NORTHERN JOTTINGS.

Evening Star, Issue 3431, 19 February 1874, Page 2

NORTHERN JOTTINGS.

No. 3. PARIHKA. {From pur own Correspondent) The Parihaka village, or Maori settlement bearing this name, is situated some thirty-five miies from New Plymouth, at the base of Mount Egmont, between Stoney River and Upuuake. It lies inland some five miles from the beach, and is surrounded by heavy bush. Tito Kowarau has another village some thirty itulfcß south of Parihaka, but it is of lesser im« portance than the one of which I am writing * a description of the one maY serve for both* Titoko is reported to have erected a fightin" pa some four miles inland from his Kainga, but it lias been unvisited by Europeans. A considerable amount of interest is attached to Parihaka from its containing a large number of whilom rebels—men of mark in the past, and of influence m the present. Here Wiremu Kingi Rangitake (William King) of Waitari notoriety has taken up his abode; Te Whiti expounds his peculiar tenets; and on the seventeenth of* every month natives gather to hear the words of wisdom he chooses to utter, and in council to determine what steps shall be taken to preserve the interests and possessions of their race. Wise people, when they pass by or mention Parihaka, shake their beads, Iqok wisely, and on being interrogated, declare that there gathered together are the worst lot of Natives in the Colony Leaving the beach the traveller, after riding a mile or more over open land, enters the busk dray road cut by the Natives to the village. It is tortuous, crossing ravines and small streams, and so well adapted for ambusoado that fifty men could hold the road against five hundred, X heard a Colonial-made officer, however dedare that he would with a hundred men storm and capture the village; but as his military service consisted in having received some two or three hundred acres of land for allowing his name to appear on the muster roll, and having never fired a shot nor drawn a sword in warfare, his opinion must be taken with a large quantity of salt. There are many of those rjens de guerre in the North Island. Two miles ere reaching the village cultivation grounds adjoin the road on either side. They are, cleared all save the large timber which has been fired, and fenced in with pig-proof fences. Wheat, xurlzc, kumaras, potatoes, and tobaooo ar© th© principal products here cultivated. Winding and turning about in almost every direction the traveller wonders when he will reach the settle;, ment until turning, for the last time, he finds the village well fenced in immediately before him. A_small river flows through its midst, dividing it into almost two equal portions. It contains about 120 houses or whares, an adult population of some2oosouls,and about double the number of children. Tying our horses up to the fence, I went into the village unannounced, received a hearty welcome, and told William King I had come to stay for the rmmoa. Eoys were sent to take away and tether our horses, a whare given me and my companion in stay, and orders issued to provide us with food. X had 'brought Maori letters of introduction vrith'me. This was'ou'the Saturday afternoon, and the monthly meeting would not take place until the following Monday; Half-ali-hour after my arrival another'" white inanput in an appearance—a misguided missionary, once located on Stewart’s Island—who i ?9^ a idered he liad a special ball to convert Te , Mhitifrqm the errors of his ways, and find travelled soiqe hundred ijples fqr this laqdablj ‘ purpose. Entering the runupga hquse he commenced his apostolic controversy, talked foe some forty minutes, found that Te Whiti knew more about scripture than himself, received qn ironical intimation that his time was lost, that ho had a long way to travel, that the sun was getting low and ho must be careful not to lose his way, Ihe unfortunate fellow wanted share of our whare, but this was prohibited, and he went away fasting on a tired horse. I tendered mm my spirit flask, but ho fortunately was a Good Templar. I heard the Natives say afterwards whenever they met a man who talked Christianity to them, they knew .? x P e r ieu , ce that they must look out for their laud, and hence the coldness of the reception they gave the Rev. Abraham Honore. At the time of our arrival there were probably two hundred strangers in the pah, the number constantly increasing until dark. Sunday “ morning about a hundred Natives from, the >Yaikato_marched into the village, all wearing

green leaves and branches on their heads—the usual sign of Maori mourning. Then commenced the tangi—that is, the cry for relations and acquaintances dead since their last meeting —the women here, as in other localities, making the most noise. The new arrivals were of the Pai Mairire faith, and came down with thenown prophet to convince and convert Te Whiti to the Pal Mairira faith. Until dusk on Sunday from Waitara to Patea the Natives still continned to arrive ; all welcomed with acclamation, and placed in empty whares kept for the accommodation of visitors. Probably eight hundred adults were sleeping in the village that evening. The Sunday through the young men Were engaged pig hunting, the women scraping potatoes and kumeras for the morrow’s feast. General good humor seemed to prevail, and the pakehas were surrounded and interviewed by nearly all the visitors. The Parihaka village is about three hundred yards square, in the centre of which a yard is fenced in, measuring about two hundred by two hundred and fifty feet. Here the monthly meetings areheld,andis the rostrum from whence the prophet declaims five or six hours without intermission. The houses in the village are detached from each other, dotted about at uneven distances, according to the pleasure or caprice of the builders. Every one knows what Maori v harves are like—built of wood, and enclosed and thatched with toi-toi or long grass. Early on Monday morning the young men and women were engaged cooking, while the visitors as- • • in the council square to hear what Te Wmti and the prophet from the Waikato had to Bay. One end of the square occupied rising ground, and here the chieftains, Te Whiti and some of the visitors were placed. Outside and around the fence, squatting on the ground or standing up, eagerly listening to the debate, were the bulk of the visitors and residents. At one comer of the square, where the elevated ground, was the highest, stood Te Whiti, clad in an old Crimean shirt, with a flax mat thrown around his shoulders. He despises the adjuncts of civilisation. A Maori, he maintains, should live after the manner of his ancestors. Above the medium height, ascetic in appearance, with clear cut, almost European. Features he presented a remarkable spectacle of self-possession and conscious power. His sonorous voice could be heard all through the village, now thrilling with passion, anon replete with scorn, and then plaintive in its winning entreaty: Bareheaded, with his right arm free for gesticulation, his mat falling around him like a toga, he seemed like some orator of old haranguing .his fellow-citizens. For copiousness of language and imagery, for gracefulness of action and modulation of voice, for selfpossession and command over his audience, Te Whiti ranks high as an orator. He revels in mysticism and opaque imagery. To the natural obscurity of Maori idiomatic oratory, he has added all that can bo gleaned from scripture, so that his public utterances will have the construction future events will determine to be the most appropriate. He can speak plainly, however, when it pleases him. Should you solicit his interest to obtain a lease of a piece of Maori land, he will tell you—“ My mission from God is to retain every acre o: land and every stick of timber for the benefit of my own people.” Te Whiti, although only about thirty-five years of age, possesses a large amount of influence over the Maori mind. His disinterestedness and asceticism tell strongly in ' his favor, while his relationship to the leading men of the Ngatiawa and Taranaki tribes strengthens his prestige and power. For some time past he has been engaged in writing a new revelation or scripture, which still remains unfinished; and, until its completion, his definite religious opinions will not be fully evolved. All the sensationalism written of him in newspapers as to his calling himself God, promising to revive the dead, or to confer immortality on his followers, is pure imagination ; the man being as shrewd as though bom north pf the Tweed, and dabbling only in theology and mysticism to establish and extend his political influence.