Two Peoples: One Nation

New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 817, 25 March 1955, Page 24

Two Peoples: One Nation

[

da tial roe atl HE present pattern of racial relations in New Zealand is. a

product of our history," said DR,

MAHARAIA

WINIATA

recently, in a broadcast notable for its frank treatment. of a

subject seldom brought into full public discussion. The first part of the talk, ahistorical survey, has been omitted; but the conclusions taken from it are printed below with only minor abridgment. The broadcast was heard on March 6

Y 1851 there were 26,000 Europeans to about 100,000 Maoris; in 1857 the two races were roughly equal; by 1874 the Maori share had fallen below 16 per cent. The European, then less dependent on the Maori, was _ better equipped technologically to subjugate the economic and physical resources of the country for his own ends. The results, briefly, were the wars of the 19th Century-wrongly called Maori wars, for they were forced on the Maori as a device to get his land-and the deliberate manipulation of policy to block adequate Maori participation in political and judicial institutions, in order to retain the central control of power in the hands of the pakeha. A significant reaction against these pressures occurred in Maori society. This was the endeavour made by Maori leaders to establish their own organisations, such as the Runanga and the King movements in Waikato, the Hauhau in Taranaki and the Ringatu Church on the East Coast, to cater for law and order among themselves, to promote the cohesion of their group, and to give the Maori community some kind of status in relation to the dominant European group. After the troubles between two peoples, the Maori, dispossessed and dis-_ inherited, was no longer a threat and an obstacle to the pakeha, and was therefore accepted into the general life of the community. The pattern of intergroup relationships that grew from the strain and stress of the past may be described as a kind of diversity in unity. Professor Firth, of London, himself a New Zealander, talks of the pattern as a dual frame of organisation, while my friend Professor Piddington, of Auckland, having regard for the apparent mutual dependence between the two peoples, refers to it as a relationship of symbiosis. What is meant generally by these terms is that at some points there is more or less intermingling between Maori and pakeha, while at others there is withdrawal into different compartments. Let’s look at the situation more closely. The Maori forms a compact enclave of 120,000 persons, in a total of nearly two and a quarter millions. Although there are no special reservations for Maoris in New Zealand, nevertheless, because of tribal connections with particular areas of land, and because too of selective confiscation and alienation of land in the past, we find concentrations of Maori population in specific areas. While some Maori people have moved to the towns, the majority still live in the country, dispersed about marae social centres that focus most*of their "activities, in contrast to the neighbouring European community, which may be differently organised and yet upon which the Maori group may be dependent for work, recreation and other needs. Even in. the cities, despite pressures from the pakeha side,

the Maori groups tend to become identified with themselves, rather than with the pakeha group surrounding them. Neither has the matter of intermarriage altered the situation to any great extent. Intermarriage between persons of mixed parentage, rather than between full Maori and full pakeha, continues to increase, though contrary to expectations the latest census returns point to an increase also in marriage between persons of full Maori blood, The distinctively Maori section is more than holding its own, both biologically and culturally. Some half-castes merge into the pakeha communities, and are lost to the Maori side, but the majority seem still to ally themselves with the cultural features and ideals that have become the true marks of. being a Maori. It is possible that this swing-back to the Maori side indicates that, for purposes of full social and psychological satisfactions, the Maori group offers (and, in fact, gives) far more than the pakeha side. However, it must* be admitted that the unique feature of New Zealand society is the ability of the half-caste to become horizontally mobile-moving fairly freely from the Maori tothe pakeha group and vice versa, even although the majority seem to stay with the Maori. Associated with the cultural background of the Maori group, and nourished in. their peculiar social organisation and communal life, are social values that contrast with those in European communities. The attitude to sickness that permits of the conjoint services of Tohunga and the pakeha doctor, the persistence of the tangi which intermingles both Christian and traditional conceptions of death and immortality, and the sentiment that attaches a tribe, subtribe or extended family to a maraé. and meetinghouse, are some of these. Yet permeating all are interests, needs, beliefs and values learnt at school, in the church, from the press, the cinema and daily experiences that grip the Maori group into the wider New Zealand society. We find examples of this comingling and withdrawal process in our national institutions. In politics the Maori hag his own four Members of Parliament, any of whom may become a Minister serving all the people of New Zealand. The Department of Maori Affairs has specialised functions according to the needs and circumstances of the Maori people, while in matters of health, social security and so on the Maori is included with the pakeha. In local government, while a few Maori persons utilise the general provisions, a special system exists that takes care of the needs of the Maori in the more intimate area of his own village community. We see the same kind of thing in the church. Most of the orthodox churches have Maori mission boards and Maori staff, and hold services in, the Maori language. Yet at the same time Maori worshippers. are. made-welcome in. pakeha churches -. (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) though most Maori people prefer to worship in their own groupings. Then there are Maori-sponsored religious bodies, independent of the pakeha churches, which work entirely in the Maori field .. .- The dual system in education is well known. Maori schools run directly by the Education Denartment, though catering for less than 50 per cent. of the Maori School population, represents to Maori communities something that is distinctively their own. Most Maori children are educated alongside pakeha children all the way from the primary school to the university. By and large, this pattern of comingling and withdrawal has been inevitable. Differences in colour, culture, social values and geographic distribution have brought it about. However, it may be argued that the gap between the two groups was deliberately kept open during the formative stages as part of European policy, and that the specialised agencies set up to bridge the gap were primarily meant to ease administration, and indirectly to retain power in the hands of the dominant European. Today, the specialised agencies, while helping in the functions of government and administration, also assist the Maori group in their adjustment to the demands

of the wider society, give compactness to that group, and a degree of status in a society overwhelmingly European. The Maori minority get the feel of an illusion that they count for something in New Zealand society, that their supposed and real rights are being preserved, that their culture is being held intact, and that they are being heard as a group in the councils of the nation. For the pakeha, the pattern of relationships has other meanings. It shows something of his liberal attitude towards a native people, provides a_ confined scope for the activities of the talented Maoris, and at the same time helps to keep the Maori out of the main stream of things in a place the pakeha thinks the Maori should occupy in the community. The Maori minority is comparatively happy with bis lot . .. as long as his numbers are far below those of the European, as long as egalitarian principles motivate a welfare state, and there is enough for all, then everybody is kept satisfied. The dual frame or organisation, the relationship of symbiosis, the pattern of diversity in unity, or the scheme of comingling and withdrawal-call it what you will, creates a working balance between the two groups, and friction is reduced to a minimum,