A Dream

Te Ao Hou, March 1968, Page 9

A Dream ākuhata 27, 1850 I te pō o te 27 o ākuhata ka takoto au ki tōku moenga. Ka whakaaro au ki ngā mea mō tōku haerenga atu ki a te Kāwana; ko ngā mea ērā i mahara ai au, kia nui ai ngā kupu e mōhiotia e au mō tana uinga mai ki ahau. Muri iho, ka kamo ōku kanohi. Ka kite au i ētahi tāngata me te kurī anō e haere tahi ana i a rātou. Kāore au i āta mōhio atu he Pākehā rānei tēnā hunga nei, he Māori rānei. Ka mea mai ki ahau, kia whawhai mātou. Ka mea atu ahau, ‘Kāhore, kua mutu ērā tikanga kino o mua. Erangi ko tēnei, me āta whakarite, ka whawhai ai tātou.’ Ka mea mai rātou, ‘Haere mai, me tuhituhi August 27, 1850 On the night of the 27th August I lay on my bed thinking about the things which I would be visiting the Govern. - to discuss; I was pondering these matters so that I might have much to tell him when he questioned me. After a while my eyes closed. I saw some men walking along with a dog. I could not clearly distinguish whether these people were Pakeha or Maori. They said to me, ‘Let us fight!’ I said, ‘No, those evil customs of former days are ended. Let us instead carefully discuss the matter. We can fight later.’ They said, ‘Let a document be written;

he pukapuka; muri iho ka whawhai ai tātou.’ A, tuhituhi ana, ka oti. Kātahi ka riri mātou. Ka mea mai rātou, ‘Kia tokotoru o mātou e mate, ka tukua atu ai tā mātou kurī hei kai i a koe āianei.’ Ka mea atu ahau, ‘E pai ana. Tēnā, tātou ka riri!’ Ka peke mai tētahi, ka hinga te toki ki tōku pane. Takua atu e au, tangohia atu, ēhara, mate rawa. Ka peke mai tētahi, tangohia atu, mate rawa. Ka peke mai tētahi me te kurī hoki. Ehara, kua tata mai ki ahau taua kurī nei. Tukua atu e au tērā, kātahi i rere mai anō kau ngā niho kei tōku ringa māui. Kātahi ka pangaa atu tāku toki kau kei te pane o te kurī, Heoi, ka mutu tēnei riringa. Ka huihui ki te ākau o te moana, ka noho ki runga o te arawhata, ki raro anō hoki. Ka kite au i ngā tēpu e tū ana me ngā pepa anō, me ngā pene anō, me ngā oko mangumangu. Ka mea mai tētahi, ‘E hoa, e Maihi, me haere atu koe ki te taha o tērā tēpu, ki reira koe tuhituhi ai i ōu tikanga mō te whawhai kua mutu nei me tēnei whawhai hoki ka maranga nei āianei.’ Ka mea atu au, ‘Mō te aha hoki tēnei ka maranga nei?’ Ka mea mai, ‘Mō ērā kua mate i a koe me te kurī hoki, nā reira ka whakatika hoki ōna whanaunga kia patua rawatia koe hei utu mō ērā atu.’ Ka mea ahau, ‘E pai ana.’ Ka rite ēnei kupu; tuhituhi rawa e ahau, e rātou hoki. Kātahi au ka mea atu, ‘Tokohia o koutou hei hoa whawhai mōku āianei?’ Ka mea mai rātou, ‘Kia tokowhā e mate i a koe, hei reira ka tukua atu he kurī kē atu i tērā atu i mate rā hei kai i a koe. Tēnā. tuhituhia!’ Ka oti te tuhituhi. Kātahi ka peke mai tētahi atu, ka hinga te patu; tukua atu e au, ka hemo—pangaa atu tāku toki, ēhara, mate rawa. Peke mai ko tētahi, tukua atu e au, ka taha te rākau; makanga atu tāku, ū tonu. He mea matakite tēnei nō te pō, he moemoeā. He kurī te mea i patua ai, a, ko te whaka-hauhau tēnei o taua kurī i te patunga ai e ahau. Ko ngā Pākehā i patua i te tuatahi, kāore he whakahauhau i ērā; i patua huhua-koretia ērā e au. E te Kāwana e, Ehara i ahau. afterwards we will fight.’ And so it was written, and was finished Then we fought. They said to me, ‘If three of us die, we will straight away let loose our dog to attack you.’ I said, ‘Very well. Let us fight!’ One of them sprang at me, swinging his axe at my head. I dodged the blow and disarmed him—he died! Another one leapt forward; I disarmed him, and he died. The other man leapt at me, and so did the dog—the dog was almost upon me! I dodged the man, but then the dog flew at me again and seized my left hand in its jaws. Then my axe smashed down on the dog's head, and the battle was over. After this we came together at the edge of the ocean; some were on a bridge, and some were below it. I saw tables standing there, with paper and pens and inkwells. One of them said, ‘My friend Maihi, go to that table and write your views on the battle that has just finished, and this other battle that is about to begin.’ I asked, ‘What will be the cause of this next battle?’ He said, ‘It will be fought over those whom you killed, together with the dog. The relatives of those men will arise to destroy you, in revenge for their death.’ I said, ‘Very well.’ These things were done; I wrote, and so did they. Then I said, ‘How many of you will be fighting me this time?’ They said, ‘If you kill four of us, another dog, a different one from that which died, will be let loose to attack you. Come on, write it down!’ Then the writing was finished. Another man leapt towards me, swinging his club. I dodged the blow, and he died—my axe came down, and he was dead! Another came at me; I jumped aside, and his weapon missed me. Then I swung my weapon, and it found its mark. This is a vision of the future which came to me from the spirit world, in the form of a dream. As for the dog that I killed, it had been commanded to attack me. The Pakehas whom I killed in the first battle had not been commanded to attack me: they were killed unnecessarily. O Governor It is not my doing, It is both of us

Nā tāua tahi I kawe ki waenga te tahora Ki reira kukume mai ai— Kii ki-i-a-a! Nā Wiremu Maihi tēnei matakite. Mea ake pea he patunga nā te Māori ki te Pākehā; a. nā te Pākehā pea ki te Māori, nā te Māori anō rānei ki ā rāua whakamāori anō. Tēnei anō te takoto mai nei kei mua; mea ake pea ka rite tēnei moemoeā. Who took it into the wilderness There to drag it about— Kii ki-a-a! This visionary song is by Wiremu Maihi. It may be that soon the Maori will be attacking the Pakeha, or else the Pakeha will be attacking the Maori; either may be considered the aggressor, according to which side is interpreting the matter. This is what lies ahead. Soon, this dream may become a reality.