The Sign Of The White Feathers

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXXI, 14 September 1940, Page 6 (Supplement)

The Sign Of The White Feathers

QEVERAL Maoris, elderly men, walking the Wellington streeta the other day, attracted the inquisitive attention of townspeople because each of them wore a white feather in his hat. "Why the white feather?" pakehas asked. The tall upstanding men, wearing the white badge so conspicuously, obviously did not regard it as the pakeha does, a token of reproach. They were farmers from Taranaki, and they had come to the capital to see about their land interests. The white feather was then proud "tohu," or token of nationality, and their fidelity to a historical faith and a revered leader. It is the "raukura" that denotes the followers of Te Whiti, the great political and spiritual chief of the Taranaki tribes, and many other people of the race. Te Whiti has been dead more than thirty years, but his memory is cherished by many of his older adherents, and his savings and oracular preachings are still strong in the minds of the Atiawa, the Ngati-Ruanui and other tribes who live in the province of the sacred mountain, glorious Taranaki. 'Rau-kura" literally means "red feather," but its significance to Taranaki people is more than that. It may be translated as "sacred plume," and that is the ■ense in which Taranaki regards it.

He studied the Bible, he was better acquainted with its contents than even the pakeha preachers who came from time to time to talk with him. He placed his own construction upon many Bible passages. The pakeha thought he twisted Scriptural texts to suit his gospel of the winning back of the Maori lands and Maori independence. I do not think he was in any way different from the reverend gentlemen of the pakeha tribes in quoting passages to justify their ends. However, I must not be led by memories of other days into theological discussions. Sufficient it is to say that Te Whiti was the prophet, priest and king of his Taranaki people and that his methods and his deeds proved liim to be a single-minded follower of the gospel of peace. He was violently attacked in his day, lie was imprisoned by the Government as a malcontent and rebel. He suffered grievous illtreatment for liis consistent stand on behalf of his people. But in the end his noble stand was justified; his policy of passive resistance was vindicated. It is recognised by historians that had it not been for his attitude and great influence over his people

Long ago, wlien the land was distracted by the wars with the pakeha, Te Whiti turned from war to thought* of reconciliation, and he adopted as his emblem and head-plume the white feather, the badge of peace. He established a town of peace, a kind of refuge camp, for all who were willing to follow his teachings and to wait and pray for the day when the persecuted tribes should come into their own again. Huge areas of the best land of the tribes of Taranaki and other parts of the West Coast had been taken from the owners by force of arms, and Te Whiti's aim was to recover these ancestral possessions, the very life of the Maori, so that the people could enjoy their own again. But this land confiscated by the white Government was not to be fought for with temporal means, guns and tomahawks and other weapons. It was by the exercise of spiritual power by prayer and worship of Christ and the following of His teachings that" the Maori rights would be regained. So taught Te Whiti.

Badge Of Maori Patriots

Parihaka, The Town Of Prophet Te Whiti

war would have been renewed in Taranaki in 1881. That was the year of the famous, or rather notorious, raid by an army led by the Hon. John Bryce, the Native and Defence Minister, on Parihaka, when Te Whiti and his fellow-leader Tohu were taken prisoner and carried off to prison. They counselled their many hundreds of followers not to attempt resistance —to repose faith in the peaceful recovery 'of their rights.'

By James Cowan

So the Armed Constabulary and the volunteers, making an army of nearly two thousand men, found at Parihaka awaiting them a perfectly peaceful unarmed assemblage. What a contrast the Parihaka 6cene presented that Fifth of November, 1881! On the one side, within and without the undefended big camp town—which had been described as a "fortress" — colonial soldiers, foot, horse and even field artillery. On the other,

silently watching and waiting, surrounding their chief, and waiting for some supernatural sign on their behalf," and a party of little children dancing out to meet the troops with loaves of bread as a gesture of peace. "Feed your enemies" was Te Whiti's word. A party of poi women and girls, too, met Mr. Bryce's force with a chant and dance of greeting. After the leaders had been taken off, the assemblage still waited patiently for some heavenly sign that would justify their faith in the peaceful policy of Te Whiti. Some believed that the weapons of.the troops would be broken by Divine power, and that a kind of paralysis would sudd(?nly overcome the pakeha. But nothing happened to disturb the raiders. The visiting tribes were dispersed; they were "drafted like sheep," as a pakelia newspaper correspondent described it, and returned to their own villages. The Constabulary destroyed much of the potato crops and other food near the town in order to prevent the gathering reassembling. (Continued next week.)