Summary

Ngā Tātarakihi o Parihaka

As Rarawa was kneading the bread she heard that the government men were coming. She was shocked but Aunty Maata was okay with it because they come and go saying the same thing but they never listen. While Rarawa was running through the streets she was messengers everywhere. At the river she didn’t worry about her clothes she just dived right in. When Rarawa stuck her head out of the water, her friend asked her if she could hear the soldiers, Rarawa was scared that she got out of the water as fast as could and they went back to the village. The pakeha government were marching down the fences and destroying crops, but they brang no violence. Rarawa father was sent to jail when she was 12, she is now 13 and she was worried that she wouldn’t see him again. The soldiers were coming closer to Rarawa and the girls as they were slapping the poi’s on their hand. People of Parihaka greeted the soldiers with peace. As the children were singing with great power the soldiers pushed their way through and the smell of their sweat was too overpowering. Then they told the people that they had to leave. Everyone was in shock. They also took Te Whiti and Tohu.