Henry Matthew Stowell (1859–1944), also known by the pen-name Hare Hongi, was a New Zealand language interpreter and genealogist of European and Māori descent.
Henry Matthew Stowell | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 4, 1859 |
| Died | March 23, 1944 (aged 85) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Pen name | Hare Hongi |
| Notable works | Māori–English Tutor and Vade Mecum |
| Children | 8, including Eileen Constance Cowan |
Biography
editHe was born in Waimate North, Northland, New Zealand on 4 February 1859.[1][2] His father was John Shephard Stowell, a sawyer who had come from the United States.[1][2][3] His mother was Hūhana (Susan) Farley, daughter of Matthew Farley and Rīmaumau (Maumau), a high-born woman of the Ngāpuhi iwi.[1] He attended schools in Auckland, firstly, Singer's School, Parnell and later, Three Kings College (Wesleyan Native Institution), Mount Roskill, after intervention from Governor George Grey.[1][2]
In his teens, he spent over a year at Waitaha village, near Ahipara, where he learned Māori lore from Ngā Kuku Mumu, a tohunga.[1] He went to live at Waiwhetū, in the Hutt Valley. [2]
After school, he became a surveyor in Northland, and, in 1888, became an authorised Māori–English interpreter in the Native Land Court at Taranaki and later, Wellington.[1][2][3] He travelled from Cape Reinga to the Bluff twice, studying Māori language, and collecting histories, lore and legends.[1] He published books, articles and produced radio broadcasts.[2]
In November 1886, Stowell had a son, Hector Arthur Ngāpua Stowell, with his brother Samuel's wife, Ellen.[2] In 1891, he married Mary Rachel Robson, the daughter of James Robson, a sawmiller, and Mere Ngāmai, also known as Mary Harrison. They had six daughters including Eileen Constance Cowan, an illustrator, photographer, and painter, and a son, who passed away during the influenza epidemic.[1][2]
He published on Māori issues, often with The Journal of the Polynesian Society and with Christchurch's Weekly Press.[4] Between 1920 and 1940, he struggled to have his writings published, in a space dominated by Pākehā.[4] He would occasionally publish with the title of "Professor of Māori," which did not otherwise exist.[4] It was noted that Stowell was "unusual in claiming the role of a Māori authority in a forum dominated by Pākehā, such as the press."[4]
Stowell passed away in Wellington on 23 March 1944.[1][5]
Publications
editStowell authored the Māori–English Tutor and Vade Mecum, published in 1911, the first Māori grammar written by a Māori author, which also included Māori topics such as "ailments and diseases, sport and past times, tohunga, the lore of tapu, marriage customs and land tenure."[2][6] It used the Ngāpuhi dialect as standard Māori language, and considered all other versions as dialects.[1]
He published several articles under the name Hare Hongi, including:[2]
- Hongi, H. (1898). "CONCERNING WHARE-KURA: ITS PHILOSOPHIES AND TEACHINGS." The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 7(1(25)), 35–41.
- Hongi, Hare (1907). "A MAORI COSMOGONY." The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 16 (3(63)): 113–119.
- Hongi, Hare. (1909). "ON ARIKI, AND INCIDENTALLY, TOHUNGA." The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 18 (2(70)), 84–89.
- Hongi, Hare. (1912). "WHIRO AND TOI." The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 21 (2(82)), 29–38.
- Skinner, H. D., & Hongi, Hare. (1916). "ON MUMMIFICATION." The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 25 (4(100)), 169–172.
- Hongi, Hare. (1916). "KURANUI AS A NAME FOR THE MOA." The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 25 (2(98)), 66–67.
- Hongi, Hare. (1918). "ON THE GREENSTONE “TIKI.” WHAT THE EMBLEM SIGNIFIES." The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 27 (3(107)), 162–163.
- Hongi, Hare. (1918). "AN ANCIENT 'FLUTE-SONG.'" The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 27 (4(108)), 222–224.
- Hongi, Hare (1920). "THE GODS OF MAORI WORSHIP. SONS OF LIGHT." The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 29 (1(113)), 24–28.
In 1929, he began a series of radio broadcasts on the pronunciation and meaning of Māori place names, which was shortly abandoned.[1] Hare Hongi also published several poems including "The Defence of Orakau" and "Maori Hymn to the Creator."[1]
There are extensive archives of his unpublished work now held in Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa The National Library of New Zealand.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Chapman-Taylor, M. (1944). "Obituary: The Late Henry Matthew Stowell ("Hare Hongi") (1859-1944)". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 53 (3): 107–110. ISSN 0032-4000. JSTOR 20702973.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gibbons, P. J. "Henry Matthew Stowell". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b c "Stowell, Henry Matthew, 1859-1944". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d Chris Hilliard, 'Intellectuals - Learned societies and journals, 1890s to 1930s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/intellectuals/page-2 (accessed 26 October 2024)
- ^ "Henry Matthew Stowell". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ "Maori-English Tutor and Vade Mecum — Henry M. Stowell (1911)". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
External Links
edit- Portrait of Henry Matthew Stowell
- Summary of Māori–English Tutor and Vade Mecum
- Online Version of Māori–English Tutor and Vade Mecum
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