Māori leaders ‘hōhā’ over lack of Māori tikanga at Monte Cassino – Te Ao Māori News

Maori leaders commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy have expressed frustration at the lack of Tikanga Maori in official proceedings.

A Māori delegation, led by the last surviving soldier of the 28th Māori Battalion, Tā Rāpata “Bom” Gillies, is there to honor ancestors and fallen comrades at Cassino.

Waitangi National Trust chairman Pita Tipene suggested the New Zealand Defense Force had overlooked the inclusion of Tikanga Maori as part of the official commemorations.

“Te hanga nei kaikai te NZDF e tino whakaa hōhonu ana mō te hāgai o te Māori. Eh, ko te 28, he Māori, i mate, haere mai ki konei, i mate Māori ai. Na reira ko ngā konārana me Māori ka tika.”

“It seems that the NZDF did not think too deeply about the inclusion of Maori (in official events). The Maori battalion came here, some died, so it is only right that the services should include Maori.“

Ngāti Kahungunu president Bayden Barber said the NZDF had done the right thing but had left Māori out.

“Kahore kē au e tino pai ana ki ngā ngārālā i tāsārangia ai i te ata nei, inanahi, nā reira, te ruturutu, tōtō ngā kōrero i mua i te timatatanga tonu o tēni kaupapa”.

“I was not impressed with the way things went this morning or yesterday. It was obvious that there was no talk of tikanga before these commemorations began,” he said.

According to the Maori Battalion website, of all the battles involving the Maori Battalion in World War II, none was more brutal or costly than the battle for Cassino in early 1944.

On the night of 17/18 February 1944, the Maori Battalion attacked the town’s railway station, but when the supporting tanks failed to get through the soldiers were forced to retreat under heavy fire. A and B Companies suffered terrible losses, 128 out of 200 men killed, wounded or captured.

First Warrant Officer Brent Pene, the trip’s cultural advisor, said the aim was always to find the right balance between Maori and Pakeha in customs and practices.

“That’s what the NZDF is about, bicultural,” he said.

Yesterday, the sole survivor of the Māori battalion, Tā Rāpata “Bom” Gillies, was also frustrated by the lack of Māori cultural practices seen in official proceedings. He says the group was advised not to fly the Maori Battalion flag at the service at the Cassino memorial, advice they refused to follow.

When asked if he was still protesting, the 99-year-old said yes, adding “ka wawhai tonu ki ngā keha”.