NEW ZEALAND--_Concluded_.
FUNERAL CEREMONIES AND ARCHITECTURE.
THE MOURNING OVER THE DEAD CHIEF -- THE TANGI, AND THE SCARS WHICH
IT LEAVES -- FIRST BURIAL OF THE CHIEF -- THE WAHI TAPU -- THE
SECOND BURIAL, OR “HAHUNGA” -- REMOVAL OF THE TAPU, AND INSTALLATION
OF THE SUCCESSOR -- E’ HONGI’S DEATHBED -- A DECAYING PAH -- CANOE
TOMBS -- MONUMENT TO E’ TOKI -- TOMB OF TE WHERO-WHERO’S DAUGHTER --
SAVAGE SENTIMENT -- MAORI ARCHITECTURE -- MATERIAL, SHAPE, AND SIZE
OF THE HOUSES -- A CROWDED SLEEPING PLACE -- THE EAT MAN HOUSE --
RANGIHAEATA’S REVENGE -- PUATIA’S WAR-HOUSE AND ITS SCULPTURES --
INTERIOR VIEW OF A PAH -- TOOLS USED IN HOUSE-BUILDING -- THE AXE AND
THE CHISEL -- THE TOKO-TOKO, OR WALKING STICK.
We now come to the ceremonies that belong to funerals.
When a chief, or indeed any Rangatira, dies, his friends and relations
deck the body in the finest clothes which the deceased had possessed
in his lifetime, lay it out, and assemble round it for the customary
mourning. The women are the chief mourners, and indulge in the most
demonstrative, not to say ostentatious, ebullitions of grief. Sometimes
they squat upon the ground, their bodies and faces wrapped in their
mantles, as if utterly overpowered by grief. Sometimes they wave
their arms in the air, shaking their hands with expressive gestures
of sorrow; and all the while they utter loud wailing cries, while the
tears stream down their cheeks.
Much of this extravagant sorrow is necessarily feigned, according
to the custom of New Zealand life, which demands tears on so many
occasions; but there is no doubt that much is real and truly felt. The
women cut themselves severely with shells, making incisions in the skin
several inches in length. These incisions are filled with charcoal,
as if they had been part of the regular moko or tattoo, and become
indelible, being, in fact, perpetual records of sorrow. Some of these
women cut themselves with such severity, that in their old age they are
covered with the thin blue lines of the “tangi,” their faces, limbs,
and bodies being traversed by them in rather a ludicrous manner. The
tangi lines might be mistaken for regular tattooing, except for one
point. They have no pattern, and instead of being curved, as is always
the case with the moko, they are straight, about two inches in length,
and run parallel to each other.
They address long speeches to the dead man, enumerating his many
virtues, his courage, his liberality, the strength of his tapu, and
so forth, mixed with reproaches to him for dying and going away from
them when they stood in such need of him. Indeed, the whole of the
proceedings, with the exception of cutting the skin, are very like
those of an Irish wake.
In the illustration No. 1, on the 872nd page, are shown these various
ceremonies. The dead body of the chief is lying under the shed, wrapped
in the best mantle, and with a coronal of feathers in the hair. In
the front sits a chief, whose rank is denoted by his hani, or staff
of office, that lies by him, and by the elaborate mantle in which he
has wrapped himself. Standing near the corpse is one of the mourners,
with arms upraised and hands quivering, while others are seen sitting
in various attitudes of woe. The fence of the pah is shown in the
background, with its grotesque images and curious architecture.
When the old people attend a funeral, they usually paint themselves
freely with red ochre, and wear wreaths of green leaves upon their
heads. The house in which the death took place is rendered tapu until
the body is finally disposed of--an event which does not take place for
some time.
After the mourning ceremonies have been completed, the body is placed
in a sort of coffin and allowed to decay, the green jade merai, the
tiki, the hani, and other emblems of rank being placed with the corpse.
In some parts of the country this coffin is canoe-shaped, and suspended
to the branches of a tree, certain places being kept sacred for this
purpose. There existed, for example, several graves belonging to the
Nga-pui tribe, which had been preserved on account of the sacred
character which belonged to them. The natives had long abandoned the
custom of hanging the coffins of the dead on the trees, but the sacred
character still clung to them, and, though the woods in that part of
the country had been felled, the sacred groves were allowed to flourish
unharmed.
Sometimes the body of a very great chief was placed in a wooden
receptacle in the midst of the pah, called the waki-tapu, and there
allowed to decay. As might be expected, a most horrible odor is
disseminated through the pah during the process of decomposition; but
the inhabitants do not seem to trouble themselves, their nostrils not
being easily offended. For example, when a whale is thrown ashore, the
stench of the huge mass of decomposition is so overpowering that an
European cannot endure it. The natives, however, say that they are used
to it, and do not notice it. Indeed, people who can eat the horrible
messes of putrid maize of which they are so fond must be so obtuse of
scent as to be indifferent to any ill odor.
Be it as it may, in time the process of decay is supposed to be
complete,--seven or eight months being the usual time. A curious
ceremony, called the “hahunga,” then takes place. The friends and
relatives of the deceased chief are again assembled, and the bones are
solemnly taken from their receptacle and cleaned. The person who cleans
them is necessarily tapu, but is rendered “noa,” or common again, by
the eldest son and daughter of the deceased chief eating of the sacred
food offered to the dead. Should the eldest girl happen to be dead, the
food is placed in a calabash, and laid in the now empty coffin, the
spirit of the girl being called by name, and the food offered to her.
The spirit is supposed to partake of the food; and the tapu is thus
removed as effectually as if she were alive, and had visibly eaten the
provisions. Should the chief have had no daughter, the nearest female
relative takes the office. The usual orations are made in honor of the
deceased and the merai, tiki, and other ornaments of the dead chief are
then handed over to his eldest son, who thus takes possession of the
post which his father had vacated, the ceremony being analogous to a
coronation among Europeans.
When the celebrated chief E’ Hongi, the “Scourge of New Zealand,” as
he has been called, died, his children were so afraid that they would
be attacked by those whom the terror of his name had kept quiet, that
they wanted to omit the preliminary orations and “tangi,” and to lay
his body in the “waki-tapu,” or sacred place, on the day after his
death. This intention was, however, overruled, chiefly in consequence
of the foresight of the dying chief.
Feeling that his end was close at hand, he rallied his sons round
him, sent for all his warlike stores, the merais, patus, muskets,
ammunition, and, above all, the armor which he had received from George
IV., and bequeathed them to his children. He was asked what “utu,” or
satisfaction, should be exacted for his death, but replied that the
only utu which his spirit would desire was, that his tribe should be
valiant, and repel any attack that might be made upon them. But for
this really noble sentiment, there would have been great slaughter at
his death, in order to furnish attendants for him.
That his tribe should for the future be valiant, and repel the attacks
of their enemies, was the ruling idea in E’ Hongi’s mind; and on March
6, 1828, he died, continually repeating the words, “Kia toa! kia
toa!”--_i. e._ “Be valiant! be valiant!”
After the ceremony of cleaning the bones is over, they are taken by the
principal tohunga, or priest, who generally disposes of them in some
secret spot sacred to the remains of dead chiefs, and known only to
himself. Sometimes, however, they are laid in beautifully carved boxes,
which are supported on posts in the middle of the pah.
Sometimes the waki-tapu, or sacred place in which the body of a chief
is placed while it undergoes decomposition, is marked in a very curious
manner, and the entire village deserted for a time. For example, at
the pah of Huriwenua, the chief had died about six weeks before Mr.
Angas arrived at the place, which he found deserted. “Not far from
this island pah stood the village of Huriwenua, the gaily-ornamented
tomb of the late chief forming a conspicuous object in the centre.
Here, although everything was in a state of perfect preservation, not a
living soul was to be seen; the village, with its neat houses made of
raupo, and its courtyards and provision boxes, was entirely deserted.
From the moment the chief was laid beneath the upright canoe, on which
were inscribed his name and rank, the whole village became strictly
tapu, or sacred, and not a native, on pain of death, was permitted to
trespass near the spot. The houses were all fastened up, and on most of
the doors were inscriptions denoting that the property of such an one
remained there.
“An utter silence pervaded the place. After ascertaining that no
natives were in the vicinity of the forbidden spot, I landed, and trod
the sacred ground; and my footsteps were probably the first, since
the desertion of the village, that had echoed along its palisaded
passages.
[Illustration: (1.) MOURNING OVER A DEAD CHIEF. (See page 869.)]
[Illustration: (2.) TOMB OF E’ TOKI. (See page 873.)]
“On arriving at the tomb, I was struck with the contrast between the
monument of the savage and that of the civilized European. In the
erection of the latter, marble and stone and the most durable of metals
are employed, while rapidly decaying wood, red ochre, and feathers
form the decorations of the Maori tomb. Huriwenua having been buried
only six weeks, the ornaments of the _waki-tapu_, or sacred place,
as those erections are called, were fresh and uninjured. The central
upright canoe was richly painted with black and red, and at the top
was written the name of the chief; above which there hung in clusters,
bunches of _kaka_ feathers, forming a large mass at the summit of the
canoe. A double fence of high palings, also painted red, and ornamented
with devices in arabesque work, extended round the grave, and at every
fastening of flax, where the horizontal rails were attached to the
upright fencing, were stuck two feathers of the albatross, the sunny
whiteness of which contrasted beautifully with the sombre black and red
of the remainder of the monument.”
One of these tombs may be seen in the background of illustration No.
1, on p. 860, containing the portrait of an old priest, and another is
shown in the view of a village which will be given on a future page.
Within the pah is often erected a monument or mausoleum of the dead. A
very beautiful example of this kind of tomb was erected in the pah of
Rangihaeta to the memory of E’ Toki, the mother of Raupahara.
It was nearly semi-circular in shape, and the body was placed in it
in an upright position. It was covered with a roof, squared at the
corners, and projecting like a verandah all round, and sloping toward
the back. The central tomb, the roof, and the posts which supported it,
were all covered with the most elaborate arabesque pattern, mostly of a
spiral character. Paint was liberally used on it, that on the central
tomb or coffin being red and white, while that which decorated the roof
and posts was red and black. In front of the projecting roof was hung
the beautifully woven kaitaka mat of the deceased woman, and tufts of
the white feathers of the albatross were arranged at regular intervals
upon it.
Even when Mr. Angas saw this beautiful example of Maori art, it was
beginning to decay, the climate being damp, and the natives never
repairing a decaying tomb. It was, of course, strictly tapu. No native
liked to go close to it, and for a slave, or even a free man of
inferior rank, to go within a certain distance of it would have been a
crime punishable with instant death.
I have much pleasure in presenting on the preceding page an
illustration of this beautiful monument of Maori art, taken from a
drawing made by Mr. Angas in 1844, while the perishable materials of
which the tomb was made were yet in tolerable preservation. Under the
carved and decorated roof may be seen the semicircular coffin in which
the body had been placed, distinguished from the outer portion of the
tomb by the red and white colors with which it was painted, in contrast
to the red and black of the outer portions. The reader will notice
that red is the prevalent color in all tombs, because red is the hue
of mourning as well as of war among the Maories. Immediately under the
eaves of the front may be seen the highly ornamented border of the
kaitaka mat once worn by the deceased, and now left to decay upon her
tomb.
Round the tomb itself runs a slight and low fence. This palisade, small
as it might appear, afforded ample protection to the tomb, inasmuch as
the whole space within it was rendered sacred by a tapu laid upon it by
Raupahara, so that not even the highest chief would venture to enter
the forbidden enclosure.
One of the finest specimens of carving in New Zealand--perhaps the
finest in the whole country--is, or rather was, a mausoleum erected by
Te Whero-Whero to his favorite daughter. It was upon the death of this
daughter that Te Whero-Whero gave such dire offence to the other chiefs
by threatening to throw their scalps into his daughter’s grave, for
which offence he had to give up the celebrated armor of E’Hongi by way
of fine.
The monument was erected in Raroera, formerly one of the largest and
finest pahs in New Zealand, but rendered desolate by the act of the
headstrong and determined chief. He had this wonderful tomb built
for his daughter, and, as soon as her body was placed within it, he
pronounced the whole pah to be tapu. It was at once deserted: old and
young quitted the place, leaving everything behind them, the provisions
to moulder and the weapons to decay. Solid houses that had occupied
many years in building and carving were allowed to fall into mere
shapeless heaps of ruins; and even in 1844 the rank vegetation had so
completely overrun the place that many of the best pieces of native
work were covered by the foliage.
The tomb is about twelve feet high, and consists of the usual box for
the reception of the body, covered by a projecting roof, which is
supported by pillars. Were it as graceful in form as the monument to
E’ Toki, this would be by far the finest specimen of native art; but
unfortunately it does not possess the bold outline and contrast of the
curve and the straight line which are so characteristic of E’ Toki’s
tomb.
The elaboration of the carving on this monument is so great that it
almost baffles the skill of the draughtsman. Mr. Angas succeeded
in copying it, and when the drawing was shown to the artist who had
executed the work he was astounded, and pronounced the white man to
be a great tohunga. The roof is supported by pillars, each pillar
consisting of two human figures, the upper standing on the head of
the lower. The upper figure is about seven feet in height, and has a
gigantic head, with an enormous protruding tongue that reaches to the
breast.
The whole of the tomb is covered with human heads. Exclusive of those
upon the posts, the front alone of the tomb contains fourteen faces,
each differing from the other in expression and pattern of the moko,
but all wearing the same defiant air. Their enormous eyes are made
peculiarly conspicuous by being carved out of haliotis shell, carrying
out on a large scale the plan adopted in the chiefs’ hanis and other
sculptures. The whole of the space between the figures is covered
with the most elaborate arabesques, intertwining with each other in
a bewildering manner, but each running its own boldly curved course.
Between the various pieces that compose this tomb are set bunches and
tufts of white and green feathers, which serve to adorn as well as
disguise the necessary seams of the woodwork.
This wonderful monument was entirely carved by one man, named Paranui.
He was lame, and in consequence had expended his energies in art, in
which he had so greatly distinguished himself that he took rank as
a tohunga. He was equally celebrated as a tattooer; and it may well
be imagined that a man who could design so extraordinary a piece
of workmanship must be skilful in inventing the endless variety of
patterns needful in the decoration of chief’s faces. In performing this
work, Paranui had but one tool, the head of an old bayonet.
The loss of such specimens of native art as those which have been
described carries out my former remarks on the necessity for removing
to our own country every memorial of savage life that we can secure. We
inflict no real injury upon the savages, and we secure an invaluable
relic of vanishing customs. These monuments, for example, were simply
carved and then left to decay. Had they been removed to this country,
where they would have been guarded from the power of the elements and
the encroachments of vegetation, we should have seen them in complete
preservation at the present day, and likely to last as long as the
building which contained them.
Of course the sentimental argument may be pleaded against this view of
the case; but in matters which are of vital importance in the grand
study of anthropology mere sentiment ought to have no place. Neither
has it such place as some often imagine. The savage, finding that the
white man yields to him on this point, is only too glad to find any
vantage ground, and always presses on as fast as the other yields--just
as has been done in India with the question of caste. We cannot measure
their mental sensibilities any more than their physical by our own. A
savage endures with stoicism tortures which would kill an European,
simply because he does not feel them as much. And the mental and
physical sensibilities are very much on a par.
The Maori is perhaps the finest savage race on the face of the earth,
and yet we cannot think that he is exactly an estimable being, whose
ambition is murder, and whose reward is to eat the body of his victim,
who never does a stroke of work that he can avoid, and who leads a life
of dissipation as far as his capabilities go. Of all savage nations,
the New Zealander displays most sorrow for the loss of a friend or
relation. Tears flow profusely from his eyes, and every tone of his
voice and every gesture of his body convey the impression that he is
borne down by unendurable woe. Yet we have seen that this effusion of
sorrow is mostly premeditated, and merely a conventional mode of acting
required by the etiquette of the country.
When two people can be bathed in tears, speak only in sobbing accents,
utter heart-rending cries, and sink to the ground as overwhelmed by
grief, we cannot but compassionate their sorrow and admire their
sensibility. But if, in the middle of all these touching demonstrations
of grief, we see them suddenly cease from their sobs and cries, enter
into a little lively conversation, enjoy a hearty laugh, and then
betake themselves afresh to their tears and sobs, we may take the
liberty of doubting their sincerity.
So with those beautiful houses and monuments that are left to perish
by neglect. The builder did in all probability feel very keenly at the
time, though the feeling of grief seems sometimes to take a curious
turn, and be metamorphosed into vengeance and an excuse for war; but it
is very much to be doubted whether grief for the departed is a feeling
that is really permanent in the savage mind. The Maori chief may lay
his tapu on an entire village when a relative dies, and if, after
the lapse of years, any one be rash enough to invade the forbidden
precincts, he will visit the offence with instant punishment. But it
must be remembered that the infringement of the tapu in question is
not an insult to the dead but to the living, and that when the chief
punishes the offender, he does not avenge an affront offered to his
dead relative, but a direct insult to himself.
In spite of his sentiment, I think that the Maori might have been
induced to sell such specimens of art, and even if he refused to yield
to such a proposition, he would have respected us none the less if,
when we had captured a pah, we exercised the right of conquest, and
took that which we could not buy. Or even supposing that the first idea
had proved impracticable, and the second unadvisable, it would not
have been very difficult to have induced a native artist to execute a
duplicate which he could sell for a price which would enrich him for
life.
Such sentiments are, I know, unpopular with the mass of those who only
see the savage at a distance, which certainly, in the case of savage
life, lends the only enchantment to the view that it can possess. But
I believe them to be just and true, and know that the closer is our
acquaintance with savage life, the more reason we have to be thankful
for civilization. The savage knows this himself, and bitterly feels
his inferiority. He hates and fears the white man, but always ends by
trying to imitate him.
To return to these monuments. In former times they existed in great
numbers, and even in more recent days those which survive are so
characteristic of a style of art that may have taken its rise from
ancient Mexico, that I should have been glad to transfer to these pages
several more of Mr. Angas’ sketches.
* * * * *
It will be seen from several of the previous illustrations that
the New Zealanders must possess much skill in architecture. The
observant reader must have remarked that the art of house-building is
practically wanting in Australia; and that such should be the case
is most extraordinary, seeing that architectural skill is singularly
developed among the great Polynesian families. The New Zealander, whose
country has much in common with Australia, is remarkable for the skill
and taste which he displays in architecture; and a short space will
therefore be devoted to this subject.
As is the case throughout Polynesia in general, the material used in
house-building is wood, and the various pieces of which a house is
composed are fastened together not by nails, but by ropes and strings,
which in many cases are applied in a most elaborate and artistic
manner, beauty being studied not only in the forms of the houses and in
the carved patterns with which they are adorned, but in the complicated
lashings with which they are bound together. As, however, this branch
of ornamental architecture is carried to a greater extent in Fiji than
in New Zealand, I shall reserve the details for the description of the
Fiji Islands.
The size of some of these edifices is very great. For example, in
1843 the Maori converts built for themselves a place of worship large
enough to contain a thousand persons, and measuring eighty-six feet in
length by forty-two in width. The size of this edifice was evidently
determined by the length of the ridge-pole. This was cut from a single
tree, and was dragged by the natives a distance of three miles. The
cross-lashings of the building were all ornamental, giving to it a
peculiar richness of finish.
We are, however, chiefly concerned with the domestic architecture
of the Maories. Within each pah or enclosed village are a number of
houses, each representing a family, and separated from each other
by fences, several houses generally standing near each other in one
enclosure. A full-sized house is about forty feet long by twenty
wide, and is built on precisely the same principle as the tombs which
have been just described, the actual house taking the position of the
coffin, and being sheltered from the weather by a gable roof, which
extends far beyond the walls, so as to form a sort of verandah. The
roof is supported on separate posts, and does not, as with ourselves,
rest upon the walls of the house. The roof always projects greatly at
the principal end of the house, in which the door is situated, so that
it forms a sort of shed, under which the members of the family can
shelter themselves from the sun or rain without going into the house.
A genuine New Zealander has a great love for fresh air, and, as we
have seen, will composedly sit for a whole day on the wet ground in a
pouring rain, although a house may be within easy reach. Yet at night,
when he retires to rest, he is equally fond of shutting himself up, and
of excluding every breath of fresh air.
Indeed, the native does not look upon a house as a place wherein to
live, but merely as a convenient shelter from the elements by day and
a comfortable sleeping-place by night. As soon as evening is near,
a fire is lighted in the middle of the house, which fills it with
smoke, as there is no chimney. The New Zealander, however, seems to
be smoke-proof, and sits composedly in a place which would drive an
European half mad with smarting eyes. Indeed, before the natives become
inured to the acrid vapor, their eyes have much to endure, and it is to
the habit of sitting in the smoke that the bleared look so prevalent in
old people is chiefly due.
Not only do the natives thus surround themselves with a smoky
atmosphere, but they limit its quantity as well as its quality. The
number of men and women that will pack themselves into one house at
night is almost incredible, each person lying down on a simple mat,
and retaining the same clothes that have been worn during the day. As,
however, the heat becomes excessive, the inmates generally contrive to
throw off their clothing during the night. By daybreak the heat and
closeness are almost stifling to an European, and it is rather an
amusing sight to see a hut give up its inmates on the morning of a cold
day, the whole party being enveloped in steam as they come into the
cold air.
At the principal end of the house, under the verandah, is the entrance.
This strangely resembles the gate of an Egyptian temple, being made of
three large beams, the two side posts slightly inclining to each other,
and the third laid upon them. The aperture is closed by a sliding door,
and at the side of the door is generally a square window, which can be
closed in the same manner. In some large houses there were two of these
windows, one on either side of the door.
As the roof is made with a considerable slant, the walls are seldom
more than two or three feet high where the roof touches them, though
in the middle the house is lofty enough. The roof is supported on the
inside by one or two posts, which are always carved elaborately, and
almost invariably have the human figure as one of the ornaments upon
them. The ridge-pole is flattened and boardlike, and in good houses
is carved and painted in patterns, usually of the spiral character.
This board, as well as those which are used in different parts of the
building, is made by hacking the trunk of a tree on both sides, until
it is reduced to the required thickness, the native Maories having no
tool which can answer the purpose of a saw.
At the end of the ridge-pole, over the door, is carved a distorted
human figure, intended to represent the owner of the house, and
recognized as such by the lines of the moko or tattoo on its face, and
generally having the tongue thrust out to an inordinate extent.
An illustration on page 877 represents the most celebrated of all Maori
houses, namely, the war house of the ruthless chief Rangihaeta, an
edifice which fully expresses the ferocious character of the builder.
These houses are designed by chiefs in honor of some great victory,
and are surrounded with wooden figures, which either represent in
derision the leading warriors of the enemy who have been killed, or
the victorious chief and his own warriors in the act of defying and
insulting the enemy by thrusting out their tongues at them. This house
bears the ominous name of Kai-tangata, or Eat-man.
The illustration is taken from a sketch made by Mr. Angas, who
describes the building as follows: “Kai-tangata, or Eat-man House, is
a wooden edifice in the primitive Maori style, of large dimensions,
with the door-posts and the boards forming the portico curiously and
elaborately carved in grotesque shapes, representing human figures,
frequently in the most indecent attitudes. The eyes are inlaid with
pawa shell, and the tattooing of the faces is carefully cut. The
tongues of all these figures are monstrously large, and protrude out
of the mouth, as a mark of defiance toward their enemies who may
approach the house. The whole of the carved work, as well as the wooden
parts of the building, are colored red with _kokowai_, an ochre found
principally on the side of the volcano of Taranaki.
“The portico or verandah of Rangihaeta’s house is about twelve feet
deep, and the ridge-pole and frame boards of the roof are richly
painted in spiral arabesques of black and red; the margin of each
spiral being dotted with white spots, which add richness to the effect.
The spaces between the woodwork are filled up with variegated reeds,
beautifully arranged with great skill, and fastened together with
strips of flax dyed red, and tied crosswise, so as to present the
appearance of ornamental basketwork.
“Above the centre of the gable-roofed portico is fixed a large wooden
head, elaborately tattooed, with hair and a beard fastened on, composed
of dogs’ tails. Within the house is a carved image of most hideous
aspect, that supports the ridge-pole of the roof. This is intended to
represent the proprietor, and is said by the natives to be entirely the
work of Rangihaeta’s own hand.”
This figure, together with the pole that issues from the head, may
be seen in illustration No. 1, on page 809, which represents the
interior of the house. On account of the circumstance recorded in the
beginning of this description, the artist has been unable to draw a
vast number of carvings which decorated this house, so that much of the
extraordinary elaboration is necessarily omitted.
Rangihaeta displayed his merciless disposition in one of the
unfortunate skirmishes which often took place between the Maories
and the English, and which have afterward been equally regretted by
both parties, the white men having generally offered an unintentional
insult to the natives, and the latter having resented it in the heat of
passion. On this occasion, a number of the white men had been captured
by the Maories under the two chiefs Rangihaeta and Raupahara, who were
related to each other by marriage, the former having married a daughter
of the latter. Some time previously, this woman had been accidentally
killed by a chance shot, which, as a matter of course, her relations
insisted on considering as intentional.
[Illustration: (1.) RANGIHAETA’S WAR HOUSE. (See page 876.)]
[Illustration: (2.) INTERIOR OF A PAH OR VILLAGE. (See page 879.)]
While the prisoners and their capturers were standing together, another
chief named Puatia tried to make peace, saying that the slain on both
sides were about equal. His proposition was accepted, the lately
opposing parties shook hands, and all would have gone well had they
not been joined by Rangihaeta, who had been employing himself in the
congenial task of killing all the wounded. He immediately demanded the
lives of the prisoners, and when Raupahara refused to accede to his
demand, Rangihaeta told him to remember his daughter. The bereaved
chief was silent at this implied reproach, and, before he had time to
collect his thoughts, Rangihaeta glided round the party, getting behind
each of the captives as they stood among the Maories, and killed them
successively with his merai. The ubiquitous land question was at the
bottom of this sad business.
Houses like the Kai-tangata were formerly common, answering the purpose
of the ancient trophies. A war house nearly as celebrated as that which
has just been described was erected by Puatia, the chief of Otawhao
Pah, in order to commemorate the capture of Maketu on the east coast.
Since Puatia died, the whole of this splendid pah was rendered tapu,
and, in consequence, the buildings within it were given up to decay.
Mr. Angas was fortunate enough to secure a sketch of the war house
before, like the rest of the buildings in the pah, it had entirely
decayed.
The house itself is perhaps scarcely so neatly made as the Kai-tangata,
but it derives great interest from the number of figures with which
the beams, rafters, and posts are decorated. On either side of the
verandah stand two huge wooden figures, which are intended to represent
two chiefs who fell in battle, but who, as belonging to the victorious
side, are represented with their tongues defiantly menacing the beaten
enemy.
The figure that supports the central pole represents a chief who was
one of the principal warriors at the capture of Maketu. At the height
of six and ten feet respectively, on the same pole, are carvings which
represent two other warriors, their moko, or tattoo, doing duty for the
whole of the person. Still higher are a couple of figures representing
warriors, the upper figure appearing to stand on the roof itself.
Just within the upper part of the gable is the figure of Pokana, a
warrior who was living at the time when the house was built, and who
is represented with a pipe in his mouth. Around the house are numbers
of similar figures, each representing some well-known individual,
and having a signification which is perfectly well understood by the
natives.
It was in this ruined pah of Otawhao that the disused wooden war-bell
was found. The former owner, Puatia, was converted to Christianity
before his death, and, while he lay sick within his pah, he had a
school established for the purpose of disseminating Christianity, and
used to call his people round him for the morning and evening prayers.
It has been mentioned that, owing to the contempt with which the
Maories regard everything that pertains to the preparation of food,
cooking is never carried on in the dwelling-houses. If possible, it
is conducted in the open air; but when the weather is too wet or too
windy, a shed is employed. These cooking sheds are built expressly for
the purpose, and no one with any claims to rank ever enters within
them. Were no shelter but a cooking shed to be found within miles, the
Maori chief would not enter it, no matter how severe the weather might
be.
The cooking sheds are built very simply, the sides or walls being
purposely made with considerable interstices, so that the wind may pass
freely between them. They are roofed with beams, over which is placed a
thatch of the raupo rush. As, among other articles of diet, the putrid
maize is prepared in these sheds, the European traveller is often glad
to find that the abominable mess will be cooked at a distance from him.
Some of the larger pahs contain a great number of houses, and several
of them are inhabited by at least two thousand people. Civilization
has at the present day exercised great influence upon the pahs, and
reduced them, as a rule, to fortresses rather than villages. In many
districts the use of the pah has been practically abandoned, those
natives who wish to be at peace devoting themselves to the cultivation
of the ground and living in scattered houses, without caring for the
protection of the fence.
The illustration No. 2, on page 877, is taken from a sketch by Mr.
Angas, representing the interior of a pah as seen by him in 1844.
One or two of the houses are seen scattered about, adorned with the
grotesque figures of which the Maori is so fond, and having several of
the inmates sitting under the shelter of the deep verandah. Rather in
the background are one or two of the ingenious and beautifully carved
storehouses, in which food is protected from the rats, and on one side
is a great wooden tiki projecting from the ground. Just behind the
large storehouse is seen the curious monument that marks the waki-tapu,
or sacred burial-place of a chief, a half canoe being planted in the
ground and painted with elaborate patterns in red, the color for
mourning and war among the New Zealanders.
Groups of the natives may be seen scattered about, conspicuous among
whom is the council that is sitting in the foreground, under the
presidency of the seated chief, whose hani, or staff of office, marks
his dignity. A slave woman is seen working at her task of beating
the flax leaves; and wandering promiscuously about the pah, or lying
comfortably asleep, are the pigs, with which every village swarms.
* * * * *
We now come to the tools with which the Maori performs all this
wonderful amount of carpentering and carving.
Looking at the results, we might naturally fancy that the dusky
architect possessed a goodly array of tools; but, in fact, his tools
are as few and simple as his weapons, and may be practically considered
as two, the adze and the chisel. On the next page an example of each
is drawn, the artist having taken care to select the best and most
valuable specimens; the blades being formed from the precious green
jade, and the handles carved elaborately, so as to be worthy of the
valuable material from which the blades are shaped.
As may be imagined, these tools cannot have very sharp edges given to
them, as the brittleness of the stone would cause it to chip into an
edge like that of a bad saw, and in consequence the worst iron axe is a
far better tool than the best specimen of green stonework that a Maori
ever made.
At No. 3 may be seen one of the common “tokis,” or stone axes, that
were formerly so much used in building canoes. The specimen from
which it is drawn is in my collection, and I have selected it for
illustration because it gives so excellent an idea of the structure of
the tool, and the mode of fastening the blade to the handle. This is
achieved in a very ingenious manner, and although it scarcely seems
possible to secure the requisite firmness by a mere lashing of string,
the Maori workman has contrived to attach the blade as firmly as if it
had been socketed.
This mode of fastening the blade to the handle prevails over the
greater part of the Polynesian group, and, although the elaboration of
the lashings varies considerably, the principle is exactly the same
throughout. The same plan prevails even in Borneo, and there is in my
collection a boat-builder’s adze, the iron blade of which is lashed to
the socket in precisely the same manner, the only difference being that
split rattan is employed instead of string. The reader will notice the
peculiar shape of the adze-edge, which is exactly that of the incisor
tooth of any rodent animal. Whether the maker intentionally copied the
tooth is doubtful, but that he has done so is evident.
Tools such as these are necessarily imperfect; yet with these the
Maories patiently executed the elaborate and really artistic designs
which they once lavished on their dwellings, their canoes, their
weapons, and their tools. They could not even make a walking stick but
they must needs cover it with carvings. There is in my collection, and
illustrated at fig. 4, a remarkably fine example of such a walking
stick, called in the Maori tongue “toko-toko,” which was presented to
me by Stiverd Vores, Esq. As the reader may see from the illustration
it is ornamented with six complete human figures, and a human face on
the knob of the handle. The portions of the stick that come between the
figures are completely covered with carving, and the only plain surface
is that which is intended to be grasped by the hand.
The six figures are in three pairs, set back to back, and those of each
pair exactly resemble one another. A distinct gradation is observed in
them, the uppermost pair having their faces most elaborately tattooed,
the middle pair being less ornamented, and the lowermost pair having
a comparatively simple tattoo. In the position of the heads there is
also a distinction, which I believe to have some signification known to
the carver. The upper pair have the left hand laid on the breast, and
the right hand pressed to the lips; the middle pair have the left hand
still on the breast, and the right fingers touching the throat; while
the lower figures have both hands clasped on the breast.
All the figures are separated, except at the backs of the heads, the
hips, and the heels, where they touch each other; so that the labor
expended on this stick has been very great.
* * * * *
We now take farewell of this interesting race--a race which is fast
waning away, and will soon perish altogether. No New Zealander will
ever sit on the broken arches of London Bridge, and contemplate
the ruins of St. Paul’s. The Maori is fast disappearing, and in a
comparatively few years it is certain that not a Maori of pure blood
will be found in the islands; and before a century has elapsed, even
the characteristic tattoo will be a remembrance of the past, of which
the only memorials will be the dried heads that have been preserved
in European museums. It is pitiful that such a race should be passing
away; but its decadence cannot be arrested, and in a short time the
Maories will be as completely extinct as the people of the stone age,
leaving nothing but their manufactures as memorials of their existence.
Such memorials, therefore, ought to be sedulously preserved. Every
piece of genuine native carving that can be found in New Zealand ought
to be secured and brought to England, where it can be preserved for
future ages, and, with the isolated specimens that are scattered in
private houses throughout the country, ought to be gathered together in
some central museum, where they can be accessible to all who interest
themselves in the grand science of anthropology.
[Illustration: (1.) MAORI PADDLES. (See page 854.)]
[Illustration: (2.) GREEN JADE ADZE AND CHISEL. (See page 880.)]
[Illustration: (3.) COMMON STONE ADZE. (See page 880.)]
[Illustration: (4.) TOKO-TOKO. (See page 880.)]