PASSING OF A WELLLOVED MAORI

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 13138, 12 September 1940, Page 4

PASSING OF A WELLLOVED MAORI

TITIHUIA MOKOHITI n^\\

(Contributed) Reminiscence of deeds well done m the past for ib!V * of k of her people, save i mpe Jj sentiments of Maori feeling*?* b > 11 o clock on Monday upward ot three hundred the Ngaii Ranginni and N?ab???* ot tribes, assembled at Hairbi t ! an H in our n over the death of iJV* hunt Mokohiti Reweti. better i Tui ' perhaps as the mother 0 f pS?* q Reweti. foreman of the Maori i' 1 Development Scheme of this The deceased lovable nature which led her t a smile of encouragement M°J iv * time of adversity, was able . la fluence her people into the hiJ a ‘ status of thought and activity Vv 1 ' whole day was dedicated acVmir to the ancient tradition of the ? ? ? to the delivery of orations, andS’ chanting of songs, eulogistic 1? that was beautiful in her chaimf She had earned such regart 11J& her life time that her deeds round a permanent sanctuary in hearts of her people. J n

No misunderstanding can occur Maori deep-rooted appreciation t* only unsealed when in conclave , * sembled, and when they nionriT While Titihuia fought for her i J under the soothing caresses of hi devoted family, her tribe held r breath: but Avhen death eventual!? swayed its power: the tribe feasted did King David of the Ancient Israel because in soitoav they rejoiced that this loving and lovable spirit win mingle Avith the illustrious of her people beyond the veil.

With her. all shades of Christian thought were welcome, leaving it t 0 the individual to make the individual choice, because only God is the judge: hence many denominations were well represented to voice their appreciation of the deceased lady’s devotion to those ideals worthy of emulation in the rising generation. Sympathy is not alone for the immediate members of her family, hut for her tribe too, that have enthroned her memory within the sacred traditions of her race.

Titihuia descended from a good stock, as far afield as Waitangi (Bay of Islands), and married into the illustrious* line of the late Faraone Koikoi, paramount in, the NgaKe Marawaho, a chief of the Ngati Ranginui, and a descendant of the navigator Tamatea of the canoe Mataatua, one of the seven canoes that safely arrived in Aotearoa.. On Tuesday, Hairini was invaded by a fair concourse of Arawa chiefs; representatives of Tu'paea from Matakana arrived, also, the .JPatuwai from Motiti. War restrictions precluded many, but to-day, Ngati Tamahika, Tapuika, Kuri a Wharei, and others will reach ,the pa. This morning all that is mortal of Titihuia Mokohiti will' be laid to rest, enshrouded with the love of her people. To mourn their loss, she leaves behind her husband, four sons, six daughters, and- twenty-one grand children.