The Maori Jesus

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The Maori Jesus

• By James K Baxter

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Stereotypical images of Jesus
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Baxters Maori Jesus?
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(No Transcript)
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In groups, find

• Local references - NZ people, places, words, food
• Biblical allusions
• Social outsiders rule-breakers
• Signs of sickness in society

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His breath smelt of mussels and paraoa

• Good paraoa is less likely to go unnoticed.
  Paraoa is a bread unleavened by commercial
  yeasts rather it uses wild yeasts captured and
  cultured with mashed potato.

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Mt Crawford

• In 2008 the Dept of Corrections shut down Mt
  Crawford prison and moved inmates to Rimutaka and
  Arohata prisons.

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The disciples
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• He did no miracles. He played the guitar sitting
  on the ground.

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• The First day he was arrested for having no
  lawful means of support

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He was lobotomized

• Lobotomies
• cutting the connections to and from, or simply
  destroying, the prefrontal cortex in the brain.
• result in major personality changes and possible
  mental retardation.
• were used in the past to treat a wide range of
  severe mental illnesses, including schizophrenia,
  clinical depression, and various anxiety
  disorders
• Used to control minorities

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Key ideas in The Maori Jesus

• Baxter was critical of organised religion,
  respectable parishes, and puritanical,
  judgemental attitudes.
• He was moved by the suffering of the outcast in
  society in NZ and had compassion on them. E.g.
  started Narcotics Anonymous group in Grafton for
  addicts
• He believed the true spirit of Christianity was
  to reach out and journey with the downtrodden and
  dispossessed, rather than judge them.

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Features of the poem

• Imagery (see following slides)
• Connotative language e.g. long hair, dungarees
  associations of unkempt, working class man
• Biblical allusion
• Extensive use of parallel structures gives
  sense of a Biblical narrative e.g. When he
  smiled/frowned/broke wind and The first
  day/second day etc.

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Features of the poem

• Tone starts fairly neutral, some humour,
  presents images that clash with our stereotypical
  image of Christ/disciples, ends on an ominous
  note.
• Language use of NZ slang (dee, screw) Maori
  words (paraoa) and refers to local places
  (Porirua, Mt Crawford)
• Use of colloquialisms (head doctor, cops, shit)
  gives the poem an earthy feel and constrasts with
  the formality of the structure

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Images of Jesus in the poem

• The humble, everyday Jesus who is made familiar
  to us by being placed in a NZ context and being
  Maori
• E.g
• He wore blue dungarees
• walking on Wellington harbour
• He did no miracles. He played the guitar
  sitting on the ground.

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Images of Jesus in the poem cont

• In touch with creation, supernaturally powerful,
  with a good sense of humour
• E.g when he broke wind the little fishes
  trembled, when he laughed everyone got drunk.
• Inspired and divine - but seen as mad by society
  and persecuted for it
• E.g. On the sixth day he told the head doctor,
  I am the Light in the Void. The seventh day he
  was lobotomized.

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Images of 1960s NZ society

• A sick, decayed society
• e.g. An alcoholic priest going slowly mad
• A society with no compassion for the downtrodden.
• E.g. he was charged with being a Maori
• He was arrested for having no lawful means of
  support
• A society with the wrong priorities.
• The brain of God was cut in half.
• mile deep civilised darkness

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Images of outcasts and misfits in society those
looked down on by respectable society

• A bearded, long haired Maori wearing blue
  dungarees with smelly breath, who was arrested
  and put in prison, thought to have a mental
  illness and them lobotomized
• Railway station toilet cleaner
• The call girl with no self respect (free sex)
• A non-conformist housewife (doesnt use
  contraception, doesnt watch TV)
• A rebellious office clerk (a traitor to the
  established order, tries to set fire to govt
  buildings)
• A old sad queen (confused gender identity)
• An alcoholic priest (failed his calling)

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Your turn

• What do you think was Baxters PURPOSE in this
  poem?
• How well do you think he achieved that purpose?