WITH TAWHAIO AND THE KINGITES.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 219, 23 August 1878, Page 3

WITH TAWHAIO AND THE KINGITES.

'(Continued from -No. 2_8.)

One of the greatest attractions at .Hikurangi was the wharau, or temporary sleeping honse, only that the-heat within; 'was well nigh insupportable.; in this large house or shed, without other internal partitions than low divisions about two feet high, with a kind of pathway, : slept, or tried <to sleep, some 800 men, women, and children. It is difiacult indeed .to describe all the details of the •interior—rows of people of either sex or any age slept with their heads against* the walls, another row of folks slept with their feet towards the feet of the firstnamed, then came the pathway and its low fences, againstthesupportingpillars "were stacked bags and sacks of flour, "which formeda kind of lounge for casual visitors - ; then another wide bed of women, men, and children, till the pathway on the other side was reached. Lighted by a row of lamps, some idea could be gleaned '■of a night's lodging in this well-filled house. A night's rest must have been •to Europeans indeed an impossibility. Here lies a family party—father and another each wrapped in a sheet, whilst the little brown-skinned baby sleeps peacefully totally unconscious of the din around. Here sits our old friend the big •chief with the whalebone mere mere ; even in bed his powerful weapon is kept close at hand ; he is indulging in friendly gossip with two other men, who are smoking their pipes with apparent enjoyment. Next to these is rather a noisy circle of some dozen or more of woung men, who are playing a round

game of cards (hipi), in course of which money changes hands pretty freely, as may he gathered from the loud calls of " Hixpens, hixpens, two bob, haty pens!" In the far corner, the centre of an admiring group, stands a young man stripped to his waistbelt; he is a storyteller (kai kore tara), endowed with the evident talent -of not only being able to keep his audience awake, but attentive also. Look at their upturned faces as they follow the thread of his narrative ! Just outside this party is a woman mending her garments, which she manages to do by the aid of the lamp which hangs above her ; her next neighbour is suckling an infant. Here are four men playing at euchre; the slang terms they make use of show they have at least gained something from their friendly intercourse with the pakeha. Near the doorway, a few young men and women are , gathered round a tall, slight, young fel- I low, who is performing some step dances in which he displays wonderful agility—one or two Jews-harps, and a concertina, lend their aid to swell the volume of strange seunds, through which the droning of a Maori song is distinctly audible. Another storyteller, more gambling—here and there dogs snoring happily—and more groups of heavy sleepers. Fits of coughing of a distressing kind tell their tale of some of the evils attending these hot houses for repose. But, streaming with perspiration, we must out to breathe the cool air. At the door two men are entering with a huge vessel of kai, made of flour, sugar, and water, whilst, just opposite, a woman is arranging a bed for the night. Hour after hour this Babel-life continues ; at least at all times we have looked in we have found the same strange mixture of amusement and repose. At early service with the Hauhaus, the large house, called Hikurangi, filled with worshippers who behaved with the utmost decorum. The ceremony commenced with a sermon, or exhortation, after which some seven or eight persons stood up, when a long hymn was sung— the time kept was wonderfully true—the long drawling note was prolonged by a kind of vibratory sound, the swell of the powerful voices dying away gradually. When the prayers were offered up, the men took precedence of the women ; at this morning's service, two men and two women prayed, in clear sharp tones, never hesitating for a word. A few words respecting the preparation of food. We may observe a line of women and girls who have just brought away from the potato pits their heavily-laden kits, carried pikau fashton. The procession soon breaks up into little knots of women walking off to their respective tents or warris, now the care of getting ready the household food commences ; matrons and girls generally gather together in circular groups, a happy lot of romping children rolling about and playing near them. This arrangement is both pleasant and economical, the food is prepared for the oven, the children are tended, and the blessed privilege to female bosoms—gossipping —is carried on concurrently. As they sit chatting away, each female is busily employed in scraping the potatoes thoroughly with pipi shells, thus scraped vegetables are dropped into large kits. Near at hand burns a good fire over a native-oven. There is another one just ready for use, the stones well heated ; two girls are actively engaged in cooking ; one of them, with a stout pole, gently stirs round the central stones ; then, lifting a taha, throws on some water, causing a slight cloud of vapour, next, freshly plucked sprays of poporo are neatly but quickly arranged round the outermost stones, another sprinkling of water, more steam arises ; one of the girls brings large kits of the clean scraped potatoes ; the contents of three of these are emptied into the oven, lightly heaped up towards the middle ; another kit, containing the softer kumeras, is emptied on the top of the potatoes; now the whole is rapidly covered with flax mats ; these are placed over the oven in quantities; with pointed sticks the two cooks loosen the embers and burnt earth from the bottom of an old oven, and the mixture is scraped up to cover in the whole. This process occupies hut a few minutes ; the result, in due course, is that the vegetables are excellently dressed—even that reverend jester, Sydney Smith, would have been satisfied with this method of cooking a potato. Heard of a trumpet of native make ; on expressing a wish to see it, one of Tawhaio's people kindly fetched it at once, it is a curious musical instrument, called putare. Made of tutu, hollowed out, narrow withes of flax root bind it round its entire length; towards one end these are ingeniously arranged so as to form something of a boll mouth. Several young people essayed to try their skill, but only one succeeded in drawing from it loud braying blasts. It should be .mentioned that the meeting could get up a very good dog show, from the immense number that put in their appearance everywhere. It would be quite a study to trace back the ancestry of this mixed race. My attention was attracted to these medley packs, in the first instance, from noticing the quaint form of the long-backed turnspit; soon one discerned points and characteristics that distinguish a number of well-known varieties of the faithful friend toman, such -as the beagle, with its spotted sides and musical voice, the restless terrier, the broad-headed mastiff, the spaniel with its fawing crouching air, the heavyjo wled bulldog, the colley with intelligent look, ever wistful and alert ; a large proportion of the dogs were light colored. Horses were of small size, but hardy looking, always fed on the tether, with fodder gathered from shrubs.