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Massey University 
Library 

W AIRUA MAORI RUA MANO : MAORI SPIRITUALITY 2000 

A thesis 

Submitted in partial fulfilment 

of the requirements for the Degree 

of 

Master of Philosophy 

at 

Massey University 

by 

TE W AAKA MELBOURNE 

Massey University 

2000 



11 

ABSTRACT 

This thesis examines Maori Spirituality as it was in its early form of primal religion and 

some aspects of what it is today in the new millennium. The paper argues that while 

Christianity has made a strong hold on Maori Spirituality, never the less, primal belief is 

very much alive in the midst of the ordinary life of the Maori, especially in the precinct of 

the Marae. The paper begins by looking at pre-European Maori beliefs and their genesis 

story which laid down the charter for the dynamic relationships between Maori and their 

environment as it unfolds in the dramatic myth stories, handed down orally from generation 

to generation. These stories guide the Maori to an understanding of where they come from, 

who they are and where they are going. 

The impact of the arrival of another culture along with Christianity brought about dramatic 

changes for Maori in their relationship with their ecology, their gods and with one another. 

Conversion to Christianity was slow and ponderous. The Gospel, introduced by the 

missionaries, contributed to Maori becoming British subjects but the results were disastrous 

for Maori. The Treaty, in its Maori text, was signed by most chiefs ceding governance to the 

British Crown while guaranteeing the chiefs ' supremacy over their land and property, their 

' tino rangatiratanga'. It was the beginning of the end for Maori. 

By the tum of twentieth century, colonisation, through greed and broken promises, had 

stripped Maori of their land and their ' ti no rangatiratanga' . The Maori population was in a 

perilous situation and many predicted Maori would soon to be extinct. With the help of 

modern technology, a new dawn of consciousness became evident as contemporary arts of 

carving, tukutuku weaving, and painting took shape within the precincts of the Marae. 



111 

Performing arts also came into their own as fonnal speeches, waiata, poetry, action songs, 

poi, and haka served to inspire and encourage the younger generations within the bounds of 

the Marae, the last bastion of the Maori. The Mante became a pivotal point for Maori 

survival and spirituality. 

For over a century the indigenous people of Aotearoa were subjugated and served as a 

second class citizen within their own country under the rule of the State and Church. 

However the Anglican Church in New Zealand, in 1990, changed its constitution of 1875 to 

embrace the Treaty of Waitangi. It meant, for its Maori members that through self­

determination, self-propagation and self-supporting activities, their 'tino rangatiratanga', 

their 'wairua'(spirituality) had finally been achieved, but this is only one section of the 

community in Aotearoa. The challenge and the hopeis that the wider community, especially 

the governing body, may yet accept 'tino rangatiratanga' for what it is, an expression of 

Wairua Maori, Maori Spirituality. 



iv 

ACKNOWLEBGEMENTS 

I wish to acknowledge the help, support and encouragement of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa, 

Bishop Vercoe, and Office Staff Charles Hemana, Putua Hemopo and Cathy Whata as well 

as members of Te Taapapa o Te Manawa o te Wheke, Pare Aratema, Archdeacon Joe 

Brown-Akuhata, Rev.Robert Kereopa, Julia Rika, Rachael Aratema and all the present 

students of Te Taapapa. 

I acknowledge also the assistance given to me by staff members of the Whare Wananga o 

Waikato, Aroha Yates, Wharehuia Milroy, Ray Harlow, Doug Pratt and my brother Hirini 

Melbourne and especially Kate Young who helped to show me through the many alleyways 

of the Library. I am grateful also to Pat Gregory and Steven Thompson for the teaching of 

computer skills, and Sharon Pehi for the typing, and not least, to Wendy Craig for allowing 

me the time to complete it. 

I am indebted to Robert Jahnke, Taiarahia Black and Mason Durie of the Maori Department 

at Massey University, for their encouragement and persistence to strengthen my resolve, to 

complete the task. 

I am also deeply grateful to Kathy Dickie for the technical help with English. Finally to my 

wife, Cherry, for her patience and tolerance and putting up with the silly hours I kept, I owe 

a deep debt of gratitude. 

'E hara taku toa i te toa taki tahi engari he toa taki tini.' 

'My strength is not in my oneness but in my many supporters' . 

Nga mihi nui kia koutou katoa. 



CONTENTS 

Abstract .......... . . .. . . .... .. . ......... .. .. .. .. ..... .. ......... . ............... ... ... 11 

Acknowledgements.. ... ...... .... .. ........ . ............. .................. .. . .... . iv 

Contents.. .............. . ... . . .. ..... .. .... .............. . ......... . .. . ... ... ..... ... . v 

Introduction ....... .. ..... .... ......... .... .... ... ... . ..... .. ........ ... . ..... .. .. .. . .. 1 

PART 1. THE MAORI GENESIS - Primal Religion and Maori Cosmology 5 

1. Primal Religion - Maori Cosmology .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 
2. Kinship with Nature -The ecological aspect ...... .. ............ . ........ 9 
3. Human limitations - the human condition aspect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 
4. Humanity not alone - the aspect of the transcendent other...... .... ... 21 
5. Relations with Transcendent Power - The aspect of necessary 

interaction with the other that is present .......... ... . . .. ... ..... .. .. .. . .. 24 
6. The After Life - The aspect of transcending finite limitations .. .. ..... 26 
7. The Physical World as a Sacramental Vehicle of the Spiritual World-

The aspect of necessary interconnectedness of the seen and unseen realms. 29 

PART 2.CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH CHRISTIANITY...................... 35 

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 

Early Pakeha encounters . . . .... .. .. ...... . ... ... .... ....... .. ............... . 
The Church Missionary Society- Te Hahi Mihinare . ..... . ..... . .... . . . 
Ruatara - "The Pathway for the Gospel" . . .. ......... .... .... ... ........ . 
The First Group of Missionaries .. . ... ... ... .. ....... . . .... ......... .. .. .... . 
The Second Group of Missionaries ...... .... .. . .. .. ....... .. ... . . ..... .. . .. . 
Maori Response .... . . . ......... . .... . .... . ............ ... ........... . .. . . ..... . 
The Treaty .. ..... ...... . .. . .... ..... ........... ..... . . . . .. ... . .. .... ... . . .. . ... . 
The Settlers' Church ... .. ... ..... . ..... ..... . ..... . . . .. .. . . .. .. .. . ... ... .. ... . 

PART 3. THE MARAE 

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 

The Marae 20th Century .. . . .. ......... .. . ... .. ... . .......................... . 
The Meeting House-Te Whare Tupuna .. .. . .......... ................... . 
The Static Arts - The changes .. .... .. .. ... .. . ............... ............... . 
Te Kooti - Meeting Houses .... .. ... . .... . .. . . .. . ... ... .... .... . .... . ......... . 
Apirana Ngata- Modern Meeting Houses . .. . ... .... . . .. .. .. . .. . ...... .. . . 
The King Movement -Ngaruawahia ....... . ...... ..... ... . . .. . ... ... . . ... . 
The Performing Arts ..... ..... . .. .... .. ... ... ................... ... ..... . .. .. . 

35 
39 
42 
44 
46 
47 
57 
60 

63 
65 
69 
72 
78 
79 
83 

v 



PART 4. TE RONGO PAI (THE GOOD NEWS) FOR TINO RANGATIRATANGA 

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12 
13 

The Developments .... . .. . . ... ... . ... .. ....... . .. ............ . ... .. . . ...... . .. . 
Parallel Developments .............. . .... . ..... . .......... . .. . ............... . . 
Tino Rangatiratanga - The Treaty .. ........ ................ . ... .. . ......... . 
The Fiscal Envelope - Maori Response ..... . ........ . ..... . ............... . 
The Anglican Church Response ... . .......... . ................... . ... . ...... . 
The Settlers' Church ....................... . .. . ...... .................... . . . . . 
Policy of Assimilation . ..... . ....... . .. . ............................... . ...... . 
The Church of 1992 ................ . . . ... . ......... . .... . .... . ................ . 
Tino Rangatiratanga -Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa . .. .............. . ..... . 
A Constitution for the Nation- Maori hopes and dreams ..... . ........... . 
The Supreme God-The Io tradition ............. .................... . . . .... . 
Summary .. .. . . ........ . .............. . ... . .... . ......... .. . ... . ............ . .... . 
Conclusion .. . ......... ................... ............ . ....... . . . ... . ... . ........ . 

91 
93 
94 
96 
101 
103 
104 
105 
107 
110 
111 
118 
120 

Bibliography.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 

vi 



l 

INTRODUCTION 

In 1998, a song, sung by a young Maori group, spoke about their Tino Rangatiratanga 

and the difficulties they encountered as they strove to search for their mana, to give 

meaning to their lives. It voiced their sense of loss and despair as young Maori struggle 

to find employment. How can they stand tall without financial security and with the 

likelihood of loosing rooves over their heads as their parents prepare themselves for the 

inevitable eviction from their state home? When will they have their next full meal? 

How are they to keep warm with the power cut off? What can we do about our baby 

girl ' s asthma? God! If there is a God, why don't you answer? Where are you? Its so dark 

and cold! There is anger and frustration. There is no God. Let us go back to the Maori 

gods! 

The problems confronted by beneficiaries and the unemployed, as well as Maori were 

also highlighted in the same year by the Anglican Church which organised 'The Hikoi 

of Hope' . They were joined by other churches and concerned groups and walked from 

all comers of New Zealand to Parliament to protest at the intolerable levels of poverty 

and social breakdown in the country. With high unemployment, (Maori 15.5%; NZ 

Official Yearbook 1997), poor health and about 18% of households in New Zealand 

living below poverty line. Maori are 2 Yi times more likely to be in poverty than 

Pakeha. 

The young Maori smgers make a whimsical suggestion that perhaps things would 

improve greatly if they were to return to their Maori gods. Behind this cynical remark, 

one cannot help but feel that these young singers are longing for a return to things 

Maori, where Maori could charter and be in control of their own destiny as it was before 

being swamped by Colonialism. To do things in a Maori way would feel good and 



2 

would be profitable for Maori, a right to self-determination, like a growing young nation 

during the period of the 1830s to the 1860s where Maori religion was still strong and 

alive. 

The questions that immediately comes to mind are, is it possible to go back in time and 

revive the belief in Maori gods? Would going back to Maori gods bring about the 

change that these young people are looking for? What effects would this change bring 

about? After 150 years of Christianity, and influence by other World Religions, is there 

room for Maori gods? Can Maori reject the 'Pakeha' God so easily? Is it still possible to 

be both Maori and Christian? Would Maori gods be able to go surfing in this world of 

Internet and Virtual Reality? What relevance, if any, would Maori gods bring to modem 

society let alone to floundering young Maori people as we enter the 21st century? By 

going back to the Maori gods will this remove the yoke of Maori suffering and injustices 

of the present and the future? Will Maori be able to attain their ' tino rangatiratanga' ? 

This thesis contends that a position of compromise can be achieved between the new 

belief and the old belief for the young Maori of the new millennium, that there is room 

for Maori 'gods' . Or, to put it another way, that Maori spirituality has a more 

meaningful application for young Maori people in their modem world than perhaps any 

transplanted religion could do from another world viewpoint. With the strong resurgence 

of Maori renaissance come the inevitable tensions as feelings and emotions of fear and 

pride rise to the surface. By sharing and talking about these concerns, it is hoped that 

there will be a better understanding of the dilemma that confronts Maori. It is perceived, 

and commonly stated that Maori are a 'spiritual people' . When people try to spell out 

what this actually means they run into a number of difficulties. For some it means 

someone who is religious, like going to church, or people who are holy and thereby deny 



3 

themselves the joys and pleasures of this secular world, a carry-over of Westernised 

thinking of people who live cloistered lives as monks and nuns do. This thesis then, 

seeks to examine and explain the beliefs and practices of the Maori as they were held 

and practised in pre-European times. It will also examine the influence of the Christian 

religion on Maori culture and the changes that took place leading up to the present day 

in the context of a particular religious identity that has meaning and relevance for the 

present. To help reach a formative conclusion, this four-part thesis will look at various 

aspects of Maori religion throughout Aotearoa - New Zealand history and work through 

a possible scenario for the new millennium. 

The four parts will consist of: 

Part 1: Maori Genesis - Primal Religion - Maori Cosmology 

This will mainly cover the area of Maori beliefs before the arrival of the Pakeha. It will 

define Maori spirituality and beliefs as set out in the Maori mythical stories, particularly 

as set out in Grey' s book of "Nga Mahi a nga Tipuna". 

Part 2: Close Encounter with Christianity. 

The arrival of another culture from another world, with their superior technology which 

had some powerful consequences on the Maori, will be examined. This part will 

endeavour to give some insights on the impact of Christianity on the Maori and their 

world, the interaction of the gospel and the cultures which was "both complex and 

dynamic". 1 

1 Davidson, Allan. Christianity in Aotearoa, Wellington, 1991, p.7 



4 

Part 3: Changes in Maori Religion: Marae and Performing Arts. 

The heart-beat of modem Maoridom can be felt, heard, seen and savoured on the marae. 

With the arrival of modem technology Maori traditions and culture changed and 

adapted. An aesthetic revolution took place borne out of the pain and suffering of the 

people. This part will examine some of these changes as art form became innovative, 

direct and powerfully expressive. 

Part 4: Maori Spirituality in the New Millennium 

Young Maori of today are faced with many challenges as their forebears were before 

them. Can they survive and still be 'Maori'? Will it be necessary to discard their 'Maori 

gods'? Will there be a need for a totally new being to be able to 'surf the inter-net' and 

enter into 'virtual reality' in the new millennium? Will they be able to maintain their 

Tino Rangatiratanga? 



5 

PART 1. MAORI GENESIS- PRIMAL RELIGION - MAORI COSMOLOGY 

Undoubtedly, the first group of Maori, who arrived in Aotearoa between the years of 

800 and 900 AD, came with their distinctive stories from their homelands in the Pacific. 

According to Maori oral tradition the early Maori settled Aotearoa, (Land of the Long 

White Cloud), a name given by the first discoverer Kupe. They brought with them their 

culture, their way oflife, traditions and religious beliefs which were, and are still, shared 

with the other Polynesians from the Islands in the Pacific triangle. It was a new land 

with a temperate climate quite different from the tropical Islands they had left behind. 

They had to make adjustments to their clothing, their homes, their eating habits, but 

maintained their hunting, fishing and gathering skills to survive. As their style of living 

changed so did their stories to fit the new environment. 

About the 12th Century, as the Moa became extinct, horticulture became more important 

as they mastered the art of preserving the kumara. By the 13th century another group of 

Maori began arriving and as the numbers grew so did the need for fortifications to 

defend their food supplies. Warfare became more prominent amongst the tribes. 

Inevitably as each tribe increased so did the necessity to claim and make counter claims 

as they created their own stories to suit their needs making them more meaningful for 

the growing generations as their society developed, adapted and increased. This has 

become known by historians as the 'classical' period. Despite the changes that took 

place, on the whole, the nucleus of stories remained static. What was important and 

natural for the Maori story-tellers was the way they added their own personal touch to 

the world around them. Not only in the telling of their history, myths and legends, but 



6 

also in the recital of their genealogical lineages, and the arrangmg of an ordered 

sequence of events surrounding the phenomena of nature, the same way as they do with 

their human descent. Evidence abounds that the Maori of old were well known for their 

story telling, and even in modern times they epitomise the continuance of this gift, 

which is ably demonstrated throughout the country on every Marae. The Marae remains 

for Maori, the guardian and fortified location of tribal heritage and polity, where cultural 

inheritance of spirituality, tikanga (customs), and mana (prestige and power) are 

practised and maintained. It is on the Marae that values and beliefs are expounded and 

discussed in oratory, song and dance. The Marae and all its connotations will be 

discussed later. What is important at this point is to know where to find the living 

resources as we attempt to unfold Maori spirituality of the past and explore its 

significance in the 21st century. 

1. PRIMAL RELIGION - AND COSMOLOGY 

The definition of religion has always been wide, diverse and dependent on the writer's 

perspective. Early writers on religion based their definition essentially on the idea of a 

belief in a Supreme personal Being, referred to as God. So when the early missionaries 

arrived in New Zealand they were quick to denounce Maori religion. William Colenso 

wrote, "According to both the true and popular meaning of the word, they (the Maori) 

had none ... .. . they had neither doctrine nor dogma, neither cultus nor system of worship. 

They knew not of any being who could properly be called God " 

The Reverend James Buller, a Methodist missionary, dismissed Maori religion in one 



7 

sentence. "The Maoris were devil-worshippers."2
. By their own statements, these two 

men signified they had neither any true understanding of either the language or culture 

of the Maori. Early missionaries came with their own point of view of their time and 

beliefs and made their assumptions through their own ignorance and the narrow-

mindedness of another world and culture. Through their zealous attempts to share their 

message of the good news they looked on other societies from their perspective which, 

in this case, was from their European culture which believed in their own superiority and 

therefore led to a denial of religion among perceivably uncivilised and barbaric peoples. 

This one-eyed definition is not very helpful to the study of religions in modern times 

despite the fact that it is the most common definition understood and held by most 

people. However not all religions are centred in the belief of a personal Divine Being. 

Buddhism is one such religion where it does not rely on a supernatural being, or a 

Saviour, to solve spiritual problems. Salvation, according to its founder Siddhartha, is to 

follow the Noble Eightfold Path, which will bring insight and knowledge, and leads to 

tranquillity, to enlightenment, which is nirvana, the state of perfect peace and bliss. Man 

must work out his own salvation by his own efforts. No man can do for him what he 

must do himself. This emphasis on self-effort, self-conquest, self- emancipation, is 

fundamental in the teaching of Buddha. 3 

Even a simple definition such as a system of 'faith and worship', advocated by Buck, 

while useful in defining Maori religion, does not seem to cover fully the phenomena of 

religion. According to Buck, Maori shared alongside other Polynesian kin-persons an 

inherited belief in the existence of spiritual beings, known as atua (gods), who, with 

their supernatural powers, were able to exert their influence, for good or bad, in the 

2 Davidson: 1991, p. 7 
3 Brown David A, A Guide to Religion, 1994; p. 129 



8 

normal run of daily living. This belief constituted faith and through the institution of the 

tohunga (specialists) who conducted and organised the rituals of communion via chanted 

prayers and offerings with the Transcendent Other-worldly realm, constituted worship. 

For Buck, this description of faith and worship "and a belief in the immortality of the 

soul, may lay just claims to the term religion."4 

The study of religion to some extent has only been a latter-day academic discipline. 

While Christian theology and history has been studied for centuries, the inclusion of 

other main religions only commenced sometime in the nineteenth century. During this 

period tribal peoples, like the Maori, without written records and dependent on oral 

tradition were recorded by anthropologists like Elsdon Best. However, more recently, 

scholars of religion have developed and extended a much more acceptable definition of 

religion to include the world-views and beliefs of tribal peoples like that of the Maori, 

which was and still is to some, viewed as a mythology interspersed with magic and · 

superstition. In Turner's words, 

"Scholars of religion have opened up the complex religious systems of the world's 

tribal peoples and revealed the complexities of ritual, the profundities of myth and 

world view, and the richness of symbol and the sheer spirituality of many of these 

long despised religions. "5 

In trying to define religion, Harold Turner proffers a terminology that seems best to 

cover the beliefs and historical background of tribal cultures of the world, and which are 

still practised today. The term he uses to describe this type of religion is 'primal 

4 Buck, The Coming of The Maori, 1949; p. 431 
5 Pratt Douglas, Religion -A First Encounter, Longman Paul Ltd., Auckland, 1993, p. 19 



9 

religion', which he regards as 'humanity's common religious heritage' to all peoples of 

h. 6 t 1s present age. 

Douglas Pratt regards the terminology of 'primal religion' as having an advantage in that 

it gives the idea that it is basic, original, and expresses first principles. This is preferable 

to the old misleading terms of, heathen, pagan, superstitious, and native which are 

misleading and not very helpful to any one. He calls Primal Religion a 'value-neutral 

term, simply signifying that which is both conceptually primary and chronologically 

prior.' 7 

Harold Turner gives six main-parts to his layout of primal religion to identify specific 

regions, within the whole complex of a belief system in religion, and I am using Pratt's 

analysis of primal religion as a basis for this section with additional notes. 

2. KINSHIP WITH NATURE - The ecological aspect. 

Pratt describes 'Kinship with Nature' as, "The earth is viewed as the source of 

sustenance, sometimes as 'Mother Earth', nature is nurture. In primal religion 'the 

environment is used realistically and unsentimentally but with profound respect and 

reverence '. There is usually a 'profoundly religious attitude, ' or we might say an 'eco-

conscious', or a natural creation-centred spirituality in regard to the world as the 

environment in which human existence is set"8 

6 Turner Harold, The Roots of &ience, Printed by Colorcraft Ltd., Hong Kong, 1998, p. 18 
7 Pratt, p. 20 
8 ibid p. 21 



10 

It is a dynamic relationship between man and the environment as described in the 

mythical stories of the primal parents of the gods of nature. So it is to mythical stories 

that we tum to gain knowledge of their religious beliefs. 

Ninian Smart in his book, 'The Religious Experience of Mankind,' says that originally 

myth means 'story' and in calling something a 'story', it is just reporting on what has 

been said, and believed to be true. As an example, the Hebrew story of Adam and Eve is 

regarded by many as a factual record the first two people on earth. Secondly, myth is the 

term used which includes not merely stories about God or gods, but also historical 

events of religious significance in a tradition, e.g. the Passover ritual in Judaism re­

enacting their delivery from bondage in Egypt. The telling of myths is an attempt to 

explain how people understand themselves, their nature, environment, meaning of life, 

who they are where they come from and where they are going. It reflects an existence 

which expresses their understanding of themselves. Myths act as guide lines which · 

people live by. They act out and establish patterns acceptable to their society as its 

ultimate authority. Myths also serve as guidelines for ethical and religious conduct. They 

express and collect together laws, rules, and procedures into a system of beliefs thus 

becoming a source of supernatural power. The activity of the supernatural power is said 

to be a release or activation of that power as recited in the ritual of karakia (prayers). 

Tony Alpers version of 'Maori Myths and Tribal Legends', is used here to substantiate 

that this Maori world-view was written in Maori by a Maori. The translation by Alpers 

captures the stories simply and with a stark vividness that sits well with Maori in 

general. His scholarly work, alongside Dr. Biggs' brief account of Grey's editing, is yet 

to be surpassed and it has been a treasure trove of discovery for many students studying 



11 

Maori. For general reading it is clear, concise and has become a text book for many 

educational centres. From Alpers' notes, the Maori writer was Te Rangi Kaheke of the 

Ngati Rangiwewehi tribe in Rotorua. He worked as a clerk for Governor Grey who 

wished to have a better understanding of ' a numerous and turbulent people, whose 

language, manners, customs, religion, and modes of thought' he was not familiar with. 

He wanted to know what their complaints were, but because the chiefs continually 

referred to their proverbs and mythology in their speeches to him, as well as in their 

letters, he and his interpreters were unable to understand them. So in order for him to 

become a ' successful ' governor he went about collecting these stories. Some were 

written for him in Maori like the Creation story, and the life cycle of Maui by Rangi 

Kaheke Some were dictated. The result was the published book of 'Nga Mahi a Nga 

Tupuna', published in 1854 and in the following year the English version was also 

published. As editor, Grey made numerous changes and deletions. To his credit, he kept 

the original manuscripts safe, rendering them still available at the University of 

Auckland. It was from these, as well as extracts from Taylor, Best, and Buck, that 

Alpers decided to undertake the task of presenting what he considers an 'authentic and 

correct' version of "Maori Myths and Tribal Legends." An example of Grey's editing 

his version begins; 

" ... that men had but one pair of primitive ancestors, who sprang from the Heaven 

and Earth; and that according to the Maori, Heaven and Earth were the source from 

which all things originated" 

The original text by Te Rangi Kaheke, translated by Dr Biggs, reads; 

"My friends, listen to me. The Maori people stem from only one source, namely the 

'Great-Heaven - which-stands-above, and the Earth-which-lies-below. According to 



12 

" Europeans God made heaven and earth and all things. According to the Maori, Heaven 

(Rangi) and Earth (Papa) are themselves the source."9 

From Alpers point of view, this was a deliberate act on Grey's part to remove the 

interesting comparison with Genesis, in order to allow the European reader to feel that 

he was listening, as the preface says, 'to a heathen and savage high-priest, explaining to 

him, in his own words and in his own energetic manner, the traditions in which he 

earnestly believes. '10 

Te Rangi Kaheke continues; 

"It is said in the karakia, at the beginning of time there stood Te Kore, the Nothingness. 

Then was Te Po, the Night, which was immensely long and immensely dark: 

Te Po nui, The Great Night 

Te Poroa The Long Night 

Te Po uriuri The Dark Night 

Te Po kerekere The Intensely Dark Night 

Te Po tiwha The Gloom-laden Night 

Te Po tangotango The Night to be Felt 

Te Po te kitea .. . .. . The Night Unseen. 

The first light that existed was no more than the glowing of a worm, and when sun 

and moon were made there were no eyes, there was none to see them, not even gods. 

The beginning was made from the nothing. 

From the nothing the begetting 

From the nothing the increase, 

From the nothing the abundance, 

The power of increasing, the living breath: 

9 Alpers Antony, Maori Myths and Tribal Legends, Longman Paul Ltd., Auckland, 1964; p. 236 
JO ibid p. 237 



13 

It dwelt with the empty space, it produced the sky which is above us. The sky that 

floats above the earth, great Ranginui, the spread-out space. Then Ranginui, the sky 

dwelt with Papatuanuku, the Earth, and was joined to her, and land was made. "11 

At this stage one must realise that, just as there are many major Maori tribes in Aotearoa 

so too are there different versions ofRangi and Papa stories. Best noted that the origin of 

the primal parents Earth and Sky is often given in the form of a genealogical table of 

descent from original chaos, similar to Alper' s version, which we have already noted. 

Among the Maatatua tribes in the Bay of Plenty, Best indicated that, ' their version of 

these cosmogonic recitals is based, or likened to the growth of a tree, an illustration 

ever before his eyes.' 

Te Pu (Signifies origin, source, root, base, foundation) 

Te More (Signifies tap-root) 

Te Weu (Signifies rootlet, fibres.) 

Te Aka (Signifies long, thin, roots, stem of climbing tree) 

Te Rea (Signifies growth.) 

Te Wao-nui (Signifies primeval forest.) 

Te Kune (Signifies pregancy, conception, form acquired.) 

Te Whe (Signifies sound, as of creaking of tree branches.) 

Te Kore (Signifies non-existence.) 

Te Po (Signifies night; darkness of the unknown.) 

Rangi = Papa (Sky Father and Earth Mother) 

Tane Tangotango Wainui 12 

II ibid p. 15 



14 

Best also wrote that, ·as the Maori method changes, and form takes shape, sound is 

introduced. Despite the fact that matter does not appear to have evolved until, from 

chaos and the unknown, sky and earth appear. The primal parents, from whom all things 

originated, are now in being. Rangi represents the male element, (te ira atua), life as 

known to supernatural beings, and Papa represents life as known to human beings (te ira 

tangata). 13 This concept will be dealt with at the creation of woman by Tane. 

Another interesting concept of evolution can be found in Taylor's Te Ika a Maui which 

shows Maori intuition in describing their world-view. "From conception came fullness; 

from fullness came energy; from energy came thought; from thought came mentality; 

from the mind came desire. Inner knowledge bore fruit, and dwelt with twilight, and 

produces the Po ... the enduring, intangible, unseen, unfelt Po. " Then it continues its 

genealogy to Te Kore, to space, and Rangi emerges hovering over earth and, in 

association with various forms of light, produced the sun which became permanent. 14 

This then is how pre-European Maori perceived the ultimate reality of their cosmology . 

The different stages of Te Kore and Te Po are described by a sequence of adjectives 

denoting long periods of time as each stage slowly evolved to form earth. These symbols 

were a deliberate creation of the Maori mind as a means by which there is an indirect 

reference to some other reality. The Maori observed the universe in its on going process 

as pure energy. Their hypothesis for the phenomena of their world comprised of a series 

of interconnected realms separated by aeons of time from which there eventually 

emerged the Natural World. They composed their sets of symbols to provide themselves 

12 Best, Elsdon, Maori Religion and Mythology, AR.Shearer, Government Printing, Wellington, 1976; p. 
62 
13 ibid p. 61 
14 ibid p.60 



15 

with models to portray each state in this evolutionary process. The images they used 

were those by which they could understand, interpret and reconcile the various worlds 

they were in to represent an ultimate reality for them. These symbols were enclosed and 

expressed in story, myth, legend, art, proverbs, ritual and liturgical action. The 

genealogy of the cosmos pictured as the tree developed, from seed to fruit, or as in the 

sexual act culminating in the birth of the child, out of the darkness of the womb and into 

the light of the natural world. Such symbols were used to depict the growth of the real 

and natural world of the Maori . The story by Rangikaheke continues. 

"Then Rangi nui, the sky, dwelt with Papatuanuku, the Earth, and was joined to her, and 

land was made. But the offspring of Rangi and Papa, who were very numerous, were not 

of the shape of men, and they lived in darkness, for their parents were not yet parted. 

The Sky still lay upon Earth, no light had come between them." 15 

Ranginui Walker sees this period signifying emptiness and darkness of the mind. 

'Because there was no light, there was no knowledge. The reason for this state of affairs 

was the self-generation, during Te Kore, of the primeval pair Ranginui and 

Papatuanuku. They were the first cause preventing light from entering the world 

because of their close marital embrace.,i6 

The emptiness and darkness of mind does not in any sense mean that there is no 

movement or stirring. The process of two forces of energy, the natural and the 

supernatural, infused, formed the basis of the phenomena, personified in terms that can 

15 Alpers, p.16 
16 Walker Ranginui, Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou - Struggle Without End, Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd., 
Auckland, 1990. P. 12 



16 

be easily understood by the hearers of the story. The root foundation of all things were 

implanted and conceived in essentially natural terms by mating and procreation. 

3. HUMAN LIMITATION -The human condition aspect. 

Turner's second aspect of primal religion speaks of some sense of restriction on human 

beings in that the human predicament needed to be liberated or remodelled or both. So 

humans needed some thing or someone to intervene, some power from beyond. The 

myth stories of the Maori tell how all this dynamism and phenomenology established 

limits in human existence. This includes the binary code of two opposites, like good and 

evil, tapu and noa, birth and death, mana and whakama and mauri and mate. It is in a 

sense the re-establishment of that which is common on earth to humans whi.~h, 

according to Pratt, "allows for rituals of purification that return a disorientated or 

transgressed state to its normal boundaries of order and propriety"17 

In time, with their procreative powers, numerous children were born of the primeval 

parents all male, living in dark imprisoned quarters. Best listed seventy names, but only 

six are prominent in the Te Rangikaheke version. (The birth of the seventy sons, depict a 

number that makes up a war party, which continued in the formation of the Maori 

Battalion of the World War 11, known as "Te Hoko Whitu a Tu" (The Seventy of Tu).) 

The six well known sons, whose names describe the major elements of the natural 

world, are as follows. Tanemahuta, represents the trees and plants and all living 

creatures of the forest, as one who fertilises; Tumatauenga, whose name is sometimes 

shortened to 'Tu', personifies the warring spirit of man; Tangaroa, whose portfolio 

covers the Fisheries department; Tawhirimatea, ancestor of all elements in the heavens 

17 Pratt:l993, p. 28 



17 

affecting weather; Rongomatane, originator of the kumara, and therefore of all cultivated 

food, and finally, Haumiatiketike, whose authority covered the area of all uncultivated 

food, like pikopiko (young fern shoot), aruhe (edible fern root). 

The sons, exasperated by their cramped quarters, held a war council and after long and 

lengthy discussions, dismissed the suggestion made by Tumatauenga to kill their parents 

but agreed to the wisdom of Tane who put forward the idea of separating their parents, 

to drive away darkness and ignorance. Only Tawhiri was the unhappy one but he kept 

his peace. Meanwhile, the others began their assault on their parents. One by one the 

sons attacked, trying to force their reluctant parents apart but to no avail. Even the 

mightiest among them, Tumatauenga, slashed away at the sinews joining them causi_ng 

blood to flow, 'giving rise to ochre, or red clay, the sacred colour', failed. It was not 

until Tane lying on his back and using his feet, while the brothers chanted a ritual, 

entreating their parents to let them go, that he was able to push Rangi upwards. The sons 

finally succeeded in their quest for light and freedom. Thus it was, that Tane also 

became known as Tane-te-toko-o-te-rangi, (Tane the prop up of the heavens) . This 

symbolism is portrayed in the forest of Tane as the massive totara and kauri trees 

soaring into the skies, seemingly acting as props. The coming of light announced the 

third state of existence for the Maori, the world of knowledge and growth, the world of 

human beings, Te Ao Marama (World of light) . 

The formation of nature had begun and the elements were personalised and given names. 

These were known by Maori as 'Nga Atua', translated as 'gods'. They are not to be 

likened to the Greek or Roman gods for they are more like abstract deities, gods out 



18 

; 

there interacting only when required. Whereas, 'Nga Atua', are in fact nature itself 

'involved in and part of the created order in a much more dynamic relationship' . 18 

This view by Maori is based on the concept that the environment and the world interact, 

and are not only inter-related but also interdependent on one another and are of the same 

lineage, that is, from the Rangi and Papa, Sky and Earth. James Irwin noted that Maori 

people do not accept the concept of a closed universe, that is, the natural universe 

contains the whole of reality and therefore nothing can intrude or impinge upon it, 

therefore there is no such thing as spirit. "Instead Maori world view binds Maori society 

together as a functional whole and illustrates the complexity of humankind's 

relationship to the sacred and the secular worlds. Maori people do not see the sacred 

and secular as separated but as parts of the whole. Theirs is a holistic view of life. We 

Europeans may still tend to see human beings as made up of the body, mind and spirit as 

though these are separate entities which could be dealt with separately. It is better, 

however, to see these three related as are the sides of a triangle. The moment we take 

one away we cease to have a triangle, we loose the concept of the wholeness. "19 

The sense of belonging as part of creation is a reaffirmation of the Maori identity. 

Whakapapa (genealogy) is therefore a crucial part of the Maori world. Everyone and 

everything is connected in some way, thus the personification of the elements around 

them and as noted above are referred to as 'atua' and have been translated as 'gods'. 

William's dictionary translates this word 'atua' as God, demon, supernatural being, 

ghost. All these words describe a particular aspect of a life force from the realm of the 

spiritual world. Michael Shirres rightly points out," ... but they are not gods. These 'atua ' 

18 Davidson: 1991, p. 3 
19 Irwin James, An Introduction to Maori Religion, Australian Association for the Study of Religions at 
the South Australian College o( Advanced Education - Stuart Campus, Bedford Park, South Australia, 
1984, p. 5. . 



19 

are created They are the children of Rangi and Papa, who themselves are created out of 

the nothingness. It would be just as wrong to refer to them as gods as it would be to 

refer to the angels and saints of our European Christian tradition as gods. I speak of 

them, therefore, as created spiritual powers. In some ways they resemble the angels of 

the Jewish and Christian traditions. " 20 

In one sense, Maori do see 'atua' as spiritual powers but in another sense they are not so, 

as these 'atua' are looked on as kith and kin, descendants from the same source, :from 

Rangi, the spiritual, tapu (sacred), and from Papa, the physical, noa (common) and 

human, denoting an intimate relationship. The personification, that is by giving the 

elements personal names, emphasises and strengthens this point, as Margaret Orbell 

notes that, 'humans and other lifeforms are bound by the indissoluble ties of kinship' 21 

According to Te Rangi Kaheke, the separation was thought of as the first sin or 'crime' 

as translated by Alpers22
. Rangi Walker sees the arrival of light bearing knowledge of 

good and evil. This can be seen as a parallel to the biblical tree of knowledge and its 

forbidden fruit. The binary code of two opposites like good and evil is one of the central 

themes underlying Maori mythology which the sons played out in the separation of their 

parents.23 However, in Maori myths, there is no definite separation between what is 

good and, evil but both edicts are totally involved. At times Nga Atua behave in what 

may be considered as 'good' and exemplary ways, like Rangi and Papa wished nothing 

but warmth and careful nourishment of their sons, but they were totally oblivious to their 

20 Shirres Michael P. , Te Tangata - The Human Person, Published by Accent Publications, Auckland, 
New Zealand, 1997; p. 20. 
21 Orbell Margaret, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, Canterbury University Press, 
Christchurch, 1995; p. 11. 
22 Alpers 1964: p. 18. 
23 Walker: 1990 p. 12. 



20 

sons' need for room and light to grow. Then there were deeds which were morally 

wrong or hurtful to others and produced positive results as well as misery and grief, as 

with the brutal severance of Rangi and Papa which produced light and knowledge 

necessary for the growth of their offspring to produce and bear fruit . The primal pair 

were quite happy with their lot but did not seem to care too much for their children's 

welfare in their cramped quarters. One could explain that their main concern was for 

their children's safety .and well being, as all caring parents aspire to do. The children's 

needs and wants were not part of their equations. But then, the children took matters into 

their own hands and forced them apart, cutting the apron strings, so to speak, from their 

parents and thus providing them the freedom to choose their own pathway through life. 

However, Rangi and Papa, separated for all eternity, grieve for one another ceaselessly 
,1 

and their sorrow takes visible form in the rains that fall from the sky, while the mist that 

rises from the earth becomes a token of Papa's longing for her mate. 

For the Maori, this was a more natural and earthly beginning, which occurred by acts of 

procreation, were acceptable. For the Hebrews it was the power of the word, a conscious 

thought, "Then God said, "Let there be light ...... it was so. Let the waters under the sky 

be gathered together into one place and let the dry land appear ... it was so. "24 For Maori 

the . myth stories explain the opposition and struggle for existence in a hostile 

environment and the philosophy for the continuing conflict among human beings to this 

day. 

24 Metzger Bruce M, Murphy, Roland E. (ed). New Revised Standard Version, The Oxford Annotated 
Bible with the Apocrapha, Oxford University Press, New York, 1989; p. 2. 



21 

4. HUMANITY NOT ALONE - the aspect of the 'Transcendent Other' 

In this section Turner recognises the primal religious perspective of the other world full 

of powerful spiritual beings which are personalised and function in and on earth. Turner 

writes, 'Primal peoples live in a personalised universe. One asks not what caused this or 

that, but who did it. Nevertheless, in essence, it is this realm whereby humans, 

religiously speaking, believe themselves to be not alone in the universe. Also, and 

perhaps more significantly, it is this realm that provides the meanings and models for 

human needs and activities through the paradigms and parables that are given in the 

stories and legends about the transcendent reality. "25 

For Maori, according to Pratt, "the aspect of Transcendent Otherness experienced as a 

present reality, is found in the emergence of the gods which heralds classical Maori 

religion ... ... the realm of the Other is diverse and complex yet at the same time is an 

ordered whole: the pattern is not haphazard or chaotic. "26 

Continuing with the Maori genesis story, we recall how Tawhiri, who kept his peace 

during the discussions regarding their parents, finally expressed his opposition. Wher 

Tane succeeded in separating their parents Tawhiri left earth in anger, as he was jealow 

of Tane's achievement, and he decided to live with their father Rangi . Tawhiri whc 

vowed to get even, thus introducing the theme of utu (revenge). Tawhiri, with hi 

ravaging hurricanes, first decimated and flattened Tane. Then he chased Tangaroa acros 

the oceans who had fathered Punga and Punga had begat Ika Tere, the father of fish, an 

Tu Te Wanawana, father of lizards and reptiles. A dispute arose between them as to tr 

25 Pratt: 1993: p. 22 
26 ibid p. 28. 



22 

safest place to be. Some went on land and were helped by Tane, others sought 

safety in the sea. Buck surmised that this is how Maori described the evolutionary theory 

of how fish and reptiles came from a common ancestor, and how they were divided into 

their different worlds. In addition, Tangaroa was so incensed with those who defected 

inland to seek shelter that he continues battling with Tane by eating away the foreshore 

and headlands. 

Tawhiri then turned on his most peaceful brothers, Haumia and Rongo, but his plans 

were thwarted by their mother Papa who hid them in her bosom. Tawhiri's last battle 

was with Tumatauenga, Minister of War, who withstood everything that Tawhiri threw 

at him. Tawhiri, with his strength sapped, returned home to Rangi to recuperate f9r 

another day. And so the battle between man and storms continues to this day. Neither of 

them willing to give up. 

When Tawhiri left after the battle, Tumatauenga became angry with his brothers because 

they deserted him in his hour of need. So he in turn attacked them. He knew the 

offspring of Tane were numerous and multiplying at a rapid rate, and so he first made 

snares from Tane's trees and vines and caught the birds and animals, the children of 

Tane, and ate them. Next Tu made nets from Tane's flax and caught Tangaroa's 

offspring, the lizards and fish. Then he took the kumara and taro from Rongo, and 

pikopiko and fern root from Haumia. By cooking and eating the offspring of his 

brothers, Tumatauenga had lifted the tapu and had made them become common 

( desanctified). Thus, the ritual of not allowing common things to come in contact with 

any place or anything regarded as tapu (sacred), until a hakari (feast) has been held is 

still adhered to. This love feast, which Is held after a 'takahi whare' (house blessing) or a 



23 

tangihanga (funeral) is the ritual which de-sanctifies the sacred moment and returns 

everything to normality. The act of Tumatauenga belittling his brothers' children 

projected the spirit of man to a position of a kaitiaki, a caretaker of the ecological world. 

But man is still to come because the female element has not yet been found . This was a 

task for Tane the creator. 

In the war of the sons no one turns out unquestionably superior or indestructible. Three 

personalities are more prominent in the story than the others, Tane, Tawhiri and 

Tumatauenga. Each one displays their power and significance in some way, but each is 

unable to complete other assignments. Tane and Tu both triumphed where others came 

to grief. Tane in separating Rangi and Papa, Tu in defying Tawhiri, but Tane, is 

devastated by both Tawhiri and Tu. Tu fails in his attempt to separate their parents and 

does not win over Tawhiri . Tawhiri pursues his brothers, Haumia and Rongo, but fails to 

prevent them separating Rangi and Papa, and he cannot overpower Tu. Such is the world 

of the Maori gods, nothing is ever perfect, forever impaired, as it is for humans. 

The revenge of Tu on his brothers for not helping him in his battle against Tawhiri 

justifies man's superior position over nature. Tu degraded his brothers Tane and 

Tangaroa by turning them to food and common use. Rangi Walker argues that this 

action of Tu introduces a basic dichotomy of tapu and noa. Tapu stems from the gods. 

The act of Tu eating his brothers' offspring, and turning them into artefacts, he made 

them common, an act supporting the cultural significance of the ritual of cannibalism. 11 

is the ultimate debasement of a defeated enemy. 27 

27 Walker: 1990; p. 13. 



24 

5. RELATIONS WITH TRANSCENDENT POWERS - The aspect of necessary 

interaction with the other that is yet present. 

Turner calls this having the right relationship with the Transcendent Other, which is 

obtained through saying the right prayers, doing the right thing, or other appropriate 

practice, means that one can share the powers and protection of the transcendent realm. 28 

For Maori there is no other way but to interact with the Transcendent Other in their 

many spiritual entities. Everything in nature has a 'mauri', a life principle, protecting 

vitality, like a variety of talisman extending to the highest heaven, through to the 

departmental gods and down to the local deities. The karakia, supplications, 

entreatments or the prayers are directed to the minister-in-charge of that particular 
,I 

portfolio in order to affirm that relationship and keep the life-line open. 

With the physical world of the Maori diffused throughout with the spiritual, it is not so 

surprising that for Maori there are karakia and intercessions to the Transcendent Powers 

for every conceivable occasion and most essential in all aspects of life. Whether its for 

the planting or cutting down of trees, planting kumara (sweet potato), blessing of 

buildings, boats or groups of people or individuals, it covers all activities within the 

Maori society whether at play, work, meditation, war or death. There are prayers to the 

elements, the land, sea and sky as well as prayers for cursing and for counter cursing. 

The first mention ofkarakia (intercessions) by Te Rangikaheke in the story ofRangi and 

Papa comes after Tumatauenga had de-sanctified his brothers' children. The karakia that 

Te Rangikaheke wrote was to pacify and ensure a bountiful harvest for the future. There 

28 Pratt, 1993: p.22 



25 

were also karakia directed at Tawhiri and Rangi in the hope of obtaining good weather 

for the production of all provisions. Finally, Tumatauenga had karakia for individual 

needs either in sickness or health, for baptism, for strength and victory in war and for all 

man's belongings.29 

Karakia, according to Buck, is a means of communicating orally (which is either said or 

intoned) mainly in a formula of words which have been described in English as, chants, 

spells, enchantments, witchery, magic, exorcism or incantation.30 Which description is 

appropriate depends largely on the context in which the karakia is used. For instance, 

karakia is used to describe worship, Karakia Mo Te Ata (Morning Worship), which 

according to Williams Dictionary, refers to 'public Worship, is of course, modern.' 

Further, James Irwin, pointed out that the 'Classical Maori religious structures kept the 

people in harmony with the universe as they apprehend it, gave them protection from 

supernatural dangers, gave means to circumvent disasters that are normally beyond the 

control of natural man, provided access to supernatural power, maintained access with 

the sacred and provided the means to deal with ritual pollution caused by breaching 

religious sanctions, whether deliberate or accidental. '31 

So it is one's behaviour and actions that transcends the spiritual understanding of their 

world. For example, the social recognition of Maui was completed by his father, 

Makeatutara, when he performed the tohi ritual (baptism). The act legitimated Maui and 

reconciled him to his father. The mistake in the ritual by Makeatutara is the Maori's 

rationale for the loss of immortality. Maui's father knew his son would die, but the 

29 Alpers, p. 24. 
30 Buck, p. 489 



26 

incident is more than this. It is a message emphasising the importance of reciting word 

perfect in karakia, whakapapa and waiata. The penalty for failure is misfortune and/or 

death. Karakia during the pre-European period, had to be word perfect, for it was 

believed that disaster would come upon the incantor who, unintentionally or not, made a 

mistake. 

6. THE AFTER LIFE - The aspect of transcending finite limitations. 

This feature of Turner's aspect in primal religion considers the relationship with the 

transcendent realm that goes beyond death and which is not seen as the end. In the 

context of primal societies there is a degree of high stress placed on ancestors as the 
./ 

' living dead '. They remain united in affection and in mutual obligation with the ' living 

living.' The afterlife can be seen as a source of hope and life in the future where 

personal identity and corporate belonging are assured.32 

The world view of the classical Maori, in respect to the realm of the dead, is found in 

both the mythical story of Hinenuitepo (guardian of the underworld), the physical and in 

the realm ofRangi, the Spiritual, as when speakers on the Marae farewell the dead, ' kua 

wheturangihia' . The departed has become a new star in the heavens. In addition is the 

belief of the spirits making their way to the most northern tip of the Ika-a-Maui (North 

Island) and departing from there to the Maori mythical home of Hawaikinui (Great 

Hawaiki), Hawaikiroa (Long Hawaiki), Hawaiki pamamao (Far distant Hawaiki). In 

conjunction with this, is the belief of the spirit returning to Hinenuitepo, both of which 

refer to the spiritual realm. These doctrines are contained in the stories of Tane the 

31 Irwin, p. 17 
32 Pratt,p. 32 



27 

fertiliser. There are so many different narratives of Tane, depicted as the creator of 

trees, birds, insects, lizards, mountains and rocks that one can become quite lost in the 

labyrinth of information creating confusion and extolling contradictions. However, there 

is no doubt as to the creative powers of Tane. In his search for the female element by 

which to produce humankind he carried out some experiments with various objects 

which produced trees of the forest and, because of this, he was given the name Tane 

. Mahuta or Tane te Waotu, (Tane of the standing forest) .33 There are also different 

versions as to how Tane came to produce the first woman. In the well known one (at 

least by this writer), frustrated with his experiments, he finally decided to seek advice 

from Rangi his father. Tane was told that the ' heavens' consist of the ' life principle of 

the spirit' (Te Ira Atua), while the 'life principles of mortals' (Te Ira Tangata), are 

contained below on earth, with Papatuanuku. Maori philosophy designates to earth those 

beings that are temporary and subject to death while the realm of above, is for those who 

are permanent, the immortal and spiritual. This view strengthens the notion that the male 

is more 'tapu' (sacred), and the female ' noa' -(common). Generally, all things pertaining 

to 'spiritual' are tapu while those pertaining to 'earth' are ' noa' - common. While this 

dualism pervades Maori world order, it is imperative that humans must be compounded 

of both elements to be whole. Tane, the immortal male, provides the spiritual substance 

of people, but it is incomplete without the earthly substance. Thus people, right from the 

beginning, contain the two opposite principles derived from sky and earth. The male and 

female elements are both necessary as complementary opposites. One cannot exist 

without the other. 

33 Buck, p. 450 



28 

With his new found knowledge, Tane created his mate, Hineahuone - Earth formed 

Maiden - from Papatuanuku red earth, 'red with the blood of the sinews that once joined 

Rangi and Papa' 34 The first born was Hinetitama- the Dawn Maid by Tane' s incestuous 

act. Walker and Alpers suggest that this was inevitable in order for the species to be 

established. Tane recognised the folly of his action in taking his daughter to wife, as 

morally wrong. When he was confronted by Hinetitama he avoided answering the 

question of who her father was. Instead he replied, "Ask the post of the house.". 

However, Hinetitama's reaction to the act of incest was immediate and immense, as 

noted by Alpers, which led her to her act of atonement which 'was to last for all eterniry 

and to benefit all mankind. ' 35 The story not only confirms the taboo of incest but also 

suggests that it was instinctive and built into human nature from the beginning. ~y 

renouncing her motherhood in this world, the atonement by Hinetitama is not seen as a 

penalty by the Maori. As Alpers points out, the Maori sees that just as death without 

birth would be disastrous for man, so also would birth be without death. So by changing 

her role to become Hinenuitepo- the Great mother-guardian of the world below, she 

becomes a benevolent and not a malevolent figure. Hers is the door through which all 

lives begin and hers is the realm for which they leave it. 36 However, in this realm of 

'Nga Atua', death has not yet come. Not until the arrival of the demi god Maui who 

went out to try and obtain for man life immortal. 

34 Alpers, p. 23 
35 ibid p. 23 7 
36 ibid p. 238 



29 

7. THE PHYSICAL WORLD AS A SACRMENTAL VEIDCLE OF THE 

SPIRITUAL WORLD. - The aspect of necessary interconnectedness of the seen 

and unseen realms. 

This sixth feature of Turner's analysis refers to the primal perspective of a holistic 

outlook on life where there is no distinct division between the physical and the spiritual 

worlds. Each world accepts and shares the other. The visible mediate the presence of the 

invisible. There is no disconnection between the two worlds but rather the necessity for 

interconnectedness. 

For the Maori the whole world order is seen as an interconnectedness in life ~y 

Genealogy, showing who they were, where they came from and where they are going. 

Pratt points out that 'there are two fundamental religious issues which are dealt with in 

a people 's world-view: that of corporate and individual identity, and that of the right, or 

appropriate context for meaning in life. ' The question of identity 'is determined by the 

way personal and societal actions and behaviours are related, in terms of the world 

view, to the universal order of things: the setting for relationships and responsibility. '37 

These aspects are well illustrated in the adventures of Maui. Maui, the demigod, was a 

hero who attains greatness against all odds. His stories are shared throughout the whole 

of Polynesia and also the Islands of Micronesia. Maui is described by Joseph Cambell as 

'roughly a counter part of Hercules in a sense ... their Odysseus and in addition the 

Maori Prometheus, for controlling fire and founder of his peoples' art. 38
' 

37 Pratt, p. 28. 
38 Alpers 1964, p.24 



30 

By deceitful means and ignoring rules, by knowing the right people and having the right 

magic, Maui was able to evade certain disasters and become an archetype in Maori 

society, especially to the youngest siblings. Maui was the last born, a potiki, which holds 

a low status amongst the family. Further, he was an aborted foetus near the sea, which 

gave rise to Maori belief that anyone born near the sea indicated that his spirit would be 

impish and gremlin like, a mischievous troublemaker. Maui was raised by his forefather 

Tamanui-ki-te-rangi (Great man from the sky), who found him almost drowned, but by 

holding him over a smoky fire, revived him. This shows a customary way of restoring 

drowned people to life. 

When Maui went back to his mother to live, she was not certain of his identity and it 
,( 

would have been a breach of etiquette to ask directly who he was. Instead she used the 

classic ploy of asking him the direction which he hailed from, whether from the North, 

South, East or West. Thus it is also socially acceptable to ask where one comes from, 

but never ask directly, "What is your name?" Once territorial and tribal origins are 

established it is relatively easy to identify the person. Once Maui was received into the 

family he became his mother's pet, creating jealousy amongst his brothers. In the 

nuclear family, there was not only affection and mutual help but also, right at the 

beginning of time, there was division and self-interest. Children opposed and fought 

each other, and their parents, and went their separate ways. The myth stories depicted 

ambivalent relationships, with jealousy lurking just below the surface of friendliness, 

frequently exploding in assault and treachery as in the case between the sons of Rangi 

and Papa and Maui and his brothers. Maui's search for his father is a common theme in 

Maori myth and tradition. Rangiteaorere of Te Arawa I Tuhoe descent, and Tamainupo 

of Waikato are two examples of famous fighting chiefs in traditional times who were 



31 

reunited with their fathers afterthey had reached manhood. In each case, like Maui, the 

fathers performed the 'tohi' (Baptismal) ritual, a public performance signifying their 

recognition and acceptance of their sons. Thus the identity and the setting ofrelationship 

and responsibility is established in a way that is personal and with a social action as was 

set out in the context for meaning in life. Unfortunately for mankind, Makeatutara, 

Maui's father, made a mistake, omitting a portion of the prayer as he performed the 

ritual. The outcome of this was that his son Maui would die in his attempt to overcome 

Hinenuitepo and conquer death. Henceforth all of mankind would have to follow suit. 

The story of Maui wrestling knowledge from his ancestress Mahuika and 

Mururangawhenua explains why he had to use all his cunning and deceit to outwit them 
I 

and receive their gifts of fire and the sacred jawbone giving him power to perform great 

deeds to help mankind. The premise behind these stories is that knowledge and 

intelligence cannot be gained by simple and straight forward means, but by daring and 

self-confidence on the one hand and cleverness and trickery on the other. Maui used his 

grandmother' s jawbone to beat the sun into submission thus giving mankind a full day 

for work and the night for entertainment. He shaped a hook to fish up the North Island of 

Aotearoa, shaped like a stingray, which became known as Te Ika-a-Maui (The Fish of 

Maui) . Foremost in Maori tradition is the ritual of karakia, the offering of thanks and a 

portion of the catch to the gods, before partaking of food . The brothers' act of sacrilege 

explained the reason why Aotearoa is so rough and mountainous. 

There are other stories of Maui each with an explanation of how things are in this world 

and so we come to his final adventure as he encountered Hinenuitepo, The Great Maiden 

of the Night. He had hoped to reverse the process of birth by entering Hinenuitepo via 



32 

her womb and emerge through her mouth. Regrettably, Maui's comical antics were too 

much for his friend the fantail who just could not refrain from laughing, twittering and 

frolicking about, waking Hinenuitepo in the process, who instinctively brought her legs 

together and Maui, only halfway through, was crushed dead. Through his death Maui 

opened the gateway for all mankind to follow. It was from Mother Earth that the first 

woman was formed by Rangi. She was named Hineahuone, Sand-form Maiden. Through 

this marriage spiritual and · matter combined producing mankind in the form of 

Hinetitama the Dawn Maiden. Abused by Tane and again by Maui, man's pathway to 

immortality was destined to end. For Maori, death cannot be avoided but the idea of 

returning to Mother Earth, 'he puehu ki te puehu' dust to dust, and the spiritual returning 

to the heavens to become a star and live forever with Rangi, the cycle of the spirit and 

matter is completed. 

In summary, Maori myths are dramatic stories orally passed down from generation to · 

generation and taken as if true. Although recognisably stories, they provide Maori with 

information about their world, their genesis, guiding them to their understanding of 

where they come from, who they are and where they are going. The dynamism of the 

relationship between Maori and the environment using the father and mother imagery 

for creation and personalising their world to interact and interrelate and their 

interdependence on one another as emerging from the one source, was crucial to the 

understanding of their world. This sense of belonging reaffirms for Maori their holistic 

outlook to life, that the spirit and matter are one and the same substance originates from 

the one source. Despite this they were realist in the sense that they realised the 

restrictions on human beings and that there is a constant struggle against hostile forces, 

against the physical environment and against one another. To succeed in this struggle 



33 

some sort of special power is needed. This power (mana) is essentially spiritual power, 

obtained from the spiritual world. This mana is inherited from the gods, thus the 

importance placed on genealogy. On the other hand it has to be won and maintained by 

daring and propitiation and is never permanent. Mana has to be continually displayed 

and developed and it cannot be allowed to weaken. Mana is affiliated with the quest of 

utu (revenge) To put aside abuse or affront without revenge, lessens one's power. 

Tumatuaenga displayed his superiority over his brothers by cooking and eating the 

-offspring of his brothers. 

The powerful spiritual beings of the other world were personalised and they provided 

the rules and regulations for Maori society as portrayed in their stories. The myths also 

helped to explain the reasons of the natural phenomena in this world. The reasons for the 

disputes between the sons, and the end results, explain why the fish and reptiles went 

their different ways, and why the seas of Tangaroa continue to encroach the land of Tane 

on the beaches and headlands, and how Tumatauenga becomes the caretaker of the 

environment. 

Turner's fourth aspect of maintaining the right relationship and power is dependent on 

keeping the right connections and having the correct formula of words in a karakia. For 

Maori society, its dependency on oral tradition is vital and of such great importance for 

its survival, that a mistake in the recital of a karakia spells disaster. Life after death is 

not seen by Maori as being divided into heaven and hell, but is as a continuous process 

of meeting up with those who have gone before, where individuality and communal 

living are finally established, albeit in a spiritual realm. It is also seen as a returning of 

mankind to its origin, where it all began. The two parts of man return to the natural 



34 

elements. Te Ira Atua (Life principles of the spirit), return to Rangi (Sky Father), 

depicted in a new born star; and Te Ira Tangata (Life principle of mortals) return to 

Mother Earth, where Hinenuitepo (Sentinel of the night) await the return of her children. 

The whole of life for the Maori was permeated by a spiritual presence to the extent that a 

tohunga (specialist) for karakia (prayers) was appointed for every conceivable aspect of 

life to ensure that a direct line of communication is always open to thecorrect channels. 

As Peter Buck states, 'Religion was so interwoven with social and material matters that 

the priests were absolutely necessary to the proper functioning of Maori society. 39 

Finally, as Pratt correctly points out, before the arrival of the European, Maori had 'n'o 

national religion as such and there was no universal system of worship. Except for 

'tuahu '-simple shrines located in secluded spots - there was marked absence of shrines 

and temples that would readily identify religious activity. Rather, as the Marae ... .. was 

the centre of Maori life there was no need to separate out a sacred space or building to 

attend to that part of life. '40 The Marae was and still is the turangawaewae (a place of 

standing) of the tribe, the sacred ground of each hapu (clan), where formal sacramental 

acts continue to be maintained and performed. This is dealt with in part three. 

39 Buck, p. 467 
40 Pratt, p. 29 



35 

PART 2 CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH CHRISTIANITY 

1. EARLY PAKEHA ENCOUNTER 

This section is an endeavour to give some insights on the impact of Christianity on the 

Maori and their world, the interaction of the gospel and cultures which Alan Davidson 

described as, ' both complex and dynamic.' The arrival of another culture with its 

superior technology had some powerful effects and consequences which brought about 

dramatic changes for the Maori. The question of when Aotearoa was inhabited by the 

Maori has been in dispute for quite some time and probably will continue for some time 

to come, that is until some more substantial archaeological evidence can be uncovered. 

What has been generally accepted is that Maori settled Aotearoa somewhere between 

500 and 1100 C.E. giving a middle date of about 850 C.E .. The discovery of Aotearoa 

by the first Pakeha was some 800 years later in 1642 by a Dutchman, Abel Tasman. This 

first encounter with Maori was disastrous. Blowing on a horn to announce their arrival, 

four of the crew were killed as they attempted to land on shore in a small boat. Tasman 

fired his guns upon the aggressors who got away and, weighing anchor, he left the area 

without provisions, naming the area Murderous Bay. 

Further up north on the West Coast of the North Island he made another attempt to land 

for provisions but was again put to flight by the indigenous people. 

His report of his short visit and his partial map of Novo Zeelandia (New Zeeland),41 

became common knowledge to European explorers and may have discouraged further 

visits, for the next visit by a Pakeha did not take place until 127 years later. This was 

41 Bassett et al ; The Story of New Zealand, ( 1985, p 19) 



36 

James Cook, an Englishman who arrived in 1769 and landed at what is now known as 

Gisborne. Like that of his predecessor Cook's landing was marked by violent encounter 

which resulted in six Maori been killed. 42Without acquiring provisions for his ship, 

Cook left and name?J t Poverty Bay. Sailing further south Cook tried to barter for food 

with some natives in their canoes. But was again foiled when a young Tahitian lad, who 

was on board the ship, was snatched by some Maori in a canoe whereupon Cook 

retaliated by shooting at the would be kidnappers killing several in the process. In the 

·commotion the young lad managed to escape and was plucked out of the sea by the 

crew. Cook named the area Kidnappers Bay. 

There were other close violent clashes between Maori and Pakeha. In 1769 with the 

Frenchman Jean F.M. de Surville; with Marc Joseph Marion du Fresne in 1772; and the 

killing of the crew of the Boyd and its burning in 1809. While these confrontation were 

few and far between, never-the-less, such encounters created fear and misunderstanding 

between the two peoples. Both sides had tradition and protocol to follow, the blowing of 

the horn to announce arrival, salute by gunfire of the Pakeha and on the other, the 

portrayal of the fierce haka and pukana and the gesturing of the hand held ' mere' (club) 

and taiaha (hand staff), intended to warn off would be attackers, rather than a 

preparation for a frontal attack by Maori. Both sides came from a different world view, 

and with different language and culture, who was to know what was taking place? With 

no knowledge of the language and lack of cultural sensitivity on both sides a first 

encounter was set for a violent clash. 

.. 

42 Davidson (1991, p 5) 



37 

After Cook reported his first visit other explorets from France, America, Norway, and 

Spain became more frequent especially the sealers, whalers and trades-people in flax and 

timber. Maori tribes on coastal shores with favourable ports and areas suitable for ships 

became suppliers of food, flax , timber and women in exchange for muskets, blankets, 

rum and other goods. Based on this mutual interdependence, cultural exchange began 

based on basic needs. The interchanges were not always successful as misunderstanding 

and ignorance continued, but contact with different cultures and with new technology 

opened up new horizons for the Maori . These strange visitors brought unusual animals, 

peculiar food as noted by Te Horeta Taniwha, who wrote many years later recalling his 

experiences as a child. " Some of this food was very hard, but it was sweet. Some of our 

old people said it was pungapunga (pumice stone- inf act it was ship 's biscuit)) from the 

landfrom which these goblins came. They gave us somefatfood (dried beef), which the 

old people of our tribe said was the flesh of whales; but the saltiness of this food nipped 

out throats, and we did not care for such food." 

Then there were their, "magic walking sticks ... when pointed at the birds, and in a short 

time thunder was heard to crash and a flash of lightening was seen, and a shag fell from 

the trees; and we children were terrified, and fled, and rushed into the forest, and left 

the goblins all alone. " 43 

As they became more accustomed to one another they were able to amuse one another 

with their ignorance as Te Horeta recollected, "as we could not understand them we 

laughed, and they laughed also ..... we gave our mats for their mats, to which some of our 

warriors said 'ka pai' (good), which words were repeated by the goblins, at which we 

laughed, and were joined in the laugh by the goblins. "44 

43 Basset et el, (1985, p.22) 
44 Belich , Making Peoples (1996, p 123) 



38 

Cook himself gave a nail to Te Horeta. He treasured this nail finding it of great use as a 

point for his spear, making holes in wood. Unfortunately his canoe capsized at sea and 

" .. my god was lost to me. "45 

Not all gifts introduced by the 'goblins' were good and godlike but more akin to the 

devil, alcohol brought its own difficulties raising new social problems. The introduction 

of contagious diseases took its toll as Maori were not immune to them. This unseen 

killer came about, according to Maori, because some tapu (sacred ritual) was breached. 

For Maori, death was caused by the withdrawal of protection by spiritual beings for their 

transgressions. 

Warfare amongst Maori was a form of social control which was constantly activated by 

chiefs trying to maintain and protect their mana over their clan, land and provisions. 

Lost mana had to be restored to the clan by utu (retribution) of some kind which 

normally meant a battle with the offenders. The arrival of the musket brought great 

changes in the outcome as larger number of people were exterminated, more slaves to be 

had and some tribes even became displaced. 

The early encounters were sometimes violent but as time progressed each culture began 

to use one another in exchange for what was required in their societies to control and 

remedy their basic needs for survival. Conflict was unavoidable as they unintentionally 

broke each other's protocol and law. The lively intercourse between the two races 

brought about a new generation of lighter complexioned Maori who showed their 

adaptability to the pressures of the new world as they interacted with the new comers. 

45 Bassett et el, (1985, p.23) 



39 

2. THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY - TE HAID MIBINARE 

This was then the scene when the next lot of newcomers, the Missionaries, arrived who 

were to have a 'greater and more lasting impact. ' 46 

It is generally accepted that the watershed for the history of gospel and culture to hit 

the shores of Aotearoa New Zealand began on Christmas Day in 1814 when Samuel 

Marsden, Anglican chaplain to The New South Wales colony in Australia, preached at 

Oihi Bay in the Bay oflslands. Marsden wrote: 

"On Sunday morning, when I was upon deck, I saw the English flag flying, which was a 

pleasing sight in New Zealand. I considered it as the signal and the dawn of civilization, 

liberty, and religion, in that dark and benighted land. I never viewed the British Colour~ 

with more gratification; and flattered myself they would never be removed, till the 

Natives of that island enjoyed all the happiness of British Subjects. " .... .It being 

Christmas Day, I preached from the Second Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, 

and tenth verse - 'Behold! I bring you glad tidings of great joy, &c. ' The Natives told 

Duaterra (Tuatara) that they could not understand what I meant. He replied, that they 

were not to mind that now, for they would understand by and bye; and that he would 

explain my meaning as far as he could "4 7 

Clearly this extract reflects Marsden's close association between his Christian 

commitment and his own English identity. From the beginning of Christian involvement 

in Aotearoa New Zealand, gospel and culture were totally intertwined. One only has to 

note the pleasure with which Marsden viewed the British Colours flying in New Zealand 

as marking the 'dawn of civilization, liberty and religion', and how much he looked 

forward to the Natives becoming 'British Subjects' to illustrate the point. 

46 Salmond Anne, Hui -A Study of Maori Ceremonial Gatherings, 1975, p. 19. 
47 Davidson & Linehatn, Transplanted Christianity, 1989, p28 



40 

Marsden has been described as the 'apostle to New Zealand,' 48 He was to some 

historians an ambiguous figure with a reputation for being a harsh, unforgiving 

magistrate in Australia, where he was also a successful entrepreneur and farmer, but he 

was also committed to the spread of Christianity, supporting the pioneering work of the 

London Missionary Society in the Pacific and making attempts, all be it unsuccessful, to 

evangelise Aborigines in Australia. He was a product of the eighteenth century 

Evangelical Revivals, and belonged to the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.). His 

uncritical identification of Christianity with British civilisation and national identity 

reflected the then Evangelical world-view. The C.M.S. emerged out of evangelical 

Protestant Anglicanism following the Methodist split from the Anglicans in 1795. The 
·' 

evangelical branch of the church is generally known as the 'Low Church', to 

differentiate it from the 'High Church' . The High Church follows practices more akin to 

the Catholic tradition of rituals, bells, incense, crosses, candles and the wearing of richly 

embroidered apparel. The 'Low Church' stressed the simplicity of worship with no 

crucifixes, candles or surplices. It emphasised the personal relationship with Jesus and 

evangelicals were always conscious of the devil close by leading them into sin. The 

evangelicals were closely interwoven with the humanitarian movement which preached 

against the 'white man's burden', the practice of slavery, which was eventually 

abolished. 

There was also the view of patronising other societies, of attacking their religious 

worldview to replace it with their own. The discovery of the Pacific, with its many 

populated Islands of 'heathens,' gave an opportunity to carry out their mission of 

48 Booth (ed) For All The Saints, 1996; p.157 



41 

civilising and conversion. The C.M.S. (Anglicans) and the W.M.S. (Wesley Missionary 

Society, Methodists) began operations in the Pacific in 1795. 

One of the founders of the C.M.S. was Henry Venn. His enlightened philosophy of 

missionary activity contained principles which have become known as the Three-Self 

Movement, and have great significance' in the origins of the Maori Church. These are, 

Self Determination, spelling out the autonomy of the church in its new environment; 

Self-Propagation, giving priority to self-development, indigenous ministry and 

indigenous evangelism, and Self -Supporting. 49 We will see why these noble principles 

of Venn was not followed through in the fourth part of this paper. 

It was to Parramatta that some visiting Maori from New Zealand ventured soon after 

Marsden' s arrival. He made them welcome and provided them with accommodation, 

and they visited him in his new Church of St John at Parramatta. These visitors 

impressed him and he determined to find some means of benefiting them with the arts of 

civilisation and the good news of the gospel. In 1807 Marsden went back to England to 

persuade the Church Missionary Society (CMS), to look to New Zealand as one of its 

early areas for missionary endeavour. "Nothing, in my opinion", he argued, "can pave 

the way for the introduction of the gospel, but civilization." 50 He obtained their 

permission and returned to Australia in 1809 with William Hall and John King and their 

families on the ship "Ann". 

49 Bicultural Commission, 1984, p.3 
50 Davidson & Lineham, 1989, p.26 



42 

3. RUATARA- "The Pathway for the Gospel" 

The arrival of Christianity was not a one-sided Pakeha affair. Marsden mentions Ruatara 

explaining to Maori that they would eventually know what Marsden was talking about. 

Recently, in 1990, during the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of 

the Gospel in Aotearoa, The Reverend RE. Marsden,a descendant of Samuel Marsden, 

said of Ruatara, "If there hadn 't been a Ruatara, there wouldn't have been a 

Marsden. "51 Ruatara was a Ngapuhi Chief of Ngati Rahiri and Ngati Tautahi hapu on 

his father's side Te Aweawe, and on his mother' s side, Tauramoko, was ofNgati Rahiri 

and Ngati Hineira. Like many young Maori men at the beginning of the nineteenth 

century, Ruatara spent many years working on whaling ships in the South Pacific.,. 

Sometimes they were treated fairly by the captains of the ships and at times they were 

abused. 

Marsden first met Ruatara in Australia at his home in 1805 and now in 1809, with his 

small envoy of missionaries returning from England on board the "Ann", he finds 

Ruatara in a pitiful state. Ruatara had made a journey to England in the hope of seeing 

King George the Third. Be was badly treated and was vomiting blood from the beatings 

he had received while being deported back to Australia. Marsden befriended him and 

during the voyage began to learn Maori. At Parramatta Marsden looked after Ruatara 

and helped him gain knowledge of agriculture. Marsden noted: 

'During the time he remained with me he laboured early and late to obtain knowledge 

and, particularly, to make him acquainted with practical agriculture ... . He was anxious 

51 Patterson John (ed) For All the Saints, 1980, p.140 



43 

that his country should reap the advantage ·of which he knew it was capable, by the 

cultivation of the soil on waste lands, and was full convinced that the wealth and 

happiness of a country depended greatly on the produce of its soil. ' 52 

In 1810, Marsden made arrangements for Ruatara and other young Maori men for a 

return passage home on the "Frederick" but the captain who left them stranded instead 

on Norfolk Island deceived them. Eventually, they found their way home, via Port 

Jackson on the "Ann" in 1812. On arrival, Ruatara, in his mid-twenties, discovered that 

the Ngapuhi chief Te Paahi had died. Ruatara was now the new chief. He found it 

difficult to persuade others of the advantages of agriculture so he went back to Marsden 

to learn more about the technological skills. When the "Active" sailed to New Zealand; 

in late 1814, Ruatara led a party of ten Maori aboard, along with the missionary party 

led by Samuel Marsden, and all the necessary equipment, stock, and plants for the 

growing and milling of crops. Ruatara planned to protect "his" Pakeha group despite his 

misgivings about the wisdom of bringing them to Aotearoa. He expressed his anxieties 

when he heard rumours at Port Jackson that the missionaries would only be the 

beginning of the many Europeans who would eventually reduce the Maori to the same 

wretched state as the Australian Aborigines. Marsden was able to placate Ruatara by 

offering to tum back. In March 1815, Marsden returned to Port Jackson secure in the 

knowledge that the mission was in good hands. 

Ruatara had shared his vision for the development of large cultivated areas, a town 

following a European pattern with streets and provision for a Church. Unfortunately, 

Ruatara's plans were thwarted as he was already seriously ill when Marsden left and 

52 Booth, 19%; p.153 



44 

I 

Ruatara died four days later. Ruatara's wife Rahu, took her own life in grief at her 

husband's death and both were buried at Motiitara. Maori power now shifted to another 

young Maori, Hongi Hika in the Kerikeri area, who continued to protect the missionaries 

but kept them relatively restricted. 

· Ruatara had hoped that the mission would bring technological and other resources to 

assist his people and develop a modem community based on what he had seen and 

experienced. Marsden had hoped that Ruatara' s hospitality and protection would pave 

the way for the seeding of the Gospel. Ruatara is described as, "Te Ara mote Rongopai" 

(The Pathway for the Gospel.) by the Anglican Church, in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and 

Polynesia. The Church remembers Ruatara on the 11th of May. 

4. THE FIRST GROUP OF MISSIONARIES 

If one was to judge the success of the early Christian Missionaries in Aotearoa in terms 

of conversion from 1814 to 1830, the conclusion would be one of dismal failure. 

William Williams had this to say about the improvements in 1830. 

"We read of the course pursued by Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, that 

10,000 of the men of Kent were baptised under his direction before he had lived twelve 

months in his new diocese. But in New Zealand, after nearly twenty years of 

labour, the native Christians did not exceed fifty. " 53 

The first group of missionaries, Thomas Kendall, William Hall, John King were skilful 

tradesmen but were not well prepared for the task of conversion as they had no 

53 Williams, W. Christianity among the New Zealanders, 1867, p.149 



45 

immediate tradition nor proper training to call upon to help with missionary 

methodology. They had no understanding of the language, nor any idea of the holistic 

view of Maori life intertwined with the sacred. Added to this were the physical 

difficulties of their families living alongside warfaring and cannibalistic tribes bent on 

the edict of 'utu' (revenge). Further, lack of financial and moral support from the Mother 

Country, which usually took more than a year to complete communications, did not help 

in the evangelism of a culture which was totally alien to them. The mission of 

evangelism amongst the Maori was not helped by personality conflicts and the lack of 

understanding of how closely their own Christianity was embroiled with their own 

culture. Marsden' s description of Aotearoa as a 'dark and benighted land' reflected the 

Evangelical dismissal of indigenous cultures as inherently unredeemable without the 

importation of Christianity in its English cultural form. 

Initial attempts at formal schooling for Maori were unproductive. The sitting around 

form of education when there were no obvious benefits to be gained made little sense to 

them. The differences between the two cultures were quite significant. Nevertheless, 

important beginnings were made as Kendall began to master the Maori language. 

Together with Hongi and another chief, Waikato, he went to England in 1820 where 

Professor Samuel Lee at Cambridge University helped to construct the first Maori 

grammar. This was printed in the same year. Kendall also began to make significant 

attempts to understand Maori cosmology and religious beliefs. These were, however, 

distorted by his view that Maori originated in Egypt. Religious studies, linguistics and 

cross-cultural ethnography, to which missionaries made important contributions in the 

nineteenth century, were still being forced into interpretative frameworks which 

reflected the European, Biblical and Greco-Roman world-views. Sadly Kendall ' s 



46 

pioneering work was terminated following his dismissal from the mission in 1823 and 

his departure from New Zealand in 1825. 

Despite this not all efforts were in vain, for Samuel Marsden was able to write, m 

January 1829, a more optimistic outlook. 

"The Natives are now at peace with one another. The chiefs at Thames and those at the 

Bay of Islands are now united and those further to the South. The Gospel begins to 

influence some of them, and they improve much in civilisation ..... New Zealand is now 

open. in every part for the introduction of the Gospel and the Arts of Civilisation." 54 

5. THE SECOND GROUP OF MISSIONARIES 

The arrival of the second group from the Church Missionary Society began with Henry 

Williams in 1823 who led the work. A former naval officer, he brought discipline to the 

mission and directed its energies away from Marsden's emphasis on civilising to 

evangelising. Williams acquired considerable status for his work as a forceful 

peacemaker among conflicting Maori groups. Together with his colleagues he broke the 

missionaries' depend'ence on Maori for food and transport by developing a farm station 

and building a sailing ship. He was helped by other long-serving missionaries their 

wives and families. They became an integral part of the Maori communities where they 

lived. Henry's brother, William, a graduate from Oxford, arrived in 1826. Robert 

Maunsell another linguist, William Colenso a printer and Maori Scholar, all were better 

equipped and by 1927 portions of the Bible, Prayer Book and Hymns were printed. 

54 Davidson Allan, Christianity in A(Jtearoa, 1991, p.l 



47 

The gospel brought by the CMS and the Wesleyan Methodists, who commenced work in 

New Zealand in 1822, initially in close co-operation with the CMS, reflected the 

Evangelical experience which had shaped their missionary vocation. Individual 

conversion following the conviction of sin was a critical stage in the spiritual 

development of an Evangelical. They looked to reproduce in Maori what had been an 

experiential turning point in their own lives. 

6. MAORI RESPONSE 

For Maori in New Zealand, identity played a vital role in the community which was 

involved all members of the family, whanau (clan) and tribal groups. The idea of an 

individual making a decision which would lead to a separation from the others was 

alien. The missionary view of salvation had little to offer to Maori. According to August 

Earle, a visitor to New Zealand in 1827-28, missionary teaching about eternal 

punishment and the torment of hell, led Maori to respond that, they were quite sure such 

a place could only be made for white people, for they had no men half wicked enough in 

New Zealand to be sent there. When they were told that all men would be condemned, 

they burst out laughing, declaring that "they would have nothing to do with a God who 

delighted in such cruelties; and then (as matter of right) hope the missionaries would 

give them each a blanket for having taken the trouble of listening to him so patiently. " 55 

Missionary attitudes towards Sunday Worship and 'The Sabbath' as a day of rest, free 

from all commerce and work, were also the cause of astonishment among the Maori . 

They appreciated the nature of Tapu, prohibitions of activity and the sense of the holy or 

55 Davidson & Lineham, 1989, p.37 



48 

awesome m worship; but religious observances for Maori were related to specific 

activities, such as preparation for battle, cutting down a tree, or marking the death of 

someone, rather than a specially designated day. Maori drawing on their understanding 

of their own meeting places as tapu or holy, had great respect for church buildings. Earle 

noted that when they gathered together with the missionaries for public worship, "they 

always behaved with the utmost decorum when admitted into the house where the 

ceremony takes place. " 56 

In order to convert Maori, Evangelical missionaries introduced their own theological 

framework and patterns of worship into the Maori world in ways that Maori could 

respond to and accept. The dynamics associated with Maori acceptance of Christianity, . 

however, were much more complex than a simple Maori assent to the missionaries' 

message. The gospel brought by the missionaries was clothed with evangelical 

assumptions and English cultural prejudices. Within the missionaries' message however, 

were gospel teachings such as love of enemies which came as a challenge to traditional 

warrior values. 

Maori were responding to the missionaries out of their own world-view and way of life. 

Throughout the second half of the 1820s changes were observed taking place within 

Maori society originating from Maori themselves although often in response to 

missionary teaching. George Clarke, a CMS missionary, reported in January 1826 that 

"The native taboos (tapu) begin to be broken, and the rising generation no longer feel 

themselves bound to wear the shackles of their fathers." He noted examples such as the 

planting of sweet-potatoes without prayers and how Maori were 'gaining a knowledge of 

56 ibid. 



49 

the theory of religion" and making inquires "to know who that Great Saviour is that we 

so much talk to them about " 57 

Many reasons has been brought forward by various historians as to why Maori in the 

1830s and 1840s accepted Christianity after initially rejecting it. One historian has 

pointed to the impact of war-weariness, depopulation caused by disease, fighting, and 

new ways of living, combining with cultural confusion as the old patterns of belief were 

challenged, and an inability to respond to new European challenges. In this context the 

missionary message offered a new world-view and understanding of salvation. 

Other historians have argued that trade and European goods led Maori to associate with 

missionaries. Maori were very entrepreneurial, growing potatoes, wheat and raising pigs . 

to trade with Europeans. In the 1840s and 1850s they built their own flour-mills and 

sailing vessels to engage in trade as far away as Australia. Within their own culture 

prosperity was undergirded by religious rituals and so the acceptance of Christianity 

represented a logical development as Maori became more closely involved in the 

European world. But these factors were by no means universal throughout the country 

and by themselves do not adequately explain the reasons for Maori becoming Christians 

so quickly and in such large numbers. 

However, there are two factors which clearly contributed to the spread of Christianity: 

the impact of literacy and the activities of indigenous evangelists. William Y ate noted in 

his book published in 183 5, "the thirst for knowledge, which has been exciting among 

the New Zealanders', and that " Everyone now wishes to learn to read and write ." 58 

57 ibid, p.43 
58 ibid, p.44 



50 

The translation of parts of the New Testament and the distribution of the first printed 

copies resulted in a response which surprised the missionaries. The impact of literacy 

among a non:literate people can be compared to the introduction of the computer into 

contempo.rary society. It became the tool to give access to new knowledge and for the 

Maori this new knowledge available in their own language was exclusively religious. 

The printed text itself was seen as tapu or _ holy. The medium became part of the 

_message, as Maori played a significant role in the spread of Christianity. Spontaneously, 

Maori who had learnt something of the missionaries' message and had some 

acquaintance with reading and writing, shared this with others. Among them were some 

who had been captured in battle and taken to the north where they had encountered the 

missionaries' teaching and had come to admire the gospel of peace and reconciliation 

which they shared. Going to villages for the first time missionaries often found that their 

message had gone ahead of them. 

In 1837, a Ngapuhi chief, returning from a visit in the East Coast, asked William 

Williams why there was no one caring for a worshipping congregation he had come 

across in Ngati Porou territory, and who even kept the Sabbath day holy by not working. 

Further inquires revealed that it was the work of a former captive, Piripi Taumata-a-kura 

was responsible for the growth of this worshipping congregation. Piripi of Ngati Porou, 

when the Ngapuhi tribe raided the area in 1823, was taken captive to the Bay of islands 

where he learned to read and write. By 1833 William Williams organised his freedom 

and returned him home to Whakawhitira, near the Waiapu river. Piripi began teaching 

his people all he knew about the new religion which included prayers, hymns, and 

scriptural readings written on scraps of paper. He normally began his sessions by 

announcing, "I have come from Kerikeri and from Paihia and I have seen Williams of 



51 

the four eyes" (Referring to Henry Williams wearing spectacles). 59 His people were so 

impressed with his work that they built a large gathering place to hold their · meetings 

and greatly