Destroying a Beautiful Language

 

Maori is a beautiful language, descriptive, and pleasant to listen to (I have several friends who speak it).  It disturbs me that there seems to be a movement afoot to dilute it by incorporating it into the English language.

It is well documented that English is a “bastard language”, having its roots in many different languages.  The English, it seems, have been very adept at appropriating words from other cultures and incorporating them into their own tongue.

Maori words are creeping (should I say racing?) into our broadcasting system, and it is becoming a common joke that any ex-national returning home won’t be able to understand the language being spoken here. 

Place names are also being altered, and I can see why some wish to change them back to their original names.  What I don’t understand is the alteration of the pronunciation of current Maori place names – one example is the changing of Waitomo (why-tow-mow) to white-um-oh.  Another is Matamata (mat-a mat-a), that I have heard called ma-tar-ma-tar or sometimes ma-tama-tuh.  It gets very confusing.

Our country has three official languages – English, Maori, and sign language – but I heard mentioned the other day that we would soon only have two, pidgin English and sign language.

I hope it never comes to that.  I would like to see the Maori language kept pure and used alongside English, not sprinkled all through it.

Be happy in all you do 😊

Margaret.

 

 

Cemetery Visit

No apologies for photographing a cemetery.  It is 18 months since my darling husband died and I sought solace by visiting his grave.  It takes me around an hour to get there, as the cemetery we chose is a provincial one situated in the town where we first met. 

This rather rickety-looking seat was in the older part of the cemetery

My father, mother, a brother, and a grandmother are also buried here, so husband is in good company!

A view across the cemetery

The cemetery is not large, being so much more intimate than the big city one, and has a very peaceful atmosphere with several large trees and all kinds of resident birds.  It is actually a lovely place to just sit for a while and ponder on things.

This area is reserved for Returned Servicemen

Whenever I leave a cemetery I like to follow Maori protocol and wash my hands before leaving, throwing some of the water backwards over my shoulders. 

Washing the hands this way is to clear any connection that has inadvertently been made with the spiritual world, and also leaves the departed ones in their places so they do not follow you.

Sounds superstitious I know, but the act always leaves me feeling purified somehow.  It gives me peace instead of turmoil.

I love this majestic old oak tree

Margaret.

The Bay Of Islands

After a restless night at my accommodation in Awanui, in Northland, I left early in the morning and headed down the east coast to the Bay of Islands.  I had to call in to see the Mangonui Wharf as I had heard so much about it and its fish-and-chips shop. 

The fish shop is on the right of the picture

Unfortunately the shop was not due to open for another two hours and I could not wait that long.  A sign outside advertised that they sold “king prawns, kina tubs, Mangonui chowder, Pacific oysters, hot coffee and cold beer, raw fish salad, smoked fish, marinated mussels, calamari, and kid’s meals.”  It sounded like a great place to buy fresh kaimoana (food from the sea).

I eventually arrived at Kerikeri, a place I had not visited since being on honeymoon fortysix years ago.  I had thought to visit the model Maori Village there, but it too was closed.

The gateway entrance to the Maori village

Across the river from me (accessed by a footbridge) was the historic Stone Store and Kemp House, part of the Mission Station that was established here in 1819.

The Mission Station at Kerikeri

The Stone Store was built in 1832 and has served as a warehouse, trading post, library, army barracks, boys’ school, and general store (not all at the same time!).  Today it operates as a gift and souvenir shop.

The Georgian-style Stone Store

On the outskirts of Paihia is found the Raruru Falls, a five metre high waterfall on the Waitangi River.  I was lucky to find a car park as the place was busy with tourists and families.  There were many people swimming in the rock pools above the falls, and the rest of us were busy taking photographs!

Raruru Falls near Paihia

A visit to Waitangi was another must, and I went there next.  The Treaty of Waitangi was signed here in 1840 between English colonists and Maori chiefs, and is regarded as our nation’s founding document.  A lot of controversy still surrounds this Treaty, and I was pleased to see that the Museum presented both sides of the history in a fairly unbiased manner.

The flagpole on the large sweep of lawn

The building now known as the Treaty House was built around 1833 as a home for the governor James Busby and his family.  It is one of New Zealand’s oldest surviving buildings.

Waitangi Treaty House

Beautiful cottage gardens have been established around the outside of the house, including fruit trees and grape vines.  So very different from when I last visited and the house was a lonely lifeless building that smelt musty and echoed badly.  The restoration of house and garden is great to see.

Part of the cottage garden surrounding the Treaty House

Close by the Treaty House is a Maori Meeting House, built in 1940 to celebrate 100 years since the Treaty was signed.  Together the two buildings are meant to symbolise partnership between the British Crown and the Maori people.  The house itself reflects the stories and carving styles of different tribes around New Zealand, and, after removing my shoes, I had a quick look inside.

Carvings and woven panels inside the Meeting House

The evening was calm and warm and perfect for an evening stroll.  I wandered down from my motel to downtown Paihia and drank in the atmosphere.  There were a lot of people around, patronising one of many different eateries or doing some souvenir shopping.  I thought this statue of a swordfish beside the wharf was rather appropriate, as a lot of deep sea fishing excursions begin here.

Swordfish statue on Paihia Wharf

Paihia had a lovely holiday atmosphere, and one day I hope I can return and explore it further.

Bye for now,

Margaret.

Some Sober Thoughts

This is not something I speak about very often.  I have dear friends on both sides of this debate and I am inclined to get upset when they argue about it.  Maybe I have my head in the sand, but I prefer my world to be filled with love and happiness.  

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On 8 October 1759, 250 years ago today, the explorer Captain James Cook first made landfall in New Zealand and claimed it as a new land for England.  The event is being marked this week with celebrations and protests – celebrations for his “discovering” New Zealand (Abel Tasman was here before him, but never made contact with any local people), and protests because this event marked the beginning of “imperial colonisation” and the “destruction of the sovereign rights” of the indigenous people he found here. 

It is a tricky situation and, like religion and politics, discussion about it frequently ends in fierce arguments as people often hold very set opinions on the matter.  On the one side are people who say forget the lot, it is past and gone and has no bearing on living today.  On the other side are people who (rightly or wrongly) harbour deep resentments and seek compensation as reparation.  In between are a lot of apathetic people who would rather the problem just went away, but will usually side with their particular race when it comes right down to it.  Officially, the sailing around New Zealand by a replica of Cook’s ship, the Endeavour, and a flotilla of waka (Maori canoes) is to promote unity and harmony between these widely differing opinions.  Whether it does or not still remains to be seen.

There is no argument that hostility and suspicion was present on both sides during the time of colonisation, and atrocities and injustices were committed by both settlers and Maori.    However, it has to be asked if concentrating on these is useful.  It is easy to forget that settlers were often openly welcomed in many areas and many Maori became highly successful traders with the foreign ships that visited them.  It is also easy for many descendants of settlers to forget that their ancestors were sometimes directly responsible for the shedding of innocent blood.

The British High Commissioner recently expressed regret that Captain Cook and his crew had killed nine men on his first landing in New Zealand.  Our deputy prime minister, Winston Peters (himself a Maori), says the track record of Maori “has not been as pure as the driven snow.”  It seems that both sides need to take responsibility for all the bad things that happened.

Unfortunately there is a growing impassioned movement that claims European “invaders” were entirely at fault for everything.  A lot of white people are now reacting to this claim and making spiteful remarks about those who claim they were the original settlers of this country – especially when archaeology suggests there were already people present when the Maori settled here in the early 1300s and that those original settlers were then systematically annihilated by the more aggressive Maori.

I feel it is a great pity that the people of our nation cannot put their differences behind them and work together for the good of our country.  Such illogical hatred between races only brings division and, ultimately, results in a civil war that benefits nobody.

So much for my thoughts,

Margaret

Taumarunui, The Heart of the King Country

Piriaka Lookout, near Taumarunui

Earlier this year I made an extended road trip down to the South Island, staying with various friends and family along the way.  It was wonderful being able to see more of my own country and I thought perhaps it would be nice to record some of the places I visited during that trip.

Today I would like to show a little bit of Taumaranui, a town located in the heart of the King Country in central North Island.  The settlement grew up beside where the Ongarue River joined the Whanganui River, and was originally founded by Maori who used the rivers extensively as canoe routes.

On the main road there is a large boulder with a top hat sitting upon it.   An amazing site and I had to go and investigate further.  Apparently it commemorates the time when the Maori king, Tawhiao, threw his hat onto a map of the North Island during negotiations with Governor Grey and declared that all the land beneath his hat was banned to all European access.  And so the King Country came into being.

The Top Hat of King Tawhiao

Further along the road was another edifice, this time a moa made out of driftwood.  These huge birds were flightless and became extinct about 600 years ago.

Moa, made out of driftwood

Piriaka Lookout is only a few kilometres south of Taumaranui (say tower-mar-ra-noo-ee) and has a great area for pulling off the side of the road and looking out over the surrounding countryside.  I was fortunate to see an electric train on the Main Trunk Line below, and also got my first glimpse of the mountains of Tongariro National Park.

Passenger train on the Main Trunk Line

Distant view of mountains in the Tongariro National Park

Hope your day is a good one,

Margaret