Ko Maata Horomona te whetū kiriata tuatahi o Aotearoa, ko ia te tuawahine i roto i ngā kiriata nā te kaihanga kiriata nō Wīwī, nā Gaston Méliès. E ai ki a Méliès nāna ia i tūhura, engari i te tau 1912, nō Maata ka whai wāhi ki ana kiriata e toru, kua whai wheako kē ia hei kaiwhakaari i runga i te atamira ā-ao. Kāore ia i whai i te rongonui takitahi, i te anga whakamua rānei, engari nā ana mahi mātātoa i mua i te hunga tūmatanui i noho ia ki te iho o ngā takunetanga hītori whakahirahira. Ko ngā pūtake i eke ai ia ki tana umanga i runga i te atamira me te papa whakaata ko tōna tino ātaaahua me ōna pūmanawa, ā, ko tana iwi hoki, me te rongonui o Rotorua puta noa i te ao hei wāhi mātakitaki i te whakaaturanga Māori. E tohu ana ōna wheako i te hira o te whakaari tūāpapa ā-iwi, ā-hapū hoki ki te mōhiotanga whānui hou ki Aotearoa, me te wāhi matua o ngā kaiwhakaari Māori kia whakakakau atu ki te ao.

Ana tau tōmua

I whānau mai a Maata Ngaamo i Reporoa i te 26 o Pēpuere i te tau 1893, te tamāhine a Te Wau Ngaamo Pera (Ngāti Whakaue) nō Reporoa, i te Waiariki, me tētahi tangata Ingarihi e kīia nei ko Moore; ka wehe a Moore ki Tāmaki-makau-rau i muri tata iho i te whānautanga mai o Maata, engari ka noho a Maata rāua ko tana māmā ki te takiwā o Rotorua.  Ka mate te māmā o Maata i a ia e tamariki tonu ana, ā, ka whāngaia ia e tana whaea kēkē, e Te Rua Kahurangi Horomona Pera (Ngāti Whakaue) me tana matua kēkē me Horomona Pouaru (Ngāti Kahungunu) ki Ōhinemutu. Ka riro i a Maata te ingoa Horomona, te ingoa tuatahi o tana matua whāngai, hei ingoa tuarua, e rite ana ki ngā tikanga o taua wā. Kāore i whairawa te whānau o Maata, ā, ehara i te whānau rangatira, ahakoa e mahi ana a Te Rua i ngā mahi a tana iwi, waihoki, i heke mai i ngā tīpuna matatau ki te whakairo.

The Hippodrome, Niu Ioka

I roto te whaea kēkē o Maata, Te Rua, i te tira waiata i arahina e Minita Frederick Augustus Bennett (Ngāti Whakaue), te hupiritene o te mīhana Māori Mihinare ki Rotorua. Ko ngā tira waiata a Bennett te tuatahi ki te hari mai i te whakaaturanga kaupapa Māori ki ngā wāhi whakaari Pākehā, me te whakauru i te waiata, te poi, te haka hoki ki ngā kātū nō tāwāhi. He tino rongonui tā rātou huri haere me te kōrero mō Hinemoa rāua ko Tūtānekai ki ngā whare puoro whakaari me ngā hōro tāone puta noa i Aotearoa, mā te tableaux (1908) – he whakaariari toka i rongonui ai ki te atamira vaudeville – ā, hei puoro whakaari hoki (1915). I te Āperira o 1909 i tono tētahi kaiwhakatairanga ki a Thomas Donne nō te Tari Tāpoi me ngā Wāhi Hararei Hauora mō ngā kaiwhakaari Māori e 50–80 kia puta mai ki te Whare Tapere Hippodrome o Niu Ioka i raro i tētahi kirimana. Ka whakaingoa te kaiwhakatairanga i te kamupene a Bennett hei tauira, ā, ka tono te tari ki a Bennett kia rapu i ngā kaiwhakaari tika.

The Hippodrome – i huaki i te tau 1905 – nāna anō te kī ‘te whare tapere nui katoa puta noa i te ao.’¹ I taea te 6,000 tāngata te uru ki roto, ā, he riterite te hokona katoatia o ngā tīkiti, e whakangahau ana i te 2,500,000 tāngata i te kaupeka kotahi. I kapi i te wāhi nei te poraka tāone nui katoa i waenganui i te tāone o Manhattan, ā, ka whakaatuhia ngā mea mīharo pērā i ngā erewhana, ngā kaiwhakaari maninirau me te hunga ori hīteki i raro i te wai. Ko tōna kaupapa nui ko ngā whakaaturanga whakamīharo, tae atu ki ngā whakaari a ngā iwi taketake mō te wā tuatahi. I toro atu tētahi māngai nō te Hippodrome ki Rotorua i te Hune o 1909, e kimi ana i ngā kaiwhakaari ka ‘whakamāhanahana’ i ngā kaimātakitaki whare tapere kua ‘hōhā i ō mātou Iniana.’² He wā i muri mai ka kōrero a Maata i ana maumaharatanga ki tētahi kiripāho nō Amerika i toro mai ki Rotorua i te tau 1908, ko tōna āhua he rite ki te ‘kaiparo’, ā, ‘i nōhia e ia te pā’, engari ka hoki mai anō i roto i tētahi motokā roa kia kawe haere i te rōpū i Manhattan.³ I puta mai ngā pūrongorongo whakamīharo i roto i ngā niupepa o Niu Ioka, tērā pea he mea tuhi e taua kiripāho tonu.

I te Hūrae o 1909 i wehe te rōpū me ngā kaiwhakaari Māori e 40 me tō rātou kaiwhakahaere, kaihaurapa kōrero Pākehā, me William Farmer Whyte, i Te Whanganui-a-Tara kia haere ki Hana Paraniko. Tekau mā ono ngā tau o Maata, ā, kāore e kore ko ia te pōtiki o te rōpū; ka haere ngātahi rātou ko ana mātua. Nā Donne, rātou ko Bennett, ko te kaiwhakaari, a Mākereti Papakura i āwhina i ngā whakaritenga tuatahi, ā, he whānui te whakakapinga o te wehenga o te rōpū i roto i te arapāho reo Māori, reo Pākehā hoki. Nā te rangatira nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa, nā Tūreiti Te Heuheu Tūkino me te Minita Iwi Taketake, Minita James Carroll (Ngāti Kahungunu) rātou i poroaki.

Ka whakaatuhia te rōpū i roto i te perehi nō tō rātou taenga atu ki Niu Ioka me te haka ki mua i te Teihana Matua Nui. I te tīmatanga o te pūrongorongo, ko ētahi he uiui whakaute, ā, ko ētahi he whakaahua kiripaki whakamōmona. He auau te kitea o ngā whakaahua o Maata hei ‘tuawahine Māori’ e ‘whakaihiihi’ ana i ngā kaimātakitaki ki te Hippodrome  i ngā marama tuatahi o tā rātou noho, he mea whakauru ki ngā whakaahua nui ake o te rōpū katoa.⁴ Ka whakarite tētahi pūrongo i tā rātou whakaari ki te ‘Salome’, he kanikani karihika rongonui, ā, i a Maata ki te kaiwaiata puoro whakaari arotini, a Fritzi Scheff.

Kāore i te pērā te karihika o ngā whakaari e ai ki ngā pūrongo, nā te mea, ko te āhua nei he rōpū i kauanuanutia. Waihoki nā ō rātou tūnga ki runga i te atamira. Ka tū rātou ki tētahi whakaari hāwhe hāora i kīia ko “I roto i te ao”, te mahi whakamutunga o te whakangahau pō whakamīharo. Ka kōrero mō te wahine a tētahi kaikeri nō Amerika i kāhakina i tētahi hopuni e tata ana ki te pā Māori, ā, ka whakarauoratia – me te āwhina a ngā tāne Māori – i te hunga whakapono ki te rā e noho ana ki te tāone nui i raro i te whenua e whakaaro ana kia moea tahitia tēnei wahine me tō rātou Atua o te Rā. Ko tētahi wāhanga o te kāpeka whakamutunga ko te ori hīteki i raro i te wai, me ngā wāhine waiata. Ahakoa he iti ā rātou mahi ki te kōrero, ka tū motuhake ngā kaiwhakaari Māori ki te atamira mō te rima meneti. Ka puta mai ngā wāhine Māori ki te kāpeka tuatahi, i roto i ngā kanikani ‘waka’, ‘poi’ hoki.⁵ Nā runga anō i ngā whakaritenga ki a Fritzi Scheff, te āhua nei i waiata a Maata.

He nui ngā mahi mātātoa a te rōpū i tāwāhi. Ka rēti rātou i te whare noho ki 161 te Tiriti 33 ki te Rāwhiti, ā, ka pau ngā wā whakatā i te tākaro whutupāoro ki te rōpū atamira o Hippodrome me te hōpara haere. I te toronga atu ki te Whare Taonga Amerikana o te Hītori ā-Taiao kia aromātai i ngā taonga Māori, ka mīharo ngā kairauhī i te kounga o te reo Pākehā o te matua whāngai o Maata. Ka hopu rātou i ngā mauhanga o te rōpū e waiata ana, ā, ka whakaaetia e ētahi mema kia waihangatia he ukutāhū o ō rātou upoko (kua ngaro katoa ēnei). Ka kōrero a Maata mō te tūtaki atu ki te kaiwhakaari rongonui, ki a Buffalo Bill, nāna i koha mai ētahi whakapīwari ki a ia. I muri iho i te wehenga i Niu Ioka i te tīmatanga o Mei 1910, e mahi ana rātou mō ngā marama e rua i Hikāko, ā, te nuinga i whai kirimana mō ngā wiki e rima i runga i te atamira vaudeville i Hana Paraniko.

Ka heke ana te hiamo i te tīmatanga o tō rātou taenga atu, ka arotahi kē ngā pūrongo perehi ki te āheinga o ngā wāhine ki te pōti ki te kāinga, he matatika kāore i whiwhia e ngā wāhine nō Amerika. Ka tono te kaitoko pōti wāhine nō Piritānia, a Emmeline Pankhurst, ki ngā wāhine Māori e toru kia tū ki tana taha ki te hui whakaaraara pōti wāhine ki Carnegie Hall i te mutunga o te Oketopa. Nā te mea 16 ngā tau o Maata, kāore anō kia taea e ia te pōti, ā, ka whakakapia te whakaahua kiritangata o Maata ki ngā whakaahua kiritangata o ‘ngā kaitautoko pōti wāhine mohoao’ i roto i ngā pūrongo perehi, i pūrongorongo i ngā tāpaetanga mārena ki tētahi (Waapi Tungi Yates).⁶ Heoi anō, i te Tīhema, ka whakaahuatia a Maata me ētahi atu wāhine Māori ki tētahi hui whakaaraara mō ngā kaituitui, i tae atu ai te 8,000 wāhine. Ahakoa he rite tonu te whakaatu a te perehi i taua rōpū hei mohoao, e tipu ana te whakaatuhia o ngā wāhine Māori hei wāhine hou e koke whakamua ana, me te whiwhi i ngā matatika me ngā wheako e whakamana ana i tā rātou tū motuhake, i ō rātou āhua kōhure hoki.

I hoki ngā kaiwhakaari whakamutunga ki te kāinga i te Hepetema o 1910, e haere ana i Hana Paraniko ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara mā Tahiti, i reira whakaari anō ai, mā Rarotonga hoki. I whakamanahau te perehi o Aotearoa i te angitu o te haerenga: he pai te pūtea i riro i te rōpu, i manaakitia rātou, ā, i hoki te katoa ki te kāinga.

Gaston Méliès

I te mutunga o te Hepetema 1912, nā te Minita Bennett a Maata i whakamōhio ki tētahi atu kaiwhakaari: Gaston Méliès (he tino rongonui tana teina, a Georges), nō te Kamupene Wandering Star Film, i haere i Niu Ioka ki Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa kia kimi i te mea hou mō te hunga mātakitaki pikitia ‘kua hōhā haere i ngā kaupoai’.⁷ Nā te kaihaurapa kōrero, nā James Cowan a Méliès i hari mai ki Rotorua me te whakamōhio atu i a ia ki a Bennett. He hui panoni tēnei. Ka whakarērea e Méliès tana mahere tuatahi kia whakataruna he tangata ‘iwi taketake’ ngā kaiwhakaari nō Amerika, pērā i tāna i Tahiti, engari ka waihanga kē i ngā kiriata kōrero e toru i Rotorua. Ko te nuinga o ngā kaiwhakaari he Māori. Ko Maata te kaiwhakaari matua i roto i ngā mea e toru: Hinemoa, How Chief Te Ponga won his bride, me Loved by a Māori chieftainess (nō te tau 1913 te katoa). Ka aroha hoki, kua ngaro te katoa.

I whai hua a Méliès me Te Arawa hoki i te hononga i waenga i a rāua. I utua ngā kaiwhakaari, ā, i whāki tūmataitihia e Méliès ko Bennett i mahi hei hoa kaitohu, ahakoa kāore i whakaaatuhia. Nā reira, tērā pea ko ngā kiriata i whakaputaina ngātahitia e rāua, ngā mea tuatahi me te rōpū kaiwhakaari iwi taketake anake me te tuatahi i tohua e te tangata iwi taketake. E kore e mutu ngā mihi a Méliès ki a Maata, tana pai kia tohua me tana ‘huatau māori’.⁸Ahakoa tana aroha ki a Maata me ērā atu kaiwhakaari Māori, me tana kōrero whakaute mō tō rātou atamai, ki a Méliès he harakore ngā kaiwhakaari Māori, i puta noa ki te ao e tāria ana kia tūhuratia. He iti rawa tana māramatanga ki te wheako ngaio o tana rōpū kaiwhakaari.

I tua atu i ngā takatakai kiriata kia whakamahia, i tuku a Méliès i ētahi taonga, whakaahua hoki ki Niu Ioka hei koha, hei kaupapa pānui hoki. I roto i ēnei he whakaahua o Maata, e whakamau ana i te kākahu me te mau i te wahaika, e whakawhirinaki ana ki te matapihi me te whakairo i runga i te whare raupō ki Ōhinemutu. Ka tuhi kōrero a Méliès ki a Maata i runga i te tārua o te whakaahua – ‘to my leading lady in New Zealand.’⁹ I te Mei o 1913 i puta hoki ki te Motion Picture Story Magazine, te maheni kiriwhakamiha tōmua o te ao, i āwhina ki te whakatū i te āhuatanga e puta ana i te whetū kiriata. Ehara a Maata i te tangata iwi taketake tuatahi kia whakaatuhia i te maheni, engari ko ia tētahi o ngā tāngata iwi taketake huhua kāore i mihia, engari i puta ki ngā kiriata ngū. Ko tana whakaahua kiritangata, i tapaina ko ‘Maata Horomona (Méliès), The native leading woman in “Hinemoa”‘, ka puta i waenga i ērā o Eleanor Blanchard rāua ko Lois Weber, ngā kaiwhakaari wahine tino rongonui o te wā.¹⁰

Tōna ao i muri i te whetū kiriatatanga

Kāore ngā kiriata o Méliès i whakaputaina ki Aotearoa, ā, kāore a Maata i puta ki kiriata kē. Ko āna whakaaturanga anake atu i taua wā ko ngā kaupapa ā-iwi. I moe ia i a Turereiao (Ture) Gillies (Ngāti Kahungunu) i te 10 o Pēpuere 1914 i Waimārama. Ka neke ki Heretaunga, te wāhi e whakahaeretia ana e Turereiao te pakihi taraka me te mahi i runga i te pāmu o te whānau. Tokowaru ngā tamariki a Maata, tokoono he tāne, tokorua he wāhine, ā, i whānau mai i waenga i te tau 1915 me te tau 1928. I muri iho i te rū i Te Matau-a-Māui i te tau 1931 i hoki te whānau ki Ōhinemutu. Ka noho ki reira ko Maata me ana tamariki muringa tokowhā tae noa ki tana matenga; i whai wāhi ia ki ngā mahi a te iwi, ā, ko ia tētahi mea tuatahi o te Rīki Hauora Wahine. I te 15 o Hepetema i te tau 1939, i mate a Maata i Ōhinemutu i te mate manawa; e 46 ana tau. Ka mahue ki muri i a ia ko tana tāne me ā rāua tamariki. Ko tana tamaiti tuaono, a Robert (Bom) Gillies, i roto i te kamupene ‘B’ o te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) nō te tau 1943 ki te tau 1945. I te tau 2019 i whakaritea ia hei Cavaliere (Tā) o te Tohu Tā o te Kotahitanga o Itāria, ā, i te tau 2022 ka whakaingoatia ia ki te Tohu Tā o Aotearoa. I whakaae ia kia whakawhiwhia ki ngā hōnore e rua hei whakakanohitanga o ngā hōia katoa i roto i te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) i te wā o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao.

E kore e oti aku mihi maioha ki te whānau Gillies, otirā ki a Robert rātou ko Te Taupua, ko Robyn i kaha manaaki mai i ahau me te whakaae kia noho ngātahi i a rātou e tuku kōrero mai ana ki ahau. He mihi maioha hoki ki ngā whānau Gillies, Ngaamo/McRae hoki i te tautoko kia rangahau, kia tuhi hoki i tēnei mauhanga o te ao o Maata.

Kupu tāpiri

1. New York Hippodrome: Souvenir book. Season 1909–1910. Eph-B-OPERA-NonNZ-1909-01, Alexander Turnbull Library. Back
2. Evening Post, 19 o Hune: 5. Back
3. He whakakakau matawhaiaro me Robert Nairn Gillies, 26 o Hūrae 2022. Back
4. Untitled clipping, n.d., n.p.; Pukapuka toenga i whakaputua e te māngai perehi, e Anna Marble Pollock, R.H Burnside Collection, Box 57, Hippodrome Season 1909–1910. Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Back
5. lsquo;Inside the Earth’ Series II, Production Files. R.H. Burnside Collection. T-Mss 1952-002 Box 14, Folder 7. Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Back
6. ‘Wants to Marry Waapi.’ Daily Citizen (Brooklyn, New York), 20 o Noema 1909, n.p., Pukapuka toenga i whakaputua e te māngai perehi, e Anna Marble Pollock. Back
7. Marlborough Express, 20 August 1912: 2. Back
8. Gaston Méliès ki a Paul Méliès, 12 o Oketopa 1912, Rotorua, He tuhinga i waenganui i a Gaston Melies rātou ko Hortense Melies, ko Georges ko Gaston Melies kohikohinga tuhinga, Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, Te Whanganui-a-tara. Back
9. Rite. Back
10. ‘Maata Horomona (Méliès), The native leading woman in Hinemoa.’ The Motion Picture Story Magazine, Mei 1913: 2. Back

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Minette Hillyer. 'Horomona, Maata', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2024. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/6h16/horomona-maata (accessed 5 May 2024)