THE SOUTHERN MAORI.

Otago Witness, Issue 3987, 12 August 1930, Page 29

THE SOUTHERN MAORI.

STRAY PAPERS.

By

H. Beattie.

X.—EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCES. In all parts of the world among all tribes of savages we find individuals (sometimes revered, but always feared) who represent the priestly power, generally combining the offices of tribal priest, doctor, and magician in one. They are usually separate from the chiefly line, but sometimes one is found who is both chief and priest They are the wizards or sorcerers of the tribe; they utter incantations; they dispense charms; they use divination; they exorcise evil spirits; they pronounce curses; they invoke the tribal gods; they claim supernatural power; they display magic and generally do all things to mystify and overawe the tribespeople among whom they live. Called shamans in Siberia, medicine, men in America, rain doctors or witch doctors in South Africa, juju men or fetish men in West Africa, c-arandjie and other titles in Australia, tlieii main attributes show a strong family resemblance everywhere their works are known. Alen of this class were called tohuuga by the northern Alaori or tohuka by the southern Alaori, and it must be frankly admitted that as a body they were considerably more worthy of respect than most of the above-named gentry. They taught astronomy, mythology, and history in the wharekura or Maori colleges of oral learning, but they also dabbled in black magic and studied occult matters to a greater extent than is perhaps generally known. Some of these things will be lightly touched on here. Now please divert your minds of all prejudice and let some of my aged informants tell you of some extraordinary performances. The first that will be noticed happened at Otago Heads when the Alaoris were awaiting the arrival of the two first ships in 1848. Amongst them were two North Island visitors, one of whom was a tohunga. His friend most indiscreetly extolled the capabilities of this tohunga. so much so that he angered some of their hosts, who maintained that they could produce a local man than whom, none more proficient could be found anywhere. They left the production of their champion to Tare Wetere te Kahu, who was himself a capable tohuka. Thie notable is re ferred to by Air S. Percy Smith in the second edition of Hawaiki. page 27, as “ a very well-informed man," and again at page 47 as “ a very learned member of the Ngai-Tahu tribe, a people that have retained up to 50 years ago more of the ancient knowledge of the Alaoris than any other.” The visitor did nothing especially noteworthy, but Pokihi, the Otago tohuka, after pointing out it was a fine day, said it would rain heavily in a few minutes. Sure enough the sky grew black, the thunder rolled, and the rain came down in earnest. Then he said he would bring down tukarakau, or white pine grubs, m the rain, and to the people’s amazement, a lot, not a few, of the grubs came in the rain. The people became alarmed, and begged Te Kahu to get his friend Pokihi. to stop, which be did, and the sun shone forth again. It was a memorable exhibition of the tohuka’s power, and the visitors were properly impressed. Probably the man who preserved most of the ancient power into modern times was Te Alaiharoa. He was descended from the Waitaha tribe, and to him we are indebted for the preservation of- some very ancient South Island history that otherwise would have been lost. He was one of the old type, and objected to white domination. So strongly did he urge the Alaoris to stick to their old beliefs and not give way to the pakeha’s religion and ways that he was called Patu-whenua (beating the ground). He was a leader in taking the Maoris up to Omarama in 1879 to uphold their rights to the ground, maintaining it was not included in any sale of land made by the Maoris. The people set out from Waihao in a long procession of carta, but when they came to the Waitaki bridge the gates were shut. Te Alaiharoa. who was in the lending vehicle, never moved, and no one stirred, but he commanded the gate to open, and the padlock came undone, the chain fell, and the gate slowly swung open. The procession then moved over the bridge, but before it was across a tram came from Oamaru, and again the tohuka sent forth his invisible message and the train stopped—not by any application of the brakes, but from the message. The engine wheels continued to revolve, but the train went not forward, and the driver and fireman got down and walked round it, puzzled to account for this phenomenon. _ When the last cart was across the bridge, the tohuka released the spell, and the train moved onward. The authorities at one time thought of prosecuting the Alaoris, but there were certain elements of mystery over the whole affair so they desisted. The Alaoris went on to Omarama and. although Te Alaiharoa used his gift of ventriloquism when the troopers appeared and filled the air with yammering noises apparently coming from airy voices, the mana of the Maori could not withstand the matter-of-factedness oi the pakeha, and the Natives sullenly withdrew from land they really believed to be their own. It would.have taken very little to have precipitated a conflict.-ffiut. fortunately. bloodshed was avoided. Again, in the hall at Arowhenua, l’e Alaiharoa gave a demonstration of his powers. He paved the way by putting a fowl to sleep, in the approved schoolboy method of placing its head under its wing and rocking it. This was new to most, if not all. his audience, and he added to th.effect by stating how long it would sleep. Then he asked those of his audience who had watches to look at them. ‘ There ta only one watch in this hall that is exact!? right. In two minutes the town clock in Temuka will strike. See if it be so. In the deep silence that followed the dis tant striking of the clock could be heard, and, true to the tohuka’s prohecy, onl\ one watch was in exact unison with it Then the tohuka took a boy on to the stage, seized him by the ankles, whirled him over, his head several times, and let go. The boy sailed over the heads . m the startled audience, but landed oh hid’ feet at the door and Walked back' to the stage. Again the tohuka’ performed

the feat, the boy hurtling over the amazed people as before, alighting on his feet and walking out of the door and out of this narration. these things were told to me by venerable and reliable men who implicitly believed what they had seen with their own eyes. The writer ’did not disbelieve his informants, but he pondered over the problem and its solution. The case of the tohunga at Lake Taupo who caused a green tree to wither before the astonished gaze of a missionary who was sceptical of his powers was quoted. An intelligent young Maori said to the writer: x e n ? lsslona Fy had gone back to see the tree he would have found it green, it was only while the tohunga was there he would think it was dried up.” This gave the writer, like the Frenchman, furiously to think. The Maoris are said to have come from , ” s now take a trip to India. . ken the Prince of Wales visited India in or about 1863 a great durbar was held at Delhi. lor this occasion three of the oldest and most celebrated yogi had been brought from their place of seclusion in the Himalaya Mountains. Clothed only in loin cloths they performed their teats in a bare arena in blazing sunshine V- ii Sl ,"ht of 50,000 spectators. They aid all the common tricks of the trade such as making orange trees grow, making a man vanish into the air by climbing un a rope and so on. Their most unusual act was to take an attendant malm a tew slow passes over him so that his body went rigid, and then place him on three swords held upright with the hilt; on the soil. The point of one sword rested in the back of his neck, the point °f the middle sword rested against the end of his spine while the third point was under his right heel. The three swords with their rigid burden were then left, while other feats proceeded, but presently a sword was required and the centre one was removed. By and bv another sword was required for another trick, so th° one from under the heel was taken, leaving the body supported bv the one under the neck. Presently it also was required and was. duly taken, leaving the body suspended without support about three feet from the ground. It was so left in full view of that great multitude for perhaps half an hour while other parts of the performance went on Then it was gently lowered to the ground and after a few- passes over it and a little massage the rigidity relaxed, and the man bounded to his feet as brisk and active as ever.

One day m India a fakir was showing a group of Europeans an exhibition of his magical powers. He had his back to the house while his audience sat in the garden. A later-comer came in the back door and strolled in his noiseless tennis shoes through the house looking for his companions. When he got to the front door he stopped in amazement at what he witnessed. He could see a Hindu ascetic with his back to him waving his arms about and making apparently eccentric motions. He could see the startled looks on the faces of the audience turn to horror and dismay and then to relief and the show was over. The silent watcher thereupon demanded of his friends an explanation of the shudders and horrorstricken looks he had seen so shortly before marking their features, and learned that they believed they had seen the fakir cut off a man’s head which he later stuck on the body again with a result that the man was alive and whole. The late-comer had arrived too late to share in the hypnotic condition induced by the fakir. European conjurers would give a fortune to acquire the hereditary knowledge of the Hindu yogi how to use successfully wholesale the science of hypnogenesis. Aly intelligent young Alaori friend has the last word:—"The white man,” said he, “ can take a person and by staring at him fixedly, can hypnotise him. ThAlaori tohuka could hypnotise a whole lot of people together, either in a building or in the open air. and not by simply staring at them, but by using some power which I do not know."

(To be continued.)

“ I think that aviation throughout the world is a greater influence toward peace than toward war,’’ said Squadron-leader L. Al. Isitt, addressing a men’s brotherhood meeting in Auckland recently. Tn England and on the Continent it was very easy to travel from one country to another, and it was much easier to fly than to go by other means. This convenience, was leading to a great deal of air trave and to fellowship between airmen and flying enthusiasts of different nations. “ We found the hotels in Germany very well equipped and very clean, and in one case crowded with. 600 American tourists,” said Air C. L. Duigan, when addressing Wanganui Rotarians on .hie motoring trip through Europe. “ There was only one thing for which we did not care and this was the fact that in German hotels they do not use sheets for .the beds. The bedclothes consist of a heavy down quilt.” He said that as the weather was extremely hot at the time, it was a case of all the bed clothes or none. Upon one occasion they procured sheets for the night-for which they were charged sixpence each.