A MAORI ENTERTAINMENT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1232, 14 September 1911, Page 6

A MAORI ENTERTAINMENT.

Thoso peoplo who were not present at the Maori entertainment given in tbe Social Hall ot' tho i.M.C.A. last evening for the purpose of raising a sum of money sufficient to send one Maori girl to the. Victoria Collego in Auckland, missed a most delightful and interesting evening's proceedings. Liko all things in tho world of transmutation, ■ the Maori of to-day is quite a , different being from tho Maori of the past, with new ways of thinking, of expressing his ideas and his emotions, and with new ideals of what life demands of him, and any opportunity of hearing of the days of old, with thoir almost obliterated customs, is must welcome. Theio was a very good audience present and a most appreciative one, and probably had moro people known about the entertainment there would havo boon an absolutory crowded house. Very interesting indeed was the lectur. ctto giTcn by the Hon. A. T. Ngata upon tho past of the Maori. Tho speaker is gifted with a keen senso of humour and a quiet vein of sarcasm, both of which he brought into play at tho expense of the pakena, who, when ono comes to think of it, furnishes excellent material for such sport. How the Maori occupied hinv self in those early days was tho subject of his discourse, and much besides. The building of the canoe, how it was done without tho aid of tools with which we are familiar, the incantations .used (foi unlike the whito man, they did not havo spirits to put fire into their efforts), tho telling of deeds of prowess that stretched far' back into tho dimness of their origin, and fighting itself, all made lifo an extremely busy affair. Interesting things were told of "muru" and "tapu," and ono could realise with what saddened hearts the Maoris must have watched tho gradual dying out of the ancient and most convenient custom of tapu. In tho old days it had ruled warfare and commerce among them, but when tho rakeha eanie with all his laws and expected the Native to conform to them, then tapu was destroyed. Tho chief, wh) was almost absolutely Bacred, had made them work, and now that this was gone there was no man with chieftainship enough" in him to make them work as they had worked. Dr. Buck was equally, interesting wheii comparing the past with the present Maori, drawing a picture of him in the ancient days, dwelling on the hill-tops, working and fighting, and healthy as any human beings couli be. Civilisation had come, and in less than a century tho Maori hod, or at least was trying to do what it had taken the European threo thousand years to do. Education was doing a great deal for tho Natives, particularly the Native schools, and what they wanted was all-round training, including domestic training for the girls. In tho cities the people had ' their Plunket nurses, and if they, civil ; sed beings, needed such help for moth«rs and children, how much more was it needed for tho Maori woman. The Maori war dances wero absolutely fascinating, and were splendidly performed, some of thoso taking part in them having como down from Eotorua. Oldtime incantations and songs illustrating tho subtle gradations of. sound which few but the Maori can distinguish, wero also given, even some love Eongs, which to European cars were vigorously unconventional. A plaintive thing was sung by several of tho Maori men, with one woman's voi :e harmonising delightfully, and Mrs. Pitt charmed her audience with "Home, Sweat Home." sung in Maori (the past and tho present), as Dr. Buck aptly termed it. Lady Ward, Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Ward, and .Mr. and Mrs. Gui?e, from Government House, and Mrs. Buck were among tho?o pre?£iit. It is toped thau the entertainment will bo repeated.