THE MAORI RECEPTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 May 1920, Page 10

THE MAORI RECEPTION.

A MEMQRABLE SCENE WAR AND PEACE DANCES. The following, taken from the Auckland Herald, gives a fuller account of the Rotorua proceedings:— Rotorua, April 29. After the disappointments of yesterday the Maori reception to the 'Prince of Wales was duly carried out this morning, under conditions which could hardly have been better. A clear, fine mornmg. followed the pouring rain of yesterday, and though a keen southerly breeze was'blowing the warm sunshine tempered the coolness sufficiently for comfort. Long before the hour set for the ceremony to commence people be»an to make their way toward Arawa ParkBy nine o'clock the grandstands were full, and a dense mass of people packed around the open space on which the brilliant spectacle which followed was to be staged.

The tribes were drawn up in mass formation opposite the grandstands an it was obvious at the first glance thov were keyed up for the occasion. They stood forth in all the finery reserved for such occasions—the men for the most part stripped to the waist, though while waiting their turn they were glad enough to keep to their overcoats in deference to the coldness of the wind sweeping over the racecourse. At the entrance to the grounds was a flagpole with a long string of tribal flags fluttering in the keen morning air. Here the Arawa and the Matatua, who, as the men native to the soil of Rotorua, were to give the first welcome, were waiting. 1 r °mptly at half-past nine a tremendous uproar in their rear announced that business was afoot. The throng parted and through it came the Prince and his staff, accompanied by the assembled chiefs, and escorted by a grimacing, shouting band of half-naked warriors. The challenge had been met, and the Prince was on the ground. Through two lines of wahine in full poi costumes, chanting a song of welcome, he came forward at the slow pace essential to Maori etiquette, and swung round toward the stand. As they sighted him tribe after tribe took up the shout of welcome, though their part was yet to come, and it was through this swelling chorus that the Prince made his way to the Eoyal stand.

NATIONAL ANTHEM IN MAORI. As the party neared the steps, Sir James Carroll, wearing a feather mat and carrying a taiaha, came to meet the visitors. He chanted the opening words of the "Kamate," the escorting Arawa taking up tlie chorus. It was to the of this wild cliant that the Prince ascended the steps, acknowledging the greetings of Maori and Pakelia, and took his place for the business to begin. He had no sooner reached the scene than tlie plaintive voices of the girls from the Hukarerff school for Maori girls were heard singing a familiar air with words that did not sound so familiar to the ear. It was "God Save the Isng," sung in Maori. The boys from Te Ante College and a party from the Waerengahika College joined in, and. with Maoris from the adjacent crowd supplying the parts of the harmonised version, the National Anthem was sung to tlie end, the Prince standins at the salute throughout the three verses. As lie was preparing to take his seat the Hon. Dr. Pomare beckoned to someone 011 the Royal stand. A Maori maiden wearing two feather mats came forward, removed one of the mats, and handed it to the Prince. With the assistance of Dr. Pomare he placed it round his shoulders, and there it remained for the whole ceremony.

PRESENTATION OF ADDRESS. The part which followed was the only pakeha portion of the ceremony. Sir William Herries, Minister for Native Affairs, wearing a feather mat, and supported by an assemblage of chiefs and chieftainnesses, road the Maori address of welcome from the steps of t'hc stand. Having received the address and the mat with which it was covered, the Prince made his reply, Dr. Pomare translating to the crowd of Maoris in front, from whom came deep-throated murmurs of approval of passages which seemed to them particularly fitting to the occasion. Then the space in front was cleared, and the ceremonies according to the ancient Maori ritual began. The first on the field were the Arawa, and with them the Ngatituwharetoa. In the front was a band of warriors stripped to the waist and wearing the flax piupiu. A long-drawn cry of warning, and they swung into the war songs, punctuated by the slapping of hands on bare chest, while the ground trembled to the stamp of their feet, which kept perfect time to the refrain. Behind them their party of women kept up the chant in an approving murmur as they waited their turn. The Arawas ' danced their war dance without weapons of any kind in their hands. It was brief though effective.

THE CANOE POI. Then the warriors stood back, the women advanced and a strip of carpet was spread on the ground. The first line of wahines sank down upon it, and the canoe poi was soon in full cry, the party swinging from side to side, twirling their pois nad keeping effective time to the chanted refrain, which swelled out on the keen morning air with its usual under current of melancholy. The poi, with which all visitors to Rotorua are familiar, came to an end, and the remaining rows of women took their turn. Dressed in red skirts and' white blouses, with the broad sashes of bright blue across their shoulders, they made a dash of color which stood out from the green of the grass with a touch of barbaric splendour. They also gave an elaborate and graceful poi, the flaxen balls being strung on long strings and twirled with fine effect, the music of a couple of stringed instruments assisting on these occasions.

HISTORIC SWORD OP HONOR. Following the Hot Lakes people came tribes from the Bay of Plenty and the •era Country. At their head and lijl the war-song was Hcmana, a :dson of Major Fox, the most famous

the friendly natives in the •troublesame times of the Maori war. In his hand he carried, in place of a taiaha, a glittering claymore. This was the sword of honor which had been presented to Major Fox for his services 0:1 the Pakeha side during the war. This sword the major himself had carried and brandished in his aged hands when the tribes assembled to do honor to the present King when he visited Arawa Park nearly twenty years ago. It was now being put to a similar use by his grandion. The ceremonies £or

thi3 party went through a similar course to those of the Arawa, and they in turn withdrew and seated themselves 011 the grass.

Meanwhile there had ljeen a murmur and a rustle from the rear. The men of the north, who were to come next, were growing impatient. They were armed with long spears, round the top of each being tied a bunch of dried flax. As the warriors went over the words of their warsong in a subdued tone, they shook their spears and the dried flax rustled in the breeze, but now their turn had come. Down the middle of the open space before them there came a wild figure, dressed in full Maori,, costume, dancing, grimacing and brandishing a taiaha. Right up to the party, now advancing, he came shouting his challenge and his defiance. He almost reached them when another warrior, similarly costumed and armed, stepped to the front. Away went the challenger at top speed, with his pursuer in full cry after him. At the point where the party was to halt the challenger hesitated and stumbled, and in a moment, he was down, with his pursuer standing over him, with his foot on the recumbent form, brandishing his weapon and shouting his triumph. Meantime with a deep-chested shout, the Ngapuhi, Aupori, Karawa and Ngatiwatua were hard on the heels of the fly/ing pair. They rushed forward impetuously to their appointed place, halted, and in a moment were deep in their wardance, with their speers swinging up and down in a slanting direction, the fluttering flax rustling in time to the rythm of their movements. They chanted their wursongs as their forefathers had done when Hongi and his musketeers spread terror through the whole of the Northl Island. Their war dance was ibrief but stern and full of the warrior's passion for the fray. With it finished the party took up a milder tlieme, and gave a powhiri, in which the historic north gave welcome to the Royal visitor, -who was not able to see their land himself.

DANCE DESCRIPTIVE OP PRINCE'S TOUR. The next party to advance was all j peaceful. There was no war dance, the only performance being a poi. It was the Ngatiraukawa tribe, from tlie west coast of the Wellington province, and the poi that the party performed was a special one, called the Prince of Wales poi. The various parts and what they symbolised were announced by a girl on the side of the party. Tlie dance was descriptive of the various stages of. the journey made by the Prince to New Zealand, the stages being London, Charing Cros?, the King, Plymouth, the Renown, the Atlantic Ocean, the Panama Canal, Honolulu, and New Zealand. The poi' was a long and effective one, which met with an enthusiastic reception at the hands of the crowd.

LED BY A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT. The following party was made up of the East Coast tribes. Among thoin were the Ngatiporou, the tribe to which belongs tlie Hon. A. T. Ngata. They i led the van, and at their head 'vaa Aparina Ngata himself. To-day he was all Maori. , Gone for the time was ail thought of the pakelia life of Parliament, the university, and the law courts. He was in native costume, stripped to the waist, bare of foot, and carrying a greenstone mere dangling from his wrist by a thong. He led his tribe, and lie led their war dance. The party advanced, the warriors carrying long spears, and followed by tlie women. Reaching their place, all sank on one knee and waited with heads bowed. At the same time the Ngatikahungunu, representing Wairoa, Heretaunga, and the tVairarapa, stood forward and took their places, the two partic facing the Royal stand together. A hoarse shout warned the Rawhiti party from the East Coast. The kneeling warriors were galvanised into instant action. Springing to their feet, they began the deep chorus of their war song, raising and lowering spears which they held vertically bv their sides. The song finished, they sank again to the ground, putting away their spears and crouching low. Then came a combined haka, the men and women acting together. A great show was made by the men of the party, the gesticulation, the play of the limbs, and the alternate crouching and springing erect giving a high degree of wild life.

HOMAGE TO THE PRINCE. Alongside them the companion party began their defiant chant, and then prepared for their poi and their liaka. The pois of the Ngatiltahungunu were the most elaborate of those given. In the front was n row of women in native costume, and behind a row of girls in khaki, wearing slpueh hats. They carried pois made of red and of white wool, and these, used alternately, made a fine show,. Accompanying them was a string orchestra of some strength. For rythm, time, and tune the performance was perfect, but it was a shade too sophisticated, and suffered by contrast with the wilder and freer efforts which had gone before it. Accompanying this part of the ceremony was an interlude which, by its unexpectedness iind its spontaneous: grace, electrified the crowd- Mrs. Araparera Hawea was with the party carrying the Hag presented to Major Tunuorangi by Sir Lionel Halscy when, as captain of the New Zealand, he first visited the Dominion. With the flagpole in her hand she left the party, mounted the steps, and, stopping before the Prince, onnk down in low and graceful obeisance, at the same time presenting the flag for "his inspection. His Royal Highnesß examined the flag with interest and shook hands with Mrs. Hawea. Leaving the steps she paused again as she reached the ground, and again sank down before the Prince in a further deep obeisance beforo joining her party. Again the war dances and pois of this section occupied a long time.

TARANAKI TRIBES' WARM WELCOME. Meanwhile there had assembled at the back a, party, small 111 number, but striking in appearance. The warrior party consisted of men a shade smaller than the average Maori stature, but noticeable for their graceful and symmetrical build. They were a light golden brown in color, their hair was crisp and curling, and each man wore a band around his head, either of green flax or of black or colored cloth They were the tribes from Taranaki. together with the Whanganuis and the Ngatiapa. The presence of these Taranaki men in particular was significant. They have not in the past been conspicuous for their love of the pakcha. They acknowledged the in ana of Te Whiti. and not so many years ago they were the objects of considerable suspicion. Yet to-day they were here, determined not to be excelled by any in the warmth of their welcome to the hei* to the Throne. As they marched round to their place there was

carried at tlifir head <i banner, bearing j the words, "Kia Ora, tho Digger," this ' being their greeting to the soldier Prince. 1 The women of their party made a picturesque showing in a costume of viv'rt red and white.

Before they took their plr.cos their leader, as wild a looking figure as there was on the ground, threaded his way through tho crowd, made his way up the ! steps, bowed low before the Prince, sal- i uted, and cast a gift at his feet- He | t,hen_ retired, grimacing, posturing, and | shrieking to his people in a queer, high- I pitched key, the note rising to a scream, j as the sentences reached climfci'x. Drawn forward in this manner the party made its way to the front and jvciit through its appointed ritual of pois, win i dances, and hakas, the effect being exceptionally fine. This ended the long programme.

The Prince made his way down the steps to have cast at his feet the offering of the tribes in the shape of a number of native mats. The crowd surged round, and through this swelling tide of excited humanity he made his way to his car and left the park, after a demonstration of native loyalty and welcome which will live long in the memory of those who witnessed it.