ALLEGED TOHUNGAISM

Otago Witness, Issue 3160, 7 October 1914, Page 3

ALLEGED TOHUNGAISM

HEAVY FINE INFLICTED. (Feou Ooe Own Correspondent.) PATEA, October 1. A case of alleged “ tohungaism’' wa a heard at the Patea Court to-day, a young Maori named Pol Awarua being charged with having pretended to cure disease by supernatural powers. During the case for the prosecution it was alleged that a Maori woman from Parawanui had come to Taranaki to be treated by the divine healer, and that she had died. Another young Maori woman maintained that Poi had treated her and had put tea and mixed potatoes on her head, whilst another man, who believed he had an evil spirit, was alleged to have been hit on the nose and then made to drink his own blood with the object of driving out the evil spirit. The" defence was an emphatic denial to all the allegations. The Maori woman from Parawanui, it was stated, had not been treated by him. The young Maori who claimed to have had tea poured on her head was, according to defendant's witnesses, suffering from swollen eyes, which had all the appearance of being assaulted by the woman’s husband. When Pol saw her he bathed her with tea, but did nothing beyond that. With regard to the case of driving out the evil spirit, it was maintained by witnesses that the man in question had gone mad and had violently assaulted Poi. Several young fellows rushed up and he was struck on the nose, so that his nose bled, but the drinking of blood was stoutly denied. A couple of witnesses for Poi maintained that the defendant had never pretended to possess supernatural powers. He was a preacher, however, and had cx-‘ horted the Maoris to give up the worship of Maori idols and the gods of ancestors, and to worship the only one true God. Poi had said that the Holy Ghost was the portion of all who believed, but he never claimed to have anything that was not the privilege of all to obtain, if they had their hearts cleansed and then - trust placed in God. Poi himself also gave evidence to the effect. His VVorahin preferred to believe tho evidence fox the prosecution as submitted by Detective Siddles, and he fined defendant £lO, with costs, saying that ho would have imposed imprisonment hi,stead, of a fine were it not for the fact that defendant did not make money out of his practice.