1856 - Shortland, Edward. Traditions and Superstitions of the New Zealanders - CHAPTER III

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CHAPTER III.

THE New Zealanders had no idea of a Supreme Intelligence creating and over-ruling all things. The heavens, the earth, and even the light of day, which the Mosaic account describes as created by the will of God, they appear to have invested with individual existences, imagining the one to have been generated by the other, as children are begotten by their parents.

Such is the idea conveyed in the following genealogical legend, which refers to Night or Darkness as the primitive state from which all things have sprung,

GENEALOGY OF MAN.

"In the beginning of time was Te Po (the night or darkness). In the generations that followed Te Po,

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came Te Ao (the light), Te Ao-tu-roa (light-standing-long), Te Ao-marama (clear light of day), Te Kore (nothingness), Te Kore-te-whiwhia (nothingness-the-possessed), Te Kore-te-rawea (nothingness-the-made-excellent), Te Kore-te-tamaua (nothingness-the-fast-bound), Te Kore-matua (nothingness-the-first), Maku (moisture). Maku slept with Mahora-nui-atea (the straight--the vast--the clear); their offspring was Rangi (the sky). Rangi slept with Papatuanuku 1 (the wide extending plane); their children were Rehu (the mist), Tane (male), and Paia. From Tane and Paia sprung Te Tangata (man)."

This tradition I picked up at Moeraki, in the Middle Island, a part of New Zealand where the natives are very fond of genealogical lore; such subjects forming among them frequent topics of conversation when seated in little groups, as is their habit on fine evenings, on some rising ground near their villages. In many parts of the Northern Island, the name by which the great progenitor of man is known is Tiki-ahua: and hence the term Aitanga-a-Tiki (offspring of Tiki) is frequently applied to designate persons of good birth.

The different families of the animal kingdom, too, instead of being viewed as so many distinct creations, were derived, according to the mythology of the New Zealanders, from some of those primi-

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tive denizens of the earth, who are fabled to have possessed super-human powers. Thus the tuna (eel) and the koiro (conger-eel) are said to have been the offspring of one of those ancient worthies, named Maru-te-whareaitu. The ngarara (lizard) and mango (shark) are said to have been brothers. The sea was their native element; but wishing to separate after a quarrel, the former, who was the elder, went to live on the land, while the latter remained in the sea. The lizard, at parting, thus cursed his brother--"Remain in the open sea, to be served up on a dish of cooked food for man to eat!" 2 "As for you," replied the shark, "go ashore, and be smoked out of your hole with burning fern leaves!" 3

These parting words of the lizard and shark are now preserved as proverbs. The former alludes to the custom of serving up a piece of dried shark on the top of a dish of potatoes or kumara for a relish. The latter to the mode of catching the ngarara 4 by lighting a fire at the entrance of its hole.

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A volume, recently published by Sir George Grey, late Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand, contains, in a very circumstantial form, what we may accept as the Polynesian tradition respecting the origin of all things living on the earth. 5 What has been just related has evidently come from a kindred source, but it is only a fragment of the tradition preserved by Sir George Grey, which embodies so much interesting and valuable matter, that I shall take the liberty to introduce a resume of it, in this place.

This tradition refers to Rangi (heaven) and Papa-tu-a-nuku (earth) as the first parents from which all things sprung.

In the beginning Rangi and Papa clave together, so that light could not penetrate between them; and the children begotten by them lived in darkness. These children were for ever thinking what might be the difference between Darkness and Light, and what they should do to separate their parents, so as to let the light shine on them.

Tu-mata-uenga, the fiercest of them, proposed to slay their father and mother; while another, named Tane-mahuta, advised to rend them asunder;

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and to this plan all agreed except Tawhiri-ma-tea, the youngest. Regardless of his opposition, the rest set to work, one after the other, to rend apart their parents. They all, however, tried in vain, till it came to the turn of Tane-mahuta. At first, Tane tried to rend apart Rangi and Papa, using only his arms; but they were not sufficiently strong. Whereupon, resting his head on his mother Papa, he raised up his feet against his father Rangi, and exerting all the force of his back and legs at last separated them, pressing the former down, and raising the other upwards to their present positions. The names and attributes of these children of Rangi and Papa were as follows:-- Tu-mata-uenga was the god and father of man. Rongo-ma-tane was the god and father of the cultivated food of man. Haumia-tiki-tiki was the god and father of the food of man springing up without cultivation. Tangaroa was the god and father of fish and reptiles. Tane-mahuta was the god and father of forests, birds, and insects inhabiting forests. Tawhiri-ma-tea was the god and father of winds and storms.

At the separation of Rangi and Papa, all these remained with the latter except Tawhiri-ma-tea, who, being angry with his brothers, followed his father Rangi, and consulted with him how they

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should avenge their wrongs. As soon as their plans were matured, rushing down from the sky, he attacked Tane-mahuta, sweeping over his forests with the hurricane. Having there committed great ravages, he next descended on the seas with storms and tempests, to vent his rage on Tangaroa.

It was on this occasion that the fish and reptiles disputed and separated, the former remaining in the sea, while the latter fled for shelter to the land; and a dialogue, similar to that narrated above as having taken place between the shark and the lizard, is here represented as carried on between Te-Ika-tere, the father of fish, and Tu-te-wehiwehi, the father of reptiles.

Tawhiri-ma-tea afterwards attacked his brothers, Rongo-ma-tane and Haumia-tikitiki: but he could not get at their children--the cultivated and uncultivated food; because Papa hid them in her bosom. Lastly, he attacked Tu-mata-uenga: but he could neither shake nor move him.

Tu-mata-uenga, having alone successfully resisted Tawhiri-ma-tea, began to reflect on the cowardly manner in which his brothers had deserted him, and determined to punish them; so he set up snares in the forests to catch the children of Tane, and made nets to haul ashore the children of Tangaroa. He also found out the children of Rongo-ma-tane and Haumia-tikitiki by their leaves, and dug them up from the earth; and he devoured

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them all for food, and thus made them common. But he could not overcome nor make common Tawhiri-ma-tea, by eating him for food. So this, the last-born child of Rangi and Papa was left for an enemy of man; and still ever attacks him in storms and hurricanes, endeavouring to destroy him alike by sea and land.

The most ancient mythological traditions preserved by the New Zealanders have reference to periods long anterior to the arrival of their ancestors in the islands now inhabited by them. Such traditions, as well as most of their present customs, were brought by their ancestors from abroad. And it is an expression constantly in their mouths, when speaking of any old practice regarding the origin of which you may inquire, "E hara i te mea poka hou mai: no Hawaiki mai ano"--(It is not a modern invention: but a practice brought from Hawaiki).

We shall endeavour to entertain the reader by narrating a few of the most ancient of the fables we have collected.

LEGEND OF THE BROTHERS 'MAUI' AND THE 'GREAT-DAUGHTER-OF-NIGHT.'

"In the early history of the world, a race of men endowed with super-natural powers are fabled to have existed. In those days lived three brothers, named Maui. The eldest was called Maui-mua, another was called Maui-roto, and the youngest

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Maui-potiki. The youngest brother was very badly used by his elder brothers, who were in the habit of leaving him at home when they went abroad. They did not even suffer him to sit at meals with them, but would throw him a bone or other offal to eat, while they devoured the best parts themselves. At last Maui-potiki got tired of this sort of life, and one day when his brothers had launched their canoe to go out fishing, he took his place in the bow, and insisted on going too. When they reached the fishing ground, the brothers asked him where his hook was. 'This will do,' said little Maui, pulling his own jaw-bone out of its socket. He then fastened the jaw-bone to a string and threw it overboard. But when he tried to pull it in again, he found he had got hold of something very heavy. However, he hauled away at his line, and at last hauled up whenua, or land. This feat of little Maui was the first proof he gave of his great power.

"Some way off from the habitation of the three Maui lived an old woman called Hine-nui-a-te-po (Great-daughter-of-the-night). She had the reputation of being a very terrible person, and no one ventured to meddle with her property. Little Maui, however, determined to go and visit her country, to see whether he could find anything good there. So coming near the place where Hine-nui lived, he seated himself on a hill overlooking her garden, and began to play a tune on his flute.

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"As soon as Hine-nui heard the sound of the flute, she sent out some of her slaves to watch and see who was coming. But before they went, she gave them this injunction, 'If the man comes down the hill walking upright on his legs, catch him, for he is a thief: but if he comes walking on his hands and feet, having his belly and face upwards, then know he is an Atua, and be sure not to meddle with him.'

"Little Maui heard all she said, and, of course, came down the hill on his hands and feet; and as the slaves never meddled with him, supposing him to be an Atua, he crept into the old lady's kumara store, and after eating as much as he could, carried off a basket full.

"The next day his brothers sat together eating their morning meal, and every now and then threw a bit to little Maui, who sat as usual by himself at a distance from them. Instead of picking up these morsels, however, he pulled out from under his cloak a kumara, and ate it. At last the elder Maui, seeing all the scraps thrown to his brother still lying untouched, asked little Maui what he was eating. 'Excellent food, let me tell you,' said little Maui, throwing a handful towards his two brothers.

"The elder Maui was much pleased with the taste and size of the kumara, and wished to know where some more of them were to be obtained.

"Little Maui then told how he had stolen the

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kumara from the store of Hine-nui-a-te-po. But instead of repeating correctly the command which the old woman had given her slaves when she sent them to watch in the garden, he made her say, 'If the man comes down the hill on his hands and legs catch him, for he is a thief: but if he comes walking upright on his legs, leave him alone, for he is an Atua.'

"Maui-mua was so much pleased with the adventure of his young brother that he resolved to set off the same evening, and steal some kumara in the same way. So when it began to grow dusk, he started, little Maui calling to him as he was going, and bidding him to be sure remember correctly the command given to her slaves by Hine-nui-a-te-po.

"Maui-mua soon arrived at the hill overlooking the garden, played a tune on his flute, as his brother had done, and then descended towards the kumara store. But Hine-nui's slaves were on the look out, and seeking that he walked after the manner of men, and not like an Atua, they caught him and brought him to their mistress, who squeezed him between her thighs so hard that he was killed.

"This was the first death which took place in the world."

LEGEND OF TINIRAU'S PET WHALE.

"The beginning of murder was Tinirau's pet

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whale, called Tutunui. Tinirau, being sick, invited a certain skilful priest, named Kae, to come from a distant place to charm him. And when he was cured, the priest, desiring to return quickly to his own country, begged to be allowed to ride home on the back of his tame whale.

"So Tinirau, not imagining that Kae designed any harm, called the whale; and the whale coming immediately, Tinirau said to it, 'Go carry Kae safely to his own country.'

"Then the monster came close to the shore, and Kae having climbed on its back, and being ready to start, Tinirau gave him this parting injunction,-- 'When you feel the whale wriggle, you may be sure you are close to the shore; then leap off his back, and send him back quickly.' With this, Tinirau dismissed the whale, and it darted off.

"It was not, perhaps, very long ere the whale arrived at the end if its journey. As soon as it reached the shore, it began to wriggle. It kept wriggling its body for some time, expecting Kae to jump on shore. But Kae kept his seat on its back till the tide ebbed, and the fish lay on dry ground. Then that wicked fellow jumped down, and the moment the whale was dead he cut it up, and ate some of its flesh.

"All this while Tinirau was waiting anxiously for the return of his pet; but it came not. He kept calling it; still it hastened not to return. At

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last, Tinirau went outside his house, and the smell of the dead whale reached his nose.

"Hence the familiar expression now used when the savour of a good dish is perceived, 'Ka puta ra te kakara o Tutunui' (Oh! here is the savour of Tutunui).

"Tinirau knew immediately that Kae had killed the whale, and his heart yearned after his pet. Straightway his war party launched their canoes, and one hundred and forty men set off that night. When they drew nigh to Kae's house, Tinirau repeated a charm to lull to sleep all those who were within it. So Kae and his men fell fast asleep, and from the nostrils of the whole tribe issued a sound like that of the flood tide. For how could it be otherwise. The charm was so potent, they were instantly plunged in the forgetfulness of sleep. Then the hundred and forty entered the house, and finding Kae sleeping in the middle, bore him off to their canoe without awaking him; so firmly had sleep sealed his eyelids.

"As they were carrying him off, Kae's pillow 6 fell down from his bed: and hence the expression, 'Ka taka te urunga o Kae' (Kae's pillow falls), has come down to posterity as a proverb, signifying that some misfortune has happened.

"The men placed Kae in their canoe, and then

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returned to the shore and killed the rest of the tribe while they were asleep. After which, they paddled off in their canoes to their own country. As for Kae, he remained sound asleep all the while. When the canoes reached the shore, he was carried into a house resembling his own in form, and was laid on a couch, arranged in manner similar to that in the house whence he had been brought. This being done, Tinirau bid his men awake him.

"'Get up, Kae, get up,' shouted the men. 'Whose house is this in which you have been sleeping?'

"Then Kae awoke, and looked about him.

"'Whose house is this, Kae?' the men again shouted.

"'Surely this house belongs to me,' replied Kae.

"'This house is not yours,' said the men. 'Look for the fire-place,--where is it?'

"Now there was no fire-place in the house, and Kae perceived at once that the house was not his.

"Then Tinirau killed Kae, in payment for his pet whale."

LEGEND OF WAKATAU, AND THE BURNING OF TE TIHI-0-MANONO.

"Some time after came a war party from the country of Kae to avenge his death; and having killed a person named Tuhuruhuru, as a payment for him, they returned to their own country.

"Then the mother of Tuhuruhuru, went in

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search of Wakatau, to entreat him to avenge the death of her son; for Wakatau was a valiant man, and skilful in devising stratagems of war. It so happened, that when she arrived at Wakatau's place of abode, he was diverting himself flying his kite; and going up to him, without knowing who he was, 'Tell me,' she said, 'where is Wakatau?'

"'How should I know,' replied Wakatau, who was very fond of a joke. 'Perhaps he is among those other men,' pointing at some men who were also flying their kites.

"Ka haere atu taua wahine ki era atu tangata, ka ki atu, 'Keiwhea a Wakatau?'

"Ka mea atu nga tangata, 'Na, ko taua tangata i tae atu koe. Ki te tae atu koe ki a ia, me hura e koe i tona maro, ka kite koe i tana raho, he raho-punga.'

"Ka tahi ka tae atu taua wahine. Ka hura tona maro. Ka kata ia ki taua wahine; no te mea kua kitea tana raho e te wahine.

"'Go,' he said to her, 'return home; leave the affair to me: I give you this sign, that you may know when the Tihi-o-manono (Peak-of-Manono) is set on fire. If you see the sky looking red, then know that the men have fallen by my hand, and that the Tihi-o-manono is burning; but if the sky rains big drops of rain, then know that I have been killed.' Such were his parting words to Hine-te-iwaiwa, the mother of Tuhuruhuru.

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"Then Wakatau set to work with his adze, and repaired his canoe; and, when ready for sea, he launched it at night, and arrived off the Tihi-o-manono the morning following.

"As soon as the multitude on shore saw the canoe coming towards them, they made sure it would soon fall a prey to them. So they sent one of their braves, called Kaiaia (hawk), to destroy the canoe.

"But Wakatau fixed two poles, with strings having a noose, one at the bow of the canoe, and one at the stern; and Kaiaia flew straight towards the canoe, and alighted on the pole at the bow. Then the string was pulled tight, and that brave was caught fast by the foot.

"The men on shore no sooner saw that this brave was killed, than another of them, named Kahu (kite), exclaimed, 'Kaiaia did not go to work in the right way. If I were to go, the canoe would be destroyed.' So off flew Kahu, and alighted on the pole at the stern of the canoe; but the string was pulled, and his feet were also caught fast.

"When the multitude on shore saw that two of their braves were killed by Wakatau, Mango-pare (the hammer-headed-shark) proposed to destroy the canoe by swallowing it. He promised to dive underneath the canoe and swallow it up.

"Mango-pare straightway dived; but Wakatau poured oil on the aea, and the water becoming

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transparent, the shark was seen coming up open-mouthed to devour the keel of the canoe, so great was his hurry to destroy it. At that instant, Wakatau thrust at Mango-pare with a sharp-pointed pole, and struck him. Then hauling him close to the canoe, he cut off the tip of his tongue, and let him go back to the shore to tell his tribe of his bravery. So Mango-pare returned to the shore. Wakatau also went on shore. But no one knew him; for he transformed his visage, that he might not be recognized.

"The multitude were assembled in the house, called Tihi-o-manono, to hear Mango-pare relate his adventure. 'Come tell us,' they demanded, 'tell us of the valour of the man.'

"'Ko te taata he taata kaa raa' (The man is a very powerful man), said Mango-pare, in a strange voice; for his tongue being cut, his manner of speech was changed.

"'Who is he like?' said the multitude.

"'Like me?' inquired one.

"'No!' replied Mango-pare.

"'Like me?' inquired another.

"Mango-pare again said, 'No!'

"Then, asked Wakatau, 'Is he like me?'

"'Yes!' said Mango-pare, 'he resembles you. Why, you are the very person, I declare;' and Mango-pare persisted in saying, 'This is the very same man.'

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"When Wakatau saw that he was known by Mango-pare, he felt for a rope that he had concealed under his cloak. The rope was knotted, and also charmed with a potent and deadly charm. Wakatau brandished his rope,--with a blow one thousand fell dead. Again he whirled his rope towards the other side of the house, -- another thousand fell dead. He then set fire to their house: so the sky became red with flames, and the mother of Tuhuruhuru knew by the sign that the Tihi-o-manono was burning, and that Wakatau had obtained payment for her husband's death."

The incidents recorded in these fables refer to the most ancient times in the history of the New Zealanders, long anterior to the voyage from Hawaiki. By the present generation, they are generally regarded as the inventions of their forefathers, and are related for the amusement of young persons.

Foreigners have very naturally imagined that the land pulled up by Maui was actually New Zealand; because Hawke's Bay, on the east coast, is called by the New Zealanders Te matau o Maui (Maui's fish-hook). But this is not the fact; for, according to the most authentic traditions, Maui must have lived ages before the discovery of New Zealand by their ancestors. It seems quite sufficient to account for the name given to the Bay,

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that its shape is that of the New Zealander's fishhook, and that the first colonists probably gave to places in their new country the names already familiar to them in the country whence they came; just as we find has been the habit of other colonists, whether Greeks or Anglo-Saxons.

There is a very strange tradition to be met with in different parts of New Zealand--that, when first their ancestors arrived, there existed amphibious reptiles, resembling in form and appearance the ngarara or iguana, now found in different parts of the country, but of so enormous a size that they were able to devour a man with the greatest ease.

The Waikato natives have a tradition that one of these creatures infested the neighbourhood of Pirongia, and that, after having devoured many of the tribe, it was at last killed by a person who made a suit of armour of wicker-work to protect himself from its formidable teeth.

The natives of Rotorua have likewise a tradition that their ancestors succeeded in catching, in a trap made of ropes, a similar monster, which had been very destructive to unwary travellers on the road leading from thence to Taupo.

And by the natives of Cook's Straits, it is also reported, that the same creature was once found in that part of the island.

Are we to conclude, from these accounts, that

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some immense species of sauria, resembling the crocodile, was at one time indigenous to New Zealand? I imagine this can scarcely be admitted, otherwise some of their remains, in a semi-fossil state--like the bones of the moa (dinornis, Owen) --would, in all probability, have been discovered ere this. We are rather inclined to class the tradition with some of the foregoing fables, and to suppose that the New Zealanders have given the locality of New Zealand to events recorded in ancient tales; which are probably exaggerated accounts of what may have occurred in the countries from which the Maori came formerly.

In a recent account of the Philippines, 7 from the pen of a French gentleman, who lived there for many years, some interesting anecdotes are mentioned, describing the great size and ferocity of the alligator that infests the lakes and rivers of that country. "Upon one occasion," writes this gentleman, "a Chinese was riding onwards in advance of me. We reached a river; and I let him go on alone, in order to ascertain whether the river was very deep or not. Suddenly three or four caymans, which lay in waiting under the water, threw themselves upon him; horse and rider disappeared, and for some minutes afterwards the water was tinged with blood." A very animated

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description is also given of the hunt and capture of one of these monsters. After they had succeeded in killing it, the narrative thus proceeds to give an account of its size: -- "It was no easy matter to haul him up on the bank; the strength of forty Indians hardly sufficed. When, at last, we had got him completely out of the water, and had him before our eyes, we stood stupified with astonishment; for it was a very different thing to see his body thus, and to see him swimming when he was fighting against us. Mr. Russell, a very competent person, was charged with his measurements. From the extremity of his nostrils to the tip of his tail, he was found to be twenty-seven feet long; and his circumference was eleven feet, measured under the armpits. His belly was much more voluminous, but we thought it unnecessary to measure him there, judging that the horse upon which he had breakfasted must have considerably increased his bulk."

Doubtless, some traces of monsters such as here described, would be likely to be preserved among the traditionary tales of a people who had originally come from countries where they were found; and we have already said enough to show the probability that the ancestors of the New Zealanders, and other Polynesians, once inhabited the Philippines and other islands of the Indian Archipelago, where this alligator is known. That tales respect-

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ing the existence of these creatures prevail also in other islands of Polynesia, appears from the following extract from Mr. Pickering's work. "During a visit to Upolu (one of the Navigator Islands), information was obtained respecting a crocodile, believed by the natives to exist in one of the streams. A species of crocodile is known to occur as far east as New Ireland; and Mariner relates an instance of a straggler having reached the Feejee Islands." 8

The creature spoken of in the traditions of the New Zealanders is frequently called Tuatara, 9 a name also common to the iguana of the country, derived from the circumstance of its back being armed with a row of spines. It is also sometimes called Taniwha, a word of indefinite signification, equivalent to the English monster: for the same name designates more commonly a fabulous inhabitant of the ocean, which is still firmly believed in by most. It is a prevalent belief, that friendly spirits, embodied in the Taniwhas of the sea, frequently attended chiefs and persons cared for by the Atua, while making a voyage, hovering about their canoe; and it is affirmed that, in some instances, when in danger of sinking, they have even supported the canoe on their back, and borne it safely to the shore.

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The following tale, recounting the murder of their guardian Taniwha, is current among the natives of Hauraki:--

"A long while ago, there lived at Hauraki a Taniwha, called Ureia; and, at the same time, a Taniwha, whose name was Haumia, resided at Manukau. One day Haumia swam round to Hauraki to pay a visit to Ureia, and invite him to return with him to Manukau.

"'What are you come here for,' inquired Ureia of the stranger Taniwha ?' Have you anything good to give me to eat in your country?'

"'Aye, to be sure,' replied the other; 'there is plenty to eat in my country, and plenty of rich things besides.'

"'Pray what may be the riches of your country?' demanded Ureia.

"'Why there are feathers of the huia and the kotuku, the scented leaves of the raukawa, and the perfume distilled from the plant taramea; there are abundance of kopura (corms or tubers), besides the manehu and tawiri tree.'

"'Indeed! Pray lead on, and show me the treasures of your country.'

"'Nay, you go before, and see what a noble country mine is.'

"Then Ureia came out of his cave; but he had no sooner done so, than Haumia turned back, and shut the door of the cave quite close.

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"'Eh!' exclaimed Ureia, rather alarmed at seeing what his visitor had done. 'Eh! Haumia has turned adrift the Taniwha.' 10 However, he swam off with Haumia, not really thinking that any evil was designed, and at length reached Puponga without accident.

"But the men of Haumia's country had made a trap for the Taniwha of Hauraki with a net of ropes: and the moment he swam in to it they hauled it tight, and, having thus caught him, dragged him on shore."

That this tale, the invention of some fertile imagination, was once firmly believed, may be inferred from the fact, that it was the cause of war between the natives of Manukau and the tribes of Hauraki, named Ngatimaru, whose Taniwha was supposed to have been thus murdered. Such is the credulity which accompanies superstition.

Some persons have imagined that they could trace, in the traditions of the New Zealanders, vestiges of the principal historical facts connected with the early state of mankind, recorded by Moses. But, I must confess, that my inquiries on these subjects have led me to arrive at very different conclusions. A gentleman connected with the Church Mission, with whom I was once conversing on the subject, assured me that the natives among whom

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he resided had a distinct tradition of the Deluge. As this gentleman had been twelve or fourteen years in the country, and possessed an intimate knowledge of the Maori language, his statement would have been generally accepted as most worthy of reliance. On further inquiry, however, from the same tribe of natives who were his informants, I was soon convinced that he had been misled by his own pre-conceived ideas, and that the deluge of his imagination was no more than a remarkable flood, which had overwhelmed a village several generations ago. The particulars of this event I obtained from a chief, named Te Awhe.

The village destroyed, called Taumaharua, was situate on the bank of the river Ohinemuri, not far from its point of junction with the river Waihou, or Thames. Ngati-ako was the name of the small tribe who dwelt on it, and their chief, Whare, was an ancestor of my informant.

As the flood arose, Whare, being both chief and priest, was entreated to repeat some charm having power to compel the waters of the flood to subside. Whare refused; and the words of his reply are still preserved as a proverb: "E kore a Whare e tara, he ua haeremai i roto i Keteriki,"--(Whare will not charm, for the rain comes from the direction of Keteriki).

Keteriki is the name of a lofty mountain to the eastward, and at no great distance from the place

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where the event took place. The wisdom of Whare's reply is proved over and over again every year; the same wind generally bringing rain and flood.

In one of the traditions collected by Sir George Grey, to which reference has been already made, there occurs a passage which might, at the first glance, be easily imagined to point to a great catastrophe, identical with the Deluge; for it is there related that during the wars of Tawhiri-ma-tea, the god and father of winds and storms, with his brothers, the greater part of the earth was submerged, "so that only a small portion of dry land projected above the sea." 11 It appears, however, at least doubtful if this is really a part of the original tradition, or merely an interpolation of the native who compiled the manuscript. There is some ground for this suspicion, because it is rather inconsistent with a statement contained in the same tradition, namely, that the human race then existing withstood all the attacks of the god of tempests, and remained uninjured by them.

There is also, in other parts of the narrative, evidence that the native who reduced it to its present connected written form must have been a person having a certain amount of education derived from missionary instruction, and acquainted more or less with the history of the Bible. One remarkable instance occurs in a paragraph account-

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ing for the origin of the use of charms and incantations, which are said to have been instituted by the great progenitor of man, Tu-matauenga. This statement, which clearly rests on veritable traditionary authority, is however qualified by the paragraph immediately following: "But it was the great God that taught these prayers to man;" 12 a remark which would naturally lead the reader to infer that the New Zealander had an idea of God in the sense of a supreme intelligence. The fact, however, is not so; for neither in any existing superstition nor tradition, purely such, is there to be found internal evidence that an idea of God existed more exalted than that of the spirit of a dead ancestor.

The paragraph we have quoted, when read in connexion with the rest of the text, will be found in reality to form no part of the narrative of the tradition, but to be the gloss or reflection of the person who wrote the manuscript for Sir George Grey, and the natural remark of a native instructed in Christianity.