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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 6 (September 1, 1934)

The Reformed Cannibal

page 19

The Reformed Cannibal.

Fierce old Mokorou, a few months later, tried to recruit another taua or war party to march against the Arawas of Rotorua. But the Rongo-Pai leaven was working; no column could be raised; the people were beginning to appreciate the blessings of peace. Three years later even Mokorou himself found the old ways intolerable, and he became one of “Te Ahiwera's” disciples, took the Bible name Riwai (Levi), and built a church at Whatawhata. The missionary, of course, hailed this as a sign of a complete change of heart and so forth; a cynic might suggest that Mokorou eschewed cannibalism because, like Rauparaha, he lost his teeth. At any rate he had had his day. At the same time, at the parson's request, he parted with seven out of his eight wives.