CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE KING MOVEMENT

Te Ao Hou, July 1958, Page 6

Watching youth perform in the poi, haka and action song competitions The impressions of a younger member of the Maori race who attended the jubilee at Ngaruawahia last May CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE KING MOVEMENT 1858 — 1958 by RORA “Give us a king to judge us”. I Sam. viii: 6. “One from among they brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother”. Duet. xvii: 15. “Taupiri is the mountain. Potatau is the man and Waikato is the sea. each bend a taniwha, each bend a taniwha”. THESE were the arguments used to justify the setting up of a Maori King in the year 1858, after several years of indecision when many chiefs had declined the privilege in honour preferring others, like true rangatira. “Now let me ask you which of these titles do you prefer, that of chieftain or that of King?” “I prefer the title of King,” “Who is to be your protector?” “Jehovah.” “Is there no other?” “Jesus Christ.” These were the words spoken by the kingmaker on that far off day of May 2, 1858, when Potatau Te Wherowhero finally succumbed to tribal pressure from within and without, and was acclaimed king, possessing as he did the solid background of a high aristocratic lineage, and fine, central, tribal location, amidst famed features of landscape. He was anointed with oil by the kingmaker Wiremu Tamehana, and made his vow—” Ac,

whakaae ana ahau, mo tenei we haere ake, kia kotahi ano te kowhao o te ngira, e kuhu ai te miro ma, te miro pango, me te miro whero, a muri kia mau ke te aroha, ki te ture, me te whakapono.” Ko Taupiri te maunga Ko Potatau te tangata Ko Waikato te moana He piko he taniwha, he piko he taniwha. On May 2nd, 1958, just one hundred years later, the tribes gathered again on that historic site, to celebrate the centennial of the founding of that king movement. “Nga hau e wha”—the four winds. “Nga iwi o te Motu”—the tribes of the land. “Nga whakatupuranga o nga waka e whitu”— ye descendants from the seven canoes. Thus cried the orators, the kaumatua, as wave upon wave the visitors arrived and swept onto the marae to pay homage to King Koroki who sits in the place of his illustrious forbears and to remember those who have passed on beyond the shadow, till the day break. Haeremai! Haeremai! Haeremai! And come they certainly did. By the dozen, by the score, by the hundreds! They seemed to come in search of something, guidance, assurance, security; they came sensing their need of something stable in these days of high pressure in everyday living, high pressures in money earning, high pressures in affairs of state, and in world conditions, with signs of the times all around, unnoticed by the masses. They must have received great encouragement and solace from the spiritual meeting conducted on Friday, May 2nd, for much foresight and planning and prayer must have gone into the planning and preparation, and it set a very high tone for the days to follow. It was good to see the fine men of the various denominations taking part together… and that none should perish. “Heaha te hua o tenei kakano?” “What is the purpose of a Jubilee,” asked the Rev Manga Cameron. “What shall we do for each other since God has done so much for us? And how shall we equip ourselves for the future?” And his answer was: with higher education, with a return to scripture. Let each be prepared to make the sacrifice! Mr Dobson Paikea, member for Northern Maori, said. “In the Maori of yesterday we had Sir Maui Pomare, Sir Peter Buck, Sir Apirana Ngata, and others, today we have the Maori of the Rock'n'Roll, what of tomorrow? To the youth of today—you, are the Maori of tomorrow, therefore I say to you, this is a challenge—accept it as the challenge of your time—take up your taiaha and proceed into the future with confidence.” Professor Miller, an American interested in the music of different countries said, after hearing and seeing the mass displays put on by the many visiting haka, poi and action song teams—“I am delighted with your simple rhythm and your graceful movements and my advice is—treasure your heritage.” The mass display was something to be remembered, that is, if you were lucky enough to see it, with such a huge crowd of happy people. The constant cry was—down in front please! Team after team came forward, some well trained and up-to-the-minute with specially composed items, some with uneven performance and weaker programme, yet ever game, always with something commendable about it. There were the winners—Ngati Poneke—with perfect precision and co-ordination of limb movement, with suitably composed songs for the occasion, as well as the ability to put them across. The judges could not be in any doubt. There was the combined team of Queen Victoria and St. Stephen's Colleges—so young, so vital, and so altogether lovely. Then there was a display by other combined teams, who could not have had much practice together, yet it was a splendid effort, with the men doing the haka complete with taiaha, and the ground literally shaking with the stamp of those mighty men-of-war. “This is the answer to our child delinquency, or youth delinquency,” said Dr Maharaia Winiata, “we are endeavouring to form Youth Clubs all over the country to interest our youth in this activity, to use up their surplus time and energy, so if any of you good Pakeha friends have any surplus cash, just make a donation to one of these youth clubs.” The winning team received a handsome korowai of brown and white feathers, with the words “Rau Tau” worked across the centre in white feathers, in commemoration of the hundred year period. This handsome trophy was presented to Mr R. Jones, who explained that the Ngati Poneke talent was drawn from the youth of many tribes, living in the City of Wellington, either to further their education, or to find employment, and that every Monday evening would find them engaged in their social activities at the Ngati Poneke Hall. There was Basketball and Football in several Grades, in fact plenty to keep the visitors well occupied the whole time and more, for while the games were going on at the field, the korero kaumatua, was proceeding on the marae, where the old and getting shaky—vied with the younger —and still full of beans—some shouting down the microphone till your ears rang, and others spurning the use of it, as if it were an admittance of weakness of vocal chords. “Hangaa he kaupapa!”—Make a covenant. “Hangaa he kaupap, hei whakakotahi ia tatou, nga iwi o nga waka katoa, ki raro i te Kiingi”, was their cry—“Make us a covenant, that we, of the seven canoes, may be as one under the King.” “Make us a platform to pass down to the youth, that they might see and know those things that were right in the past, and those things that will be right for the future, for they will be the leaders of tomorrow.”

Youth and age come to pay tribute to King Koroki Yes, it was a great meeting, giving much food for thought. Everything ran according to plan, under the able hand, sharp eye and ready wit of Dr Winiata, who called each group of late arrivals to “come on to the Marae, and be welcomed in full ceremony.” And welcomed they were! With the kuia (elderly women) calling from a forward position, and retreating before the visitors, to the verandah of Mahinarangi, the carved meeting house. Then the orators took over, standing forth, as words of welcome came bubbling out of lips well versed in this type of speech, interspersed with songs or waiata of historic lore. They were in their element, but my heart beat faster for those brave youths who rose to the occasion, endeavouring to meet their elders on even ground, and finding it uncannily uneven, for that same old Grandpop who seemed to be the odd man out at home, had here emerged as a scion of high intellect, with power of speech and song, and the bearing of a true rangatira. However, the team Captains were proud to receive their fine trophies at the hands of Princess Piki. One cannot say too much for the spirit behind everything, the happy goodwill with which everything was done, the huge dining rooms—all staffed by willing and obliging waiters and waitresses. Kimi Kimi alone seated three hundred and forty a time, and there were three others. The scene on the last day was one of dash and colour and action, with a pipe band, marching teams and basketball teams in full kit, and any slow moments were covered by the handsome Kaikohe Ratana Band also in full kit and fine trim. Cultural features were not forgotten: Maori carvers had been specially invited to a discussion on their craft; a group of young Maori painters and sculptors from Tokerau had brought down an exhibition. Finally, as though the programme were still not full enough, there was the Talent Quest on the last night, opened by the Choir, which had already contributed much to the meeting, under the very able baton of Mr Peter Ward of Mangakino. There was a juvenile group, with youngsters swaying and huddling their way through up-to-the-minute rock'n'roll numbers, to the jungle beat of guitars, there was a junior group doing the same with a vengeance, and one little acrobat who curled and twisted and curled some more, to everyone's delight. There was the Senior group, with sacred songs and sudden switches to the clap, clap, snap, snap, boogey style, and a mighty good mimicry of the swaying, all-shook-up Elvis Presley and Pat Boone and other heart-throbs. A huge programme, packed into three days and nights, and of course with all the modern equipment such as cameras and tape recorders it will probably be all recorded for posterity, and should the world last, it will be all gone over again to another hundred years.