A sobering Maori tale

TOURING NEW ZEALAND: "As there's booze around, I won't be telling you any of the deeper stories about my family history," says Hemi Te Raku, a Maori storyteller and owner of Awatuna Homestead, near Hokitika on the west coast of NZ's South Island. We were staying at the Homestead that night but Hemi, of the Nga Puhi tribe, doesn't make a special allowance for guests. Never mind that his Maori ancestry is watered down with Scottish and English blood, he always observes the protocol. When serious Maori business is discussed, alcohol is strictly forbidden.

Having poured ourselves glasses of red wine unwittingly, we felt like kids who'd just been caught with our hand in the sweetie jar. But we still got a taste of Hemi's stories. Having worked as a cultural advisor for the Department of Conservation until retirement, he knows his history. He is also respected by the hierarchy of South Island Maori.

He showed us his carved walking stick (pic, left). "To me this stick is a cross between a comforter which I take everywhere with me and a tool for recording my geneaology," he says. It turns out that not all Maori have sticks like this, but the likelihood is that they will have some items such as carvings or even rows of trees that they use as a counting aid to keep a record of past generations. 

Hemi's stick, which now has a prime position leaning against a cupboard in front of us, has an amulet appearance about it. He is holding court in his armchair. The stick's wooden handle, carved to look like a sea bird's beak and representative of the ocean voyage Maori took to get to New Zealand centuries ago has a forbidding look about it. "If you ever see a stick like this left at an airport or train station, you should never touch it or pick it up. That would be seen as very intrusive, like looking inside a woman's handbag."

Like the bird's beak, the bottom half which is carved from greenstone (also known as jade) is a Maori treasure. In this case the greenstone is there to act as guardian of the stick's owner. But the most important part of the stick is the cord that binds the wood to the greenstone. "This is how our ancestral line is recorded. The cord is wound around the stick once for each generation - there are enough turns in this cord to record my bloodline back 2,000 years." 

It is serious business indeed, this stick, but everyday life at Awatuna is much more lighthearted. With tails a-wagging, the family dogs, Poppy and Maisy followed us around the house, and next morning, Hemi's wife, Pauline served up a splendid breakfast. And having a casual look at the dinner menu, I noticed it included a wine list.

Before we left, Hemi took us out to his shed and showed us his collection of vintage Morris 8 cars which he tinkers with in his spare time. One of them totally restored to sparkling condition serves as the family wagon. When they wave us off, I couldn't help wondering what we would have been told if it wasn't for the wine. In this case, I'd like to come back to find out.

* Mary Salmon is exploring the South Island with Bridge and Wickers which can arrange tailor made itineraries in New Zealand.

Comments

[Islander]

Hemi Te Rakau (*not* Te Raku) is wholly of European descent and has *no* standing among South Island Maori in general. I am an enrolled Kai Tahu, with standing, and a known family history that goes back over 20 generations in the South.

*Anything* Hemi says must be taken with a cupful of salt (good job it acts as an emetic) - he wants to quarrel with this, just contact me, mate, at Okarito. My cousin, John Peters, knows you from way waaay back -Keri