THE TAIL OF THE FISH

Te Ao Hou, March 1969, Page 53

THE TAIL OF THE FISH Matire Kereama Oswald-Sealy (N.Z.) Ltd, $1.25 reviewed by N. P. K. Puriri Well Matire, I knew you could talk but I didn't know you could write. Don't get pukuriri at what I have to say. Remember the proverb, ‘Ngapuhi kohao rau’ and if I appear to be over-critical treat it as a compliment. ‘The Tail of the Fish’, and indeed it is the tale of the people of the Far North, their homes, their victories in battles, their defeats and their lives. The stories in the main are centred

around the Aupouri tribe, but for the life of me I couldn't understand how my tupuna Kawiti became involved at the very end by the inclusion of one of his waiatas. Surely the Aupouri have their own, and for the information of the writer he was never known as Kawiti te Riri but his grandson was known as Te Riri. I was very disappointed to find that the arara or trevally story was omitted. I would have thought that Te Kohuru would have been mentioned. Also, Te Kohuru's escape from the cooking ovens of the Aupouris would have made exciting reading — but I may have objected if you had shown who his descendants are. Talking about whakapapa, it is a pity that quite a number were incorrect, and that they were not extended to show the connections to the other tribes. The thought that crossed my mind — the book would have doubled its mana if some of the spicy yarns of the good old days had been included. What about those remittance men from the old country, the Tararas and many other people who went to the gumfields? People like Bill Evans, the Yates family, old Anaru Ngawaka and a host of others who were characters in their own right and who in the main made the Far North. The Maori text suffered considerably due to the lack of Maori knowledge of the proof reader. The following are but a few examples: page 16, mate not matu; page 30, Ka pa instead of Kapa; page 74, Hinga instead of Einga; page 79, te waahi not tewaahi; ka hurihia not kahuri hia; a taku not ataku; ki te not kite. Enough pin pricking at this stage. Let me acknowledge one thing — the good in the book far outweighs the bad. As a matter of fact, I like it. I am particularly grateful for her story in chapter 25, which shows that in this modern day and age, some of the old customs are very much alive. The people of Matire's generation are becoming as scarce as hen's teeth, and the pity of it all is that they will take with them the stories and traditions of our people and leave little behind. On the other hand, if they have Matire's courage and put their thoughts on paper all will not be lost. Well, Matire, even if your stories are a bit one-eyed, how about some more?