MAORI FESTIVAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 771, 21 March 1910, Page 8

MAORI FESTIVAL.

OTAKI CHURCH RE-OPENED. INTERESTING SERVICES. LAVISH HOSPITALITY. Yesterday was a great day among tho Maoris. They had come from all the surrounding country as far north as Rotorua and Te Kuiti, and from various settlements in the South Island, to be present at' the re-opening of the historic church at Otaki. There must have been more than a thousand visiting Maoris, and-as most of them arrived last Thursday and will stay until to-morrow, 'it- is scarcely, necessary to repeat the familiar phrase that accommodation. was taxed, to the, utmost. "Raukawa," the big whare in the centre of. the town,' which* serves as the main " caravanserai -on such occasions, has been occupied nightly by some 400 sleepers. Tents and marquees are erected on neighbouring sections, every Maori residence. has its full quota of guests, and all sorts of improvised dormitories afford some sort of accommodation for the overflow. ■

; Nearly all the chiefs of the ■ Ngatikahunguriu, from Wairarapa Lake to Mahia, the fchiefs of the West Coast.as far as Waitbtara, and'others from further off were among the visitors. Mr. H: W. Parata, as .chief of the Ngatiraukawa, Ngatiawa,. and Ngatitoa, led the proceedings ' at the. ceremonial welcome on Thursday.

. Maori Oratory. There was more speechmaking yesterday morning,when 'the Hon.. J.. Carroll. Minister for Native- Affairs, was welcomed: Mr. r Parata, in appropriate Maori oration, told bow . his - p&opl® looked- to the Church apd to the Government for help. Mohi Atahikoia and Rawiri also spoke, while Waotu TeUa and Purakau stood by approving. The speakers recalled old memories of the builders of- the; church, and' spoke or the great changes wrought by the light of Christianity, which dispelled the gloom and darkness in which the people' dwelt r in the' dayß : when human life was", slightly valued, and the tribes wiere torn by wars. Tributes of reverence were paid by the orators to . the -memory of the old chiefs/ the mission-. aries J( 'and the settlers who .sowed _ the seeds'of true religion i and civilisation. The- Minister • replied in a similar strain.' He thanked\the chiefs-fortheir .words, and expressed/his pleasure' _in. being present at so a gathering. He hoped to. meet' them all .again at Manutukei, in the Gisborne 1 district, on'the occasion of the opening of the new church to replace that which'hafi been destroyed by -fire.

. Sermon by Bishop' Williams. ' The central event was tbe_ solemn .service in the forenoon for the. reopening of the church. The quaintly beautiful building, with its Gothic windows and its Maori structure. and decorations, was filled with a numerous and reverent congregation. Almost all the worshippers were Maoris, and. the service was conducted .entirely- in their languago. -Every seat was crowded, - men", .were standing around the. doors, and won l6ll and children sat on the floor. Those ..who conld • not. gain" admittance. : settled down' in groups on the grass outside. Twenty-seven • clergymen!— Maori and European—were' present.' The Rev. A. 0. Williams conducted the service. ■ Bishop Williams (who r recently resigned the Bishopric of. • Vt&iapu) preached ah impressive' sermon from I Cor." vi, 19, 20: "Know 'ye. not that -ivour ibbdies : are thetemples -of the living. God." He. instanced the action of the Saviour hi casting out the moneychangers to show the'• holiness of a temple of God, . and.', insisted _on the divine demand for personal holiness. The bishop concluded "with a reference to tho fact of his own advanced age. He felt that his, days, were numbered, and it was not very likely that he would ever speak again in that place. He wished, therefore, to take the opportunity to urge his hearers , to be very careful in all their actions, and not to run needlessly into temptations or evJ practices, such as people were often.led into through their own thoughtlessness. He . asked them to try to realise the great, issues that were laid before every one of them. He hoped the restoration would prove, to be a. good beginning of a revived interest in religion.

V The Feast. / After the service came the feastr-but not immediately after. It seemed that the cooks hail not foregone the privilege of attending church. Consequently the big gathering\ waited patiently (with, perhaps, the exception of part of the pakeha. element) while the preparations were completed.- Appetising odours of cookery were wafted from every direction, for the organisation of the' feast being ' truly communal, the open-air ovens were, steaming, a*nd the pots were simmering beside a dozen separate Maori residences. ■ Rows and rows of'eels and. other, fish were hung on poles among the garden trees. Maori matrons, ..some of them puffing the comfortable briar, placed great baskets of green flax on the hot stones, tossed in potatoes, kumeras, fish, and other viands, threw water upon the mass;' and imprisoned the steam under a dozen sacks. Meanwhile, the waitj ing crowds' sat around; and talked. A liberal supply of watermelons came from somewhere, and soon almost everybody—Maori and pakeha, clergyman and politician, ■ and many a; dainty dame—was gnawing a luscious pink and white slice. Also there was a debate, quite oratorical, about the best time for holding a meeting about some church affair. Processions of Food.

In the fullness , of' time there came a welcome announcement, and all eyes were turned towards the Town Hall. A procession'of Maori women, two-b.v-two, passed through the crowd, each one carrying a dish of steaming foodpotatoes, kumaras, eels, flounders, chickens, mutton-birds, hams, joints, and other excellent things. They had hardly entered the . hall when a similar procession appeared from another quarter, and followed them through the door. It was evident , that there would bo enough and to spare. But then came another procession of food-carriers. And another, and another. And others, until the observer was overpowered with savoury odours, and lost count. And within the hall there were many other things good to eat. The tables had already been nioely spread and decorated, all in pakeha .style. The seats were quickly, filled, and. after a Maori grace, , had been said} the ■ activities proper to the occasion were prosecuted with vigour. There were no afterdinner speeches, for another service in the church was to follow, and the people were so numerous that they had to come to the tables, in relays. It is. estimated • that 20 tons of provisions were sent .by the Maoris of Ngatikahungunu (\Vairarapa and East Coast to Mahia), and 60'.tons by those of the West Coast. There is no fear of the supply going out before the visitors go home. / A National Church. The afternoon servioe in the church was largely attended. The Rev. F. A, Bennett" of Botorua, preached from the text, "Build up your battlements" (Deut. xxii, 8). There had been, he said, two churches which could have been looked upon as national churches of the Maori people. One was the

church at Manntukei, .and the other was the one in. which they were gathered that day. Both were churches that the Maori people took great pride in, and both contained characteristic productions of Maori art. The church at Manutukei had been burnt down, and now tho Otaki church only was left. One reason for that large gathering was affection for the work of the old people of past generations. A church, however, was of no use without a congregation, and it was to tho Maori mission work that they looked for the special efforts that would make full use of such buildings. The 100 th anniversary of tie introduction of Christianity into New Zealand by the Bev. Samuel Marsden would soon be here, and he hoped that one way of commemorating it would be to place the Maori parishes on a basis of self-support and to adopt also the principle of self-expansion. Already some of the parishes in the \Vaiapu diocese had accepted the principle of making themselves self-supporting, and he hoped that very shortly all the others throughout New Zealand would do tbo same. " Hands Across Tho Sea. By way of self-expansion he suggested that the. Maoris of. the Church in New Zealand should send a representative to work in the islands under the Bishop of Melanesia. Already a suitable Maori minister in the diooese of Waiapu had volunteered for this service, and ri<>w help was wanted so that he. could be supported entirely by the Maoris of New Zealand. The proposal had been well taken up during a tour that he (Mr. Bennett) had roc.ently made through the East Coast districts.. In conclusion, the preacher made a strong' appeal to the young men. There were 20 stiidents in the college .at Gisborne, but not one of them came from this district. The Church would never make, progress unless they looked to / the future and trained men for missionary work.

Maori . Liberality. ; The money for'the renovation of the cliurch (which, as explained in Saturday's' Dominion, has saved this' valuable monument from a total decay ivhich could' not; have been long de-' layed) .was entirely raised among the Maoris. Tho work cost £700, and has all been :paid for. Another sum of £134 :9s.' 6d. bad been collected up to yesterday afternoon .among the Maoris present .at the gathering, and Ih.is is in addition'to the church offertories, which were 'also la-rne. .