[1] Christmas Number, Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama, Number 34, Gisborne, December 1900.
LOOKING BACK
The other day we heard a bird singing. It was not a new song but a song we hear every year. What was it? ‘Squawk, squawk, squawk seven, squawk, squawk eight, etc.’
Hey! It is the people’s pet, Te Pipiwharauroa; it is the offering of first fruits for people hemmed in by darkness; it is the proclaimer, the well-spring of summer, and even of the new year.
Friends, tribes, this old year is passing away and the new year is arriving. Farewell to the year 1900 and welcome to the year 1901, the bringer of the twentieth century. Put behind the pains, the afflictions, the sadnesses of the old year and look forward to the new things before us.
It is right to stop and to look back and to reflect: human beings are created as animals capable of great thought. What are the main things to have affected the world in this past year? Many. During this year the greatest power in the world acted to nip in the bud its enemies and when all its territories heard of the suffering they acted swiftly by taking up the sword. The actions of the English in fighting the Boers affected the Maori people. That war is coming to its end in these days. The enemy is fleeing and has ceded the victory to England. While the war was ablaze in Africa, fighting suddenly broke out in China and we have had accounts of this war, the conclusion of which is near. A war arose also in Ashanti in West Africa where some tribal groups fought against the English. That has ended. It was rumoured that perhaps there would be a war between the great powers but that has not begun.
But it is not only war that has brought disasters which have caused the deaths of thousands of people. Many people died of starvation and of the plague in India. Indeed this was the greatest affliction. Having struck down thousands of the natives of India, the plague spread to the small islands of the Pacific ocean, reaching even Australia. It seemed as if it had come to New Zealand, causing fear and knocking at the doors of our houses.
Enough of famine and epidemics, there were also man-made disasters such as the burning of Ottawa, the city of the Government of Canada, and the fire on the wharf in New York in which many people were burned in the fire and ships caught fire. Soon after, Galveston was overwhelmed by a tidal wave which killed thousands of people.
We were saddened by the death of the second son of the Queen. We were fearful at the assassination of the King of Italy. We were made wary by the news of murders in Australia and in other places, realising the great wickedness in people’s hearts if the Spirit of God is not there. The Prophet says: ‘The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse – who can understand it?’ [Jeremiah 17.9] – the heart not constrained by the Spirit of God.
The Maori people have been grieved by their own [2] tragedies. We still grieve the terrible and very painful losses – the deaths of the Whanau-a-Apanui children at the Motu River, and the deaths of three people on the Chatham Islands.
There are other major things that happened this year. A wonderful exhibition was staged in France, while here in Christchurch we have our own exhibition going on at present and thousands of people are descending to see it.
There has been a major dispute between the Government and the Opposition in England which the Government has withstood vigorously. Lord Roberts has been steering the Government through this In America the Government and the Opposition have been at loggerheads, and the Government has triumphed. (The Government of America is friendly towards England while the Opposition is opposed.)
This year all the governments of Australia were linked together to form one presiding government. The Queen’s grandson is coming to open the first Parliament of this Federation.
Two major bills affecting Maori were passed by the New Zealand Parliament this year, the Council Bill and the Marae Bill.
Is it not right for us to say that this has been a great year? Look back and consider it. Remember also the word of the Lord: ‘See that you are not alarmed: for all these things must take place, but the end is not yet’ [Matthew 24.6].
Look back but also look within. What are the things that have affected you physically and spiritually this year? And what have you learned from all these things? Are you able to say that you are a better person this year than last year? No-one can stand still in the one place. If you are not going forward then you are going backwards, and if you are not going backward then you are going forward. Yes, friend, stop and look back on the bad and the good things that have affected your body in the recent past: look inside also at the inner person: is it affected by afflictions and look forward too and ask where you are going? The Editor.
[Picture of Lord Kitchener]
SOME MAORI PRACTICES TO BE ABANDONED
Chapter 1
There are elders who will be shocked at these words addressed to us, and it is the case that they are difficult and perhaps severe. However this is not a request to put an end immediately to those things pointed out, but rather a statement of the reasons why it is right to abandon them.
In ‘The Divisions of Time’ by Apirana Ngata published in Number 27 of Te Pipiwharauroa, he pointed out that the time of ignorance has been separated off and we have entered the enlightenment. ‘The cock has crowed’; morning has dawned.
Enlightenment is close for us, the Maori, insofar as some of us are lawyers, some school masters, some ministers, some Members [of Parliament], and some understand the unintelligible language of the Pakeha.
Since we have entered into enlightenment, what thing, what benefit is to be gained by holding on to some things which are not appropriate at this time. Those customs are like the drunk man who despises a beautiful hui, of whom it is said: ‘everything about the hui was good but it was [3] ruined by the drunkenness of so and so.’ It is perhaps like the girl who wears beautiful Pakeha clothes in town but has no shoes.
These customs which we are considering are not things we have seen in the distant past but are things from recent times, from the times we began to adopt the good practices of the Pakeha.
1. The first is dampness. This is a problem that afflicts the Tai Rawhiti. Whatever the circumference of a man, if he wears wet clothes, underneath he is a ‘rotting tree’. The main occupation of young men of the Tai Rawhiti in the winters is clearing bush, or, according to them, ‘contract work’. It is good work, but the problem is it is work that goes on even in storms, even if the men are in dry clothes. Would it not be possible for those in charge of arranging the contracts to incorporate a provision for the Pakeha who own the bush to stop the work during downpours? This is the seed of rheumatics, of asthma, and of tuberculosis. It was sad that these young men were the origins for the people of these illnesses.
2. Sleeping in one’s clothes and always wearing shoes. This is not an unimportant thing for us. We see many young men going to bed wearing their working clothes and their shoes. Doctors regard this as a very bad thing. The reason is that the confined pernicious vapours from a person are returned to within him. We know that perspiration accumulates in the shirt and the socks (if a person wears socks) and if it is returned into the pores of the skin, it is like a person sweeping the marae and heaping the muck at the door of his house so that the muck re-enters his house. This is the source of skin diseases and also of eye problems for people.
3. Third is the hongi [touching of noses in greeting]. This custom of ours comes from ancient times, a gift from those who have departed, and perhaps there would be many tears shed should this custom be dumped. We are people devoted to this custom of our ancestors, but from the investigations of the hospital we have learned that it is a very undesirable one. We do not know what illnesses some people have. So we ought to be careful. The membrane within the nose is very susceptible to catching illnesses carried on the skin. We know that not every nose is sweet to be hongied. This is one main means whereby skin diseases are transmitted, and other contagious diseases. However if someone persists in giving the hongi, let him assure himself that those to whom he is giving the hongi are healthy.
These we think are some of our dangerous practices. What do you think about this?
Peter Buck and Tutere Wi Repa,
Medical School,
Dunedin.
O TE KAWAKAWA!
One year some time ago when I was travelling about in Hastings I came upon a Pakeha travelling party. Seeing that I came from Ngati Porou our conversation turned to Ngati Porou. One of the party said that Ngati Porou were the best of the Maori people of New Zealand, as well as the worst. This was right. From Ngati Porou come some wise men. From Ngati Porou come some very good men. Ngati Porou are a tribe devoted to supporting the faith. But Ngati Porou obviously also has some very bad people.
These days I am sad because I think that Ngati Porou are declining and some places are very bad. In these days we hear news from the mouth of the Waiapu of people being drunk, of a young person biting the nose of an elder and the tip of the nose came off! Recently there was different news that Petera Houkamau had been killed. He was one of the chiefs of Tuhakairiora, a son of Houkamau. The death of that man is being investigated to determine whether it was a crime or an accident., but there is little purpose in this insofar as it is clear that the man was killed by drink. A man gets drunk at ‘Te Pohutu’ one day, and when he is full returns to the pa and sleeps. In the morning Petera was found lying on the shore, his body beaten and his head broken. No-one knew how Petera had died. Was he murdered or had he fallen from his horse? But what is certain is that it was the result of the drunken goings-on of Te Pohutu. These people think that drinking is something beautiful for them to do and as a result they get the consequences of their drink. Will they give it up or will they keep on doing it?
I grew up at Te Kawa Kawa, and that is why I am so distressed. I knew a time when Te Kawa Kawa knew nothing of this drink, this beer, and all was well. When the Pakeha started to live there the people became tired of what was good and began to drink beer. There was drunkenness. All became drunk – chiefs, elders, children, women, everyone. They had suffered a disaster, and what was left? Perhaps the Whetu-matarau was engulfing them by the hand of God.
Last year I gave an account of the gathering at [4] Te Pohutu. I spoke in praise of that hui, a hui to dedicate a church. This is my second article about Te Pohutu for them to read. First a church, secondly a crime and drunkenness. Who would have thought that these things could be so close, one to another.
Tipi-Whenua.
Tipi-Whenua.
[It has since been found that that tragedy was not a murder. – Editor]
WAIKATO TANIWHA-RAU
By Apirana T Ngata MA, LLB
Part II
(1) The King Movement
The King of Waikato is the proper person to take the name of chief and to bring together the thoughts of the people within the circle of the King Movement. Besides dealing with material things – a not inconsiderable matter – he is concerned with ideas. I observed an open man, a man quick to grasp good advice, but cautious about committing himself. Perhaps he is hindered by the great traditions in the Waikato district. I think that his concerns for his people are uppermost in his thinking and that he seeks to take hold of the solid things from the Pakeha side for the betterment of his people. However it is very difficult for Waikato to adopt Pakeha things and so people’s ideas die within them [come to nothing] even though we see that Maori cannot hold on to the abiding parts of the Maori inheritance passed down by the ancestors. But since a new direction has arisen with the coming of the Pakeha let us take from the Pakeha the implements, the ability and the knowledge to grasp these new things.
This is what Mahuta said to me and my friends of the Association when we visited Waahi this May: ‘Welcome, my father (Te Heuheu Tukino), the mooring post for people, for land, for tradition. Welcome, carry here the chiefs of the island. Welcome, chiefs of the island who were lost but now are found. Come to work together, to discuss together. Come, learned monkeys to look at this thing, the way, the word. Come, learned monkeys, to look at the stars.’ Then the song was sung.
Between Waikato and the Pakeha there is the history of the war, the spilling of blood, and the land confiscations – a great river that still roars thirty years on. It may be long in linking up but it is coming together. Mahuta seized on the word of Potatau, ‘Hold on to the law’ – and it was followed by that other saying, ‘Hold on to the faith’ so that Nikora, and the others living at Te Pourewa, would be blessed, that Sunday should be kept holy, and that the homes of Waikato should be open to the messages of the ministers. Mahuta spoke to his young brothers about the ragged clothes of their ancestors. I add this: there is no problem, Waikato, with you mending the tears in that garment so that it will serve as a mat for you in the future. There is a basic principle in this world which the hand of God has inscribed on the heavens and the earth, namely, faith is the only basis of support for activities by which people will stand and prosper. Neither laws, nor farming, nor human striving, nor learning can add to faith and the fear of God.
(2) Te Kauhanganui (The Parliament of the King Movement)
There has arisen a saying that in Waikato grows a tree and that the Kauhanganui will stretch out as a resting place for the birds of the island. There it is at Maungakawa, stretching out. That is the place where the King’s throne is. It is the meeting place for those people who are under that administration. On 2nd May each year the Kauhanganui opens and the leading lights, the leaders and guardians assemble, called together by these voices in the air. (Who was not made a leader if he had no feathers for his feet?) There the King makes his speech and the leaders choose the issues. On those occasions when the King is not involved in the works of the Parliament, when the organisation of other parts of the island are involved, I am not clear as to how the important subjects are decided upon. But in the years since the Association was founded we have attended the Kauhanganui three times. In the time of Mahuta we joined in along with all Waikato in choosing the laws passed by the Parliament. Important things are discussed at the gatherings of the Kauhanganui.
Now, Waikato! It is a great thing that you look beyond your own boundaries, observing and listening, too; it is also a good thing that the understandings of those who are outside are allowed to impact on your area, so that you see clearly within and outside, on every side, to facilitate the determination and the solution of the objectives and the implementation of the great words which float on your river
.
[5] (3) The Tribe
Waikato is a large people, and, if the peoples lying within the edges and taking part in the one administration were gathered together, there would be no gathering of people like it in this island because, although there are many ancestral groupings and family groupings within it – Maniapoto, Raukawa, Ngati Haua, Ngati Paoa, Ngati Maru, Ngaiterangi – one may say that they make up one tribe, Waikato, with one war canoe and one man controlling the commanders. As for the appearance of the people, there is no common appearance: some are well-built, others badly; some are dark-skinned, others fair. However there are many of them. At one time perhaps before the coming of the faith there was not a free space on the banks of the river. But as I see it they are going backwards. Many young people have married husbands and wives but many, apparently a similar number, are remaining single. Consequently there are not many little children to take the places of their parents. To me this is a sign of sickness, a sign that a people is in decline.
(4) The Ways to Well-being
The island understands Waikato’s position as a people suffering through having no land. The result is that the ways to well-being provided by having land – rents, money to buy, mortgages perhaps – are not available to Waikato, yet that is what the sub-tribes want to have. Except that the sub-tribes do have pieces of cultivable land on which the Maori can grow food. Formerly a person could make as good living by skinning rabbits, as they could by other paid work done by Maori for the Pakeha. This year the Government has brought an end to the killing of rabbits and this means of making a living no longer exists. In some parts of Waikato and in Hauraki as far as Tairua the way to make money is by gum digging and many from Waikato are turning to that to provide shillings. Another Waikato occupation is cutting flax for the flax fibre mills. Indeed, flax is still the major sustenance for Waikato where there are forests of that plant everywhere. The women of that place are frustrated because they have been unable to make satisfactory mats to spread out on the floors of their houses. There is not much Pakeha work except for felling trees, cutting bush, shearing and ploughing. I want to find out how Waikato has survived. He has four bands, (called paana by some people). A great deal of money is collected each year for the running of the kingship. Every year large hui are held which consume food and money. People buy Pakeha food, clothes and other things, just like other people who are able to make a living off the land. I wonder. Were this affliction, the deprivation of land, to come upon others of our tribes perhaps they would not be able to survive like this. Maori well-being lies in taking the produce of the land. Let each man by the sweat of his brow provide food for the stomachs of his children and perhaps rags to cover the back of his wife.
(5) The Faith
Friends may read the words of Archdeacon Clarke spoken at the Church hui at Te Pourewa, Waipa, on 25th April past. This is part of his address:
‘The Reverends Taimona Hapimana and Nikora Tautau have now been seven years working in these districts and seeking fruit. It is said that Hauhau worship has declined and there is a return to the Christian faith. So how many churches are there throughout Waikato? How many people have been licensed to lead the people in worship in the absence of a minister? How many elders have been baptized? It is nearly forty years since worship and baptism of children was abandoned and so this generation has not been baptized. That is why I ask how many adults have been baptized. How many people have been confirmed or are prepared for confirmation? Is there a move in the number of people taking Holy Communion? How many Sunday Schools for the children are there? How much money has been contributed to support ministers? Seeking the answers to these questions will reveal what the state of the Church is. By what is done the fruit will be seen. It is right that people come to worship at the various gatherings held by Maori, but this is only one of the Church’s jobs. Leaves are leaves; fruit is fruit. Friends, do not say that these words are discouraging, but let them be an encouragement and a challenge.’
It is true that worship was abandoned forty years ago. Perhaps a generation is coming around that will answer Clarke’s questions. The man is urging us to do God’s work, and it is good that people should be the workers here below.
(The End)
[6] [Picture of Lord Roberts]
THE STORIES OF LORD ROBERTS
When the picture of Lord Roberts was printed in Number 30, we added a few words pointing out what a very good man Roberts is. In this edition we summarize all the stories of Roberts from his birth to this day. He is the best–known person in the world in these days. He is also one of the greatest soldiers to have taken up the sword. But the greatest thing about Roberts is his total commitment to the faith. This is the reason he is so admired by people, and tomorrow, when the time comes for him to be summoned by the supreme General to lay down his sword and to go to his rest, he will leave behind him his good name, his honoured name, as a sacred gift, as a precious possession for the English and the whole world.
Roberts’ grandfather was a minister, his father a soldier, a general who served in India, the land in which Roberts was born on 30th September, 1832. His parents were Irish and the Irish are celebrated for the great generals who have emerged from amongst their people. While he was a child he returned to England for his education. When he graduated from the military academy he went to India as a Second Lieutenant. At the beginning he served under his father and at that time he suffered frequent illness.
In 1857 the major conflict began in India when the native soldiers, the Sepoys, rebelled to fight against the English. India had not yet come under the shelter of the Queen at that time; the main authority in India was the Trading Company. That company was like a government with large companies of soldiers within all its territories, most of the soldiers being natives. The main cause of the fighting was the use of the fat of cows to grease rifle cartridges. The cow is a sacred animal in India, so they would not agree to let cow fat touch their lips which would happen if they bit the ends of the cartridge. When the people arose then the priests discussed inflaming the conflict. On 11th May many officers and other Europeans were murdered. A local army was diverted to go to the places where the fighting was acute. There were many native soldiers in this army. The native soldiers were on their guard. When some were seen to be insubordinate they were fired upon with cannons to frighten them. Lieutenant Roberts was one of the officers of this army.
At this time, the large and strong town of Delhi was taken by the rebels. The soldiers and all the Europeans were killed, and the native soldiers took part in the killing. Now it was known that the king of Delhi was inciting his people in his desire to set himself up as the great king over India. When the rebels were gathered in Delhi the English strove to overthrow that fort. On 10th May it was taken by the rebels; on 20th September it was taken by the English. Roberts was nearly killed at the storming of Delhi. While he was fighting he carried his cowhide bag attached to his belt behind his back. Because the bullet hit his bag first it did not cut into his back very badly.
After the fall of Delhi the army went to relieve Kanpur, a town besieged by the rebels. The size of the army was 750 European soldiers and 1900 Native soldiers. At Kanpur there were 500 women and children and not even 500 soldiers. After a long fight the soldiers were tricked by the leader of the rebels who said that if they came out they would not be killed. When they reached the riverside they were hit with a volley of fire. There were only four survivors. All the women and children were killed and their bodies were thrown into the water hole. When the relief army arrived at Kanpur, their blood was still warm, and the soldiers lamented like women.
[7]
Roberts was nearly at the point of death during his journey to Kanpur. An enemy gun was levelled at Roberts but then his horse went backwards. The head of the horse was struck but Roberts escaped. Another day, just as the weapon of a rebel was coming down on Roberts the rebel was speared by one of Roberts’ soldiers. When Lieutenant Roberts and his friends were out on surveillance they were stopped by the rebels. They retreated followed by the enemy. Coming to a river his friends’ horses crossed it but Roberts’ horse fell into the creek. As he was struggling he cut his hand with his sword. Meanwhile the enemy were shooting from one side of the river. But this incredible man escaped.
Roberts was nearly at the point of death during his journey to Kanpur. An enemy gun was levelled at Roberts but then his horse went backwards. The head of the horse was struck but Roberts escaped. Another day, just as the weapon of a rebel was coming down on Roberts the rebel was speared by one of Roberts’ soldiers. When Lieutenant Roberts and his friends were out on surveillance they were stopped by the rebels. They retreated followed by the enemy. Coming to a river his friends’ horses crossed it but Roberts’ horse fell into the creek. As he was struggling he cut his hand with his sword. Meanwhile the enemy were shooting from one side of the river. But this incredible man escaped.
The town that was heavily besieged was Lucknow. The first relief army was led by General Havelock, a man of great faith. When his small army entered the fort they were completely surrounded by the rebels. Havelock died here. When he was near death he called out, ‘See how a Christian dies.’ Lucknow was eventually relieved by General Colin Campbell, the leading general in the conflict.
At this period we see the bravery of Roberts while he was still a young man. When General Campbell’s relief force neared Lucknow, Lieutenant Roberts was sent to raise the English flag on the top of a house to show those inside the fort that the rescuer was now at the gates. When Roberts descended his flag was brought down by fire from the rebels. Roberts went back up again. Three times it was brought down and three times he put it back up again after which the enemy ceased shooting it down. Soon after this he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the medal for valour, the thing desired by a soldier above everything in the world. One of the rebels was bayoneting a native soldier. Roberts saw it. He spurred forward his horse and cut off the head of the enemy. When he looked he saw two rebels carrying off the English flag. Seeing this, Roberts followed even though he was amongst the enemy. Drawing near he snatched the flag, slashing the rebel who held it. Someone fired at him but Roberts made off with his flag. Afterwards, Lieutenant Roberts was made a Major, and after spending six years in India he returned to England. There he met his beloved and not long afterwards they were married.
In 1868, Theodore, the King of Abyssinia, a land in Africa, imprisoned some Europeans. General Napier was sent to rescue those prisoners. The progress of the force was difficult because of the bad state of the land, but they arrived at Theodore’s fort at Magdala, a fort on the mountain-top. The prisoners were rescued and King Theodore killed himself. Major Roberts wanted very much to go but he was detailed to stay by the Red Sea to guard the camp.
On 1st January 1877 the authority of the East India Company was brought to an end and the whole land was brought under the authority of Queen Victoria, and that remains the case to this day.
In the year 1878, great troubles broke out in Afghanistan, the land on the extreme northern border of India. The cause of the fighting was the dispute between two princes for the throne. Major-General Roberts went with a force of 13,000 to suppress that trouble. He was instructed to travel by way of the Khyber Pass, a road between two mountain ridges. There they fought and defeated the enemy. There Roberts’ hand was wounded by a bullet. Soon afterwards peace was made and Sir Louis Cavagnari was sent to Kabul to settle the dispute. The English Parliament sent congratulations to Roberts and awarded him the KCB. When Cavagnari arrived in Kabul he and his whole army of 14,500 were slaughtered along with some women and children. There was just one survivor, Doctor Brydon. Because his horse was tired he was left behind by the army which was struck down as it went through the rivers as they were returning to India.
With the arrival of the news, Roberts was sent with his army of 18,000 to avenge the defeat. He arrived in Kabul and defeated the enemy. Not a single officer was killed. While he was in Kabul he was surrounded. In one battle 934 English died. Roberts was here when news arrived that Kandahar, a town 320 miles from Kabul, was being besieged. Roberts decided to lead his army to save that town. Altogether Roberts’ army numbered 18,000, with eighteen cannons on mules. There was no road between Kabul and Kandahar, only bush and desert. Roberts went down from Kabul and came up eventually at Kandahar. It was not known where he was, whether alive or dead. Many of his soldiers died on the way. He was struck down by fever, which meant he had to be carried on a litter. One of the officers whose bravery was seen in the relief of Kandahar was Major White, now General White, the man who took Ladysmith. On 8th August Roberts left Kabul [8] appearing at Kandahar on 31st. Roberts became widely known through this expedition and he was called Lord Roberts of Kandahar.
During the first Boer War Roberts was sent to direct the fighting. He had been only one day in Capetown when he returned because peace had been made with the Boers. Afterwards he was appointed commander of the soldiers in the South of India and it was not long before he was in command of all the soldiers in India. Roberts was someone who wanted his soldiers to be good. He forbade bringing casks of beer into the soldiers’ camps. The soldiers’ favourite name for Roberts was ‘Bob’, and because of his faith he was spoken of as ‘Minister Bob’. Roberts lived in India for 41years.
In 1892 Roberts was made a Lord and entered the House of Lords. In 1895 he was gazetted as Field-Marshal and commander of the soldiers of Ireland. On December 23rd 1899 he was sent to prosecute the war against the Boers, and that was the day on which he learned that his son had fallen fighting for the flag – the flag for which his father had fought and was fighting.
‘Lord Roberts is coming’ - all heard the cry.
The brave one of former times is coming to take up the weapon
At the bidding of his country for the Crown of England
On the very day on which his son fell.
Joy and sorrow run together
As we contemplate the soldier’s unflinching response to the command.
This is a celebration, a song for this elder
But a lament for his only son.’
R T M Kohere
GOOD NEWS
What news? Good news. What is the good in this news? Wait and I will answer.
This is December, the last month of the year. The 25th day is known as Christmas, the day when the Saviour of the world was born. On this day in the year 1814, 86 years ago, Marsden stood up at Te Puna, lifted up his voice, and wild Maori heard a new story translated into Maori for them by Ruatara. It was a strange story to their hearing but a good story – Good News!
The text of Marsden’s sermon was Luke 2.10-11: 'I bring you tidings of great joy etc.’ The actual translation into Maori of the English is this: ‘I bring you good news of great joy etc.’ This is the text of the first sermon preached in the land of the Maori, and a most appropriate word.
What was that Good News preached by Marsden to our ancestors? What was the beautiful message? Peace on earth; the emergence of goodwill to humanity. (v.14) This is a sinful world and therefore at enmity with God, for God does not like sin. It is right that a person should die for their sins; the soul that sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18.4) It is not just the soul who sins greatly who will die, but the soul who sins, even if he sins only once. (James 2.10)
What was that Good News? It is the birth of the Saviour (v.11). Through the love of God for the world Christ was born into the world (John 3.16). Through the love of Christ peace has come to earth (Ephesians 2.14-15, Romans 5.1, 2 Corinthians 5.18). Christ saves people from the punishment for their sins (Isaiah 53.5, Galatians 3.13). He is the Saviour from their sins of people who trust in him (Matthew 1.21, Romans 6.14). Being saved from the punishment of sin is different from being saved from sin - being saved from sin is the important thing. Through the power of Christ a person stops being a slave to sin. Many people are slaves to sin, listening to the commands of the flesh. Christ was proclaimed to the Maori people as their Saviour from the works of ignorance, from cannibalism, from faith in Maori gods, from all activities abhorrent to God. The whole Maori people lived doing things that it is not right to hold on to, to believe in, in these days of the faith, in the days of wisdom and enlightenment. This was the Good News revealed to the shepherds by the angels and proclaimed to the Maori people by Marsden. Is this Good News for you, reader?
Who is the Good News directed to? To all the people (v.10). To the families of the Maori people who had not yet heard the proclamation, who had not yet been enlightened by the Good News. To the peoples of the earth who had not yet heard the name of Christ. [9] It is a sign of a living faith that a person wants others to know what he has gained. If a Christian keeps the Good News to himself alone he is stealing, because the Good News was given to the whole world. This is a most wonderful thing: despite whatever wickedness a person has done, despite the fact that he has used the name of Christ in his swearing, when he comes to this day he thinks, ‘Christmas’, the day Christ was born and perhaps he will remember that this day is greater than any other day.
The Sundays before Christmas are called the Sundays of Advent, that is, of the Coming of Christ. On this day he arrived on earth. He came to save the world. This is the day of grace. There will be an ending to the time of grace; Christ will not be the Saviour but the Judge (John 5.22). Christ is coming again; this is his second coming. There are very many statements by him in the Gospels concerning his second coming – we write down a few (Matthew 24.36-44; 1 Thessalonians 5.2; Titus 2.13; Revelation 1.17). The coming of Christ is like the coming of the thief, that is, at a time when the person is not expecting, not on the lookout, but rather is being lured away by the works and the pleasures of the flesh. Because the appearance of Christ has been delayed there are some who say it is nothing and that there will not be a day of judgement, but this is explained by Scripture. ‘The Lord is not slow about his promise, not as some think of slowness; but he is patient with us. It is not he wish that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.’ (2 Peter 3.9-10)
This is the day of grace, the day of the Good News. The Saviour is waiting for people to turn to him and be saved by him. There will be a time when grace ends, the Good News ends, and Christ will return to bring judgement, to bring fullness of joy to the people who turn to him, and to shine the Good news on the people who still harden their hearts so that it is for them Bad News. ‘Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus.’
[Picture of General Bridge]
WHAREKAURI (CHATHAM ISLANDS)
To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.
Greetings, friend.
Greetings, friend.
I received the letter you wrote to me asking me to describe the size, the geography, the food, and what the people of Wharekauri are like. So this is a fulfilment of your request, to be heard by the families in Taranaki, Ngapuhi, Napier, and all other places in New Zealand.
Wharekauri is 413 miles from Wellington. Every three months this island is visited by a steamer. At 200,000 acres Wharekauri is not an extensive land. If one takes out the 50,000 acres of Te Whanga, a lake, and of other lakes too, there remains of the land 150,000 acres, more of less. One of these islands is Rangiauria, twelve miles distant from Wharekauri and 15,000 acres in area.
The birds - ducks, parrots, bell-birds, swamp hens, pigeons – have all gone from here. However the birds that remain, the surviving birds on the island are sea birds which differ from the land birds - brown skua, [? haru, kupoupou, ranguru]. On Motuhara and Rangitutahi, the birds are albatrosses. When some people went to gather young albatrosses on Rangitutahi, nine of them died at sea. But eels are thriving. [10] What is not right is the way people treat their sheep. The lake, Whanga, has not been left to be blocked up for seven years. The sea-water fish, yellow-eyed mullet, kahawai, garfish, conger eels, groper, and all the fish of the sea are in this lake, along with all kinds of eels, the whakaau, the mauri, and the land eel. There are many different names for the eels.
As for the number of people: there are around three hundred Pakeha, perhaps more, and seventy-two Maori. And there are more if the children are counted. There are thirteen Moriori, twenty-one if the half-castes are included.
There is no religious presence here now, but formerly, in the year 1863 the English and also the Wesleyan Churches were represented. Some months the minister from Christchurch comes across to lead worship for Maori and Pakeha.
Perhaps, Pipi, I have fulfilled your request. Greetings to you, bird of the mainland. Greetings to you, brave one, who crosses the Pacific Ocean so that we are able to hear your voice crying over Wharekauri. Do not weary of wandering to reach out to these few people, this remnant of people, living on their island home.
From your loving friend,
Hapurona Pawa.
THE NEW LAW
This year some major laws were passed which affect the Maori people of these islands: ‘The Administration of Maori Land Act, 1900’, and ‘The Maori Council Act, 1900’. We shall not write much about the second of these Acts which is an Act providing different things for the physical well-being of people, and containing nothing new and disturbing with regard to land, but about the first of these acts. These laws have been enacted, so the remaining thing is to choose the members for the Councils and to put into practice the laws so that we may soon see the impact, whether it is good or bad. We have left behind the Maori Land Court with its evil fruits - lying, theft, the consumption of money, the teaching of people to drink beer and to do many other evil things, causing division between people, with parents fighting children and also children fighting parents. All these things have been left behind. Ngati Porou took to heart the comment of Mokena Kohere who said that the Court House at Wai-o-matatini should be set on fire. It was the first Court House erected in Ngati Porou. But who is going to decide, who is going to point things out? Now perhaps Rehoboam’s way will have more weight than what Solomon did. We must just wait and see.
Even though the laws are good, if the ruler is evil he will be able to pervert those laws; and if the ruler is good, he will be able to make good the deficiencies of those laws. Likewise, the important thing for the implementation for the people is the choosing of some good people of firm understanding, who have more consideration for the people’s good than a desire for money in their pockets. It is not the case that a person’s knowledge of the ways of the Pakeha is the most important thing. There will be three Pakeha members on the Council to do the things that require knowledge of Pakeha ways. Rather, it requires good people who come together with learning. Nor do they need to be chiefs: better chiefly thoughts than chiefly blood. Beware also of people who speak strongly in favour of the ideas of the Pakeha members of the Council, people who accept uncritically the words of the Pakeha. Those tribes with land under a customary title and lying idle should make every effort, because these are the lands the Council will administer.
We have seen the notices from Wi Pere, Hone Heke, Te Heuheu, and Apirana Ngata. There is a letter from Apirana in which he named some people he thought would be right for the Council. The decision is with the tribe. If in their eyes these people are the right ones then they will be nominated. But we think a person from beyond Waiapu should be nominated since most of the land held under customary title is there. We cannot agree to what these knowing persons are saying when they urge that people should not be elected to the council because it would cost money. This idea might be a good one had the law been implemented for a long time and we could see how it was working. But in the first year we say that all aspects of the law should be implemented so that we can soon see the good and bad aspects. If defects are discovered, so what, leave them as [?taputapu]. We say that the members of the Land Council should be elected, that it should not stop with the nominations, lest afterwards problems are found and Maori are disappointed. But as for the members of the Marae Council, do not be restricted in nominating them. [Let them be] young people, knowledgeable people, who want to use Pakeha practices, who are able to get things done and to give instructions. There are many good people suitable to be members, besides those named by Apirana, to be carefully chosen and nominated.
R T M Kohere
[11]
JOTTINGS
JOTTINGS
The Dead
We have received letters from the Reverends T Tawhai and A Tamihere telling us of the death of Peni te Huki, a Whakatane chief, a father and pillar of the Church in those places. He it was who officially welcomed to Te Poroporo the ministers for the Tuhoe area. He was the face of his people amongst the tribes of the Tairawhiti. He it was who led the tribes of Tairawhiti into Whakatane in 1899. When Eruera Kawhia died, he rushed from his land to go to the tangi for his friend, and that endeared him greatly to Ngati Porou.
We have received three letters telling us of the death of Rev Hemi Taitimu of Parengarenga, of te Aupouri, from the same district in which Archdeacon Clarke died, whose death we told about in the last issue of Te Pipi. The shepherd of that end of the island is gone; the elder of the Church in that place is gone; the cultivator of that end of the Lord’s farm has been sent to a different place, and it is for the Lord to look for and arrange for another. Farewell, sir, leaving behind the fruits of your work as a memorial pole for you.
On 15th November Te Mananui Paerata died at Tokomaru. He was a child of chiefly descent, an only child, and a grandchild of Hone Parata.
A Maori Doctor
Maui Pomare has returned from America from learning the skills of a doctor and now he is a real doctor. (American doctors are not fully recognised by the Pakeha, unlike English doctors.) Pomare has applied to practise as a doctor here in New Zealand. Pomare studied at Te Aute. While there, he and Mitai Mikaera turned to the church which sanctifies Saturday, the Seventh Day Adventists. Pomare went to America and Mitai to Melbourne, but, as it happens Mitai is now at the Catholic College in Wellington. Pomare studied for many years at his Church’s college. Sometimes he went to speak in the towns about the state of the Maori. He called his talk, ‘Aotearoa’.
The Whale is Big
The whale is a huge [?tau - ?thing]. When the Aotea sailed here to Turanga from Auckland, it crossed on the back of a whale. At Aupouri there is a place where many whales have died. A huge net is put in the sea and when the whales enter it they are entangled and bewildered. Then they are killed. In recent days we have heard that 50 whales were stranded at Omaio in one incident. According to the people there, the reason they were stranded was that the pod came close to land on hearing a young whale crying.
(The newspapers are saying that a committee of the Whanau-a-Apanui meets every night to review the ban in place on the sea following the deaths of their children. Some of those fish have been burned. They cannot be sold because of this trouble. What could have been done in other circumstance? The oil could have been sold or poured out perhaps.)
The Bankruptcy of Hone Heke
Hone Heke is out of bankruptcy and has met all his debts.
A Lament
We have received Te Kura-a-Mahaki’s song of lament for the Te Whanau-a-Apanui tragedy. We are sad that we are unable to print that very good lament because there is no room in our paper and also because of the long time since that disaster happened. Editor.)
THE LADDER TO LEARNING
Last year in my article ‘Some Maori Young People’, published by Te Pipiwharauroa, I said that I would point out, for people to see, the occupations and the money available to young Maori through the tertiary college of New Zealand, the University. There are four branches of the University of New Zealand, in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Five young Maori have attended University: Apirana Ngata and Reweti Kohere went to Christchurch, Hamiora Hei to Auckland, and Tutere Wi Repa and Pita Paaka to Dunedin. Of these five, only Apirana Ngata has completed his studies, that is, he has reached the ultimate step of learning. I point out here, lest anyone is mistaken, that I, the writer of this article, have not yet graduated but my task is to show the way to those young people who have not yet stepped out [12] and, when they come to my stage my hand will point upwards urging them on to the pinnacle of the ladder of learning.
The First Step – the local school.
The first thing still is for a person to see the value of the school and his heartfelt desire to send his child to the local school. This is the first stepon the ladder of learning. If a child is not encouraged to go to school when a child his thinking will not be strong and confirmed. The child spends many years being taught in the village; during these years take great care of your child’s body. The best education in the world is of no advantage if it is put into a coffin and buried in the earth eight feet under. A fit body is more important than all the world’s learning or all the diamond mines. Keep your child’s clothing dry. Do not let him sit wet in the school. See that he has good and plentiful food. In times when there is no school and no work to be done, then send him out to play. Do not become bored with caring for your child. He is like money placed in the bank. The time comes when you will eat the fruit, the interest – when he grows up. When the child emerges from the fourth standard the government will pay for him to go to Te Aute if he gets a place. For two years the Government will pay for his going. This is the small step on this ladder. The qualifications for a child’s going to Te Aute were printed in Number 1 of ‘Te Tui’, the Te Aute paper. Shortly we will print them in Te Pipiwharauroa.
The McLean Scholarships
The easy way from the local school to Te Aute if the boy is capable and intelligent is to get McLean money. It provides £15 a year for two years and, if the boy is careful with money it can be extended for three years. Each year two of these bursaries are allocated to village schools only. Te Aute and St Stephen’s cannot compete for these bursaries. The children from village schools who are able to compete for these bursaries are those who are not older than fifteen. These bursaries are for living at Te Aute. If the child is not more than 16 years old he is able to sit an examination to get the £15 to enable him to go to Te Aute, but he will not be able to get that money thereafter.
Let me say something here about the unavailability of bursaries for girls to facilitate their going to and boarding at the large schools for girls. Who is prepared to set up a fund for these bursaries?
The Second Step – Te Aute.
Te Aute is the only Maori school deserving the name of College, and this is also the only school from which boys can get to university. It is good that a child can go to Pakeha colleges if he can get the funding, but, in my opinion, for teaching the spiritual side there is not a school to compare with Te Aute. This is one of our problems, that there is only one school like Te Aute for Maori children. I heard that intelligent Maori children from St Stephen’s are going to Auckland Grammar School without having to pay. I shall not express my thoughts here about children going to the technical schools which are to be built tomorrow by the Government for Maori children. I shall leave that subject for a different article. The strength of the teaching at Te Aute is the heart. There comes to me one of my own memories from many years at Te Aute, and that is of the concern there for physical well-being. Only those children who have lived at Te Aute know the goodness and the joy of Te Aute College.
The Third Step – University.
When a child or an adult gets matriculation, then he is able to enter university. Matriculation is the final educational examination available at Te Aute. Few pass this exam. When a person passes this he is able to go to one of the branches of the university we have spoken of. If he aspires to be a doctor he goes to Dunedin which is the only medical school in New Zealand. The medical school is a very difficult one. It takes five years of schooling, then a person becomes a doctor if he passes the examinations each year. If a person wishes to go into some other profession, all the colleges are good, but we have observed the strengths of the two most distant, Dunedin and Christchurch. But getting there is the easy thing. It eats up money for lodgings and books. One needs more than £70 if one wants to live well at university. It is a dwelling place that consumes money.
Government Bursaries
There are three bursaries each year – of £40 each for three years – given by the Government for Maori children who do well in Matriculation , to support them at university. It increases sometimes to £50 and is extended to four years. [13] The Te Aute Association has requested that these bursaries be increased.
The St John’s College Bursary
There is a bursary of £50 available to intelligent Maori children to support them at Auckland University College, but the child has to live at St John’s College, Tamaki. All the money is used in the cost of boarding at the college and in travelling to Auckland by coach.
Other bursaries.
There are other bursaries available to both Maori and Pakeha and a very intelligent Maori can get the Pakeha bursary. If the boy wants to be a minister, and if he lives at a house in Christchurch, he will get £30 a year. If he is the child of a minister this increases to £50. This bursary is only for Church of England children. If a child gets a Government bursary he can not also get the St John’s College bursary; if he gets the St John’s College bursary he cannot take the Government bursary.
To clarify the huahua [?steps] and the gaps on the ladder of learning:
Education
1. The University - Government Bursary and St John’s Bursary
2. Te Aute - MacLean Scholarship, parental support.
3. Local School - The commitment of the parents, the commitment of the child.
The ….th Step.
There is another level. It is not appropriate to call it the fourth step. Let us say that it is the beginning and the end level. It is the way by which a person will discover ultimate wisdom, the wisdom which will enable him to live well in this world and in the other world, too. One gets this education, not by attending college, or from bursaries, but from a bruised and suffering heart. ‘This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent,’ – the words of Christ. Eternal life is to know Jehovah and his Son, too. Solomon, the man who was wise above all born on earth, said, ‘The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom.’ What is the good of all learning if it is not learning that points us towards God, which makes things right and sweet and holy, and guides the world’s learning, lest it be overcome, turned upside down, and broken in the end. Reader, if you wish to discover wisdom, listen to the word of your friend whom you have not yet discovered: he [wisdom] dwells amongst Maori and Pakeha; he has come to the schools and colleges we have spoken of above; but the most important thing he has discovered is Christ. I will not tell you to turn to Christ as your Lord but if you are sinful and suffering, I know you will find goodness, life, joy, and peace if you turn.
Reweti T Mokena Kohere.
MAJOR-GENERAL BADEN POWELL (Engraving)
THE WARS
Transvaal
A telegram arrived on 30th November from Lord Roberts telling of the capture by the Boers of an English army numbering 400 which was encamped at Dewetsdorp. That town was surrounded by the Boer army of 2,500 for four days and fought bravely before capitulating. The main reason the town fell was lack of water. The English casualties in this engagement were 42 wounded, 15 dead, and all the others were taken prisoner. A relief army set out (1,400). By the time it arrived the town had fallen. De Wet was the Boer general in command at this battle. Soon afterwards it was said that De Wet had died, but he has now surfaced.
[14]
Lord Kitchener has been appointed as supreme commander for the war in Transvaal. He has set up his headquarters at Bloemfontein.
Lord Kitchener has been appointed as supreme commander for the war in Transvaal. He has set up his headquarters at Bloemfontein.
A cable arrived from Lord Kitchener on 3rd of this month telling of a disaster for one part of the New Zealand division in the battle for Reitfontein. Of the six New Zealand officers who took part in this battle, five were wounded. The enemy was defeated and their fort taken. Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener were full of praise for the bravery of the New Zealanders.
Lord Roberts is at sea at present. He is returning to England to take up his lofty post to which he has been appointed by his Queen and all his people, that of supreme commander of all the English armies throughout the world.
Kruger has arrived in Europe. His task is to stir up other kingdoms to enter into the confusion of the battle in Africa. The Emperor of Germany has not responded to his appeal; rather he said that England’s objective in this war was right. Kruger had not got to the King of Russia before that King’s message arrive saying that he did not wish to see Kruger.
China
There is no information about China these days. The army of the Allies is resting in peace, awaiting the resolution of this difficulty. However, as the Emperor and his whole Government have absconded, no resolution is possible. Following the distribution of the spoils taken by the Allies, the English have given their share of the money (£11,600) for Chinese Christians living in poverty and hunger.
TE RAUKAHIKATEA
On 25th November the ministry school, Te Raukahikatea, broke up. Each persons returned to his own home and his own people. This summer Tuahangata Pereiha was afflicted with fever and spent a long time in hospital being cared for by the Pakeha. When he was better he returned home and we hope that he will return to complete the work he began, Those at the school this year are: Te Iwiora Tamaiparea and his wife, Ngarongoa, from Ngarauru, Taranaki; Reweti Kerehoma and his wife, Ngahiraka, from Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri; Eru Kakaraia and his wife, Rihi, from Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri; Wiremu Keretene and his wife, Te Paea, from Ngapuhi; Te Muera Tokoaitua and his wife, Tuihana, from Te Arawa; Te Ropere Tahuri and his wife, Mihirini, from Te Arawa; Turuturu Ngaki and his wife, Ruihi, from Te Arawa. It will be seen that there is no-one from Ngati Porou or Ngati Kahungunu or other tribes. Poihipi M Kohere from Ngati Porou was here last year but because of the large amount of work to be done at home he did not return. The Rev Herbert Williams MA is the Headmaster, and Reweti T Kohere is the second master. Our heartfelt hope is that many young people from Te Aute will come here in the coming year.
A Beautiful Feast
On 22nd November a feast took place at the college. This was a new undertaking by the Pakeha-inclined Maori of Gisborne – the staging of a feast. Meri Aata gave the first invitation to her village of Te Hapara; Herewaka te Rangipaia Poata gave the second to her village at Kaiti; and the third was from Kamau Wherehi and his wife to Te Wainui. These were all very good gatherings. At the Te Wainui gathering the college announced that they would host the final gathering of the year. The people of the college exerted themselves to enhance their feast. The invitations went out to guests in Pakeha fashion with the expectation that only those invited would attend. However on the day of the feast many others came as happens with Maori hearts. The invitations had been printed.
At twelve o’clock the visitors started arriving – Pakeha, Half-caste, and Maori. It was a very fine day, there was no rain, and the sun was not too hot, so the visitors came in their summer clothes. The feast was held on the front lawn of Mr Williams’s house – a beautiful place, extensive, and sheltered by trees. The potatoes, meat and fish for the dinner were all cooked in a hangi. The table was mats spread out on the grass. There were mutton birds, pipi, pigeons, sea eggs and puha [sowthistle]. The food plates were small baskets; there were not forks or knives, but all was done according to Maori practice. It was a new experience for the Pakeha women to eat with their fingers, to pick out pipi, and to eat puha. The college haka performed for the bringing on of the food was appropriate:
[15]
[15]
‘Welcome, people! We have no food – [auahi ana!]
Now we have found the food - [auahi ana!]
The plates, the knives – I don’t have them!
The plates, the knives – I don’t have them!
But the potatoes, here they are, here they are!
But the potatoes, here they are, here they are!
What are potatoes for?
To stick to the side of the stabbed cow, au…au...au e ha!’
(The whole group joined in the italicized words.)
After the meal people began to stroll about. The singing began. The piano was standing outside. The first song was by the Maori, by Taare Wherehi and his wife. Their song was ‘Life’s dream is o’er.’ Many people sang – Maori, half-castes, and Pakeha. Erueti Rangiuia came to this feast, a Maori well-known for playing the piano. One day recently he returned, coming from Sydney where he had been playing. One delightful aspect of this hui was the playing of the bells; five people played. Bells sing melodiously, as did ours when they were struck. But what was most admired was the poi dance by the small Maori children. The people were waiting, and the children emerged from the shrubbery singing, ‘I am full of joy, joy, joy.’ People greatly admired the children’s poi dancing. Tennis, that is the game played over the net, was one of the great pleasures of this gathering. This game is played by leading Pakeha but on this day Maori joined in with the Pakeha. There would be two or three songs, tennis went on, and the piano went on playing. There were two tennis courts. Those people who were not very skilful used the second court.
At four o’clock there was tea. The tables were set up outside under the trees and laden with abundant Pakeha food. Our guests numbered perhaps two hundred, but the food was sufficient for five hundred. At meals there will be no oranges left over, but on this occasion we were not able to finish the oranges, the bananas and the pineapples. Both Pakeha and Maori praised Te Rau’s table.
I’ve written at length about this hui to show people that people dedicated to the faith can enjoy themselves. There was no beer, no card playing, no disfigurement of the body by sticking out the tongue or distorting the body, and no foul language was heard, but no-one – children or adults – missed out on the pleasure. One Maori spoke of this hui as ‘a glorious hui’. People seeing the sorts of people who came to this feast might marvel at the mixing of Maori, Pakeha and half-castes. They were all there, standing together as one. There are some Maori children and half-caste’s too who call themselves Pakeha and who boast and despise their Maori kin. This is an unworthy way of thinking, a way of thinking unacceptable to Maori and leading Pakeha. Off I go!
Tipi-Whenua.
Tipi-Whenua.
A REMEMBRANCE
We were very sad when we heard of the death of Mrs Williams, the wife of Archdeacon Samuel Williams. She dined with her family on Saturday evening, but on the Sunday morning, the 25th, at 3 o’clock, she departed to be with her Saviour. It is a great sadness for the Archdeacon, He was away at Hastings. He had gone to take a service for the Maori. His wife went to sleep before him. He was fetched by one of his sons and brought home to the house from which the leading light had gone.
We shall not write at length about this elderly lady, the wife of 54 years of one of the elders, of the parents of the Maori people. She had seen the state of the Maori in former times, in the times when the island was covered with trees, when there were no roads, no ships, no railways; in the times when she raised her daughter in a raupo house. Her important work was to care for her chief, to strengthen him that he might work long for the Maori people. She has gone, leaving behind her husband, her children, her grandchildren, and her multitude of friends to lament her passing from her hilltops at Te Aute. On the Monday evening Mrs Williams was buried in the cemetery at Te Aute. Many friends gathered – leading people from Napier and all the Te Aute boys who stood behind the Williams family. The Rev Arthur Williams led the service. There were two hymns, an English hymn and a Maori hymn. The Maori hymn was sung by the Te Aute boys.
Piko nei te matenga. [Maori Prayer Book 152]
The head is bowed;
Great sadness rests upon us.
Son of God, show us your love.
Our friend has died,
Gone to the night
Leaving us weeping behind.
Show us your love.
[16]
MOTHERS
MOTHERS
At the hui at Auckland over which the Governor presided and which we reported on in Number 28, there were comments on the teaching of girls – a very important thing – because the teaching of girls has more impact than the teaching of boys. Some of the people who spoke said that it was better to teach girls than to teach boys.
Perhaps most Maori will say, ‘Pooh! What is the good of teaching Maori girls? It is a waste of money and nothing will be accomplished, apart from their learning to write so that they can write to the boys.’ This what Maori say and such words belittle the girls. But we think that the wisdom of the people at the Auckland hui is greater than that of the wise Maori people who say these words. Some of those Pakeha that it was a very good thing to educate girls to fit them to be wives for the boys who are attending school lest the boys are knowledgeable and the girls ignorant so that the girls become a source of problems or become a drawback to the boys. One important consideration is that the girls of these days will be the mothers of the future generation of children, and if the mothers are bad then the children will be bad. They will not know how to bring up, to teach and to protect their children so that they become good citizens of the world. Wise people have observed, and we also know, that the mother has the authority, the power to shape the thinking and actions of the child, because the child is close to her during the whole time his ideas are being shaped. All the good people who have come into the world have all had good mothers.
There is nothing wrong with young people writing love letters if they do so under the influence of worthy thinking. Courtship is the right precursor to marriage so that the boy and the girl may determine if it is right that they should marry on the basis of the love they have one for another. What is wrong is marrying on the instruction of the parents, even though there is no love, with the result that, after the wedding, they separate and the man sleeps with another woman and the woman with another man and there is a crop of illegitimate children.
No-one should accuse only the girls of the wrongdoing which they did so foolishly. Are the boys not now writing letters to the girls, not wanting a girl as a real wife, but rather as a plaything? Are the parents of girls not instructing them to think carefully about their virginity? Are their girls being protected from taking bad paths, from the games to which they may be tempted by men?
Napoleon Bonaparte said in his day: ‘The problem of the French is that there is no nest and so no adults.’ Wise words. If there are not good mothers to give birth to and to raise good children, if there are not also good homes (nests) to raise children, the people will not grow honourable. So, Maori people, if the mothers of our children are not taught to bring up people in the world to be a beautiful coronet for the Maori, we shall be sorrowing at the terrible decline of the Maori people.
Reweti T Mokena Kohere.
Reweti T Mokena Kohere.
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
5/- David Jones, Pine Tuhaka, Kereama Tihema, John Morell, Anaru Ngawaki, Piripi Atamira, Hori Tohungia, ‘Ahipara’ Mereana Kiiwhi, Hoana Rakaiwerohia. Hoera Rapaea, Ranaiera Mitingare, Mrs Newton, Ema Tiakitai, Turanga Hinaki, Hoera Hinaki, Paraone Hatarana
2/6 Te Marunui Rawiri, Aporo te Moana
2/- Rev Raihana Kamiti
1/3 Kaha Pene
1/- Wi Keretene
H W Williams, Te Rau Press, Gisborne
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