BORIAL OF MAJOR KEMP.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10019, 25 April 1898, Page 6

BORIAL OF MAJOR KEMP.

A GREAT MAORI GATHERING. (By Telegraph.) (FROM OCR SPECIAL CORKESPOJTDEXT.) WELLINGTON, April 24. No native in New Zealand was more respected or more beloved by the Maori people than was the gallant friend of the English, Meiha Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, known to European colonists as Major Kemp, and his nana extended far beyond the confines of bis own district. As the news of his death spread there began from the encampment in town and from all the settlements and kaiatigas along the line an exodus of Maoris to Putiki, for the tangi, or feast of mourning, would be one of the most important ever held in the district. All the next day they came trooping iv, and from Kai Iwi, VVaitotara, Patea and other places to the North came on the Tuesday morning hundreds of natives, bringing with them the carcases of sheep and oxen and six tons of potatoes. Headed by a Maori band, wearing ac sign of mourning sashes of the dark green kawakawa leaved, they marched out to the pah to swellthe crowd. Then from North and South came other mourners bringing their quota to the feast. There were hakas of welcome and salvos of musketry as one tribe would meet another along the line. At one place a korero was held to decide the order of precedence, a matter of great importance to the Maori, in the march to i J utiki, and amid loud cheers it was agreed on all sides to give pride of place to the Horowhenua natives, who are ol Kemp's tribe. The day of the funeral broke clear and calm. Early in the morning groups of natives could be seen leaving ths town for the pah to pay their last respects to the dead. The women plucked foliage from the trees by the wayside for a sign of mourning and stuck it in their hair. Anything — macrocarpa, pine, willow or fir— would do, but when they spied a bank ot ivy the pine branches were discarded, and they decked their heads with wreaths of ivy. Arrived at Putiki a strange scene met our eyes. A great crowd of men, women, and children had assembled, and from all parts of the camp strange sounds of weeping and wailing arose. At one end of a square iv the village was the the teut in which lay Major Kemp's body, and from a great tree fluttered flags and pennants. On the largest of these was the Maori inscription Ko Tt Aurerere tanga 0 Te Iwi Maori, t he figure of a man, a Bible, and sundry stars. The wh"le were symbolical of the introduction of » hristianity, the initiation of laws for the government of the colony, the acceptance of these laws by the Maori people for the general good, the progress of civilisation, and the anguish of the people because of the death of Kemp. We approach the tent along with Mr Carroll, the Minister for Native Affairs, and survey the scene. The coffin is literally buried in wreaths, and about the tent are strewn mats of the kiwi and meres of greenstone. At our elbow, squatting on the floor of the tent near the coffin, is Keepa's wife, weeping bitterly. For days after his death she would take no food, and now her arms are all ent and bleeding from the self-imposed torture which she has inflicted with the sharp edged pipi shells. Near Keepa's wife, at the door of the tent, is an old man, down whose cheeks the tears are coursing. He is the nearest relative in the tribe to Kemp. Outside a native policeman, dressed in shabby suit and a helmet that wa3 once white, is marching up and down, keeping back the crowd, and on guard near the door is a swarthy Maori with a drawn sword rusty with age. He is clad in a nondescript kind of naval uniform, but wears a straw hat, around which is a band of crape. Meanwhile a group of Maori men and women have advanced to the front of the tent and commence to chant in a minor key a strange funeral dirge. After a'time the whole body advance right to the door, and the women, squatting down, break forth in still louder waiiings, and a thrill of sorrow seems to go through the whole assemblage. An old tattoed warrior, wearing a medal on his breast, steps from the ranks, and stands for awhile in front of the tent crying. He is in strange garb, a grey Tarn o' Shanter, a waistcoat, knickerbockers and glaring yellow and black stockings. A wild shout calls our attention to Tamati Mahupuku, the big Wairarapa chief, who, in still stranger garb, is performing a haka all by himself, the refrain of which is taken up by some men behind him. He has on a woollen shirt and drawers, while round his waist is a woman's white petticoat, with embroidered edge, and draped across his broad shoulders a woman's shawl of black material. In his hat is a huia feather and a sprig of mourning, and as from time to time he halts in his wild chant he guffs at a halfsmoked cigar. Tamati's performance savours of the ridiculous, and one or two Maoris smile at it. Kemp's own band conies next into the square, and as it plays a spectacled old man, wearing a flax mat, bears to the front the tattered old Moutoua flag. Then follows another band, and several men, women and girls go through some of their extraordinary dances, posturing and leapings. The band still plays, and the mourners as they move along the square wave branches till it seems like a miniature forest of green advancing. Suddenly there is a shout of " Here they come." The cavalry escortthat is to bear the body to the drill hall has arrived, and all is now commotion; the wailing rises in ever increasing volume, old men and young women and girls are crying as surely no mortal ever cried before. One old dame at my elbow is so wet with tears that you could almost wring her out. The wreaths are now brought out and hung round a fire brigade hose reel. The coffin is brought out and placed on the £fun carriage, and the weeping and wailing becomes something terrific, as to the roll of the muffled drums and the strains of the "Dead March" the long procession winds its way out of the village to Wanganui, where in the drill ball the body is to lie for a time in state. In the meantime crowds are wending their way in the direction of the Maori cemetery, anxious to witness the return of the procession. As it comes in sight there is a shout, for the military are there in strong force. The coffin is carried in to the little church, there is a short service, and another at the grave, and the mortal remains of Meiha Keepa are committed to the tomb. Then there is the rattle of musketry and a general stampede. All this time the pah has been deserted, but now, at a few minutes past four in the afternoon, it fills again. The bands, playing ing spiritedly, take up their position in the middle of the square, followed by a host of Maori mourners and hundreds of pakehas. There are two impromptu hakas by the men, most of whom wore mats of flax or feathers, and then the band strikes up a well known hymn tune " Pull for the Shore, Sailor," to the music of which some twenty women dance in strange, slow motion. Not one sound now of grief nor sign of weeping, all is jollity. There is one wild war dance by strong half-naked men, with rolling eyes and hanging tongues, and then there is feasting. (PRESS ASSOCIATION TBLKGRAM.) WANGANUI, April 24. The arrangements for Major Kemp's funeral were carried out by a joint committee of influential Maoris and Europeans, and everything possible was done to insure due honour being accorded to the memory of the chief. The body was brought over from the pah at noon on a gun carriage, specially sent up by the Defence Department, accompanied by an escort of the Alexandra Cavalry and the Wanganui Rifles, and a bodyguard of thirty Maori warriors in full warpaint. The body was taken to the drill hall, and allowed to lie in state until the time appointed for the funeral, by which time the streets were lined by thousands of people. Trains brought in large numbers of excursionists, while practically all Wanganni and snburbs turned out. The procession, escorted by t'ue Alexandra Cavalry and the Maori warriors, was marshalled as follows :—Firing party (Wanganui Rifles), Garrison Band, gun carriage with coffin, Major Kemp's charger, immediate relatives ot the deceased, boys'school cadets, colJe-' giate cadets, Veterans' Association, military officers, native band, natives (section 1), native band, natives (section 2), native band, natives (section 3), local bodies, Judges of the Native Land Court and officers of the department, dietriot tod Bueietrate'e oeurt officials,

general public, the pall bearers included the Hon. Mr Carroll, Sir Walter Buller, Mr Gilbert Carson, M.H.It., Ensign McKenna, V.C., (station master, Wanganui), Captain Northcroft, S.M., Sergeant Austin, M.L.C., Major Blassey, Captain Lomax, Sir Arthur Douglas, Mr F. Waldegrave, and a number of influential chiefs. "Kemp's charger was led by Edward Sutherland (who acted as Kemp's aide-decamp in the Taranaki war) and Tararua Utiku. The burial service was conducted by the Rev. A. O. Williams, assisted by three native clergymen. The Montoua flag and the Union Jack were placed over the coffin.