Mana.--Young New Zealand.--The Law of England.--"Pop goes the
Weasel."--Right if we have Might.--God save the Queen.--Good
Advice.
In the afternoon I went home musing on what I had heard and seen.
"Surely," thought I, "if one half of the world does not know how the
other half live, neither do they know how they die."
Some days after this a deputation arrived to deliver up my old friend's
_mere_. It was a weapon of great _mana_, and was delivered with some
little ceremony. I perceive now that I have written this word _mana_
several times, and think I may as well explain what it means. This is
the more necessary, as the word has been bandied about a good deal of
late years, and meanings have been often attached to it by Europeans
which are incorrect, but which the natives sometimes accept because it
suits their purpose. This same word _mana_ has several different
meanings; the difference between these diverse meanings is sometimes
very great, and sometimes only a mere shade of meaning, though one very
necessary to observe; and it is, therefore, quite impossible to find
any one single word in English, or in any other language that I have
any acquaintance with, which will give the full and precise meaning of
_mana_. Moreover, though I myself do know all the meanings and
different shades of meaning, properly belonging to the word, I find a
great difficulty in explaining them; but as I have begun, the thing
must be done. It will also be a tough word disposed of to my hand, when
I come to write my Maori dictionary, in a hundred volumes; which, if I
begin soon, I hope to have finished before the Maori is a dead
language.
Now then for _mana_. _Virtus_, _prestige_, authority, good fortune,
influence, sanctity, luck, are all words which, under certain
conditions, give something near the meaning of _mana_, though not one
of them gives it exactly: but before I have done, the reader shall have
a reasonable notion (for a pakeha) of what it is.
_Mana_ sometimes means a more than natural virtue or power attaching to
some person or thing, different from and independent of the ordinary
natural conditions of either, and capable of either increase or
diminution, both from known and unknown causes. The _mana_ of a priest
or _tohunga_ is proved by the truth of his predictions, as well as the
success of his incantations; _which same incantations, performed by
another person of inferior mana, would have no effect_. Consequently,
this description of _mana_ is a virtue, or more than natural or
ordinary condition attaching to the priest himself; and which he may
become possessed of and also lose without any volition of his own. When
Apollo from his shrine,
No longer could divine,
The hollow steep of Delphos sadly leaving,--
_then_ the oracle had lost its _mana_.
Then there is the doctors' _mana_. The Maori doctors in the old times
did not deal much in "simples," but they administered large doses of
_mana_. Now when most of a doctor's patients recovered, his _mana_ was
supposed to be in full feather; but if, as will happen sometimes to the
best practitioners, a number of patients should slip through his
fingers _seriatim_, then his _mana_ was suspected to be getting weak,
and he would not be liable to be "knocked up" so frequently as
formerly.
_Mana_ in another sense is the accompaniment of power, but not the
power itself: nor is it even in this sense exactly "authority,"
according to the strict meaning of that word, though it comes very near
it. This is the chiefs _mana_. Let him lose the power, and the _mana_
is gone. But mind you do not translate _mana_ as power; that won't do:
they are two different things entirely. Of this nature also is the
_mana_ of a tribe; but this is not considered to be the supernatural
kind of _mana_.
Then comes the _mana_ of a warrior. Uninterrupted success in war proves
it. It has a _slight_ touch of the supernatural, but not much. Good
fortune comes near the meaning, but is just a little too weak. The
warrior's _mana_ is just a little something more than bare good
fortune; a severe defeat would shake it terribly; two or three in
succession would show that it was gone: but before leaving him, some
supernaturally ominous occurrence might be expected to take place, such
as are said to have happened before the deaths of Julius Caesar, Marcus
Antonius, or Brutus. Let not any one smile at my comparing, even in the
most distant way, the old Maori warriors with these illustrious Romans;
for if they do, I shall answer that some of the old Maori _Toa_ were
thought as much of in _their_ world, as any Greek or Roman of old was
in his: and, moreover, it is my private opinion, that if the best of
them could only have met my friend "Lizard Skin," in his best days, and
would have taken off his armour and fought fair, that the aforesaid
"Lizard Skin" would have tickled him to his heart's content with the
point of his spear.
A fortress often assailed but never taken has a _mana_, and one of a
high description too. The name of the fortress becomes a _pepeha_, a
war boast or motto, and a war cry of encouragement or defiance; like
the _slogan_ of the ancient Highlanders in Scotland.
A spear, a club, or a _mere_, may have a _mana_; which in most cases
means that it is a lucky weapon which good fortune attends, if the
bearer minds what he is about: but some weapons of the old times had a
stronger _mana_ than this, like the _mana_ of the enchanted weapons we
read of in old romances or fairy tales. Let any one who likes give an
English word for this kind of _mana_. I have done with it.
I had once a tame pig, which, before heavy rain, would always cut
extraordinary capers and squeak like mad. Every pakeha said he was
"weather-wise;" but all the Maori said it was a "_poaka whai mana_," a
pig possessed of _mana_; _for it had more than natural powers_, and
could foretell rain.
If ever this talk about the good old times be printed and published,
and every one should buy it, and read it, and quote it, and believe
every word in it--as they ought, seeing that every word is true--then
it will be a _puka puka whai mana_, a book of _mana_; and I shall have
a high opinion of the good sense and good taste of the New Zealand
public.
When the law of England is the law of New Zealand, and the Queen's writ
will run, then both the Queen and the law will have great _mana_: but I
don't think either will ever happen, and so neither will have any
_mana_ of consequence.
If the reader has not some faint notion of _mana_ by this time, I can't
help it: I can't do any better for him. I must confess I have not
pleased myself. Any European language can be translated easily enough
into any other; but to translate Maori into English is much harder to
do than is supposed by those who do it every day with ease; but who do
not know their own language, or any other but Maori, perfectly.
I am always blowing up "Young New Zealand," and calling them "reading,
riting, rethmatiking" vagabonds, who will never equal their fathers;
but I mean it all for their good--(poor things!)--like a father
scolding his children. But one _does_ get vexed sometimes. Their
grandfathers, if they had "no backs," had at least good legs; but the
grandsons can't walk a day's journey to save their lives: _they_ must
_ride_. The other day I saw a young Maori chap on a good horse; he wore
a black hat and polished Wellingtons, his hat was cocked knowingly to
one side, and he was jogging along with one hand jingling the money in
his pocket; and may I never see another war dance, if the hardened
villain was not whistling "Pop goes the weasel!" What will all this end
in?
My only hope is in a handy way (to give them their due) which they have
with a _tupara_; and this is why I don't think the law will have much
_mana_ here in my time: I mean the _pakeha_ law; for, to say the worst
of them, they are not yet so far demoralized as to stand any nonsense
of that kind; which is a comfort to think of. I am a loyal subject to
Queen Victoria, but I am also a member of a Maori tribe; and I hope I
may never see this country so enslaved and tamed that a single rascally
policeman, with nothing but a bit of paper in his hand, can come and
take a _rangatira_ away from the middle of his _hapu_, and have him
hanged for something of no consequence at all, except that it is
against the law. What would old "Lizard Skin" say to it? His grandson
certainly is now a magistrate, and if anything is stolen from a pakeha,
he will get it back, _if he can_, and won't stick to it, because he
gets a salary in lieu thereof; but he has told me certain matters in
confidence, and which I therefore cannot disclose. I can only hint
there was something said about "the Law," and "driving the pakeha into
the sea."
I must not trust myself to write on these matters. I get so confused,
that I feel just as if I was two different persons at the same time.
Sometimes I find myself thinking on the Maori side, and then just
afterwards wondering if "we" can lick the Maori, and set the law upon
its legs; which is the only way to do it. I therefore hope the reader
will make allowance for any little apparent inconsistency in my ideas,
as I really cannot help it.
I belong to both parties, and I don't care a straw which wins; but I am
sure we shall have fighting. Men _must_ fight; or else what are they
made for? Twenty years ago, when I heard military men talking of
"marching through New Zealand with fifty men," I was called a fool
because I said they could not do it with five hundred. Now I am also
thought foolish by civilians, because I say we can conquer New Zealand
with our present available means, if we set the right way about it
(which we won't). So hurrah again for the Maori! We shall drive the
pakeha into the sea, and send the Law after them! If we can do it, we
are right; and if the pakeha beat us, _they_ will be right too. God
save the Queen!
So now, my Maori tribe, and also my pakeha countrymen, I shall conclude
this book with good advice; and be sure you take notice: it is given to
both parties. It is a sentence from the last speech of old "Lizard
Skin." It is to you both. "Be brave, that you may live."
VERBUM SAPIENTI.
GLOSSARY.
_A pakeha tutua_--A mean, _poor_ European.--p. 18.
_Bare Motiti_--The Island of Motiti is often called "_Motiti wahie
kore_," as descriptive of the want of timber, or bareness of the
island. A more fiercely contested battle, perhaps, was never fought
than that on Motiti, in which the Ngati Kuri were destroyed.--p. 153.
_E aha te pai?_--What is the good (or use) of him? Said in
contempt.--p. 18.
_Haere mai! &c._--Sufficiently explained as the native call of welcome.
It is literally an invitation to advance.--p. 14.
_Hahunga_--A _hahunga_ was a funeral ceremony, at which the natives
usually assembled in great numbers, and during which "baked meats" were
disposed of with far less economy than Hamlet gives us to suppose was
observed "in Denmark."--p. 13.
_Jacky-poto_--Short Jack; or stumpy Jack.--p. 152.
_Kainga_--A native town, or village: their principal headquarters.--p.
13.
_Kia kotahi ki te ao! Kia kotahi ki te po!_--A close translation would
not give the meaning to the English reader. By these words the dying
person is conjured to cling to life, but as they are never spoken until
the person to whom they are addressed is actually expiring, they seemed
to me to contain a horrid mockery, though to the native they no doubt
appear the promptings of an affectionate and anxious solicitude. They
are also supposed to contain a certain mystical meaning.--p. 200.
_Ki au te mataika_--I have the _mataika_. The first man killed in a
battle was called the _mataika_. To kill the _mataika_. To kill the
_mataika_, or first man, was counted a very high honour, and the most
extraordinary exertions were made to obtain it. The writer once saw a
young warrior, when rushing with his tribe against the enemy, rendered
almost frantic by perceiving that another section of the tribe would,
in spite of all his efforts, be engaged first, and gain the honour of
killing the _mataika_. In this emergency he, as he rushed on, cut down
with a furious blow of his tomahawk, a sapling which stood in his way,
and gave the cry which claims the _mataika_. After the battle the
circumstances of this question in Maori chivalry having been fully
considered by the elder warriors, it was decided that the sapling tree
should, in this case, be held to be the true _mataika_, and that the
young man who cut it down should always claim, without question, to
have killed, or, as the natives say, "caught," the _mataika_ of that
battle.--p. 174.
_Mana_--As the meaning of this word is explained in the course of the
narrative, it is only necessary to say that in the sense in which it is
used here, it means dominion or authority.--p. 3.
_Mere ponamu_--A native weapon made of a rare green stone, and much
valued by the natives.--p. 24.
_Na! Na! mate rawa!_--This is the battle cry by which a warrior
proclaims, exultingly and tauntingly, the death of one of the
enemy.--p. 58.
_No hea_--Literally, from whence? Often used as a negative answer to an
inquiry, in which case the words mean that the thing inquired for is
not, or in fact is nowhere.--p. 2.
_Pakeha_--An Englishman; a foreigner.--p. 3.
_Rangatira_--A chief, a gentleman, a warrior. _Rangatira pakeha_--A
foreigner who is a gentleman (not a _tutua_, or nobody, as described
above), a _rich_ foreigner.--p. 20.
_Tangi_--A dirge, or song of lamentation for the dead. It was the
custom for the mourners, when singing the _tangi_, to cut themselves
severely on the face, breast, and arms, with sharp flints and shells,
in token of their grief. This custom is still practised, though in a
mitigated form. In past times, the mourners cut themselves dreadfully,
and covered themselves with blood from head to feet. See a description
of a _tangi_ further on.--p. 3.
_Taniwha_--A sea monster: more fully described further on.--p. 30.
_Taonga_--Goods; property.--p. 20.
_Taua_--A war party; or war expedition.--p. 42.
_Tena koutou_; _or Tenara ko koutou_--The Maori form of salutation,
equivalent to our "How do you do?"--p. 54.
_Tino tangata_--A "good man," in the language of the prize-ring; a
warrior; or literally, a very, or perfect man.--p. 30.
_Toa_--A warrior of pre-eminent courage; a hero.--p. 179.
_Torere_--An unfathomable cave, or pit, in the rocky mountains, where
the bones of the dead, after remaining a certain time in the first
burying place, are removed to and thrown in, and so finally disposed
of.--p. 72.
_Tu ngarahu_--This is a muster, or review, made to ascertain the
numbers and condition of a native force; generally made before the
starting of an expedition. It is, also, often held as a military
spectacle, or exhibition, of the force of a tribe when they happen to
be visited by strangers of importance: the war dance is gone through on
these occasions, and speeches declaratory of war, or welcome, as the
case may be, made to the visitors. The "review of the Taniwha,"
witnessed by the Ngati Kuri, was possibly a herd of sea-lions, or
sea-elephants; animals scarcely ever seen on the coast of that part of
New Zealand, and, therefore, from their strange and hideous appearance,
at once set down as an army of Taniwha. One man only was, at the defeat
of the Ngati Kuri, on Motiti, rescued to tell the tale.--p. 153.
_Tupara_--A double gun; an article, in the old times, valued by the
natives above all other earthly riches.--p. 12.
_Tutua_--A low, worthless, and, above all, a _poor_, fellow--a
"nobody."--p. 18.
_Utu_--Revenge, or satisfaction; also payment.--p. 26.
THE END.
London: SMITH, ELDER and Co., Little Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey,
E.C.