MAORI CONCERI

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 16, 19 July 1915, Page 2

MAORI CONCERI

THE Maori Concert, which takes pine* under the auspices of the Gammer* cial Travellers' Association- at the Town' Hall on Wednesday and Thursday next, illustrates in song and dance one of th« famous exploit* of the Chief Wairangi. The history of the war cry "PuhLkura" it as follows :— Wairangi and his warriors were invited by the Waikato chiefs to a conference. During the conference a plan' was set on foot by the Waikalo chiefs to kill Wairangi and his small band o£ men. For two days the Wai**, katos gave very little food for them,' and • it was decided that they were to,' be slaughtered on the third day. Durhg 1 the night of the third day, Waii'tfpgii sont hie slave as a spy to ascertain wh<t was going on outside of their house; sta they could hear dogs yelping and unuisual noises going on outside. When! the slave left, lie tound a mat belonging to the people 1 of the pa a few yards from the house. He then left his and' put the one he found on himself, so as < to .hide his' presence- frp'ttuthe .Wajkatos.i The slave learned. ' tiiftt the* Waikotos . wore preparing for a great feast, and] | ! Wairangi and his party were to bo taken; , unawares and slaughtered before morning. The slave hastened back to the house and informed Wairangi of their fate. He then planned a scheme to get * away, , if possible. He there and theft • composed the war dance "Puhikura," and practised it with his mem. The noise caused by them through theit practice was heard by the people outside, who came to see what was going on inside the house, when they found it Wa<j a haka quite new to them. They then told their chief that a haka quit© strange to any of theirs was performed by Wairangi and his party in the Meet* ing-hoinse. The chief of the pa them sent a messenger to Wairangi, telling > him that he would like to see the new i haka. performed outside, and large fires ; were lit to give light to the performance, j Wairangi told the messenger to give them ft few minutes in order 'to prepare themselves for the performance outside. During the interval Wairahgi instructed his men to conceal their weapons iv their* i mats close handy to their aides. The [ wav dance was to bo performed in three , parts, the first and second parts by , his leading men, the third and tet'j' part by himself. The moment he tor menced his part, that wus the signal M »* them to strike with their meres (bata t axes) thooe who were 'close to them. < during the haka each of them w \ mark his matt, and when he gavt i . signal to strike and not miss. *■„ . When the signal was given by \ "^ rangi, 75 Waikatoa fell at once, and the attack was Repeated several times before the Waikatos could graisp 'the awful position they had got into. As they came there to see the new haka. and left thsir war weapons in their houses, and were ther©. j fore defenceless, over 1000 of the Wjii- i katos fell that night. Wairangi and his warriors left for their homes before, j morning. > | The next haka is " Kamate, Kamate. "i ' This is also a famous war-cry. The , author of this haka is T« Raupavaha, i the Napoleon of Now Zealand. Briefly, Rauparaha was making hi*, way from ■Kawhia Harbour to Kapiti Island. Ho was afraid to come along by the ©oast, as the Maniapotos would kill him. He then came through by Lake Taupo. When he arrived at LakeNßotoaira, close to Tongariro Mountain, the Turohare* toas heard he was a. guest of Te Whare* rangi, chief of Rotoaira Lake. > A war party was organised to killi him. Te Wharerangi, who was one of the leading chiefs of Taupo, heard of the plot to kill Rauparaha, dug a hole in frojv* of hie mceting'house, and told UaU' paraha to get into it, while he placed a mat o^pr it and sat on it. When the warriors <of Turoharetoa arrived i they asked Wharerangi where Rauparaha had gone to. He told them that he had left* some time before. A search wa» made, but they could not find him. After the departure of the Turohavetoas, Wharerangi then took Ranpnraha in a canoe, ! and landed him close to Tongariro Mountain, and directed him to Waiounu From there he came to Kapiti Island. Before he left Wharerangi ho performed, the war dance, " Kamate, Kamato, Kaora, Kaora, tenei te tangata, Puhuruhuru nana etiki mai i whaka whititera, upnne, upane, upane, Kaupane whiti t« ra." Translation as follows:— "tt is death! It is death! It is life! It is life! . This is the hairy man (\yhnrcr*ngi) wb.4 caused the sun to 6hine on me again . Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! The sua shineth again."