More Early Maori Letters

Tu Tangata, Issue 30, 1 July 1986, Page 54

More Early Maori Letters

by Jenny Lee

THE tribes of the south west coast of Te Ika a Maui were made aware of pakeha customs and Christianity well before church missionaries arrived at Waikanae in 1839. Matahu, a rangatira of Ngati Raukawa, was captured during one of Nga Puhi’s southern raids in the 1820 s, and taken up to the Bay of Islands where he came into contact with the Christian missionaries.

When he returned to his people in the early 1830 s, he brought new ideas concerning Christianity with him, so that when the missionaries reached the area, they were surprised at how much knowledge and enthusiasm there was.

From the mid 1840 s, Otaki was developed as a ‘model’ Maori village along European and Christian lines. The enthusiasm for this came particularly from two important local rangatira, Tamihana Te Rauparaha, and Matene Te Whiwhi, and their wives, Ruta and Pipi. As mentioned in an earlier article (TU TANGATA, Feb/March, 1985) these four met the new Governor of New Zealand, George Grey, in 1846 and developed a close relationship with him and his wife, Eliza, over the next seven years.

The letters I include here give an idea of the warm and easy relationship that existed between these two women and Eliza Grey during the Victorian era when relationshipships with governors’ wives were normally very formal. However, in the 1850 s many Maori came to regret the trust they had placed in the friendship of governors and missionaries, and out of their bitterness, political and religious movements asserting the mana motuhake were born.

Otaki Hepetema 8, 1848 E hoa, e Mihi Kerei, Tena koe, e hine. E nui ana toku aroha ki a koe. No konei ahau i tuhi atu ai i taku pukapuka ki a koe. He nui toku hiahia ki haere atu kia kite i a koe, he mate noku. Waiho pea moku e wakaaro mehemea ka haere atu a Te Kuini, e kaha au, a, tena ahau te haere atu na. E kore au e kaha, e kore au e haere atu. Nui atu toku aroha ki a koe. Mau e tuhi mai ki au. Ka mutu. Na Mata Matene Te Wiwi Otaki September 8, 1848 My friend, Mrs Grey, Greetings to you, lady. I have great love for you. That’s the reason I am writing my letter to you. I would very much like to come to see you because I am sick. But leave me to think about it. If Te Kuini 1 is coming and I am strong enough, then I shall come too. If I am not strong enough, I won’t. Much love to you. Write to me. That’s all. From Mother Matene Te Wiwi. 2

Grey Letter 557

Otaki Hepetema 25, 1848 E toku hoa aroha, e Mata Kerei, Tena koe korua ko tou hoa ko Kerei. Tenei ano tou aroha kua tae mai ki au. Na Tamihana i mau mai. Ka nui toku miharo ki a koe. Ka waiho rawa tenei hei tohu aroha moku ki a koe. Tau mea homai noa mai ki a au. Atahi ano te ritenga pai na koutou, na te Pakeha. Ko ta matou nei ritenga ko tangata Maori, he paru kau. Na koutou i pai ai matou. E hoa, e pai ana au ki to kupu haere mai kia kite i a maua. Tena ra kei mate to hiahia kite haere mai ki konei. Kotahi ano taku i wakamai. He kino no taku ware hei nohoanga mo taua. Tenei ano taku kupu wakatauki, ‘He ahakoa kotahi ano te po kite ware kino, ka hoki ano kite ware pai.’ Na, he ritenga tenei na to taenga mai ki toku ware kino i Otaki nei.

Heoti ano, Na tou hoa aroha, Na Ruta Tamihana Te Rauparaha.

Otaki September 25, 1848 My dear friend, Mother Grey, Greetings to you and your husband, Grey. Your love has come to me at last. It was Tamihana who brought it. My admiration for you is great. Please regard this letter as a token of my love for you. As for what you give freely to me, what a good way of life you, the Pakeha, have! As for our way of life - it was very bad. It is you who made us good. 3 Friend, I was pleased to hear that you are coming to see us. So don’t give up your plan of coming here. One thing occurs to me. The house we live in is bad. This, however, is a saying of mine, 4 ‘lt doesn’t matter if you spend one night in a bad house, you can always return to a good one.’ This is the case with your coming to my lowly house here at Otaki. That is all. From your loving friend, From Ruta Tamihana Te Rauparaha.

NOTES: 1. Te Kuini was a name for Topeora, Pipi Te Whiwhi’s mother-in-law. She was a strong personality and clever composer of songs. Te Rangihaeata was her brother and Te Rauparaha her uncle. The name Te Kuini or the Queen was probably given to her in recognition of her high status. 2. The name Te Wiwi and the word wakaaro reflect the characteristic regional pronunciation of Maori speakers in the south west of the north island of the ‘w’ rather than the ‘wh’ sound. In the north and east, for example, these words were written Te Whiwhi and whakaaro. 3. These sentiments show the profound influence of the Christian missionaries in general, and the Rev. Octavius Hadfield in particular, on the people around Otaki at this time. 4. Ruta may have coined this saying, or it may be a traditional whakatauki that she considered appropriate. Traditional Maori speech was full of proverbs or whakatauki and pepeha, as are most oral languages. This custom caused difficulties for many people who wanted to learn and understand the language. George Grey was one of a number of people who made extensive collections of these expressions which capture the essence of Maori ideas. He found that he couldn’t understand the Maori without understanding their whakatauki. The letters are part of The Grey Collection in the Auckland Public Library.