Missions Among the Maoris.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume X, Issue 10, 1 March 1920, Page 267

Missions Among the Maoris.

In the -November issue of the "Gazette "..last year a request was made to readers for prayer on behalf of d series of missions, to be held apaong the Maoris m the far north of the Auckland Diocese, and it will perhaps those who responded to thai appeal to hear something' of the results. But, before dealing* with the missions held, sYne explanation is necessary m orde ' to understand why it was thought advisable to send special missioners j t this time to a people who for n< arly one hundred years have had tb > reputation of being tbe

most earnest Christian tribe among the Maoris. Earlier, m .the year (1919), there had occurred a great" outbreak, of tohungaism, and old pre-Christian Maori customs and practices, m one particular district — as many as ' 17 Maori tohungas, being brought from various centres, as far as Tauranga, to try and effect the cure of a noted Maori chief who was ill, with. the usual result that he died. N , ' ' ' \ Previous again . to this, there- had been the case known as'"the Victoria Valley Murder" m the near neighbourhood, m which a Maori boy was done to death — apparently m the attempts of Maori tohungas and" confederates to drive out; an evil, spirit, by which he was supposed to be possessed. This body *was buried secretly, and was only found about two years ago. At the request of the Bishop •of Auckland, and with the permission of the Bishop of Waiapu, the Revs. Canon Arthur Williams and iH. P. Munro, were sent to hold missions of help to the Native Christians, and to counteract the power and influence of the tohungas, and, accompanied by the Rev. J., T. Me William, superintendent of Maiori work m the Diocese of Auckland, the missioners reached their destinatiqn on October 30th 1 , 1919. It was decided to hold the „ first mission m a centre where there had been no evidences of tohungaism, and where the Christians were considered to be quite free from its baneful influences, and to finish the series at the centre where it was rampant. But before the first " mission was half through, and before the tohungaism had been mentioned at the services, several families came of their own accord to the missioners to confess their lapse into "Maorism," and to ask how they could get free again, and it soon became evident, and was openly, stated by themselves in" public at the end of one of the" meetings, that practically every family was m the same position and wished to give it up. _ ' Outwardly, the Native phristians of the whole district are ,the most religious people We have ever nlet with, whether they be compared with other Maoris, or with European congregations. -Practically everyone over 14 years ,of age is confirmed, and is a regular Communicant. They will walk miles to a service, no matter what the weather may be, and they don't mind how long the service may continue. They sing the hymns most beautifully, without any accompaniment, m all four parts, and are most reverent and devout m the prayers and responses; and no one paying a flying Sunday visit would ever suspect that there was anything wrong under this fair exterior.

tha,t they.have suceumbe(a |:t<>.%^&tence; iarids ji&toei of ffl&6ri tohuiigagf •■ ;.;.'■■' ' ' '•■ ' ' ' ' ■■■ i-^bilesis thNere a*e other* Tea'SonSj ' , whiish (tould M glven^aM-^we btirselyes gitfe r soifte of tlje'E^-iifit 1 tlte^a^SliihMisdves'invaMai^ giVe tHe fpH^winl: 5 — * - I. there is much : arid dfee'ase^especialjy ainoiig ihe iehil'dreh, where itlife ftarfejife seeffi .i#&flg a^d-ii^it^f^aiM tKeyf 'arU d^raEg' off ib , g^at niimbfer's eyery yfea;W . W6 Baye n^yer iti all dtir experience seen Sfif muei sicktfesis;(and diseSfi^ as ; caifle;; under our' notice Jtf tHe Weeks : were; aindngStl tsem;. , ; In case af tei^ ca^e families are & dagger 6$ laecbmiiig extinett Out *</f nine and ten, children several fa'inilies Have only three oi four; left aliye, a nd' of these generally two are diseased) or ill. Out of sevett ahd ; fifieen children m a f amily' only ' one is still living; while m yet another twenty have died of a family of twenty^two. And the parents sdy the|y cainibt get medidal atterition. The Government does supply a district nurse; who does splendid worfc, . but [there seems to 4>e no doctor available f6r the Maoris. 2. The tbhtingas teacfr the people that God has m His mercy, Under these trying circumstances, permitted the spirits of their ancestors to return to teach them what to'dofoi* the sick, and that they (the tohungaS) are m direct cbriimunication with these spirits) and that they can ! therefore cure all "the ills that flesh. is heir to." Further, they sayV (and sometimes we believe truly) that- tlie ; cause o£ the illness is ; an evil spirity and" that this is the reason why European doc-; . tors cannot cure the patient^ and cannot even diagnose the case. If will foe easily seen-hbw strbng" an appeal is thus made to the parents, or other relations' of the invalids both through ; tHe &uppoßed : lbve| of God, and also thrbugh that df / the^fr dear d«ad ! ones^ust : as s ih" the case of spiritualism (spiritism) ambngslt Europeans at the present day; -Tohungaism is 1 spirii^sm. The tphunga's are the^ me'diums~df .the spirits; Can we' : our Maori feiloW Christians, Whepjso many mtelli^ent Eurjipe|mg an^jprofessedly^Ghristiah : people jkre faliirig wideT vthie spell of ' ' sp;ri|ualism ' * m! tyiese daysl r : Ipupid a good many Mho, before the ; mission;s bejgah, had already, be-,, come ctinyinced^that the spirits were not sent /of God, and were not good; spirit^ because the results were al-

- wayr uKiiilatlsly arid ended ip de&thy '-mM. qffcert m luniflcy; Sdtae Had^; alfefcd^f returned^ $6 the tbfiUiigii tJh%' charm, or" embodiment 6f ;the f i>O#e^ : ffciSti- lie^lted' lef t m their' home; others -^adi them away into the scrub ; while; pthvers Still Xtiid-; thgih' in^their' -homes, ■ itidjM;M :^ yss '^ ■ 4o' with fh-eW and' Bailed "#bpir •■■oye'S Vitd.-'usi v • Tmfr, • sstid-fKey -felt l th^y &p&^ :6d : i;^pr'fbr#e apgrpacfc df spirits, '•whloii i ihey hadvfoTindJ' to tip ;; eyil Spirits ap!d CQuld 1 not ihuif 1 otit again, '■Nb; niatfter what;itjie ; y\ didy Vtfiey eoi^d hot- get 1 free; again? &€f&t ! wbiat ; tKey firmly believed to be evil spirits, or demons^ who; seemed; tp^be b^nt on destroying them ahd their' children.' ; In one" case^a^-^d^ated^ young ;mari, from oiie of 6ur ! (Snurcin sc'bJpbls, •tfolid- iis that as many as; 'seyißfi evil siJirrfe : tp6k pos^igiiin ; of; hiniy Causing him 1 to flee^ into : the^b'uslv aird to try aho: ;kill ; liimselfi -SRFkdp -saiyed him fr6m ltinac^--a^d''^ili^ide"-%ks r ';tlie rdniemKraric6 and- love of ; nisarid vchiMren^ and jtlsp jwhatt he remembered of the tea^tihg « \ iaiid prayers m his i Maoiri Pfayief Book. : In another;' case ; a young niaihy Ms wif6, arid JSve young' chlllflren all werit out of their mindly and 4 'wafijdjered into the bush withdtit : . airy mean's of In both tliese case> they right minds, and they have done 1 with' , tohungaism. . • *V ' ?In the case of . the Vietbria' ¥alley miirder, 1 :-the i principal toKunga \cbnbenied has sitfce^died agparently^av^- ; ing. mad, and we were told- that e^ery one of 'her children has died; iiir ; the same; way^^twb of _them ; within a week of each other^ and while x^fe wfere m another part' of the dik'trict. We believe nothing will ■ cbiiyifice these people, and' ; thps;e: cbnnectied .with ,themy that ; these were not' cjases of deinpn ppssessiony or tlie ; wofk^ pf evil spiirits m- sonic fohti. We were - splemMy ;toidyby. one who has sufleredf ariti ; 'fenpws 1 exj^rimelStallyy some of t?lie possessed behave like pigs, others like'dogspcatsjt'rats, etc., and we meib with two young children whb'did : ; behaye ;ift :€\^^'w^-i}oe little pigs, and who became quite normal, immediately wlien the evil spirits were exorcised iii "the iiame of JesusChrist^ A^d it r may 1 be iaeritipjied here jfrhat the f ?eipe*ierie6 idf '''< the ' -Bey-: ife WV ; G.F., 6f i Wa^oay v Hiiwke-s Bay* hias been-, similar" to 1 biir' owii both m his own parish and ■else^here.v-'' ; " ; :■" V ■'"■'' : '\f : '■,■"■■' ■

-■'■ ■"'-'■' (To h6 €orttiiiiiefl)|

Hi P. MUNRO., /