Te Kingitanga

Te Ao Hou, December 1956, Page 17

Te Kingitanga “Ko Waikato te wai, ko Taupire maunga, ko Potatau te tangata.”—Ko Potatau te tangata. Kei nga kaumatua e matau ana nga korero o te wa i hua ai te whakaaro i nga iwi kia whakaturia he kingi, he korero e tautohetohetia ana e rangirua ana ki taku whakaaro, na reira au i kore ai e whai kupu mo tera. Engari ko au kanui te miharo mo te pokanga o tenei whakaaro i te iwi Maori, kaore ano ra i matatau mai i nga ra o nga tupuna ki tera taonga ki te kingi, a mo te pokanga ake o te whakaaro i te mea kua tau te mana me te rangatiratanga o nga motu e rua ki roto i te ringa o te pakeha, o te Kuini o Ingarangi me ana iwi tae ake ki nga whakatupuranga e tu mai nei, i runga i te tuku a Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Na ka tu he kingi ko Potatau—he rakau hei-pou herenga mo te tangata, mo te whenua, mo te tikanga, e ai ki te korero. Ka waiho ko nga mania o Waikato hei papa e tu ai te rakau, ko nga mano o Waikato hei huruhuru mo nga waewae o te kingi. He parau pea tenei, engari he korero ano i hakiri ake, i puta ano te kupu i te motu, kaati kua tu mai ra a Potatau, kate mai i te ingoa o te kingi ki a Waikato, ko nga tikanga me nga whakahaere me tuku ki te motu. E ki ana au mehemea i pera, mehemea i whakarangona taua kupu kua titaha ake i te motu nei etahi mate taimaha i pa nei. Engari na Waikato i takiri tona tangata, i There the plains of Waikato lie and in the very middle of which rise several peaks as if they were designed by Nature for forts. There stand Maunga-kawa. Maungatautari, Kakepuku, overlooking Puniu the boundary between Waikato and Maniapoto. Pirongia, with views to the four winds, looking out to Kawhia, to Aotea, to Whaingaroa, and there is Taupiri the traditional peak alluded to by Waikato in the saying “Waikato is the river. Taupiri is the mountain, and Potatau is the man. The hills seem to converge on Taupiri affording a difficult passage to the waters to flow beyond them. Beyond them lie a hill, water and a plain. It is very fitting that the river of Waikato holds such a high place in the tradition of the people. The Waikato tribe has grown into greatness, fame and unity because of it. In days gone by the lands adjoining the Waikato River were thickly populated but today the same areas are but sparsely populated—the pakehas are taking up large scale settlement. The land grows only those things suited to it. Potatoes abound, and so does rape and in some places kumara or sweet potatoes. Grass for stock does not grow naturally but needs the application of artificial fertilisers. The Waikato lands are unlike our lands of the East Coast for the growth of natural pasture. However the district is undergoing close study by experts for ways and means of bringing it into profit. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof the pakehas are in possession of the land we are not ignorant of what the fate of the Waikatos was through the confiscation—the people suffered their lands suffered. * * * “Waikato is the River, Taupiri the mountain, Potatau the man.” Potatau is the Man. The elders are the custodians of the sentiments which culminated in the peoples' election of the king, an oft time debated subject, and in my opinion, confusing, which speaks for my silence upon the matter. But I am impressed with the thought that the King Movement should originate from the Maori people, when it was never ever contemplated in our ancestors' day, and that it should even be entertained, when the sovereignty of the two islands had already been ceded to the European, the Queen and her subjects, by the Treaty of Waitangi. So Potatau was elected to be the rallying point for the unification of the Maori people, the protection of their lands, and the retention of authority; the low-lying country of the Waikato became his footstool, and the Waikato people in their thousands his supports. Perhaps this has no foundation, but it was rumoured that the people had advised, now that Potatau was king, let Waikato be the guardian of the kingship, the machinery and organisation be the responsibility of the whole of Maoridom. I subscribe that if this advice had been heeded, the multiplicity of unfortunate consequences that befell the Maori people would never have been experienced. But

apo ki a ia te ingoa, te tinana, te mana, te whakahaere. “Tupu ake ai ano te rakau i tona wahi, ka hua, ka rere mai nga manu o te rangi ka kai.” He tika ano, engari tetahi ahua o te rakau toro ai nga pakiaka ka toha ki te nui o te whenua, ka u te tu a tena rakau. Mei pera te totara i tu mai ra i Waikato i toro nui nga pakiaka ki roto ki nga iwi ngotongoto ana te tupu, i te hua o nga wairakau o nga tai e wha; tera e tuaina a tona wa ka oti he whare whakairo nui whakaharahara e tomo ai nga iwi katoa ki roto. Te he o te rakau he maha nga kakano, he tau e reka ana ki te manu tenei kakano, he tau ko tera, kaore e pumau: a ki te kakano, he tau ko tera, kaore e pumau: a ki te kawa mai te kakano o Maungatautari, o Pirongia, i tetahi tau, ka aha etahi manu? Ka ahu noa ake pea ki te Pua o Te Roku, ki Pipiwhakao, ki runga noa o Ruahine, ki Huiarau, a reka noa te tau i reira, ka waiho ano ko nga manu tutata i Hurakia hei kopikopiko ki ona pua. Otira ki roto ki te porotaka ano o te Kingitanga e rere mai ra i Manuka ki Mokau, Mokau ki Horohoro, Horohoro ki Wairakei i waenganui o Maketu o Tauranga, Wairakei ki Tamaki ka huri ki Manuka ano, kotahi ano te tangata, ko Potatau i ona ra, ko Tawhiao i muri iho, ko Mahuta e tu mai nei. Ko ia te huinga o nga kupu o nga tikanga, a e puta ana mai i a ia te kupu te tikanga. Na, ko taku tenei i titiro ai, he taonga te Kingitanga hei whakakotahi i nga iwi, i waiho ai hei karanga ma te kingi mai o Potatau a taea noatia tenei ra kia whakakotahitia nga iwi. A e kitea ana te pai te topu o nga iwi o Mahuta ki raro ki tana kupu. Na, mehemea i haere rua te whakakotahi i runga i te mana tangata kia kotahi ai he tatua hei whitiki, a i runga ano i te marama o te whakahaere kia pai ai te ahua o te tatua ki nga iwi, kua ea noa ake ra te karanga mai ki te motu. Ko tetahi o aku i titiro ai, na te pakanga a Tawhiao ki te pakeha, na reira nei i homai te mate mo nga whenua o Waikato, i mau ai era iwi nunui ki raro i te Kingitanga taea noatia mai tenei ra. Ka mea nga iwi, mate tangata, mate whenua—Kaore he rerenga atu ki waho, kei whea hoki he rerenga? I mua atu i te whawhai na te kupu whakatakoto i whakakotahi, I muri iho i te whawhai na te aitua i pa rite ki te katoa, mai i te kingi tae noa ki te tangata ware, na reira i whakakotahi. Mehemea i mau tonu te whenua o Waikato, i toitu tonu, kua kore noa ake ra te kingi i a Waikato ano te turaki, kua riro hoki ma nga ngangare mo te whenua e wehewehe te tangata, e tutituki nga iwi. Ata titiro ki enei kupu e aku rangatira o Waikato, kaore i tuhia i runga i te kaika, i te ngakau whakahe noa ranei, engari he mea ata kimi na te maramatanga, he mea kapo haere nga kupu i o koutou arero ano i nga ra i haere ai au i waenganui i a koutou i au e mau ana i nga mowhiti o nga iwi o te paparinga o to tatou motu. (Taria te roanga.) Waikato made their nominee absolute and exclusive, the framework, prestige, and administration of the movement their sole possession. “A tree groweth in its allotted space, beareth fruit, and the birds of the air eateth thereof.” Of a truth, but a tree sends its roots to reach out and embed themselves into the ground, so the growth of that tree is firm. Were the Totara that stands in the Waikato to grow likewise, its roots reaching out into the established foundations of tribal life, fertilised by the four winds of Maoridom, O, how deep it would strike; and lo, the day cometh when it shall be hewn and fashioned into an imposing carved meeting-house, that the people may enter in. But while that may be so, there is a disadvantage of a tree which bears prolifically. One season its berries may be palateable, and another season they may be bitter, there is no consistency; if then the berries at Maungatautari and Pirongia were unpleasant to the taste of the feathered flocks, how then will they be regarded? Perhaps a migration would take place to the more inviting fruit at Te Roku or Pipiwhakao, or atop the Ruahine, to Huiarau, where the feeding-place is more tempting, and those in the precincts of Hurakia remain to eat of its supplies. Howbeit, there stands a figure within the circumference of that territory from Manuka to Mokau and through to Horohoro, from there to Wairakei midway of Maketu and Tauranga, thence to Tamaki to return again to Manuka. In his day it was Potatau, then Tawhiao, and now Mahuta, the summation of all plannings and deliberations. And now this is my observation, that the movement can be an instrument for the uniting of all tribes, as it has been to the Waikato since the days of Potatau. This unity is evident under the authoritative direction of Mahuta. Now if the binding force of authority were organised together with precision and efficiency of administration, so that it would appeal to other people, the whole of Maoridom would have long since come to the king's rallying call. Another of my observations was, that while Tawhiao's struggles against the pakeha affected adversely the Waikato lands question, the tribes became more united under the King Movement. So that the people began to say, with the defeat of man, came also the confiscations of lands. No place to go to, for where is there refuge? Prior to the war the demands of authority was the binding force, but in the post-war period the misfortunes that befell all, from the greatest to the least, cemented tribal relations. If then the Waikato lands had remained unaffected the King Movement would have long since been overthrown, for the land disputes would have divided the people and resulted in tribal clashes. O my Hosts of the Waikato examine these observations, which were written neither in haste, nor to criticize unduly, but were obtained after a considered analysis of the position from your own orations in the days when I moved among you to make researches on our peoples' behalf.