I. Te Pairi and his Friends by Elsdon Craig

Te Ao Hou, April 1955, Page 17

I. Te Pairi and his Friends by Elsdon Craig Te Pairi Tu Terangi, of Waimana, is dead. Haere ra, e koro e. Haere ki te Hono-i-wairua. The last human link between the old world and the new has been severed. Death comes to the lovable old man in his mountain village, Tanatana, in the folds of his beloved Urewera hills under a starlit sky on the night of November 23–24. For four years he has been a cripple, confined to his house, looking out on to the misty valleys where he spent his life, waiting patiently for the end. When it came it was the signal for a great tangi for Te Pairi was united by birth and marriage with many tribes. They came from all over the North Island to farewell the last of the great kaumatua of an age gone by. Nobody knew exactly how old Te Pairi was. Some said he was nearly 100. Others claimed he was nearer to 110. That he was a great age is certain for he not only lifted the war trail with Te Kooti but he also remembered Kereopa and the hanging of the Rev Volkner, in Opotiki, in 1865. He was an old man when Peehi (Elsdon Best) was in the Urewera Country in 1900. A photograph taken by the white man at that time shows Te Pairi with a flowing white beard, resembling the one which was so familiar to those who knew him in later years. Te Pairi was educated in the school of ancient Maori culture. He clung affectionately to the ways of his forefathers until the end. He never learned to speak English. He was immersed in the traditions and ritual of a romantic past. One of his prized possessions were the shark tooth ear ornaments which he always wore. As a member of the Ringatu Church he was deeply religious and his spiritual life was an example to others. Time and again he impressed on young people the value of home life set on firm spiritual foundations. “Home,” he once said, “is the most sacred possession which the Maori has.” He regarded “home” as the marae and saw Maori society undergoing a change in which the marae was no longer its centre. His sentimental regard for his Queen was touching. Dearly though he wanted to meet Te Pairi Tu Terangi (new zealand herald photograph) her during her tour, his crippled body would not let him make the journey. However, his devotion was such that he lent his fine collection of family heirlooms for display during Her Majesty's Coronation. Tuhoe was the last Maori tribe to emerge from a primitive state into the new world. They were notable fighters and a conservative people who long defied the white man's civilization. Nevertheless, they have always been a wise people. This wisdom was evident as long ago as 1843 when the Rev William Colenso visited them. He offered them trinkets and ornaments thinking they would fascinate these wild tribesmen. Instead Tuhoe asked him for books in their own language so they could learn to record their traditions. Te Pairi shared this wisdom and foresight. So did his kinsman, Tutakangahau, of Tamakai-

moana, at Maungapohatu. When the Maori school at Te Whaiti opened in 1890 this long since departed veteran of Te Kooti's campaign, who was completely immersed in his own culture, brought his grandchildren to the school to be educated. He even braved the disapproval of his tohunga in allowing them contact with the tapuless Pakeha that they might learn about the new world. Tutakangahau specially requested that the children should be taught the ways and customs of the white man. Then he addressed to them these words which, judged by any standards, were full of wisdom and a sound lesson in behaviour. “Should the Pakeha correct or chide you,” he said, “you must not be angry or sullen—that is a token of ignorance and low birth. It is by such correction that you shall learn to live well in this world”. Another of these farseeing patriachs was Paitini Wi Tapeka of Ngati Maru, also a contemporary of Te Pairi. He was born in 1844, fought against the British at Orakau, marched with Te Kooti, and was steeped in the ancient culture of his people. Yet, he believed the future of his race lay in the Maori retaining the best of his own and the European way of life. Even when Tuhoe was tearing up the survey pegs on the Te Whaiti-Ruatahuna road line, Paitini was giving of his wealth of knowledge to be recorded for the inspiration of future generations. Given the advantages of modern education, men Elsdon Best and Paitini. like Te Pairi, Tutakangahau, and Paitini, would no doubt have ranked with Ngata, Buck and other great leaders who refashioned Maori society and adjusted it to western standards. In any case they will go down in history among the thinkers who pioneered the new age.