Edward Shortland

“ When the husband returned home his wife could not be found. He, however, traced footsteps to the hills where the Fairies dwelt, but saw nothing of his wife. Then he felt sure she had been carried off by the Fairies, and returned sorrowing and thinking of some plan to recover her. At length, having thought of a plan, he summoned the tohunga of the tribe—those skilled in bringing back love—those skilled in makutu—in short all the tohunga. ”

“ Suppose some large tribe is defeated. Suppose that tribe is defeated a second and a third time, till at last the tribe becomes small, and is reduced to a mean condition. It is then made to do the work of dependants—to cultivate the land for food, to catch eels, and to carry wood. In short, its men are treated as slaves. In such a case their land passes into the possession of the tribe whose valour conquered them. They will not think of striving against their masters; because their power to fight has gone from them. ”

“ This is the source whence men learnt them. Their knowledge is not from modern times. Papa, Rangi, Tiki were the first to give rules to men for work of all kinds, for killing, for man-eating, for karakia. In former days the knowledge of the Maori was great, in all matters, from this teaching, and so men learnt how to set rules for this thing and for that thing. Hence came the ceremony of Pure for the dead, the karakia for the new-born infant, for grown men, for battle, for storming a Pa, for eels, for birds, for makutu, and a multitude of other karakia. ”

“ Come, come." They arrive—the tangi commences—then speeches are made. Meanwhile food is being prepared. When they had done eating the food, Tawaki said to Ihenga, " Tell us about your travels. Whence come you, lost one?"
"I have seen a sea," said Ihenga, "I found a man there."
"Who is the man?" asked Tawaki.
"Marupunga-nui, and his son."
They all knew that the son was Tu-o-rotorua. So Kahu inquired "Where is your uncle and his father?"
"They remain there," said Ihenga, "I have made them go to the island."
"Well done, son-in-law," said Kahu. ”

“ If the travellers say, 'Let us go,' you are to say 'Go.'" So the spirit of the dog was left to dwell within that tree; and ever since it mocks living men of the generations after Ihenga, even to our time.
At length Ihenga reached Mataewaka at the Kawakawa, where his elder brother Warenga dwelt. He remained there one month, and when the new moon appeared he and his brother Warenga went to the lake Te Tiringa to fish. There inanga were caught, some of which Ihenga preserved in a gourd filled with water, in order that he might carry them alive to Rotorua. ”

“ But they found the posts of the Pa daubed over with kokowai, and the leaves used in the ovens for cooking, thrown on the roofs of the houses: the Pa too was full of the steam of cooked food. As for the woman, she was placed for concealment in an oven. So the Fairies feared to come near; for how could they enter the Pa in their dread of the kokowai, and the steam of the ovens which filled the court-yard. So great is their dread of cooked food.
Then the tohunga Maori all standing up sung a karakia to put to sleep the Fairies. ”

“ He then cautioned his daughter not to enter the house where young people resort for amusement.
"I never go to the play-house," replied Hinetekakara, "I always sleep with my mother in our own house,"
"You do well," said Kahu;" "in twenty days we shall both be free from our tapu."
So they both continued to dwell in their sacred house by themselves, and the damsel always cooked food for them; and when the day fixed by Kahu came he sent Ihenga in a canoe to catch fish to complete the ceremony of removing the tapu. ”

“ Thus Zeus and the other Olympian deities formed the centre of a national religious system; but at the same time the old Aryan religion of worship of ancestors maintained a paramount influence, and every tribe and every family had its separate form of worship of its own ancestors. The prayer of the son of Achilles, when in the act of sacrificing Polyxena to the manes of his father, is a striking instance of the prevalent belief that the deified spirits of ancestors had power to influence the destinies of the living. ”

“ The agents who act for men of capital who enter into such speculations are always ready to offer an advance of money as a deposit on land, and when a Maori, especially a careless young man, visits our towns he is too often unable to resist the temptation of gold to be had for the mere signature of his name. When, however, such a transaction becomes known to the tribe it gives rise to much heart burning and trouble ”

“ When the child is about a month old, and strives with its hands to reach its mother's breast, the ceremony of Tūa takes place. Two fires are kindled; one fire for the Ariki, one fire for the Atua. The food to be cooked on the fire is fern-root. Then the tohunga takes the child in his arms, and repeats this karakia:—
Breathe quick thy lung,
A healthy lung. ”

“ If, however, we look at the mythology of Greek and Latin Aryans from the Maori point of view the explanation of their myths is simple.
This mythology personified and deified the Powers of Nature, and represented them as the ancestors of all mankind; so these personified Powers of Nature were worshipped as deified ancestors. There is no authority for any other supposition. ”

“ It has been affirmed by many on presumed good authority that no member of a tribe has an individual right in any portion of the land included within the boundaries of his tribe. Such, however, is not the case, for individuals do sometimes possess exclusive rights to land, though more generally members of families, more or less numerous, have rights in common to the exclusion of the rest of the tribe over those portions of land which have been appropriated to their ancestors. ”

“ The decision of the chiefs of the Arawa, to which Te Koata, who was present, assented, was that as Tapuika could not have recovered their lands if unassisted by other Arawa tribes, the land of Tapuika which had been taken possession of by the fighting men of the combined tribes now belonged to those men, or expressed in their own words, "kua riro i te toa," had gone to the brave.
This decision was important, as it established a precedent of value in dealing with any lands similarly circumstanced elsewhere in New Zealand—a precedent being always a powerful argument with the Maori. ”

“ Those portions which have been appropriated, from time to time, to individuals and families. The tribal land remaining unappropriated. Whenever land is appropriated formally by native usage, it descends in the family of its first owners according to well recognized rules, and the mana of the representative of the tribe ceases to have any control over it. Their laws as to succession naturally tended to render the greater part of such lands the property of several of the same family as tenants in common; but an individual might and did frequently become a sole owner. ”

“ It is sufficient for a person who knows this art, if he can obtain a portion of the spittle of his enemy, or some leavings from his food, in order that he may treat it in a manner sure to bring down the resentment of his family Atua. For this reason a person would not dare to spit when in the presence of anyone he feared might be disposed to injure him, if he had a reputation for skill in this evil art.
With such a belief as to the cause of all disease it will not be wondered at that the treatment of it was confined to the karakia of a tohunga or wise man. ”

“ His wife ran down to the water side as the canoe touched the beach.
"See what food you have lying there," said Ihenga. Hine-te-kakara caught up a bundle of rats, and when she saw their teeth she exclaimed "ē, ē, he niho kiore" (eh! eh! a rat's tooth) . So the place was named Te Niho-o-te-kiore. Again she made an exclamation of admiration at the heap of birds, " In truth, in truth, a wonderful heap. Come, sirs, come and look at it." So that place was also named "Kahui-kawau," or Flock of Shags. Then the birds were cooked, and the next day they all departed to return to Maketu. ”

“ The belief is that any neglect of the law of tapu, either wilful, or accidental, or even brought about by the act of another person, causes the anger of the Atua of the family who punishes the offender by sending some infant spirit to feed on a part of his body—infant spirits being generally selected for this office on account of their love of mischief, and because not having lived long enough on earth to form attachments to their living relatives, they are less likely to show them mercy. ”

“ Then Ihenga bid his companions show Kahu the food they had brought.
But Kahu said, "No; leave it alone till to-morrow."
The next morning the oven was made ready for the ceremony of Turakanga. Hinetekakara dipped in the river, and two mounds of earth were made—one for a male child, and one for a female child. The path of death was thrown down, and the path of life set up. Then the woman trampled on the mound for the male child with one foot, and with the other foot she trampled on the mound for the female child. ”

“ ARYAN MYTHOLOGY.
The Aryans do not appear to have had any tradition of a Creation. They seem to have conceived of the Powers of Nature very much in the same way as the Maori did,—namely, that the mysterious power of Generation was the operative cause of all things. ”

“ A woman is much vexed when any of the flax scraped by her is stolen, and she consults a tohunga, in order to discover the thief. Whether the flax has been stolen from her house or from the water, the woman's house must be tapu. No one must be allowed to enter it. This is necessary, that the makutu may take effect, and the person who stole the flax be discovered. So when the woman comes to the tohunga he first asks her "Has any one entered your house?" ”

“ Kahu afterwards remained at Maketu, and died, and was buried there. When he died the mana of Maketu went to his son Tawaki-moe-tahanga. When Tawaki died, the mana-rahi of Maketu went to Uenuku, who also died at Maketu when an old man. Then his son Rangitihi abandoned Maketu, and went to Rotorua, and settled at Matapara with all his family.
When Kahu left Ihenga at Kaipara at the dwelling place of his elder brother Taramainuku, he thus bid him farewell—"Sir, be quick to return to your child, my grandchild, Tama-ihu-toroa. Do not delay." So Ihenga remained at Kaipara for a short time. ”

“ Commencing with a primitive state of Darkness, he conceived Po (= Night) as a person capable of begetting a race of beings resembling itself. After a succession of several generations of the race of Po, Te Ata (= Morn) was given birth to. Then followed certain beings existing when Cosmos was without form, and void. Afterwards came Rangi (= Heaven) , Papa (= Earth) , the Winds, and other Sky powers, as are recorded in the genealogical traditions preserved to the present time.
We have reason to consider the mythological traditions of the Maori as dating from a very antient period. ”

“ Then the son said to his father, "Ha! you were all but murdered by those men. Their act shall be avenged. Their heads shall soon be struck by my weapon." Then turning in anger he went back to his canoe, and returned to the Pa.
Without delay he called together the whole tribe, and made known to them all that his father had told him. After the tribe had heard the wrong done to their old chief, they assembled at night to deliberate, and determined to go the next morning to kill those men. Then they retired to rest. ”

“ When, therefore, a person falls sick, and cannot remember that he has himself broken any law of the tapu, he has to consult a matakite (seer) and a tohunga to discover the crime, and use the proper ceremonies to appease the Atua; for there is in practice a method of making a person offend against the laws of tapu without his being aware of it. ”

“ The translations of those now presented to the reader will, it is believed, speak for themselves as to the nature of Maori worship, and carry with them a more clear and full conviction as to what it really was than any mere statements however faithful. It will be seen that a karakia is in some cases very like a prayer,—in other cases for the most part an invocation of spirits of ancestors in genealogical order,—in other cases a combination of prayer and invocation. ”

“ There was no one in the canoe, only stones to represent men. There Kahu was busied sending off his canoe, when his wife, Kuiwai, shouted to him, "Kahu, Kahu, there is a man on your resting place." Then Kahu cried out, "Take him; shove him down here." The woman replied, *"Who will dare to approach your pillow; the man is tapu." Then Kahu shouted, "Is he seated on my pillow?" "Yes." "I am mad with anger," said Kahu; "his head shall pay for it."
Ihenga was dressed in two dog-skin cloaks, under which were two kahakaha cloaks. As Kahu went up towards the Pa he asked, "Which way did the man come." ”

“ So Rangi dwelt above, and Tane and his brothers dwelt below with their mother, Papa.
Some time after this Tane desired to have his mother Papa for his wife. But Papa said, "Do not turn your inclination towards me, for evil will come to you. Go to your ancestor Mumuhango." So Tane took Mumuhango to wife, who brought forth the totara tree. Tane returned to his mother dissatisfied, and his mother said, "Go to your ancestor Hine-tu-a-maunga (=the mountain maid) ." So Tane took Hine-tu-a-maunga to wife, who conceived, but did not bring forth a child. ”

“ A general assembly of the tribes consequently met at Rotorua, when it was shown that the land I proposed to purchase came within the old boundaries of Tapuika. But several generations before the present the Pa at Maketu had been taken by the hostile tribe Ngatiawa, and the Arawa tribes, including Tapuika, had been driven from the sea-coast to Rotorua and elsewhere. When the flax trade with Sydney was in vigour, many of the Arawa natives had been permitted to return to scrape flax for sale to a trader named Tapsell who was stationed at Maketu ”

“ Hence the karakia had its power, and came down from one generation to another ever having power. Formerly their karakia gave men power. From the time when the Rongo-pai (= Gospel) arrived here, and men were no longer tapu, disease commenced. The man of former days was not afflicted by disease. He died only when bent by age. He died when he came to the natural end of life.
My writing to you begins with the karakia for a mother when her breasts give no milk. After a child is born, if the mother's breasts have no milk, her husband goes for the tohunga. ”

“ Then the food brought by the men was laid in a pile before Tawaki in the courtyard of Whitingakongako. And Tawaki said to his sister "Give some for me and your father." So she gave the bundle of rats, and the shags, and the gourd of inanga, and the other fish. And Tawaki and his father sent them to their own dwelling-place.
As he was eating the food Kahu exclaimed "Ha! ha! food sent from the sky, food of Aotea-roa. Why that land of yours is Hawaiki. ”