The Maori Yesterday and To-day

Te Ao Hou, March 1968, Page 57

The Maori Yesterday and To-day Through the years the Maori is changing as he is getting accustomed to the European way of life. Gradually he is losing the old traditions of his people. He is selling the land that has been passed down to him after many generations, land that has been fought for by great warriors of the past. The family heirlooms are being sold to Europeans to buy food and clothing, and other luxuries money can buy. Out in the country the Maori isn't losing his traditions so quickly. He still obtains much of his food from the land and sea. The Maori is asked, ‘Why do you not clear your land and grow on it grass instead of all the bush and scrub covering it now?’ But why should he clear away the bush that provides the home for the pigeon and the shade for the tasty kewai that lurk in the shallows of the streams, and is the garden of the old medical herbs. The old hui-house still stands there now but it is very old and shabby. The hinges of the doors are rusty, and the paint is peeling off the dilapidated boards. There are no carvings, for the old carvers are dead and gone; buried underneath the cracked old tombstones in the cemetery on the hill. In the city the Maori has to adapt himself to the European way of life to survive. He must go to work to get money to buy food and clothing for his family. But though some Maoris are forgetting their old customs, other youngsters are learning the old arts and crafts so that they may carry on the traditions handed down to them from their forefathers. Then in years to come they can pass their knowledge on to their descendants. Nowadays, the Maori is becoming someone in his country. No longer can the European cheat the Maori because of his lack of educa-

tion. There are more Maoris becoming lawyers and teachers. And Maoris are proving themselves equal to the European in cultural activities. Those such as Kiri Te Kanawa, Howard Morrison, and Inia Te Wiata are well known for their achievements in the field of music. The duo Lou and Simon is a very good example of Maori and European working together as a team. The times have gone when they were two very different races, for now they are one people, working and playing as brothers, regardless of race and colour. None of the Maoris think of the times when a man of the Ngapuhi tribe could not marry a woman of the Waikato tribe. A man will marry a woman no matter what tribe she belongs to. This is good for it brings together all the tribes of New Zealand. Even better than this is the fact that many Maoris are marrying Europeans, drawing closer together the two peoples of New Zealand. It is unfortunate that men such as Steve Watene and Tiri Katene have died because they were well known for the work they did while in Parliament. But as the elders die the younger people take their places, for it is the boys of today that will be the men of tomorrow.