MAORI HOUSE A COMPROMISE

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 70, 15 December 1939, Page 8

MAORI HOUSE A COMPROMISE

Tradition And Modern Requirements

SIR APIRANA NGATA ANSWERS CRITICS

A compromise between beloved traditions of old Maorlland and the requirements of the present day, the carved Maori house which was opened yesterdav at the Exhibition was defended by Sir Apirana Ngata, against the criticism that it was not a real Maori house at all.

In the course of the opening ceremony, Sir Apirana, who acted as master of ceremonies and commentator, explained the significance of the Maori Court. It had been criticized, he said, on the grounds that it was neither a Maori nor a pakeha house, but a mixture of the two. , The Maori houses that Captain Cook saw were very different, they were dug partly into the ground, and were accessible only through a small doorway, so that the fresh air was largely excluded, but there was within something of the warm atmosphere to which the Polynesians were accustomed before they migrated to New Zealand. Such houses were not likely to recur. The Health Department wanted the Maori to breathe fresh air. The insurance companies objected to the use of dried grasses for roofing thatch, lhe mayor, or the municipal authorities he represented, insisted on. certain bylaws being complied with. And, indeed, in 100 years the Maori had not lingered far behind the rules. the pakeha insisted upon for their citizens —among whom the Maoris were included. There was another thing. In 100 years the Maori had forgotten how to sit on the ground. Originally he had had no chairs and tables —but the Maori Court was built for a generation that was no longer able to sit cross legged on the floor. For that reason, in the design of the building, the original floor level had been raised to the appropriate height for those who sat on chairs. , Finally, he said, it was intended when the Exhibition was over to take the court down, and re-erect the building in Christchurch as a permanent centennial memorial for the Ngaitahu, or South Island Maoris, and this also had to be taken into account when it was being built.