Te Pipiwharauroa 86
No. 86
1905/05
[1] Te Pipiwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamarama, Number 86, Gisborne.
THE MIND WAS DISTRACTED!
The Editor is very sorry that some of his friends have not received the paper. He is very busy these days. It is not only that he alone is running the paper: he has also to read the letters, maintain the list of names, and account for the money. Another thing the Editor does is choose the articles for the paper. Your anger at the content of the articles is loaded onto his head. But although he has much to do, he tries to see that the paper goes out properly.
I perhaps need to point out what the Editor does so that his friends know why he does not achieve everything. He teaches on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Sundays he goes to church with the Maori, and on some Sundays with the Pakeha. He also teaches in Sunday School. The Editor is a married man, a poor man, and so he has to do housework, cut the firewood, and look after the garden. These days they are renovating their house, and so he working in the early morning and at night. This year the Editor is sitting a major examination and is at present working for that examination. He also has to read the books on the subjects he has to teach in the school and write a sermon every week. He does many things outside the College. He is on the football committee and also plays, he is involved in the missionary enterprise to send the Bible to the world. and is active with the town youth club. Sometimes he goes to take services at Uawa which is forty miles from here. Now, my friends, you know how much the Editor does. The work of the Editor would be lightened if more people supported the paper and if someone else could be paid to look after the accounts. We pray, my friends, that you will take thought for our paper.
A MEETING HOUSE HUI
Te Pipiwharauroa..
Greetings. Please send out on Te Pipi this brief account of the house erected at Patangata. Two hundred people gathered and £158 17 5 was collected for this fine building. This building is 47 feet long. It is there for all the marae to see. This tribe, Ngai-te-whatuiapiti, has been diligent in working for the house that has been erected at Patangata. To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa, greetings from Ngati-te-whatuiapiti and from me, the correspondent,
Hemi Waiparera Tah[?a]kiwa.
[2]
MAORI PRACTICES
MAORI PRACTICES
To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.
My friend, greeting to you and the management committee of Te Pipi. But from my heart I send you special greetings, Editor, following the failure of the paper to appear in January because you had become depressed at heart by the word. However, because you have regained your loving heart I say to you, ‘Best wishes and the very best of health, and may the Almighty strengthen you to work at those things which will promote the well-being of the people.’ Bird, I am not a person with gifts for you to carry to all parts of Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu and I do not have brains or oratory, but I do wish to place some of my words alongside those of the wise men who are sharing their thoughts about ghosts, tohunga and makutu. There have been thousands of statements about these monsters in Te Pipi over the past years, and those ideas may not have meant much to the people who read them, but I think this is something [?titoko - stretching pole] to draw out the eyes of our hearts to seek the body of that hidden work which is called false. I believe that this is an important matter for us to come to grips with to see whether we can get close to grasping the reality as a bas on the slope to cut down this wicked weed which is choking the good seed. This is one of the things that is bringing down the Maori Church – the tohunga.
Kehua
The name kehua has two meanings. (1) It is the spirit of a person who has died and shows itself to someone. It is said of this manifestation that it is perceived in the brain so that others ask why they did not see it. But this is not the important thing for us to investigate. We know that a spirit lives within the body and that when the body dies the spirit departs, and this is the point at which there is debate about accounts of having seen the ghost or that spirit. Pi, I am a man who has seen the ghost, and I do not believe that it was my brain that came up with this thing for my eyes to see, along with the many other things I saw at that time. There was a time when many people saw it at the same time. How did it come about that the heads of those people arranged for their brains to see ghosts? There was another instance when I was riding my horse one night. It happened that both I and my horse saw the same thing and I was afraid. How did it happen that the brains of both me and my horse saw the same thing? If what I saw was just a figment of my brain, then you should direct your question to those who did not imagine it, and not to those who did see. No-one lacks a brain. Some ask, ‘Why did we not see the spirit?’ Your question is a good one, however I question myself in order to find an answer. What was it then that we saw? We cannot give a definite answer to these questions. What I can say is this, that not all the people of the world possessed the same things which were distributed to another. One person is foolish and another wise, while yet another is very wise. We are in a similar position when it comes to this matter. This is an ancient thing: the disciples were afraid of the Lord when he came to them walking on the water and they thought, ‘It’s a ghost.’ [Matthew 14.26] Perhaps the event led them to recall a ghost/spirit. My friends, this supports the words of the faith which point out that at the resurrection of the dead ‘there is also a spiritual body,’
Kehua Whiowhio / Whistling Spirits
This manifestation is of spirits of the dead who have been conjured up by people seeking to be tohunga to enter into them and to whistle and speak and to be their demons. I include this manifestation in speaking of those called native tohunga, and in my collected writings about the works of the tohunga we will see that they belong together. Therefore let me direct my thoughts and my attention to tohunga and suchlike.
Tohunga
As I see it, there are many kinds, many activities and many practices subsumed under the expression, the work of a tohunga. (1) There is the tohunga who, as he says himself, does his many things to the sick to cure them. (2) There is the tohunga with the whistling spirit. I have already spoken of the origin of this spirit. Of this kind of tohungaism I ask myself what fruit do they think they are seeking by this expression, and we would all like to know the answer. (3) There is the tohunga who practises witchcraft. In former times people died of witchcraft and it involved things associated with the person – food and other things. I finish what I had to say; it is for you to add some more. Pi, I share my thoughts about these subjects with our friends who live in the various corners, the marae, and the long shores of the fish of Maui lying here.
[3] I think that the main underlying purpose of these human works is witchcraft and the general who directs these people is the devil, the lion that swallows men. Some people say that no-one dies of witchcraft now: the charms have been burned, there are no longer native incantations, and it is now a time of faith. Perhaps those words are right, but I think that such words result in us being laughed at and dismissed by that group of people who are happy that we take up these subjects and provide them with some basis. They feel that they are safely established because it is said that neither the Pakeha nor the law believe in this Maori activity. Let me now return to what I have to say to some who say that the power of witchcraft is ended.
I ask, since when? What has happened to bring an end to that work? Who has intercepted and cut it off? Perhaps you will answer that the faith has done away with it. Yes, perhaps. Certainly that would be so if the human heart were given over completely to Christ as his true Christian. But the fact is that most still have a native heart and when they get involved in tohunga business they say prayers and read scripture as their shelter of “sheep’s clothing”. The devil does the same thing, taking the scriptures as a support for his word, and devils are without faith, and no-one can strike the devil down dead with a weapon if he is amongst the people who are helping him. And so I say that the native powers of the devil implanted in a person will not be defeated by a faith which is only something outside a person.
Here are some characteristics of a person with a ‘native heart’, of which I have heard, and which are true. (1) There are many people living who do not like to have hot water on their heads. Why? Yes, seek it out, ask about it, and you will see why. (2) It is a practice of such people to collect dog excrement in a pocket handkerchief and place it near their hearts or tie it around their throats to prevent them being killed by someone else. one sees their belief in the efficacy of what they are doing, that is, their carrying of those things, in that if there is a shortage of dog excrement then they will pay a great deal for an ounce of whale excrement (ambergris).
These characteristics of us Maori of which I speak ought to arouse us to look together at and think together about the truth or falsehood of these matters. Perhaps these characteristics are a reason for the decline in the improvement of our health [bodily growth], our work, our customs, and our thinking. Dr Pomare said in the March edition of the paper that when a person heard that he had been the object of witchcraft he would be afraid and depressed and eventually he would die. Aha! It
is not the cursing of a person by someone unknown, of which he alone was aware,
but his being acted upon by a tohunga that will reveal whether the person
bewitched had indeed been ‘tohungaed’. But
perhaps even in this new world time each person thinks that that is an arrow responsible
for the slaughter of the ancestors lying here, in his memory and that of the
Maori People. This is what people think. Pomare will not die, nor will thousands of Pakeha, and for what reason? Perhaps because they are convinced that it means nothing, that there is nothing in it. I will not die if my heart trusts in Christ my shepherd.
My friends, if we continue to work at despising and disbelieving in these activities then this will spread throughout the world, and it will continue to spread each year.
Dr Pomare said that the English formerly did similar things, but with increasing knowledge they saw that such activities were lies. Now when [?Taewa] saw that their activities were fabrications an extraordinary law was passed forbidding their activities. So? What should we do? Shall we just defy them? What should we do about this humbug of an activity, this fabrication, this falsehood? I think that we should recognise the deception and seek a plan. We should not just stand jeering and belittling. The tide of the Maori world is still flowing. I hope in my heart to see in this colony of England some plan [?e mehemea ai] these sour grapes.
Bird, perhaps you will not be able to carry these words on one flight, but I ask you, the committee, (and this is my wish), to print it in the one edition. But you are the ones who know. Greetings and good health.
From your affectionate friend,
W T P Hapeta,
Naumai,
Northern Wairoa.
[4]
[For many years now we have written about ghosts, and, we think we are right in saying that ghosts exist only in the brain of the person who sees them. I see ghosts. If I have a stomach ache because I have eaten too much, or if I have lain down with my head in the wrong position, and if I awake suddenly and my thoughts have not yet been collected, then I see a ghost, but when I am fully awake it vanishes. It was my brain that created that thing; it was something inside my head. A ghost is not something outside a person but is rather something inside the brain. As for the shying of the horse, this is indeed something horses do; but when a horse shies people say it is because of a ghost. The horse doesn’t have a voice with which to say that he was scared by a ghost; it is people who ascribe it to a ghost. Some people saw ghosts while others didn’t: it depended on the state of the brains. As for the disciples seeing Christ on the water, they were certainly amazed and they said it was a spirit. They did not know that it was possible for a man to walk on water, but he was a man and not a spirit. This provides no justification for people to say that it is true that ghosts lacerate themselves and pull faces and stick out their tongues and shake their breasts. – Editor.]
[For many years now we have written about ghosts, and, we think we are right in saying that ghosts exist only in the brain of the person who sees them. I see ghosts. If I have a stomach ache because I have eaten too much, or if I have lain down with my head in the wrong position, and if I awake suddenly and my thoughts have not yet been collected, then I see a ghost, but when I am fully awake it vanishes. It was my brain that created that thing; it was something inside my head. A ghost is not something outside a person but is rather something inside the brain. As for the shying of the horse, this is indeed something horses do; but when a horse shies people say it is because of a ghost. The horse doesn’t have a voice with which to say that he was scared by a ghost; it is people who ascribe it to a ghost. Some people saw ghosts while others didn’t: it depended on the state of the brains. As for the disciples seeing Christ on the water, they were certainly amazed and they said it was a spirit. They did not know that it was possible for a man to walk on water, but he was a man and not a spirit. This provides no justification for people to say that it is true that ghosts lacerate themselves and pull faces and stick out their tongues and shake their breasts. – Editor.]
‘TE PUKE-KI-HIKURANGI.’
To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.
Greetings to you. I trust you will be able to send out the following words. I have looked into the nature of our newspaper, Te Puke-ki-Hikurangi. I thought before that it was appropriate to produce it in the area in which our father, Tamahau Mahupuku, lives. Now I think that the right place to establish our newspaper, Te Puke-ki-Hikurangi, is Gisborne, Uawa, or Waiapu, which are the turangawaewae of Porourangi. The proverb says,
Ko Waiapu te awa, ko Hikurangi te maunga, ko Porourangi te mana kai runga.
‘Waiapu is the river, Hikurangi is the mountain, and Porourangi is the ruling authority,’ [cf Nga Pepeha 1391]
but now that mountain stands in a different place, with a different tribe as boss, and is spoken about differently according to how distant tribes think. An example is, ‘Wairarapa is the lake, Hikurangi is the mountain, and Tamahau is the ruling authority.’ An elder of Ngai Tahu here, said to me that that mountain is still in Wairarapa. I said that it was not in Wairarapa, but that the mountain, Hikurangi, was north of Turanganui, and I think that many people are like that elder, are the same as that elder, and I thought that perhaps all the chiefly descendants of Porourangi from Toka-a-Taiau to Potikirua are dead and that I am to only survivor, and that they sent the mana of their ancestors to Wairarapa to mislead some of the people of this island, like this Ngai Tahu elder. And so I think that because this is what Te Wairata, Niniwa and Raukura, call their paper, it should be renamed Nga Waka-a-Kupe [The canoes of Kupe], and that the purposes should be made clear, along with those who support it, and that they should make clear the disposition of the sea and the canoes and the paper’s press and the members of the committee of the paper! Enough of this! Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa, please send me a paper so that I can know the rules of Te Pipiwharauroa.
Ko Waiapu te awa, ko Hikurangi te maunga, ko Porourangi te mana kai runga.
‘Waiapu is the river, Hikurangi is the mountain, and Porourangi is the ruling authority,’ [cf Nga Pepeha 1391]
but now that mountain stands in a different place, with a different tribe as boss, and is spoken about differently according to how distant tribes think. An example is, ‘Wairarapa is the lake, Hikurangi is the mountain, and Tamahau is the ruling authority.’ An elder of Ngai Tahu here, said to me that that mountain is still in Wairarapa. I said that it was not in Wairarapa, but that the mountain, Hikurangi, was north of Turanganui, and I think that many people are like that elder, are the same as that elder, and I thought that perhaps all the chiefly descendants of Porourangi from Toka-a-Taiau to Potikirua are dead and that I am to only survivor, and that they sent the mana of their ancestors to Wairarapa to mislead some of the people of this island, like this Ngai Tahu elder. And so I think that because this is what Te Wairata, Niniwa and Raukura, call their paper, it should be renamed Nga Waka-a-Kupe [The canoes of Kupe], and that the purposes should be made clear, along with those who support it, and that they should make clear the disposition of the sea and the canoes and the paper’s press and the members of the committee of the paper! Enough of this! Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa, please send me a paper so that I can know the rules of Te Pipiwharauroa.
N W Te Ata.
Inangaawhio,
Bruce Bay, Hokitika,
Westland, South Island.
[It is lovely to receive these words from a descendant of Ngati Porou living in that distant land. However, my friend, I hear that it is a different Puke-ki-Hikurangi which gives its name to Tamahau’s paper. It is not our mountain but a mountain in Hawaiki. It is good to explain the meaning of the name of this one of our papers. Many people do not know its meaning. – Editor.]
……………………………………
A while ago the paper said that I wished to return. I am not able to return at present because of the bad state of the Diocese of Auckland and because there are not many Maori clergy. Consequently I am staying here for some time and have been appointed by the Bishop of Auckland as a colleague to [?Hokena] as an itinerant inspector of the whole Maori Church in his Diocese.
Nikora Tautau
[5]
RUSSIA’S TROUBLES
RUSSIA’S TROUBLES
Although Port Arthur has not yet fallen, some people are saying that when that fortress falls Russia will be in a very bad way. That is true. Russia is facing great difficulties at present. There are murders and there is a shortage of food. Te Pipiwharauroa has published many articles about the state of Russia, its people and its Government. The working people are terribly oppressed by the rulers, as a result, because Russia is distressed by the war in the East, the whole land is being stirred up to listen to their prayers. A march to take their petition to the king was attacked by soldiers and 5000 fell, but they were not deterred and continue to protest. Their organisers are two ministers of the Church, Father Gapon and Father John. Some of the people wickedly killed one of the Russian ruling elite, a cousin of the king. Now the whole country has been aroused, some have stopped working, and the possessions of the leaders have been looted. The peasants of Russia are like slaves. Although they work hard most of what they produce is taken by the Government. The people at large have no say in what the Government does, rather it is the king alone and the nobility who do everything as they wish. The people demand that the Government be like that of other lands, and that every person has a say as in the English Government. Some people think that it would not be good to give this privilege to the people at large because they are ignorant and would not know how to use that power: it would be like giving something very large to a very small child who could not know the size of that thing.
A PROVERB
In Mr Williams’ sermon at Manutuke he uttered this proverb, a proverb which we had not heard before, but a good thing to take note of:
He ta kakaho e kitea, he ta ngakau e kore e
kitea.
‘A crooked reed setting can be seen: a crooked heart cannot be seen.’ [cf. Nga Pepeha 708]
This proverb is similar to this:
He
kokinga whare e kitea, he kokinga ngakau e kore e kitea.
‘Corners of the house can be seen: corners of the heart cannot be seen.’ [cf. Nga Pepeha 491]
‘Corners of the house can be seen: corners of the heart cannot be seen.’ [cf. Nga Pepeha 491]
They show that our ancestors well knew the deviousness of people’s hearts, just as the prophet said, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?’ (Jeremiah 17.9) It a person wishes to be good, his heart must first be made good. If there is rottenness within, that rottenness will emerge on the outside; if there is goodness within then goodness will emerge on the outside. Some people outwardly appear good while inside they are bad. It the heart is good then a person’s works and words and thoughts will be good. Perhaps you have heard the story of the King of China’s pet pig. It was fed with good food and dressed in beautiful clothes, so that there was no pig so beautiful to look at. But one day the pig was seen writhing in the mud in his fine clothes. Although that pig looked good on the outside, inside he was still a pig at heart and therefore longed for mud just as pigs do. Likewise if a person retains his old heart, no matter how good he appears on the outside, he will turn to sin. God wishes to give us a new heart. He says in his word, ‘A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh….’ (Ezekiel 36.26) Christ said that if a person is not born again he will not see the kingdom of God. Some of the manifestations of the old heart are murder, anger, adultery, the lust of a man for a different woman, the accumulation of money and possessions, envy, ill-will, evil-speaking, cursing and backbiting, pride and other things. If you possess a new heart you will have finished with such things. My friend, are you not fed up with sin, and will you not turn to God?
[6]
Last month we published an account of the navies of the peoples fighting in the Far East, Russia and Japan. At present they have not yet come into contact. The Russians ships are still sailing in the seas off China and Togo is till waiting for them. A difficulty arose between France and Japan when the Russian vessels anchored in a French port. Japan said that France was helping her enemy. Russia wanted a good anchorage where her fighting ships could take on coal, scrape off the growth from the hulls, and load food. Japan said that if France helped Russia then she would call upon England to help her. The French replied that they were not helping the Russians. The Russian ships had come and not paid attention to what was said, but now the French warships are on guard lest the Russians return to their shores, and now the Russian ships are sailing away. Admiral Rozhestvenski’s idea is to fit out all his ships for the next stage of the journey to Vladivostok. Togo may not want to engage Rozhestvenski in a major battle lest some of his ships are destroyed and it would be very difficult for Japan to acquire warships given its distance from Europe. Should the Japanese suffer in this battle it will be a bad failing. Russia will have taken control of the seas and Japan’s ships will not be able to cross to Korea and Manchuria carrying soldiers and food. It is thought that Togo will not fight by confrontation but by attrition and using night attacks out of his concern for the possible loss of one of his ships. According to Admiral Charles Pierrepont of England, Russia will be defeated by Japan’s superior gunnery. The war on land is at a stalemate while the whole world awaits the great sea battle. This will make clear who has been defeated. So, Togo, make your name!
Russian prisoners in Japan are 10 generals, 70 colonels and majors, 784 captains and lieutenants, 3558 non-commissioned officers, and 50,700 soldiers – a total of 55,182.
The total number of Russian dead, wounded, ill or captured is 435,000. Russia has spent £200,000,000 on this war.
HUI TOPU
The continuation of the account of the hui held at Manutuke, Turanganui.
Mr Williams’ Challenge. In answer to a question from the hui as to how much has been given in response to Mr Williams’ Challenge, Arthur Williams, the Secretary of the Maori Church, said that he had received £80, but he would add to the report on the hui the total sum.
Tepene Wenerei asked the Bishop to appoint Nikora Tautau as minister for the Parish of Te Horo. The Bishop said that Nikora was not free.
Third Motion. Te Teira Maihi proposed that every effort be made to prevent Pakeha from visiting Maori villages and profaning the Sunday. Some Maori did not come to church on Sunday preferring to sit with their Pakeha friends. Maori children were being paid by Pakeha to go and pick blackberries on Sunday. Wi Repa said that people used to come to his village on Sundays to shoot birds. As a result of his efforts to prevent it, it has stopped.
Hakaraia Pahewa thought that Maori were treating Sundays the same as the Pakeha. The Marae Committees should make every effort to prevent their marae being used on Sundays. If Maori were to agree on making their marae sacred then the Pakeha would pay attention. The Bishop thought the same. Tame Arapata told how the Pakeha of Te Arai profaned Sundays by playing cricket. The Pakeha would play and the Maori would join in.
[7]
Hakaraia Pahewa asked for the book, ‘Christian Doctrine,’ to be translated into Maori. This was agreed.
Hakaraia Pahewa asked for the book, ‘Christian Doctrine,’ to be translated into Maori. This was agreed.
Katene Pukerua thought that it would be a good thing if some people visited Maori villages to awaken the faith. Formerly this was done by the students of Te Rau College. Hemi Huata supported this motion and it was passed.
Fourth Motion. Ahipene Rangi spoke of the prevalence of fornication amongst Maori people. Many Maori have many children before they are married, and the children are not baptised. Some people have not been married long before they part – the husband sleeps with a different woman, the wife with a different man, and the children born are illegitimate. He believes that things are like this because of the practice of people marrying when they do not love each other, but because they have been told to do so by parents or someone else. He thinks that the Pakeha practice of first getting engaged is a good one, for then the couples can get to know each other’s characters and discover if they are right for one another. Fornication is a major problem for the Maori Church. Some members of the hui supported Rangi’s motion, but Hone Waitoa criticised the custom of becoming engaged.
Mr Goodyear suggested a renewal of the ancient practice of the Church of having a whole night of prayer. The medicine for bringing an end to the activities of the tohunga is prayer.
Fifth Motion. Mr Goodyear moved that the whole Maori Church be asked to make every effort to suppress the consumption of alcohol; it would be right were the Maori people to be given the power to abolish the sale of liquor. Reweti Kohere supported Mr Goodyear’s motion saying that there was no need for him to speak at length about the evil of drunkenness because people know the bad effects of drinking alcohol. If one urges a Maori to give up drinking alcohol he will point to a house and say, ‘Push over that house and I will give up drinking,’ and for this reason he supported strongly the second part of the motion to give Maori the power to vote on the sale of liquor. The Government withheld this power from the Maori out of a fear that the Maori would use the vote foolishly, that having drunk alcohol they would vote for alcohol, but he thought that Maori would abolish the sale of alcohol. Was it good that a few Pakeha had the power to vote in favour of having a public house in a Maori district? There were comments about how liquor was sold illegally in places which had abolished such illegal sales in licensed areas. He knew of a public house in this area where liquor was sold on Sundays. That was illegal. Hakaraia Pahewa praised the publican in his village who would not allow a person to buy much liquor. It would be good if all publicans were like that. Hone Waitoa said that he was not critical of those selling liquor, he strongly condemned the drink itself. It was evil and destroyed people. The Bishop supported the extension of the right to vote on alcohol to the Maori People.
Hakaraia Pahewa said that it was important for ministers to visit the sick. This was a way of attracting people’s hearts. If a minister did not visit the sick then his work would not prosper.
The final speech from Archdeacon Williams was a Farewell because ‘it will not be long before I depart’. Mr Williams said that he was embarrassed that the Maori Church had not responded to his challenges and when Pakeha asked him if Maori were bestirring themselves he was ashamed. There had been many hui held by the Maori People which had produced no fruit, and why should the Pakeha people help? His Challenge was that the Diocese of Waiapu should raise £2000, the Diocese of Auckland £2000, and he would give £2000. This in itself would not provide adequate stipends for the clergy but his wish was that it would provide a foundation amount and be an inspiration for the Maori Church to take cheerful action. The payment of all the Wellington clergy has been arranged, and we must make every effort to set up the basis for providing stipends for our ministers.
The Final Motion was of thanks to the local people, Rongowhakaata and Ngatimaru, for hosting the hui.
(The End.)
[8]
IT IS PAORA HOPERE AGAIN.
IT IS PAORA HOPERE AGAIN.
To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.
Please publish this letter. There was an article by Rev W Beatty in Te Pipi Number 83 which said that human beings were made in the image of God, but not in the way the Mormons understand it, which is that the human body is like God’s body. The Bible says, ‘God is spirit.’ He has no body. How we are spiritual beings like God. My friend, the Mormon idea that God has a body is established insofar as there is no statement in the Bible which says that it is a person’s spirituality that makes him like God, which is what you say. Likewise there is no statement in the Bible saying that God has no body. You have to twist the Bible a great deal to make it accommodate to your idea. We know that God came and spoke with Abraham on the Plain of Mamre and that Abraham cooked food and they ate together (Genesis 18.1-8). God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our own image.’ If God is just a spirit how can his word be fulfilled since we do not know what a spirit looks like? Paul says that Christ is ‘the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person’ (Hebrews 1.3). My friend, we agree that God is a spirit, and that our God has a body, because Paul says that spiritual things can also be given a body. Christ also says to his disciples, ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father.’ Now, my friend, let us turn to the Gospel of God. This indeed is the real Gospel of God. The Gospel you have set up is a human construct. Consequently you are mistaken when you say that God has no body and that he has no places. This is a major error on your part and I invite you to carefully set down your thoughts below and join the true Church of God so that we can possess his kingdom when the end comes.
Paora Hopere
Taupiri, Waikato.
March 28th, 1905.
[It is Paora Hopere again! He wants to argue. He gives us a sermon from his Mormon Church. Friend, this whole area is sick of the Mormons. Mormonism is seen as something empty, bearing no inner fruit, and the product of the American imagination. Your Mormons have for a long time been critical of the Church of England for saying in the First of the [Thirty-nine] Articles that [God] ‘is without body, parts or passions.’ Paora Hopere agrees that ‘God is a spirit,’ (John 4.24). That being so, what do you make of the words of Christ, ‘Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.’ (Luke 24.39). It is Christ who said that God is a spirit, and Christ who also said that a spirit does not have flesh and bones, therefore it is very clear from these words that God does not have flesh and bones – he has no body. How does Paora Hopere understand these sayings? Human beings were created in the likeness of God, not in the physical likeness - nose, eyes and other parts, but all people have the likeness insofar as they think and understand and are sacred. Human beings are like God and not like the animals. It is not his body which makes a person like God, if that were the case then the monkey shares the likeness; rather it is the specially aware heart of the person. Paora Hopere turns quickly to the Old Testament to find his texts but I look to the words of Christ. Paora Hopere must explain those words of Christ. The great sin of the Mormons is that they make Jehovah into a human being like us. In the desire of the Mormons to have many wives their books say that God has many wives, that is, he is like them, and they recruit God into the world of the flesh. That must suffice as an answer to Paora Hopere. Mr Beatty has not seen his article. – Editor.]
[9]
A SALE
A SALE
Editor of Te Pipi.
Greetings. Please advertise to our Maori people a sale of Maori artefacts which is to be held at Government House in Auckland here for the benefit of the Maori Girls’ School, [Queen] Victoria School. We ask the people to kindly make Maori items – kits, mats, hats, piupiu, and other Maori artefacts. Please help as you did last year for the former Governor. Our new Governor has agreed to our holding the sale at his residence, and he will open it.
The sale will be held in the coming November, 1905. People, please stand with us. There is work for all. Send your items to:
Otene Paora, Secreatry,
C/o Victoria School,
Parnell, Auckland.
A SHIPS’ GRAVEYARD
To the south of New Zealand are some small islands called the Antipodes. It is said that they are diametrically opposite England on the surface of the globe. Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands are close to the Antarctic Ocean. These islands are on the route from Australia to England and many ships have been wrecked there and some of the crews on board have perished. In 1864 the Invercauld was wrecked. Of the 25 crew, 3 survived. In a subsequent year the Grafton was wrecked; the crew was saved. In 1886 the General Grant was wrecked and some of the crew survived. In 1887 it was the Derry Castle and in 1891 the Compadre. All these ships were wrecked on the Auckland Islands. The cargo of the General Grant which was destroyed was gold worth £30,000. It is said that the ship entered into a cave. The New Zealand Government had the idea of erecting a depot on the islands and putting sheep there as food for the crews of wrecked ships. Six months ago the Hinemoa sailed to make an inspection. This month the Hinemoa sailed again and found on the Auckland Islands some people from a French ship which had sailed from Melbourne for England. Their ship was wrecked on 5th February. It was a large vessel called the Anjou. Because of the steep cliffs on the islands, the boats had to row a long way before finding a landing place. After four days they found the Government food depot and they too survived. During the first days they ate winkles and eggs. They were brought by the Hinemoa to Port Chalmers (Koputai). The French Representative has expressed gratitude to the Government of New Zealand.
THE BELLBIRD
To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.
Please add my bird to the list of birds who do not yet have a place and whose stories have not been told. My bird is the bellbird. It is the orator amongst the birds who sing in the morning. At 3 o’clock in the morning he stands on his stage to deliver his speech and to say that the sun is about to rise and it will be daylight. The tribe are listening to the bellbird, that is, the tribe of all the birds of the Great Forest of Tane. They listen to this distinguished bird at 4 o’clock saying that the day is dawning, it is daylight. Then most of the birds bestir themselves and move about in the high places from which they speak and in their fine nests at the edge of the sky, and the tribe says, ‘Amen’ to their Creator, ‘Amen.’ This bird features in the proverbial sayings of the elders of the East Coast. A person will stand to speak in the night and towards the middle of the night those hearing the sweetness of the mouth of the one speaking will say,
E katahi ano ka ko nga kopara tataki a Rongomaitapui.
‘Now the speaking bellbirds of Rongomaitapui are chirping.’ [cf. Nga Pepeha 990]
Indeed this is the name given to this tribe of Ngati Porou. They are called bellbirds [kopara or korimako] by some tribes in the island, perhaps because of their proverbs about the bellbird. This is one explanation. Such are my words.
E katahi ano ka ko nga kopara tataki a Rongomaitapui.
‘Now the speaking bellbirds of Rongomaitapui are chirping.’ [cf. Nga Pepeha 990]
Indeed this is the name given to this tribe of Ngati Porou. They are called bellbirds [kopara or korimako] by some tribes in the island, perhaps because of their proverbs about the bellbird. This is one explanation. Such are my words.
Pineamine Tuhaka.
Port Awanui, Waiapu.
[10]
THE PILLAR OF WHANGAPARAOA
THE PILLAR OF WHANGAPARAOA
To the Editor of Te Pipiwharauroa.
My friend, greetings to you and your committee. Please publish this to inform the relatives of Haimona Te Waititi everywhere that on 22nd April 1905 he entered upon the long sleep of death from which he will not return to us. He has come to his rest. He was an elder who was liberal to visitors, a source of comfort to all the tribes visiting this coast, a man of faith and a help to Christians. Now your comfort has gone; the guardian of Mount Tikirau here has gone; the one who opened up the valley of Whangaparaoa and the one who welcomed you, Haimona Te Waititi, has gone.
A Welcome to the Whole World.
Enough of these words. Let me tell you of his salutations to the tribes on September 12th 1903, before his death. He instructed his daughters to prepare a house as a resting-place for people coming from this coast. So, my friends, though he has died, this his house calls out to travelling parties, ‘Turn aside, turn aside to the house.’ His house, the bosom of his ancestor Kauae-tangohia, is open to travelling parties whether they be black or white or any of the many skin-colours of the world. You will be blessed by the house with the blessings of the house of the man who would make glad the hearts of travelling people.
I am writing to assure you of my friendship.
Manihera Waititi.
Whangaparaoa,
May 9th, 1905.
THE REGISTRAR
To the Editor of Te Pipi.
My friend, please include this article in Te Pipi.
This is a new year which brings new activities, new plans, and new laws. Let it be pointed out to our Maori friends living in the Takitimu district that they should not fail to tell of the dates of birth of children and also the dates of death of deceased people. I hear that there are many children who have been born last year and this year as well as many people who have died, of whom I have not been informed. Perhaps the Maori people have forgotten the requirement to register which brings us into line with the Pakeha people. They do not forget because they are afraid of the law. So we also should be afraid of the law. Let us stop being silent when it comes to registering. Every three months I tell the Pakeha Registrar in Gisborne those I have registered. Last year it was perhaps 20 children registered and 30 deaths registered. Most have not been registered because of the failure of the Maori people to inform me. I know that if the register for last year was complete the number of children would be nearly 100 or perhaps more, and the number of deaths would be nearly 100 or fewer.
From your friend,
Wakana Kiniha,
Registrar.
MEMBERS
Some Nominations for election as Member for Tai Rawhiti.
A T Ngata has been asked by the people in the Te Paritu district of Tarakeha to accept nomination as a Parliamentary candidate for the Tai Rawhiti Maori Electorate. He is a leading person for the whole Maori People, having reached the heights of learning, of the Pakeha people, and the Maori People too. It would be right to send a man of such quality to the House of Parliament of this colony.
(This item was contributed.)
We have heard that Ihaia Hutana, Mohi te Atahikoia, Taranaki, and Tuhaka Mokene Kohere, have also been nominated.
[11]
THE KING OF TONGA
THE KING OF TONGA
The King of Tonga, George Tupou, is visiting New Zealand. The reason for his visit is his dissatisfaction with the way the English representative in his island is taking over his powers. When the King of Tonga visited Rotorua he was welcomed by Te Arawa and presented with a cloak. He said that Maori should visit his country, whence they came. When this man was asked to see the hot springs at Whakarewarewa he declined because it was Sunday: there were six days for people to look, the seventh is to be a day of worship. Had he been a Maori chief he would have gone, but this man is a real believer.
WEDDING HYMN
(Tune: How welcome was the call.)
1. How very good was that feast to which Jesus was invited as principal guest.
2. Those married were happy to be helped by Jesus. There was no longer sadness.
3. By his great power he changed the water into true wine to be a sign of joy.
4. Gracious Lord, draw near. Give that great love which does not vanish.
5. Now, bless these servants of yours, and cover them with your blood which was poured out,
6. Our prayer for this couple is that you will unite them and that they may truly cleave to one another.
TO THE HALF-CASTES
My friends, our Pakeha friend, David Whyte, is travelling around all the places in the electoral area of Waiapu. The purpose of his travels is to set up committees of Pakeha or Half-castes to promote the abolition of the sale of alcohol in this voting area. The Pakeha also wish to do away with this damaging drink. All half-castes have the power to vote if they have written down their names. Friends, help our friend, and let our hearts be firmly committed to getting rid of this drink which is spreading amongst us. Do not be misled by the supporters of alcohol and their representatives. It is only the sale of liquor which will be done away with; the guest houses will remain.
TO THINK ABOUT
1. The things you see are not yours; if you grasp them you are stealing.
2. It is not right for you to open letters addressed to your wife or husband. If he or she gives permission then it is alright.
3. It is not right for you to read another person’s letter.
4. Your wife’s things are not yours. She must give permission before they are sold or given away by anyone.
5. If you waste pennies you are also wasting pounds.
6. Being dirty does not bring glory to God or to people. The Pakeha have a proverb, ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness.’
A NOTICE
We have copies of A Catechism to be learned by Children and Sunday Prayer. These will be sent free of charge to any minister who needs them.
[12] CALENDAR : JUNE
Day 5 New Moon 5h 27m p.m.
Day 17 Full Moon 5h 22m p.m.
1 Th Ascension Day Psalms: Morning 8, 15, 21 Evening 24, 47, 108
Athanasian Creed
Morning Evening
Daniel 7.9-15 2 Kings 2.1-16
Luke 24.44-52 Hebrews 4
2 F Fast
3 S
4 S Sunday after Ascension
[The lessons given are those for Pentecost.]
5 M
6 T
7 W
8 Th
9 F Fast
10 S Vigil, Fast
11 S Pentecost Psalms: Morning 48, 68 Evening 104, 145
Athanasian Creed
Use the Collect for Embertide every day this week.
Deuteronomy 16.1-18 Isaiah 11
Romans 8.1-18 Galatians 5.1-16
Barnabas, Apostle
12 M Monday after Pentecost
Genesis 11.1-10 Numbers 11.16-31
1 Corinthians 12.1-14 1 Corinthians 12.27 & 13
13 T Tuesday after Pentecost
Joel 2.1-21 Micah 4.1-8
1 Thessalonians 5.12-24 1 John 4.1-14
14 W Ember Day Fast
15 Th
16 F Ember Day Fast
17 S Ember Day Fast
18 S Trinity Sunday Athanasian Creed
Isaiah 6.1-11 Genesis 18
Revelation 1.1-9 Ephesians 4.1-17
19 M
20 T
21 W
22 Th
23 F Litany Day Vigil, Fast
24 S John the Baptist Athanasian Creed
Malachi 3.1-7 Malachi 4
Matthew 3 Matthew 14.1-15
25 S First Sunday after Trinity
Joshua 3.7 – 4.15 Joshua 5.13 – 6.21
Acts 7.1-35 1 John 1
26 M
27 T
28 W Vigil, Fast
29 Th Peter, Apostle
Ezekiel 3.4-15 Haggai
John 21.15-23 Acts 4.8-23
30 F Fast
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
5/- Hoane Papita, Kingi Rakena, Tame Eramiha; 9d Tom Johnson
H W Williams, Te Rau Press Gisborne.
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