POSSESSED Of DEVILS.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIV, Issue 85, 12 April 1920, Page 4

POSSESSED Of DEVILS.

TOHUNGAS AMO&Gr MAOBIS, '

CONDITIONS IN THE FAR

NORTH.

A remarkable account of super* stitioas practices and; lack of scientific* medical attention among the Maoris of the Flar North lias been given by Canon Aivthur Williams and the Rev* .11. P. Munro .in their report. They found _ that "the tohunga and th» magician flourish, and crudest superstition is rampant." The report, which is published in the Church Gaa-afcte, explains that the mission was undertaken because the.re Had been earlier in the year agreat outbreak of tohongaism among "a people who for nearly ICO year* hirve had the reputation: of being th«> most earnest Christian tribe among the Maoris." As many as 17 Maori tOiliungas were brought from various centres from as far &8 Tauranga to try to cure a noted Maori chief who was ill. He died. Previous to this, a. Maori bay died, Maori tohungas I and confederates haying tried to [ 'drive out.an evil spirit, by which he w,a« supposed to be possessed".. The? I body was buried secretly, and was only found about two years ago. It was found that many Maoris had "lapsed into heathenish, ways. How comes it that they haive succumbed to the influence and power of" Maori tohungas? Doubtless there are other reasons, but the Maoris therosi?l vr<?fs invariably rr've the 'following':: DEATHS AMONG GHTLDBEIK There is much richness and disease' —especially among the children, eveane where the? parents themselves see>nr strong and healthy—and they • are* dying off in great numbers every year. Wo have nciver in all our ex"perieneo seen so much sickness and! disease as, came under our notice in the four weeks wo were among them. In case after crvse families are in ciianger of becoming extinct. Out of nine and ten children several families have only three or four left* alive, and of ifcheso" generally two are diseased or ill. Out of peyen and: fifteen children in some families, only one is still living; while in yefc another, twenty have died out of a. family of twenty-two. And the parents say they cannot get medical attention. The Government does supply the sea-vices of a district nurse, who does splendid' work, but there seems to be no doctor available for the Maoris. The tohungas teach the people thafc God has in His mercy, under these* very trying circumstances, permitted the spirits of their ancestors to return to teach them what to do for the sick, and that the tohungas can. cura all ills. Further, they say that> the causes of the illness is an evil spirit, and that this is tho reason why European doctors cannot cure the" patient. JA T POWER ,OF EVIL SPIRITS. We found a good many who lukE already become convinced that flu*' spirits were not good spirits,, because the results were always ultimately evilj and generally ended, in death, and often in lunacy. Some had already returned to the tohungr**(charm, or embodiment of the spirit power, which he had left in their home; others had thrown them away into the scrub; while others still ha«± them in their homes and; ' did not know what to do with them, and handed'them over to us:: They said they felt.they, hajd opened a door for the' approach of spirits, which they had,found to be evil,spirits, and could not'shut it again. No matter what tlhey did -they could not get^ fre* . again fro-n what they firmly believed 1 to be evil spirits, or, denions, who seemed to Be ;■ bent on destroying; them and their children. , '</ In the case .of one boy, the principal tohunga concerned has sinco« •died, apparently raving mad, pnd weare> told that every one< of her children have died. ;.n the same way; —rtwo of them within a week of each other. We believe nothing wiil convince the^o people, and those connected with them, that these wero not cases of demon-possession, or th«r work of evil spirits in some form. We were solemnly told by one whoihasi suffered that some of the possesseds behaved like pigs; • others like dogs, cats. rats. etc.; and we met with twoyoung children who did behave ins every way like little pigs . and whobecame quite ; normal immediately when the evil spirits were exorcisea MA2A nRE^TOC;NCE. TOHUNGAISBt As soon as the Maoris realised that the missicme'rs were there to ne*P them, the- days were rot long enongh. toyieo all who came to us, or wished us to go to their homes. Naturafly those who were practising a* tohungas, otr. acting as agents- for tohungas living elsewhere, and were: (thereby making money out of it, also some who were afraid of the magic of the tohungas, or of the wrath or the spirits' kept aloof from us. It has been roughly, computed tb^fc in the three centres visited perhaps--350 ito 430 people, including: the* children, attended' the services. Or th^se at least 320 renounced their adherence to tohungaism and all' iV means, and were formally reinstate** in a most solemn and impressive surVlC*© ' "DEMON-POSSESSION." Regarding the cases of apparenfr demon-possession, even among quit© young children, "the missioners ar& both convinced that they are spealeing of facts and not of fiction. _ Som© cases were brought to both in tha hope that something could be done to set them free from control. In the case of one little child tfi©parents were so ihoroughly eonvineed. hy -what they saw and heard, that tho child was then and i-here freed from an evil .spirit's control, and completely cured within a fewminutes by prayer and, exorcrem, that they begged -that the whole* family might be forthwith fut off fcom to&ungaism and i%, feaneful power, and reinstated at the special service to bo held that evening. O» a subsequent visit to this village, a* few days later, this chilfl was re--ported quite well and playing about* with the other children-. And thi* was found lo be quite trwe f .