MAORI HUI.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 238, 8 October 1934, Page 5

MAORI HUI.

HOMAGE TO A KING.

CELEBRATION AT HUNTLY.

THE COMMISSARIAT.

Of considerable importance to the Maori people is the gathering which, took place in the week-end at the Waahi Pa, Huntly. The occasion is the anniversary of the crowning of the young king, Koroki Mahuta te Whero Whero, who took the place of his father, Te Rata Mahuta, a year ago; hut opportunity is being taken to discuss matters which relate to the welfare of the whole of the Maori people. The celebrations began on Saturday, and will end to-day. Informal discussions took place yesterday, but finality will be sought to-day. There is another side to the picture, which, though less solemn, is not unimportant— the commissariat. With 2000 persons to feed, the problem calls both for organisation and supplies. Most of the day on Saturday a circle of Maori women sat round in front of a miniature "mountain" of potatoes, working steadily. They chanted as they worked; some smoked short, wellworn pipes; some were bare-footed — but one facility all possessed. They knew how to peel potatoes. A few turns with the knife, and the peeling lay on one side, the flesh on the other, and the pile of "flesh" steadily grew. Under a tarpaulin nearby stood other sacks of potatoes, to be called 011 as occasion demanded. The Tuna Drying. All the food was in one quarter, as it should be in any well-arranged establishment. Near where the women were preparing the potatoes was a framework °f poles, and on them was hanging another important addition to the menu. There were hundreds of eels, big and little. They had been caught in the old Maori fashion in the river, which is close at hand, and cleaned, split down the centre, and then, hung over the poles to dry. From a distance they looked like washing hung otrt on z line.

Then there was the butcher's shop. There were quarters of beefyo whole carcases of pigs, until one believed that 2000 might have been fed, and the Biblical 12 baskets taken up after- . wards. There was always the tang of smoke in the air, for the kitchen fires were ! always alight, with great piles of firewood at hand. Nowhere than in the preparation of the food does the old Maori communalism show with greater efficiency. All day Saturday and yesterday the representatives of different tribes were assembling; and as each party came in at the pa gates and on to the marae, the traditional Maori welcome was accorded. It is well that, though civilisation was bound to come, the Maoris cling to some of the old customs. Queer "Leaves." Then, when the welcome was past, another function took place, which showed that each tribe waa willing to contribute to the expense of the hui. Women representatives of each visiting tribe drew near to the kitchen quarters, chanting in their old ritual. In their hands they carried a branch of a tree — and attached to that branch were queer substitutes for leaves. Pace by pace they approached, and then one of them implanted the stick in the ground. There it was left. After a time one of the hosts would come forward and chant back thanks —thanks for the queer "leaves," which were not leaves at all, but banknotes to help pay for the food. In their chant the visitors made it plain from which tribes the money came. Sometimes the money was placed on the marae. Then it was to be used for different purposes, as the hosts thought fit. Some of the tribes came from far afield. There were Arawas, the Tulioe, as well as many of the Waikato clans. The impression one took from seeing people dressed in European clothes chanting age-old ritual was the blending of the °old and new, the past and the present, the unchanged and the changing- x To-day was not given over wholly to serious discussion. There were ha,kas, singing and games. There was a silver cup for the best haka, and Maori singing is always worth listening to. Among the notable visitors to the pa were Te Puea Herangi, Te Heu Heu Tukino, and Mr. Taite Te Tomo, M.P. for Western .Maori. • - —