"MATE MAORI."

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 96, 25 April 1907, Page 7

"MATE MAORI."

The best of missionaries would-prob-ably not be pleased to hear a Maori show his knowledge of the Bible by quoting it in support of what is, generally regarded as a native superstition. It was at the Te Aute .Students' Conference at Awapuni recently! In the course of a. discussion on "Mate Maori," said to be a disease due to the evil influences of the gods and incurable by pakeha doctors, most of the speakers agreed with Dr. T Wi Repa that no such disease existed. They pointed out,.however, that some people were known to be possessed of evil siprits, i and the fact was mentioned in the Bible. This, they considered, should surely be called " Mate Maori." Hone Parata, of Tokomaru, said the Maoris had their own gods, which guided the historic canoes from Hawaiki to Aotearoa. Whether these spirits were good or not he did not know; perhaps they were wicked and had something to do with "Mate Maori." Dr Wi Repa, who is liouse surgeon at Dunedin hospital, in a paper on the subject flatly denied the existence of such a disease. Clever tohungas, he said, in order to get all the practice and outdo the pakeha practitioner ; were 'cute enough to tell every Maori who came to them that he was suffering fronl " Mate Maori," and that it would be a waste of money to go and consult a pakeha. The dector deplored the fact that these notions about "Mate Maroi " had been, and always would be, obstacles in the path of the medical men amongst Maori patients. ■