The Maori Prophetess.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1688, 13 April 1885, Page 2

The Maori Prophetess.

As we recently anticipated, the excitement about the Maori prophetess and her prediction that the end of the world was to have come on about 28th March, has “ fizzled out.” The camp of the lady’s followers has broken up and the deluded natives have returned to their homes. Mr Greenway, the clerk of the Resident Magistrate's Court at Bussell, has visited the camp, and reports that the prophetess is crazy. She said ” that some of the natives had threatened to burn her, but she would rather they didn’t, as she wished to attend Tawhiao’s meeting on 23rd April.” This was a somewhat remarkable statement to come from the lips of a prophetess who had predicted that the world was to have come to an end on 28th March—nearly four weeks earlier. It appears that the woman has thrown all the numerous presents of jewellery which she had received, to her crowd of followers to scramble for. This is strong evidence that the woman must be crazy, as the average female Maori would never even dream of throwing away her rings, chains and lockets. But the desire of the prophetess to marry a young man, who keeps company with her, is certainly not a sign of “ craziness,” because if it were, then a very large number of young women of our acquaintance who possess the same weakness for getting married to young men, would also required to be regarded as being slightly “ cracked.” The prophetess, however, did not become united to her young man, because it turned out that be already possessed a wife at Hokianga, and if he had taken another theremight have been “ difficulties.” The prophetess appears to have taken matters very cooly about the non-fulfilment of her prediction concerning the end of the world. She told her followers “ that they had been fools to believe her,” but consoled them by adding “ that the coming end of the world had only been put off for a bit and that it was still neat at hand,” We are inclined to think that the prophetess would be all the better of six months’ imprisonment wit'a hard labor, for the offence of gathering together some three thousand people and causing them to neglect their proper work and consume an enormous quantity of their stored-up provisions, which they may sorely need by and bye. Through the antics of this woman a great deal of food has been wasted, and the Waihau natives have sold a lot of stock far leiow its value, and squau dered the money. However, the affair is at an end, and though some distress will follow amongst the natives in the locality referred to, yet matters will not be so tad as bad been anticipated.