MAORI FAITH HEALER

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21456, 24 April 1935, Page 12

MAORI FAITH HEALER

NATIVE AND PAKEHA PATIENTS REPORTS OF SEVERAL CURES [THE PRESS Special Service.] AUCKLAND, April 23. A Maori faith healer of unusual beliefs is at pjjesent attracting large numbers of visitors to Ngaruawahia pa. His name is Te Huiatahi Rawiri, and he comes originally from Kawhia district. Since March 17 he has been holding an unorthodox healing mission at. Ngaruawahia, with the approval of Princess Te Puea Herangi and Wanakore Herangi, her brother. Both pakeha and Maori patients are among cases of reported cures.

A visit to the pa to-day showed Te Huiatahi to be a very human Maori, with a hearty liking for a handrolled cigarette and a dish of kumera. Wearing a bright blue pullover and a pair of trousers, and walking barefooted he did not have the appearance of a mystic. He would speak only through an interpreter. It was learned that Te Huiatahi was born 45 years ago. The interpreter added that his name in English meant "united as one." At tho pa he has attended Maoris and pakehas from all parts of the North Island. A visitors' book is even kept for the pakeha patients, and 19 names are included. According to the entries many of the patients are elderly, but no note is kept of their ailments. A case that has made the Maoris more than ever inclined to regard Te Huiatahi as the possessor of amazing gifts is that of Miri Arangi, a young woman from Taranaki. She and her father both spoke through an interpreter. For the last few years the girl had been suffering from curvature of the spine, and recently was admitted to the New Plymouth Public Hospital for treatment. She objected to being placed in a plaster jacket, and her father gained permission to take her away. He brought her to Ngaruawahia, and there followed laying on of hands. The girl said she sat crouched in front of Te Huiatahi while he massaged her back over her clothes. She did not know how long she remained there, but gradually she felt her back straightening, until at last she was able to get to her feet, standing almost upright. Her back grew straighter every day, and on Monday night she j was able to go to a dance. Her car- ! riage, as she walked round the pa to-day, vas perfect. No exact dates could be given by the Maori girl or her father, but when a telephone enquiry was made at the New Plymouth Hospital to-night, it .vas stated that no native woman had been treated as ari in-patient for curvature of the spine for at least five weeks. Te Huiatahi claims that his healing gift comes from God through Koroki, the Maori "king." The latter he regards as someone divinely appointed, a person of spiritual rather than temporal significance. The healer will not accept payment for his cures. "God did not make money," he said through an interpreter. "Still, if anyone gives me anything to eat, I will eat it."