TE PUTATARA

 

A Newsletter for The Kumara Vine
P.O.Box 408, Wellington, New Zealand

ISSN 01142097 - Issue No 2/90 February 1990

 


 

Putatara! Putatara!
Toi te hapu, toi te iwi, toi te mana:
te mana wairua, te mana whenua, te mana tangata; te mana Maori.
Ka whawhai tonu ake! Ake! Ake!
E nga iwi o te motu, e nga tai e wha,

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

 

 

 

 

The Treaty of Waitangi: 24 June 1840

 

 

Ko Ngati Kahungunu te iwi whanui,
Ko Ngati Whatuiapiti te iwi,
Ko Ngati Rangikoianake te hapu.
Ko Kahuranaki te maunga,
Ko Te Hapuku te tangata.

 

On 6 February, the northern Waitangi Day, my thoughts turn to Te Hapuku of Kahuranaki Marae, Te Hauke.

In 1835 Te Hapuku signed Busby's Declaration of Independence. On 24 June 1840, with his whanaunga Hoani Waikato, he signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which was brought to Heretaunga by Major Thomas Bunbury aboard the HMS Herald. At first he refused to sign, but gave in after promises, and finally threats.

In the years after the Treaty was signed, Te Hapuku was to have many dealings with the Pakeha. One whom he came to know well was Sir Donald McLean, government land commissioner, native commissioner, provincial superintendent, and cabinet minister; the prince of land-grabbers.

From 1840 onwards Te Hapuku was courted by governors and governments, and even in his final hours, in May 1878, he was visited by Sir George Grey, then Premier of New Zealand. In the face of the tauiwi tide in those 38 years, Te Hapuku maintained his economic independence, his dignity, his mana, and his rangatiratanga. There was little to be done to hold back the settlers as they surged through the land; and in the short term his hapu did profit.

Te Hapuku had a sense of humour. Even as Sir Donald McLean rode to wealth and power on the backs of the Maori people, Te Hapuku of Te Hauke rode about his land and surveyed his flock of 5000 white sheep from the back of his horse, a great white stallion called "Donald McLean". True!

150 years after the Treaty, we've got about five white sheep, and we can't afford the horse. I shall have to get a big white billy goat. I shall call it "Constitution", and ride it through Te Hauke on 24 June 1990.

Kia ora koutou,

Ross Himona

 


 

 

 

Maori Congress

 

 

The Congress Task Force met on Saturday 13 January at Turangi, with the structure for Congress and the Runanga Iwi Bill on the agenda. Sir Hepi Te Heu Heu was present. The Runanga Iwi Bill was the main item discussed. A paper written by a member of Tuwharetoa was tabled. The paper opposed the new bill. It was to be disseminated to iwi to assist them in their submissions to the parliamentary select committee.

Task Force also called for more time for iwi to present their submissions.

Elections to positions on the task force were held. Apirana Mahuika was made chairman of the Task Force and Mason Durie is to be Secretary. Derek Fox is media spokesperson. Apirana Mahuika is chairman of Te Runanga o Ngati Porou, and Mason Durie is Rangitane and Raukawa. Derek is also media advisor to the Iwi Transition Agency.

Mahuika, Durie and Fox are to meet at Turangi on 10 February, and the next full Task Force meeting is on 25 February at Fielding.

 


 

 

 

Chairman Apirana Mahuika

by a well-wisher from Ngati Porou

 

 

They seek him here,
They seek him there,
Those Ngatis
Seek him everywhere.

Is he in Heaven?
[Te Araroa, Tikitiki, Ruatoria,
Tokomaru, Tolaga, Turanganui]

Or is he in Hell?
[Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington,
Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill]

That damned elusive
Chocolate Pimpernel.

 


 

 

 

TE PUTATARA

 

"Kia toro tou ao,
Me te mara kumara,
Awhi mai ou aka
i te rawakore.
Kia puta mai tou whanau,
Tipu ake, hei putiputi puawai
Mo te ao whanui."

- Arapera Hineira Kaa Blank.

************

 

TE PUTATARA has been published monthly since January 1988 by TE AUTE PUBLICATIONS, P.O.Box 408, Wellington, New Zealand.

Editor
Writer
Tea Boy

Ross Himona

Copyright: Ross Himona, 1990

All material appearing in TE PUTATARA is copyright. Contributions are welcomed. Letters to the tea boy are also welcomed.

************

 

Subscriptions:

1 copy $4.00
6 months $23.00
12 months $45.00

Subscribers please note that your subscriptions cover up to and including the month which appears on the address label of your envelope.

 


 

 

 

THIS MONTH

 

 

Treaty of Waitangi: 24 June 1840 .. 1

Maori Congress .................... 2

Fan Mail .......................... 3

Wellington Watch .................. 4

The Year Ahead: 1990 .............. 6

He iwi tahi tatou ................. 7

Book Review: Go Rin No Sho ........ 8

Dispatches from the Dungeon Bar ...10

 


 

 

 

 

Fan Mail

 

 

## Tena koe Ross,

I roto i te tau hou. Kia kaha.

We (that is our MWW League) look forward to Te Putatara. We have a good laugh at some of the slants. It vitalizes us into action to become vocal in the huis and to be aware of the many changes that are taking place in policies.

The latest in our area of the King Country is that our marae (Maori Reservation) are being charged LAND TAX. What more do they want to tahae, LAND TAX in 1990, the only piece of land we can call our own, small as it is. Well! We are going to fight it and I'm sure other marae in Aotearoa will join in.

Happy to forward our annual sub,

Ka kite ano,
Ani Henry,
Hikurangi MWWL,
Box 239,
Taumarunui.

 

 

## Kia ora Ross,

Many thanks for Te Putatara up to February 1990 - & here's my next 6 months subscription. Congratulations, warm thanks & best wishes - I'm looking forward to the next issues.

Ruth Lake,
Wellington.

 

 

## Kia ora Ross Himona,

I sent in a trial sub for your newsletter and it's worth the money so here's the cheque. The January issue contains the best round-up I've seen of legislative and administrative changes as they affect Maori people (and us Pakeha too) and with some good laughs thrown in.

Keep it up.

Kia kaha!
Elsie Locke,
Christchurch.

 

 

##Tena koe Ross,

Te Putatara makes for some interesting reading especially for those out of touch with the politics of Maoridom. Your analysis in the Jan 1990 issue of previous management practices by the Dept of Maori Affairs I thought hilarious but factual. I hope momentum for support of the treaty picks up. Wouldn't it be great to acquire a Mahatma Gandhi to help resolve the whole matter.

I await your future issues in earnest.

Kia ora,
Peter Davis,
Kaitaia.

 

 

## Kia ora Ross,

Nga mihi nui mo te tau hou. Please find year's sub for PUTATARA. Good reading.

Arohanui,
Pat Grace.

 


 

 

 

Constitution vs Treaty

 

 

Most of you probably believe the government's weak story about how some of the original Treaty documents have been damaged by water and chewed by rats. Do you? Well, the kumara vine (archives branch) says that they were actually chewed up by a big white billy goat called "Constitution". The government keeps him in the Treaty of Waitangi section of National Archives. True, e hoa ma!

 


 

 

 

Wellington Watch

a round-up of capital events

 

 

The Government Panics

 

This year the diplomatic community has not been invited to participate in Waitangi Day events. The police say that they were not concerned for the safety of diplomats, and this action was not as a result of any of their advice.

Why did the government do it? Because they don't want the diplomatic community to find out what most Maori really think about the tauiwi colonial masters. They've panicked! Now the diplomats will be even more interested in finding the truth.

 

John "Rambo" Banks MP

 

Mr Banks claims that he is a target for Maori radicals, and that he has received numerous threats, and that he is not afraid, and that he is doing his duty by exposing thugs and radicals; and when he gets to be Minister of Police, he will sort them all out. He proposes some fairly drastic remedies for the evils he creates within his own fertile imagination. He likes to be thought of as Mr "Tough Guy" Banks. Some people get upset by Mr Banks.

E hoa ma, I find Mr Banks very amusing, eh. I even get a touch of nostalgia when I hear him sounding off. My 20 years in the Army included time at a couple of small wars. I sometimes wonder how Mr Banks and his mates would have performed there. In my experience the tough ones don't sound off about it. The noisy ones always got left behind in base.

And if Mr Banks wants to see some goodness in life he should step away from the mirror. Mauri marie, mauri ora; mauri awangawanga, mauri mate.

 

The 1990 Song

 

E hoa ma, did you all hear that neat new song they wrote for 1990? The one called "New Zealand - Kainga Tuturu." Funny you know; I'm sure I heard one just like it in 1988 at the Ozzie Bicentenary. But that one was called "Australia - Kainga Kangaru".

 

Te Tira Ahu Iwi: Iwi Transition Agency

 

Te Putatara has had a good look through the ITA Corporate Plan, and the ITA Business Planning Handbook.

Didn't have to rely on the kumara vine to get them. And I didn't steal them either John Paki, so you tell Neville Baker and his mate Warwick Crooks, and their Pakeha Defective too. Have you heard of the Official Information Act, and about your new management philosophy called "open and direct communications" you fullahs? You don't have to keep secrets anymore, you know. You can even talk to me (so long as Cyclone Koro doesn't see you). Everything you do in ITA these days is open and above board! Big change from the old days eh? Maybe you fullahs should tell your Minister about the new policy. He still thinks he has to hide everything - must have a guilty conscience about something eh.

Well, the corporate plan sets out the mission and goals for ITA for the next five years, and the objectives for the next year. The business planning book is a guide to show ITA staff how to draw up their own regional and programme plans, so that they are all working towards the overall ITA plan (not off playing their own little games like the old Tari Maori days).

The bit they will not be used to is the bit where they have to plan what they are going to achieve in the next year. At the end of the year they will then have to account for their achievements. Hika ma, this sounds like that quaint discipline called "management" eh. They're getting modern since the Dear Old Department of Maori Affair marquee got blown down, and they disappeared into the night.

The only trouble that I can see is that some of those "management" staff don't know what it is they're reading! Some of them seem to be having trouble understanding this new word eh. New word? P-L-A-N. You know, that's where you know what you're supposed to do, and what you're going to do, and why and how you're going to do it; before, not after eh.

 

Mr Bert Mackie gets new job

 

Iwi Transition Agency General Manager Mr Wira Gardiner has announced a new team set up to monitor MANA Enterprises and Maori ACCESS programmes. This is in preparation for further devolution of resources to Maori authorities, he said. Mr Bert Mackie and Mr Graham Pryor are the first two members of the team.

Mr Mackie is a former hotel manager, and former member of the now defunct Board of Maori Affairs. On the Board of Maori Affairs he was chairman of the MANA sub-committee and a member of the MACCESS sub-committee, which was chaired by Professor Ngatata Love. He has been a supporter and close advisor to Hon Mr K.T.Wetere, Minister of Maori Affairs, since the 1984 elections. He is known to have frequent access to Mr Wetere's Beehive office. Mr Mackie has been working from ITA Head Office in Wellington since its establishment in October last year.

Mr Pryor is the accountant.

Mr Gardiner said that Mr Mackie would be approaching authorities to review the programmes and to identify where assistance might be needed. He would also determine what employment had been achieved through setting up small business under the MANA scheme. The aim of the new team is to develop a firm, fair and sensitive way of monitoring iwi authorities which over the next five years will take over functions from some government departments, he said.

 

The Elm and the Ti

 

Hika ma, have you noticed how upset people are getting because a fatal tree disease has arrived in Aotearoa. It only affects those tauiwi elm trees, and they call it "Dutch Elm Disease." I wonder what the Dutch call it eh! The Government has even committed some funding to investigate this calamity. You might also have noticed that not too many people are getting upset about the mysterious disease that is having a go at our ti-kouka "cabbage" trees in the North.

E hoa ma, have any of you heard of any fatal people diseases which only affect tauiwi politicians. Could be very useful eh.

 

Manatu Maori: Ministry of Maori Affairs.

 

Now, while I'm on the subject of corporate plans. The kumara vine reports that Manatu doesn't have much of a plan at all. Before you all blame Chief Executive John Clarke, just stop to consider that it might be government policy for Manatu not to know what it could be doing, and how to do it, and when to do it by. Hika ma, that might be why Mr Clarke was selected as headmaster eh. You can't have everything you know.

 


 

 

 

The Year Ahead: 1990

"E mua ata haere, e muri tatakino."

 

 

1990 will be a big year for iwi, even without all the propaganda and hype, and the sesqui-centennial hypocrisy.

If all the legislation currently in the House is passed, iwi will be very busy indeed. There will be incorporated runanga to establish, and that alone could take months to get done. At the same time there will be Local Government advisory committees to get going, and also representation on Conservation Boards. Fisheries and forestry are on-going concerns, as are the claims before the Waitangi Tribunal.

The Resource Law Reform Bill makes provision for Iwi Management Plans to be considered by regional and territorial authorities when they draw up their own resource management plans. This means that iwi should have comprehensive management plans registered with local bodies as soon as possible. The iwi plans should include provisions for iwi management of all taonga, such as the waterways, and wahi tapu. The Local Government advisory committees (Maori) will need to be right on top of all legislation affecting local government, including conservation law and the new resource law.

In addition to the new tasks there are the ones most iwi are already involved in: arts and crafts, health, education, social welfare, justice, employment, women's issues, the rangatahi movement, economic development, and a host of others.

This represents a heavy agenda for the iwi, without any guarantee of public funding to carry out even the legislated tasks. It also heralds the need for professional management practices. With so much to do and with so little to do it, very careful planning and organisation will be needed. Those iwi which do not adopt modern management practices and techniques will not make it. What this means is that iwi must draw up comprehensive iwi management plans as soon as possible. The first task is to define and agree what needs to be done (goals and objectives), what resources are needed, what resources are available, what the priorities are, and how, when and by whom the goals and objectives are to be achieved.

If you don't know where you are today, how will you know where you are tomorrow? If you don't plan where you are going, how will you know when you get there? Fast-track quality management training should therefore become a priority for most iwi.

Before any planning can be done however, each iwi needs to decide and agree on it's kaupapa (mission statement). I firmly believe that the kaupapa for every iwi is the one on the front page of this newsletter: "toi te hapu, toi te iwi, toi te mana." Survival of our culture (ie the iwi) must be the paramount goal of every iwi; survival for a thousand years and more. Why else do we do the things we do?

Which brings me to the Maori Congress. It doesn't have a real kaupapa - a positive direction. Surely the only possible unifying kaupapa is the mutual survival of all its member iwi: "toi te hapu, toi te iwi, toi te mana." Isn't it?

It's a big year ahead. There's the elections as well.

 


 

 

 

"He iwi tahi tatou"

 

 

"The change of plan caught Hobson by surprise. He was summoned ashore late in the morning, arriving in plain clothes, having hastily snatched up his plumed hat. Several hundred Maori were waiting for him in the marquee and more stood around outside. Only Busby and a few Europeans had turned up, among them the Catholic Bishop Pompallier."

"The signing went ahead. Busby called each chief by name from a list he had. It was probably Williams who told Hobson to try a few words in Maori. When each chief had signed, Hobson shook hands with him and said, "He iwi tahi tatou."

- Claudia Orange, extracts from "The Story of a Treaty", 1989.

 

"He iwi tahi tatou - We are one people." This, the oft quoted version of Hobson's choice of words, is the most commonly accepted, although at least one Maori oral version records that he actually said, "Kua iwi kotahi tatou." Others say that the words were "He iwi kotahi tatou." All mean the same thing, "we are one people", but the differing versions do point to the possibility that they are all wrong.

The most common version, quoted above by Claudia Orange, was recorded by William Colenso (who was present at the signing) in "The Authentic and Genuine History of the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi", Wellington, 1890. However, I have always wondered whether this was just a missionary fiction, designed to strengthen their efforts to bring all Maori under the mantle of the Christian church; whether in fact Hobson didn't say something much more mundane.

Since 1840, tauiwi have used Hobson's alleged choice of words to justify their contention that we are "one nation, one people." "He iwi tahi tatou" has been used to justify both assimilation and integration, and the aim has always been to eradicate Maori culture. Today the same call is taken up by the One New Zealand Foundation, and by others such as Sir Robert the Jones, Sir Robert the Great Muldoon, Hon Peter Tapsell and Mr Winston Peters.

Well, I was right about those words. Te Putatara has now discovered new evidence, recorded by a founding member of the kumara vine who was present at the signing on 6 February 1840. Our man was close to the action and heard every word. E hoa ma, this is what really happened.

As Hone Heke stepped up to sign the Treaty he pointed to Hobson's plumed hat and he said, "Mr Governor, that's a fine chook you wear on your head!"

Quick as flash Hobson said, "That's no chook mate. Those are genuine kiwi feathers. Te kiwi tuatahi ahau."

Yes he did. "I'm the Number 1 Kiwi." Nothing at all about this "one people" rubbish. Hika ma!

And that's why, e hoa ma, to this very day, Pakeha New Zealanders still call themselves "KIWIS". You know, it always puzzled me why they were called Kiwis. Now we know eh.

 


 

 

 

 

Go Rin No Sho (A Book of Five Rings)

by Miyamoto Musashi, Translated by Victor Harris
Fontana Paperbacks, London, 1984, $15.95

 

 

 

Miyamoto Musashi (1594-1645) is a legendary figure of Japan who lives on through his teachings on strategy and tactics, and the almost invincible power of self-mastery. "A Book of Five Rings" contains the principles of strategy Musashi distilled from his own experience as a master strategist, and as an artist. It was written in the last few months of his life, addressed to his pupil, Teruo Nobuyuki.

"Go Rin No Sho" is a short but fascinating book, with new layers of meaning to be found at each reading.

 

On timing in strategy

 

"There is timing in everything. Timing in strategy cannot be mastered without a great deal of practice.

"Timing is important in dancing and pipe or string music, for they are in rhythm only if timing is good. Timing and rhythm are also involved in the military arts, shooting bows and guns, and riding horses. In all skills and abilities there is timing.

"There is also timing in the Void.

"There is timing in the whole life of the warrior, in his thriving and declining, in his harmony and discord. Similarly, there is timing in the Way of the merchant, in the rise and fall of capital. All things entail rising and falling timing. You must be able to discern this. In strategy there are various timing considerations. From the outset you must know the applicable timing and the inapplicable timing, and from among the large and small things and the fast and slow timings find the relevant timing, first seeing the distance timing and the background timing. This is the main thing in strategy. It is especially important to know the background timing, otherwise your strategy will become uncertain. You win in battles with the timing in the Void born of the timing of cunning by knowing the enemies, timing, and thus using a timing which the enemy does not expect."

 

On the Way of strategy

 

"This is the Way for men who want to learn my strategy:

1. Do not think dishonestly.

2. The Way is in training.

3. Become acquainted with every art.

4. Know the Ways of all professions.

5. Distinguish between gain and loss

in worldly matters.

6. Develop intuitive judgement and

understanding for everything.

7. Perceive those things which cannot

be seen.

8. Pay attention even to trifles.

9. Do nothing which is of no use.

"It is important to start by setting these broad principles in your heart, and train in the Way of strategy. If you do not look at things on a large scale it will be difficult for you to master strategy."

"If there is a Way involving the spirit of not being defeated, to help oneself and gain honour, it is the Way of strategy."

 

On spiritual bearing in strategy

 

"In strategy your spiritual bearing must not be any different from normal. Both in fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, your spirit settled yet unbiased. Even when your spirit is calm do not let your body relax, and when your body is relaxed do not let your spirit slacken. Do not let your spirit be influenced by your body, or your body be influenced by your spirit. Be neither insufficiently spirited nor over spirited. An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is weak. Do not let the enemy see your spirit.

"Small people must be completely familiar with the spirit of large people, and large people must be familiar with the spirit of small people. Whatever your size, do not be misled by the reactions of your own body. With your spirit open and unconstricted, look at things from a high point of view. You must cultivate your wisdom and spirit. Polish your wisdom: learn public justice, distinguish between good and evil, study the Ways of different arts one by one. When you cannot be deceived by men you will have realised the wisdom of strategy."

 

On the gaze in strategy

 

"The gaze should be large and broad. This is the two-fold gaze "perception and sight". Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things. It is important in strategy to know the enemy's sword and not to be distracted by insignificant movements of his sword. You must study this. The gaze is the same for single combat and for large scale strategy.

 

On the Void

 

"What is called the spirit of the Void is where there is nothing. It is not included in man's knowledge. Of course the Void is nothingness. By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the Void.

"People in this world look at things mistakenly, and think that what they do not understand must be the Void. This is not the true Void. It is bewilderment.

"In the Way of strategy, also, those who study as warriors think that whatever they cannot understand in their craft is the Void. This is not the true Void.

"To attain the Way of strategy as a warrior you must study fully other martial arts and not deviate even a little from the Way of the warrior. With your spirit settled, accumulate practice day by day, and hour by hour. Polish the twofold spirit heart and mind, and sharpen the twofold gaze perception and sight. When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true Void.

"Until you realise the true Way, whether in Buddhism or in common sense, you may think that things are correct and in order. However, if we look at things objectively, from the viewpoint of laws of the world, we see various doctrines departing from the true Way. Know well this spirit, and with forthrightness as the foundation and the true spirit as the Way, enact strategy broadly, correctly and openly.

"Then you will come to think of things in a wide sense and, taking the Void as the Way, you will see the Way as Void.

"In the Void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principle has existence, spirit is nothingness."

 


 

 

 

 

Dispatches from the Dungeon

"Whatu ngarongaro te Tari, toitu te Dungeon."

 

 

Paikare! The other Friday, the old Dungeon Bar was a bit like a scene from World War I. You could hardly see for the smoke and fumes, and there were heaps of aged Pakeha down there, smoking and fuming. Maybe it's a new branch of the RSA. You hear a lot of bull down in the Dungeon eh, so it could almost be an RSA Club.

Speaking of aged Pakeha - and a lot of bull - who should come down the Dungeon but Neville Baker's mate, Warwick Crooks. He's the manager of the Department of Maori Affairs Residual Management Unit. ICU DMA RMU - UCMe2? Or is he just a residual manager? Anyway, he used to be a Customs lukewarm-shot, then he was Deputy Secretary (Corporate Affairs) in the Tari Maori, and now he's hanging in by the skin of his gums, winding up the affairs of the old Tari. His last important job will be to clean out the broom cupboard on the 7th floor. Don't forget to empty the shredding machine too, Warwick!

Engari, I suppose he'll soon be looking for another job eh. Guess he'll be moving his private bar out of Massey House too. Some people have an office; Mr Crooks has a lounge bar. Perhaps he could set up his new office in the Dungeon Bar - then he wouldn't have to interrupt himself at 5 o'clock to change offices. And he could keep an eye on us all day long eh. That would save the Maori Trustee the expense of hiring Trevor Morley!

By the way. Has anyone heard from Uncle Jake in Marton? His branch of the kumara vine has been very quiet lately. Maybe Morley the Pakeha defective has tracked him down and forced him deeper underground. Are you still there Uncle Jake?

Meanwhile back in the Dungeon Bar, this person from Te Whanau-A-Apanui was down there, and wanted to know who was this Jake up at Parliament. So I told him in confidence, because his security clearance is "TOP SECRET RUMOUR" you understand, that I'd heard that maybe it was Cyclone Koro himself! Well that put a smile on his face. He believed me too.

'Cause Peter Tapsell is definitely not JAKE. His secret codename is MINISTER SAHIB. Bruce Gregory's is DOCTOR SHADOW. And mine is PORANGI.

 


 

 

 

Mouse Detective Agency

 

Rapid detection and extermination
of mice and moles

Specialists in cat & mouse games

Chief Superintendent Koha Te Ngeru
Detective Inspector Moko Te Ngeru

Te Broom Cupboard

7th Floor, Massey House.

Tel: (04) 720-588

Fax: (04) 721-138

 


 

 

Waikaremoana Guided Tours

 

Pig Hunting
Deer Stalking
Trout Fishing
Tramping

Contact: Noel Himona

P.O.Box 351
Wairoa.
Tel: (0724) 23-729


archives