RUA.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2443, 6 March 1909, Page 2

RUA.

ENIGMA OF THE UREWER A V COUNTRY. PROPHET-POLITICIAN. ’ A GLIMPSE OF HIS KINGDOM." (From the “Dominion.”) It is now some two or three years since Rua first appeared as a man with a mission. He started vulgarly enough as a sort of tdhuiiga-prophet,, with wild stories of a tcomihg yisit to New Zealand by King Edward, who was to remove all the pakchas and restore the Maori to his own; also of a tidal wave, which was to wipe out the wicked whites and spare those aboriginals.who sought an elevated sanctuary along with the prophet. Among them were to be parcelled out in due proportion the lands and property of the doomed pakelia. Those were the days whon a' Maori in Ruatoki rode ui) to a white man and said: “That is a fine camp oven you have. I like it. Dbn’Cdamagi, that camp-oven. After you are gone I intend to have it.” And he spur rod off to day formal claim to some other chattel of his prospective ownership. Those were also the days when Maoris near Ruatoki cut a broad fair track through the scrub, leading vp to the'brow of a ridge, so that tlie.v might be able to make rapid retreat from tlie oncoming deluge. Many, more strongly moved, sold their horses and carts, their stock, • even their little weather-board bouses (if they possessed such) and went to live m Rua’s own citadel in the heart of the Urewera country, at the foot of the sacred and’ mysterious mountain, the dwelling-place of the dead, Maungapohotu. Very quickly arose here the new native township ol Maunga-po-liotu, surely the largest kianga_ in New Zealand, with its pa-tapu and its imposing circular temple, a triumph of Maori architecture, hereinafter to be described. And Rua Tapunui, son of Kemmn and Ngahiwi, entitled of birth to no particular prominence in Ins tribe, became Rim Hepitipa “Mehaia. (Messiah). If anyone doubts let him consult the trade-mark displayed in pomted wooden letters over the sacred portal of the pa-tapu at MaungaP °lu t the callow days of liis prophothood Rua was but a clumsy er He was even nmvise enougb-yn was he really liis. own dupe P—to give the coming disasters a date, and w. s thus, of course, Mowed out - evitably by effluxion of time Any ordinary aggregation of befooied pa«ons would have rent the idol asundei, blit the disciples of the Aleliaia are made, of more than ordinary stun or, perhaps, tlie Mehaia himself is. How lie explained it all away to them is not clear; at any rate, his inana did not appreciably decline. It yon chaff a loyal disciple as to those falsified prophecies, the chances are that lift®! maintain * dignited «donce. And what else could, he do.

THE financial test. Up to this stage Rua had clearly demonstrated his pre-eminent poiym to fool all the people of the t me and some of the people all tlie tune But a further test was required of him—the financial one.A seer may continue to flourish, but only while tbe,„treasuryjsfull; tor thwgl fade, that of an uncollectecl debt is apt to be abiding. However much. Rua’s followers might be prepared to deny themselves to support the P lo ' pliet, they could not give more than their all, which many of them - it would seem, had already given I heir eventual impoverishment would mean the end of their business, unless, indeed, it should be carried on in some attenuated form by no means in keeping with the Mehaias ideas o the importance, of liis mission and Jus personal equation. Rua might dr ink the cup to the full, live lavishly ti 1 the financial breaking-pomt arrived, and then step down from the large, round double-storied temple to primeval raupo whare. Or, on the other hand, he might give a purpose to his quaint society by teaching it to toil and 1 spin, to be productive, and eventually self-supporting. ; That would be playing Ins followers game, also his own. . , „ . The latter task required the evo!\in< r of a system, and a system required an* administrator. And, strange to say—and this is the most remarkable fact of it all—Rua Hepitipa, one time Rua Tapunui, appears to be ready “tackling the' job.” It is at tins point that the primeval tohunga suddenly develops into the man-of-affail s. Already at, Maunga-pohatu the Maoris have accomplished an amount of ivork Avliich probably no poAver on earth could have extracted from them save their soui-compellmg superstittion, played on by a master hand. They claim —this is on the official word of Makarini Tealiuru, Secretary to the Mehaia—that in the. last two years they have felled and seAvn m grass 730 acres, and have felled 290 acres preparatory to sewing, making a total area in grass (including patches cleared in former years, for ’ Maunga-po-hatu is an ancient clearing), of 1447 acres. Hoav the land measurement ivas arrived at Avas not clear, but the above are the exact figures, as set out in the. -admirable handwriting of Makarini Tehuru, avlio naively adds: “It only remains to stock the land. For, after all, Rua’s incipient farmcolony is only on the first rung or the ladder; to carry it upward., lie /makes an excursion into high politics, and proposes to cut the knot that strangles the Native, lands. A PICTURESQUE PERSONALITY. The project of the Mehaia, as expounded by himself on a recent balmy

evening Avithin the sacred precincts of the pa-tapu, is in effect,• to induce hisfolloivers to unite in selling to the Government 100,000 acres of their land, in order to obtain capital to improve the remainder. The aboriginal avlio can drop Avitli such facility from the heights of prophecy to the sAvampy depths of the Native land question is clearly no ordinary person, and is entitled to something in the way ol' personal pen-sketch. lio met the visitor in front of his private abode, a double-ridged house on the crest of the slope on which the noAV Maungapohatu has been built,: and rejoicing in the distinction of being made with sawn timber and lined (other whares, Avitli one exception, being of split palings). Avhile a ruberoid roof and a verandah further serve to convey the fact that this is the place Avlicre Royalty dwells. : Oil the verandah recline three or four of the Mehaia’s nine wives—young luxuriant waliines, Avhose large eyes folio av the movements of their earthly Adonis and spiritual lord. He, the centre of all this disturbance, its fous et origo, is ia singularly affable man, and, moreover, a handsome one. His figure stahvart, wellknit, and' upstanding, features good, eyes actually beautiful. A coat of dark: cloth, well fitting, and looking as though “just out of the box,” covers a neat shirt of soft material, on r which blazes a deep blue tie, well suiting the sAvartliy complexion. Riding breeches and leggings to complete a natty attire; but one had nearly forgotten the grey felt hat, perhaps the most notable item of all, for it is attached to the luxuriant black hair Avitli a lady’s hat-pin! An odour of scent also emihates from the Mehaia, for if King Louis was the First Gentleman of France, Rua is certainly the. First Dandy of the UreAvera. Everything indicates an almost effeminate discrimination, -and shows that the Mehaia is a past master in the art of appearances and poses. With his blue tie and hatpin and gaiters and riding Avliip he might pass on Lambton Quay for a Avell-to-do foreign gentleman, ov with a few alterations, he might make a fortuno for Bland Holt as the Brigand Chief. Forty odd summers have passed over Rua, and he. carries them lightly. He is Avonderfully fluent of speech, and as he “orates” his eye kindles, and the hands are often clasped. To all this add a strong touch of unmistakable personal magnetism. PA-TAPU AND TEMPLE. Rua conducts the visitor through the “streets” (not 66ft wide) of the pa-tapu. It is explained that- from this sacred enclosure all cooking and eating houses are excluded, these occupyiiig the gully and slopes outside the dividing-fence. (It is an ancient religious, ad perhaps sanitary, observance of the Maori that cooked food should not enter the sleeping-place). The paytapu contains Rua s residence abovementioned, the temple, and—according to the “official” return — 42 sleeping houses, a “post office," and saddle-repairing and shoe-repair-ing houses; also a ucav and aesthetic clement in kaingas, to Avit, floAver gardens, of Avhicli there are five. Beyond 1 the Avails of the pa-tapu, are 52 cooking or eating places, a large •'meeting room and dining-room lor visitors, ■ and 32 store-houses. The figures are imposing, but it must bo noted at the same time that probably every little pataka or_ra.hhifa to" make‘'tlies^total; that the quality of the structures is hardly in proportion to the quantity, as the use of green timber has resulted in considerable discrepancies appearing over and above the legitimate needs of ventilation ; and that in any case the. number of tenements is not a certain index to the number of in-

habitants. Just hoav Maungapohatu is rather empty of men, though Rua declares them to be only temporary absentees. Within the patapu everything is clean and nicely kept, and the angle of slope is suitable for drainage purposes. ;Hoav shall one describe the temple? Build a circular house, some. 18ft high and 40ft in diameter; then construct a similar circular house 20ft in diameter, and put it on top of tlie larger one; add a split-paling roof Avliere required,, and you have ltua’s temple. The remarkable effect or such architecture is enhanced by a Avondefful coat of paint, a white body being relieved AV'ith blue and yellow figuring, the principal objects depicted being apparently the diamonds and clubs of a card-pack, or perhaps the “club” is meant to be a shamrock. The visitor was not invited to enter the holy of holies, and the meaning of the. grotesque designs is a matter of conjecture. Cryptic letters' appear over the gateways of the pa-tapu, along Avitli something resembling Masonic signs, and the afore-mentioned, legend “Mehaia." Just outside the temple, is a pulpit, from Avliich. are delivered by the Meliaia many soul-stirring harangues. RUA AS REFORMER. Standing’near the foot of the puJpit stairs, by the threshold of liis sacred edifice, Rua declares that lie has united 300 folloAvers in the.common desire to sell a portion of their land in order to raise capital to farm the balance. The further difficulty of uniting their land interests, uoav scattered about in different blocks, does not appall him—he has already “approached the Government” on this subject. A few questions are. addressed by the visitor leading up to the matter of a Maori socialism Avith Rua as director arid patriarch, but the. reformer evades that bait. He will, he. says, himself' individualise the land of his people, and put each upon liis OAvn lot, after which each man must earn his reward by the sAveat of his broAV, selling the product

of his land as he likes, and the money he receives in return lie may hank in a European bank, or iri “our bank hero,” or, if ho likes,, “throw it m the creek.” Apparently, Rua is an individualist. If he makes roads, lie will tax his followers by. and by to defray the cost thereof; also, he would like the Government to give him the. revenue of the dog tax,, which he would raise "from 2s 6d to ss. So much for the Mehaia’s treasury plans. As to'tlie 100,000 acres he proposes to sell to the Government, he Avould be prepared to share equally with the Government the cost of making a road ty open it up. No Maori who takes land , under Rua’s scheme is to be alloAved to sell, except to a Maori. All this takes an hour or tivo to tell in florid" Maori, accompanied with many a dramatic gesture. Gradually, in ones, and tivos and threes, Rua’s people gather round to hear tlieir mentor instruct tlie pakcha. They dAvell on each Avord,, and laugh at every sally. Old men and children, ancient dames, and gaudy wahines, a long-haired individual Avitli a fearsome gathering on his face, and sundry ‘mongrel dogs make up a motley assemblage. Then as twilight deepens into dark the Mehaia completes his peroration, smiles gaily his “liaerera,’ and retires -.'with obvious consciousness that. lie has proved equal to every emergency. To do him justice, ho is newer stuck for an answer, and liis Avholo argument slioavs far more than a superficial knoAvledge of pakelia methods, and' ideas. THE FUTURE—: Of course, he has many huge obstacles before him. The consolidation of Native interests in one block, a task Avliich seems to have defied the Native land tribunals, cannot be accomplished by speeches in florid Maori. Rua’s scheme is apparently impossible Avitliout a complete' neiv outfit of Government legislation, and the undertaking bristles Avitli many of the old difficulties. The remarkable thing is that a man holding in Maori life the unique position occupied by Ruas should have forsaken so suddenly the paths of barbaric sooth-saying for those if civilised policy. Since the pakeha-desrtoying deluge did' net come, lie will accept the situation and co-operate Avith the white. Government toAvards attaining Maori objects—including his oAvn personal ones. Possibly, after all, tlie crwde prophet business was only the ladder by which this astute politician climbed into public notice. —it is generally good advertisement to make a noise. Having ascended the bridle track to the saddle on the opposite side of the valley, en route to Rua taliuna .and pakelia civilisation, the visitor pauses to take a last look at Maunga-pokutu—at the mountain itself, rearing its long hack and massive rock pillars four thousand odd feet above sea-lei r el; also at the. kainga, clinging to the loiver slopes, ivitli the circular temple of Rua in the foreground. Rua can Avith justice claim that all that Maori hands have accom. plisliei in Maumga-pohotu ivitliiii the last tw r o years is really his personal Avork: but for him,, not a. single tree Avould liaA'o been felled, not a single building AA r onld have arisen. “He Avrought it avlio inspired its execution. ” But can he carry to a conclusion the Avork which, beginning so meanly, lie hoav outlines forth Avitli such remarkable ingenuity arid force ? Can. Jip. 3 ia .. ke ~ pohot-u to become a farce and a plaything like the Maori councils invented by the pakelia? The judgment of time will decide; but in. the meantime there is this to be said: that Rua has taken up by far the most- effective Aveapon that the situation affords. The one great motive poAver of Maori life is the force of superstition.