Essay 2 - Grade: 75 PDF

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Essay about the band "herbs"...

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The band ‘Herbs’ was a New Zealand Reggae group from the late 20th century. They produced political songs to challenge the minds of their listeners. They tackled the big issue of land confiscation in two of their songs throughout their career. “One Brotherhood” came from their album “What’s Be Happening”, and they also collaborated with Tim Finn, a wellrecognized musician to create the song “Parihaka”. ‘One Brotherhood’ talks about the protests at Raglan and Orakei, also known as Bastion Point. ‘Parihaka’ is based around the protest and stealing of Parihaka in the late 18th century. Herbs tackled the controversial idea of land confiscation because it was and still is a very important deal for Maori tribes to reclaim their land that was wrongfully taken from them over the previous two centuries.

In 1981, the biggest mass protest New Zealand has ever seen occurred as a result of the controversial Springbok Tour. The Springbok’s were a rugby team from South Africa, where Apartheid was still happening. Many New Zealanders, including Maori, protested them coming to New Zealand as people of colour in South Africa were being mistreated as a consequence of Apartheid. The band ‘Herbs’ was a well-known New Zealand Maori reggae group who were known for their political protest songs. Their album “What’s Be

Happening” featured 6 songs about various political issues occurring in the world at the time of release. It was released in 1981, the same year the Springbok rugby team toured New Zealand. The song “One Brotherhood” appeared on their album “What’s Be Happening”. The song talked about Apartheid in South Africa and the similarities between the people of colour in South Africa and the Maori in New Zealand. It was performed by Herbs in 1995 when the then newly elected South African President Nelson Mandala came to New Zealand to thank the anti-apartheid protests and groups for their support. In the two decades leading up to this album, there were significant reforms happening regarding people of colour around the world. In the United States of America, the Civil Rights Movement was beginning to reach its peak, people were beginning to see people of colour as human beings, and New Zealand had a new set of Maori Leaders, many of whom had university degrees and a clear sense of what they wanted as Maori and their cultural identity. Changes were being made regarding Te Reo Maori, Maori language day became Maori language week, and the first bi-lingual school was opened in New Zealand. Four years before Herbs released “What’s Be Happening”, in 1977, there was major protest in Bastion Point, also known as Orakei. It was originally owned Ngati Whatua. However, between 1840 and 1960, the majority of

the land was confiscated and taken by Pakeha and the government, leaving Ngati Whatua with only the point. In 1977, the government at the time, which was national, proposed to take the rest of the land and start a housing development plan. This led to a mass protest which lasted 507 days. During that time 220 protesters were arrested. With support from the Waitangi Tribunal, it was found that the land was unjustly taken from Ngati Whatua and it was ordered to be returned to them, along with a financial compensation from the crown. In 1978, three years before “What’s Be Happening” was released, another protested occurred at Raglan, when there were disputes about turning the land into a golf course. This piece of land was originally taken for World War II, however when it was finished, instead of the land being returned to its rightful owners, which was the Tainui Awhiro Tribe, it was proposed that a golf course was put there. After many disputes and protests, the land was returned to Tainui Awhiro. It was situations like these and many others before that inspired Herbs to create “What’s Be Happening” and “One Brotherhood”. “We’re one brotherhood, Aotearoa. Fighting man against man in the eleventh hour. Brother and sisterhood yeah, Aotearoa. Together we’ll stand together we have power

So you knock me down, with your modunok baton, ’cause I cause a big stir about the bad things goin’ on, ’cause it’s a cover up about the goal posts and the slaves, but you’d rather not know ’cause time is dealing out your days. We’re one brotherhood, Aotearoa. Fighting man against man in the eleventh hour. Brother and sisterhood yeah, Aotearoa. Together we’ll stand together we have power We’re one brotherhood... Well they’re fighting for land in Raglan and they’re fighting for land in Orakei, and they’re shouting in Parliament, People trying to get free on a paradise island. Crazy people wanting more, more, more, and they’re wrecking the joint, while they take from you and me. We’re one brotherhood, Aotearoa. Fighting man against man in the eleventh hour. Brother and sisterhood yeah, Aotearoa. Together we’ll stand together we have power We’re one brotherhood... We’re one brotherhood... We’re one brotherhood... We’re one brotherhood...”. These are the lyrics to “One Brotherhood” by Herbs. The beginning starts with the chorus. The chorus has a double meaning, talking to both New Zealand and South Africa. “We’re one brotherhood” meaning that both Maori and people of colour from South Africa were going through similar things regarding racism and land confiscation and loss. However, it is also talking about Pakeha and

Maori uniting together “Brother and sisterhood yeah, Aotearoa”. The first verse touches on many different subjects regarding racism in New Zealand and South Africa including slavery, police brutality towards people of colour and covering up mistreatment towards people of colour. However, it is the second verse that begins to deal with the large issue of land confiscation. The second verse begins with the words “Well they are fighting for land in Raglan, and their fighting for land in Orakei”. As discussed above, Raglan and Orakei had Maori tribes where their land was unjustly taken by the New Zealand government for housing development in Orakei, and a golf course in Raglan. The song continues with “crazy people wanting more, more, more, and they’re wrecking the joint, while they take from you and me”. These lyrics are talking about the New Zealand government at the time, excessively taking and destroying ancient Maori land. This is a big problem to this day as there is a lot of land in New Zealand that has not been reclaimed or settled by various Maori Tribes. Between the time when the land wars of New Zealand began in 1845 and ended in 1872, the majority of Maori land and their homes were destroyed. Many Maraes, homes and sacred burial lands can never be recovered from the land wars, and no money compensation can bring back what the Maori tribes had lost.

Later on in their career, Herbs collaborated with Tim Finn, to create a song called “Parihaka”, which is a place in New Zealand that a major incident regarding land confiscation and unjustly arrests. Finn was inspired to write the song, after a book regarding the Parihaka incident was published. The band Herbs had been no stranger to political songs and protests, and agreed to collaborate with Finn to create this song. The Parihaka attack occurred during the late 19th Century. On November 5th 1881, 1600 New Zealand troops stormed the town of Parihaka, because of their peaceful protests against the removal of land from Maori tribes. It was run by two Maori men, Te-Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi. Both of these men planned non-violent protests against the occupation of Waimate Maori land that had been confiscated in the 1860s. The troops marched onto the village land and into the Marae, where many men, women and children were singing Waiata. The native minister John Bryce ordered the arrest of the leaders of Parihaka, the destruction of most of the village, and the dispersal of the Maori tribe members. The knowledge of this stolen land was hidden from the public for several years. The song Parihaka was released in 1989, just over 100 years after the original attack. Tim Finn gathered the inspiration from the book “Ask that mountain” written by Dick Scott. However, the song is not widely popular with the Maori community at Parihaka. Another band called “The Orange

and the Green” also released a song called “Parihaka” which was praised by the Parihaka community saying “it’s better than those bloody Finn brothers have done”.1 Although the response from Parihaka was not what both Finn and Herbs were wanting, it was widely accepted by the rest of New Zealand. The lyrics to “Parihaka” are as follows. “My friend, My friend, I hate to see you suffer. Events conspire to bring us to our knees. My friend, my friend, you've taken this the wrong way Rise up, defend yourself, never give in. Look to the sky, the spirit of Te Whiti. The endless tide is murmuring his name. I know Te Whiti will never be defeated, and even at the darkest hour, his presence will remain. I'll sing to you the song of Parihaka Te Whiti he used the language of the spirit. Then stood accused, the madman and his dream. He saw the train go roaring through the tunnel. He heard the voice travel on the magic wire. But he loved the silence of the river. He watched the dog piss on the cannon's wheel. I know Te Whiti will never be defeated, and even at the darkest hour, his presence will remain. I'll sing to you the song of Parihaka One day you'll know the truth. They can't pull out the roots. Come and take me home,

1 Taranakicatherdral.org

to weep for my lost brother. They gather still, the clouds of Taranaki, his children's children wearing the white plume. So take me for the sins of these sad islands. The wave still breaks on the rock of Rouhotu, and when you taste the salt that's on your pudding, and when you taste the sugar in your soup, think of Te Whiti, he'll never be defeated. Even at the darkest hour his presence will remain. I'll sing for you the song of Parihaka. Come to Parihaka. Weep for my lost brother. The spirit of nonviolence has come to fill the silence. Come to Parihaka” The song doesn’t give much information on the actual attack at Parihaka. Finn leaves out very important details such as Tohu Kakahi. The song itself doesn’t explicitly talk about land confiscation, however, the song is based around a land confiscation event.

Land confiscation is an extremely important topic for Maori and their tribes. Before the settlers invaded New Zealand, Maori had owned all of the land. The New Zealand land wars were a consequence of the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty had only 24 hours to be translated from English to Maori, and Henry Williams, the translator, was not fully fluent in Maori, guessing some of the words. There was also a cultural confusion. The meaning of words for the British and the meaning of words for Maori were

different. The debate was around the word ‘rangatiratanga’. In English, ‘rangatiratanga’ roughly translates to complete or total sovereignty. In the English version of the treaty, Maori would give sovereignty to the crown. In the Maori version, Maori would give ‘Kawanatanga’ to the crown. In English this translates to ‘governance’. Governance to Maori meant things such as making laws about behaviour. The issue was around the translation between sovereignty. Henry Williams used the word ‘Kawanatanga’ instead of the word ‘Rangatiratanga’. It was this confusion that ultimately led to the land wars. It is speculated that the majority if not all of the Maori chiefs would not have signed the treaty if the correct word had been used. The next issue is that not all of the chiefs signed the treaty. 40 chiefs signed the treaty at Waitangi and a further 500 signed the treaty when it was taken around New Zealand. This was not all of the chiefs in New Zealand, and therefore not all of the chiefs consented to the settlers taking over their land. The land wars were one of New Zealand’s biggest civil wars. Ultimately the British forces won against the Maori Battalions. This led to major confiscation of land. Not all land was taken from Maori, and many pieces of land were returned, although not to its original owners. Many pieces of land were also returned and then purchased by the New Zealand government.

However, the land confiscation didn’t end after the land wars and not all of the land was returned to Maori. Settlements are still happening to this day regarding stolen land. A settlement for the loss of land from Ngati Hinerangi was signed on Saturday May 4th 2019. It is important for Maori tribes to regain their stolen land, as many pieces of land were sacred. Maori have a connection to the land. Papatuanuku, also known as the Earth Mother is believed to provide unity and identity to her people and sustains their lives. Many Maori are spiritually connected to Papatuanuku. Maori are considered to be the guardians of the land and its taonga, or treasures. With the loss of their land, Maori also lose the unity and identity that Papatuanuku brings, and they cannot protect the taonga of the land. Not only is the land used for spiritual binding, it is also used for Maori living. Maori created their own food from the soil, and food such as kumara were commonly planted. Maori carvings and other taonga were stored in their lands soil when there were times of trouble. It was also believed that the soil on Maori tribal grounds could purify water. By passing water that had things such as sewage in it, Papatuanuku could cleanse it for them. All of these reasons is why it was and is such a big deal for Maori and their allies to reclaim the land they had once lost.

The band ‘Herbs’ was a political reggae group that released multiple songs relating to Maori land confiscation. ‘One brotherhood’ was released in their album “What’s Be Happening”. ‘One Brotherhood’ tackled the protests and land confiscations of Orakei, also known as Bastion Point, and Raglan. They also collaborated with Tim Finn to create a song around the protest at Parihaka in the late 19th century. It is because of bands such as Herbs that the idea of land confiscation is beginning to be a well-known and talked about subject.

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The signing of the treaty of Waitangi. Retrieved May 03 2019. https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/publications-andresources/school-resources/treaty-past-and-present/section-3/

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Tuner, E. ( Summer 2018) “One Brotherhood in Aotearoa New Zealand:

Protest, Resistance and Pacific Reggae” Retrieved May 06, 2019, from https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mp/9460447.0012.204? view=text;rgn=main...