CHAPTER VIII.
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CHAPTER VIII.
In Maori usage, many matters of a momentous nature are carried on by signs. A profound silence may reign throughout the encampment, when a priest or chief appears, with certain hyeroglyphics painted on his body, the meaning of which would hardly be understood by any Maori linguist, but which is nevertheless, fully comprehended by the assembled multitude, and death would be the inevitable punishment inflicted on those who would dare to divulge the secret. We do not pretend to explain the signs formerly in use among the New Zealanders, suffice it to say, that the mysterious, and somewhat solemn mode of conveying sentiments by signs, had generally more weight than a stream of eloquent speeches.
The rehearsal of particular songs which referred to cruelties practiced on some members of the the tribe, seldom failed to excite the passions; and not unfrequently before the conclusion of the song, the relatives of the injured party would rush forth with satanic ardour to execute some dark deed, thereby exposing their own lives, and subjecting their tribe to a like visitation.
No secrecy was intended on the part of Kawiti as respects the sign he gave; his spear was thrust into the ground in the presence of his enemies, and this simple act, which answered to the law of the Medes and Persians, tended to intimidate his pursuers, and lessen the sacrifice of life, for we find that the Kororareka party immediately fell back.
The following song is often sung when occurrences of a similar character transpire, and was chaunted by Kawiti at a subsequent period, indeed, it was one of his favourite poems
Powhane thou comest to contend with me,
Ah I heed not now thy rage
I take my stand, and like the Maire
In the deep recesses of the forest
Move not till severed by the woodmans' axe.
What tho, I have been driven to and fro,
And have taken refuge at Mariu from Make's ire,
I am still undaunted. I thought
My life was precious in thy sight,
And that thou wouldst have spared me,
To attend thee as thou journeyest along the sunny paths
Instead of which, there's nought but rage and blood.
We have already stated that the New Zealander is passionately fond of dancing, and this amusement is often resorted to as a mere artifice, for the purpose of carrying out some previously arranged project. We may mention an instance. A chief of some pretensions from the interior of the country had occasion to visit a settlement on the Thames were he was hospitably received, as is the usual practice of the country. During his temporary stay, the personal charms of his wife attracted very much notice, and among other admirers was the head man of the village, who induced her to remain when the husband and his company took their departure. The young chieftain's reappearance at the settlement sometime afterward, created suspicion, more especially as his suite amounted to one hundred and fifty men; he was, however, welcomed with apparent pleasure, and food prepared for himself and followers. In order that his stay might not be prolonged, a limited supply of kumara was sent day by day; this being the greatest indignity that could be shown, it was imagined, that he would I speedily make his exit. Again and again his brother urged him to return home, but his invariable answer was, "Wait till I see my
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beloved." The chief of the settlement, Titapa by name, finding that there was little probability of getting rid of his guest by inhospitable treatment, sent messengers to the various tribes in the neighbourhood, requesting their attendance, The force commanded by Titapa was being augmented, on the discovery of which the brother again ventured to suggest a retreat before the arrival of other reinforcements; all his pleadings, however, were unavailing. Some of Titapa's people having inadvertently spoken of the intended massacre of the young chieftain, and his retinue, the intelligence was conveyed to them by the brother of the injured Chief who had already expressed his fears in reference to the intention of Titapa. "That night" says our informent, 'the two brothers slept not, for distraction was at hand, and it became necessary for them to determine at once what they should do.' Plans for escape were proposed by various persons belonging to the party, at last it was agreed, that a chorus to a dance should be composed, and chaunted, and at a given signal when all Titapa's people should be assembled to witness the performance, the dancers were to rush upon them and indiscriminately slaughter the whole multitude. Accordingly, at the dawn of day, there was a great hum and bustle at the huts occupied by the brothers, and some of the party issued forth in their ornamental mats, their hair oiled and combed, and decorated with choice feathers. "What is the meaning of this?" said some of the inmates of the pah, "We are preparing to dance," was the answer.
It had been arranged that the battle axes of the young chiefs party, were to be concealed beneath the folds of their garments, and fastened with a belt round the waist. Each person, too, was to stand immediately behind his fellow, to prevent the weapon being seen during the excitement of the dance, and the hindermost rank were instructed to keep their backs close to the long range of huts before which they executed their awful tragedy.
About three thousand, it is stated, assembled to witness the favorite sport, and continued bursts of applause were uttered by the admiring spectators. The noise of the dancers, together with the clamour of the tribes belonging to the fortress, excited the curiosity of the great chief Titapa, who came forth from his house attired in beautifully wrought mats, and with him the wife of the young chieftain. As the multitude loudly encored the dancers, they broke forth anew with energy, chaunting:--
Kumara, one, two, three,
Kumara, two, three four;
Now carry out your plan,
Pounce, pounce upon them.
Rehearse your incantations,
So ye may be strengthened in the strife;
Oh! let your plots
Ripen into action.
Say, are we not the descendents
Of Puhikuku, and Puhikaka?
Pounce upon them, pounce upon them,
Ah, see ye not there are signs in the heaveos?
And know ye not there are thoughts in the heart?
Hew them in pieces! hew them in pieces I
Pounce, pounce upon them,
Pounce upon them, --now.
The chief acter in this drama, was the husband of the seduced woman, who leaped from rank to rank, cheering his men, and just at the termination of the song, he managed to get near the object of his hatred. The last words of the chorus had scarcely been uttered, when he rushed upon Titapa with the rage of a demon, and despatched him with his battle axe, which he drew from beneath the folds of his dress. A general massacre followed, and the woman was carried back to her village in triumph, together with the spoils of the pah.
The metaphorical mode of speech also is very common amongst the New Zealanders, and is far more impressive than cogent reasoning without figure. Thus, we find the sentence, 'You are a murderer' simply means, you hate betrayed me. 'The tide has ebbed,' signifies the annihilation of a tribe, or tribes, and, 'the world is on fire' that disturbances have taken place or likely to arise in one or more localities. Persons who are but imperfectly acquainted with the numerous metaphors used by the Native people, are apt to arrive at conclusions, for which there is not the slightest possible foundation. We may mention by way of illustration, that sundry Hokianga Chieftains complained to the writer respecting the sad condition of the Native Churches, and the apparent indifference of their Missionaries. 'They have' said they, 'left us to wander as sheep without a shepherd, and they are not only removing their dwelling house, but are intending to take away the house of prayer also, which means, we suppose, that we are to worship God no longer. Wo think, added they, that the words of our Saviour applied to these our old friends, "The hireling fleeeth because he is an hireling and careth not for the sheep." 'Burn the Chapel rather than suffer it to be taken away' was the reply. 'You must enter upon this business with great seriousness, call the people together and learn their views respecting this very important matter. Write a letter to the Committee of the Missionary Society entreating them to allow the Chapel to remain. I have no doubt but they will accede to your earnest request. At any rate, you will have the satisfaction of feeling that you have unburdened your griefs, and you can then bow with humble submission to the will of your Heavenly Father.'
Now if the words, 'burn the house' were to be interpreted literally, of course, it would be highly culpable thus to excite the Natives to commit a act of savage defiance thereby setting at nought
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the requirements of that blessed Book by which the writer prefesses to be influenced. But the parties understood the meaning, namely, that their best energies were to be enlisted in the matter in order to avert the threatened evil. Accordingly we find them forwarding a respectful, but earnest protest, and we are proud to be able to record that the Missionary Committee have kindly granted their petition. The Mission house however has been taken down, and the circumstance has become eventful by a most melancholy accident; a portion of the building having fallen upon a Native who expired a few hours after. The temporary desertion of the station-- we trust that it is only temporary--has exasperated the less tractable of the people, who have exhumed the bodies of their friends interred in the Mission cemetary, and deposited the remains at their own villages
The social condition of the tribes at Hokianga is equally gloomy. This will be seen from a speech addressed to the writer, who was invited to attend a conference of native chiefs held at that river.
SPEECH OF THE CHIEF TAKU, OF HOKIANGA.
"My son, My sentiments to you shall be uttered even as speeches of old.
"My son, --Our father, Moetara, died, and the void was filled up by Rangatira who now stands here.
"You who used to be with us, have come now only as a visitor, but your relative is left to take your place, together with his children.
"During former years, even unto this time, we have been exclaiming, 'Alas! there is no town!--alas! there is no town!' We are impoverished and neglected, as you now see us. We know that love is in your heart towards us; therefore we wish you to carry with you our thoughts and lay them before the Government, in order that something may be devised to remedy the present state of things.
"My son, --We, the people of Hokianga, have been overlooked. The Bay of Islands has its magistrate; Mangonui has its magistrate; and Kaipara too; but the magistrate of Hokianga appears before us in the form of a piece of paper. Yes, my son, the magistrate here is represented by paper: no living man deigns to come hither for the purpose of settling our disputes.
"We are weary of this mode of living, while others are enjoying the advantages of civilization; but your presence amongst us now, has encouraged us to hope that our forlorn condition will he considered, and some means made use of for our advancement.
"False speeches, my son, and blighted hopes are not of to-day; former generations felt them, and we are feeling them now. If you have caused us to hope, my son, others have done the same, and this, like the past, may prove a fallacy that will sicken the heart more and more.
"We are prepared to think so, my son, nevertheless, your kindly feelings towards us in this matter rejoices our hearts.
"Whatever is intended to be done, let it be done quickly, for we are rapidly passing away, and soon you will see us no more."
In a letter written by the concurranoe of about fifty chiefs at the same place, it was observed, "We have heard that the remaining Europeans are going to leave; and there will be no Ministers of religion and no Magistrates." "There will be no ministers of religion?" What a stroke of simplicity, and what an affecting appeal! --an appeal that will be responded to, no doubt by many a heart, not only in New Zealand, but in Christian England. Yes, we are persuaded, that there are many, even in these days of religious declension, whose spirits are deeply imbued with the love of Jesus, --whose feelings are justly pourtrayed in the beautiful lines of the immortal Heber:--
"Shall we whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high
Shall we, to man benighted,
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! oh, salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim.
Till each remotest nation,
Has learned Messiah's name.
Waft, waft ye winds the story,
And you, ye waters roll;
Till like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole!
Till o'er our ransomed nature
The Lamb for sinners slain.
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign."
We do not mean to assert, that there is no missionary in the whole district of Hokianga, and Kaipara; there is one where four used to labour, and his visits to the people under his charge, as a matter of course, will be like those of angels, "few and far between," for we heard from his own lips, that Kaipara, where four hundred natives are congregated, he should not be able to visit, in all probability oftener than once a quarter, the distance from his residence being about 90 miles.
We think it most important that these facts should be known, so that the great religious body, whose operations, in by gone days, were signally blessed by the Great Head of the Church, may have the simpathy and assistance of every lover of the truth, for we have no right to rob the Almighty of his own prerogative in concluding that men are gospel hardened, and attribute their unbelief to this cause or that. Our duty is but too plain; we are to "sow beside all waters," and hold with unwavering faith the consoling declaration, "In due season we shall reap if we faint not."
