Hold on to Peace - Image courtesy Ira Mitchell-Kirk

Hold on to Peace - Image courtesy Ira Mitchell-Kirk

Tuesday 20 April 2010

From New Zealand's History


(anche in l'italiano, vedi giù)
Painter Rachel Olsen writes:

It's difficult for me to imagine how it must have been for my father to go off to war in another country. I feel proud of his courage and bravery to fight alongside others to defend our future freedom. We are fortunate that he lived to return home and tell his stories of the contrasts of war - the best and the worst of times.

When deciding what to paint for the Cassino Exhibition and considering the destruction and heartbreak caused by war, I felt moved to explore other ways people have responded to violence and aggression in past conflicts.

Perhaps when conflict arises, if our desired outcome is for peace then we must come from a place of peace in ourselves so any action we take is in alignment with our goal of peace. Zen Master Thich Naht Hanh is a living example of this basic premise and has written of it in his many books, one of which is entitled 'Peace is Every Step'.

Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Gandhi are all well known as advocates of peace, but not many people, even in New Zealand, have heard of Te Whiti, a Maori leader who practised nonviolent resistance against the British Empire in the late 1800's two generations before Gandhi. There is evidence that Gandhi was inspired by Te Whiti's philosophy and actions at Parihaka, Te Whiti’s small Maori settlement at the foot of sacred Mount Taranaki.

Te Whiti-O-Rongomai was the prophet, priest and revered chieftain of the Taranaki tribes, a man whose ethics were above all those of a peacemaker.

Taking as their symbol the white albatross feather or raukura, the chiefs Te Whiti and Tohu led Parihaka in one of the world's first recorded campaigns of passive resistance. The people of Parihaka held out against the encroachments of English settlers in a struggle that swapped the weapons of war for those of peace. They were known to wear white feathers in their hair as a sign of their desire to live in harmony.

The white feather is still displayed as a symbol of peace by the community of Parihaka which holds an international peace conference every year in memory of Te Whiti's passive resistance.


E' difficile per me immaginare come deve essere stato per mio padre andare in guerra in terra straniera. Sono fiera di immaginare il suo coraggio nel combattere a fianco di altri per difendere la nostra futura liberta'. Siamo davvero fortunati che lui sia tornato a casa sano e salvo e che ci abbia raccontato le storie ed I contrasti della guerra, dei momenti peggiori e di quelli migliori.

Al momento di decidere cosa dipingere per la mostra di Cassino e considerando la distruzione ed il dolore causati dalla guerra, sono stata mossa ad esplorare altri modi in cui le persone hanno risposto alla violenza e alla aggressione nei conflitti passati.

Forse quando nasce un conflitto, se il nostro desiderio e' per la pace, cio' vuol dire che veniamo da un luogo interiore di pace, cosi che ogni azione scegliamo di compiere e' in linea con il concetto di pace. Il maestro Zen Thich Naht Hanh e' un esempio vivente di questi presupposti di base ed ha scritto molti libri in proposito, uno di questi si intitola “La Pace e' in ogni passo”

Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King e Gandhi sono come ben sappiamo avvocati di pace, ma non molte persone, neppure in Nuova Zelanda, hanno sentito parlare di Te Whiti, un leader Maori che ha praticato la resistenza non violenta contro l'Impero britannico, alla fine dell'800, due generazioni prima di Gandhi. Ci sono prove che dimostrano come Gandhi sia stato influenzato dalla filosofia di Te Whiti e dai fatti di Parihaka, il piccolo villaggio di Te Whiti ai piedi della montagna sacra Taranaki.

Te Whiti-O-Rongomai era un profeta, un sacerdote e reverendo capo della tribu' di Taranaki, un uomo la cui etica era molto al di sopra di altri portatori di pace.

Prendendo come loro simbolo la piuma bianca dell'albatross o raukura, i capi Te Whiti e Tohu guidarono Parihaka in quella che fu la prima campagna di resistenza passiva
Il villaggio tenne testa contro gli Inglesi nel loro tentativo di comprare la popolazione con le armi. Erano conosciuti come quelli che indossavano le piume bianche tra I loro capelli, come segno del loro desiderio di vivere in armonia.

La piuma bianca e' ancora in mostra come simbolo di pace nella comunita' di Parihaka, dove ogni anno si tiene una conferenza internazionale per la pace, in memoria della resistenza passiva di Te Whiti.

2 comments:

  1. Tena ko, I applaud this article as historically accurate. However, the author and indeed all NZers need to know that 500 years before Te Whiti o Rongomai, the Moriori people of Rekohu (Chatham Islands) had observed an ancient peace covenant that remains unbroken by Moriori to this day. Te Whiti would have been aware of the Moriori pacifist doctrine as it was his kinsmen (from Te Atiawa) who had invaded Rekohu and killed/enslaved Moriori in 1835. Moreover, Moriori had been taken to Taranaki as slaves in the 1840s and 1850s. Moriori also wore albatross feathers in their hair as a symbol of peace and bales of albatross feathers were sent from Rekohu to Parihaka in the 1860s - too many coincidences for there not to be a direct connection between Te Whiti's pacifist doctrine and that practiced by Moriori for many centuries. It would be nice for folk to acknowledge not just Te Whiti and Tohu as NZ leaders in Pacifism, but acknowledge that they in turn were most likely influenced by the ancient Moriori peace philosophy and practice. Me rongo (in peace), Maui Solomon, (grandson of Tommy Solomon and GM of Hokotehi Moriori Trust - www.moriori.co.nz)

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  2. Thank you for your response. It is no coincidence I am sure that my next blog post theme is to be on a nation's stance as peace makers. It concerns me that countries who previously took a stand only as peace keepers are now involved in what may be seen as acts of aggression in the current war zones of Afghanistan and Libya, to name only two.

    I believe very firmly in educating for a culture of peace, and that is exactly what the Moriori people have done.

    You may take a small amount of satisfaction from the fact that when I was at primary school in the 1960s in rural Hawkes Bay we were taught about the pacifist peoples from whom you are descended. Sadly I doubt that it is in the current school curriculum, but perhaps we can get it back in there somehow.

    Please email me at legato.exhibitions@gmail.com so we can discuss how we can take this conversation and peace movement further.

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