Te Pipiwharauroa 74

Te Pipiwharauroa 74

No. 74

1904/04

(Maori Version at NZETC.)

[1] Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama, Number 74, Gisborne, April 1904.

FROM THE EDITOR.

The Editor was sad that he had to withhold some of the articles sent for publication last month. At last we are able to print most of this month’s contributions. In the next edition we will print Perere Peneti’s article about the school land at Porirua, and that of Taare Wherehi about the large hui held at Ruatoki and some other long articles we have received. We waited for the second part of ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ but it has not arrived.

My friends, don’t give up on writing to us if your papers do not appear straight away, and don’t give up on sending supplejack seeds for our bird. Because he sings so loudly his mouth is dry and his stomach is flabby.

We received five shillings; the name of the sender was not written down but it was sent from the Te Wairoa Post Office. It is said that editors are know-alls, but this editor does not know who wrote this letter to him because there is no signature. But we are grateful for this donation and other donations that have been sent.

A TELEGRAM.

Death for the Wives of Mormons.

Washington, America, March 4th.

Joseph Smith, leader of the Mormon Church told the Committee that if the wife of a Mormon did not agree to her husband marrying several women as he wished, that woman would be killed by the Lord. But President Smith said that he was not saying that the woman should be killed by her husband.

PAKEHA TOHUNGA.

America is a nation notorious amongst Pakeha for its tricky practices, its alternative ways, and its con-men. From America come medicines which are advertised as amazing cures for all kinds of illnesses, and American healers go to all places of the world claiming to heal all diseases. People are often seen to get better. Their rheumatism or other condition is smeared with the ointment, they are massaged, and the affliction is eased, so that they walk and bend backwards and forwards, but before long the pain has returned and they are the same as before. From America come the new religions of these times, the manifestations of human thinking. In some American churches the people whistle and do other strange things. From America came the Mormon religion, the religion which approves of polygamy, and which believes that the angel gave to Joseph Smith the book written on golden plates. From America came the Christian Science religion with its strange teachings. From America came the Seventh Day Adventists, the church which holds Saturday sacred, and which says that there is no such thing as a human spirit. From America came The Students of Truth. The prophet of this religion is [Arthur Bently] Worthington, a confidence man and a deceiver of women. He lived in Christchurch and built himself a temple and many people followed him. When his wicked deeds caught up with him he went to Australia where he began again his deceitful activities. He stole money from a woman and was arrested and put in prison for seven years. That is the right place [2] for such prophets and for mischief-working tohunga to live. The Americans are wizards at setting up religions which are expressions of human ideas. And Maori are the same as Americans – a people who want to set up religions. So we have Paomiere, Tariao, Paitinihau, Rotokuihi. Kaupare, Kewara, Paterotero, Pai Marire, Ringatu, and so on. Te Matuhi is advertising a new religion for Maori; it is called Te Muru or The Seven Rules. There is a new religion from America called Zion and I write about this religion here.

Last month Te Pipiwharauroa told of the arrival of and elderly Pakeha by the name of [John Alexander] Dowie, who says that he is Elijah, the Restorer. This man is a Pakeha tohunga. The Maori people are perhaps wrong to think that they alone have tohunga; this kind of person has been known from of old, though they do not have the same skin or voice. There are in Scripture accounts of deceitful tohunga in those days. Simon, a magician, demanded that the Apostles give him the power of God. ‘Now there was a man called Simon who formerly did sorcery in that town. It was said that he was a great man and the people of Samaria wondered at him. In the same way we Maori wonder at our tohunga and say that they are great.

Dowie built a town for himself in America at a place near Chicago. He called his town Zion. According to the Mormons they have the new Zion, but instead Dowie has built Zion in America. Joseph Smith said he was a prophet and Dowie also says he is a prophet. This town was built in three years. It covers 6,400 acres. Dowie owns the whole town. All the residents rent from him. He is also the manager. All those who believe in Dowie’s religion are ordered by him to go to Zion to live. They are to sell their lands and take the money to Zion to help with the work of the town. People think that it was to make money for himself that Dowie built this town. No doctor is allowed into Zion; Dowie says that he will heal the sick by prayer – he is Elijah the Restorer. If a person dies Elijah gives as the reason for death, a lack of faith. When his daughter died he said that it was a chastening by God. Last year Dowie led a party of 3000 to overthrow New York. He called it the Salvation Army of Zion. But when they settled there the members of his army were struck down with influenza. Dowie said that the cause of the coughing was that his party’s throats were full of the dust of New York. The gathering came to a sad end. Dowie and his wife stayed in a sumptuous hotel. At the end of the meeting Dowie’s wife and son set out to travel around the world. Dowie went to Australia. They had most of the money of Zion.

Because of the opposition of the Pakeha of Australia to this mischievous person he was not permitted to speak. I have seen Dowie’s newspaper, ‘Leaves of Healing’. From the articles it is clear that this is a work involving deceit, a means of getting money. Indeed he says in his letter to his church, ‘Sell quickly your lands and your possessions and bring the money to Zion to enable it to grow. Come with your whole household to Zion. What I say to you is not from me but has been given to me by God, and I declare it using my authority – this is my instruction to you, the instruction of the Messenger of God, of your Head.’

Perhaps someone will ask, ‘Do people really believe that Pakeha?’ I answer in this fashion, Do people believe in other false prophets, in other tohunga? Do people now not still believe in falsehoods? If the Faith is coated with falsehoods, if healing of the pains of the body is on offer, then people follow recklessly with their eyes closed, and believe what is false. Ignorant Pakeha are misled by Pakeha tohunga; ignorant Maori are misled by Maori tohunga. Scripture warns people: ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, “I am Christ!” and they will lead many astray.’ [Mark 13.5-6]

R.T.M.K.

……………………………………………

Fifteen young Maori are working in the town of Gisborne, besides those at the school for clergy. Four are in law offices, three are administrators, two of these are Maori translators, four are clerks, one is a carpenter, another a blacksmith, one assembles bicycles, and one is a teacher.

[3] 

THE TWO ELIJAHS

The English language calls people who believe what deceivers say, ‘gulls’ – ‘sea-gulls’. One Pakeha called Dowie says that he is also Elijah and many people believe him and hand over their money to support him, and so the Free Lance newspaper says: ‘Elijah the Tishbite was fed by the ravens; Elijah Dowie is fed by the gulls.’ We believe many Maori gulls feed false Elijahs.

THE CHURCH OF THE SEVENTH RULE

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.

Greetings, friend! If you would, please attach to your tail so that it hangs down, my salutation to my close friend, Haimona Patete of Picton. It is as follows:

To Haimona Patete, my friend, greetings! I am grateful for your exposition of the major issues that are being taken up and explored by those who choose the ways of the Maori people, as published in Te Matuhi No. 26, pages 8-9. My friend, although you say many things in your exposition, I wish to consider just two things:

(1) The Seventh Rule of Jehovah.

(2) The number of the Beast.

My friend, I have two questions for you.

(1) Who was the angel or prophet, who arose after Christ, who pointed out that the Seventh Rule was a Church which would lead the Maori people into Truth, Faith and Peace, and would unify the Maori tribes with one purpose?

(2) Who amongst us Maori knows how to unravel the many meanings of the figure of the beast, a human figure, 666?

Enough! Leave these questions here. We go back to look at the nourishing of the matters you wrote of in Te Matuhi. You say that the Church of England is the adult bird which helps, while the Seventh Rule is the chick breaking out of the egg. Enough! It is important that we confront this. Where you go wrong is not to compare it to the egg of a pet grey duck which is brought by the male and placed under a brooding hen to sit upon. That brooding hen thought that she was sitting only on her own eggs. When the chicks hatched one belonged in fact to the duck but she didn’t care, she gathered it under her wings and fed it. However, when the duckling grew, it saw the river or the swamp, and it went into the deep water and swam leaving the hen on the land clucking to her chicks to come under her wings, and the duckling didn’t. But let our eyes and our minds consider carefully the words of our Lord who said to his disciples, ‘Beware of being deceived by the many who will come in my name.’ [Luke 21.8] They will say that here is the true Church for us while other will say, No, the right church for us is in the desert according to the Holy Bible, while others will say, No, the miraculous Church for us is on the mountain. My friend, we Maori people are like that still, but if it were possible even the chosen people would be led astray.

The Lord said, ‘Many kings and prophets desired to see the things that you see but did not see them, and to hear the things you hear but did not hear them,’ and that was the case for our elders, Taitoko and the others, who worked on the Law to improve their own lot and that of their descendants after them, meaning us, who are raising up the marae councils. They planted the kumara tubers which have grown, even though they have died. They planted them in the rich soil of the Church of England, so let us earth them up in that same soil. Like them let us look back on the times when we and our religion were primitive and Maori were eating Maori. When the Church of England arrived the ovens for cooking people were still burning. That Church told us that, when it came to eating, we were to leave aside people because they are sacred, but there is nothing wrong with cooking cattle and sheep and pigs in the haangi. From that time up to the present, Maori jaws have rejected human flesh.

So why should we now join a new church which will lead us and our customs astray when our Church of England provides the things we want if we truly call upon God within that Church, as did our ancestors, who have passed on, when that Church came? They truly prayed the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Our Father in heaven.’ Now we their descendants know that God is in heaven. [4] ‘Your kingdom come.’ What has come to us are shoes, suits, hats, gloves, gold watches, and diamond rings, and we have travelled by horse, by cart, by buggy, by railway, and by ship, and we have talked aloud to each other, I from Gisborne, you from Picton, over the telephone. ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Now the ships of England, America, Australia and of every country in the world are continually travelling and carrying flour, sugar, tea, biscuits, rice and thousands of other foods from afar under instructions from God to provide for us, the descendants of those elders who faithfully called upon him in this fashion, Those elders did not see this aspect of God’s sovereignty; the aspect of God’s sovereignty which they did see was their own passing from death to life. We, their descendants, have discovered that the one important thing that abides is the kingdom of Jehovah.

As to what you said about our cursing the plans to find the paths of death, we were wrong, and it may be that we shall enter the kingdom of God with difficulty.

My lad, God made everything in the world in pairs, male and female, good and bad, life and death, fine weather and rain, calm and storm, ebb tide and high tide, and both of us know that everything under the sun has its counterpart, but you set yourself up as a tohunga to work with illnesses within Wairarapa and the name of your church in those days was ‘Wiping Out Illness’; later it became ‘The Seventh Rule’.

My lad, stop drawing us, the Maori People, to ways devised by human thinking and loaded onto the name of Jehovah as a support on the way to maturity, so that the tribes and hapu of the Maori People climb on board them and embrace them, lest the hen sits on the superfluous egg which ends up by being thrown over the cliff.

H T Nihoniho

Gisborne, 30th March, 1904.

[We are very pleased that Tuta Nihoniho has spoken up about the action of ‘Te Matuhi’ in advocating that the Maori People turn to the Seventh Rule as their religion. We did not pay attention to those statements in ‘Te Matuhi’ as they seemed to us childish and sweet nothings. We are amazed at how a person will bawl out and raise his voice so that he is heard, and will tell people to turn to the religion he devised. Who is this man, Haimona Patete, and where does he come from, that he seeks to assure us that he will set up a religion for us, the Maori People? Is this perhaps the Haimona Patete who has trampled on Ngatikuia? Why did Ngatikuia abandon Haimona Patete’s religion? Was it because they realised he was a superfluous egg? - Editor.]

REMARKABLE MEDICINES

Here in New Zealand there are some men who advertise that their medicines will cure all illnesses, whatever the illness. People, don’t be misled by their lies. An illness may be eased not by medicines but by massaging the body or by the desire of the sick person to get well. Indeed a Pakeha minister, the Reverend Charles Fox from Melanesia, told us how he had healed a black person without medicine. The black person became ill and was told to go and see him. He had no medicines; he could only look at him. However he did have a glass tube used to measure a person’s temperature, a thermometer. When he saw the black person he put the thermometer into his mouth. The black person mistakenly thought that the glass tube was medicine. When it was removed from his mouth it was seen that his sickness was getting better. The Pakeha suppressed his laughter. Each day the minister put the glass into the sick man’s mouth and told him that he was continuing to improve, but the Pakeha did not forget to give his patient Bovril. When the black man was well again he told everyone that it was the glass medicine of the Pakeha that cured him.

It is true, we believe, that some people get better under Maori tohunga, but like that black man, it comes about through hope, and perhaps through going to a different place.

[5] 

A SECOND WERETA

When news of Wereta had died down, a different tohunga from the Tai Rawhiti rushed forward, fulfilling the statement by Te Pipiwharauroa last year that a tohunga would emerge after Wereta because becoming a tohunga now gives pleasure as people follow you and chiefs praise you. It is said that Wereta has been deserted and people are turning to the new tohunga, Wereta II. People say that this one is superior to Wereta. Alas, how mad we Maori are, although there are mad Pakeha who follow their own tohunga. If this tohunga does many deceitful things then, perhaps, we will make known his activities for the wise to laugh at and for the ‘gulls’ to wonder at.

TE WHITI, PROPHET.

This article is taken from Pakeha newspapers.

Te Whiti the Prophet has great mana at Parihaka. Sometimes he speaks to the Maori and quotes the Scriptures. In his speech in recent days he was critical of the Pakeha for seizing Maori land, but Te Whiti said that in the blinking of an eye all the Maori dead will rise, their land will be returned to them and he will be their God for ever! At the end of the speech a Pakeha stood and asked Te Whiti the purpose of his foolish speech. That Pakeha said, ‘When I was here some months ago you prophesied that it would not be many days before the Maori dead rise up. Where are those dead who have risen from death? May I not see one of them?’ There were many Pakeha there who thought that Te Whiti would not answer this question. But Te Whiti looked surprised. He coughed and said, ‘What this Pakeha says is right. I prophesied that it would not be many days before the dead would arise. But according to the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. I am the Lord!’ The Maori wondered at the wisdom of their chief. Te Whiti’s observation is instructive.

TO DOCTOR TE RANGIHIROA.

(This letter was sent to us to send on to Doctor Peter Buck, one of whose names is Te Rangihiroa. – Editor.)

To Doctor Te Rangihiroa, who is travelling around this island. There is no greeting for you. My salutation would be to see you. This letter will see you. The message it contains is, return to your roots in the land, in the people, which you left behind when you went to complete your education. It is the case that you have finished your education, you have laid hold of it now. You have emerged on Hikurangi, into the day-light, into the world of light. And benefits will subsequently come to me and to the people. Best wishes. You are here to unravel the many pains that afflict people. There are two Taranaki doctors, you and Pomare. Pomare is committed to the many peoples of this island. You must return to your tribe and stay with them to work and care for them and not be lured away by the possessions and wealth of the two peoples, Pakeha and Maori. Return the gift of the children and women. There is much money here. Son, come back, come and stay and work as a doctor and use your skills for the tribe. Son, Wire Kerei and Peneti have acquired a quarter acre at Okato as a site for a hospital. Peneti and I have discussed having a hospital at Rahotu and another at Waihi. These buildings are for you, for your practice, for the child of Taranaki who has emerged out of the loss of land and loss of people. I end here these words of entreaty. Son, return in response to this appeal. On the basis of this request, welcome!

Poukohatu Te Kahui Kararehe,

Rahotu, Taranaki,

February 29th, 1904.

………………………………………

At Kaihu there is a large kauri growing. It is 18 feet in diameter and the trunk rises 75 feet before there are any branches. Were this tree to be milled for timber the value of the timber would be about £400.

………………………………………

The Head of Te Rau College is very grateful to Mere Kingi for the twelve bags of potatoes she sent to the college. Thank you!

[6] 

WARS

England and Tibet

Tibet is a sacred land to the north of India. The people look like Chinese. Their religion is Buddhism. Their king is a religious leader. The main city is Lhasa. It is said that only three foreigners have visited this city. It is thought that Russia wishes to annex this land and perhaps that is why England sent an army to Tibet last year, though the reason given for that excursion is to support talks about Tibet breaking their treaty with England. That army crossed high mountains covered with snow. The commanding officer was Colonel Younghusband. When they arrived on the borders a Tibetan delegation arrived to order the English to retreat, saying that their leaders did not wish to speak with them, however the English went on. On 1st of this month news came that there had been fighting. The Tibetans had ambushed the English expedition but 750 of them were killed or wounded, and 12 English. It was discovered that the guns and cartridges being used by those people were from Russia. Subsequent news says that the people of Tibet are now peaceful.

Russia and Japan

There is no account of the fighting between Russia and Japan in recent days. There has been no battle. There has been some fighting between scouts when they have met but few casualties on either side. This is the first fighting on land. Both sides are pouring large numbers of soldiers into Manchuria and Korea, but both sides are proceeding with caution. It may be that the war will be long as Russia seeks to overcome the strength of Japan.

The most famous person in Japan at present is Toko, the person who destroyed the Russian warships. This man was taught in England. He is the admiral of the Japanese navy. Ito, a Christian, directs proceedings from home and Toko is at sea.

Russia is looking for ways to transfer its European fleet to the East. The main difficulty is the lack of coal for the ships. One of the conventions of war is that it is not right for another nation to provide coal for the ships of nations at war. One story says that they may sail by way of the Arctic Ocean when the ice breaks up. Russia is perplexed by this small nation, Japan.

Items About the War

A mine is dynamite laid in the sea. It is attached to the land by a cable. If the end of the cable is depressed the mine explodes. If it comes into contact with a boat, the boat will not survive. The entrances to the harbours of major towns have been mined. Some mines are unattached and explode when hit by a ship.

A torpedo is a kind of explosive but it is fired and sails through the sea like a fish. When it hits a ship the button on the nose is depressed and it explodes. It is propelled by a screw and has a rudder to guide it.

The islands of Japan cover 147,655 square miles. The population is 44,260,604. The Government has £27,309,000. Russia is more than 8,660,394 square miles in area – 53 times larger than Japan. It has a population of 128,661,605, which is 2 ½ times that of Japan. The Government has £207,000,000.

Later News of the War

We have had telegrams telling of a disaster for Russia. Its main warship, the ship which carries the flag, the Petropavlovsk, was destroyed by a mine. 850 crew died including the captain and Admiral Makarov, Russia’s finest admiral, and soon afterwards one of the king’s family died. The account says that the ship was returning to Port Arthur when it struck the mine which had been laid in the sea by the Japanese and it exploded. The ship was destroyed and sank within 2 ½ minutes. Some think it was torpedoed by the Japanese. The ships were fighting. Those of Russia were enticed to come out and their way was blocked by the Japanese. There was fighting. All the Russian ships were hit. One was sunk and 50 crew died. The ships were scattered and destroyed. The Petropavlosk was fleeing when it was destroyed. This was a major defeat and Russia is in mourning and its king in tears. How is Russia going to encourage its land forces now?

[7] THE HEALTH OF THE MAORI

By Doctor Collins.

At the meeting of doctors held in Wellington the President of the Colonial Doctors said some things about the condition of Maori. He said:

These are a few words about the decline of the Maori People. It is right that we should be doing all in our power to help them lest they disappear. I am delighted that the Government has had the idea of appointing a Maori to look into the state of health of the Maori People. It is a remarkable thing how quickly Maori have learned Pakeha ways. This is an indication of their ability and their eagerness to adopt new ways. It is remarkable how within 50 years Maori have qualified for major professions as lawyers and doctors. Maori people will not fail to support Doctor Pomare and thereby bring an end to the decline of the Maori.

When I was travelling around in Waikato, my fellow traveller was a Maori, the driver of my buggy. As we talked I became aware that that Maori knew a great deal. He was well-dressed and knew that he had to keep his body warm day and night in all seasons. He knew that the Pakeha practice was to work and to work at all times. He also knew, perhaps more than the Pakeha, about agriculture. I asked him why he was different from other Maori in that area and he replied that he had been brought up by the Pakeha since he was small.

Not long afterwards I was asked to go to see a small child suffering from [?whooping cough - ?mare whio]. The child was in the tent and part of the tent had a mat. The child’s clothes were a waistcoat and a shawl. The child had a very painful chest. The parents were very anxious for their child to recover, but they did not know anything about clothing and feeding the small child or what sort of accommodation he should be in. The place for getting medicine was 40 miles away, but a week had gone by and no medicines had arrived. If the child cried in the night, and he often cried, he was carried outside and his parents held on to him throughout the night. What could I do? My heart longed for a trained woman to nurse that child and my thoughts returned to that Maori who had been brought up by the Pakeha and taught about wearing clothes. I also had the idea that it would be very good were there to be nurses living in districts with large Maori populations, specifically to look after Maori children. If we want the Maori People to survive, they will survive if the children are nursed in Pakeha ways. Women of faith are going to India and to China; I say to these women that there is much work for them here in New Zealand. Let them first of all learn nursing and then look to nurse the children of the Maori People.

[We strongly agree with what Doctor Collins said. If the children continue to be so ill the Maori People will disappear from this old earth. The main reason the children die is ignorance of nursing practice, mistakenly feeding them with adult foods which are not suitable for children’s stomachs, inadequate clothing, or carrying the children into the cold or into overheated houses. Children get sick from dirty milk bottles. Perere Peneti is urging Pakeha and Maori in Taranaki to build a small hospital at Okato with beds for the sick. A Pakeha woman would oversee the hospital with a Maori girl to help her. Soon that hospital will be built. The site has been given by a man called Wiri Kerei. There is a Pakeha nurse at Te Aute and another at Rotorua. Our dream is that many Maori girls will train as nurses. There are two at Napier Hospital. Perhaps, by and by, they will return to their homes to teach Maori women to nurse their children and to care for the sick. – Editor.]

…………………………………..

Tutere Wi Repa from the Medical School in Dunedin has been appointed by the Government to inoculate Maori against smallpox.

…………………………………….

The bird shooting season begins on 1st May. The shooting of pigeons and pukeko is forbidden this year.

[8

NEWS

From New Zealand

Pita Paaka, that is, Dr Te Rangihiroa, is the second doctor in the main hospital in Dunedin.

Two Ngati Porou youngsters were bored with staying at home in their village and came to Gisborne to find work for themselves. Patihana Tihore is working as a blacksmith and Ngahiwi Petiha is assembling bicycles. Ngahiwi did not go to Te Aute; Patihana had one year there. These young people are enterprising.

Not many people came to Uawa for the Unveiling of the memorial to Karaitiana Tuketenui. At this hui Ranginui’s band made its appearance and it was very good. £476 was collected. Pene Heihi was instructed to arrange for part of this money to go to the Williams Challenge.

A Pakeha woman in Wellington was found lying dead on her bed. The cause of her death was a gas leak while she was sleeping. This poisoned her. The door and the windows of the room were shut. This manner of death is like that from a charcoal fire.

On 1st of this month the ships that went to the end of the earth [Antarctica] returned to Lyttelton. The Discovery was lost for three years and has at last returned. Last year the Morning sailed with food and to search for her. They found her but she was stuck in the ice. Last summer the Morning and the Terranova went and they have all returned. The Terranova has on its prow an ice-breaker which reduces the ice to powder and the Discovery was able to escape. There is much to be said but we content ourselves with publishing the good news.

From Other Lands

In the boat race in England between Oxford and Cambridge, Cambridge won. These are the greatest universities in the world. They lie in wait for each other every year. Oxford has won 33 times and Cambridge 27.

The French Government does not like the Church of Rome although it is the main Church in that land. A law has been passed to stop Catholic clergy teaching in schools. The Pope has said that if the Government insists on this law the French people will be excommunicated from the Church.

It was not known what had become of a Pakeha who disappeared in Western Australia. One week afterwards an alligator was caught. When it was disembowelled the clothes of that Pakeha were found inside it. The alligator is a very large reptile which looks like a gecko, it lives in the water, and it is nothing to him to swallow a human.

The people rejoice at the friendship between England and France in these days. A treaty has been concluded between these great powers for the exchange of some of their territories.

THE NEW COMMITTEE FOR THE DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND.

1. The name of that Committee is the Committee for the Management of Maori Funds within the Church.

2. When the Hui Topu meets people are to be chosen for that Committee.

3. The Bishop is to be Chairman, and he will arrange for a Pakeha clergyman and for clerical observers to join that Committee.

4. When the Hui Topu meets every three years, a Maori clergyman and a Layman (who is a communicant) are to be chosen from each Archdeaconry to form the Committee. And if any does not take up his position during those three years the district committee may replace him.

5. The Committee will administer the money collected by Maori for the work of the Church, but their main task is to increase the stipends of the clergy.

6. The Committee members for each Archdeaconry may appoint 5 or perhaps more people who are communicants to assist them and to further the objectives of the Church.

7. The Committee is to meet each year.

8. The Committee is also to appoint a Secretary and a Treasurer, and the Bishop is to appoint two trustees, one being Maori.

H A Hawkins

[9] 

 TANGI

We are saddened by news of deaths within Ngati Porou, those of orators who have been carried off by Death. In the last few months no fewer than three Ngati Porou men who graced their marae have died – Hata Pokiha, Wi te Rangikawanoa, and Wikiriwhi Mataauru te Matehe.

Te Hata was a knowledgeable man with respect to oratory and entertainment. He was a man who could compose and perform haka and was one of the fuglemen of the haka for Porourangi. Te Hata was an adult but he had a child’s playful heart. This man’s activities touched the heart and people loved him for what he did. Te Hata was greatly lamented by the young men and it was the young men who gave the funeral orations.

Wi Wanoa was an orator, an elder on the marae, a man who embraced the Faith. His village of Horoera is desolated at the loss of Te Rangikawanoa. He has departed along with his elder brother Mataauru from their long beach at Hautai. Farewell, sirs. Go to your friends who have passed on before you. Mataauru was the last of the chiefs of Porourangi of their generation – Iharaira Te Houkamau, Hotene, Tamanui-te-ra, Rapata Wahawaha, and Mokena Kohere. At the time of the troubles in Waiapu, Mataauru took the side of the Queen and fought alongside Te Mokena. Mataauru was one of the old school, an elder who was terrible when it came to fighting, and an elder who was good in response to goodness. It is said that no-one who took up arms and fought against Mataauru was spared. When a man stole Mataauru’s food he slit his ear. Had it been in the old days, Mataauru would have killed that man. This elder contained within himself the old person and the new person; as he aged his body weakened and the old person had less sway. The new person was seen in his desire to worship and to embrace the Faith. I was deeply moved by accounts of his death. It is said that when death was near he asked his son for his Prayer Book because he wanted to pray. Perhaps it was his offering up of himself. His book was spread open when his eyes closed and his spirit departed. A person’s pillow when the day or even the minute of his death comes is the word of God.

This must suffice as my lament for the passing of my elders; I will not say many words. Farewell, sirs! Farewell, farewell, on the clear path. Leave behind the tribe looking in vain for your presence on the marae and listening in vain for your voices which are no more.

Ascend the slopes to Tipare-o-Niu

The path by which you departed.

I will water it with my tears….!

R.T.M.K.

A FLOOD

To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.

I have received a letter from Hoori Pawa telling me of the disaster that struck them, their animals and all their properties.

Many cows, sheep and horses belonging to this man and his tribe died in this terrible flood. Hoori was lying ill in his house when the flood struck. His house was flooded to a depth of six feet.

Te Pa-o-Hekerangi was also inundated. Stacks of oats were lost along with four hundred posts, thirty bales of hay and many other things. Many animals, more than 150 cattle, were left by this disaster without a place to stand or grass to eat. Opao, the home of those cattle, was completely covered with mud. This was indeed a great disaster. It is a disaster worth the consideration of the Maori People. It was not a disaster brought upon them by people, [?i poipoi e tika ai hei whiu mona mo tana manaakitanga]. Indeed, a disastrous flood brings other problems which are unavoidable. It is right that we should help them and so embody the word which is on our lips at all times about love.

This is part of our Maori People who are suffering. They are afflicted with respect to their property and their houses and there is nowhere for their possessions. So, Tribes, help the suffering people as your heart moves you.

Heni Tauraki.

[10] 

 TESTING GOD.

God commanded his people in ancient times to dedicate to him the firstborn of men and beasts. He was to have that which was important and good and noble – the first fruits. God said: ‘Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the children of Israel, of human beings and animals, is mine.’ (Exodus 13.2) My friend, have you given to God the portion of your wealth due to him? Do not keep them for yourself only, giving the fragments to God. Give to God what is God’s lest your possessions be devoured by the huhu [beetle larva] and who knows whether the huhu will not turn and devour the person too. It is God’s desire that he should be first; everything else comes after him. Christ said, ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.’ (Matthew 10.27)

I like very much the story of Hannah praying to God for a son. She made a promise that if God gave her a son she would return that son to God. God heard the prayer of the suffering heart of Hannah and when Samuel was two or three years old he was taken by his mother to Eli to be presented to God in fulfilment of her promise. When Eli questioned her Hannah said that she was the woman who had prayed for a son and that son she was holding in her arms. He was to take him and give him to the Lord for ever.

What woman would part with her son, her firstborn, for whom she had wept, the fruit of her barrenness – part from her son of three years of age for ever? People these days are very apprehensive about letting their sons become ministers. Although Hannah loved her firstborn greatly she did not refuse to give Samuel over to do God’s work, and God remembered the faith of Hannah and blessed her. ‘Now God looked upon Hannah and she conceived again and gave birth. She had three sons and two daughters.’ [1 Samuel 2.21]Hannah presented her firstborn to God and God returned to her fivefold. Hannah first sought to do God’s will and God then gave her his blessing. God will not let a person’s indebtedness to him go [unrewarded] for long. God’s word will not fail of fulfilment when he says, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well’ [Matthew 6.33], that is, the wealth and the good things of this world. People disdain this saying of God and they seek first the things of the world and afterwards – or perhaps not at all – the kingdom of God. And so people are poor and sad, having despised the word of God.

Reader, which years have you been seeking the glory of God and which your own glory? Allow God to direct all aspects of your life and you will discover great joy which you will not find from the many possessions of this world. You have learned about the things of the world, now learn about the things of God. You will not know the sweetness of living, of eating, of sleeping, while you have not listened anew to God. Call upon him now and he will enlighten your heart. Take by the hand of the Faith the Eternal Life given by God, which come not as a result of our work, not as a reward. ‘The wages of sin is death; but what God gives us is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord’ – what God gives. Do you believe these words? Enough, lay hold of eternal life through faith and you will find your heart fill with praise because of your love for God and the delight you take in all things.

………………………………………….

A REGISTRAR

Wakana Kiniha has been appointed Registrar of Births and Deaths for the district of the Takitimu Marae Council.

Act quickly to tell him of any births and deaths since the Maori Council Act 1900 was passed up to the present time. So, people, send in the dates of our children’s births and of the deaths of family members to be recorded in registers which will be available for inspection and as reminders in days to come.

This Registrar’s Office is at the Office of [?Wherihi] and [?te Raumoa].

[11] 

A LETTER TO US FROM THE OCEAN.

To Kohere,

Greetings. By the time this letter arrives you will be gathered again at the College and will have started work. I hope the men will not be late in arriving so that you can make a good start on the work. I continually think of you. Don’t be lazy when it comes to writing to me and send me Te Pipi in England. You may like to hear about our journey. It is one month since we sailed from Wellington. The sea has been very good and we have had only two stormy days, but although the sea was rough our ship sailed very smoothly. The Rimutaka is one of the best ships I have seen and is not at all unsteady. In the first two weeks at sea we did not see anything except a huge iceberg floating in the sea. We were very glad to see the huge mountains of South America covered with snow. We were very close to the southernmost point of the land at Cape Horn; we could almost have thrown a stone and hit the land. Captain Greenstreet brought us close to land and we had a good view of this desolate land, a land fearful to see. I shall send a picture so that you will know what this uninhabited land looks like. For a whole day our ship hugged this land of Tierra del Fuego, a barren and desolate land formed by volcanic activity and appropriately known as the land of fire, for that is the meaning of its name. Four days after rounding Cape Horn we arrived at Montevideo, a large South American town. When we arrived there was fighting here and so we were not permitted to go ashore. But we argued and a man took us ashore, a distance of three miles. We were careful to notify the police on landing and when we returned. This is a large and beautiful Spanish town. We travelled five miles by tram through the middle of the town to some beautiful gardens. Here we killed a snake. We saw the cemetery, a wonderful place for its memorials and the way the dead were buried. Only the leading people were buried here. It was walled with stone 30 feet high and 12 feet across. In the walls were very many recesses. The body is stuffed inside and the entrance filled with mortar. For 5 years the corpse lies there until the lease expires, then the bones are burned. If the lease is renewed they are not burned. This is a big source of money for the Roman Catholic Church, the main Church of this land. The streets are beautiful, lined with trees, and there is much fruit. We look forward to arriving at Teneriffe; a week’s sailing will bring us there. There are not many passengers from New Zealand but they are very nice people. Some stopped at Montevideo, and most of those who boarded there are Americans. We have had one evening of singing, but most of our activity is running and jumping. Every Sunday the captain takes the morning service and I play the organ. I take the service in the evening. Last Sunday we had a good service attended by the crew. It is the custom for the captain to take the morning service. He leads it very well and his sermons are good.

Our first day at sea after leaving Wellington was Christmas Day, 25th December. The next day, because of the way the world revolves and the changing days we put back the calendar to 25th December and so we had two Christmas Days. It’s a remarkable thing.

It is very hot. In one week we will emerge from the heat. Give my love to all the people of the college and read this letter to them. Do not forget to give my love to T.A. and his wife. On Sundays my thoughts go back to the congregation at Te Arai, wondering how they are. I hope that some of them have been confirmed by the Bishop, and that afterwards they will be committed to attending the Lord’s Supper, and that their numbers will increase year by year.

I shall finish the letter here but will write again to let you know about my travels. My heart longs for news of home. May God bless you this year.

From your loving friend,

F W Chatterton.

s.s. Rimutaka,

Atlantic Ocean,

January 20th, 1904.

[There are three main ways of travelling to England. There is this one being taken by Mr Chatterton and his wife; the second is by way of Fiji and Hawaii, then across North America, and on by sea to England; and the third is by way of Australia, Ceylon, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and along the coasts of Spain and France to England. Another way is to cross from Australia to Africa. This was the way taken by the Contingent of Maori Soldiers who went to the coronation of the King, which Henare Kohere wrote about. The new way is to travel from Australia to Port Arthur in Manchuria, and across Siberia to Europe by train, thence to England. There are many ways because the world is a sphere; were it flat there would only be one way. – Editor.]

[12] 

CALENDAR : MAY

Day 15 New Moon 10h 28m p.m.

Day 20 Full Moon 8h 25m p.m.

1 S Fourth Sunday after Easter

Philip and James, Apostles

Morning Evening

Isaiah 61 Zechariah 4

John 1.1-43 Colossians 3.1-18

2 M

3 T

4 W

5 Th

6 F Fast

7 S

8 S Fifth Sunday after Easter. Litany Sunday.

Deuteronomy 6 Deuteronomy 9

Luke 21.1-13 1 Thessalonians 5

9 M Litany Day Fast

10 T Litany Day Fast

11 W Litany Day Vigil, Fast

12 Th Ascension Day Athanasian Creed

Psalms: Morning 8, 15, 21 Evening 24, 47, 108

Daniel 7.9-15 2 Kings 2.1-15

Luke 24.1-44 Hebrews 4

13 F Vigil

14 S

15 S Sunday after the Ascension

Deuteronomy 30 Deuteronomy 34

John 4.1-31 1 Timothy 4

16 M

17 T

18 W

19 Th

20 F Fast

21 S Vigil, Fast

22 S Pentecost Athanasian Creed

Psalms: Morning 48, 69 Evening 104, 145

Use the collect for Ember Weeks every day this week.

Deuteronomy 16.1-18 Isaiah 11

Romans 8.1-18 Galatians 5.1-16

23 M Monday after Pentecost

Genesis 11.1-10 Numbers 11.16-31

1 Corinthians 12.1-14 1 Corinthians 12.27 – 13

24 T Tuesday after Pentecost

Joel 2.1-21 Micah 4.1-8

1 Thessalonians 5.12-24 1 John 4.1-14

25 W Ember Day Fast

26 Th

27 F Ember Day Fast

28 S Ember Day Fast

29 S Trinity Sunday Athanasian Creed

Isaiah 8.1-11 Genesis 18

Revelation 1.1-9 Ephesians 4.1-17

30 M

31 T

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.

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.

SUPPLEJACK SEEDS FOR OUR BIRD

7/3 St Stephen’s School; 5/- Peka Kerekere, Rev F H Spencer, Hoana Hape, Tamati Ike, ‘Wairoa’ Hone Pomana, Pairatua Keena; 2/6 F Paerata, Te Atimana Wharerau.

H W Williams, Te Rau Press, Gisborne.