Preface THE following tales are an outcome of a long residence in
New Zealand, and of many opportunities whilst travelling amongst
the Maoris of becoming acquainted with their folk-lore,
superstitions, and customs. From a vast mass of legendary tales,
rich in variants, and recorded often in a fragmentary manner, I
have chosen those in this little volume as the oldest and best
known amongst the natives. I have endeavoured to adhere to the true
spirit of the tales themselves, and to give them the form,
expression, and speech characteristic of the country and clever
native race. The Maoris, as a rule, are eloquent, and their
language is full of metaphor and poetical allusion, and musical
with open vowels. Every syllable ends with a vowel, every vowel is
sounded, and that according to the Italian method. Though the Maori
practice of cannibalism in times past is revolting to a higher
civilisation, it may, to a certain extent, have been due to the
entire absence of any quadrupeds larger than a rat, and to the
craving for flesh food so well described in Stanleys accounts of
some of the races in Central Africa. The Maoris are a strong race
both physically and mentally. Revengeful and cruel to their
enemies, they were passionate in love and ever fearless in war.
Religious, they venerated their gods, and believed in an atzkn, or
spiritual essence, their deities being rarely represented by any
image. Their priests were consulted on all great occasions and
their mandates obeyed, especially when they spoke as the oracle
making known to the people the will of the gods. Whence came the
race, with their strange superstitions their worship of Tane, the
creation-god, of the sun-god. I must leave forothers to discuss.
But it is an accepted fact that the natives of New Zealand, and of
some of the groups of Pacific Islands, in many respects show
evidence of a common origin for instance, their general appearance,
long straight hair, ignorance of bows and arrows, of the art of
pottery, and their knowledge of the same legends and folk-lore,
though told in various forms. When Captain Cook first visited New
Zealand he had a native of Hawaii who acted as interpreter. In
ancient New Zealand tradition, the Maoris are said to have come
from Hawaii in four large war-canoes, about the twelfth or
thirteenth century. For these reasons I have not hesitated to
include in this book four South Sea tales, which, though not told
by New Zealand natives, will, I hope, be acceptable for their
beauty and peculiarities, They are specified in the Notes. The
illustrations are by the late Mr. R. Atkinson, and are of special
value, as they were drawn by that able artist Preface from sketches
of natives and native surroundings made by him while staying
amongst the Maorjs both in the remote King country and in the
hot-lake district Rotorua. His picture of the little grandchild of
Ic-heu-heu, the well known war-chief of Lalie Taupo, was exhibited
in the Royal Academy in 1891. I regret that the size of the book
does not make it possible to do full justice to the beauty of the
original drawings. This volume is dedicated to my husband, whose
intimate knowledge of New Zealand has been of great service to me.
Among my informants was the Maori King, Tawhiao, whorl I had
several opportunities of meeting, and from whom I heard much that
was valuable regarding the Maoris...
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