Extracts from the journal of the Rev. William Yate, Extracts from the Rev. W. Williams's journal
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Australasia
New Zealand
CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
FROM the Journals of Mr. Yate and Mr. W. Williams we extract some passages, which illustrate the notions and manners of the Natives, and the gradual working of religious feeling among them.
Extracts from the Journal of the Rev. William Yate.
Feb. 9, 1829 -- Matapo, a Chief of Taiamai, killed a slave this morning: the reason which he gave for it was, that she had bewitched Tekoki, the Chief of Kauakaua, and caused his illness. After Matapo had killed her, that old wretch Taria roasted and eat her. I have noticed Taria as being the most barbarous man in the island: he has killed and eaten three persons since I have been in New Zealand.
Feb. 16--Paue, one of our great men at Waimate, died this morning, after a lingering and painful illness. He was a Native of very pleasing manners, but never gave the least signs of conversion. His friends sent down to us for a blanket, to wrap up the body previous to interment. There is nothing in which they are more particular than in their respect for the dead.
Feb. 18--I went to the residence of Paue, who was said to be dead: I found him alive, but he died in a few hours after my arrival. No one was allowed to go near him, as the place was tapued: I, however, paid no regard to what they . said, but rode up to his little shed, and made him some tea, and endeavoured to improve the opportunity. A great number of Natives were present, waiting for his death: they were all attentive. I spent nearly four hours among them.
Feb. 26--Visited Waimate, and called at seven residences; but did not meet as great a number of Natives as I expected, because they were busy in clearing away the woods. However, I found enough at the various places to employ me for three hours. It is quite cheering to our minds to go out among the Natives, they generally are so ready to listen to all that we have to say. I feel myself more in my work when engaged in this way, than I do at any other employment: and now I have a horse, I can visit much more than before, and, at the same time, not neglect the other important part of our occupations--the translation of the Scriptures into the Native Language.
Feb. 27--Visited the Natives at Tako, a large Settlement on the coast, about 12 miles from Kiddeekiddee. The Chief, Wata, was gone to Wangaroa, to see Ururoa, who is ill: his wife was at home, and all her people. I had never been at this place before; nor has it been visited more than twice by Europeans. My reception was very gracious: the old lady scolded her slaves at a furious rate, because they were so long in cooking food for myself and Boys. I spoke to five parties, and declared to them the unsearchable riches of Christ. When I had crossed the river, on my return home, a party came up from the southward. Tetore, a Chief of Waimate, was going to the place which I had left: he was carrying a small piece of stick, as a memento of the late Paue, which was fastened to the top of a spear; and he, as the bearer, was tapued, and dared not eat till he had delivered it to the person for whom it was intended. I offered him a piece of gingerbread which I had in my pocket; but when he saw it, he fled from it as from a serpent.
March 10--About 100 Natives passed through Kiddeekiddee very hastily, on their way to the residence of the late Koikoi; where they are going to take away all the food, for some bad words which the old man said just before his death. We never say any thing to dissuade them from this, as it is quite right according to native custom; and an interference in their regulations, except where life is at stake, would be productive of no good.
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March 19, 1829--Visited the Natives down the river; and met with a large number, about 250: they were full of levity, being on a stripping expedition, and would not listen to me at all.
March 20--Warepu and Ane, two old servants in the Settlement, were married this evening: they are likely to do exceedingly well: their marriage is not a hurried thing, but has been in contemplation for mere than twelve months.
April 14--Went to Waimate, Pukenui, and Maupere: I met some very large parties, and spoke at 17 different villages. The Natives made many excellent remarks about what I had said to them at my last visit. They certainly do not forget much; and only require to be often visited, to cause them to retain a great deal of the letter of the Gospel.
May 12--Old Wata, a very venerable man, a Chief of Tako, came down, according to the promise which he made me on Saturday last, and sold us 24 baskets of Indian Corn of very excellent quality: he brought 24 slaves to carry it, and they had to bring it over a very bad road, more than 14 miles. The payment was two best blankets.
May 13, 14--Visited the Natives at Waimate and the Ahuahu. I spoke to 15 parties, in number about 350. On my way, I was met by the Wife of Titore: she was going to Kiddeekiddee, to fetch me to her husband, who is very ill: he is a man of great consequence, second only to Rewa. I found him lying by the side of a small brook, with no other covering but the heavens: I bled him, and gave him some medicine, and advised his going under some shelter. He said, "No," that he was under a tapu, and therefore dared not to go. "If," said he, "I were now to go into a house, the Atua would be very angry; he would cause this stone to pass through my ribs and to enter my heart, and I should die. As it is," he continued, "there are bullets inside me; one in my arm, another in my thigh, and one in my throat." I endeavoured to reason him out of so absurd a belief; but he was so superstitious, that he turned a deaf ear to all that I said on the subject. When I had bled him, he said, "There, that is good: now there is a hole, and perhaps the bullets may be permitted by the Atua to pass out of me, and I shall live." Before I passed on my way, I boiled him some tea, which he drank: it evidently refreshed him, the depression of his spirits vanished, and he felt himself much better. There is nothing which a New Zealander feels more than a little attention paid to him when sick. Any thing which we can do in that way, either to the rich or the poor, is almost certain to gain us friends.
May 15--I have this day witnessed what I never did before in New Zealand -- a number of Natives come into the Settlement and being troublesome. It was not, however, intended for us: it was right according to their native customs. A Boy of Mr. Baker's had been inland, and, during that time, had married a Girl living at Mr. Clarke's. This Girl had been some time set apart for her father-in-law, and consequently could not marry any other without subjecting, not only herself, but also her husband, to death. After they were married, they returned to Kiddeekiddee; and, two days after, the whole Tribe came down, to take the bride away, and to give the bridegroom a thorough beating: they dared not to go further lengths than this, because he is a great man among them. In searching for the bride, the Natives were very unruly: the presence of Rewa could not keep them from jumping over our fences, and running all over our places, to find the hidden one: they at length discovered her retreat, gave her a beating, and carried her in triumph away. It all passed off very well: but it might have been of serious consequence, as her brother pointed his gun, and was just about to shoot her, when it was snatched away by a friend. She will not now receive any further injury; but I know not whether she will be returned to her husband, or kept some little time longer for her father-in-law.
June 1--3 --A very large party from the southward came to pay a visit to Rewa. In paying them the usual compliments, his gun burst and his hand was very much wounded. On this account, all his food and blankets and other possessions will be taken away from him by his friends as a mark of disrespect.
June 11, 12 --Visited the Natives at Waimate. There were a vast multitude of Natives assembled together, from all parts of the Island, to a feast given by the people of Waimate, at the removal of the bones of Paru. I had an excellent opportunity of speaking to them; and, on the whole, they were attentive.
Jane 28: Sunday--Opened the new School-Room, as a temporary Chapel.
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I preached in the morning, read a Sermon in the afternoon, and addressed the Natives in the evening. Our Morning Service is conducted in the Native Language, except the Sermon; our Afternoon Service all in the English Language; and our Evening Service entirely in Native.
Extracts from the Rev. W. Williams's Journal.
May 23, 1829 --Went to Waiomio, distant four miles from Kauakaua. A Niece of Christian Ranghi has lately left my house in a dying state, and is with her father at this place. The family is in a pleasing state, and have generally paid more attention to us than other Natives. The father made a striking remark to the child, when calling her to come to me:-- "This is your parent, who is come to see you, who has taken care of you so long." She has lived in our house about a-year-and-a-half, and I hope has not been with us in vain: she has never been very communicative; and the most which I have been able to obtain from her, relative to her Saviour, is, that she prays to Him in her heart.
June 2 --Rewa had seriously injured his hand by the bursting of a gun. It was necessary to amputate three of his fingers, which I proposed to do; but the superstition of the people was so great, that every one was opposed to it: and I was also given to understand, that if I had cut his hand, a party of strange Natives, who had just arrived from the southward, would probably have been cut off by Rewa's Tribe, as a payment for his accident.
June 21: Sunday--The Wicked One is now especially on the alert, to prejudice the Natives against us, in the matter of their temporal diseases. They say, that before we came to the land, few persons died before they were old; and that we have imported sickness among them, to which all ages fall victims. This was the principal subject of conversation with two parties to-day.
July 14 --Went to Kauakaua. I was most interested by two Natives from Waikato, just arrived, with a large party, to trade with the Bay-of-Islanders. I gave them an outline of our Message, of a part of which they seemed to have some idea. They said, that a woman of Waikato had been up to heaven lately, and reported it to be a very good place: there were great multitudes of people, who lived peaceably: when they had any slight quarrel, they had rushes to fight with instead of guns, and leaves of flax instead of the stone "meris" (mayree).
July 19: Sunday I had a cheering conversation with Pita, one of our Natives. He and his Wife have lived with Mr. Davis more than four years; and, for some time past, have manifested much attention to instruction. From the nature of Pita's remarks to-day, I think him a proper subject for Baptism: every question on material points he answered most properly. I particularly questioned him on the last subject from which I had spoken--that of Baptism. The Natives have a baptism for their children; but, as Pita observed, their baptism is intended to make them wicked, while ours makes them holy. Of Prayer he said, that, after our daily Evening Service, he and his wife were in the habit of praying to Jesus Christ; and that, if at any time they neglected it, they felt very uncomfortable. I had spoken a short time previously on the words Give us this day our daily bread: the spiritual meaning of them he received, I believe, in his heart--that Christ was the salvation of his soul, as bread is that of the body. His wife was not present; but she is in a similar frame of mind.
July 26: Sunday -- We received a public application from Taiwanga last night, in behalf of his children, whom he wishes to have baptized. His Letter is short, and, being much to the purpose, will not be uninteresting: --
Mr. Davis and Mother Davis: Big Mr. Williams and Mother Big Mr. Williams: Brother and Mother Brother: Mr. Fairburn and Mother Fairburn--Here am I thinking of the day when my son shall be baptized. You are Messengers from God; therefore, I wish that he should be baptized according to your ways. I have cast off my native ideas of rectitude, and my native thoughts. Here I sit thinking, and untying the rope of the Devil; and it is shaken that it may fall off. Jesus Christ, perhaps, is near to see my evils, and to look into the hearts of men. It is well, perhaps, that the heart should grieve in the morning, in the evening, and at night, that every sin may be blotted out.
Aug. 23 --It having been considered that the application made by Taiwanga in behalf of his children should be attended to, I baptized his four children, together with my own little Boy, after the Second Lesson. The names given to them were, Richard Hill, Samuel Marsden, Mary Anne Davis, and James Davis. Mr. Yate, Mr. Clarke, and all at this
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Station, were Sponsors; the nature of this office having been previously explained to Taiwanga. The Service was very affecting, and the attention of the Natives marked; and I think this public celebration of the Rite, in their own language, will not fail, under the Divine Blessing, of making some of them thoughtful on this point. Pita observed, afterward, that he wished to be "wakatapu," that is, consecrated by this ordinance to God as soon as possible. In the afternoon, in addressing the Natives, I explained to them, that, by Baptism, a Believer is admitted into the Visible Church, and that without it none could be considered members of the same; while, unless the outward sign was accompanied by inward grace, it would be of no avail. I endeavoured, also, to shew the reasons why Infants are received.
Aug. 24, 1829 --Went up the river Waikari, accompanied by Mr. Yate. Old Toru, the principal Chief, was lying sick. He observed, as many others have done, that he was sick because he did not attend properly to our "karakia," and asked, with apparent sincerity, what he must do.
Aug. 25--This morning, a Priest of some celebrity made a commotion among our Natives. He was exhibiting the vocal powers of the Native God "Witi;" which was nothing more than a whistling sound, which he made to proceed from his head by a trick of ventriloquism. We told him, that, in England, people would make an oyster or even a dead man talk, but they were not called gods on that account. I then asked, "Why, if this is a god, does he not cure your sick people?" "The Native God," said the man, "is dead since you are come to the land, and can do nothing." This is something like the Oracle of Delphi ceasing to prophesy on the first promulgation of the Gospel.
Sept. 19 --Went to Rangheehoo. Mrs. Shepherd is in a very precarious state, and frequently delirious: when her mind is collected, she appears to be in a pleasing frame.
Sept. 20: Sunday --I went, with Mr. Shepherd, to visit some of the neighbouring Natives, who were, for the most part, busily employed about their nets. Waikato, who went to England with Shunghee, is as superstitious as any of the Natives, and would not, on any account, neglect one of his tapus. With a new net there is very much ceremony; and the whole of the sea in the immediate neighbourhood of Rangheehoo is now sacred in consequence, and no canoe is allowed to pass under any pretence. Waikato would fain have prevented my boat from returning on the morrow; and I was only allowed to pass on the promise of steering as far from the net as possible. Mr. Yates boat, from Kiddeekiddee, was the same day obliged to return without reaching Rangheehoo; and the day following, on going there to see Mrs. Shepherd, in spite of their tapu, he and Mr. Kemp and the crew were treated with great violence. Waikato justifies himself by saying that we have our sacred days, and are angry if they are violated; and that they have a right to do the same.
Oct. 22 --Mr. Hamlin came from Kiddeekiddee in a boat, to fetch me to see Mrs. Kemp who was taken dangerously ill. He had occasion to pass within half-a-mile of Waitanga, where the Natives are preparing a large mackarel-net: the sea for some distance around is sacred; and a very troublesome Native being the person principally concerned in the net, he determined to give us some trouble, and brought his party, about 50 in number, at full speed toward our Settlement: Mr. Hamlin's crew, in the mean time, seeing what was passing on shore, pulled as if for their lives, and reached our beach just in time to put themselves in array against the assailants: a rush on the boat immediately ensued, in hopes of finding some booty there, which, according to native custom, would have been lawfully forfeited. Not succeeding in this, an attack was made on the boat's crew, which occasioned many of us to interfere also: the result was, that Marupo, the Chief, was upset by one of the Kiddeekiddee Natives, and his musket and cartridge-box thrown into the sea. It was not until the affray was nearly over, that I learned the occasion of Mr. Hamlin's coming. Such occurrences as these would a little disturb some of our good friends in England; but we are obliged to meet with them not unfrequently.
Nov. 3 -- Went with my brother to Maunganeri, the fishing-ground for mackarel, near the south-east head of the Bay of Islands: nearly the whole of the Natives of this part are gone thither, and this is a most convenient place for visiting them. At twelve o'clock at night we reached a small island about four miles from the place, and pitched our tent for the night. The next morning, we found
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ourselves in the midst of parties from almost every Settlement with which we are connected, all brought together within the space of about a mile: their behaviour was, for the most part, pleasing.
Nov. 15, 1829: Sunday --During our Afternoon Service, (which, excepting the Psalms and one Lesson, is in the Native Language, ) I baptized a Native Lad by the name of Robert, who has for some time manifested a very pleasing change. There are others, also, who are, I hope, proper subjects for this Ordinance: one man, Taiwanga, said afterward, that he felt inclined to come forward to be baptized himself, but that he did not like to do so of his own accord.
Nov. 20 --The Baptized Native, Robert, is rapidly declining in health, having been now ill for nearly a twelvemonth; but his mind is in a peaceful state, and his hope is in his Saviour. He does not furnish one of those striking instances of conversion which we sometimes meet with, but there is satisfactory evidence that his trust is on the right foundation: he suffers much from his disease, and is desirous to be removed by death.
Nov. 30--Buried the Native Boy, Robert. His death has not excited much thought among the Natives: they are content with thinking that he is gone to heaven, without desiring the same blessing for themselves.
Dec. 16 --Went to the Native Settlement at Wangai. There is one point in the New Zealanders different from many other Heathens: they do not commonly cavil at what we say to them; but, while they yield their assent in such a way as is oftentimes gratifying to us, there is a degree of apathy withal, which is so frequently witnessed in our native land. My conversation with the Natives to-day would strike a new comer; but I am afraid to expect much.
Dec. 21 --A man and woman have been just murdered, under the pretext that they had bewitched several persons who have died lately. Some other woman dreamt that such was the case, and this dream was sufficient in the eyes of a Native. The bodies were taken to Kororarika, the Bay frequented by the shipping, and cooked and eaten.
