KORERORERO TORONGA.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLV, Issue 12019, 24 March 1920, Page 4

KORERORERO TORONGA.

Tales th£»t are told of Maori and Pakeha for this pap er by Ingoa Eore. (Eights reserved). IHU KARAITI OF THE -HAU HAU. When a good thing, universally admitted to be so, absolutely fails, its application mast be looked to . : The religion ’of Ihn Karaitl, the Saviour of men, became the fanaticism of Han-ban Pai ma-rire. Why ? Because the Maoris, quickest of all people in their perceptive faculties, though lacking much in reflection, saw in a flash the gross inconsistency which lies between our teaching and our practice. They declared, not without due cause, that we gave them the B£ble, taught them to despise the earth, and when their 'eyes wereturned to Heaven, we grabbed their < laud from under their feet. Is it to i be wondered then, that they turned our religious professions to ridicule, i not openly, it is true, because their instinctive courtesy to a stranger forbade it; but by making it the : subject of their subtle and inimitable humour, while yet seeming to comply with its behests. Two grotesque instances of this misuse of our teaching may suffice io illustrate “this point. In the year when Te Whiti of Parihaka was born, thp now historic pa of Turu-turu-Mokai, two miles from the present town of Hawera, was occupied by a tribe who were skilled in the art of left hand fighting, 1 against which the right hand warrior was in no way prepared. Two old Tohunga or native priests • from a neighbouring tribe, came upon an ostensibly friendly visit. They were most kihaly'received, and were even shown the surprise strokes of those fighting’ men, who nsed the patn pou-namu with such deadly and unexpected blows from the left. After a few days sojourn, during wjiich their religious services gave confidence towards them, they advised that if these trained men were tatooed on the breast, arms, and thighs with the horrible* devices known only to these two, they would strike fear into their enemies from the very appearance of their naked bodies. The scheme looked good to the chiefs. Thus to make them invincible, the painful practice of the nioko or tattoo was carried ip to effect with a sharp bone and a decoction of hinau bark, which made a blue black dye in the skin. The old Tohnnga left for their homes laden with costly presents and gratitude. Three days later when the left handers were yet sore and suffering from the very extensive hone chiselling of the Tohunga, the tribe of the latter fell upon the whole army and slew them. Taunted afterwards of treachery, they at once quoted as their precedent the Bible story of the people of Shechim ! The other instance is of more ! recent occurrence. Tae Natives of I Matahiwi, between Balls and Sanson : on the banks of the Rangitikei River | were visited by a Church missionary I from Wnanganni, wh'cae teachings [ were eagerly embraced. They ! decided to build a karakia in pakeha ! stylo, and became so earnest that, unknown to the minister, they, even | cut timber at the saw pit on Sundays. The church, with its orthodox | bell tower, was well and duly built, but lacked the bell. Mr Charles Maclean, then town clerk of Bulls, iu a spirit of mischief, offered them a badly cracked and rejected firebell weighting about 1501bs. This they ! accepted with alacrity, and, never having seen a bell tolled by the tongue, decided to ring, as they had seen it iu the pictures of angels, by i swinging the bell. A strong coil of fencing wire through the dee of-the bell and around a titoki beam in the tower; a hole drillel in the margin, i with a small ring of wire, and a long strong rope of muka or dressed flax, and the thing was complete. By laborious hauling on the rope a flat hammering sound was obtained from the two pound bell clapper; but it served its purpose mainly bej cause the wire creaking on the titoki beam could be heard ail over the kainga, ana the services were well attended A sad falling off ensued when they had to depend upon a lay teacher, whose lessons were often 100 obscure for the Maori mind. One sweltering Sunday morning Mr and Mrs Fraser, who attended the services partly to encourage the Maoris, drew near, and seeing no one, but hearing the groaning bell, looked inside to find ’an empty church, save for the stalwart brown shouldered bell ringer, Witana Parera, the sweat running down his bare back, chanting* loudly and plaintively, a word to each pull of the rope, ‘“All you Maori, Matahiwi, come to chiach you raisy peka. ” The chanting of the Hauh&u incantation on the eve of a war raid is iu itselffe travesty of religion, equal only to that attributed to the old Emperor of Germany after Sedan. Softly, slowly, musically, as fromte trained cathedral choir, there will arise from the massed voices in j unison the words “Hauhan, pai tuarire’ thrice repeated, which we may freely translate as * ‘may gentle 1 breezes carry this good message of peace.”’ Then with resounding stamp of a thousand bare feet cl6ep guttural throats utter the loud cry ‘‘Hau, ” which is the signal !to “charge.” Truly this looks like grim tragedy, or is it another deliberate irony ?