MAORI MEMORIES
MAORIS WORSHIP SMILING.
(Recorded by J.H.S. for “Times-Age.”)
With the Maori who knew nothing of what he believed was but a Pakeha pleasantry (hell fire), death was merely a departure to Te Reinga, their own future home. Though they wailed and shed tears at will, it was but a message to be carried to previously departed friends. When this duty ended, they mourned no longer and were ready to make merry. One thing they believed quite sincerely, but sorely missed in the observance of the new found form of worship was “that hearty laughter is an essential part of true religion, and a tribute to their ancestral gods.” This certainly sounds like desecration to us; and in consideration for our feelings they never spoke of it, and never indulged in it when a Pakeha was present. Hence the absence of any reference to it in our histories of the Maori race.
An account of one of the early Maori Christian burials was related by an old missionary who knew nothing of this strange seeming indifference to death, which they regarded as a temporary parting, and perhaps as a relief from the Mate Kawa (disgrace of sickness). Persuaded by the minister to have an orthodox funeral, the pall bearers had difficulty in walking up hill on the rough track. When the service ended, the Maori undertaker, with no appearance of reverence, cried out, “Let her go.” Unfortunately the coffin fell head first, but this did not trouble them, one merely remarking, “It’s all right, she’s dead.”
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Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 August 1939, Page 2
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257MAORI MEMORIES Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 August 1939, Page 2
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