MAORI ENTERTAINMENT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 251, 16 July 1908, Page 8

MAORI ENTERTAINMENT.

i. ;A: magnificent entertainment .was given in ttie' Town Hall last evening, under the ; auspices of- the Young Maori Party. It-was a revelation as"-to'wliat strict training, combined' with the Native ability of the Maori, can accomplish, in,adequately-representing the ;music, dancing, and'poetry of that interest-.. in"g people ' : bn' the' stage,, and Mr. Ngata,' M.P., the Rev. F. A. Bennett,, and, others ■ concerned in the 'arrangement and perfect ■ stage management are to be congratulated on the' successful culmination of their strenuous efforts of the..past, fe\v weeks;' " The Town Hall was filled- to; its utmost capacity . by_ an audience' that. quickly niauifestea. indications of the fascination the performance; exerted,' and' throughout' tho unique programme was; punctuated, with -bursts, of enthusiastic applause more than deserved by the complete- . ness of the shoVi\ ." : The Revr F. •A. Bennett, 'of Rotorua, 'introduced. ' ■ the audience.. . to a series of ■ beautifully-arranged tableaux depicting iife'in the Ohinemiltu Pa, ahd with , the raising of the, curtain, the;; sunlit shores „ 'of. tho placid'lake,' with^thp 1 immediate fore- . ground arranged as a pa' with Maori house, ( . nlarae. and. pataka complete, was'seen:; : In • one, picture..was .'a study in , .still life; - an' ex-' , ample 1 of■picturesque';groupiiig; the n'est're^ presented tho Native men and women at f their daily occupations; the third represented' the ' welcomo'. accorded to'distinguished strangers, (including a; weird powhin);- and following; it 'came . the; usual , addresses: and the hangi or' feast—rail' managed 'with: picturesque digriity. and ,reserve: ' It .was the ; life "of thV, Maori in . tabloid. ' Four evening-; , 'dressed Maori'youths combined' a good tone with, admirable balance' in the serio-comio , quartets . " Mary Had' a Little Lamb " and '• Down on tho Mississippi:"' An aged chief of, tho, Ai-awa tribo (who' bore a striking likeness to pictures, of Charles' Dickens) snowed a' wonderful deftness;in'the: manipulation of a'.'pitce'of stnng, really, a game for old folks 1 called'.To WKai '.(cat's cradTp), and a maiden ; arid youth (who :rejoiced in the'cheerful appellation of; Sunny 'Breeze) played ; at niateniato; quaintly: The' Maori Mission Choir—a ' double .-' sestette ; —sang : .with nice Expression tho. glee "Softly falls the Shade of . Evening," • and a ' harmonised setting ; of .Tosti's "Beauty's Eyes." ' ' The poi.play of six; Arawa'girls,-led by Kahira, was a wonderful exhibition of the Native ,gift. of 'rhythm, and Tango Kolari and.chorus made a' decided hit in tho clever coon song "Thfe ;■ Lecture.". ''.Tho;.piece, de" resistance, howe'ver,; of; tho first: part 'was> the spear dahci .by; an East - Coast war party,. eighty ; strotig. (led by. Mr. Ngata, M.P.). Naked, save .for th'i rustling .piiipiu,, this.magnifi- •• cent team thrilled electrically .with a wotirderful spear dance, that set the blood tingl- , ing; in' the • veins.. <Iri the "second part tho-' most 1 conspicuously. interesting item was ' • • a recital "fry Mr.'Ngata, M.P., ,of liis own poem—a..' classic ,in ;its., way—entitled ''-A, • Scene'.from; tho 'Past,V a, paeri ' .of : ppetio • {iraise in glorification of tho Maoris, of old, 'writto'n .iii. sonorous rhythm, and given,;the.\ required touch of savagery by. occasional int'erpolatiiins' in Maori: The rccital was : made more dramatic by a "chorus "vof maidens and warriors; 'the lines •of-tho poem being declaimed, splendidly _by 'tho author, clad :in , the. garb of his- ancestors'.''. The.; applause' which followed was.deafening, .and .the final liaka with, which tho poetic. scena ended had ,to bo repeated. There were also male! part sorigs^afemalequartet^mpro. plaritation;sp'ng3 by -Tango Kokiri .and choir, a graceful canoe poi"ljy naif a'doze.n girls,' and,a stirring,w,ar dance' by .Miv 'Ngata s, kinsmen. The ente.r- . taihm'cnt' concluded' with tlio'. 'singing .'of ",' Homo. Sweet' Home," by the. choir; and the National Anthem by everybody.;..'"' :';'Dtiriiig 'the. cyeningi : ,the Rev. 'Mr. Bennett, p;a.ve a short address on'the! efforts _that we're .being made to purify the, Maori national datices,; which he'. savs .must :be" lost -if not purged of . all that is coarse: and vulgar."Tho •en%t'ammcnt: that had been. givoir.was evi-, denco.'that tho : dances and, games could - be preserved. arid at the'same .time made, ennobling; and ..wholesome. to tho 'public. The speech was loudly applan<V(l. : Mr-V-Ngata,, annbunce'd .tiijit"'.' a.- ' complete change' of programmo \i;ould-,l)ei presented on Saturday: evening, .when 1 Ihe'.llegehd.'of'Hino-' mOa .and Tutanekai 'would :b6 presented' in: a' series: of.-.tablcaux.; It. was - also announced that\there.:'would"bc,a' meeting, for .men'.'at • the. Town "Hall on'Sunday'afternoon' next. ■'