MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 June 1939, Page 8

MAORI MEMORIES

RAU PARARAHA. (Recorded by J.H.S. for “Times-Age.”) The name of this most notorious character in Maori history has been poetically translated to mean “The quivering sword.” We may rather say “The quiver of a leaf,” but one suspects that it may have been “Rauparaharaha,” a sharp-edged instrument used to cut under-scrub or small trees. The difficulty of pronouncing its six syllables, five of which end in “a” (ah) has probably led to a severe contraction to Rau paraha,, such as our clipping the original Johannes to the all-too-familiar “Jones,” and Smith’s son to “Smith”; Maori names had the Te (the), the equivalent of our Mr. This, too, they have abandoned, and we may well have followed their example, but for the difficulty of knowing our Christian names to mean Mr or Master, Mrs or Miss.

Rau paraha’s tribe was the Ngati toa (the braves), who from 1820 to 1,840 were masters of the Maori world. The two factors in this distinction for a relatively small tribe were the initiative of their leader, and their having obtained the first guns from whalers and traders.

We have the same parallel today in the international race for planes, ships, guns and explosives, which will end in financial failure, submission and world domination by a modern tyrant, unless' we make a rapid and simple combination of sane nations—America, Britain, France, and possibly even Germany and Russia, to boycott all other national products until they fall into line. The Maoris had three factions under Rauparaha (cutting blade), Whero whero (seeing red), Hongi (smeller), and Waha roa (big.mouth), each intent on dominating this little world. Just as Rauparaha’s small army with guns defeated five times their number with wooden weapons 100 years ago, so may science and invention conquer one nation after another today, unless they make universal peace or combine against war, Rauparaha’s story may be a parallel for us to study.