Maori
Auckland.
Stay from 22nd December, 1858, to 8th January, 1859.
Request preferred by the Colonial Government to have the coal-fields of the Drury District thoroughly examined by the geologists of theNovara.—Geographical remarks concerning New Zealand.—Auckland.—The Aborigines or Maori.—A Mass meeting.—Maori legends.—Manners and customs of the Aborigines.—The Meri-Meri.—Most important of the vegetable esculents of the Aborigines before the arrival of the Europeans.—Dr. Thomson's anthropological investigations.—Maori proverbs and poetry.—The present war and its origin.—The Maori king.—Decay of the native population and its supposed causes.—Advantages held out by New Zealand to European emigration.—Excursion to the Waiatarna valley.—Maori village of Oraki.—Kauri forests in the Manukau range.—Mr. Smith's farm in Titarangi.—St. John's College.—Intellectual activity in Auckland.—New Zealand silk.—Excursion to the coal-fields of the Drury and Hunua Districts.—New Year's Eve at the Antipodes.—Dr. Hochstetter remains in New Zealand.—The Catholic mission in Auckland.—Two Maories take service as seamen on board theNovara.—Departure.—The results of the explorations of the geologist during his stay at the island.—Crossing the meridian of 180° from West to East.—The same day reckoned twice.—The sight of the islands of Tahiti and Eimeo.—Arrival in the harbour of Papeete.
Great was the interest excited at the Antipodes by the arrival of theNovara, for besides the importance for Europeanemigration of a country possessing a healthy climate, a fertile soil, and but thinly peopled, it was most gratifying to the members of the first Austrian Expedition to see much hitherto unsuspected natural wealth made known to the inhabitants by one of their scientific staff, and thus to prove of use to a nation which in almost every part of the globe has so incontestably borne away the palm in advancing the interests of science and the development of the treasures of the earth.
Immediately after our arrival in Auckland, the Governor of the colony, Colonel Gore Browne, renewed the request, previously made in his name to our Commodore while at Sydney by Sir William Denison, that he would permit our geologist to make a proper scientific examination of a portion of the Drury District, in which there were certain indications supposing to point to the existence of coal-fields. Upon his report would depend the exploration and the establishing of a regular system of working the mines. The little Expedition to the coal-fields, which was most munificently equipped by the Government, proved successful beyond all expectation, so much so as to induce the Governor to beg of our Commodore the further favour of permitting our geologist to make a still longer stay on the island, for the purpose of more accurately and completely surveying the dependency. The negotiations upon this subject, fraught with such happy results for both parties, will be found in the Appendix, whileat the end of this chapter we shall give a succinct sketch of what was accomplished in the interests of science by the activity of Dr. Hochstetter, our geologist, during his stay in New Zealand, the more copious details of his eight months' stay at the Antipodes being reserved for a special volume.
New Zealand consists of two large islands separated from each other by Cook's Straits, a splendid channel, 150 miles long by 50 in width, and the two smaller islands, called Stewart's and Chatham Islands, about 50 by 20, separated by Foveau Straits, the latter lying in the ocean about 400 miles south-west of the province of Canterbury.
The entire group extends from 34° to 48° S., and 166° to 179° E. The greatest extent of land, from N.E. to S.W., i. e. from Cape Maria Van Diemen to South Cape, is over 1000 miles. The greatest breadth, along the parallel of 38° S. is about 200 miles, while the coast-line is several thousand miles in extent. By the constitution of 1853, New Zealand is divided into six chief provinces:—Auckland, New Plymouth (Taranaki), and Wellington in the north island, and Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago, in the central islands, since which period two new provinces have been added,—Hawk Bay in the north island, and Marlborough in the middle island.
None of the remaining seven, however, is so important or possesses such geographical advantages as Auckland. Its coast-line is upwards of 900 nautical miles, while its moreimportant rivers, such as the Waikato, Waipa, Waihó (called also the Thames), Piako, and Wairao, are navigable for small boats far into the interior. Of its 28 harbours, four, viz. Bay of Islands, Auckland, Wangaroa, and Middle Harbour, are accessible throughout the year for large ships, besides offering secure anchorage; but of the remainder only eight will admit vessels of 400 tons, while the balance can only be used by small brigs and schooners.
Auckland, the capital, lies on an isthmus about six miles in width, dividing Waitemata Harbour from that of Manukau, the first being beyond all question the best harbour on the east side, the former on the west. These two harbours furnish moreover, by the numerous streams and creeks that disembogue into them, most excellent means of communication with the interior. The products of the country through a region of 100 miles are conveyed to Waitemata by the Waihó and Piako rivers, while on the other hand the Waikato and Waipa rivers bring to the harbour of Manukau the natural products from 120 miles inland. At a comparatively small cost a cut might be carried through the isthmus, at a point where it is only a mile and a half wide, and direct water communication be thus effected between the two harbours, to the manifest advantage of the country and capital. At present the mail steamer, which comes from Sydney once a month with the European letters, berths in Manukau Harbour, near Onehunga, on account of the greater convenience of that harbour, and its being at a much less distance, whencethe mails are transported in coaches across the isthmus to Auckland. Onehunga is a flourishing settlement, with interesting volcanic formations. The road thither lies through a fertile rolling country, which is, for the most part, reclaimed and under cultivation, or else depastured by large herds of handsome, powerful oxen. The three land-marks of the landscape are:—Three King's Hill, Mount Eden, and One Tree Hill. All these, of moderate elevation, were formerly crowned withpáhsor native fortified villages, and were once inhabited by a large population, as is evidenced to this day by the quantities of human bones found in the lava below, and by several singular terrace-like artificial earth-works. The cottages of the settlers are handsome and clean, but of singularly small dimensions, very much the result we suppose of the dearness of building material and the high price of labour near Auckland.
According to the census of 1857 the entire population of New Zealand amounted to 108,204,[29]the white European population numbering 52,155, of whom 16,315 persons inhabited Auckland (9038 men, and 7277 women).
The aborigines (Maori in the native tongue) are officially returned at 56,049, of whom by far the larger number, above 38,000, inhabit the province of Auckland. Of all the savage races with whom England has come in contact in the course ofher mighty struggles to open trade and raise humanity, the New Zealanders have hitherto proved themselves to be the most susceptible of European civilization. More than five-sixths of their number are already Christians, and have been baptized, and, settled down in comfortable residences, maintain themselves by agriculture or sailoring. More than one hundred vessels built in the colony are owned by natives, who not alone have in their hands a considerable portion of the coasting trade, but carry on business with the adjoining islands, as also with New South Wales. While Bushmen, Hottentots, Caffres, Australian negroes, all, like the Indian tribes of Canada and the United States, present the helpless type of misery and decay, all the indications here seem to promise that the splendid spectacle will be presented of one of the most savage, yet highly gifted, races of the globe being raised in the scale of humanity by education and culture, and brought permanently within the scale of civilization. Whoever has followed with critical eye the immense increase of this colony during the last twenty years, must indulge this cheering anticipation not less confidently than the traveller who has traversed the entire island totally unmolested, has been cordially welcomed in every hut, has encountered everywhere schools and Christian missions, and has seen the natives occupied solely with the avocations of peace. Those native chiefs, who from contact with civilization had already adopted the outward deportment and mode of life of the European settlers, omitted no opportunity of confessing in language offire the consciousness of their former moral degradation, and of holding the European up for admiration, as the founder of a new era of morality and humanity in their country; nay, one Maori, who is now a zealous missionary in the interior of the island, once avowed to his hearers that he had himself as a boy eaten human flesh, and had first learned through the influence of Christianity to comprehend the abominations and wild-beast ferocity of his previous state, after which he had begun to lead a life more worthy of the dignity of manhood.
The members of our Expedition also enjoyed the opportunity of attending a Mass-meeting of Maories in the Takapuna district on the north shore of Waitemata Harbour, where they gathered, from the orations of the most influential chiefs and speakers, the liveliest conviction of their fidelity and attachment to the Queen of England and her government. We insert here a pretty full description of this remarkable meeting, as well as a brief sketch of the most interesting manners and customs of the aborigines of New Zealand, in order to enlighten the reader as to the justice of the universally expressed distrust of the capacity of the Maori for civilization, and the more readily to form an idea of the alarm and astonishment of the English Government, on being suddenly informed that the entire native population had rose in arms against the European settlers.
A wealthy and much-respected chief, named Patuóni, has been in the habit for many years past of inviting all the friendly tribes residing in his neighbourhood, as well as themost distinguished of the white settlers, to a great popular fête every Christmas. The intelligence that on the present occasion the "Kavana" (Governor), or Commander of one of Queen Victoria's allies, would attend with a numerous suite, had caused much agreeable excitement among the Maori, and they offered to send some war-canoes and two whale-boats to the coast opposite in order to convey the guests. The staff of the Expedition were however already at the place of meeting in the Takapuna district, when the war-canoes arrived at the usual place of embarkation in Auckland. Here we saw a number of large tents pitched on an eminence, and gaily adorned with English and other flags, under which were very long narrow tables, about two feet high, covered with neat little baskets elegantly woven of the leaves of the New Zealand flax, in which were cooked potatoes, roast-pork, and fish. The guests, 300 or 400 in number, sat on the ground, which was thickly covered with fern freshly gathered, some sitting cross-legged, others squatting on their heels, zealously excavating the food with their fingers, for the use of forks has not yet become a fashion among the Maori. The chief beverage was tea, and all around on the grass adjoining the tent might be seen improvised fire-places, on every one of which a huge kettle of boiling water was singing. The gait and extravagance however of but too many indicated that less harmless drinks were being supplied close by. Each as soon as he had finished his repast lighted his pipe, and mingled with the groups that were chatting about. Tobacco smokinghas become a positive passion with both sexes, and even among the children of the poorer classes it is no unusual thing to see the infant carried in the arms coolly take the pipe out of its mother's mouth and begin to smoke it! The earthen pipe, broken off so short that there is barely sufficient to enable the teeth to take hold,—in one word, summing up everything to English ears—the "cuttie"—is most in favour.
Scarcely was it rumoured that the Commander of the Austrian frigate with his staff were at hand, ere the whole crowd, which up to that moment had been abandoning itself to enjoyment, suddenly dispersedpêle-mêlein wildest confusion. The gay flags were removed from the tent-peaks, and made to veil the scene of uproar; a quick but monotonous song, alternating with measured stamping with the feet, was droned out, the chiefs brandishing aloft and swinging with wild gesticulations their costly clubs (meri-meri, literally "Fire of the Gods"), made of primitive rock. Each Maori who had a club beside him swung it with wild gesticulation, while the rest tossed in the air the ends of their woollen garments. In order to give us a more complete idea of their ancient customs, a war-dance succeeded to this, in which men, women, and children took a part. Although this is nothing but a confused advance and retreat of two bodies of people arranged opposite each other in regular order, who suddenly rush towards each other with impetuous vehemence and loud discordant cries, yet the wild shrieks, the rapid motions of those who took partin it, the rolling of the eyes, the protrusion of the tongues, combined to make a formidable impression, and to give some idea of the frightful appearance of these warriors, when, instead of simulated rage, they were animated by the ferocity of real warfare with the foe! As soon as symptoms of lassitude and fatigue began to be visible among the war-dancers they arranged themselves, at the command of the old chief, Patuóni, on both sides, three ranks deep, and permitted the strangers to pass from end to end of the camp. Here we were once more welcomed in genuine New Zealand fashion by the various chiefs, some of whom endeavoured to strike up a conversation. Mr. W. Baker, Government interpreter, and Secretary to the Native Department, who had been desired by Government to attend theNovarastaff to the feast, was so kind as to translate.
The first to emerge from the ranks was Paora Tuhaera of Oraki, who spoke as follows: "Welcome, O chief from a foreign shore, messenger of a king and a nation of which we only lately have heard tell! Our English friends explained to us that your countrymen have long been friends and allies of the British people, whose Queen is our protectress, and under whose laws we live in undisturbed tranquillity on our own lands. You are a stranger among us! You for the first time behold a race whose fathers passed their lives in ignorance, in war, in the practice of every evil custom. You have been present at this place and witnessed how we sought once to give vent to our passions and to scare our enemies. Thisspectacle you saw in peace, and no man ventured or even thought of lifting the hand against you! Yet had you come among us at the period of which I spoke, our arm would have been raised to inflict the deadly blow upon you, or your hand, which I have just pressed, would have been striking at me to compass my destruction! You have seen many lands, many perhaps fairer than this island of ours; but here there is nothing to injure us or to make us wish to live in other countries. The laws of England shield us from the hand of the aggressor, we live happy and at peace, and rejoice to welcome those who, like you, come to us on a mission of good will!"
This speech and the two following, the Commodore responded to in English, in terms of warm cordial thanks, and enlarged on the material and intellectual progress of the aborigines, all which was duly translated by Mr. Baker to the Maories.
After this Cruera Patuóni of Awataha, an elder brother of Tamati-Waka-Néni, advanced and said: "Welcome! welcome! The young men have welcomed you, and I, an old man, a friend of the Europeans from the earliest days in which they planted foot in New Zealand, I also bid you welcome! What can I say more? You have heard what we were,—you see now what we are! It needs not that I should add to what has been said by those who spoke before me. Welcome then to the land of the Maories, friends of the white man."
After several more of the younger chiefs had greeted the Commodore and staff in the most hearty manner, Hui Haupapa, of colossal stature and frank expression of countenance, made with his powerful arm a passage for himself through the compact crowd, placed himself in a somewhat theatrical position, and began in a loud voice, and in evident excitement, brandishing his meri-meri as he spoke:—
"The chiefs of this neighbourhood have welcomed thee. My tribe lives far from here, butIam here, and I bid thee welcome! Thou hast said we are happy and live at peace. It is true the laws of our Queen have contributed to this fortunate state of things. Formerly, war, murder, and spilling of blood formed our chief occupation. Even now troubles arise, which it is often difficult to smooth over. Just as thou wert landing we were engaged reading a letter informing us that a dispute of long standing between the Ngatiwhatua and the Uriohare threatened to give rise to a war. Were we still in our old Maori state we should assuredly have had recourse to arms for its settlement, but the two tribes will remember that the laws do not permit one family of our Queen's children to make war against another, and they will therefore restrain their anger in the hope that their differences may be amicably arranged. But what interest have these things for you? You came to us in peace and friendliness, take with you the love of the entire assembly, which is proud of having been visited by an officer of the great king, who is a friend of Queen Victoria and her children."
The natives, who were standing closely packed on either side, and listened in breathless silence, expressed their acquiescence by head and hand at the end of each oration. The manner in which they are accustomed to express themselves at these assemblies is quite unique. The speaker plants himself at a distance of about ten steps from his audience, whom he gradually approaches in his speech till within three feet, when he turns round in silence, resumes his former distance, and begins anew. This custom has several advantages; it gives the orator time to collect his thoughts, while his eloquence has time to sink into the heart of his hearers. Each speaker advances his opinions and sentiments with singular calmness and dignity. Only at certain "points," which seem to him to be of importance, does the orator throw up his right hand, while on his left arm, hanging by his side, lies his stone club, without which no chief would think of addressing a meeting.
During these speeches we had drawn near the groups surrounding us. The majority were dressed in European clothes, the chiefs usually wearing a black cap with gold band, the rest in the most various costumes, apparently as accident or caprice had dictated their choice. The old men were tattooed more or less, according to their rank, strongly contrasting with their European habiliments. The elder women, except that they were bare-footed, were mostly clad in European dress, some even in elegant silks and muslins, and had their lips and chins tattooed, whereas the young folkof both sexes no longer followed that custom, and hence we frequently had occasion to remark exceedingly agreeable features. Only a very small number of aborigines seemed to be contented with their own national dress, and wore either the universal blanket, or else the Cacahu, a handsome kind of cloak, very artistically made by the Maori women from the fibres of the New Zealand flax. All had the flaps of their ears pierced, and a piece of oval-shaped rock passed through the orifice, or were adorned with shark's teeth, which are usually made fast to a narrow black silk ribbon. As we inspected some of these groups, and especially were admiring their splendid figures, we came upon two individuals who had hid their heads under their blankets, and were weeping bitterly. To our inquiry as to the cause of their uncontrollable grief amid such a festive gathering, we were told that they were two relatives who had long been separated, and were thus celebrating their meeting again. Friends and relations usually express their joy at seeing each other again by sitting for hours together, according to their friendship or esteem, rubbing noses and sobbing bitterly, and weeping over each other the while! If unobserved this will go on with uncovered head; otherwise they will draw a blanket over themselves. Kissing and hand-shaking have only become a fashion among the New Zealanders since their more intimate intercourse with Europeans.
As we withdrew from this singular never-to-be-forgotten people's festival, and were on our way to our boats, the entiremerry multitude assembled on the slope in front of the tents, and to show, it may be supposed, that they were not unacquainted with the usages of other countries, gave, with genuine English good-will, three rousing hurrahs in honour of the departing guests!
The study of the language and history of the traditions, habits, and morals of the aborigines of New Zealand, must necessarily be of special interest on account of our presumed acquaintance with the race they are descended from, and the important conclusions thence deducible as to the settlement of Polynesia at large.
A Maori legend relates that their first progenitors came in seven canoes from the island of Hawaiki (i. e. cradle of the race), one of the Sandwich Islands, 4000 miles to the N.E. of New Zealand.[30]These canoes had outriggers to prevent foundering, and were called Amatiatia, whereas those they now use, which are also of very simple construction, are named Wakka, and have evidently borrowed their form from the dried seed of the New Zealand honey-suckle (Rewarewa). The first canoe that came from Hawaiki was named Arawa. It brought over Honmaitawiti, Tamakekapua, Toi, Maka, Hei, Jhenga, Tauninihi, Rongokako, and others, and these were the first settlers from whom the New Zealanders are descended.
One of the earlier authors respecting these isles of the Antipodes, Richard Taylor, the missionary, relates that in 1840 there was living in the village of Para-para, on the road from Kaitaia to Doubtless Bay, an aged New Zealand chief named Hahakai, who was thoroughly conversant with the history of his native land, and used to enumerate twenty-six generations since the first arrival on the island of the ancestors of his tribe. Taylor is of opinion, however, that a number of these generations must be considered as divinities, and that hardly more than fifteen generations or five hundred years can have elapsed since the first vagrants from the north settled in New Zealand.[31]At that period they knew neither the custom of Taboo (the sanctity and inviolability of all things) nor cannibalism, both of which customs they first began to practise in their adopted country. As the aborigines before the arrival of the Europeans possessed no written language, these traditions were usually handed down from father to son, while one or more relatives of the more influential families of each tribe were duly set apart to studytheir traditions, as well as their laws (tikanga) and religious ceremonies. The persons thus educated supplied for them the place of annals, books of laws, or written precedents.
Both Taylor and Dieffenbach incline to the opinion of older authors respecting these twin islands, namely, that at the period when these immigrants from the north arrived there, they were inhabited by another dark race of a different descent. Against this hypothesis, however, there is to be urged that not the slightest vestige of any such race can be produced, in addition to which there is but one language spoken throughout the extent of the islands, with dialects few in number and hardly differing from each other. In none of the many Maori legends is any mention made, either express or implied, of any such circumstance, which one would think would hardly have been passed over in silence, had the islands at the first landing of the emigrants from Hawaiki been inhabited by another race. The great disparity in physical frame between individuals, recalling now the Malay, now the Chinese type, and even the African and Jewish as well, is much more probably explained by the intermixture of the New Zealanders with the inhabitants of the various island groups, which they visited at the period of their migration.
The Maories are on the whole a handsome race of men, well-built and powerful, generally not less in stature than the Europeans, whom they resemble somewhat in their complexion, which gives the idea rather of being embrownedthan naturally brown, by their thin, weak hair, sometimes black, sometimes of a chesnut brown, and whom they closely approach in their features. Indeed full-blood Maories sometimes have such a European aspect, that even the numberless tattoo marks upon their faces do not destroy the impression, but have rather the appearance of those "painted faces" we are accustomed to see in actors, when they wish to give their countenances a more effective cast upon the boards.
The custom of tattooing, or "Moko," is one of those most characteristic of this remarkable people, and is worth being described in detail, inasmuch as it has been almost entirely discontinued since the diffusion of Christianity, for, according to the sentiments of the missionaries, every native, henceforth, who submits to this operation is held to have renounced Christianity, and to have openly dubbed himself a heathen. It has been suggested as the most probable explanation of the rapid spread of this painful practice, that the "Moko" imparts to the countenance a sterner expression in presence of the enemy, and that the Maori women attach more importance to the caresses of a tattooed man than of one whose visage is unmarked. Possibly tattooing was a symbol of puberty in both sexes, and a token of their being of marriageable age.
At first they contented themselves with marking the face with certain straight lines, called by the natives Moko-Kuri, which was the stage it had attained when Cook visited these islands. The present complicated system of tattooing wasfirst introduced by one of the tribes of the east coast by a certain Mataora, and the first man whose face was thus tattooed was named Onetunga.
Usually this painful operation is performed by a priest (Tohunga), who paints, or rather sketches out, one of the many different models with black colouring matter upon the face of the person to be tattooed, having first obtained his opinion, by showing him his visage reflected in a tub-full of water for lack of a mirror. As soon as the latter has signified his assent to the design selected, the further process is begun.
The instruments used were the following:—
The "Uhi," a small piece of wood, one extremity of which is armed with a small piece of sharp-edged bone, set in a vertical direction. This needle-like tool, which was formerly made either of human bones or of those of the albatross, has been since supplanted by proper steel instruments.
The "Ta" or "Tuki," a stalk of fern, which is pressed upon the Uhi in order that it might enter the skin, and bring out the desired pattern.
The necessary colouring stuff (Ngarahu) is made from the soot of the wood, when burnt, of the Kauri fir (Dammara Australis), which is collected in the leaves of the Ti-reed (Cordyline Australis), and is prepared with an infusion of the bark of the Hináu (Elæocarpus Hinau), in the form of small cones.
Immediately before the tattooing begins, the colouring matter thus prepared is moistened with the juice of the fruit of Tupa-kihi (Coriaria Sarmentosa). The complete "Moko"comprises the face, the hips, and the upper surface of the thigh as far as the knee. Every separate tattooing has its appropriate name and its special position. Dieffenbach counts 17, and Richmond Taylor 19 of these, distinguishable by their several markings.
The operation is of so severe a nature, that very frequently it cannot be completed without endangering the life of the individual. Only one instance is on record, in which a native sat out the whole formidable process at one sitting, and he died just as the last line was finished. Usually the first tattooing took place at the 18th year, and was continued at various intervals. During the process, the patient lies on the ground with his head reposing on the bosom of theTohunga, who holds the "Uhi" in his left hand, and the "Ta" or "Tuki" in his right, which he strikes upon the former with a rapid constant motion. As soon as an incision is made, the blood is wiped off with a piece of fine flax, and the colouring matter rubbed in. While this is going on the priests and the friends standing by keep up a continual chant, in order to cheer the patient and stimulate his courage.
After the operation the face swells, and for some time presents a downright hideous appearance, and instances have occurred in which it has been permanently distorted. Usually, however, the wounds heal after ten or twelve days, when the incised lines made by the "Uhi" present a bluish-black appearance.
With the women the operation is much more simple, beingconfined to one or two vertical or horizontal lines upon the lip and chin. This tattooing occasionally, however, takes place twice, in order to bring out a black colour, as the New Zealanders consider a black lip as the very ideal of beauty. It also figures as such in the songs chanted by the Tohunga on such occasions, of which the following stanzas may be presented as a specimen:—
Be ready, my daughter, to have thyself marked,To tattoo thy chin!That, when thou crossest the threshold of a strange house,They may not say, "Whence cometh this ugly woman?"Be ready, my daughter, to have thyself marked,To tattoo thy chin!That thou mayst have a comely aspect,That when thou art bidden to a feast,They may not ask, "Whence cometh thisred-lippedwoman?"To make thyself beautifulCome and be tattooed!That when thou dost enter the circle of dancers,They may not ask, "Whence cometh this woman with the ugly lips?"
Be ready, my daughter, to have thyself marked,To tattoo thy chin!That, when thou crossest the threshold of a strange house,They may not say, "Whence cometh this ugly woman?"
Be ready, my daughter, to have thyself marked,To tattoo thy chin!That thou mayst have a comely aspect,That when thou art bidden to a feast,They may not ask, "Whence cometh thisred-lippedwoman?"
To make thyself beautifulCome and be tattooed!That when thou dost enter the circle of dancers,They may not ask, "Whence cometh this woman with the ugly lips?"
The Tohunga is usually well remunerated, and frequently in the course of his chant makes allusion to the amount of reward he expects, and indeed sometimes stimulates the generosity of his patient by singing amongst other ditties, something like
"The man who is paid wellTattoos beautifully!The man who receives nothingDoes not tattoo well!"
"The man who is paid wellTattoos beautifully!The man who receives nothingDoes not tattoo well!"
The marks, when completely brought out, are so manifold and various that hardly any two New Zealanders are to be found who are tattooed entirely alike. Accordingly these markings serve neither to indicate variety of tribe, nor difference of rank. A slave, if he possess the means, may have his face tattooed with the same ornaments as his master. However it appears, as we were informed by Colonel Browne, that on the occasion of the chiefs ratifying the treaty with the English, they superscribed the various documents with the lines upon their faces, like so much heraldic blazonry, instead of writing their names.
Another remarkable custom of the Maori consists in the right of the priest to declare certain persons and thingstaboo, that is, consecrated and inviolable. This custom, which is nothing else than a religious ordinance instituted for political purposes, is frequently most beneficial in its consequences. So great and universal was the respect paid to the law oftaboo, that even hostile tribes were in the habit during war of leaving unharmed all persons and things thus protected. A plot of ground planted with esculents, a fruit tree, a sick person, a "lady in the straw,"—all these were so many objects declared holy and inviolate.
Formerly polygamy was tolerably frequent among the Maori, although instances were by no means rare in which a man had but one wife to whom he continued faithful. At present this custom, incompatible with the Christian notionof the family tie, is confined to those few chiefs who are still heathens.
Usually the young men and girls marry very young. English travellers state they have seen a mother only 11 years of age! Usually the first wife of a young chief is much older than himself, but, on the other hand, instances were frequent of old men marrying young girls. The daughters of men of very high rank frequently remained unmarried.
The mortality among infants under a year old is very great. At present not more than three children are reckoned to each family, and the number of barren marriages is much greater than those that prove fruitful.
Infanticide is at present as rare as in Europe. In former times, especially during the wars of the interior, it was by no means unusual for a mother to put her children to death, especially if females, in order to spare herself the trouble of nursing and bringing up. Male offspring, on the contrary, were taken more care of, because they would increase the aggressive power of the tribe, and were looked upon as the avengers of injuries sustained and not yet compensated. Illegitimate children they almost always put to death, either by strangling them or compressing the mouth and nostrils. The practice of infanticide among the weaker sex took its rise chiefly in the life of slavery which was the normal state of the women during their heathen condition. Such was the reasoning once avowed by a murderess of herchild:—"Why should my child live? to be brought up as the slave of the wives of my husband, to be beaten and kicked by them!"
There seems to be some mistake in the assertion of several writers upon the customs prevalent in New Zealand, to the effect that on the death of a Maori it is customary to sacrifice his nearest relatives. Only when a great chief dies, are some of his slaves occasionally put to death at the same time, that their spirits may accompany him who has preceded them to the shadowy land, to serve him there, and execute his commands as they did while on earth.
So too it occasionally happened that, on the death of a much-esteemed chief, a hostile incursion was made by a number of warriors, in order to provide a victim from another tribe, and thus make it feel the same pang as that which they were suffering in the loss of their chief. Suicide, on the death of a near relative, is even at present far from uncommon as a token of inconsolable grief. A low estimate of the value of life seems to be a leading feature in the character of the New Zealander; it needs but a slight cause to make him take his own life or plunge into some abyss.
Slavery, to the extent that existed among the aborigines in former times, is no longer to be found, though many prisoners taken in war are still held as slaves by their captors. In many cases the slaves prefer to stay with their present masters, if they have been well treated, rather than return among their own race, from whom they feel themselvesestranged, and by whom it is probable they have long been forgotten.
The introduction of Christianity was immediately followed by the manumission of all slaves throughout the islands. Under the old laws, the owner of a slave was undisputed master of his person and property, and might put him to death, or sell him,—in short, do with him as he pleased. Everything that the slave possessed belonged to his master. Slaves were usually made in battle, either during the storming of a fortified village, orpáh, or during flight before a victorious enemy. Each warrior might take as many prisoners as he could, who thereupon became his incontestable property. Chiefs, however, and youths of rank were usually put to death on the spot.
The offspring of such prisoners of war were also slaves, and equally the property of their masters. However, it frequently happened that a young slave married a girl of the tribe of his conqueror, in which case their offspring were no longer considered as slaves, although they were reputed of low rank. According to the old Maori laws, there were no slaves other than those taken in war and their descendants.
Among the free Maori, there are a number of varying grades; but the principles on which they are bestowed do not seem as yet to have been accurately ascertained by any European observers. Any individual who is able to trace his descent from distinguished parentage of either sex, has the right to assume the title of a chief. As a rule, the elder branch of afamily takes precedence over the younger. The heir-male was always regarded as the head of the family, and in the olden times was its priest ortohunga.
The wars of the Maori were chiefly carried on with spears and clubs of various shapes and sizes, but since the arrival of the Europeans the use of fire-arms has become almost universal. Hángi, one of the most renowned and formidable chiefs, who visited England in 1826, on his return exchanged all the splendid presents made him by George IV. for European fire-arms and ammunition, in order the more readily to subjugate all the races on the island by means of these new and dangerous weapons, and make himself omnipotent. Since that period the older warlike implements (taiaha,paki,ehi) have only been kept as objects of curiosity for the various chiefs to show.
But the most remarkable weapon of the New Zealanders, which was held by the chiefs in high honour as an emblem of rank, a sceptre so to speak, and which descended from generation to generation, is a piece of nephrite beautifully polished, from 10 to 20 inches long, 4 to 5 inches broad, and half an inch thick, called by the natives Meri-meri, "the fire of the gods," which is pierced at one end, and is usually attached to a cord passed round the hand. In the days of heathenism the Meri-meri was used occasionally as a weapon of defence, as also to scalp prisoners.
The various weapons of nephrite that we had an opportunity of examining were of a pale green colour, which becametransparent at the sharp edge, which ran all round, and had a peculiar flame-like glow.
The stone from which these costly weapons are made (the manufacture of which, in consequence of the dearth of suitable instruments before the arrival of the Europeans, was often the work of several generations), is found in loose fragments among the various mountain-streams along the west coast of the central island. The places where they are found in greatest abundance are Arahura and Ohonu on the N.W. coast, beyond Wakatipu, an inland lake, one of the sources of the river Matan, and Piopiotahi, a mountain-torrent on the S.W. coast. At the last-mentioned place, which, although we have little reliable information concerning it, has long been known to seal-hunters, a gigantic block of nephrite, many tons weight, was found in the middle of the current, which owing to its size was valueless, because useless to the aborigines. A sealer, who visited this coast once during a flying visit to Sydney, overheard a remark that this description of stone was much prized in China, and being aware of the existence of this colossal block of nephrite at Piopiotahi, he already beheld himself the possessor of considerable wealth. A company was quickly got up, with a merchant from Manila at the head, and a number of miners were forthwith sent to the spot, in order to blast the huge, unshapen rock into fragments admitting of easy transport. After immense labour and incredible hardships a few tons of the rock thus blasted were dispatched by the labourers toManila for the purpose of being tested and examined. The workmen remained some months at Piopiotahi, anxiously awaiting intelligence of the results of their toil. At last, when they had about exhausted their provisions, and were still without intelligence, they buried the fruits of their exertions, and dispersed themselves among the small Maori settlements adjoining Foveau Straits.
The samples of nephrite were duly sent from Manila to China, where they proved to be of very poor quality, being disfigured by small black specks. For some years after small quantities of nephrite were annually brought for sale from the Piopiotahi to Wellington, where they found plenty of purchasers among the natives of that district at about 1s.per lb.
In former days the Maori used to make long and difficult journeys from the east to the west coast of the island, in search for the much-prized stone. When found it was usually shaped and polished by rubbing it upon a flat sandstone block; this operation was so long and arduous that its completion was often the work of two generations; and this is probably the main reason why such value is attached to it. The extraordinary hardness of the stone, which admits of its being ground to a very sharp edge, also made it an excellent substitute for iron in the manufacture of hatchets and chisels, the New Zealanders having only become acquainted with that metal since their intercourse with the Europeans.
The shape which the Maories gave the Meri-meri when completed, resulting from the absence of implements with whichto manipulate this stone, which is so hard that even iron does not bite it, probably gave rise to the notion that when found the stone is in a soft state. Sandstone, however, is found efficacious in the process just as it polishes iron also, and the holes requisite for suspending it, are made by the very simple process of drilling with a piece of pointed hard wood, with fine sand and a little water.
Cannibalism may be said to have entirely ceased in New Zealand. Any allusion to this revolting practice is very painful to the New Zealander of the present day, as reminding him of his former low position in the scale of nations. Every time that we endeavoured to make any inquiry of the natives respecting this custom, they withdrew with an ashamed look.
In like manner dog's flesh has ceased to be an article of food, ever since the introduction of pork by Captain Cook. Formerly the native or Maori dog, which at present is very scarce, was eaten on certain occasions, while its blood played a somewhat conspicuous part in Maori pharmacy.
The vegetables most extensively used for food before the arrival of the Europeans were:—
1. Raorao (Pteris esculenta), a fern three or four feet high, which covers vast tracts of land, and the root of which, before the introduction of the Peruvian potato, formed the chief subsistence of the Maori.
2. Kumara (Convolvulus Batata), or sweet potato, the most valuable of New Zealand products. Various legends of adventure exist among the natives respecting its first introduction.The harvest-time for this plant is accompanied by a grand festival, and the fields in which the Kumara is grown, as well as the labourers engaged in raising it, were declared by the prieststaboo, or consecrated. Of the varieties of the Kumara, one, the size of a yam-root, is namedKai-pakeha, or "white man's food," and is exceedingly palatable. The common potato (Solanum tuberosum) was first brought hither from the Cape of Good Hope, by Captain Cook, who planted it here.
3. Mamaku (Cyathea Medullaris), one of the most elegant tree-ferns in the country, whose whole stalk, sometimes 20 feet high, is edible, and is sufficient to maintain a considerable number of persons. The pith of the Mamaku, when cooked and dried in the sun, is an excellent substitute for sago.
Fermented liquors, like the Kawa of the South Sea Islanders, or the Chicha of the Indians of Southern and Central America, seem never to have been known to the New Zealanders.[32]The only fruits from which liquors are occasionally prepared are the Tawa (Laurus Tawa) and those of the Trepa-Kihi (Coriaria Sarmentosa), the latter of which, however, when the stamens of many are mingled together, is apt to be followed by symptoms of poisoning, resulting in violent convulsions and death.
Although their short stay at Auckland, coupled with other indispensable business, did not admit making an adequate number of measurements of the physical proportions of bothsexes of natives, we nevertheless had an opportunity of measuring some individuals, whose appearance seemed to present a very fair average.
Here we ought to remark that many years ago, Dr. A. Thomson, surgeon of the 58th regiment, impressed apparently with the value of these experiments as aiding the diagnostics of various races of men, had made a great number of measurements of the natives during a long residence on the island. These, however, were mainly confined to height, weight, magnitude of chest, and physical strength of individuals, but which are of much value, having been compared at the time with similar results obtained from an equal number of British soldiers, thus furnishing most interesting standards of comparison for the two races. Dr. Thomson measured, for instance, the height of 147 natives, and found them to average 5 ft. 63⁄4inches. Of these, 35 measured 5 ft. 6 in. to 5 ft. 7 in.; 20 from 5 ft. 5 in. to 5 ft. 6 in.; 2 from 5 ft. 11 in. to 6 ft.; one 6 ft. 1 in.; and one who measured 6 ft. 51⁄2in. Of 617 men of the 58th regiment, the average height was 5 ft. 73⁄4inches.
Like the English, the Maories attain their full stature after they have completed their 20th year, the average height of 46 individuals between 16 and 20 being 5 ft. 6 in., whereas of individuals between 21 and 25 it was 5 ft. 63⁄4inches, the average height of the human race in the temperate climes of Europe being 5 ft. 5 in. to 5 ft. 6 in., according to Haller.
The weight of New Zealanders, as compared with that of English soldiers, gave the following remarkable result in thecase of 150 men of both races who were examined at Auckland:—