Journeys into the Mystery

Secretland 2

Journeys into the Mystery

by

Gary J Cook

© 2002 Integrity Research Foundation

Photography: Gary Cook

Author: Gary Cook

Published by the Secretland Project

PO Box 8756,

Symonds Street,

Auckland,

NEW ZEALAND

www.secretland.co.nz

FIRST SMASHWORDS EDITION

November 2012

Copyright 2012 Secretland Project. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of The Secretland Project.

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To the many who have helped to bring this book into being, and to those who have walked with me: Raywyn, Barry and Cushla, Noel and Julie, Jan, Patrick, Greg and Rose, Arthur and Lyn, Martin, Mick, Toni, Kynan, Brendon, Nicola, Wayne, Ashton, Martin, Dr Bill, Gordon, Merv, Ron, John, Doug and Trish.

CONTENTS

PREFACE BY BARRY BRAILSFORD

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 TO THE WALL

Chapter 2 THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLE OF THE FOREST

Chapter 3 TRACING THE STONE PEOPLE

Chapter 4 THE SANDS OF TIME

Chapter 5 OF SIGNIFICANT PLACES AND CREDIBLE PHENOMENA

Chapter 6 WALKING WITH THE STARS

Chapter 7 THE SEA GARDENS

Chapter 8 LISTENING TO THE STONE

Chapter 9 TRAILS OF KNOWLEDGE

Chapter 10 A NEVER ENDING STORY

Chapter 11 OF CAVES AND CARVINGS

Chapter 12 THE UNEXPLAINED AND THE MYSTERIOUS

Chapter 13 THE CHILDREN OF THE FOREST

Chapter 14 SPIRIT PATHS AND MAPS

Chapter 15 TRAVELLING WITH THE SACRED STONE

Chapter 16 THE RED OCHRE PEOPLE

Chapter 17 OF SOUNDS AND SHADOWS

Chapter 18 EMPERORS AND NAVIGATORS

Chapter 19 THE SACRED LAND

Chapter 20 GREENSTONE DREAMING

Chapter 21 OF BUTTERFLIES AND CIRCLES

Chapter 22 THE RETURN HOME OF THE WARRIOR

Glossary

MORE

PREFACE

In the past it was a rare occurrence, a moment to pause, when someone took their courage in their hands and stood tall to challenge the established tide. Yet, it is happening more and more today, and it is healthy for there is often decay in the established way. That's the danger in life, the closing down that happens when the established view, the opinions of the 'experts' become fact, and the only view.

Gary Cook's journey into our past is a worthy one. It opens doors into a history that has been closely sealed for too long. It is not a hard-edged history, for it is a gentle exploration of the land and its secrets. Above all it is a personal journey within which he places fact and artefact alongside perceptions that are purely intuitive. While for the scientist there are dangers in that there are also great strengths. Many of the greatest discoveries of science have come from such flashes of insight. There is much to explore at the interface of science and spirit.

Barry Brailsford

INTRODUCTION

Why this book?

My journey started many years ago when I first experienced deep longing for the security of spiritual roots and a path to divine wisdom. I searched for a marker or a guide. I was well aware that I had little in-depth knowledge of my ancestors. From this understanding grew a desire to learn more of the history of the development of the human race. Deep within all of us there is a strong desire to know of our cultural roots and where our ancestors came from; to discover our own unique ancestry and, at the same time, learn of our distant relationships with many people. There is a strong desire to give meaning to our existence and contemplate our origins. Eventually, I stepped on to my pathway to follow my own spiritual journey; to remain steadfast to my vows and live in the distractions of this incredible creation is a continuous challenge.

The world of today still presents many great mysteries and I have been presented with the challenge to explore and disseminate information of the legacy left by the early comers to New Zealand; to bring alive the history and the information that was short on facts and long on story. One felt that there was more depth to the history of New Zealand than we were told; that the arrival of the ancestors of present day Maori happened only 600 to 700 years ago. Over a period of years, during which I attended rural schools, many of my classmates were of local iwi, and I collected snippets of information. I found it interesting that some elders and parents offered a version of their family history that contained stories of earlier arrivals.

Over the years, pieces of information came my way that gave further substance to many early arrivals, and pointed to a deeper New Zealand history. These interesting and seemingly unrelated snippets of information were filed in the recesses of an ever inquiring and curious mind. At times information would surface of people and unexplained place names that existed in the landscape. I could never quite understand why Maori myth, legend and whakapapa were not considered factual enough to be an accepted part of the history. I knew there was a treasure trove of knowledge, kept safe and secure by the few, to be shared one day with the many.

My journey, which has led to the writing of this introduction, started one memorable day in June 1995 when I read a book review. The article captivated me. It described the exciting work undertaken by historian Barry Brailsford, who was invited to sit with the elders and share sacred knowledge of our past that was revealed for the first time. The book was Song of Waitaha: The Histories of a Nation.

My hands trembled as I lifted the paper wrapped wooden box that housed a treasure, a taonga, yet to be revealed. I cleared my office desk with one hand, gently placing the box in the centre. My fingers traced the outline of square cut bone and inlaid greenstone set on the lid. I wondered at the skill and craftsmanship of this wondrous work, made from three different timbers from the forests of this land and assembled by the hands of those who are descendants of the ancient people. Carefully, I lifted the lid. It was a perfect fit; light, yet strong and timber hard to the touch. The inside revealed a textured wrapping paper made from the flax plant. As I pulled the paper aside, a note was revealed, addressed to me. It read:

'Ki a Gary. Nga Mihi Aroha Ki a Koe;

May this taonga bring understanding and peace to our peoples.

Thank you for your trust and patience. Arohanui.'

BJ. Brailsford

The note also told me that I had received book number 79. I then eased the volume from the box. The heavy book was leather bound with a deep incised motif on the front cover. The cover was deep tan in colour, the motif displaying ancient symbols. Little did I realise at this moment, that the first touch of the book was the second step on a journey that would span many years and cover great distances. A journey that would take my wife, Raywyn, and myself to many places, to experience a completion that allows us to share the wonder and joy we have both felt on our quest. The book I then held in my hands was Song of Waitaha: The Histories of a Nation. The story of the early comers, as held within the pages, was to inspire me to seek the truth behind the writings. My journeys would allow me to travel the land, and share :findings with the wider world.

My subsequent meeting with Barry Brailsford was a coming together of two like-minded people. We shared much of common interest and belief. A belief based on an earnest desire to take the wisdom of the elders and present this gift to all who would listen. To tell the stories from within this land and share the vision. To gift the wisdom of the past to the people of the present, so they may shape a better future.

We were both to :find there were those who saw our intention as entirely self-seeking, to promote personal gain. There are none quite so blind as those who cannot see the truth when it is placed before them. The stories I write are not mine. I claim no ownership. I share, in wonder, that which I discover. My personal views are separated from any political or racial bias. My magazine articles, books and lectures are the means by which I bring a deeper, more meaningful history to a wider audience. A history that I have not invented, but have partially resurrected.

The stories that follow have been selected from a series of 27 magazine articles, first published in Rainbow News. The contents reflect the work of many past and modern day researchers.

The story of Barry's personal journey during his writing of Song of Waitaha: The Histories of a Nation was shared in Song of the Stone. This story proved to be a pivotal point of my journey. An invitation was extended to Raywyn and myself, to join a party walking the ancient greenstone trail in January 1996. The party of 25 trail walkers knew little of the personal hardships, soul searching and revelations that would take place in the high mountain passes.

After a five-day journey filled with the wonder of exploration we all left the trail changed in many subtle ways. Raywyn and I had a very separate and unique experience when the song of the ancestors was shared with us as we sat together on the banks of a mountain river. The guardians of this ancient landscape touched us with their sacred song and put before us the challenge to bring the stories of the ancestors to the wider world. A task that would take us to many places, stepping in the footsteps of the people before. We would enter a realm of musty libraries, living landscapes and ancient stories; a world rich in ritual and natural lore.

We soon discovered there is far more to this land than we had at first realised, that we did not have to imagine the lost history or hidden places. We had but to open our eyes and look closely at what has always been there to be able to see evidence of our ancient past clearly visible in the present landscape. There is plenty to see if we but take the time to look. Sites and remains of the early-comers abound, and you the reader, will share with me the exciting prospect these discoveries offer to all people. Much I have seen in the landscape offers a tantalising glimpse into the past. But there is more still to come. Guardians of the ancient lore are fulfilling old prophecies as, little by little, the past is revealed and the wisdom is shared. In offering this interpretation of a history, I make no apologies to those who will not understand or will fail to see how ancient links from the past can result in a better understanding of the spirit of the land, of cause and effect.

There is power and energy running through this land, connecting and binding many places together. And where these invisible lines meet and cross are to be found places, or records of past events, that were profoundly important to the first-comers. This declaration of an unseen network is not made lightly, as this concept flies in the face of modern scientific understanding and belief.

Signs and Symbols

Throughout my travels I have always observed the ancient way of Waitaha Tawhito, the way of the peacemakers. My mentor and kaumatua, took me into many realms and revealed a little of the true spiritual nature of this land and indeed of the whole planet. I share with you the opening lines of the karakia (prayer) that was gifted for my journey:

Ki muri a hau e tu whaka iti

E hana a hau te korero Mo nga Tupuna e korero Whiti mai te Ra,

Whiti mai te Ra

Kia maua

Kia maua te oranga mote iwi

Ke te Whei Ao, Ki te Ao Marama

Ki nga mate nga mihi

Ki kautou

Ka hurimai ki te ora

Ti hei mauri ora

The words are not mine

But belong to the tupuna, they do the talking

I call to the Sun to rise, I call to the Sun to rise

So that all in the land may catch the healing

So that we may live in a better, wider world as one.

I pay tribute to all the dead,

That they might come back to us as the living, And breathe and have life.

So, it is with respect for the ancestors of the Waitaha Nation, and those that came before them, that I move through the land that I may share the wonder of the ancient peoples. It is my hope that this quest for origins brings us to a better understanding of the wider world and our place within it.

Much has been written on the origin of the present iwi and those who have vanished from the land through natural attrition or war. Many early explorers and historians promoted the Victorian Era premise that the Pacific Polynesian came from a region in Northern India, moving down through Asia and eastward through Micronesia and Melanesia until finally reaching the shores of South America. Modern linguistic theory traces the Maori back to Taiwan. Adze types suggest a South East Asian origin. Ancient lore describes a trail back to Africa that brings with it the darker pigmentation. In the end we are confronted with a diversity of views that creates confusion. Perhaps the way through this is to put aside the idea of one and only one homeland and think more in terms of many homelands, of a voyaging people that touched many lands and in turn was touched by them.

In the early 1970's Professor Barry Fell of Harvard University promoted the findings of Pacific Ocean history researchers with evidence of the movement of Phoenician and Egyptian explorers through the pacific region. Inscriptions found on cave walls in West Irianjara and Pitcairn Island have been interpreted as records left by an Egyptian explorer whose name translates as Maui. Is it possible that the Maui of Maori legend, the man who 'fished up' the North Island, was the Egyptian explorer?

I have visited Separation Point in Abel Tasman National Park, the place where the locals say Maui sat and 'fished' for the North Island, or in other words,