MAORI ARTISTS & WRITERS Tauranga 1980

Kaea, Issue 4, 1 September 1980, Page 7

MAORI ARTISTS & WRITERS Tauranga 1980

Lewis Scott

One of the many hui to occur on Queen’s Birthday weekend this year was the annual conference of the Maori Artists and Writers Society. It is discussed here not by a Maori writer (or even a Maori artist), but by a special visitor to the hui, black American poet Lewis Scott.

Lewis Scott is an Afro-American poet-writer. He’s been travelling around the world since 1974 and is presently living in Wellington, where his fifth book of poetry was published by Voice Press earlier this year.

How much life can a person live in three days? Most would no doubt say three days out of your life. Others, however, might agree that three rare days may encompass three score and ten years of your life.

From 30 May to 1 June 1980 I spent three days in a situation that carried with it the emotion and power of what not only seemed like a full life span, but also a new birth for at the end of three days it seemed that that was what had taken place in the souls of those who had been there.

Over Queen’s Birthday Weekend I had the privilege of attending the Maori Artists and Writers Conference, held on the Huria Marae in Tauranga. The Maori Artists and Writers Society came into being in 1973 and since then a yearly conference has taken place on different marae.

For me, as a Black American, it was a rare and moving experience to be a part of the conference in a small way, and to feel close to what is surely the heart of Maoridom itself the marae. It was my first time on a marae and the experience could best be described as spiritual.

By sitting, talking, living, and sleeping inside the meeting house, with no walls between the souls of the brothers and sisters, it began to feel as if the meeting house was one big heart pumping the blood of life to the people inside.

While listening there and being sustained by the heart of the meeting house, my mind’s eye looked back to the meeting house of my people: the Black Church in America. And as the marae is the centre of Maori life, the Black Church in America is in many respects the centre of Black American life.

When my people were brought from Africa and forced into slavery, the only place where the white man would let them gather together was in the church. The white man did not do this out of kindness or any belief he had in humanity. Rather, he was trying to use the image of God as a control element. Black people accepted the belief in God, but not in the same light as the white man wanted them to. The Black Church was actually called the meeting house during slavery, and instead of it becoming a tool for the white man to use as a form of control, it became in fact a source of strength for Black people. The meeting house became a place where the slaves gave each other the strength to endure the hell on earth that the white man had forced upon them.

As I sat in the meeting house and listened to the conversation flow among the artists and writers it became very clear that the Maori race had also known a hell on earth at the hand of the “Pakeha”.

The conference itself involved a full range of activities. There were over a hundred artists and writers from all over New Zealand, and from Australia. Given the scope of this event, it is not possible to mention by name all of the artists and writers who gave so much to the conference.

Darcy Nicholas, a well-known artist from Lower Hutt, presented a paper entitled “The Future of the Society”. In his paper Darcy proposed that Maori artists should be investigating the possibility of having their work exhibited on a world scale. He feels that if artists do not channel some of their work towards international exhibitions there is the very real possibility that a one-sided picture of New Zealand art will be seen on the world market.

Darcy’s paper was followed by a very lively discussion led by Katerina Mataira (author, artist and educator). Katerina expressed concern about artists letting their best work leave the country, and the Maori people not being able to share in their artists’ creations because their work would be locked away in the homes of the rich. She also expressed concern about artists gearing their work towards the commercial market.

The debate highlighted the dilemma that many artists are confronted with: what to sell and what not to sell when an artist is trying to survive off his/her work. Out of this discussion there also came the idea that perhaps some sort of gallery or museum should be created in New Zealand to ensure that the artists’ work would have a permanent home and would not be lost from the Maori people.

By accepting that the artists do have to make a living, the Society agreed to create a special position to be filled by Georgina Kirby (a member of the Maori and South Pacific Arts Council). She will work as a special liaison officer between artists and art dealers.

Another stimulating discussion followed comments made by the Rt. Rev. Manu Bennett, Bishop of Aotearoa, who dealt with many of the problems that Maori youth are faced with. One of the major problems that was given a full airing was that of drugs. It was at this point that Bruce Stewart, writer and president of the Society, gave a personal and earthy talk about drugs, Maori youth, and what happens when a person lands in prison. Bruce’s talk was real and right at the core of the problem. He pointed out that Maori youth who live off their wits in the streets cannot, in most cases, be reached by what they consider to be the “old ways”.

Bruce pointed out that he had for many years survived on the streets and he presented a deeply moving picture of the daily struggle of living on the edge of a society that at times seemed to have been just as dangerous as the streets. With this kind of hard-earned knowledge behind him, Bruce Stewart stressed that “plastic Maoridom” will not reach Maori youth.

Patricia Grace (novelist, poet and short-story writer), and Haare Williams (poet, educator and broadcaster), conducted one of the many workshops at the conference. The writers’ workshop that they conducted was set up for both veteran and new writers and it dealt with the whole sphere of writing and communication. Some of the new writers spoke about the difficulty of finding places to have their work published.* During the workshop time was set aside for the writers to write a piece that could generate positive criticism and an exchange of information.

Katarina Mataira conducted a workshop on languages and she introduced a new method of teaching languages. The people involved with her workshop were most impressed and in a matter of hours she had them writing and speaking basic sentences in Fijian.

Among the many poets who gave readings at the conference was Apirana Taylor. Apirana is a young poet who had his first book of poems published by Voice Press. From his book Eyes of the Ruru he read a number of very powerful poems.

Ted Nia was there with an array of electrical equipment recording just about every word that was spoken at the conference. Ted’s interest lies in the visual and oral tradition of his people. And from the constant movement of Ted and his microphone over the three days of the conference, he must have recorded a wealth of information.

Heta Te Hemara, a political activist and union leader, gave a number of talks stressing the role Maori people could be taking in political activity. Heta strongly believes that artists and writers have a heavy responsibility to their people. He believes that their political consciousness should be reflected in their work.

One of the many high points of the conference came when the Maranga Mai players put on a production of their play, which had been strongly attacked after it had been performed at Mangere College.

Despite the criticism levelled against this production since the Maranga Mai players performed it at the college, I was impressed with their handling of issues crucial to their people: the land struggle, police aggression, and the lack of justice in a system that is not blind to colour. It is my belief that this production represents just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what writers and artists will be expressing in their work in the coming days. It’s gonna get hotter in the kitchen!

It is without question that the Maori Artists and Writers Conference of 1980 was huge success. One cannot help but wonder how the mass media could afford not to cover a conference of such magnitude in some depth. But then, that was part of what the Maranga Mai players had drawn attention to in their production.

*There’s always Te Kaea.