He Haere Taiawhio te Ao

Te Ao Hou, December 1965, Page 13

He Haere Taiawhio te Ao by Kingi Ihaka E rima nga ropu Maori i whiriwhiringia mo tenei haere; a tau ana, ko matou—tekau-marima, e haere. He ropu matou no te Haahi Mihinare, no Poneke, a ko ahau te kaiwhaka-haere. E toru marama, e toru wiki matou e ngaro atu ana ki tawahi, a, i te roa o ta matou haere, ko nga wahi i tae matou, ko nga mea whakamiharo i mahingia, i kite ranei matou, ko enei anake e taea te tuhi i te mea ko te tono mai ki ahau, me whakarapopoto nga korero. No te 13 a nga ra o Hune, tau 1965, ka rere atu matou i Poneke. Tau atu matou ki Akarana, i reira ka manaakingia, ka mihingia matou e o matou matua, whanaunga maha, me te mea nei, he tino rangatira matou. No taua po ano, ka rere atu matou i Whenua-pai, tau atu ki Nandi, a atu i reira ki Hawaii. Tau atu ana matou, e tu mai ana he kapa haka no te ropu Mori o reira. Tae mai ana te aroha ki a matou i te rironga ma nga Maori ano e powhiri e manaaki matou. Mutu atu ana nga mihi, ka riro matou i te Haahi Mihinare ki te kai, te karakia ata me a ratou manaaki ano hoki i a matou. No te ahiahi ka taka te hakari nui, e 800 nga tangata i reira Our World Tour by Kingi Ihaka The Rev. Kingi Ihaka, leader of the Wellington Anglican Maori Club, describes the recent highly successful world tour made by a group of club members. Of the five Maori groups nominated for the tour, our group of fifteen members was fortunate to be the one selected. We are members of the Wellington Anglican Maori Club; the writer is leader of the group. We were overseas for a period of three months and three weeks, and in view of the length of time we were overseas and the number of places we visited, I have been asked to write a brief account of the wonderful things we saw, and of the group's accomplishments during the tour. We left Wellington on the 13 June, 1965. We arrived at Auckland and were welcomed and royally feted by our many friends and relations there. That same night we left by plane from Whenuapai, landing at Nandi and then going on to Hawaii. We were most moved to discover that a Maori group was the first to welcome us on our arrival at Hawaii. After an exchange of greetings members of the Episcopal Church of America, who acted as our hosts took us for a meal and to a broadcast service. In the evening a luau—a Hawaiian feast, at which 800 guests were present—was held in our honour; the food at this feast was

a ko nga kai katoa he mea tao ki te hangi—nga hangi ano e tera kainga. E rua ra matou ki Hawaii, ka rere atu matou ki San Francisco. Kotahi noa te po ki reira, ka rere atu matou ki Vancouver, a i reira ki Winnipeg. Tekau nga ra matou ki Winnipeg, a i roto i enei ra, i whakahonoretia matou e taua taone nui, ara i meinga matou hei tangata ake mo taua taone e ki ana te reo Pakeha, he ‘honorary citizens’. He honore nui rawa atu tenei. Ko tetahi honore ano i riro mai i a matou, mo nga mahi e karangatia nei, he ‘float parade’. Kahore matou i mohio nawai pu i mahi to matou ‘float’—he taraka, whaka-paingia, me nga rakau e tu ana i runga, nga aha ake. He kaha pea no aku tamariki ki te haka, te waiata me te poi, ka riro mai i a matou te kapu mo taua mahi. Ko nga tangata tuatahi i haere mai ki te tutaki i a matou i to matou taenga atu ki Winnipeg, he Red Indians. He tokomaha ratou, e mau katoa ana o ratou ake kakahu, a, ko to ratou rangatira, he minita ano. Mai i to matou taenga atu ki Winnipeg, i whakahoahoa ai tenei iwi ki a matou. He iwi pai, manaaki i te tangata, a, he panipani noa te ahua o etahi. Ka mutu atu i Winnipeg, ka haere matou ki Brandon, he taone nui ano. I reira matou mo te wiki kotahi, a ko tetahi mea whaka-miharo i kite matou i reira e karangatia ana he ‘Indian Reservation’. Ko tenei he rahui motuhake mo nga Red Indians, e hia ke nei rau eka te nui, hei kainga noho, mahi mo ratou. Ahua rite tonu tenei iwi ki a tatou ki te iwi Maori, a ratou tikanga, me a ratou waiata, aha ake. I Brandon, ka haere matou ki Edmonton, he taone nui ano tenei. E rua wiki matou ki cooked in a hangi. We were in Hawaii for two days, then departed for San Francisco. From there we left for Vancouver, then travelled on to Winnipeg. During the ten days we were at Winnipeg we were made honorary citizens of that city. This is indeed a great honour. At a float parade we were again honoured, in that we were awarded the first prize for the best decorated float. We were not advised who was responsible for preparing our float, but it was in the form of an elaborately decorated truck with palm trees and other attractive flora. Perhaps it was through the splendid efforts of my young people in performing the haka, poi dances and so on, that we were awarded the first prize. The first people to meet us on our arrival at Winnipeg were Red Indians. There was quite a large party of them; all of them wore their native dress, and their leader was also an Anglican clergyman. From the first moment we arrived at Winnipeg, the Red Indians became our firm friends. They are an excellent people, and most hospitable, though it seemed to us that a number of them appeared to be lacking in drive. From Winnipeg we travelled to Brandon, which is a fairly large city. We were there for a week, and one of the fascinating things we saw was an Indian reservation. This is a reservation set aside purely for Red Indians, and comprised some hundreds of acres on which they live and work. These people are very similar to the Maori people in some of their customs, their songs and so on. From Brandon we travelled to Edmonton, another major city. We were there for two weeks, then went on to Regina. We discovered that a number of our World War II airmen, both Maori and Pakeha, were trained at Regina; some of the residents still remember a number of our boys. From Regina we travelled to Port Arthur, then to Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. At Ottawa a reception was held for us by the New Zealand High Commissioner in Canada, Sir Leon Gotz, together with Lady Gotz. We were in Ottawa for three days, then travelled to New York. This is indeed a frightening city. We visited Harlem, the area in which the Negro predominates; it is a terrifying place. From New York we travelled to Chicago, then to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then to Los Angeles. We were in Los Angeles during the period of racial strife, and a number of people

reira, ka nuku matou ki Regina. I konei, ka rongo matou, ko tenei te kainga i whaka-akongia ai a tatou tamariki—Maori, Pakeha—i nga ra o te Pakanga Tuarua, ki te rere manurere, a, kei te mau mahara tonu ratou ki etahi o aua tamariki. I Regina, ka haere matou ki Port Arthur. Atu i reira, ki Ottawa, koia nei te taone tumuaki o Kanata. Na te mangai o Niu Tireni ki Kanata, na Sir Leon raua ko Lady Gotz matou i whakamanuhiri, i manaaki. E toru nga ra ki Ottawa, ka nuku atu matou ki New York. Ka mutu pea te taone weriweri i tenei. I kite matou i te wahi e karangatia nei ko ‘Harlem’—he wahi noho no nga iwi mangumangu, he wahi mataku, kino, aha ake. I New York, ka haere matou ki Chicago, atu i reira ki Salt Lake City, Utah, a ki Los Angeles. Tae atu matou ki Los Angeles, e pakanga ana nga iwi mangumangu o taua taone nui, ki nga Pakeha. He tokomaha nga tangata i mate i kohurutia. Tae mai ana te mataku ki a matou. E wha ra matou ki reira, ka rere atu matou ki Las Vegas, te kainga rongonui o te ao mo te purei moni. Ka mutu pea te kainga ataahua i tenei. Ka kite matou i te moni e rere ana ano he wai te kaha o te rere! Kotahi noa te ra o matou i reira, he mataku no matou, kei pau a matou moni ruarua nei i nga mihiini purei moni! Ko te taone nui i muri mai i noho ai matou mo nga wiki e rua, ko Vancouver; he taone ataahua, he taone hoki he tokomaha nga tangata o Aotearoa nei kei reira e noho ana. Atu i reira, ka hoki ano matou ki Winnipeg, he tono mai na nga rangatira o taua taone me hoki pera atu matou kia whakanuia ano matou i mua atu to matou wehenga mai i Kanata. Tino nui a ratou manaaki i a matou. Ko te hotera i noho ai matou i reira, kahore he utu; nga kai, nga manaaki maha me nga tikanga katoa, kahore he utu. I Winnipeg, ka rere matou ki Toronto; atu i reira, ki London, Ontario. E wha ra matou ki reira, a, no te ra tuarua, ka tae mai te New Zealand National Band ki reira. Tino tangi matou i to matou tutakinga ki o matou whanaunga hoa hoki i roto i tenei ropu nui, ara, ki a Don Manunui me ana tuahine. No te atatu ka haere atu matou ma te pahi i London, ki Toronto; atu i Toronto ma te manurere ki New York; atu i reira, ki Ran-ana, Ingarangi. E wha o matou ra i reira. I haerengia e matou nga wahi nunui katoa. I kite matou i nga whare rongonui o te ao. I were murdered while we were there. We were terrified. After four days in Los Angeles we left by plane for Las Vegas, the world-famous gambling city. It is a beautiful city, however. There we saw money flowing as smoothly as if it had been water! We were there for only a day, as we were rather scared that what little funds we had would be eaten up by the gambling machines! Our next major city was Vancouver, where we stayed for two weeks. This is indeed a beautiful city, and we found a number of New Zealanders living there. From there we returned to Winnipeg, in response to an invitation from the people of Winnipeg, who had asked us to return there before our departure from Canada. They treated us most royally. The hotel in which we stayed was free of charge; the food, the hospitality, and everything done for us there was complimentary. From Winnipeg we travelled by plane to Toronto and from there to London, Ontario. We were there four days, and on the second day the New Zealand National Band arrived. We shed tears of joy when we met our relations and friends, especially Don Manunui and his group. Early one morning we travelled from London to Toronto by bus, then flew to New York, and from there to London, England. We were there for four days. We visited many distinguished and historic places, and saw world-famous buildings. We performed there, singing and dancing before an extremely large audience in Trafalgar Square. We left London on a plane on which Princess Alexandra and her husband were also travelling. Because of the war between India and Pakistan, our plane criss-crossed to Germany, Egypt, Teheran, Colombo and Bangkok, then finally landed at Hong Kong. What a great place Hong Kong is! It must be seen to be believed. There are nearly four million people living in Hong Kong, most of them Chinese. Extreme poverty is to be seen there, and also extreme wealth. In fact in such a brief account, one cannot convey an adequate impression of such an extraordinary place. After ten days there we flew home to New Zealand, arriving on 29 September. During our tour overseas we travelled over 40,000 miles, 10,000 miles by bus and 30,000 miles by plane. Often we would travel two days on a bus—night and day, night and day—before we arrived at our destination.

tu matou ki reira, haka ai, waiata ai i mua i te whakaminenga nui whakaharahara. Ka rere mai matou i Ingarangi, ko Princess Alexandra raua ko tana hoa tane i runga i to matou manurere. Na nga pakanga i Inia i aua ra, ka tipi haere to matou manurere i te ao—ki Tiamana, ki Ihipa, ki Teheran, ki Colombo, ki Bangkok, a tau rawa atu matou ki Hong Kong. Ka mutu pea te kainga aroha ki Hong Kong. Ko Hong Kong tetahi kainga ma te kite ra ano o te tangata, ka whakapono ia. E tata ana ki te wha mirione nga tangata e noho ana ki reira, ko te nuinga he Hainamana. Kei reira ka kitea te rawakore me te rangatira o te tangata. E kore a taea te korero nga korero e tika ana mo tenei kainga. Tekau ra matou ki reira, ka rere mai matou ki te kainga, u mai ana i te 29 o nga ra o Hepetema. I a matou i haere nei, i nuku atu i te 40 mano maero te mamao o ta matou haere—10 mano maero i haerengia e matou i runga i te pahi, e 30 mano i runga i nga manurere o te ao. I etahi taima, e pau ano te rua ra matou ki runga i nga pahi e haere ana—po, ao, po Ko atu kei wharangi 52 Let me enumerate some of the things we did: Reporters from newspapers interviewed me on 38 occasions, asking in particular about race relations in New Zealand. There were 20 television interviews and appearances, 29 radio broadcasts, 95 performances, and 56 receptions in our honour. We stayed at 14 hotels and at two church hostels. We were honoured as honorary citizens on two occasions, at Winnipeg and at Brandon. It was indeed a wonderful tour! We circumnavigated the world, singing and performing the songs and hakas of our people. Although there were some requests for us to mimic the style of Hollywood actors and actresses, this did not eventuate. We were representatives of the Maori people, and we performed only authentic Maori items. I would not agree to treat in a cheap manner that which has been handed down to us by our ancestors; had they not agreed to my proposals, I was determined that we would would return home rather than Continued on page 52