His Deep Friendships

Te Ao Hou, November 1957, Page 9

His Deep Friendships Tutakangahau on his deathbed committed to Peehi's care the karakia and ritual used for preserving the sacred life principle, the mauri, of tribal possessions “His mind was a storehouse of primitive lore”, Peehi wrote about Tutakangahau. “He knew the old native names of every tree, shrub, plant, or fern in the forests of Tuhoeland. His fund of quaint folklore was immense. Above all, he was thoroughly conversant with the modes of thought of the ancient Maori.” A learned man, he was taught to read and write by the missionaries when he was a child. Peehi describes him as “a quiet-mannered and courteous companion, ever ready to allay strife among his tribesmen or to assist the stranger within his gates, be that stranger pakeha or Maori”. A former warrior dedicated to Tu, his face deeply scarred with tattooing, Tutakangahau was a link between the old world and the new. He knew the advantages of education and when the school opened at Te Whaiti, he asked Peehi to look after his three grandchildren so they could attend there. Before handing them over he gave the children this good advice. “And should the pakeha correct or chide you, 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.” Quite a different personality was Paitini Wi Tapeka, of the Ngatimaru hapu. He and his wife. Makurata, an expert weaver, lived beside Peehi's camp at Heipipi, near Ruatahuna. Whereas Tutakangahau was placid and even-tempered, Paitini was impetuous and fiery. But both men were equally eager to preserve their “Maoritanga”. “We will go down into old age”, Paitini once told the white man, “striving to retain the lore of the old-time people for generations to come. So shall our children know all things, even from the days of Tapeka and of Maui”. Paitini was an expert on waiata and in a single winter he and Makurata gave Peehi the words of more than 400 songs.