Parihaka.

Waipukurau Press, Volume I, 27 March 1906, Page 2

Parihaka.

—o — THE MAORI PROPHET. The March meeting at Parihaka is usually the largest one of the year, but of late years the number of visitors has been decreasing. This year, however, there seemed to have been a Parihaka revival, and on Sunday there was the largest number of Europeans there that has attended for the past six years, although there was nothing extraordinary happening. There were about 300 pakehas there, the fine day apparently having induced a number to take a .drive. The natives danced the haka and poi, but the life in them seems to be on the wane. Everyone went to see Te Whiti, the prophet, who had a very monotonus time in shaking hands with the visitors, which is somewhat similar to royal personages continually bowing to the crowd “when passing through the streets on a special occasion. Several people went to see the chief Tohu, but they were informed that “ He too pizzy ; too many men. in to see him.” His disciplines infer that he has so much business to attend to that he cannot see visitors, whereas that side of the “city ” was practically empty, and no one was seen to enter or come out of Tohu’s house. The various dining rooms were laid out with all kinds of food,, fruit, etc., bat on nothing like the scale that was in vogue a few years ago. . . . It is estimated that the population of Parihaka has decreased. 50 per cent during the last six years, and from the number of empty houses and whares one can quite believe it. —Opanake Times. Some time ago a native interpreter had a long conversation with Te Whiti on the subject of a school at Parihaka. The shrewd old mau listened attentively. He then asked the interpreter to point out the good that Maoris had done who had been educated. Te Whiti went on to say that education had only madq the Maori rob his own people, made them lazy, and much worse in every way than before they went to school.