AT RATANA SETTLEMENT

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6991, 17 August 1929, Page 3

AT RATANA SETTLEMENT

Big Bazaar and Dance RAISING FUNDS FOR LABOUR The Maori communal settlement of Ratana pint work aside of Thursday for the purpose of concentrating on a bazaar and a big dance to raise funds for the labour to be done in the settlement in the production of crops and road making. For the day, the serious side of life was discarded and preparation commenced at an early hour for the reception of visitors of their own kith and kin. The Maori had bestirred himself early and the wharepunis were swept and the mats rolled up to make way for the representatives of tho various iwis who had signified their intention of visiting Batana. The various houses —some essentially European, while the majority were a compromise between the pakeha’s style of architecture and the Maori’s idea of what a home should be, wore cleaned up early and the inhabitants themselves prepared to array themselves in their best for the occasion. A school holiday had been proclaimed and that accounted for the numerous children playing about the narrow streets, or openings which served the purpose of thoroughfares, at games and amusements of the pakeha type. Two were seen indulging in a quiet game of cards on the slightly raised portion of tho thoroughfare which served as a footpath where two would find it difficult to walk abreast. There was an air of gaiety about and as the visitors began to arrive, the old Maori custom of salutation was in common evidence —the hongi salute (rubbing of noses) often occupying many minutes, while in the case of the meeting ol' long-parted friends, the salute xvas followed, with noses still associated, by the spoken greetings such an event called for. Such scenes caused a conjuring up of pictures of the Maori past. Here at Batana there is much of the ways of the truly native, with the exception of tribal worshipping customs. The atmosphere is of the pa Maori but with_a freedom from all interference. At tho community cook-house, old and tattooed wahines peeled potatoes while others plucked geese and ducks and still others prepared the pig fox the stone oven which was receiving attention by male helpers nearby. A shallow pit, a heap of stones, wood and fern loaves were all in readiness for the first heating of the stones and then the laying on of the pig—cooking in a manner which retained the juices and’ rendered the food delicious. The potatoes were for the largo usns or boilers which were placed, military fashion, on two bars over a roaring fire which was tended by an elderly pakeha who had apparently strayed to the pa. At the wharepuni, where the bazaar was held, willing hands were marshalling the goods for sale which had been brought in from the different parts of the settlement by the donors. Other hands had prepared numerous raw flax baskets into which a measuo of potatoes wore placed, while others were filled with the kumara. Prepared and treated flax had been used skillfully as of old in tho making of a variety of hand bags, shopping bags and quaintly fashioned baskets, all bearing the stamp of .being hand made by dusky maidens. There were also for sale flax pio pio’s, those garments which the pakeha calls mats and also several perfectly worked table centres and sets in flax, skillfully combed and made in the homes of the dwellers of Ratana. Also offering for sale were many samples of croquet work "all done by the Maori” as the elderly tatooed wahine in charge, said, and oven samples of cookery were arrayed on the tables. Freshly killed pork and dressed geese and ducks — they were busy plucking these as the bazaar proceeded in the little courtyard at the rear of the hall—added to the bazaar atmosphere. Sacks of potatoes, kumaras and pumpkins helped to swell the goods for sale, while ripened corn gave variety and bulk to the list of foodstuffs. In another wharepuni adjoining many hands were giving the finishing touches to the decorations and preparing the orchestral stand to accommodate the visiting minstrels from Taihape. The ceiling of the hall was a blaze of colour, so dear to the Maori and the floor was receiving its final polish per medium of a sack of chaff drawn round and around and sometimes across, by half a dozen little boys. Valuable pio pios adorned the orchestral stand while ferns gave the whole a finish worthy of the occasion. Batana officially opened the bazaar, which proceeded to business throughout the afternoon, while the visitors were entertained to a football match between two Maori teams. Big parties of dancers from Wanganui and the surrounding district, as well as from Tokorangi and Onepuhi in the Peilding district, attended the dance in the evening, which proved very successful and the very complete arrangements made the festive occasion go with a swing. All the money raised on Thursday will go towards the fund for the payment of the labour engaged on roadmaking and in preparing some 700 acres which it is proposed to sow in wheat in the spring. Big preparations are being made and tractors were busy throughout the day in bringing the different implements on to the scene of operations. While there may be some things at Batana which do not find favour with Europeans, a great deal can bo said for the apparent success which is attending the efforts of Batana and his associates to build up' a healthy town on wholesome beliefs. The museum located in an oblong hall contains a wealth of relics rich in Maori lore and is well worth visiting. It is proposed to build a substantial brick building to house this remarkable collection.