A TOHUNGA’S INFLUENCE

Taranaki Daily News, 6 October 1931, Page 11

A TOHUNGA’S INFLUENCE

NATIVES’ SUPERSTITIONS REVELATION AT AN INQUEST. SUICIDE OF DEPRESSED MAORI. A verdict of suicide while depressed was returned by Mr. R. S. Sage, coroner, at the inquiry into the- death of .Waikuku Matahaere, the Pihama Maori who was found hanging from a tree on Sunday. Hints of witchcraft were offered at the inquest and the ostensible reason for Matahaere’e act is that he was accused of being a tohunga makutu. oi witch doctor. Mary Roos, deceased’s sister, gave the first Mimpse of this undercurrent of superstition when she said her brother had told her that the Natives thought he was a tohunga makutu. She would not, howe er, explain further to the coroner what she meant. Her husband, C. G. Ross, a white man, elaborated a little. He too had heard Matahaere say that he had been accused of witchcraft. A tohunga makutu had, in Maori superstition, great powers, enabling him to cause the sickness and even death of others. He knew that these allegations by other Maoris had preyed on the mind of his brother-in-law. Roy Matahaere, a brother of deceased, would say nothing about the question, while C. H. Hunt, a half-caste, said he did not believe in witchcraft and knew nothing about any accusations against deceased. No comment on the witchcraft aspect of the case was made by Mr. Sage. Identification of the body _ was difficult owino- to the decomposition. Matahaere had°been reported missing on July 5. A wallet known to be his and containing a receipt in his name were found in the pocket of the clothes, which were also identified as his. DEATH FORETOLD BY TOHUNGA. Investigations by & Daily News reporter yesterday revealed an extraordinary position. Largely as the result of a’ visit from a tohunga from another district a wave of superstition has swept over South Taranaki Maoris. Though the tohunga had left the district and the feeling among the Natives had somewhat abated, fresh fuel lias been added to the fire of heathen belief by Matahaere’s death, which was foretold by the visiting tohunga. It appears that the visiting tohunga, who claimed that he did not dabble in makutu, but was a good doctor, soon after his arrival in South Taranaki began to exert a great influence. A Hawera doctor was attending a child with an abscess on its lung and recommended an operation. The mother refused to allow this as she wished to consult the tohunga. The doctor gave the child a week and it did not live longer. Then the tohunga claimed that various illnesses among the Natives were due to the machinations of -Matahaere. Even Matahacre’s brother when he fell sick was supposed to be under the influence of the alleged tohunga makutu. So great was the tohunga’s influence that these allegations came to be widely believed. Threats of death were actually made against Matahaere, but the tohunga pointed out that under the rules of Maori superstition the powers of the tohunga makutu would turn against him. These were the events that led up to Matahacre’s disappearance and his death. He, too, had believed tho stories circulated about himself. The tohunga’s last exploit was associated with a Maori who became ill with appendicitis. The tohunga treated him and would not permit him to enter hospital. The patient did not get better, but peritonitis set in. A pakeha doctor was called in, but it was too late and the patient died. The tohunga then left for fresh fields and pastures new.