LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Te Ao Hou, April 1958, Page 49

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR HOW TO PRESERVE THE MAORI LANGUAGE Sir, Language and traditions are the basic principles of a nationality and it is regrettable that if there is not an immediate revival, both will be forgotten. Many of our Maori children are growing up with no knowledge of their language and much of the blame rests with the parent. In many cases however, it can be traced to the days when I was a pupil and the Maori language was banned in the school playground. The children of yesterday are the parents of our present generation with the result that Maori is spoken less and less in the home. Remits have been forwarded by many organisations to have Maori taught in the schools, but in my opinion such teaching should begin with the parent. With the adult all that is needed is a refresher course as many are already familiar with Maori but find it difficult to speak without much hesitation. Lack of knowledge however is a small obstacle as we have many organizations and ways of learning. 1. Maori Women's Welfare Leagues. Women are the teachers in the home and by familiarizing their childen with the language the school is left then to cope with the grammar and the better usage of words. Cooking in the modern style at Shelly Beach hostel, Auckland. Tati Hohaia, on the left, ana Kiri Hoimana. (Photo Peter Blanc) 2. Adult Education Classes supervised by Welfare Officers or registered Interpreters. These classes to take more of a social aspect where members are encouraged to speak and try to gain fluency and confidence. Grammar need not enter greatly into the programme. 3. Radio Talks by Competent Speakers. The best place for these recordings to be made is on the marae. Here the Maori speaker is a poet, realist, warrior and a humorist. His speech is alive and given greater beauty and variety by the introduction of a suitable waiata. Many of the talks on the radio are monotonous, the subject may be important but the speaker lacks vocal interest. Maoris are natural speechmakers and once possessed long memories, but the use of a script has robbed us of our abilities. In my short experience with our elders, before any event, much time, was spent in contemplation and committing each word to memory. When the time came, all that he needed was the much appreciated taiaha to give greater weight to his words. His recital was lengthy but he never lacked for words and because of his occasional “tihes” he was able to hold the interest of his audience. 4. The Maori News could be broadcast at an earlier hour and the time extended. 5. The Hiring or Lending of record discs on the Maori Language. These are of great value to the learner as it can be played repeatedly to correct pronunciation and acquire the correct accent. The Maori Language to me is not only a fluent flow of words, it is my history. With it I can recall my youthful pleasures, such as eeling in the swamps, fashioning tops from the willow branch and plaiting whips from the harakeke. In our language is our wealth; lose it and we become just an echo of our pakeha counterparts. With the introduction of education our small Maori community is becoming Europeanized in ways of thinking, speaking and living; so let us not lose our individuality altogether; cultivate and tend what we have, our “Reo Maori” with all its beauty and music, for it is our history, culture and more important still our “Rightful Heritage” Maria W. Reeder. EDUCATION IN THE NORTH Ki Te Etita, Kua puta i roto i te “Ao Hou” nga korero a Hoterene Keretene mo te matauranga i roto i Ngapuhi. I timatangia mai e ia ana korero ki a Ruatara, a ka kawea e ia tana whakarite i nga wa o Ruatara ki nga kai-whakamaori o naianei. Na kua puta ana korero, rarangi rawa i nga tangata o roto i a Ngapuhi kua whiwhi ki nga tohu o te matauranga. Kanui te whakama: me te mea nei, no Ngapuhi anake te iwi e whiwhi nei ki enei tohu Tokomaha ke atu o etahi atu takiwa. I roto i te rarangi ingoa i tuhia e Keretene. he tokoiti nei no Ngapuh. No Te Aupouri, no Te

Miss Hiria Moffat of Timaru has taken up an acting career with the New Zealand Players. Her first part was in the revue ‘Free and Easy’ late last year. Her rise to professional status followed several years of successful acting with amateur groups in Christchurch and Palmerston North. She also attended a summer drama school at Massey College and was given some coaching in Auckland. Her full name is Margaret Emma Moffat, Hiria being the first name of her grandmother Hiria Tauwhare Barrett, a chieftainess of the South Island. Rarawa, no era atu karangarangatanga ke te nuinga. Mehemea i ki te kaituhi no te Taitokerau, kahore he whakahe, engari nona i ki no Ngapuhi, kanui te whakahe. I timata mai te Whakapono Karaitiana ki roto i a Ngapuhi. E tika ana kia pera ke noa atu te tokomaha o nga taitamariki o Ngapuhi kia whiwhi ki nga tohu nunui o te matauranga. Ko te minita karaitiana tuatahi, tuarua, tuatoru hoki no Ngati-Raukawa ke. He aha te take i penei ai, Te whakatauki no Ngapuhi e penei ana: “Ngapuhi kowhao rau”. He aha ra te tikanga o tenei whakatauki, no te Tairawhiti ke tenei whakatauki: “E kore te taewa (riwai) e ki ake, he mangaro a ia”, Ata matakitaki tatou i enei whakatauki! Hei whakamutunga; ko nga tohu nunui o te matauranga kei Ngati-Porou, kei Te Ati-Awa me era atu iwi. Hoatu te honore ki a ratou. Waihongia tatou a te Taitokerau ma nga iwi e mini, kauaka ma tatou ano! “Taitokerau” (Putiki) FROM A NOTEBOOK by an unknown Arawa of the last century About the year 1871 Pokiha Taranui, the Head Chief of Ngati Pikiao commenced the making of a net for sea-fishing. When the net which was made of undressed flax (that is it was made of ordinary split flax which was passed through fire for the purpose of making it more pliable) was finished it was eighty-six chains long and thirty feet wide. In the centre for sinkers on the bottom of the net some tons of small round boulders about the size of a man's fist were used, each one netted into a small pocket, for the top side of the net in the absence of cork the whau, a very light wood was used, with here and there a calabash to give it buoyancy. On the first occasion the net was put into the water, it was placed on a platform between two large war canoes before crossing the bar at Maketu. A rope of undressed flax was passed ashore and the canoes went seaward and under the direction of the people on shore, who, by waving coloured shawls directed the movement of those with the net, an immense shoal of Kahawai were enveloped. A second line was then passed ashore and from two to three hundred men, women and children attached themselves to each of the two ropes and commenced hauling in. As the net neared the shore a large number of men swam around the net on the seaward side to endeavour to prevent the escape of the Kahawai, by jumping over the top of the net while a number of natives were on the landward side engaged in killing the sting rays and sharks of which some hundreds were taken besides araara, schnapper, taharangi, kumukuma and other fish. It was computed that 20,000 (twenty thousand) kahawai weighing about fifty tons was taken in this, the first haul. While the net was surrounding the fish a peculiar ceremony took place. A Maori Tohunga was invoking the assistance of Tangaroa, the deity presiding over the denizens of the deep. Several of the natives were stung by the rays which seemed to be very painful. The only remedy used was to extract the barb and then beat the wound till profuse bleeding took place. One Native was badly bitten on the buttock by a Takiari (one of the man-eating sharks). The Kahawai were distributed among the tribes, large hangis were made along the shore and when the hangis were ready the fish were packed in, and allowed to cook for 24 hours, after which the fish were placed on stays to dry by the heat of the sun. When perfectly dry they were stowed away, and in that state would keep for some years. The share allotted to me was about one and a half tons which were accepted and returned.