LAST LINK WITH TE KOOTI

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 37, 27 February 1937, Page 10

LAST LINK WITH TE KOOTI

| Ruas the Maori Prophet of 'Maunga-pohatu HIS RISE, FALL & DEATH The passing of the Maori prophet,. Eua Tapunui Hepetita, at Matahi, a' small .village situated in the heart o£ . his stronghold, Maunga-pohatu, in the, Urewera country, may be said to have1 sovered the last important link .with; the fanatics known as the Hauhaus,'and the so-called rebel; of the Easti Coast, Te Ivooti. Rua was a son of one' of Te Kooti's lientenants, and althdugh born when something like peace had Eettled-down between the pakeha aml Maori, he was yet destined to rise among his people of the Urewera country and assume the mantles of propliccy long since thrown aside by Te Ua Haumene, the inspirer of the Hau Hau movement, Te Kooti, a vigorous disciple of that movement and of Te Whitu and Tohu, the peace loving prophets of Parihaka. In the forest fasmesses of the almost unknown Urewera country where, down tho generations the Polynesians who arrived in the canoes of the Great Migration of I35Q mingled with the tangata whenua (the aborigines), Rua saw the light of day amidst people who had remained beyond the pale of pakeha civilisation and who wished to be left unmolested to themselves, their ideals and hopes, living in the knowledge of the sacred lore of the whare wanganga and in the shadow of the; very sacred temple built for Te Kooti Sn 1890 and where the Ringa-Tu worship was practised. He was born at a moment in the history of the Urewera people when the tribes were in a.condition of foment due to the activities of the Government forces who wero hunting for Te Kooti who had been outlawed, along with, others, for his act on July '4, 1868, in seizing the schooner Rifleman at Chatham Islands" and escap- , ing from imprisonment. Along with ' ! many other Maori, declared to be rebels for opposing the invasion of the pakeha on the east coast, Te Kooti •was sfaipped away to the Chatham Islands and there incarcerated for crime *they knew not the meaning of. At a- favourable opportunity Te Kooti, with his followers, §eized the schooner and set sail for home and freedom and . for ahnoiJt 'tweive months had been the subject of a concentration of .military forces when Rua was born. He was truly a victim of - circumstances. He'^, had inherited all the warrior qualities of his people and even though he grew up in an atmosphere ever disturbed Wxth the discontent fomented by tho persecution of the so-called rebel Maori by the military forces, he was willing to accept the influences of civilisation .and proceeded, as he grew to manhood, :to engage in sheep farming. He moved about the East Coast en,gaging in farming pursmts aod as a, ,man of fine, physique and a capable: 'shearer was never shurt of work. His; ;ieisure .hours were devoted to a study,' jof the Bible and as the 20th centuryj .dawned Rua became influenced to-j iWards the idea of becOming a prophet, j jMingling with the lore of his ancestorsj was a smattering of what he had learn-j jed from a study of the Bible and this jmixtfire was employed by Rua ;to serve' the ideas that had developed in his mind regarding the welfare of his people. What he lacked in caste was more than made up in a strong personality and before long his activities- won for him a large following. A new prophet had come among the people who flocked to his standard, swayed by his eloquence and his prophecies. His growing power inspired him to' bfd for the co-operation of the Tuhoe chief. Kereru, in an effort to further in hia * " ' X ipower and influence but he who guided1 Jthe destinies of the "Children of th'e jMist" refused to become associatedl jwith the movement and war between' Ithe two factions was averted by thei ilate Sir Joseph Ward who met the as-j sembled natives and explained to them) that New Zealand was under democra-i itic rule by pakehas and Rua must. obey the law of the land. "Two suns cannot shine in the sky at one time," saidi Sir Joseph in reply to Rua'a demand for his recognition as a ruler of his people. The threat of a serious conflict passed over although there remained simmeringg of discontent which even .ihe .visit of the then Governor, Lord* Islington, failed to dissipate. '. Rua, with his followers, withdrewi and with his knowledge of farming he proceeded to build up a farming settlcment at Maunga-pohatu. This scheme •went hand in hand with an elaboration of his religious ideals for he ordained ithat his male followers should -allow jtheir hair to grow long in imitation of jthe disciples. He then proceeded to [build his temple and took unto himself jseveral wives; some say as many as [ten, others but seven. He constituted (himself the banker of his people and Ifor this service and the management of; jtheir affairs he extracted a commission. jof 10 per cent. The settlement flourish|ed and his preaching and prophecies, i jspread throughout the countryside to | excite an interest as well as sympathy (with the movement and presently fie |became the very sacred Rua-Rua-tapu. : Unsavoury pakeha influences interjrnpted the development of the settle-. ,'ment when liquor was introduced and ;Rua fell foul of the law by trading in spirits and was prosecuted and fined at jWhakatane. This inflamed the natives jwho considered that they were free to ido as they wished and when the offence Iwas repeated the Government became ,'determined to put down the illegal Itrade and despatched Police Conimis|sioner J. Cullen and 40 armed conistable to Maunga-pohatu to effect the, arxest of the Mahomet of the Urewera.

The armed party proceeded via Rot? rua to ented the land of the "Children ,of the Mist" and their arrival at thai kainga produced in the natives a co*dition of the utmost alarm, Rua's followers gathered round ready to defend their leader and many xaised their Voices in protest against the action of the police. Both sides were nervous and apprehensive of the other 's inten^ tions. Rua was to be arrested and whefl isteps were taken to secure his person a 'shot was fired and then commenced a 'miniature war which witnessed the jkilling of one of Rua's sons and an* (other Maori and the wounding of sever|al of the constables. The firing struck ! terror into the hearts of the natives land when it was realised what damage (Rua was marched off to spend a term of I imprisonment in Auckland. .. . | On being released from prison iai jlOlo Rua found that hp had lost some iof his mana through submitting to the •law pf the pakeha ,but found solac* ip |the way of becolning a rccruiting agent jfor the Government. Ho enrolled num(bers of Maori for service overss^s tnd [then more or less retired with * suplMI [of his immediate followerfc jr —