Te Whiti O Rongomai and the Resistance of Parihaka

by Danny Keenan

This is an account of the life and times of Te Whiti O Rongomai set against the politics and Crown policies of the nineteenth century. It traces the forces that shaped his life’s journey from Ngā Motu, where he was born, to his settling at Parihaka and his evolving sense of the injustices and disempowerment Māori experienced and his response to these. - See more at: http://www.huia.co.nz/huia-bookshop/b...

Genres: History

300 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2016

Reviews

[Steve Worsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very accessible and very helpful in filling out details of the Parihaka story. It has a vast amount of information about land sales and ownership, it has a surprising number of traditional waiata lyrics relating to Parihaka events, and it gave me far more clarity about the impact of Christianity amongst Maori.

As satisfying as all of that was, it still left me with some unanswered questions, like: Why didn't Te Whiti attend Tohu's funeral? This seems incredibly sad after their close bond through all those years. And why was a prophet/preacher like Te Whiti not given a Christian Tangi?

I also found myself longing for some emotional detail. Keenan states extraordinary facts and leaves you to imagine the emotional outworking. For example, Te Whiti was not permitted to attend his wife's funeral as he still had a few days left on his prison sentence. Wow! And how did Hikurangi, Noho and Pereni track emotionally through the invasion with the loss of father, husband?

But perhaps this asks too much. This is a brilliantly researched and very helpful book that I'd recommend to anyone interested in the topic.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this book has a weakness it is that in places it leaves you wanting to know more and to go into things in more depth. However, it is a very good overview of the topic of Te Whiti and Parihaka. Perhaps, considering his importance, it would have been good to give more depth to Tohu's role in events, but he is by no means totally neglected. I personally found that the explanation of Te Whiti's earlier life helped me make better sense of how Parhaka fits into the complex patterns of war, land confiscations and resistance to totally unjust government actions in the wider Taranaki region. For that alone it would have been well worth reading.

[Jonathon Hagger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very comprehensive and expansive account of the events, times and lives of those who were at Parihaka. The author does a stellar job of establishing the foundations of knowledge that built up to the fateful events.

[Iain McCormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for enhancing cultural competence.

[Amelia Geary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Journalist Jenny Bornholdt, when describing the history of Parihaka, said it was 'one of the most lamentable infringements of civil rights ever witnessed in this country'. Keenan's book certainly makes that quite clear. Te Whiti O Rongomai and his cousin Tohu Kakahi where true pioneers of passive resistance, long before Mahatma Ghandi. Their commitment to peace in the face of a colonial New Zealand government hell bent on taking the land from Taranaki Maori to fund the colony and encourage settlement of Europeans is truly inspiring while heart breaking at the same time. I really enjoyed this perspective of Parihaka from an author with ancestral connections to Parihaka and who interviewed descendents whose oral histories of the injustices shed a unique light on a history that is still very raw by those affected by it.

[Ian Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had previously read Dick Scott's "Ask that Mountain", as well as related work by James Belich, James Cowan, Keith Sinclair and others. Keenan's book fleshes out the Maori side in a very satisfactory way while including pakeha perspectives. I remain mystified by most Maori poetry and by their translations but it's great that so many contemporaneous waiata, chants and haka are included.