Parihaka Peace Festival 2009
Home » Blog » Parihaka Peace Festival 2009Parihaka was the most prosperous Maori settlement in New Zealand before a brutal government raid destroyed it in 1881. The Parihaka Peace Festival celebrates the non-violent resistance practiced by the spiritual leaders at Parihaka.
Photo Trevor Read
The setting sun falls like a drop of melting gold out of a long white cloud settled above the skyline. Grass shimmers and flags rustle furiously atop of rolling hills. The roots-rock-reggae band Kora stands motionless mid-song: the spirit of Parihaka alive in their silence.
Humming at the foothills of Mt Taranaki, the fourth Parihaka Peace Festival is about much more than music. The annual international peace and music festival is rooted deep within New Zealand history, and is a reminder of the area's importance to our country.
More than 40 years before Gandhi practiced non-violent resistance to the British Empire, the spiritual leaders of Parihaka, Te Whiti O Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi, employed non-violent resistance to defend their land in 1881.
As well as celebrating the birth of passive resistance, this year's Parihaka Peace Festival marked 125 years since the year 1884, when Maori were successfully removed from the region's most fertile land.
For the mood of the festival to be jubilant, rather than bitter, the deeds of the past must be acknowledged. Parihaka marked the end of the land wars, but also the beginning of a movement which continues today. Eventually the Parihaka leadership returned, and now the festival attracts 12,000, mostly young people to its peace camp each year.
The oldest kaumatua greet strangers warmly. Canadians look on dumbfounded as large Maori men hongi, before they too test the waters. The festival mixes healing and warm eyes with a fierce independence extolled from army fatigued Rastafarians and proudly worn Tuhoe t-shirts. Parihaka symbolises the strength and unity of righteousness—a sentiment so widely acknowledged that pictures of Parihaka's prophets hang next to those of Martin Luther King at the King Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sustainability and the coupling of traditional knowledge with innovation give the festival its roots. An eco-forum buzzes with activity next to the hangi area, as sure a sign as any of its prominence.
Old stories abound for willing ears, like the love-torn relationship between Taranaki and Ruapehu, or Chinese vessels remembered long before Captain Cook. Speakers address topics ranging from the foreshore and seabed to the modifying of Smart Drive washing machines to produce electricity from wind and water. Carvers transform large scattered boulders into art.
The festival is an array of elements that are all interconnected: politics, permaculture, flax and family. Despite the howling winds of ranginui (the sky father) eventually closing the main stage, spirits are high and the music quality. Shrouded in smoke, Katchafire welcomed in the first night, followed on the second night by two very tight sets from Unity Pacific and Kora. Tigilau Ness, of Unity Pacific, brought everyone closer, closer still, to hear the old masters' rhymes. Kora jammed some new material that gave fans hope of an album in the works.
The concept of koha drew crowds into Auntie Olive's aromatic healing tent, which becomes booked out faster than the hangi tickets sell-out. Olive's tent sways and battles with the wind while the healers remain steadfast and stoic, reminiscent of past kin.
The third day saw Wellington outfit Harbour City Electric as crowd pleasers on a smaller, more intimate main stage. With a powerful lead singer and solid melody they look set to be the next pretties flying out of the capital. Closing out, Cornerstone Roots sang to the festivals ideals with Mankiller, a song heavy with meaning.
This event is not successful because of a big budget and corporate hosts; volunteers and word of mouth ground it. The message is simple: we are the people.
The importance of Parihaka is the message of its prophet: the building of a movement of working, knowledgeable people. The achievements and ideals of this movement need to be reinvigorated as we collectively face an unending war for resources and worldwide recession. Parihaka promotes the values of peace, sustainability and prosperity; this should be the future of our country and an example to the world.
Thu January 22, 2009 @ 11:08 AM
