TAWHIAO'S TANGI.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 228, 24 September 1894, Page 3

TAWHIAO'S TANGI.

.I -j^B TAUPIRI MEETING.

■■A GREAT GATHERING. ,

1 MAORI CUSTOMS.

U;/ (BY- OUR SPECIAL EEPOETKR.) l' -* M j native gathering afc Taupiri, in Jetton wi»h the tangi over the death of l lite King Tawhiao, is still proceeding, inttianearingitscloßO. The remains of SfeMiwl chief will be laid in their last lid? pl»ce on Taupm Hill on WednesJ ma»t; probably, and ihu meeting will L to a close a faw days thereafter, while lav of the distant Maori visitors will re"ifl'fo their homes as soon as the burial Lplao°- A bi S tHn?l liko bh9 P resenfc " ; lesion of intense interest and unwonted 'Itemenb for the Maoris of the interior, '-id bho doings and sayings ab Taupiri will JTramembered and frequently quoted for lont' time to come by the native hosts, t' Waikato, and their visitors from " up«MDtry." Advantage is being taken by ha occasion by the Kinjnte leaders, -inoiling Henare Kaihau, Taingakawa te ffjbjroa, and others, to impress on the ...esiblod natives the deairabiliby of keepL» up the Maori kingdom, and Mabuta, ■S new King, is the centre of interest ab pre?en>, nexb to bhe remains of his dead W gathering of Maoris at Taupiri ilfordl an excellent opportunicy of observing idtfie of the interesting native customs ffbiob have survived to the present day in ,modified form. Only on occasions like tbase'i when death lays its hand on the wsatones of the people, and they join in the display of their grief ab the calamiby, ue the now rare and picturesque old customs to be noticed to any extent. goma description of the p:oceedinga ao the ttoei on Friday last, which was the principal day of mourning after che arrival ofthe body of Tawhiao ab the settlement, iboald therefore be of interesb.

THE MAORI CAMP,

The interior of the large enclosure, in ff lijijii many hundreds of Maoris have thait temporary camp, presents a striking id very picturesque scene. From the lofty flagstaff float several flags at halfKiubi' including one inscribed " Kingi .Jlabuta" and another "Takoto" ("res* orrumain In peace"), referring to the body ■olTawhwo below. The tenb containing (lie coffin lies in a little hollow in the contra of the enclosure, and it is now completely closed in from view by a high breakwind of manuka, which has been hastily thrown up around aboub it to shield the lacred features of the dead king from the tooinquisitire gaze. After the morning meal: the place is gay • with the bright, many - coloured gowns and "roundabouts'" worn by the women, many of whom still wear green leave? on their beads us a sign of mourning. European clothing is nearly universal, but in addition many men sporb the now uncommon flax oat, with an occasional bead-draea of native pigeons' or kaka feathers, while many of tiiti men discard trousers in favour of the more comfortable | and airy shawl or blanket) tied round the waist and falling to the¥nees. All the old weapons of primitive daya in the possession of the hapas bare,been brought out for the occasion, and many tine greenstone meres, taiahas, etc., are on view. One old fellow, with a tack worn in lieu of a coat, carrios an old naval cutlass, which he evidently treasures highly. The large number of young children playing about the edgea of the encampment strike a spectator with the idea that the Maori race cauuot really be decaying while * the " youngsbers." are co numerous aud bo houlohy looking and chubby,

THE NEW. KING

The chief figure of interest amongsb the natives ia that of Mahuta, the young "King," who has just been elected to the kingita " throno " as a successor to his lato lather, Taurbiao. Mahuta Tawhiao Ponataa("Tawhiao II.") ia a man of some promise. , He ia said to be an intelligent young follorf—-tnore so than the late king—and ho

is reported to have some considerable force of character, However, his opinions have bean formed for him by tho Kingite Councillors, Committee, or " Kauhanganui," as they are terinod, and it is presumed that he islands to pursue the policy of anti-land salliop, anti-survey, anbi-European laws over the .Maori, wnich was the prominent feature of old Tawhiao a regime.

. ■■-.'■ THE NATIVK ASSEMBLAGE. The natives, when they assemble for the day'a tangi and speeebmaking, sib in two large parties—bho visitors nob mingling with the Waikato natives proper. The visirora, consisting of Ngatimaniapoto, Ngafeihaua, Ngatiraukawa and others, who Mcortad Tayvhiao'a body into Taupiri, are arrftngod in sections of bribes in front of their quarters on the eastern side of the enclosure, while the Waikato natives, each tribe sitting in a compact body by itself, face the "up-country " Maoris, with their packet to the Waikato River. Ab frequent intervals the sound of weeping is heard, and the mournful hum of the wail over the dead is borne to the ear even a long distancooutside the camp.

CURIOUS FLAGS.

JJnmorous gailyooloured flags form a striking feature of the temporary Maori kainga, for the Kingite natives were ever eteat lorera of ceremony and of flags and "cqilar emblems of uubhorifcy. A very Btriking-looking flag, specially made in Auokland to the order ef the Maori "Par'lament," has been hoisted on the King's {wgstatt with solemn ceremony. The flag w ISfb lontr aud übout Bft wide, made of ">mb material like silk, with white ground, ■j>d ia adorned with a design suggested by jjienara Kaihau. At the bottom of. the Bag bHero is painted in brown a large war «M»oe, with the paddlers aud the old-time •ualemeu iv their places. This design is •urmountod by the title, "Kiingi Mahuta iawhiao," and the flag ia made more strik•nß by the representations of the auu and aoon and the Pleiades (Matariki). The B«ive ß hare a great liking for the heavenly wdiea in their flags.

MAOBt POLICEMEN. Ab I abated previously, tha Maori assemblage is a most orderly one, chiefly the 'suit of the temperate habits of the "greatoulfc of the natives, and the remarkably Knot manner in which various rules for

«>e good government of tho meeting are inforcsd. Any ono found the worse for

liquor—a very rare otienco—is prompbly "kfln to his quarters in the camp, and in •a* morning ho ia brought before the ,*noal "beak" (who in the case of the waikato natives is Major Wi te Wteoro), aDa >a fined ss. There is quite an army of policemen under the control "three aboriginal "inspectors of P[|neo," and tbess native •• bobbies," "(.young men, distinguished by coloured Baag»9 and by sticks or wands of office, are wemendoasly officiona. They certainly cannot be accused of failing to do thatr t" slXor<(lli5 lXor<(llie y areas self-imporbanb as the f£™ High Executioner himself, and they «ep watch and ward over the kainga with ibTif hin.KZBaU Tb« "ro11" «8 called ab jrottß nine o'clock each evening, when ■"T«ry constable must anewer to his name wi 0? 0., 88 P oßßlble after one of the " serK«»ntß sounds the nightly bugle-call. *«, i. t0 d*y. no European spectators •"owed to cab foot inside the Maori ther *w lB. b Tawhi*o'B remains were lying j: B,v This law, which was made by tho " Comnjittee," ohiofly, and wisely ■ in ' f Pr6*onb Europeans crowding thfli"^ -° ■ mei' 6 curiosity and spoiling "! Prooeedinga, was strictly carried ■"» and the only two pakehas who buc-

ceededin gaining admission to the enclosure were the Star reporter and the "Graphic" artist. Even this was nob managed wibbowb roach difficulty, and a series of amusing bub annoying encounters with the übiquitous policemen. In the case of the two newspaper men, a concession was made by the assembled chiefs, bub nob until a solemn koreto was held on the question, at which the whole of the people were present. To the good offices of Major te Wheoro and Henare Kaihau, permission was accorded no the reporter and the artist to enter and do what they likoJ, much to the disguss of the policeman, who aadly wanted something or someone to "rnn out.".

THE SPEECHES.

Friday was devoted to speeches of lamentation over the dead king and to songs and hakas expressing feelings of sorrow and grief. As we view the proceedings on Friday, the scene is an interesting one. The chiefs acting as spokesmen and many of their people are attired Maori fashion in mats, shawls and sheets, having left their legs free for the hotter perlormanco of the hakas and of the violent exercise which an orator is compelled to take. A grizzled old chief, who has •• «een service" in his time, jumps up from amongst the ranks of the visitors, his eyes rolliDg with excitement, his garb a flax mab and a shawl, with a sheet round his waist, and his head adorned with feathers, while in his hand he brandishes a valuable greenstone or whalebone' mere, an old-time weapon which is a tribal or a family heirloom. Up he springs in the air, as lightly as if he were a boy, and bounding forward along the front of his seated tribe he addresses the gathering. •* Welcome ! welcome ! welcome 1 Tawhiao is dead 1" is the gist of his oration. After a faw words he bounds along his people's lino, performs pakana or grimaces with eyes and tongue at the tribe opposite, or at another spokesman who has gob up in another parb of the assemblage, poura forth a torrent of words, and then leaps and runs back to his starting place. His rhetoric is nob extensive, for ib is simply a short speech of welcome and of lamentation, and ho sinks down again as quickly as he arose, made quite yonng again by his unwonted work. Another chief will address the people calmly and deliberately, and in language well-chosen and always appropriate. No Maori speaker is aba loss lor a word. His flow of language is usually very copious. There are eomo celebrated orators amongst both parties, the noted old chiei Te Ngakau, of Ngatibaua, whose fame as a polished orator was so great thab woman wera wonb bo climb on the roofs of whares to listen to him, being amongst the visiting natives. Henare Kaihau, who is a near relative of the dead king, ia an excellent and a logical speaker, as also is Te Ilawhiti, a very able man, who is Secretary to the Maori Kingdom. Taingakawa te Waharoa (son of the famous "Kiugmaker" Wi Tamehana), the "Premier " of the Maori Kingdom, also commands the deepest attention when he risea to speak. Taipari, Major Kemp, Whibiora, Major Te Wheoro, Te Aka Wbarakura, and other leading men, never fail to find sympathetic ears and a perfectly quiet audience, save for the incessant low wailing of the old women who continually keep up their tangi immediately around tbo King's body. One half-speech half-song of lamentation will serve as an example of the rest, for the orations all turn on the.one central idea thab the king is dead :—

" Alas ! Ala 8! Alas ! The sorrow of it! Ib cannob be helped ; ib cannot ba helped. Go, oh son, to the nighn (Haere, c tama, ki te po), deparb on the ebbing tide. Our hearts are great with sorrow. Alas ! Alas ! Alas ! Oh Waikato, oh the tribes, oh eon, deptirt to the other world! Depart, depart;, deparb ! The tribe ia dead ; the groan trees of the foresb have fallen ; none are left bub the fmall trees, the shrubs and the saplings ! The tribes are assembled to sorrow over the head of the whole people," and so on, in a strain which is reiterated loudly and often.

THE HAKAS.

Ab the oratorß of each bribe deliver bheir short speeches ot welcome and of lamentation over the corpse of Tawbiao, bhey often quote some words of a well known song. When the spokesman ceases up jumps the bribe," and burab in a roar inbo the chorua of che Bdng t accompanying tho words with a haka dance. With machine-like precision mere's,-"taiahas, an old sword or two, paddleeCand sticks (and even umbrellas and whips) are whirled this way and that, and the dancers bring down now the righb foot and now the left in a bhunderous stamp on the ground, as the familiar words are yelled forth. The leaders of the haka dance oub in front of their hapus and urge them on by voice and deed until the dancera geb worked up inbo the spirib of the buing, and perform the haka like one man. Old Major Te Wbeoro, clad in a blankeb and mat, is as eager as the resb, and he leads on his tribe in a manner which shows that this ia nob the first haka that he has taken part in. One aftej another the tribes assembled round the meeting place jump up and go through bheir respective hakas, under the conduefcorship of their fuglemen and chiefs, who are particularly expert in imparting the singular quivering motion to the'meres in thoir hands which none bub a Maori born could ever attain. With a final long-drawn-out "Aue!" or "E !" the dancers squab down again, and mora Bpeeches are made, followed by more bakaa.

~AN INTERESTING CEREMONY.

One of the sights of the day is the presentation of food to the guests, known as bhe ceremony of " tuku kai." As the midday hour approaches, bhe women risa from bhe outskirts of bhe crowd of men, where they have been listening to bhe speeches or taking parb in the occasional hakas, and flock with vivacious chatter bo the innumerable hangis or Maori ovens around bhe edgß of bhe camp. A loud voice is hoard from the far end of the enclosure, where a man evidently connected wibh'the commissariat department is seenstandingontheroof of one of the larger whares. In a stentorian voice, which is audible from one end of the camp to the other, he shouts directions for the distribution of food, and the manner in winch the kai is to be placed before the different bribes. Then the women proceed to uncover the hangis, and clouds of steam arise from scores of native cooking-places, as tho pork and pobatoes, kumara, eels, beef, and mussels, are lifted out, done " to a turn." The potatoes and other food are all divided oub into small flax konos or baskets, hundreds of which are made by bhe women and girls for oach meal, no basket being nsed twice. Then follows the ceremony of depositing the food before the manuhiri, or visitors, who comprise the Ngabimaniapoto, Ngatioaoa, Ngatibaua, Ngafciraukawa, Ngaiterangi, and other bribes from a distance, the Waikato people being the boats. Fat pigs cooked whole are slung on poles, to go with the potatoes, and the people form into long rows with their presents of food. Fuglemen and women run to and fro along the lines of food servsrs, seeine that all is correcb, or tika, before the food is carried to tha visitors, and directing bbem aa to the movement* of the ceremonial. Then, at a given signal, the Waikato women, girls, young men and boys advance with a dance and song, expressive of welcome to the visitors, and of sorrow at the presence of death. Sometimes, again, the words are very amusing. The scene is a very pretty one, as bhe gaily -dressed Imee of people, each carrying a basket of food, or holding alofb large fat eels done up in flax advance with the rhythmic motions of the haka to the centre of the field towards their guests, wlio sit in silence on the slope overlooking the marae, or the open space where the orators deliyer

their speeches between the assembled tribes. Waving their baskets as they keep time wibh a simultaneous chant) and dance which wakes the welkin, the Waikatos move on until they are a shot b distanceirom the assembled hundreds of quests. Here they halt and lay their baskets of kaikai on the grusa, ranging them in a long line which stretches half across the enclosure. Wibh a repetition of the dance and waiata, or song, tho Waikatos retire to their quarters. Bach tribe of the visitors is then loudly informed oi the portion of food which is its frhare, and they advance to convey the meal bo their own side of the camp, where it disappears in a marvellously shore" time, aa*thereeiiit of the combined atl;ackof strong jaws and splendid appetites. The haka and Sha aong are repeated as the relays of food ate laid before the visitors, end, is one of the most attractive sights of,the day.- The tuku kai is an old native custom, and the leading people ofthe hosts are careful to see thao everything is done properly and in order. Ie would be an exceedingly gross breach of Maori etiquette ts refuse the proffered food, bub as may be imagined the hungry guests would never decline such an excellent} meal.

"SACRED TAUPIRI."

The hill jutting oub from the southern side of Taupiri Mounbain, where Tawhiao is to be buried on Wednesday, is exceedingly sacred in the eyes of the natives, it having been a Waikato burial gronnd for many generations. The hill occupies a picturesque position up againsb the beautiful bush-clad aide of Taupiri Mountain. Many references are made in Maori song and story to the eacrod roount of Taupiri. The mountain is also said to be a " Maunga hfkonga uira," thab is, a lightning mountain, or a peak of omen to the tribe which owned id. In days of old if forked lightning flashed immediately over these mountains of dread oman, of which there are a number in the Waikato, ib was taken to be a sign of approaching death in tho tribe or of some impending misfortune. Firongia, further up the Waikato Valley, in another noted "lightning mountain." Thero is a curious Maori legend extant which asserts, in the poetical imagery of the old Maori, thab Taupiri was the wife of Pirongia Mountain, and that their daughter was Te Kawa, a bilinear Kakepuku, in tho King Country. The grave for the receptien of Tawhiao's remains is on the top of the smaller hill, josb above the railway line, and overlooking the stately Waikato River. The hill was formerly a fortified pa, and the old earthern ramparts are still prominent. Potabau's tomb is enclosed by a high fence, and Tawhiao's bones will be laid cloae bosido those of his father.

There will certainly be no lack of clergymen to conduct the burial rites according to the Church of England service over the dead monarch's remains, for, besides the Ten. Archdeacon Clarke, who arrived ab Taupiri from Auckland on Saturday, bhero are five or six Maori ministers on the spot, including the veteran Heta Tarawhibi, and the Revs. Wiremu Hoete, Hohua, and two or three others