LITE AT A MAORI BOARDING SCHOOL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2130, 20 December 1894, Page 28

LITE AT A MAORI BOARDING SCHOOL.

>•'■)' 111 I^', • ;\, ./. J /''/". / / /./ m h ' ; -1 ,u"i.t * ' <v, "''■ v.f ■*' ; , ;. 1 .!: . - :l.'meiu ' • «..i")h i^o school was situated. As the coach rounded a turn in tho road my driver jpoiDted to where a clear view of the achoolhouse presented itself. The building, a large wooden structure of two storeys, looked very well, surrounded by willows and ohestnut trees, with here and there a pine or deodar. " About this place," remarked the driver, " are many points of interest. On the ground on which the school now stands a battle was fought between the whites and the Haubaus. These trees were growing theD, and even lately bullets and round stones used by the rebels as bullets have been dug cut here and there near them. Over there," pointing to a lagoon engirt with willows, about a hundred yards distant, " where that old whare is, was the rebel pa. Over to the we^t there ia the road Te Kooti came by to Poverty Bay." We by this time were near the school, and aB we approached the double gate the sound of playtime uroee unmistakably. "They're noisy, aren't they?" said coy Jehu. " White youngsters couldn't raise a raw like that nohow." Soon the coach pulled up, and tba head master, who was awaiting the coach and my arrival, drew near to welcome me. After a kind inquiry as to the length and quality of my journey, he led the way through an avenue of dusky faces of all shades and types to his house, where my duties, &c, wore to be explained. Thus prosaically enough my experience of Maori character aa found in Maori boys commenced. Maori lads are not in the main different from pakeha youths. Both are alike barbarians at heart, only the former are not veneered and restrained by civilisation. One great feature of their character is curiosity. It is perfectly boundlesß, and no mock modesty stands in the way of gratify ii g it. Another peculiarity of their disposition is that each one, from tho youngest upward, considers himstlf capable of directing the afEiirs of others in general, and will thrust in his oar with the utmost complacency. It may be that in this case the discipline of the school prior to my arrival had been lax, and more notice taken of their opinions than was proper, yet it was funny to have youngsters offering advice as to their own government — every boy among them treated by every other as his equal. There are no castes as in English boarding schools, where wealthier children are encouragi-d to dospina those less fortunate. That hut. not yet come, so that one often has the spectacle presented of a well-dressed and educated Maori greeting a veritable scarecrow on the Btreet, who iudoed considers himself, though poor, quite equal in birth. To call attention to poverty as a gibe is a misdemeanour, and is strongly resented. A knock once came to my door. I opened it, and the usual eight presented itself. One boy with a request, and eight or nine others to see what it was. •' Can I fight., oir 7" asked ths knocker. " Fight whom, or what 1 " I inquired.

"Te K^re. He called me a • tutua ' (man o! no consfquenca), and I wish to fight him."

"Kahore rawa" (Certainly not), I answered, and tho deputation retired.

It ia to be remarked hnra that the boys are very amenable if they consider the command just. I believe they would resist to the last an unjust or seemingly Inadequate punishment. The fight did not take place, it being held that he vindicated his honour by asking permissioa. The boys settle their disputes, however, mostly among themselves, but an injured party always has a right to state a case against an oppressor. Should a boy consider himself aggrieved by a bigger one, he asks after evening school permission to state a caee. Prosecution and de'ence follow, then judgment iB pronounced and sentence carried out by the master. Sometimes cases arc brought apart from personal injury. Several boys agreed to play " keep 3," and none were to withdraw while possessing marbles. Maoris are inveterate gamblers, and love its excitement. The case was this :

In Bpite of the agret'msnt one had won a number of imrblea, and retired with his illegal gains. The others, still having hopes of recovering their lobs, proieoted, but he, beiug bigger, could hold his own against them, so they brought a " case," with tho result that he had to refund his winnings and pay forfeit. Some of the lads are very skilful special pleaders— indeed oratory sicms a natural gift. Ones a week there is for the vei-y little boys a night for storytelling, generally in Maori. Th« lon^ and really interesting stories spun by youngsters of eight and nine would be out of the power of much

older English lads. For the older ladu, wfto underctand English fairly, a Btory in English is read and explained, with the idoa of accustoming their ears to the sound of English reading. The youngsters arr, of course, present, and pick up a little — some more and some lesf. Tbe one who picks up m.-mt is supposed to renarrntc it some time to the others. Great is their love for " tuvituri ""— noiso of any kind, from whistles and pot lidi to harps and boss bands. Many are quite adepto at keeping time on the accordant", bufi the tunes are very mlacollaneoTia. " The keel row," "Ta-ra-ra-boom-dc-fty," and " When He oometh " form a m!x f ure to which their war dunce goes. After tea there is an interval before evening school, when the war darca is a favourite amusement. About 30 form into a double row, and to time kept by one on an accordeon they go through tho mrapured stamps, g^stme^, and ejaculations in good style. As tbe durcfj cc'ior on r \n&v movements quicken, their (j a pL-nm, ur.til with a grand culminatiig jell that generally brings a master on the spofi the dance oe:we&. On other occasions, irstoad of the war dance they form a couple of zct*, and danco what may be cvllcd Maori quadrilles. They starfc with the firnt figure, work through it to t&o middle of the secor.d, and end with a g-raucl chain ; then repeat the dose ad Üb. To describe it is impossible. It needs to be witnessed to be comprehended. Besides tho /»" (< lancers uheiv i\r. v aome pfeed natural ci tl _.-twv " j, n;id 2'^n'" fchry ar-pm;iaied as Li v v\\r}: ''-.oil" hornpipe, rotla, and jiga

'i'hv.v ,>kre ('i-'iul I .^- ?ave the mark I , i.i i. v 'Ue H-,.» IVitVio, aueh a. game I 111 1 w< i;M i-tjoi V I'.r v Aj\i ; .-a "M Scotsmen „i'V. Us i h ma.- -.crowned tha gams *r~~ prelty uiuoii the earns character, but wheck a man's mßrried, otherwise orowne-1, tha trouble begins. There is no limit apparently to his powers. In his royal personage the powers of evtry piece of the ct>e?a phalanx is united. He will pursue his enemies like a bloodhound. So long as he can c pture a man, round corners, over Mb own man, in. straight line or crooked line, co long his career continues. What may bo his limitations verily no mortal pakeha may know. Men may come and men may go, bat the .king goes on for ever. Marbles '.nay play, as I mentioned above, but " knuckling down " is unknown. They play, among other ways, with a ring about Bft across, the stakes being in the middle. Instead of the style familiar to all old boys, they use bot& bands. The marule is held by the first and second fingeis of the right or left band against the forefinger of the opposite hand, upon wbich the right or left hand, a3 the case may be, presses. A sudden jerk of the forefinger sends it with great certainty to a very long distance. Some shots I have seen fired from a distance of about 12ft struck the object, sending it another 12ft, while .the missile remained stationary.

On Saturdays and holidays there is a general migration to the busb, about a mile and a-half off. The land on which the echool stands being given by Maoris (the Ngati-Kabungunu), and the school established for Maori lads, there is also the right of cutting a quantity of firewood on Native lands adjoining. Wood-cutting is A sort of cooperative work by teacher and scholar, and the wood cut is left to djy, when a cart is sent for it. On Labour Day advantage was taken of. the holiday, and aa exodus took place to oollect wood. As we set out I wondered that the sole provisions seemed to be one or two large loaves, tea, aud sugar.

" Where does our army dine ? " I a*ked.

" Ob, in the huf>b," answernd the principal, smiling at my question. " We'll have a bush dinner to-uay, when you'll find Maori boja know how to forage well." Arrived at the top of a steep bush- covered hill, after an hour's hard olimbing, we found the logs, great lumpa of heavy timber, whicli were got to the bottom by the simple process of heaving them as far as possible downwards, then following, the heaving being repeated until we rested in triumph at the bottom by a heap of l^g», stones', earth, and bits of scrub knocked off by them in their career. Then " spell oh I " for dinner preparation. Some of the boyst vanished ovor a s'oall riae in frunt, othera made for a flat ter part of the buah covered with kabikateas, kowhais, snd other trees. When they had departed the principal and I turned our attention to the getting a fire going. While he gathered wood, I te<jk tha billy and turned to get water in the neighbouring creek. " Not there," cried my companion. "That'a what the boys call Te Waihoiho, the horae r3r 3 river, Bince a horse was found dead in it. Go over tho rise and you'll find a better supply." I set off, and following his finger's direction soon reached the spot. Lo ! what; a Bight met my eyes. Sr-ven or eight figures in puris natural ibus t armed with long sticks, appeared in the rivtr before me. "Eaha ana koutou," I cried. Clear and ready came the answer: "Ka bopntuna matou (we are catching eels)." A yell announced every capture. I noticed the sticks had at one end a bunch of teased out flax, and the boya seemed to try to get the eel to bite at it; then a qu'ck jerk sent the unfertunate animal flying through the air on to the bank. So we were not to be without meat. When a sufficient number waa caught, and I had filled my billy (needless to say, above tbe scene of operations), we returned. A lot of.'mauuka stakos were cut, on which the eels were staked, and stuck like a palisading round,— nay i,i— the fire. Aliveor dead did not matrer. " They'll soon die." said the boys. Presently the others arrived from the bush, bearing what at first sight seemed detruncated heads. These were tawhero, the male flower of the kiekie, a climbing plant chi3oy growing on the kahikatea. The petals are a de«d white, very thick and juicy, and when fully ripe they are very luscious. They are sweet, wkh a alight bitterness, very agreeable though to mosfc people. Tawhero eating is an acquired tasto like that of tomatoes.

What with barbecued eels, bread, tawhero, and bush tea, our dinner was not at all to ba despised. Truly a Maori picnic may bo gotten up on very much simpler lines to those of a pakeha ene. Given bread andi tea and matches the rest find themselves. After dinner the time was Bpent gathering manuka in bundles for kindling purposes.

and towards. 4 o'clock we started on our homeward tramp, I for one well satisfied with a new experience.