nei te he o te manu rere noa,
He topa mai, kaore kau he tauranga e ...!

‘The problem with the wandering bird is 
that it soars but has no resting place!’

Our bird is light enough to soar over these areas, to make our eyes regard anew what has happened in past times, to make the heart wonder at the customs of various places. Now, Te Pipiwharauroa, having flown over the King Country of Tuhoe to Te Kuiti, Tarawera, Tauwhare, Waahi, carry our love to Waikato and Maniapoto, to those who were so recently our opponents.

‘Now we turn with greetings, Waikato,

With this honouring heart, with this weeping.

How great is the joy of these people

For the goodness of your care for us and others.’

For two months I wandered about in Waikato, within the boundaries of the kingship, observing their thinking at their gatherings and looking at the nature of their territory. The interesting stories about the nature of that tribe are best left for a wet night when the house is full of people, when one can stand and flutter one’s hands: you will smile and laugh. As it is, this treasure, the newspaper and its articles, cannot contain most of the thoughts; the marae is too crowded to perform on.

There lies the valley of the Waikato, which slashes the stomach of the island, dissecting it as far as the West Coast. The source is Te Heuheu of Tongariro. Perhaps there the taniwha struck the rock and Waikato gushed out. It struggles through the middle of Taupo, it bypasses Te Arawa, then it wanders. It goes from side to side, it goes straight, it wriggles, it caresses the land and the trees, and it gathers in streams and large rivers and the discharge of swamps. Eventually it comes to Ngaruawahia and enters Waipa. There are gathered together the streams of the valleys of Maniapoto. They join and cut through at Taupiri and would head straight for Tamaki – Tamaki Makaurau – but no! they are turned aside by the land and instead break through to the sands of the Tai Hauauru. From this we get the saying: 

Waikato taniwha rau, he piko, he taniwha, he piko, he taniwha.
Waikato of many chiefs, at every bend a chief.  [cf Nga Pepeha 2636]

One interpretation of that saying is that each of the leaders has his own landing place. Ngati Raukawa occupy one side of the river as far as Maungatautari. Ngati Haua, the people of Waharoa, are in the Ngaruawahia district. From here to the sea are the many tribes of Waikato. Shortly we will speak of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Raukawa..

Since the plains of Waikato lie between, it is as if their hills were carefully set up as defences, Maungakawa, Maungatautari, and Kakepuke which looks out to Puniu. to the border separating Waikato and Maniapoto, and Pirongia which looks far and wide to the four winds to Kawhia, Aotea and Whaingaroa, and Taupiri which is the proverbial mountain of Waikato, as it is said: 

Ko Waikato te wai, ko Taupiri te maunga, ko Potatau te tangata.
‘Waikato is the river, Taupiri the mountain, and Potatau the man.’ [cf Nga Pepeha 1655]

At Taupiri the hills draw together and the river gets through with difficulty. Beyond there lie mountains, waters and plains. It is appropriate that the river of Waikato has become proverbial for there the Waikato peoples grew and expanded as one and became celebrated by the country. In its time both sides of the river have been thickly populated. Now the villages stand separately and one comes upon Pakeha villages in between linking them together. The land is a land right for food and for goods. It grows potatoes, turnips, and in some places kumara, but grass, as food for animals, does not thrive there because of the heaviness of the soil. However the time will come when, with the application of Pakeha fertilizers, it will grow. It is not [9] like our East Coast land for grass and vegetation. But Pakeha learning is seeking good ways to make that land produce crops and do it easily. But what’s to be said? The Pakeha now has the soil, and we of the land are not ignorant of the sufferings of Waikato at the time of the confiscations – the loss of people, the loss of land.

This account may be news to some of us living in our homes, so I shall try to give a careful account of it although it will take up much space in our newspaper.

(To be continued.)

THE MARAE BILL

The Government has drawn up a Bill for the management of Maori settlements and how people live, just like Pakeha town councils. It flows from the teachings of the Te Aute College Association. It lays down the boundaries to the districts under the authority of each council. The head of the Council is the local Magistrate or it may be a Pakeha appointed by the Governor. Most members will be Maori, no fewer than 6 and perhaps as many as 12, and the election of these people will be the same as for Members of Parliament. They will be elected every three years.

The responsibilities of the Council will be as follows:

1. To look into the problems and the sufferings of people in its area – at everything about the life of the people of the village.

2. To stamp out all bad Maori customs, to seek a remedy for such customs, and also to punish the practitioners of such customs.

3. To promote the learning of children, spiritual and practical; running the Maori schools in its area.

4. To investigate the illnesses afflicting people’s bodies, the causes and the cures for those illnesses. To report to the Governor on all these subjects:

(a) The state of the people and the causes of problems.

(e) The travels of the people, marriages within the close family, and people marrying Pakeha.

(i) The number of people working on the land, the land being worked, the number of livestock ranging on that land.

(o) All other matters to do with the well-being of the people.

The Council will be able to make regulations about:

(1) The well-being of people within its area.

(2) The cleaning of houses.

(3) The disposal of offensive things.

(4) The suppression of drunkenness.

(5) The care of meeting houses.

(6) The reduction of the number of dogs wandering on marae.

(7) The branding of animals and the elimination of the theft of livestock.

(8) The regulation of eel weirs, of rock oyster shoals, of burial grounds, of playing fields, and making rules about stopping children smoking, about stopping the playing of cards for money and such activities; arranging drinking water for the villages and drains to dispose of dirty water; and preventing illnesses that afflict livestock.

However it is for the Minister of Maori Affairs to approve the laws to be enacted. The Minister will give £1 to match every £1 raised by whatever means by the Council for work to improve the villages in their district. The Council will be able perhaps to summons a person who does not pay. They will also be able to raise taxes to get money for works to be undertaken.

A WAIATA

(A song by the men of the College of Waerengahika for the visit of Bishop Williams in the year 1865 when there was fighting in Turanga.)

When evening comes

I lie on my bed

watchful.

Where are my friends

From when we lived together here,

The heads of the Assembly?

Look, they have gone

Like sparrows,

Flapping their wings.

To confuse

Your thinking;

To trouble you.

To trouble you

On the way of Te Ua;

The way of Waikato.

My friends are not

Only children.

It is thirty years.

It is thirty years

The Bishop has taught;

Whence comes understanding?

From the hills over there,

From the Kowhai,

The way of Kaiwhatu.

Bring me

News of the ambush

Intended to strike at me.

To strike at me,

At the friends I live with,

At the Pakeha.

You are tempted

By the foolishness of the spokesman

You elected.

But I am not

able to remain sitting

I must come out.

I must come out

at the headland of Tuaheni,

to disappear, to travel.

[10]  

THE TRAGEDY AT MOTU

A Lament

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa. 

Greetings. I write a few words for you, should you approve of them, to load on to the wings of our bird as freight for the bird. Do not be troubled if you cannot print them.

I greet the parents of the children who were taken by the flood. Friends, my heart was filled with great sadness at this tragedy, the death of our growing children. Greetings, parents of those children. Greetings, greetings!

Greetings to you, sitting there in the house of death of our ancestor, Apakura. Farewell, boys. Farewell, girls. Farewell. Farewell. Your going to seek the learning of the Pakeha was a good thing. Solomon said: ‘How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. (Proverbs 16.16).’

No one will be able say that you died in the water because of blindness.

So, greetings, parents. This is my speech about the deaths of our children; it is not a song. Rather let us live with the patience of Job (Job 1.21).’ I end, friends, here. 

From your friend, 
Huta Paaka. 
Motueka, 
Te Waipounamu.

[The bodies of two of the children who died at Motu have been washed ashore at Torere, but it is now known who they are as they have been so long in the sea. Editor.]

A BRANCH OF THE TE AUTE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa. Friend, greetings! This is the second time I have sent this article to be published in our paper. The first time was 3rd February last but it was not published. Now I send it again to be published should the Editor agree. So here follows the article.

On 30th January a gathering of boys and girls from Te Aute and Hukarere was held here in the Ngati Porou area at Tuparoa. That gathering was called the Branch of the Te Aute Students’ Association. It was our heartfelt desire to convene that gathering, ours and that of the teacher, Mr Blathwayt, At 7 p.m. on the day it was convened, the Saturday, everyone gathered in the school. The Chairman, the schoolteacher, stood to welcome the young people who had gathered, expressing his happiness and joy at the response to our invitation. That was the length of his greeting. Afterwards I stood to endorse our teacher friend’s welcome to our visitors. When I finished my greeting I asked Apirana T Ngata to explain to us the objectives of the Te Aute Students’ Association. I stood down and Apirana stood to respond to my request. His explanation of the work being done by the Association was very clear; even the blind could see it. At the conclusion of Apirana’s explanations there was singing and fun. At 12 p.m. the meeting ended. On the Sunday there was worship. In the afternoon a Pakeha service was held in the school led by Reweti T M Kohere. We and the teacher were very grateful for the excellent leading of the service and the sermon. After this we went to Taumata-o-Mihi at the invitation of Sidney Williams and his wife to attend the Pakeha service led by the Rev, Herbert Williams. At the end of this our meeting broke up and we all felt great sadness. However we challenge every tribe to take up and hold on to this objective – the establishment of a branch of the Te Aute and Hukarere Association on each marae; and in this way to bring together the boys and girls, too, of Te Aute and Hukarere to seek some means of promoting the well-being of the Maori people in the districts in which they live in their villages. We want to call together again a gathering here when the schools at Te Aute and Hukarere close.

From your servant.  
I finish here, Te Pipi.

Wiremu R Kerehi.

[We strongly support this object begun at Tuparoa, namely, the gathering together by the parents of the schoolchildren of their children while they are at home, getting them together for entertainment and to encourage them, for them to be seen by the people, and also to gather for worship. Who will follow this beautiful example? Editor}

[11] 

A DISASTROUS FIRE

The burning to death of some Pakeha of Ballarat, an Australian town near Melbourne, was pitiful. Of the thirteen people in the house only six escaped. Because the house had nine rooms, there was no first storey, and all the sides were open, it was remarkable that so many people died. The fire began in the kitchen. A boy saw it first. He called out, ‘Fire, fire!’ and then ran outside thinking mistakenly that everyone else was outside. He got out his father and mother, his two small sisters, and one of his younger brothers [?Heteri] who he rushed outside. Those who died were his grown-up sister, Linda (21), Cordelia (11), his elder brother Thomas (24) who was soon to be married, Stanley (9) and also his married sister Mrs Algie and her two children, 3 and 11 months. This lady died because her children were overcome by smoke. She was about to come out. When the bodies were found that lady was leaning against the window with her little child held in her arms and her older child lying at her feet. It seems she pulled him this far before she was overcome by the smoke of the fire. We see the love of the mother for the fruit of her body! That lady’s life meant little to her since she gave no thought to how she should act. Her husband is in South Africa. Because of the fighting there he sent his wife to live with her parents and at Christmas time he was to fetch her and her children. Now this terrible disaster must be tearing him apart. It is known that Linda and Cordelia also fought against death. They reached the passage but ran into the pram and their legs got trapped in the wheels. Those who found the bodies were terribly sad. There was Mrs Algie embracing her infant child.

SNIPPETS

There are three Maori companies of soldiers in New Zealand – in the Wairarapa, at Kaiapoi, and at Te Aute. The first two are cavalry; the boys of Te Aute are infantry. Most of the officers of the young men of Ngai Tahu are Pakeha though the second in charge is Maori, Hohepa Uru. Uru is one of the Maori who went to England. This is a good thing for young Maori to be involved with; but if such a thing is started do not let it lose enthusiasm or fall into apathy such as one sees in most Maori undertakings, playing in a band or other activities. Ngati Porou speaks of 'A blazing fire.'

On 18th September Hera Herangi, granddaughter of Tawhiao and nephew of Mahuta, married Tungia Hema te Ao, grandson of Ropata te Ao. They were married at Otaki. The young man is sixteen. Tungia belongs to Ngati Raukawa and Hera to Ngati Mahuta.

The main news from Australia at present concerns the unification of the six Governments: of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. The Federation begins on 1st January 1901. The Queen has agreed that her grandson, the Duke of York, along with his wife, should open the Federal Parliament. The Duke is the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. The couple may travel on the Queen’s yacht, ‘The Victoria and Albert’, with a warship also to escort the Duke’s ship.

New Zealand is still considering whether or not to join this federation. Some people think that it would not be good to join because Australia is so far away, but our Prime Minister is seeking to link New Zealand with the governments of the islands of the ocean – Fiji, Rarotonga and other islands.

The main news from England now is not of the war in Transvaal but of the election of the Parliament. The Government and the Opposition were campaigning. The Government said that since the fighting in Africa was nearing an end they should be left to bring it to a successful conclusion. They were the ones who agreed to and prosecuted the war. The Opposition was critical of the conduct of the War Office. The Government was re-elected with an increased majority.

The black people wanted for murder in New South Wales have not yet been arrested. [12] They are still hiding in the bush and their pursuers follow wearily. The Government has given notice that £1000 will be paid to anyone who captures one of the blacks dead or alive.

The commission set up by the government is investigating the conduct of an orphan school run by the Catholic Church in Nelson. Some of the children allege that the priests behave very badly towards them, lashing them, tying them up, giving them bad food and inadequate clothing, and making them work hard. Some of the evils perpetrated by some of those priests are such that newspapers will not publish them. Two of the priests have been committed to the Supreme Court for trial. In his sermon in Sydney, Archbishop Redwood, the senior Roman Catholic Bishop of New Zealand, spoke very violently and scathingly about the Protestant churches. What does such preaching achieve?

On 29th March 1901 the church at Te Muriwai in the Gisborne area will be consecrated. Invitations have been sent out but the following words were omitted from the invitations:

‘To my beast, the Elephant! You are a very fine animal. Come here and squirt water out of your trunk.’

A letter has arrived from Hapurona Pawa of Chatham Islands telling us of a tragedy there. On 26th August a boat overturned and nine people drowned. Three boats, Waihitea, Pangu and Wairua, went to Rangitutahi, a long way from Chatham Islands, to kill young albatross chicks. Altogether seventeen people went, young men only, and without anyone on board who was a skilled sailor. The elders would not go because of threatening storms. However the young people determined to go and the result was disaster. When the boasts were filled with albatross they returned to land, whereupon the winds rose. Only one boat made it to land, the Wairua. Those who died were: Raniera Piripi, Wharetutaki Heta, Tame, Rangipua, Ngakoti, Tame Rangitapua, Hira Pirika (from Hastings), Perere Manihera (from Te Waipounamu), and Hiko Reriti. Only Hiko Reriti was washed ashore. The residents of Chatham Islands have been in mourning for two weeks.

Pane Haui (Mrs Howie) the daughter of Herewaka te Rangipaia and Colonel Porter held a song evening in Gisborne. She is one of the beautiful singers amongst New Zealand women. When the half-caste stood to sing there were many people present, the stage was beautifully decorated, she had huia feathers in her hair, a tiki hung around her neck, and out came the beautiful voice. It was awesome! The occasion for this evening concert was a farewell to Pane Haui who is going to England. Her best song was ‘Farewell’. When called upon for an encore she sang in Maori ‘Home Sweet Home’, or ‘There’s no place like home’. We have heard that Erueti Rangiuia is also going to England. This man, a real Maori, is from Gisborne.

A NOTICE to people wishing to have the Book of Common Prayer and Hymn Book. I have many copies of these books now. The price: Large, paperback – 2/6. Large hardback – 4/. Small paperback – 1/-. Small hardback – 2/6. Small superior hardback – 3/6. Hymn Book – 1/-. I will pay the postage to send the book to you,. H W Williams, Te Rau, Gisborne

The Hymn Books have all been purchased. We will notify you when some more arrive.

RULES OF TE PIPIWHARAUROA

1. Te Pipiwharauroa is published monthly.

2. The cost of the paper is 5/- a year, payable by Postal Note or stamps.

3. When the shillings sent in by someone are used up then his paper will be wrapped in red; after two such postings of the paper it will cease to be sent.

4. It is acceptable to contribute articles from anywhere in the land, but it is for the Editor to decide whether to print them or not. Write clearly.

5. Address your letter like this: TO TE PIPIWHARAUROA, TE RAU, GISBORNE.

SUPPLEJACK SEEDS FOR OUR BIRD

£1 Paraire Tomoana

15/- Rev McWilliam

10/- Erana Kopu, Manahi Pukerua, Rev Mohi Turei

6/6 Ruka te Huru

5/- Eru Pou, Waaka te Huia, Renata Pukututu, Peni te Puna, Waikari Karaitiana, Hemi Waiparera, Rev Pahewa, Rua Tapunui, Pera te Koko, Hohepa Tereo, Raniera Kawhia, N P Rahurahu, Mokena

2/6 Aorewa Patera, Hare Nahonaho.

H W Williams, Te Rau Press, Gisborne.