MY MOTHER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2690, 9 February 1916, Page 2

MY MOTHER

A MAORI SOLDIER'S RETURN

TOUCHING LITERAL GEM

This article, wliicTi appeared in Monday's "New Zealand Herald," was written by H.M. Te A on board the steamer Kotorun, the day prior to her arrival at Auckland. It is one more striking testimony to the remarkable power of the Maori in the rise of language:— A meeting of the tribe had been convened, a gathering of the clnn. It was my formal farewell t-o my people, and to the ancestral home, the scene of my birth and childhood, endeared to me by every association of the past. I had enlisted for foreign service iu the Great War, and to-morrow would find 1110 at the port of embarkation. Valedictory speeches befitting the occasion . had been made in the manner and style of the Maori. 'My mother, on whose brow about- eighty summers liave left their indelible.and unmistakable indentations, till then had remained a silent spectator to the proceedings, though obviously tumultuous thoughts disturbed her' serenity of mind. A Masterpiece of Oratory. She was a relic of the older race of Maori—born and reared under the simple and natural conditions of the good old days—nobler and more virile than the degenerate descendants who, by absorption, are speeding onward to oblivion. Suddenly she rose, and with stick in hand, every nerve and muscle aquiver, and her eyes afire, she delivered a speecfi—a masterpiece of oratory. The choice of words, the fclicity of expression, the delivery, and the actions blended harmoniously She was transported in spirit to the ancient days. Her voice was well modulated ' and vibrated somewhat, rising and falling according to the theme for the moment under her skilful manipulation. She i recounted deeds of heroism, vividly depicted battle scenes—the groans of the dying, the shouts of the victors, the inevitable cannibalistic feast that followed, aiid fair maidens whose hands the brave alone deserved and won over seas of blood—the deeds of her ancestors. She was versed in the ancient i traditions, genealogies, and folklore of | her people, and this knowledge she now j utilised to the best advantage; thus £or I a time she swayed her auditors and held | them breathless. The stick became a magic wand in her hand as she wielded it with. dexterity. To bring this woii- | uerful oration to a close, to cap the climax, sho chanted an old Maori war song reminiscent of the deeds she had already related, while the crowd, carried away by the enthusiasm of the moment, participated. The effect was most impressive. She sat down exhausted, and for a fcimo no one dared break the spell. It is said that perhaps once in the individual life, as if by inspiration, a person—physically and intellectually—soars above his or her ordinary capability; this, extraordinary performance is due to psychic phenomena, a latent dynamic lorco in the human life. A manifestation of this had just taken place. A Long Farewell, The hour of my departure had now arrived, and as 1 held her hand sho said, her heart torn by conllicting emotions, •'Farewell, my son, a long .farewell! Should you ever return you will find me under the sod at the -ancestral burial ground of my fathers." A lump rose iu my throat, the grief which I strove to suppress. iN'ot that it was unsoldierly to weep, but that it was plainly my duty under the circumstances to subdue and to diminish rather than to accelerate the acute and already pent-up feelings which were Hearing the breakingpoint. Soldiers weop, and weep bitterly. Talk not of grief until you have seen the tears of warlike men fall copiously! I hastened to leave an atmosphere so stifling and surcharged with gloomy reflections. Even now as I write I can visualise the noble features, the wrinkled brow, the snow-whito locks, the eyes almost devoid of sight, yet expressive of her pride of race. A Soldier's Wanderings. Since then I have roamed the world; ■ crossed many seas, trod many lands, heard the babble of many tongues; I have heard the- din of battle, the clash of arms, and I have been in the indescribable confusion thereof, and several times was I' under the surgeon's knife (twice under general anaesthetics) ; in short, I have led a varied and chequered, though withal a pleasant, career, all crowded within the brief period of the past 16 months. Wherever I had penetrated, in England or on foreign strand, that stately i'crm I loved so well, as she stood forth—martial, warlike, yet so graceful—was ever before my eyes; and I dwelt perpetually upon the anticipation of seeing her again in the flesh. I am now Hearing home, and, fortunately, minus only some insignificant or redundant parts of my anatomy. During my absence I have had no intelligence of the old soul, nor did I expect any, as my enforced movements, under stress of circumstances of war, were rapid and erratic. What the gods have in store for we I can only prognosticate. Has she indeed been gathered to her fathers in the ancestral burial groundP Then ,woe is mo! One more link with the past is broken. Even the very ground that covers the illustrious dead is enchanted and sanctified. Is 6he still in the land of the living? Then what a welcome awaits me! At'this point, reader, : leave me to my cogitations. .