MAORI BURIAL CAVES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3954, 24 December 1929, Page 4

MAORI BURIAL CAVES.

ANCIENT TOMBS DESECRATED. AUCKLAND, December IG. For centuries the secret of the ancestral burial caves of the Parawhau tribe has been jealously kept among the elders of the people, and the location was not divulged to a single white man. To-day the Natives were incensed upon learning that the sacred caves had been desecrated by, it is thought, European treasureseekers. A message from Whangarei states that when Lou Parore, one of the guardians, visited the spot yesterday to investigate a rumour that a robbery had taken place he discovered that it was only too well founded. There are a number of caves in the Native reserve not far from Whangarei. Parore found to his horror that the seal of the main cave had been broken and that the sanctuary had been invaded and desecrated. The intrusion must have taken place recently, for the tracks were quite fresh. The most incriminating, and. to Parore, the most horrifying fact of all, was that several skulls had been taken outside the cave and left at the entrance. It could at least have been expected that the relics would have been replaced. Further rifling may have occurred, but the extent is not ascertainable at present. Only a few of the tribe know what has happened. They are very annoyed, and consider the action of the ghouls most uncivilised and unchristian. “I wonder how the pakehas would feel if the Maoris entered their cemeteries and removed the remains of their dead,” said one of the chiefs. Full investigations are being made, and a prosecution is likely to be launched. It is considered that there must have been a leakage of information from the privileged Parawhau. and a tribal gathering will be held to discuss that aspect of the affair. In the meantime the Maoris wish to warn curio-seekers atid bone-collectors of the danger they are courting. Such people are strongly advised not to approach any of the burial caves in the district.