Maori oratory captured

Press, 13 December 1986, Page 23

Maori oratory captured

One of the most historic occasions in Maoridom, the reunion of Mataatua Canoe descendants, will be seen tomorrow (Sunday) at 7.00 p.m. on One.

“Mataatua Canoe Offspring,” produced, directed and narrated by Selwyn Muru, is a 50minute documentary entirely in Maori with English subtitles. Orators both inside and outside the meeting house will be captured in full flight in a way which has never been seen before. Filmed at Te Tii marae, near Kerikeri, last Easter, the film shows the coming together of descendants from Whakatane, Opotiki, Tuhoe, East Coast, Taranaki, and some from as far south as Wellington and the South Island. It was their first reunion since 1350, when

the brothers, Puhi and Toroa, reached a stalemate over cultivations and tribal leadership in Whakatane. Unable to resolve their differences, Puhi, with the majority of the crew, sailed north in the Mataatua and founded the tribe, Ngapuhi. He was never to return to Whakatane.

Why has it taken so long for a reunion? A organiser, Rewi Wiki, explains: “The rangatahi (young people) have brought us together. They forgave more easily than the old chiefs who are stern and unrelenting.” One of the highlights of the hui was a pilgrimage to Takou Bay to the site of the final resting place of Mataatua, where a memorial stone commemorating the meeting of the descendants was unveiled. The site may become an area for an annual pilgrimage for all the descendants. The entire hui, according to Muru, was charged with Mana, Wairua (spirituality) and Rangimarie (peace).

On their arrival in driving rain, the visitors carried a long blue scroll in front of them containing whakapapa (genealogy) of the visiting descendants. It was later laid ceremoniously at the end of the meeting house next to a red one containing the local people’s whakapapa. The two warring ancestors were brought together at last after almost 700 years, dating back to the period of the migration.

The dead and living relatives were greeted and wailed over by elders and members of both factions of the Mataatua family. Oratory recalled the deeds and activities of their ancestors through song, speech and proverb. Muru says that after many years of making films and documentaries, he regards Mataatua as the most challenging one he has ever worked on. It is also his first independent production.

in order to tell the canoe’s early history, Muru resorted to the use of animation, graphics, original poetry and chants. Place names that Puhi created along the Northern coastline were included.

Up until the time of the hui, the Kaitiaki (guardian) of the canoe, Wiremu Paora, and all his predecessors had kept constant vigil on the canoe. In the documentary Paora rejoices because at last responsibility for the canoe had gone back to all the offspring of Mataatua.

This film records a memorable gathering which has, fortunately, been captured for future generations.