MAORI ROLL DEEMED ESSENTIAL

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5296, 8 January 1947, Page 6

MAORI ROLL DEEMED ESSENTIAL

(Prdss A sftrt .-■

population increase5 birtheai!£ twice that of europems

— By T elegraph — Copyright.)

WELLINGTON, Last Night. No modern New Zealand-wide Maori roll or register — electoral or otherwise — exists. This is regarded in State departments and elsewhere as a hindrance to Maori progress within the European administrative system. Students of the position ccnsider j that a nominal roll is rendered more than ever necessary by the rapid increase in Maori population. From 63,670 in 1026, it increased to 82,000 in 1936; at the 1945 census it was 98,744, and, with the average rate of increase over the past 20 years, must now be over 100,000. The Macri birthrate is 47.30 per i 1000, or double that of the Euro- j pean population. The population increase between 1936 and 1945 was 19 per cent for the Maori as against 10.6 per cent for the European. In rcsponse to inquiries, departniental officers said that Maoris freruently carry or alter their names i'or no reasc-ns other than are natur■al under Maori custom. A Maori father mav-apply for the registration of his baby son, and on being- asked for the name mav — the matter as yet having been given no consideration — say "John" on the spur of the moment. As events develop in family and pa, that may prove to be i the first and last time the baby is called "John." Or, again, Maoris not infrequently vary their own names, or for some special reason may add others. For instance, a Maori candidate in an election included in his name that of r. famcur warrior to whom his family claimed relationship. 'Difficulties Encountered The conseauence of variation in names is that when a department has official business with a Maori registered under one name, it may find itself dealing with the same person known among Jhis people by a variation of the original or by a different name altogethor. All that can be done is to pursue direet. inquiries as to date and place of birth, and to accept assurance from the best sonrces available that the same names applv to the same person s. With the immonse population in- .... V;,rions deoartments would be g'ad of a system niaking for uniformand greater certaintyr As contributing to uniformity, a reportcr was informed that the re?u!at!~ns for certifying deaths among Maoris wero being applied with increased rigidity. The adverat cf family benefits had practically solved the infant regislration problem. For tho.-o old enough to vote, the Maori polliug system inaugurated in 1938 provided a workable basis. Before that the voting was not secret. Kew the Maori clector completes a declaration l'crm in which he supplies his full name, address, tribe, hapu, and sex. Index Christian Names , The difference in the Maori idea oi' naming- themselves and their children and that of the pakeha still remains. A glance at a trial roll of the Maori people prepared in 1919 furnishes ample instances of the difficulties to be contended with. It appeared to the compilers of that roll that the most practical system was to make it alphabetical on the first of Christian names as the surname might vary and offer other difficulties as well. Numbers of Maoris appear on the roll with only one name, "January," for instance, i'ollcwed by "(Mrs.) January." Less unorthodox single names as "Koro," "Maea," "Kupe," and "Mai" were all the owners possessed. The single name, a Maori authority explained, was traditionally Maori. In the old days, prominent men rarely had need for two names. If a son were not known by his own single name alone, the first, own, or Christian name of the father was •added by way of clarification. In turn, the son's son would have his own Christian name, followed if necessary by the own, or Christian name, of the father, or by the Christian name of his mother, or foster parent, or favourite relative, etc. All that, however, was passing away, said the Maori authority. Leaders of the Native race were setting the example by standardisingsurn'ames on the European system. For instance, Sir Apirana Ngata's father was Paratene Ngata. By i

Maori custom Sir Apirana would have been Apirana Paratene, but he to-ok Ngata as a surname, and his descendants had carried it to the third and fourth generations. Similuarly, Sir Maui Pomare's son was Ra Pomare, not Ra Maui. In an extension of this example, in the full registration of Maori births now taking place, and in the declai-ation papers of Maori electors, lav the f'oundations for a Maori nominal roll which would furnisb a valuable link in the progress of the Maori within the European system of administration.