A MOARI FUNERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 37

A MOARI FUNERAL.

BURIAIi OF JOHN TAIAROA. I A QUIET TANG I. During the last few days a number of Maoris, belonging to the various tribes and sub-tribes have been assembling at Otakou, lo pay their last mournful tribute of respect to the remains of the lato John Wiwi T-a-iaroa, who was recently drowned by stepping accidentally off the jetty at the Maori Kaik. John Taiaroa, or, as he was more familliarly known to a host of friends, Jack Taiaroa, was the eldest son of the late Hon. H. K. Taiaroa, M.L.C., and traced his descent back to the dim past through a long line of illustrious ancestors. Ngai Tahu and Ngati Mamao were the two grand old main tribes of which he was a worthy descendant. He Was an old Otago High School ooy, and distinguished himself at the University of Otago; but what endeared him more than anything to the hearts and memories of pakeha and Maori alike was his prowess as an alt-round athlete. *' Jack" Taiaroa, it will be remembered, was in his day not only one of the best footballers in Ola-gO, but in New Zealand- In tkose cU-y» it was the chief ambition of the rising generation to be able to play football like Jack Taiaroa. -y, THE FLOOD TIDE. He was also a strong swimmer, but this accomplishment assisted him nothing against the flood tide that swirls and eddies so cruelly round the piles of the jetty at the Kaik. where it runs like a mill-race. The tide was flowing yesterday, when the visitors were arriving, . and they had ample opportunity of realising the terrible force of the current -which held the unfortunate man in its embrace. Jutting from v the jetty is a plank; from this, it is saidj John Taiaroa inadvertently stepped, and' the- next moment he was struggling in the water, which bore him away. For a strong 6wimmer it seemed possible by striking out at an angle to the tide to reach the shore, ana this Taiaroa attempted to do. Suddenly, however, he disappeared, to be~seen no more until the body was recovered on KarHayie Beach, after having been the plaything of the tides' for fifteen days. THE SCENE AT THE KAIK. " The little settlement of Qtakou has all the pastoral prettiness of an a-rcadian village. It is sheltered by the great green hills that tower behind it, and-Julled by the drowsy murmur of waves rippling up on silver sand. Sunday had broken in upon the* haymaking, and the paddocks were scented from the hay heaped ready for carting. Nestled in a hollow was th# little red-roofed church, with -its pointed steeple, and above it on the 'hillside the cemetery within its hedges of hawthorn, where .the ancestors of Otakou sleep on untroubled. " In front of, and around, the whare runauga. a, large crowd moved incessantly — Maoris from near and • far, veteran chiefs with their carved spears, Maori , women- -with their wreaths of greenery from the^ country, or in tailormade mourning from the. town. . In _ and among these were sympathisers and "sightseers" from Dunedin, and at a respeotful distance from the house of mourning the landscape was dotted with picnic parties — vivid splashes of colour against the green. Gleaming in the sun on An eminence in the foreground stood the marble monument to the father of the dead, lying coffined amid the mats and -sacred relics of his people. Among the Maoris colour, ouriously enough, was conspicuous by jte absence, and vivid tints had in instances given place to mourning. Shawls and dresses were of a> sombre hue, matching-, the ebon-plaited tresses that hung over the bosoms of the women, but still one could not fail to" notice the handiwork of environment in the fashions and manners of Maoris of country and city. THE HOUSE OF MOURNING. The entrance to the whare runanga was carefully closed and jealously guarded, and the scandalous behaviour of the more vulgar of the" " sightseers " proved this precaution to have been a very necessary one. Within the .whare Maoris reclined on mats, while grouped about the coffin were the weeping relatives. Though there -Was very little loud wailing or vehement display of grief, it was easy to see that a great sorrow had come to the house of Taiaroa. There were very few dry eyes among the women, and the men looked on stoical but stricken. ' Grief hung over them all like a pall, and" the harsh laughter and giggling of the senseless, -heajtless hol^daymafcers v just outside jarred inexpressibly on the overwrought nerves of the mourners. Not. being able ,to gain admission, a party of inquisitive women, with children, went round and poked their heads through a ■window, giggling and. making audible and idiotic personal remarks. An old Maori lady struck eavagly at them with an umbrella, at which they hurriedly withdrew, but remained at a safe distance staring in, and filling the vicinity with shrill, discordant laughter. < TRIBAL ENSIGNS. " From a staff outside the house of mourn- j ing flew the ensign, emblazoned with a, . crown, presented to the chiefs of Otakou | at the sighing of the treaty. Another large flag bpre the legend " Araiteuru in large white letters on a black background. On the other half of this flag was a red canoe manned by Maoris, and this is symbolical of one of those delightful legends, half real, half mythical, that are bo inextricably interwoven with the Maori. These legends, with genealogies, and history, are handed down by the Maori froni generation to generation, and this canoe came laden, long ago, with all i things beautiful from mysterious Hawaiki. J In a coiivulsion of Nature, in which the deities, as usual, took prominent part, the canoe was wrecked on the reef off Shag Point, and the cargo became turned to stone. Even to-day 6tones quaint and curious are to be seen along, the shore, some resembling cooking utensils, or gods, and these are supposed (according to the legend) to be the petrified cargo of the canoe from Hawaiki when the world was young. As to the word- " Araiteuru," it is realjff two words, meaning a shelter from the wind, and this banner, with its device and legend, became the official ensign of the Araiteuru Council. AMONG THE MOURNERS. The tangi had been intermittent and comparatively quiet, and Sunday's proceedings I were more closely resembling A Christian' funeral than the celebration of ancient Maori titea. -The; two main tribes repre-

sented were those of Ngait&hu and Ng&timamoes; the sub-tribes Te Rtohikihiki, Tv Akuririri, Kai Taoka, Kai Huiraipa, Kati Moki, and Kai Tepahi. In addition to >the near relatives of deceased, among the prominent Maoris present were:. Mr -T. _E. Green and Taituhar Hapi (Kaiapoi), John Robert-son und Mr Nutira (Taumutu), Hoani Kahu (Terauka), Te Ururaki," 1 T. Wesley, and Te Maiharoa (Waitaki), Teo Tina (Moeraki), T. Parata, M.P., John Ellison, James Apes, J. Parata, T. Woods, T. Parata, jun. (Waikouaiti, Miss - Toj»'i (Ruapuke). Also present from the North Island 'were : Te Tau, Mr - Andrews (Wairarapa.), E. Ellison (Gisborne), and Te Kofcua (Waikanae). The bearers of the pall were: T. Edwards, T. Pajjata, M.P., Honi Kahu, and John Robertson. Teo Tipa, T. Parala, jun., Te Tewahia, D. Ellison, Tipeni and Ternuka Karetai carried the coffin. A GUARD OF HONOUR. By special request of the Araitcuru Council a detachment of the Port Chalmers Navals was present as a guard of honour, with Major Strong and Lieutenant Braitliwaite in command. Major Strong was also present in the capacity of a personal friend "and school-fellow of deceased,- and as a representative of the old -school of footballaus. I* -was a. matter --of considerable t oomnjent as to what had '.become of the j j representatives of the Qiago Rugby "Foot- j [ ball Union, as it was deemed haardly likely | that Isuch a body would Allow the passing of a noted player liks .deceased without j -sending a representative to his funeral. Besides the family of deceased, among the near relatives present were -the families of the Ellisons (father's side), Byrnes (mother's side) . the <Karetais, and Paratas. PAKEHA VULGARITY. „ .A brief but impressive service in English and Maori was conduoted in the wharo runanga, the officiating clergyman being the Rev. H. Parala. On its conclusion the coffin was passed out and the procession, headed by the Port Chalmers Navals in funeral order, wound its mounrful way through a large crowd to the cemetery. Then the Apakoura arid lamontation was heard from the whare, weeping women, leaning distcacted from the windows, wail- ■ ing, " Farewell ! Go, beloved, into the realms of death,." Even here the intense vulgarity of the visiting pakeha was again wofully apparent, women ajid louts hustling the procession in their inquisitive eagerness to see what was going on. The entrance to the cemetery is narrow, and it was nauseating to see the undesirable element pushing and blundtring among the women mourners., some of whom broke into indignant exclamations as they were elbowed About by these dense, ignorant, heartless pakeha savages, who possess no more ' delicacy of feeling than to treat the solemn rite a noble race accords its dead as a grotesque -exhibition -got up • to amuse them' 1 gratis. T?or the credit of the -white iace, it must; be stated that these "curiosity-hunters"-were in the minority, and. the ladies -and gentlemen present naturally _ showed as» much _ reverence to the feelings of , the mourners" as if they -had been -their - ownrelatives, instead of those" of- the deceased. THE TOMB OF HIS FATHERS/ The service at the • graveside "was in TSng--lish and Maori T the familiar but thrilling phrases sounding even 'more impressive .when translated in the latter tongue. ' A hymn was sung, and they laid the dead man to rest in the tomb of his fathers, in the quiet,' ■ green-clad burial ground overlooking the bay and the red rocks beyond it. The crowd melted away and the mourners remained to lament. Last night the "mihi" was held by Maoris in conclave in the whare runanga. Addreses of sympathy were made to ithe relatives, and that vast storehouse of Maori lore and legend, was opened, and the old, old tales were again retold concerning the wonderful mystic past of 'the Maori^- old Maoriland, and Hawaiki. The visiting Maoris return to their homes to-day. ' • The wreaths on the coffin were sent by the Otakou School, the Araiteuru Council, Mrs J. Byrne, and others.