Hauhau

“ The stockade at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu—In the Wharé-kura—Singular Hauhau war-rites—The "Twelve Apostles"—The enchanted taiaha—The heart of the pakeha: a human burnt-offering—An ambuscade and a cannibal feast.
Early in 1868 "Ringiringi" and his Hauhau comrades took up their quarters in the stockaded village of Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu ("The Beak-of-the-Bird") , soon to be the scene of the sharpest action of the war. This settlement was deep in the rata forest, about ten miles from where the town of Hawera now stands, in the direction of Mount Egmont. ”

“ The hatred of the Hauhau for the Pakeha was intense, and their attitude to the whites differed completely from that of the Maori in previous wars. They seemed to be obsessed with evil spirits, whose [Pg 271] mission was to promote in their victims a lust for blood and a disposition for cruelty of the most appalling kind. They were as men who had swallowed a drug having power to kill goodness and purity and generosity, and to fill the soul in their stead with malice, hatred and vices too degrading to be named. ”

“ This was Te Ua Haumene, the founder and high-priest and prophet of the Hauhau religion, or, more correctly speaking, fanaticism. Te Ua came riding into the Otapawa village one day with a bodyguard of armed men. Bent describes him as a stoutly built man of between forty and fifty, attired in European clothing, and carrying a carved taiaha—a chief's halbert or broadsword of hardwood, flattened at one end in a blunt blade, and sharpened at the other into a tongue-shaped point, and decorated with tufts of red kaka feathers; in a plaited flax belt round his waist was thrust a greenstone mere. ”

“ The war-flags of the Hauhaus were flown from the Niu, and the people daily marched around its foot in their "Pai-mariré" procession, intoning the chants their prophet had taught them. This Niu was one of the first worship-poles planted in Taranaki by the Hauhau prophet's command, and it was the centre of many a wild fanatic gathering. At its foot there was planted a large piece of unworked greenstone—as was done when the first house-pillar was set up—as the whatu of the sacred pole; this block of pounamu is still there, says Bent. ”

“ Te Kooti is well known as the great Hauhau leader during the war. He is a man of singular intelligence, and still exercises a widespread influence over the tribes. He was sent as a prisoner of war, with other natives, to the Chatham Islands, and his escape from that inhospitable region with his followers, together with his massacre of the settlers at Poverty Bay, form one of the most remarkable and stirring events connected with the campaign. ”

“ One of the spies was afterwards taken, but was let off in a shameful way by the authorities, as were many other Hauhau villains. The reason why they were allowed to escape the halter was this—in most cases the murderers were connected with friendly natives, and it was thought desirable not to offend those “friendlies,” as they might prevent a settlement of the land question.
Two principal rivers divide the Poverty Bay plains—the Waipaua and the Waimataha. ”

“ Quot homines, tot sententiae; so many men, so many ways of doing things; and it is just as well. Had General Chute commanded from the first, the war might have been sooner over; but there would never have arisen the need for the colonists to take their own part, and they must have been much longer in learning their good qualities of strength and self-reliance.
Throughout January, 1866, General Chute with his regulars, colonials and the Maori contingent [Pg 274] punished the Hauhau, who had learned by painful experience that they were not invulnerable. ”

“ In anguish of mind and body the poor fellow lay there for some time, till the Hauhau, realising that they had beaten off the attack, came hurrying along the track in pursuit. At sight of Russell helpless there, one of them ran gleefully forward with upraised tomahawk, only to receive a bullet in his brain from the brave sergeant's revolver. After that the rest circumspectly shot the lonely cripple from a safe distance and rushed on the trail of his comrades. ”

“ When they marched to battle a sacred party of twelve warriors preceded the army; and when in action bullets were rendered harmless, they professed to believe, by mystic hand and barking "hau." When a warrior fell, loss of faith was given as the cause. Chief of all the Hauhaus was Te Kooti. ”

“ Looking out, he saw a great many natives flitting about, and, calling to his servant, Edward Moran, who slept in an out-building, told him the Hauhaus were upon them, and desired him to come to his assistance, which Moran immediately did, though the Hauhaus tried to catch him as he ran across the open space between the two buildings. They appear to have been afraid to fire, lest they might rouse the sleeping neighbours. Finding they could not induce Captain Wilson to open the door, the Hauhaus proceeded to burst it in with a log of wood. ”

“ Sergeant Butter pursued the road to Matewhero, and had a narrow escape. As he neared the residence of Major Biggs, where he was bound, he found the Hauhaus were inside the premises, and their horses fastened to the garden fence to the number of 12 or 14. He found all the habitations between Matewhero and Turanganui deserted; every one, Europeans and natives, who escaped, were flying for life, and several houses were already in flames. ”

“ The skirmish at Whakamara—Hauhaus on the run—Government head-hunters—Major Kemp's white scout—Sharp work in the bush—Barbarism of the Whanganui—Kupapas—Smoke-drying the heads—A present for Whitmore—The heads on the tent floor—End of the war.
The deep and roadless forest was now the scene of sharp, barbaric war. The Hauhaus, after the abandonment of Tauranga-ika, built no stockades, but trusted to their most ancient of refuges, the nehenehe-nui, the great woody wilderness. From one hiding-place to another they fled, with the Government bush-fighters on their heels. ”

“ Bursting from the trees, the brown, nearly naked savages came yelling at the rear-guard. Hastily slipping fresh cartridges into their carbines, the [Pg 176] gigantic volunteer and his comrades sent a volley at the enemy. It was taking utu for the corporal in anticipation. Then they sorrowfully turned and went on into the dusky forest, leaving their comrade stretched there on the mossy ground, gazing stern-mouthed, unflinchingly down the way of death.
Out from the ferns and supplejack leaped the foremost of the Hauhaus, a tattooed, blanket-girded man, with wild eyes rolling in blood-madness. ”

“ CHAPTER V. POPULATION IN 1868 — RUMORS — BIGGS AT WHAREONGAONGA — GONE TO THE BUSH — TREACHERY — PAPARATU — THE GUIDE — WHITMORE — FURIOSO — A SOLDIER’S GRAVE — CONTRADICTORY ORDERS — TANGATA KAI AT PUKETAPU.
At the beginning of 1868, the inhabitants of Poverty Bay numbered about 450 natives and 200 Europeans. Most of the natives were Hauhaus of 1865, who had become once more exceedingly disaffected, owing to the non-solution of the land question. It appears probable that they were aware of the intended escape from the Chathams before that event occurred. ”

“ All that day (Tuesday) she lay unable to rise, with the murderers in sight, busy at their awful work. Whilst she lay helpless, a “friendly” native came and robbed her of her shawl, leaving her attired only in her night-dress. On Wednesday she managed to crawl to what had been her home, and got some water. Still the Hauhaus were about, and many buildings were being fired, at or near Matewhero ”

“ For example, there is Hau-hau. The principal manifestation in that singular new religion is the ecstasy and excitement into which whole congregations appear to throw themselves. There is something akin to the mesmeric phenomena in the extraordinary gusts of feeling that sweep over a Hau-hau conventicle. The leader works himself up first, and then the rest follow. They shout, they scream, they roll on the ground, they weep, they groan, and, while in this state, appear insensible to every external influence but the strange excitement that possesses them.
Any Maori can die when he likes. ”

“ Brave, ferocious and animated by an almost oriental fatalism, the Hau-haus were formidable antagonists and, moreover, shocked even their compatriots by their ruthless savagery. At the very outset they defeated a mixed contingent of the 57th Regiment and Colonials at Taranaki, and cut off the head of Captain Lloyd, who had been killed in action. Lloyd's head, preserved after the Maori fashion, was then carried round from tribe to tribe by two Hau-hau missionaries, who strove to make converts to the new faith. ”

“ One turns from the study of old genealogies, myths, and traditions of the Hawaiians with a hungry despair at finding in them means so small for picturing the people themselves, their human interests and passions; but when it comes to the hula and the whole train of feelings and sentiments that made their entrances and exits in the halau (the hall of the hula) one perceives that in this he has found the door to the heart of the people. ”

“ I know you to be the sons of Luahoomoe, whose death by the hands of Hua, King of Hana, has been avenged by the gods upon the people of all the islands of Hawaii. The earth is still parched, and thousands are seeking in vain for food and water. Hua is dead; his bones lie unburied in the sun. Scattered or dead are the people of Hana; their lands are yellow, and their springs and streams yield nothing but dust and ashes. Great was the crime of Hua, and great has been the punishment. ”

“ Warriors and friends!—for all, indeed, are warriors and friends in Haupu!—for years you have shared in the dangers of Kaupeepee and have never disobeyed him. Listen now to his words, and heed them well. A mighty army is about to surround Haupu by land and sea. It already blackens the shores of Kaunakakai, and will soon be thundering at our gates. The fight will be long and desperate, and may end in defeat and death to the most or all of us. ”

“ Full of wrath was Hiawatha
When he came into the village,
Found the people in confusion,
Heard of all the misdemeanors,
All the malice and the mischief,
Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis.
Hard his breath came through his nostrils,
Through his teeth he buzzed and muttered
Words of anger and resentment,
Hot and humming, like a hornet.
“I will slay this Pau-Puk-Keewis,
Slay this mischief-maker!” said he.
“Not so long and wide the world is,
Not so rude and rough the way is,
That my wrath shall not attain him,
That my vengeance shall not reach him!” ”

“ Fill the fiery brains of young men?
Who shall say what dreams of beauty
Filled the heart of Hiawatha?
All he told to old Nokomis,
When he reached the lodge at sunset,
Was the meeting with his father,
Was the fight with Mudjekeewis;
Not a word he said of arrows,
Not a word of Laughing Water.
V HIAWATHA'S FASTING
YOU shall hear how Hiawatha
Prayed and fasted in the forest,
Not for greater skill in hunting,
Not for greater craft in fishing,
[145] Not for triumphs in the battle,
And renown among the warriors
But for profit of the people,
For advantage of the nations. ”

“ In building a halau, or hall, in which to perform the hula a Hawaiian of the old, old time was making a temple for his god. In later and degenerate ages almost any structure would serve the purpose; it might be a flimsy shed or an extemporaneous lanai such as is used to shelter that al fresco entertainment, the luau. But in the old times of strict tabu and rigorous etiquette, when the chief had but to lift his hand and the entire population of a district ransacked plain, valley, and mountain to collect the poles, beams, thatch, and cordstuff ”

“ There is a posterity which does honour to our name,' cried the knight. 'True,' cried Frau Rosa, 'these men would deserve to drink the water of the Rhine instead of the vine blossom of its hills if they could forget the name of the man who first planted us in the Rheingau. My dear friends and apostles, up! a health to our glorious founder and ancestor! to Kaiser Karl, to Kaiser Karl!' The glasses rang again; but Bacchus said, 'Yes, it was a beautiful and a glorious time, and I rejoice in it as I did a thousand years ago. ”

“ Then the angry Hiawatha
Raised his mighty bow of ash-tree,
Seized his arrows, jasper-headed,
Shot them fast among the serpents;
Every twanging of the bow-string
Was a war-cry and a death-cry,
Every whizzing of an arrow
Was a death-song of Kenabeek.
Weltering in the bloody water,
Dead lay all the fiery serpents,
And among them Hiawatha
Harmless sailed, and cried exulting:
“Onward, O Cheemaun, my darling! ”

“ On the shore stood Hiawatha.
Up they rose with cry and clamor,
With a whir and beat of pinions,
Rose up from the reedy Islands,
From the water-flags and lilies.
And they said to Pau-Puk-Keewis:
“In your flying, look not downward,
Take good heed and look not downward,
Lest some strange mischance should happen,
Lest some great mishap befall you!” ”

“ I was not much surprised to find that the splendor of the Hague was principally confined to its buildings, although it has been so often, in other times, celebrated for its magnificence and the expense of its inhabitants: the revolution expelled its hereditary princes, dispersed its nobles, and visited every description of society with more or less distress. ”

“ Such was the personnel of a hula troupe when first gathered by the hula-master for training and drill in the halau, now become a school for the hula. Among the pupils the kumu was sure to find some old hands at the business, whose presence, like that of veterans in a squad of recruits, was a leaven to inspire the whole company with due respect for the spirit and traditions of the historic institution and to breed in the members the patience necessary to bring them to the highest proficiency. ”