Te Pipiwharauroa 80

Te Pipiwharauroa 80

No. 80

1904/10

(Maori Version at NZETC.)

[1] Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama, Number 80, Gisborne, October 1904

BAD NEWS ABOUT THE MAORI PEOPLE

Those people who constantly monitor the accounts of a Waikato tohunga tell us that it is a bad and sad story. However it has been printed so that the people at large can see the bad things that are happening to us and so that hearts can be stirred up and that anger can blaze up. For the last four years perhaps we have heard a Pakeha translator denouncing us Maori.

That Pakeha said that Maori have no fear of adultery; for them it is not something wicked. When we questioned that Pakeha he said that what he said was right but perhaps it was not the case for all Maori. He said that some people were sending their daughters to earn money for them. He actually knew some people who hired out their daughters to Pakeha for nights. Since last year we have been reflecting on this terrible accusation and then it was corroborated by the activities of the Waikato tohunga. We thought that these stories were lies and we hoped that they were lies but when we received the Auckland newspapers we saw that they were true. A girl confessed that she had gone to Te Whitu. Her pain was in her breast. The tohunga told her to sleep with him to cure her breast and she consented, thinking that by doing so her sickness would be cured! One said that she had been bathed by Te Whitu in hot water while he looked at her body. Some of the witnesses said that many women were obliged to have illicit sex by Te Whitu. The tohunga visited Waahi, Mahuta’s village, and Mahuta gave instructions that the care of the sick be handed over to him. The tohunga said that Mahuta was to care for the men and he would care for the women. It is said that even if a woman did not give her consent, the tohunga and his apostles persisted, saying that they would not be sexually molested but that the tohunga would only lay hands on their private parts, and when they consented the tohunga molested them. Those accounts are sufficient to show how dreadful this activity is. Since our birth we have heard of such disgusting and sad activities, and we have thought that Maori would not be so wrong-headed or whatever. However we believed this story because no-one can deny it. This is worse than the animals. Where are the parents, the brothers, the grandparents, the husbands of these women that they did not protect them from being deceived by the serpent? But many men of that place consented to this bestial behaviour and were angry that their tohunga was put in prison. The crowd of people were outside while their daughters were inside being raped by their old tohunga. They did not know that such sexual violation was wicked. Some women were examined to see if the cure of their illnesses had been achieved or not. They themselves were the payment. Better that the woman be ill, than that she be maltreated by a man.

People, we know that people are very much against us for the severity of what we say about tohunga. Some leaders have said that Te Pipiwharauroa should be shut down, but 'leaders' is not how we would describe them. Wi Pere is the leader we most condemn not that he has done anything wrong or bears ill-will to anyone. For those leaders we have nothing against, we have neither envy nor hatred. We don’t want to get money from flattering statements or being accommodating. It is said that we are violent [2] because we are violent against wrongdoing; the person who is silent in the face of wrongdoing is praised by people. Better that we die fighting against evil than live long in this world approving of wrongdoing.

All you people who support the tohunga, this is our word to you: you are complicit in this disgusting thing that is emerging in Waikato. Wereta came – a man whose arrogance has been seen – with his deceptions, and you believed him and supported him. When Karepa saw Wereta’s standing, he began his deceptions, knowing that nothing would prevent people from following him, and he was right. Wereta went to Waikato and some of the people there followed him, whereupon Te Whitu thought that it didn’t matter what one did or what lies one told, people would not fail to follow him because he had seen the credulity of the Maori, And Te Whitu’s doings were not overlooked, They sent women to be groped and leered at by that satan, and to be violated, because they had such faith in the activities of tohunga. They did not consider that if they showed their private parts to a person they would find themselves put in prison straight away and their filthiness would not be overlooked. When will we reflect and realize that the things that matter are a person’s actions and not his words. If a man asks a woman to sleep with him it is foolishness and the work of the devil, but they go on consenting to this, and with an old man of 60. We think that this tohunga is one of the fruits of the deceptive practices of Wereta. It is known that some of Wereta’s apostles try to have sexual relations with sick women and some have succeeded in so doing.

People speak badly of us saying that we are violent men and that our words are harsh. We will not stop our shouting and if you do not support us, leave it for your descendants to weep for us in days to come and for them to make speeches over our grave saying, ‘The Pipiwharauroa lifted up its voice to condemn deceitful practices but was maligned and attacked by the Maori People. They attacked their true friend that sought to get them to look with their eyes and see the difference between wrong and right.’ We perceive that some people are very much opposed to the truths uttered by Te Pipiwharauroa when it condemns the disgusting practices of Pari Rekena. When people so strongly supported Wereta we were perturbed and spoke out, and presently some revealed that some crafty people were practising as tohunga, and we were justified. We were concerned that Wereta might appoint some charlatan to deceive women and this has happened. Pari Rekana is one of the fruits of the work of Wereta but he does not conceal his shameless doings and his satanic heart while some tohunga conceal theirs.

We do not condemn totally the real native practices because they are those of our ancestors, and we shall not forget them, and the tohunga also believe that what they do is right. However in the case of Wereta, Karepa and Pari Rakena, what they do is trickery and not the ancient practices. It is something learned in Pakeha times. These three people are persistent and crafty. They work to fulfil their carnal desires knowing that Maori are a people susceptible to lies. People, our words have been ferocious because our hearts are sad and we are indignant on behalf of these women who have been defiled by this satanic old fellow, on behalf of our sisters. We are not jeering but it is an expression of our sad hearts and our burning hearts. You may not feel the same sadness as us, however do not laugh at this offensive thing but let us have the same mind at this time in the Name of Jehovah and whoever the tohunga may be do not turn to him but overthrow him. When you turn to him this snake is encouraged to deceive people. Do not listen to false stories that so-and-so and so-and-so have been healed by the tohunga. Those who do not go to the tohunga find a different healing. So if you have love for our people, for the women whom God made the weaker sex to be protected by men, the stronger sex, and not as something to be treated as his animal – if you have love then stamp out these crafty warriors of the Devil. Take up the Faith that we may distinguish good and evil and that we may strongly work for the good.

…………………………………

Three Maori from Gisborne went to play golf at Hastings – Pare Keihana, Wi Haoria, and Te Raumoa. When the New Zealand Champion, Kurupo Tareha, played Tuahine Runga, also from Hastings, Kurupo was beaten. Then, when Tuahine played Wi Haora, Tuahine was beaten. When Wi Haora played the Pakeha he was beaten. It is said that he was shaking too much. Wi Haora has been learning golf for three years.

[3] 

THE CHURCH AND THE ACTIVITIES OF TOHUNGA

My spirit leapt when I heard the voice of Te Pipi singing a lament as he went from these marae with a heavy heart. His laments were like those of Jeremiah the prophet. Te Pipi wept for his people and for the shepherds who were supposed to be teachers but who had been taken captive, who had been beguiled by the works of the Maori tohunga and by many other works of the devil, who has deluded many people into falling into his ways which lead to the death of body and spirit. So my heart was stirred with compassion. As I looked with my eyes and listened with my ears there came to me the welcoming voice of our pet. He was committed to flying to these marae to make known his great sadness. Although he was very sad and his heart was sore he was committed to making known to us and to these survivors the news of the world so that we who cannot read the Pakeha newspapers should be informed. So here is my response to this. Greetings to you, Te Pipi, and to your chiefs who cared for you and cradled you when you were small. I also nursed you when I was there. Now, lad, you have grown up. Don’t give up coming to these places, to us, the survivors on these marae. We will stick in your hat a huia feather from those times when there were huia in the mountain ranges [?poroporoaki] of our ancestors and parents, Ruahine and Tararua.

I respond to your sadness, I should say, our sadness, on landing at the place where yoursadness came upon you, the one place where one perceives right or wrong. But we shall find a way ?na te ngutu ra i titara, he paepae kau ta te taringa, horokapua.

But I am very well-informed about the doings of Te Wereta and his agents under him, and of Tuauri and his agents under him, and those of other native tohunga who are going about deluding people in our districts. What those native tohunga really want is for the ministers and teachers to join in their deceptions and their services so that they can jeer and laugh and get their revenge and the Name of God will be despised as will our lords, our Bishops, who ordained us clergy to do only what God commands and not what people want. That, Pipi, is what he is like. It has been left to those who have been ‘massaged’ [?mirimiri] to speak about it wherever they went. The people who were ‘massaged’ say that they have seen with their own eyes Te Wereta and his agents anointing that minister to be an apostle and he began going about touching sick people after he had been anointed at the hui held at Pariroa, Patea. Two people from my area went to that hui and that they say that the story is true. The two of them saw the anointing as an apostle. Hearing the stories the two of them told, my spirit was ashamed, given the determination you have shown, Pipiwharauroa, to suppress the works of tohunga in past years and right up to the present. The clergy and the teachers have not taken note of your sermons but, my son, it will be achieved, only it will be some time before we see it happen. I think [people will] take no notice of your ideas but do ask our elder, Mokai Kereru, if this story is true or false so that we can know clearly what really went on in this affair, and it may be that it is just people wanting to blacken someone’s name. I have certainly observed that it is the teachers of the Church who are keen to take up the work of tohunga. Perhaps they are attracted by the name ‘apostle’ or even to the name ‘tohunga’. So much for that.

In last June’s edition of the paper I saw Te Karere a Mahuru’s article saying that at the hui held at Moawhango, Patea, I said that perhaps it was God’s will to separate Church from Church, if such is the import of what Te Karere a Mahuru said, and Te Muera is setting each Church right. However that man knows that I am the leading figure when it comes to criticizing the Churches and the native tohunga living here on the Taihauauru. I have spoken face to face with the Catholic priest; the minister of [?te Tipa] and I have spoken face to face; and you have heard how I fought with the Mormon church at the hui at Moawhanga, Patea. The spokesman of the Mormons was a sadder person at the conclusion of that argument. You have heard also how I condemned Wereta and Wi Pere for what they did when they came to Aorangi last year. I confronted Te Wereta. I strongly agreed with those who had taken up the matter of Tuauri, and I joined the committee which dealt with the troubles caused by that organiser. I say this, my friend, lest you mistakenly publish my name in the future. Only the Ringa-tu organisation has not yet picked a quarrel with me, but they bring their children to be baptised by me.

Enough, Pipi and my friends working in the Lord in every place! The people in the areas of the Taihauauru amongst whom I am working are keen to support the practices of the faith, so last year they began to collect money to increase the stipends of the ministers in the Diocese of Wellington and they continue doing so this year. They are also collecting in order to build churches and to renovate those that are old. They are also committed to recording the numbers of people getting married, of children being baptised, of people being confirmed in order to take Communion, and of women being ‘churched’. Such are my words, from your fellow-worker in the Lord.

Temuera Tokoaitua.

ABOUT THE HUI AT PARIROA

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.

Greetings to you, my friend, and to our pet who sings around the marae of Te Taihauauru here. May you know the blessings of God’s mercy.

Tioro, tioro! Turiherekoka and Kauae-hukeke, the children of Matariki-whakana [Pleiades], have been rolling their eyes during the past Winter, and now we have turned to face Tamanuitera [the Sun], the father of Raumati [Summer] and Ngahuru-whangai taringa [Harvest-time, Autumn], when we want our voices to be heard and when we plant seed in the earth. [4] So, bird, take on board these words when you fly this month if your back is comfortable.

It is about the article by my friend, Rev H Tahupotiki, Minister in the Wesleyan Church. I saw his sermon printed in paper number 79 of Te Pipiwharauroa and that is why I am speaking out today.

At the beginning of last September I went to Pariroa, Patea, for the funeral of Nohanga-Pani. This man was the excellent teacher of Rev H Tahupotiki and Rev Te Hamana in the Wesleyan Church. This man’s church was Te Kapenga. His home was at Hukatere in the ancient pa of Ngati-Hine, a hapu of Nga-Rauru and Ngati-Ruanui. He was a chief on his Nga-Rauru, Ngati-Ruanui and Ngati-Aapa sides. He died under the ministrations of Te Wereta and his massaging [?mirimiri]. This man was, as is said in the proverb, a maire tree standing in the forest [Nga Pepeha 540]. He was, to look at, a solid man, he had a fine speaking voice, and he leaves his many children and his wife behind in this old world. His body suffered increasingly under the work of Te Wereta. This man started to receive massage last July and died in the last days of August. In the second part of my friend, the Rev H Potiki’s article he said that he was not welcoming people’s possessions but their bodily presence, but I must say that he was not welcoming their presence but rather their gifts for I saw more than 70 of the people who were ‘massaged’ at Pariroa. Most of those people deserted to Waitotara with their tohunga, Te Wereta. They left the marae of their misfortune; I think it was perhaps because they were afraid of the [?maemae – distress or ?maimai – lament for the dead] of my tribe, Ngati-Apa. It went like this: ‘Rip, lacerate, rip; lacerate, disembowel, cut the head of the [?massagist – mirimiri]. Quickly eat him.’

Enough! My friend, the Rev H Tahupotiki revises his speech [?whakapai korero] in his article. He was not to be seen on the marae when we returned. I think that the appropriate time for him to welcome people physically was the day of the death of his teacher, Te Nohanga-Pani. This did not happen. Was the fruit of their hui the ‘treatment’ [?mirimiri] of last July? This was the fruit – the death of Te Nohanga-Pani, and also the people who joined in the ‘treatment’ (even the ministers), and also the appointment of one of his fellow-ministers as an apostle. Rev T Hamana and Nga Rangikatitia told me these things. Nga Rangi also spoke to me. That is a sign for the ministers that they should allow the people to help them. I responded to Nga Rangikatititia saying that it was right that the ministers should go to lead services when people gathered together, but not for them to make up their faces, that is, to change their characters as ministers so that they become like other people. This was not clear to me: I made many critical speeches in Taiporohenui which stands on Tahupotiki’s marae at Pariroa. It is for you to respond pointing out the rights and wrongs of what I said, but I do not believe that you will be able to find anything wrong in my speeches because I came in person to your marae, Pariroa, and spoke in your meeting house, Taiporohenui.

As for the first part of your article criticizing the Whanganui Herald paper and Te Pipiwharauroa, my friend, do not judge lest you be judged by what you have written. You say that the Herald and Te Pipi are blind in regard to the Scriptures and that they were mistaken in publishing stories of the hui which you and Wereta held at Pariroa last July. But I say that it was you who sent to the Herald paper in Whanganui your article reviling us ministers of the Church of England, but when it was published in Te Pipiwharauroa in Maori you omitted your defamatory statements about us. You know the truth of my statements. I ask you to enquire of your fellow minister, Rev. Hamana, because he gave me a complete account of the speeches, and told me how sad he was about you Maori clergy since you went astray at that time, and he said to me that it was good for a father to rebuke his children. I say that what he said is true with respect to one part of your second address where you say that that hui was a Church of England hui but that the Wesleyans were hosts. My friend, my answer to this statement is this: although I have not seen you in person I have heard that you are a thoughtful and wise man, but from the content of your article in Te Pipi I am inclined to say that these are not the statements of a thoughtful and wise man, since you speak of the sound of the [5] footsteps of the Church of England on your marae and then you, the Wesleyan Church, girded your loins with the plaited belt. My friend, you know the old proverb, 

He ihu kuri, he tangata haere.
‘A dog’s nose, a travelling man.’ [Nga Pepeha 400] 

Whose is the marae? It is yours. It belongs to the Wesleyan Church. So feet will only walk on your marae at your invitation, and the Ringatu brought your man, Te Wereta, onto your marae. Has the Church of England decreed July to be a major festival for it? The answer, my friend, is no. But the Ringatu have that festival, the ‘July’, and the ‘January’, and the ‘Twelfth’. If a member of the Missionary Church [Church of England] arrived at the festival then the saying would apply to him, ‘a dog’s nose, a travelling man’, that is, he would be a man coming under the mana of the Ringatu and he would be brought onto the marae as someone to be valued not for his own value but because of the mana of the local people. So, my friend, Tahupotiki, Te Nohanga-Pani has died, and our children died at Nukumaru, under the ministrations of the massagists [?ringa mirimiri]. Friend, bring the people away from the doings of Te Wereta. I heard Whanganui’s statement: they say that they do not want Te Wereta to come to their area because they see that his activities are fraudulent. Such is what I had to say my friend, Tahupotiki. Best wishes. Do not be upset. We are talking while the sun is shining and speaking face to face, and time will tell what is right and what is wrong. Greetings also to you, Te Pipiwharauroa, and to your children living there at Te Raukahikatea.

On 8th November the Bishop of Wellington is coming to confirm the people of my district. The Bishop will be confirming in three towns, Aorangi, Parewanui and Moawhango. Those are my words, bird; you’ll be very heavy as you carry them.

Thank you. Best wishes.

Temuera Tokoaitua.

Parewanui, Rangitikei.

[We received a letter from Rev. R H Tahupotiki asking us not to print his article but when we saw his letter we decided to print the article. – Editor.]

……………………………………….

In the great storm in the second week of this month, two ships were wrecked outside Wellington, but no-one died. The ships were completely destroyed. The one wrecked at Turakirae was a four-master.

STRIKING A WOMAN

When a Pakeha woman sought to divorce her husband because he beat her, the judge, Mr Haselden, said, ‘If a man begins to beat his wife, if is not stopped he will continue to do it and will in time become unaware of his cruelty.’ Maori are people who are particularly bad when it comes to beating women. A person may be uneasy about kicking the dog, but some me kick their wives as if they were kicking a football, or they punch their wives in the face as if they were punching a cow. Some men are very jealous without cause. Do not begin to strike a woman lest you wrongly make a habit of striking with a stick, and wives should not allow their husbands to hit them. The husband struck his wife, and will the wife honour her husband - there is no love? One reason why there is no love on the part of the husband who married is that when they married there was no love between them. Love does not cause pain or strike, but is fearful of causing hurt to the one loved.

A REAL TRICK

The New Zealand Herald says: One very bad thing that is happening amongst the Maori People today is the increase in the activities of tohunga. The deeds of these deceitful con-men are very wicked, but ignorant and faithless Maori believe in them. But is it right for the Government to license and provide the shelter of the cloak of the law for this trickery – this humbug? I thought that people’s trust in such native practices had ended but now they are believing in them again.

…………………………………..

Commenting of the statement of Henare Kaihau that Maori should have the same right to manage their lands as the Pakeha, Wi Pere Said, ‘The demand of the man who says that Maori should be given the right to manage their own lands stinks in my nose. I am not going to enter into this ill-conceived discussion.’ Timi Kara said that if Maori were given the management of their own lands, ignorant Maori would suffer badly.

[6] 

RUSSIA AND JAPAN

A Major Battle at Shaho

After the great battle at Liaoyang, last month there was news that 27,000 of both sides had been killed or wounded. Russia was beaten and the Japanese took Liaoyang. The Japanese have not moved on for several weeks. Russia thought that the Japanese had exhausted their strength because from the beginning of the conflict Japan had continually attacked and Russia had retreated, but after taking Liaoyang the Japanese made no further moves. Russia thought that Japan would continue to pursue them. Because of the delay, Kuropatkin decided to begin an attack himself so he turned his army and set his sights on Port Arthur. A main reason why Kuropatkin changed his plans was the strong pressure from home, from the Tsar, to end the defeats and retreats because the soldiers were being demoralized by retreating, men did not wish to go to fight, and the people were discontented. The Tsar thought that if the Japanese were defeated in a battle the hearts of his people would be lifted and the soldiers encouraged. Kuropatkin spoke to his forces saying that the time had come to face the enemy and drive them back – they would end by regaining Port Arthur. The people and the soldiers were happy while the nations were uneasy saying that Japan had to be strong – they thought she was tired. One thinks of our Maori saying, 

He tangi to te tamariki, he whakama to te pakeke.
‘When the child cries, the adult is embarrassed.’ [Nga Pepeha 733]. 

However, they delayed over how it was to be done. On 14th telegrams arrived telling that a major terrible battle had been set aflame in Manchuria, larger than the battle at Liaoyang. Subsequent wires told how Russia had been put to flight, both sides had suffered huge casualties, though Russia had lost the most, and that the Japanese had won the field. The Japanese delay was not because of tiredness but a tactic to trick the Russians to return and attack. When the Russians drew near the centre of the armed formation was attacked, the Japanese attack being sharp and focussed. Both sides were very strong and tenacious. The Russians made eleven charges but the Japanese did not move. Kuroki was at the centre, Oku and the left and Nozu on the right. When the Russians retreated they were pursued by the Japanese. They left behind 76 guns. It was a great loss because the guns were expensive and it had taken a long time to transport them to the battle-site. The trains going to Mukden were filled with the wounded. It is said that if one was wounded one just went and lay down in the road – a pitiful thing. According to Japan’s General Oyama, the Russians lost 40,000 men – some say 60,000. The Japanese did not loose nearly so many. Oku lost 3,500; he was the general in closest contact with the Russians. It is not known how many of Kuroki and Nozu’s troops died. Russia suffered most from the guns: in this battle the Japanese had 200 guns with which they pounded the Russians. There were 23,000 Russian wounded at Mukden and many at Tiehling. There is great sorrow in Russia. Much is concealed so that the people as a whole do not know the extent of their losses. Russia has been defeated by the Japanese, but perhaps they will never get over the sham of being defeated by a small native people. Since the beginning of the conflict Japan has not been beaten, whereas the Russians have been defeated and have retreated. Their troops have been killed and their guns, food and ammunition seized. The Russians have given up their idea of holding on to Manchuria. What they say now is, ‘We are not powerful enough to bring about an end, but let us be brave, even though we win only one battle.’ Wise men are amazed at the stupidity of Russia in returning to attack the Japanese. The Tsar of Russia has given orders to abandon Manchuria but he is mustering an army of 600,000. Kuropatkin has spoken in praise of the Japanese, how good they are, how they have cared for the wounded and prisoners, and of their bravery. He says that there are no other soldiers as courageous as the Japanese. It is said that when they charge it is as if they are mad and they fly recklessly to death. One remarkable thing is the wisdom of their generals, Oyama, Kuroki, Oku and Nozu.

Port Arthur

Port Arthur has not yet fallen but it is surrounded by the Japanese. It is thought that they desperately need food and it is for this reason that Kuropatkin returned to try to save the garrison. Some supply ships have tried to enter Port Arthur but cannot get past Toko’s ships. General Nogi continues to bombard the town and some of the redoubts guarding the sources of water have fallen. The ferocity of the bombardment means that one part of the town has been burned. General Stoessel bravely held on to Port Arthur. He said that the Japanese would have to fetch him out and that he would not surrender the town. Port Arthur is waiting in vain for the battleships from Europe to arrive. For how many months have they been preparing to come? [7] And now have a wire saying that they have sailed. It appears that they are not keen to come lest they be sunk and destroyed by Toko. Russia is disheartened.

SOME DEATHS

Tame R Erihana, a young chief from Te Waipounamu, has died. This man was educated at Te Aute and when he finished his schooling he went to a lawyer’s office in Wellington. Tame Erihana was the first Maori to qualify as a lawyer. He made his name for his ability at rugby. He went with Warbrick’s team to England and was the Captain. Erihana was one of the best in New Zealand in this sport, indeed, in the world. His final illness began as mental illness. His body was taken to Otakou and he was greatly mourned by his people. Tame Erihana tried to stand as Member for Te Waipounamu. We have lost this wise young Maori. Farewell, farewell, beloved friend.

Te Kahui Kararehe

On 7th September, one of the famous chiefs of Taranaki, Te Kahui Kararehe, died at his home at Te Rahotu. He was the head of his hapu of Ngatihaupoto. Te Kahui joined in the fighting in Taranaki, fighting against the Government. In 1866 Te Kahui swore an oath of loyalty to Queen Victoria and was appointed an assessor for the Maori Land Court. He supported the stand of Te Whiti and joined in the ploughing of Pakeha land. He was taken to prison and gave up his position as assessor. On leaving prison he gave up his support for Te Whiti and stopped going to Parihaka. He lived in peace and untroubled and no longer followed Te Whiti. When Peneti and I went to Rahotu in February, Te Kahui came to our service and also spoke words of welcome to us. I felt compassion towards Te Kahui. He seemed like an orphan, since the rest of Taranaki were following Te Whiti and Tohu and he alone on that Taranaki coast stood apart. But Te Kararehe was loved and honoured by the Pakeha. His name was given to one of the main streets of Rahotu. Te Kahui was an orator, many of his articles were printed in the Polynesian Journal, wise articles about the ancient stories. The members of the Boundaries Commission went to Rahotu to lament over him and say some words of farewell to their friend.

Te Kahui supported the provision of schools. At the opening of the school at Puniho he spoke wise words. He said that Maori should be taught to be like the Pakeha that they might be one in their activities and thinking because if one group is ignorant and the other the parent then they will not be united, the will not be one. Cold iron will not join with hot iron, but if they are all heated then they will join. Likewise if the learning of the Maori is the same as that of the Pakeha then these two peoples will be united.

Te Pipiwharauroa printed Te Kahui’s letter to Dr Te Rangihiroa asking that he return to his tribe as their doctor, and he donated land as a site for a hospital in Rahotu. Our hearts are sorrowful. We are sad for our friend parted from us – the bright star of Taranaki. Farewell, Sir. Farewell to the afterlife.

THE NATIVE TOHUNGA OF RANGIRIRI

(The Editor is not responsible for articles sent to him.)

Pi, please give out these words. Greetings.

During this year of 1904 a Maori called Wiremu te Whitu – another of his names is Pari Rekana [Paddy Regan], began practising as a tohunga. What this tohunga does is different from what other tohunga do. His disciples say that he has the ability to heal everyone. That tohunga is elderly; he is perhaps 60 years of age. His main apostles are girls. His main way of curing sick women is to sleep with them. When they sleep together that tohunga gives them something he calls the Staff of Moses. His has some different utterances to make people believe. There is healing in that staff. His disciples have pleaded with their tohunga many times to stop what he is doing lest he be put in prison. They say that it is fine if the miracles of their tohunga are confined to that place. On 14th September a large hui was held at Te Takapu at Rangiriri where the people requested that there be an end to the activity of that tohunga. I heard that it was said by the disciples of that tohunga, by Hori Herewini, that what their tohunga was doing in sleeping with women was very good [8] and that what was very bad was a doctor investigating women with his hands. But many people demanded that the disciples not bring their man to go about copulating. People are not like animals. The disciples did not agree and so that tohunga was left to go about with his staff. On 16th that tohunga was arrested by the Police and taken to the lock-up in Huntly. He arrived in the lock-up on a dark evening. It was the first night he had been prevented from sleeping with his girl followers. At 7 o’clock in the morning the apostles and the followers of that tohunga gathered outside the prison and asked that they be allowed by the police to see Pari Rekana. They were permitted by the police for just a few moments only. The people wanted longer to talk but the police were very cautious and hurried the prisoner back into his lock-up. Thereupon the people waited outside the lock-up hoping to see a miracle there – the police would be blinded and the door of the lock-up broken down. Those disciples waited until 11 o’clock before returning to their homes. One of the disciples went to the outside wall of the prison to speak to the prisoner while the police were absent. The talking had just begun when the policeman emerged and that man was surrounded [?piawhengia – sic] by the police. By 2 o’clock in the afternoon no miracle had happened and he was taken by the policeman to the lock-up on the train and taken to [?Mautini] to await the day of weeping and gnashing of teeth. On Tuesday 20th there will be a court hearing for him at Ngaruawahia. And so, people, the world has been turned upside down, and Satan has sent the dragon to confuse the pumpkin-heads of Waikato.

Bring an end to these evil goings-on.

From your friend,

Te Wao-Niu-a-Tane [sic. ?Te Wao-Nui-a-Tane]

Kerewai, Waikato.

September 18th, 1904.

A LYING PROPHET

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.

Please give this letter as a back-pack for the Pipiwharauroa. His voice will be heard screeching on the flower of the tree this coming month. These are those words written below. On 13th July last, Mormon Maori came into our district to bring the Mormon good news. The words of the sermons of those people were designed to convert us to their Church because that is the true Church. One of the talks, from Revelation 20.4, dealt with baptism. The two of them spoke powerfully. We must mention their tribes. One, Rewi Maaka, belongs to Ngai Tahu, Te Waipounamu, and one, Eru Nehua, is from here. He is a Ngapuhi chief from the Whangarei area and was formerly a leading person in the Church of England: he built an Anglican Church for himself in his own village. What was it led him to change his mind and abandon the heirloom of his ancestors? The eyes of the people looked to the elder. So, my friends, I heard first from these two that Christ will appear in America in the coming years, that is, Christ will arrive in America in 92 years. On hearing these words I asked Rewi Maaka, ‘Friend, whose head comes up with the idea that Christ will come to America?’ The answer was that it is a prophecy of Joseph Smith. My friends, tribes, wise people in every place, it seems to me that this man Joseph Smith, is just like us. As I see it there is no-one in this generation like the former people, the Apostles, Paul and the others. The people of these generations cannot be like those in the past but there may be one in this generation. I felt very strongly in my heart about this statement that Christ will appear in America. My friends, tribes, hapu, languages, congregations in every place, and wise people also, the words of the Scriptures are very clear where it is written that we will not be told the year, the month, the week or the day when Christ will appear in the world. So I hope that wise people will look at my writings which I place under the wings of Te Pipiwharauroa.

So, read this article and if anyone criticises me for these words then write to the paper.

Here I finish.

From your friend,

W H Houtaewa.

[9]

ANGLICANS, MORMONS, SUNDAY

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.

Friend, greetings. Please don’t be upset by these few words I have sent for publishing in our paper about the article that appeared in Te Pipiwharauroa Number 78. It was a criticism of the people of Te Whakarewarewa and Rotorua for staging haka and poi on a Sunday for the football team from England. I indeed support that criticism. I also arrived at the point of criticizing the performing of the haka on that day, but many of us had the same thought because we did not participate in that activity. But I must in truth point out to you that those who arranged the events of that day belong to the Missionary Church, the Church of England. That said, one must likewise criticize another of our Churches, the Mormon Church, since there is one issue on which the Mormon church is called to account, and that is polygamy. As I see it they seek to justify that practice by pointing to the Old Testament where Abraham and some others had many wives but God stood by them. Perhaps if that practice is regarded as unusual in these days by the Mormon Church it is clear that it is very wrong. As to another statement in Te Pipiwharauroa Number 78, the writer surmises that the Jews adopted that practice from other nations. I think that perhaps God was showing his prophets and Abraham and the others too that they should stop that practice of polygamy because it was something done by different peoples, but the practice carried on for many generations. It is not condemned but we have seen from the New Testament that best thing is for a man to have only one wife. And so what I have said provides an answer to Paora Hopere’s side. To end with, you know this Pakeha saying (I only know a small part of it) and you may explain the saying better: ‘You do not see your own faults, but you see the faults of another.’

Were we to examine carefully all the practices in that one of our Churches called the Church of England from the beginning until now we would find a great variety of practices within it, and, be that as it may, do not let it be a cause of ill-feeling. That’s my conclusion. Best wishes to you for many years to come.

Te Matata

Rotorua, 5/9/04.

[It is wearisome when a person does not read an article carefully and does not see what it says, no matter how clear it is, as in the case of this man who calls himself Te Matata. My friend, read again our article about polygamy. Then ask yourself this question: if you approve of polygamy, do you approve of the Jewish practice of keeping slaves, or of their practice of destroying women and children in battle? If you approve of one of these then you should approve of them all. As for the criticism of the Missionary Church, this is an ignorant criticism. The wrongdoing of the people of Rotorua was their fault, not that of the Church. The Church has not given permission for the performance of poi and haka on a Sunday, but the Mormon Church allows polygamy. I hope the difference is clear to you. The same applies perhaps to the faults of the Church which you speak of. The fault is that of the people while you say it is that of the Church. It is also not the case that the Mormon church has only one fault. In its teachings there are many serious faults, but I only spoke of one of them on that occasion. Do not say that polygamy is a minor wrongdoing when it is something that makes a people worse and leads them into other sins. The coming of the Mormons to these islands was itself a criticism of all the other Churches, and are we not permitted now to point out their errors, and have you not seen the Mormons condemning the Missionary Church? The legitimate point you make is your criticism of performing poi and haka on a Sunday, but if it is shown that Te Arawa are angry at us for the criticism directed at them, then perhaps they want not to be talked about. But I think that Te Arawa is the tribe that should be best of all for they are the ones seen by the rest of the peoples of the world, and so let them not do things that are wrong so that bad tidings of the Maori are taken to their various countries. But, best wishes, my friend, and all of Te Arawa. – Editor.]

[10] THE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Has Makutu [Magic] Any Validity?

Te Manihera Waititi of Whangaparaoa finds fault with the article by W M Swinton in Number 77 of Te Pipi. Te Manihera says that Swinton, also known as Piripoto, is not a worshipping man, yet he says that Maori worship is declining, while he [Te Manihera] believes that it is still strong. But we believe that a sign of the decline of the faith is the flight of people to the tohunga. We are not aware of any man whose involvement with the faith has increased after he has been made an apostle. When Israel forgot Jehovah they began to follow false native gods. Te Manihera denies what Piripoto said about some elders being driven into the bush because they practised makutu. In fact they were expelled to their own home and not allowed to enter the main village. We condemn this terrible treatment of elders. We challenge Ramari and Taitoko to put a curse on us during the days of this year and to say what the illness will be, whether we will die of fever or consumption or influenza in the years to come, so that you will falsely believe that I was bewitched by Ramari. Therefore let him tell the nature of the illness and how long it will take to kill me. It is true that Ramari and Taitoko are phonies when it comes to praying and digging holes. They are indeed elders but the children are wrong in trusting them. People are eager to assert that Tamahau and Tomoana and his youngest child, Te Rehunga, were bewitched. Perhaps the chief will not die in the ordinary way but will be cursed? The Marae Councils should care for the elders, whose hearts are still creeping onwards from ancient times, lest they be ill-treated by people. But some of those irresponsible marae committees are notorious for believing in native practices. There is a different old man who is sweeping us away and consigning us to death, the god who is cursing us, and he is not witchcraft but Tuberculosis.

An Unjustified Criticism

We have received a letter from Rotorua criticising our article about Te Arawa in Number 78 about the visit of the English rugby team to Rotorua in August. Because we did not understand the point of what was said in it we did not do anything about it, but a letter has arrived from that person to Rev. Herbert Williams criticising us, whereupon we were stirred up. We thought that it was sympathy on the part of that person that led him to tell us of the anger of Te Arawa at our condemnation of their violation of Sunday, but the man’s words were a criticism of our saying, according to him, that Te Arawa invited the Pakeha of England to play against them. He said, ‘It is a lie to say that they were invited by Te Arawa to play football.’ Why is it called a lie and not a fault or even a mistake? But will you not allow the Editor, encumbered with so much work, [?ina kotahi ano tau ??? – print obscure] you were mistaken? But if that person looks at our article in Number 78 he will not find that we said that Te Arawa had invited the Pakeha, and even if this were the case, why should he be hurt, because our point was that the Maori challenge was done by the local people? Our friend says that Te Arawa are angry at our ‘jeering’ and that we should correct our article. We do not know what we have said that is wrong and needs correcting. Perhaps it was our saying that ‘the people of Rotorua are wrong, and behaving like ignorant Pakeha, in not taking account of God and his Day.’ The ignorant Pakeha we speak of are the tourists, most of whom are only concerned with pleasure and not with God and Sunday. Should those people who ‘take account of God and his Day’ occupy themselves with poi and haka on Sunday? Te Arawa do not like to be criticized even though what they do is wrong. We believe that the main job of the newspaper is to promote what is right and to stamp out wrong and not just to get money out of people. Te Arawa is the tribe amongst us that is to set an example because they are the tribe that is seen by the many peoples of the world. If they get a bad name, the whole Maori People get a bad name. However, Te Arawa, if our words are too strong, we are sorry. Best wishes.

A FAST SHIP

The New Zealand Union Shipping Company is one of the best in the whole world for its fine ships, the quality food, and its caring staff. Union have 52 ships now, a total of 97,853 tons. The finest ships are the Manuka and the Moeraki. A new ship called the Loongana has been built for the Union Company. It is 2,500 tons, has 5000 horsepower, and can do 20 miles an hour. There are many ships larger than the Loongana which are not as fast; no Australian ship is faster. The ship has two important features: its speed and the fact that it does not vibrate with the turning of the screw. The reason for this is its different engine, which is a turbine. The screw is turned not by steam but by expanding air. The air pushes the blades of the shaft of the propeller in the ship and turns it, but steam is used to impel the air, like a windmill. As a result the screw turns rapidly and the ship is not shaken. A similar ship has been completed but the Union is the first company to build such a ship for use on the high seas. On its trip from Scotland there were no problems. The Loongana is to sail between Melbourne and Tasmania; it will arrive after only one day’s sailing. If this kind of ship proves to be good then the Union company will order a similar ship as a ferryboat between New Zealand and Australia.

………………………………….

While a Pakeha woman in Auckland was sitting beside the fire with her three year-old child in her arms she had a fit and the child fell into the fire and died.

[11] 

TO ‘TE KARERE A MAHURU’

To Te Pipiwharauroa.

Please publish these words in response to Mahuru’s questions. I can see the smoke and hear the explosion of Mahuru’s gun but his body is in the forest and I cannot see him; what I can see is the name he hides behind. His religion is not known: is he a Ringatu, or a Mormon, and does he support the old Sabbath or polygamy? But I stand out in the open and am shot at stealthily by the magician. My friend you have agreed that you have cut short the Lord’s Prayer and you say that this is permitted to be said at meals. Who gave permission? And who decreed the words spoken by you at the end of that prayer of the Lord? Is not this the result of pressure from you? As for your question, Why was the seventh day desecrated by Mohi Turei? You said that Christ preached on the Sabbath, but if you look carefully at the Bible you will see that he preached every day. Sir, Christ did not come to abolish the law but to fulfil the law (Matthew 5.17). What does that saying about fulfilling mean to you? At his crucifixion he said his word, ‘Give me water.’ (John 19.28). After he had drunk he said, ‘It is finished.’ What does this saying, ‘It is finished’, mean to you? After his resurrection from death and shortly before his ascension he said to his disciples, ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth’ (Matthew 28.18). Christ has fulfilled all the laws and provisions of the Old Testament, he has crushed Stan’s head, and he has fulfilled the prophecies concerning himself. What things remain? He has been given power over things in heaven, What thing has he not been given? The Sabbath perhaps? But we have a word from Christ about the Sabbath (Mark 2.27-28) and some other sayings. Christ rose on the first day of the week and his disciples rejoiced (John 16.22) while the world was sad – the people of ill-will, the Jews. Christ was 40 days in heaven and then sent the Holy Spirit, again on the first day of the week, and the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in different languages. The resurrection of Christ was proclaimed and 3000 were baptised. The Church assembled and the supper recalling the death of Christ was laid out; they ate, they worshipped, they prayed with joy and happiness, remembering the Holy Spirit and the day of the resurrection of Christ, like his coming, again on the first day of the week (See Acts 10.) Enough of these explanations. I would ask if your observe the Sabbath. Do you also perhaps observe circumcision, like Abraham on the day when God spoke to him when he was 99 years old? See Genesis 17. Do you circumcise your infant boys on the eighth day? Do you observe the three feasts, travelling to Jerusalem to observe the feasts each year? Perhaps you go to Jerusalem to kill the sacrificial peace-offering in the Holy Place for the sins of the people during the year? Perhaps you kill the prescribed Sabbath sacrifice, the prescribed sacrifice for the morning and the evening? [And what about] the new moons and other rites that God has ordained that you should observe? If you observe those and do them now, that is alright, but you must also be awaiting another Christ to fulfil and perform and complete them. If you answer those questions saying that you are doing all these things then that is fine. If you are not, then how do you answer those questions?

[Let me deal with] paragraph seven of your article. [TP 78.8] You ought to delete this, and delete it quickly, from your article. As for paragraph one, there is an elderly lady here whose fingers were pinched with cold so she warmed them in the fire, and when the children saw it they laughed. As for the second paragraph, it is something about which you agree. I have no comment on paragraph four. As for the fifth, there are noxious weeds growing here and that is why I said, Come and take the shining spear of ill-will from within me, and come quickly. About the eighth, you cannot be ignorant of the purpose of that prayer; the explanations are there. Look at the beginning, ‘If the wicked man turns away [from his wickedness]’ (Ezekiel 18.27), and the end, (1 John 1.8-9), and afterwards comes the proclamation that our many sins are forgiven. If you are saying that you are a righteous man in this world, that you have no sins, and that you have no need to confess your sins, then you are not a man but perhaps an angel, but God finds fault even with the angels (Job 4.18). So, my child, may we both together be protected by the grace of God.

From your loving father,

Mohi Turei.

[12] CALENDAR : NOVEMBER

Day 8 New Moon 3h 7m a.m.

Day 23 Full Moon 2h 42m p.m.

1 T All Saints

Morning Evening

Wisdom 3.1-10 Wisdom 5.1-17

Hebrews 11.33 – 12.7 Revelation 19.1-17

2 W

3 Th

4 F Fast

5 S

6 S Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity

Joshua 14 Joel 2.1-21

Titus 3 Luke 23.26-50

7 M

8 T

9 W

10 Th

11 F Fast

12 S

13 S Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity

Amos 3 Amos 5

Hebrews 7 John 3.1-22

14 M

15 T

16 W

17 Th

18 F Fast

19 S

20 S Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity

Ecclesiastes 11 & 12 Haggai 2.1-10

Hebrews 12 John 6.1-31

21 M

22 T

23 W

24 Th

25 F Fast

26 S

27 S First Sunday of Advent

The Collect for this day is to be used after the collect for the day
each day until Christmas Eve.

Isaiah 1 Isaiah 2

1 Peter 1.1-20 John 10.1-22

28 M

29 T Vigil, Fast

30 W Andrew, Apostle* Athanasian Creed

[The readings for the day are not printed.]
*On this day or another day of this week, except for Sunday, use the Collect for the Spread of the Gospel.

……………………………………………….

A bill put forward by Timi Kara will abolish the duty on the sale of Maori lands, another deals with Maori forests, and another concerns illegal Pakeha purchases.

A NOTICE

To those wanting a Prayer Book or Hymn Book. I now have plenty of books The prices are:

Large, soft cover 2/6

Large, red cover 3/-

Large, hard cover 4/-

Large, superior cover 5/6

Small, soft cover 1/-

Small, red cover 1/6

Small, hard cover 2/6

Small, superior cover 3/6

Hymns -/6

Clergy requiring Hymn Books can contact J Upton, Auckland, and the price will be less.

I will pay the postage to send the books to you

H W Williams,

Te Rau, Gisborne

People wanting a Bible or a New Testament should apply to the Bible Depository Sunday School Union, Auckland.

Bible, 2/6, 3/6, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 1/-.

New Testament with explanatory headings 2/6, 3/-, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.

Small New Testament with Psalms 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 3/6, 4/-. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.

………………………………………

In Doctor Pomare’s report he said that the best medicine for the Maori People, if they are to grow and prosper, is work and industry, and Maori will work harder if their land is divided up, giving each person his acre. The members latched on to these words of Pomare to criticize the Government for tying up Maori lands. In Timi Kara’s response he said that Pomare was talking outside his working remit. People should not listen to Pomare’s words concerning land, about which he is uninformed. Hone Heke said that it was a bad thing to divide up all the lands. Wi Pere said that Pomare had not descended from heaven so that people should believe in him.

SUPPLEJACK SEEDS FOR OUR BIRD

10/- R Waitai; 5/- Dansey, R A Douglas, H Papahia, Hori Korohina, Iria Te Whaiti.

H W Williams, Te Rau Press, Gisborne.