AMONG THE MAORIS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 76, 11 March 1933, Page 8

AMONG THE MAORIS

WORK OF THE CHURCH

TRIBES IN THE WAIKATO.

BISHOP BENNETT’S TOUR.

Since his consecration a little ovei four years ago, the Rt. Rev. F. A. Bennett, Bishop of Ao tca-roa, has made an annual visit to the Maori tribes ol the North Island and to the South Island every other year. His Lordship lias just returned from his annual visit Io the Waikato Diocese, having been away since February 1, and he has much of interest to tell of his experiences and impressions gathered during his past month’s work. Speaking generally of the Maori m New Zealand His Lordship said that the Maori population was mainly distributed in the North Island with about 1600 in the South Island. The population of the North Island totalled 68,000. On account of the closei contact oetween the two races in the south the Maoris had become practically Anglicised, the majority knowing more English than Maori. but the sense of nationality was so strong that quite a number were now insisting upon their children learning the language of their Maori ancestor*. “I began my tour from the Taranaki end where 1 was stationed as a missionary 30 years ago,” said His Lordship in dealing with his recent visit to the Waikato. “Taranaki and Waikato felt the full blast of the Maori Wai's of 1865 to 1872. As a result a great deal of valuable country was confiscated by the Government of the day, and the Maoris of those areas were left in a sullen, sulky and cantankerous spirit. Up till recently no church has been able to make much headway amongst these people. “But the times are changing and a new generation has now grown up side by side with the pakeha. The old wounds have been nearly forgotten and those who sometimes refer to them are mak’ng use of hearsay evidence, which has not the old sting of those who were eye-witnesses. PAKEHA PIONEER. “The Maoris little realise how fortunate they have been with the splendid type of pakeha pioneer who made Taranaki the land of their adoption. There are many pakeha families in Taranaki who lost their loved ones in those unfortunate days, but as far as the pakeha is concerned, they have buried the hatchet long long ago. Thirty years ago when the Parihaka prophets, Te Whiti and Tohu, still swayed the great Maori gatherings from the whole of the West Coast, the pakeha showed really Christian sympathy. 1 worked for six years in Taranaki from 1900 to 1906, and during that time in many settlements 1 was not allowed to hold any Christian services of any description, and during my stay in Taranaki I never heard or received anything but kindness and encouragement from the pakeha. “From my experience of to-day as Bishop travelling all over New Zealand I can safely say that there are few districts where a deeper interest is taken in the welfare of the Maori than in Taranaki. The large parish church of St. Mary’s in New Plymouth is generally filled by mainly a pakeha congregation at the close of my visitation when I speak about the work of the church among the Maori people. This service is on a week-night. Wo generally have a combined choir, pakeha and Maori, taking part in the service. That in itself is an indication of the interest taken in Taranaki and is an ideal which has not been reached in any other part of New Zealand.

FLAX LEAVES AND YOUNG SHOOTS. “On the Friday afternoon (February 3) I was invited to visit the Maori Sunday School treat and present the prizes. Here 1 found a very successful bit of work carried on by our mission lady, Miss Heath, who is stationed at Waitara. She conducts a Sunday School hero of 40 children, sometimes on Saturday morning and sometimes on Sunday. Three of the children had never missed during the whole year. 1 conducted a short service before I presented the prizes, and during the address I reminded the children of some of the difficulties that I had experienced in my early work, and how grateful they should be for their opportunities of being taught the highest ideals of lifo by such expert teachers.

“After the service an old chief made a fine oration. Amongst other things he said: “Never mind the dried leaves of the flax bush, but the young shoots are yours.’’ By this he meant that we were not to worry much about the old fellows, but to concentrate on the children. Another man said he had one complaint to make and that was that their children were taught in English •inly, and when the children went home they could not translate the teaching into Maori so that the parents could also learn what had been taught at Sunday School. I wonder how many pakeha parents ever took the trouble to ask tlicir children what they had learnt at Sunday School.

MYSTIC SAYINGS.

“On Saturday evening, February 4, I visited the Waitara Pa known as Manukorihi. I took service in the meeting house, and in my address I reminded the people of the splendid type of Maori that the West Coast had produced. mentioning the late Sir Maui Pomarc, Dr Rangihiroa Buck, Dr Ellison, now at Rarotonga, and others. I had come to look for similar type of men for the extension of the Kingdom of God. One old native called Te Totara said: ‘lt is quite right that you should come here, for the first Maoris to die for their faith came from this West Coast. Manihera and Kereopa were killed at Tokaanu, Taupo, in 1547 by their enemies, to whom they bad gone to preach the Gospel.’ “Another chief said: ‘When the kaka (parrot) is caught with a poria (bone ring) round its leg we know it has • master. Mauy of us have several poria.

You have but one, and that is God Himself.’

Again: “The big stars are clustering around the Milky Way.’’ Again: “Waiho te kahui poaka kia pahungia e te kun’’ (Let the dogs hark at the pigs). I am not quite clear as to the meaning of these expressions, but 1 think they were coined by the prophet Tc Whiti in the first place. Some of these mystic sayings are like cross-word puzzles. “I think the big stars were the noted pakeha in the old days of trouble clustering round the Milky Way—the Maori. The dogs harking were also t.tie pakeha with his guns surrounding Parihaka when they took Te Whiti prisoner.

“I spent a week in Taranaki, and came away feeling much cheered by the warm and hearty reception I had received at every place without anv exception. I have never felt so much encouraged about the spiritual work in Taranaki as 1 did after this visit. The workers there consist of a resident Maori minister and two pakeha lady missionaries. They and their sympathisers have had uphill work for a long time, but now they can see definite results from the seed scattered during the past GO years by many labourers. They can now rejoice, fur Taranaki is coming back again to the faith of their fathers and to the spiritual earnestness of the two proto-martyrs of the Anglican Church,- Manihera and Kereopa, whose mortal remains lie buried nt Tokaanu in this Diociw of Waiapu.”