Nā, i tū ki Pōtiroma o Rotorua ngā whakangahau-ā-Reo ā te Iwi Māori. Ko te rohe whenua tēnei o Te Waiariki. He whakataetae-ā-iwi ēne; mea, mai no ngā wharetapere o ngā mana, o ngā reo, o ngā rōpu o tēnā hapū, o tēnā iwi, o te Kotahitanga o te Motu, puta noa i te Ika-roa-ā-Māui me te Waipounamu. Otirā, no te mea i kitea, ā, i rangona hoki ngā waiata me ngā kanikani ā ō tātou whanaunga—ngā Hāmoa, ngā Rarotonga me ngā Niueana atu ki ngā Tokerauena o ngā tini moutere o te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa, ka tika te ki—he tuatahi tēnei whētiwara mo te Ao katoa. He tino whētiwara Māori.

He waimarie a Te Arawa kia whiwhi i tēnei Whētiwara. He hūmarire tonu no ngā iwi nunui kia waiho kia Waiariki te tāonga nei i tatū pai ai. Arā kē hoki ngā iwi mahi tonu i ēnei whakataetae-waiata—a Tūranga-waewae, te marae o te Kuini Māori, o Te Atairangikaahu o Tainui waka. me Ngāi-te-

 

Now the games and amusements of the Maori people were staged in the Sportsdrome at Rotorua. This is the Waiariki Maori Land Court district. These are tribal contests which stem from the traditional ‘wharetapere’ of scattered peoples—authorities, voices, and groups of sub-tribes, and tribes of this country's federation from the North Island through to the South. And, in view of the fact that we saw and heard the dances of our kinsmen—the Samoans, Rarotongans, and the Niueans as well as the Tokelauans —from the myriad islands of Kiwa's oceanrealms, it would be right to say that this was the first such festival in the world. A real Maori eisteddfod.

The Arawas were honoured to stage this Festival. The goodwill of other important tribes in allowing Waiariki to have it made this possible. Well do we know the areas which consistently stage these contests—Turangawaewae of the Maori Queen Te Atairangikaahu of the Tainui confederation, and Ngaiterangi and Ngati Ranginui of the sea of Tauranga. We salute them. The New Zealand Maori Council allocated it to Rotorua, the land of the descendants of Hinemoa and her lover husband Tutanekai.

The two days were thrilling and even awe inspiring. There were large crowds and ample provision and comfort in the billets for the visitors.

The cooks in the rear, and Rongo or peace within, while Tu the open forum is on the marae, as the saying goes—‘that you should amass wealth so you can entertain’ —and this led to the Chairman of the Festival's Committee in his farewell speech saying ‘let's return next year to the home of hot springs’.

The welcome to his Excellency the Governor-General, Sir Arthur Porritt and his retinue was over to the local dignitaries. This

 

 

rangi me Ngāti Ranginui o te moana nei, o Tauranga. Kia ora rawa atu rātou. Nā te Kaunihera Māori o te motu i riro mai ai ki Rotorua, te whenua o ngā uri o Hinemoa rāua ko tana tahu, ko Tutanekai.

Mau ana te ihi me te wehi o ēnei rangi e rua. Ko te ārikarika o te tangata me te ahuru o ngā marae maha i nohoia a ngā manuhiri whakaeke.

Ko Tahu ki Muri, ko Rongo ki roto, ko Tū ki marae-ātea, ka eke ki tērā whakataukī—‘Kaiponutia te tāonga, manaakitia te tangata’, koira i mea ai te Tiamana o te Komiti o te Whētiwara kia hoki mai ano ā tērā tau, ki te kāinga o te ngawhā.

Ko te pōwhiri ki te Kāwana Tianara, ki a Te Porete, me tana tira, he mea tuku ki te tangata whenua. Koinei a Tū ki maraeātea. Ka oti tērā kāore i whakaroaroa, e tū putuputu mai ana ngā puhi wāhine o te motu me ā rātou toa huruhuru. Kātahi ka kitea ‘tā te Aitanga-ā-Tiki pai, tā te kotahi a Tū-tawake pai’, arā, ōna whakataukī, o te rangatira, ‘He riri ano tā te tawa uho, he riri ano tā te tawa parā; he taka ano tā te rangatira, he haka ano tā te ware, he porahu noa iho ngā ringa’. Ēngari ki tāku titiro he papai katoa koutou. Ahakoa ko te Waihīrere o Tūranga, me te Aitanga-ā-Māhaki, te tīma i karaunatia tuatahi, ko Ngāti Pōneke o te Ūpoko-o-te-ika te hēkene, me Waiōeka ki Ōpōtiki me Ngāi Tai ki Whakatōhea te tuatoru. E hoa ma, nā ngā mea hei whakanohonoho i ngā tīma i pai ki a koe tonu ake. Ēngari me tautoko te kōrero ā Bub Wehi o te Waihīrere rōpu i mea ai ia, ko ēnei whakangahau katoa he mea tō mai no ‘te pōuriri me te pōtangatango’, otirā i pērā tāku rongo atu i a ia e whakamihi ana ki ngā Tiati mo te hōnore i ūhia ki tana teretere. Na te ngākau-nui o ngā tīma nei i tau ai ngā whakamihi ā te Paepae-whaka-matautau ki runga ki a ratou. Ko te mea nui kē, ko te tū, na me taku mōhio tonu ko ngā ‘paina’ kāore kē i tino mātaratara rawa. He ‘paina’ kotahi, he hawhe ‘paina’ ranei, koiaraka noa iho te rahi o ngā whaka-wehewehenga. Kia ora rawa atu ngā Tiati nei!

 

 

is Tu of the marae. When that was completed no delays ensued and in rapid succession the maidens and the warriors of Maoridom were on their way, ‘the select of Tiki's progeny, and the elite of Tutawake's’ with all their royal symbols, ‘The tawa of sound heart and the tawa with ailing timbers, fight each to his own; the chieftain his style, the plebian his—his arms and fingers are flaccid’. But in my estimation you were all excellent. Waihirere of Gisborne and Mahaki's kin was the team crowned as first, and Ngati Poneke of the Fish's-Head second, with Waioeka from Opotiki, Nga Tai and Whakatohea third. Well let's be fair, this was the judges' verdict, but you yourselves are free to place the teams in the manner you fancied. But at least, we do affirm wholeheartedly with Mr Bub Wehi of the winning Waihirere team when he referred to these games and pastimes as having originated from the ‘very bosom and depths of our heritage’, for that's how I interpreted him in his thank you to the judges, for this distinction to his gallant band. The painstaking devotion of these groups brought them the panel of judges' well deserved nods and becks and wreathed smiles. The important thing is the participation, for it can be righty assumed (from the glittering standards of every group) that the points separating them all were infinitesimal—one or a half, no more, that was all. Congratulations to the judges' panel for a truly herculean task.

As for the individual groups, it would be

 

 

Mo ngā mahi ā tēnā rōpu, ā tēnā rōpu, kāore e taea te whakawehewehe haere, he rawe katoa; ka koa te ngākau ki a Waikawa, arā Picton, mo tā rātou haka ‘Uhitai’. Kātahi ano ka rangona atu mo te whā tekau tau. Kua kore ke i a mātou, kāti, nā koutou ka ora mai ano. Kia ora, e te māhita o Ngaiterangi na, a Ōhia. Nāu hoki, na Waikato i whakaperuperu te waiata-ā-ringa nei na ‘Taku Patu’ i rere ai te taiaha i ngā kupu whakamutunga o taua wai. Ahakoa i haere mai koe ano ko ‘te rourou iti ā haere’, ka tika tēnei whakapiri āu, nāu hoki, nā Waikato whakaata tuatahi ki a Te Arawa te puha nana—‘Koia ano, Koia ano he peru-peru’. Kāra Kārepa o Ngāti Pōneke, te kotahi o ngā tini tāngata o tēnei whētiwara katoa i whakapūtiki i ōna makawe kia rite ki te tikitiki māhuna o ngā rā o neherā. Kāore pea koutou i kite i te tangata nei, i te kāpene, te tohunga kai-whakaako o Ngāti Pōneke, rāua ko Miri Hīroti, tō rātou whāea.

Rīwaka, nā tā koutou tamaiti, nā Te Neihana ka mihia atu koutou. Ko ia te ‘giant’ o tēnei hui. Me hoatu kē he mēra koura mōna.

He tino pai te tīma tamariki o te Ika-roa, a Te Kāhui Rangatahi, tau ana te tū me te kori, he tino rawe hoki ngā piupiu, ngā tipare, ngā kākahu katoa o ngā tamariki nei. He wāhi iti nei ki ngā mea Pākehā—tokorua ngā kotiro nei—kotahi tonu te wāhi kāore i taea e rāua—arā, ko te wiri o ngā ringaringa, o ngā koikara. Kei te hāpai-tanga o te ringa ki te kanohi kua kore ngā koikara e wiri. Tena ko ō rāua hoa Māori, arā, te rite ‘me te mea ka marere ngā ringa

 

 

impossible to really itemise each, all were so good; thanks Waikawa of Picton for ‘Uhitai’. Forty long years have passed since hearing it. We've lost it, but you've brought it back. Your Tauranga schoolmaster Mr Ohia, thank you. The Waikato items were notable for their infusion of the taiaha drill into the closing notes of ‘Taku Patu’; it electrifies. Despite that you were simply a guest group travelling light, it seemed traditional for you to put sting into a patu dance, for it was you who first brought to the Arawas the war dance ‘Koia Ano, Koia Ano’. Mr Carl Karepa of the Ponekes was the only one to wear the top-knot hair style of old Maoridom. Perhaps some of you did not see him, but it is fitting, for he is captain and seer or tohunga who through a long career has coached the Ponekes with Milly Hiroti, mother and counsellor.

The Riwaka team had one performer, a Mr Nathan. He was the ‘Piki-whara’ of the gathering. He should have received a gold medal.

The youthful team of the Wellington region, Te Kahui Rangatahi, was excellent, their stance and their performance neat, while their skirts, headbands, bodices, etc., were perfect. Just one small point, to the European performers, two young girls—there was one movement they could not do —the feathered quiver of their fingers. When their arms were raised, hands in line with their eyes, their fingers were stiff and awkward. As for their Maori counterparts, they were like ‘falling leaves… their fingers

 

 

… piri ana i tua i te angaangamate o te kapu o te ringa… ano e komurua ana’.

Ko te haka pai ki ētahi, ko tā te Hau-ā-uru ēngari ka tika tā ngā tiati mo te haka ā te Waihīrere—he pai mo tērā tū āhua haka. Kei konei pea ka kitea te rerekētanga ā tā ētahi iwi haka. Ko te mita me te tū he rerekē. He peruperu ano te peruperu, he haka ano te haka, ā, he ngeri ano te ngeri. He waiata-ā-ringaringa ano te waiata-ā-ringaringa, he tū ano tā te wahine, ā, he tū ano tā te tāne; he mita ano tā te wahine, he mita ano tā te tane. Nāu, nā Ngāti Hinekura, nā Ngāti Pikiao, e Mata, Irirangi, Tamehana, nā koutou, ka kitea tā te tangatawhenua kete rokiroki. Ko te tomo me te kāpene kaiwhakahaere. Ko te tomo, ko tā Te Houmaitawhiti o Hawaiki ra ano, ‘Tukua mai kia piri, tukua mai kia tata’—he ngeri nā te toa. Ēngari ko tā te Waihīrere, he tō-waka mo Tākitimu, te waka tapu. Na, ka oti te tārei kātahi nā ka toia ki te wai i Hawaiki-pāmamao noa atu koia na a ‘Kura Tiwaka-Taua’, he haka pērā me te tomo ā Hinekura-Tuarā, no te pō. Ko te ‘Pōpō e tangi ana tama ki te kai māna’ ā te Waihīrere ano he waiata, arā, he Oriori. No whea a taea e ngā kaitito waiata ō ēnei rangi! Na, whai ano i puta ai a te Waihīrere ki mua. Me whakamihi ki ngā Tiati i whakanohonoho nei i ēnei tāonga o te Ao Tawhito hei tauira me ēnei rā o te Ao-Hou.

Kua mutu tonu ēnei kōrero. Mo ngā Koaea Waiata. I puta ki mua a ‘Tāmaki Makau Rau’. Ko te Kai-ārahi ko Keri Hārihi, he tino tangata mo tēnei mahi. Nō

 

 

quivered in the curve of their cupped hands…like a soft massage’.

The Tai-hau-a-uru or Taranaki haka was the best to some people, but the judges crediting Waihirere was well-deserved—they were the best for that particular class. Possibly it is in the haka that one can see the differences between tribes. The stance and the timing are all different. The two feet in the air dance is one, and the one foot always fixed is another, while the free-for-all is another one again. Action songs are action songs, but with women participating, they have their own way and the men theirs; a woman has her own swing, and a man his. It was through the Hinekuras and Pikiaos of Rotoiti—Mr Mata Morehu, Irirangi Tahuriorangi, and Mr Tamehana that the locals' meagre basket was witnessed. It was significant. They won the entry and the award for the best leader. The entry was Houmaitawhiti's of distant Hawaiki—‘Let them let them in closer still’—it's a chant for brave men. But Waihirere's was a canoe chant for Takitimu—the sacred canoe. When it was fashioned it was dragged to the sea. This was in distant Hawaiki. The chant was Kura Tiwaka Taua a fierce drag like the entry of Hinekura-Tuara's from the past. The lullaby ‘Boy is crying for food’ was presented by Waihirere. Our modern composers can rarely match these numbers. Little wonder that Waihirere was well ahead. The judges are to be complimented for recognising these classics of the past as examples for today.

This report is almost complete. The choral numbers. First place went to Auckland's Te Kauri group. The choirmaster, Mr Kelly

 

 

tērā o ō tātou Hāhi, nō Ngā Hunga Tapu o Ngā Rā o Muri Nei. Kua tata tonu te rima tekau tau o tēnei tangata e ako ana i tēnei mea, i te waiata. ‘Kia kotahi Tatou’ te taitara o tana hīmene. Na te Koaea o Mangatū hoki tētahi waiata pai, he mihi ki a Matiu Kauri, he Āpōtoro no te Pā Tote. Nā te Māori tēnei waiata i waihanga, na Arapeta Mete o Nūhaka. No reira, he waiata papatipu… ‘Kia Ngawari’. E Napi te Wāka, nāu i whakaora mai te āhuatanga o tērā Kai-Hāpai o ēnei mahi, arā, ā Te Hīma o tēnā Hāhi o ngāitāua, te Weteriana, ara, Mētorihi. Nāna te koaea Waiata Māori o mua atu i te Whawhai Tuarua.

No te ata o te Rā-Tapu ka tīmata ngā Koaea ki te whakaotioti haere. Ka tata atu ki te hāora mo te tina, nā, kua mene katoa ngā waiata me ngā haka whakataetae, na waiho anake ko te karakia whakawhetai ki te Runga-Rawa, hei hāpai mā tēnei huihui-nga tangata—he Pākehā, he Māori, he Rarotonga, he Hāmoa, he Niueana, he Tokerauena me ētahi atu. Ahakoa kua hoki kē te Kāwana Tianara, me te Kuini Māori, a Te Atairangikaahu, hei aha, i konei tonu tō tātou Mīnita, a Mēkenetaea o te Kāwanatanga, me te Mea o Rotorua, me te Rēweti, mema o te Tairāwhiti, me Rēpewutu, mema paremata mo Rotorua. Hei aha tonu i ēnei rangatira hei hoa mo ngā tini kaumātua wāhine, taipakeke hoki o ngā marae katoa puta noa ki ngā tōpito a whā o te motu, mai i Mataura ki te Waipounamu atu ki Muri-

 

 

Harris, is a real expert. He is a product of that other church of ours, the Latter-day Saints. Kelly has almost completed 50 years of constant coaching in singing. ‘Let us be One’ is the title of his winning hymn. The Mangatu choir had a fine piece, a tribute to Apostle Matthew Cowley of Salt Lake City. It was composed by a Maori, Mr Albert Smith of Nuhaka. Therefore, ‘Kia Ngawari’ is indigenous. Mr Napi Walker revived another memory of the late Rev A. J. Seamer of this church of ours the Wesleyans or Methodists. He was the leader of the famous Waiata Maori Choir just prior to the Second World War.

On the Sunday morning the final choir groups were finishing up. Approaching the dinner hour, the competitive numbers were finally concluded, and there remained only the final Thanksgiving Service to Him-Above, by this gathering of Europeans, Maori, Rarotongan, Samoan, Niuean and Tokelauan, and others. Although the Governor-General, and the Maori Queen Te Atairangikaahu had left for prior engagements, at least we still had the Hon. Mr MacIntyre as a Minister of the Crown, also Mr Reweti, Eastern Electorate representative, and Mr Lapwood, Rotorua's M.P. This was a fine group, with whom were tribal elders both men and ladies from the courtyards encompassed within the Island's four cardinal points, and extending from Mataura

 

 

whenua ki te Taitokerau. Ko tō koutou hoa hei tirohanga mai mā koutou ko te Tiamana o te Poari o Te Arawa, ko Hare Rātete. I tū katoa mai rātou i tēnei Karakia whakamutunga i raro i te maru o ngā minita e toru—Pīhopa Pēneti, me āna kai-āwhina, Kīngi īhaka me te Mīnita, me Hio. Mau ana te wehi me te ihi o tēnei karakia. Kikī tonu te whare i ngā hāhi katoa—kāore he whakawehewehe, kāore he tirotiro, kāore hoki he whakahāwea ā tētahi ki tētahi. He rite tonu te hāpai i ngā hīmene me te āmine i ngā īnoi. Pārekareka ana te noho ā te teina me ngā tūākana i roto i te whakapono. Ko tēnei tētahi o ngā tino wikitoria ō tēnei Whētiwara. E hoa mā, me pēwhea te poroporoaki i te kōrero pēnei te āhua? Kāti, waimarie he tino tangata kē a Kīngi Īhaka, Tiamana o te Komiti o ēnei Whakataetae. Inā ētahi kupu ā te Waiharekeke Waitere mōna me tana whānau:

‘Taku piki amokura, amohia te āroha, E kore rawa e mutu i ngā tau maha e.’

Ko tēnei tonu, Kīngi, kei te hoa. Ko te piki amokura, ko ō whakataetae. Amohia atu i runga i ō Iwi rau-āroha.

Kia ora! Ka tutataki ano.

 

in Southland to Muriwhenua in the North. Your host, upon whom you placed your trust, was Mr Harry Rogers—Chairman of the Arawa Trust Board. You were together on stage in this final service and led by three ministers—Bishop Manu Bennett and his assistants Rev. Kingi Ihaka and Rev. Sio. This service was indeed an inspiration. A packed house—no separations, no side-looks, and no personal recriminations. Hymns were sung in one accord, and prayers were acclaimed in unison. It was a delight to sit there, elders and teenagers all united in the faith. This was one of the real highlights of this festival. Friends, how do we conclude a report of this nature? Luckily the Rev. Kingi Ihaka, Chairman of the Festival Committee, is a man of many parts. Here are some words from a tribute by Mrs Waitere to him and his family:

‘My prized rare plume, burdened in love, Unceasing through time and all eternity.’

This then Kingi, friend and counsellor, is the plume, your festival. Carry on with your people's love.

Greetings! Till we meet again.

Hirone Wikiriwhi