HISTORIC MAORI PA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21007, 19 October 1931, Page 9

HISTORIC MAORI PA.

CENTENARY CELEBRATION. SOUTH ISLAND GATHERING. KAIAPOI lIA'S HUNDRED YEARS. Elaborate preparations are being made by tiic Maoris of tlio locality for the celebration, from Saturday to Monday next, of the centenary of the Kaiapohia pa, near Kaiapoi. Cooks arc busy at tlie pa preparing for feeding tho hundreds of Maoris and pakclias who arc expected to attend the centenary commemorations. Eeling parties liave been out to Lake Ellesmero and hunting parties have been scouring tho hills for wild pig. Mussels and cockles have been collected. Nor havo tho providers finished yet. Their activities will be intensified with tho nearer approach of festivities. There are a thousand and one problems facing the committee, but tho commissariat presents tho biggest ono. There will be many little delicacies on tho menu, some perhaps that the pakeha would not appreciate. Dried shark will be one. Then there will bo shellfish and eels, together with tho mutton birds from farther south. In ono corner of the pa are six and a-half sacks of eels already dried and being prepared for tho table. .As a compromise to modern conditions there will bo meat and other eatables from shops, not forgetting the humble potato and his vegetable friends. Potatoes are cheap and there will be plenty of them. Desire for Definite Results. "Wo can live in camp much cheaper than tho pakeha would ever dream of," said Mr. To Aritaua Pitama last week, when interviewed by tho Christchurch Times. "Tho pakeha might turn up his noso at somo of the items on the menu. The Maori, however, does not resort to artificial heat so much. He lets tho sun do a lot of it." And what of the cooking? Here the pressure will bo too severe to allow of it all being done in the hangi and ovens of any description that can be pressed into service will be utilised. To house the visitors from all parts of New Zealand tents will be pitched on the marae (hall) property, with a special dining tent. The hall itself will bo reserved for rehearsals by tho visiting tribes. "Yes, there will be tables and chairs in tho dining tent," said Mr. Pitama with a smile, "although in somo pas in the North Island you would not but. sit as our ancestors did. The South Island Maori has .taken after the pakeha too much. "We want definite results from the commemoration, whether they bo spiritual or political. We have in mind particularly the revival of Maori arts and the revival of the language. It is really terrible in the South Island, for so very few Maoris can speak their own language. Treaty of Waitangi.

"The Governor-General will be presented with a petition praying that the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi should be enforced in regard to the access of Maoris to fishing grounds and forests. This will introduce the political aspect to the commemoration. The problem of making provision for the future of the Maori will bp introduced. We must find some way of surviving. The problem of closer settlement will be discussed in the way of giving adequate work to our Maoris. "It will be a commemoration, not a celebration of defeat or victory, but of the heroism and daring of our ancestors. Kaiapohia has always been regarded as the leading pa of the south, the difference between ;v pa and a kainga being that a pa is a fortification and a kainga a village. The places where Maori arts and crafts were encouraged and preserved were by no means numerous, but Kaiapohia was one." Speaking of the question of attire, Mr. Pitama said:—"Tailored suits and costumes will not be donned by the Maoris of Kaiapohia or their visitors from other pas. The dress of their forefathers will he sufficient for them. They will go native with a vengeance—dress like natives, speak like natives and live like natives, to present a wonderful pageant to the peoples of the cities."