I Physical and Mental Characteristics of the Maori

As members of the far-spread Polynesian race, the Maori folk of New Zealand are found on enquiry to have preserved the leading characteristics of that people. Leading features of such peculiarities are a stalwart physique and a high order of intelligence. To judge the Maori, or his brethren of northern isles, by the general state of backwardness in which they lived, by their somewhat primitive arts and artifacts, would assuredly be a misjudgment. It was here that Morgan erred when he placed the Polynesians in the lowest existing state of savagery, and indeed on the same culture plane as that of the natives of Australia. Evidence given in the following chapter will be sufficient to lift the Maori from such companionship.

A very marked feature in the physical attributes of the Maori is noted in the many Melanesian affinities in evidence, showing that the Maori must have intermarried with those dark-skinned folk, probably since he left the sunlit isles of Eastern Polynesia. In the frequent occurrence of the dark- page 2

A Maori woman of so-called Melanesian type. Note the bridgeless nose and distended nostrils.

page 3 skin colour, thick, protruding lips, flat nose, wide nostrils, and frizzy hair, we find proofs of a Melanesian admixture. This fact is also supported by an examination of the head form of our local natives. In a paper contributed to Vol. XXXVI. of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Dr. J. H. Scott gives the results of an examination of a series of eighty-three Maori skulls. He remarks:—“We know the Maori to be a mixed race, the result of a mingling of a Polynesian and a Melanesian strain. The crania already examined leave no room for doubt on this point.” He also shows that the average or typical Maori skull occupies the lower limit of the mesaticephalic group. Of the skulls examined, forty-three per cent. were dolichocephalic. Further on he writes:—“If any further proof were needed of the mixed origin of the Maori race it is given in this paper. An examination of the cranial indices, and of the extent of their variation, shows this clearly. These demonstrate two distinct types and intermediate forms. At the one extreme we have skulls approaching the Melanesian, as met with in the Fiji group, long and narrow, high in proportion to their breadth, pragnathous, and with wide nasal openings. At the other skulls of the Polynesian type, such as are common in Tonga and Samoa, shorter and broader, with orthognathous faces. And it must be noted that these extreme forms do not belong to different tribes, or districts, but may both be found in one.” Now, in view of our latest information as to the original inhabitants of these islands, the above remarks, as also the following passage, are of much interest. “The Melanesian characteristics are therefore more accentuated in the North than amongst the natives of the South Island. The prevalence of the Papuan form among skulls from the Bay of Islands has also been observed by M. M. de Quatrefages and Hamy.” Dr. Scott also notes the fact that the teeth in the skulls examined by him had the whole crowns ground away, but that he never detected any sign of dental caries. The present writer has noticed the same peculiarity in many old native skulls seen in caves and hollow trees, where they had been deposited after the exhumation of the bones of the tribal dead.

It is quite possible that some of the statements made by Dr. Scott will have to be modified when the results of the page 4

Young Maori Woman. Polynesian type.

page 5 more extensive researches now being made by Dr. P. H. Buck are published.

The accounts preserved in oral tradition of the peculiarities of the original native folk of New Zealand, portray them as a dark-skinned folk of inferior culture. They had bushy heads of hair, flat faces, side glancing eyes, flat noses and spreading nostrils; “the nostrils seemed to be all the nose they had,” states one account. They were of spare build, and were an indolent, shiftless, chilly folk who complained of the coldness of the climate. They were found in occupation of the more northern parts of the North Island only, from Taranaki and the Bay of Plenty northward. None had settled in the South Island. If these were not a Melanesian folk, then they must have possessed strong Melanesian characteristics. A tradition among them explains that they were the descendants of the occupants of three drift canoes that had been carried from their home land by a westerly gale. All these particulars tend to support the conclusions of Dr. Scott. It may also be mentioned that a number of early voyagers and sojourners in this land mention the Melanesian element so strongly in evidence here. Another item of evidence, and withal a curious one, concerns an old native custom. Missionary Yates and other early writers have told us that the Maori mothers were in the habit of flattening the noses of their infants by means of pressure. This peculiar custom would not have originated among the purer, straight-nosed Polynesians; one can but think that it dates back to the flat-nosed aboriginal women who were taken to wife by the early Polynesian settlers on these shores.

It is quite possible that a certain amount of mixture with Melanesians has taken place here in later times. In the Bay of Plenty district a tradition has been preserved to the effect that, about four hundred years ago, a canoe made the land at Whakatane, having come from over sea. Probably it was a drift voyage, but the interesting part is that the newcomers are said to have been black men. They settled among the Awa folk at Meheu, or Omeheu, on the Rangitaiki River.

Yet another interesting subject on which much might be said is the fact that, among our Maori folk exist certain arts, customs, institutions and artifacts that are unknown in Poly- page 6

Te Rangi-haeata. a chief of the Ngati-Toa tribe and a leader in the fighting against the Europeans in the Wellington district in 1846. Illustrates mode of wearing native garments.

page 7 nesia, but which are known in Melanesia. Thus the well-known curvilinear decorative art of the Maori finds no counterpart in Polynesia, but something much resembling it exists in New Guinea. The fortified villages of New Zealand, with stockades, fighting stages, and massive earthworks, were unknown in Polynesia. At Tonga alone was something of the kind seen in that area, a result of intercourse with Fiji, where, on Viti-levu, such fortified villages were numerous. These are but examples of many such striking parallels.

Among the black-haired natives of New Zealand a fair-skinned type with reddish hair of a wavy nature is extremely persistent, though it may miss a generation in a family. Such folk are not, however, numerous, though the strain is said to have come from Eastern Polynesia many generations ago. True albinism was but rarely seen here.

In stature the Maori is, as a rule, above the average of our own folk, and has a bulkier body and bigger limbs. His legs are shorter in proportion to the body than those of Europeans, and possibly this renders his favourite cross-legged mode of sitting an easy one to him; it is most irksome to us. This difference in bodily form was most noticeable when a body of five hundred native troops marched through Wellington streets when en route to the far-off battlefields of Europe. Obesity is now common among natives, but seems to have been seldom noticed by early writers. It is attributed to a much less strenuous life than that of former times, and to the universal diet of potatoes. Yet there must presumably be something in the way of predisposition to such a condition. As a rule the limbs of a native are much rounder than those of Europeans.

The true Polynesian hair is black, and waved, not straight and lank. This is common among our Maori folk, but the occurrence of frizzy and bushy heads of hair betoken the Melanesian admixture.

Natives make excellent helpers for such work as is done by survey parties in rough country. Their initiative and ingenuity render them valuable in such rough work. In former times there agility was remarkable, as, for instance, in the hand to hand fighting they practised. This was the result of almost constant exercise of such powers, of a system of training that page 8

Harata Te Rangi-haeata (Polynesian Type). A member of the family of the famous chief of Ngati-Toa. The contrast between the old fighter and his Europeanised relative of three generations later is interesting.

page 9

Profile view of Harata Te Rangi-haeata.

page 10 commenced in boyhood. They can carry heavy packs; in olden days women were also proficient at such work. In the matter of bodily injuries they possess great powers of endurance, but when assailed by illness, superstition and fatalism were wont to exercise a harmful, and often a fatal effect. The lack of forms of discipline inculcated by the habits of civilised communities told against the Maori during certain crises.

One true Polynesian feature the Maori has preserved in his brown eyes. A fine, straight form of nose is seen in conjunction with comparatively thin lips, but often these features are coarse, and seem to show a Melanesian strain. As observed, his teeth are remarkable, being large, white and regular; an expert has stated that the Maori has the finest teeth of any existing race. Apparently these natives suffered from few diseases in pre-European times, but introduced epidemic complaints, such as measles, swept off many thousands of them in the early years of the 19th century. The simple life and fare, combined with highly necessary industry, would tend to keep them in robust health. The conditions of life, however, would scarcely tend to the survival of the unfit, which would assuredly be an excellent thing for the community. Apart from the toll exacted by intertribal wars the fit survivors might be termed a long-lived people; some remarkable cases of longevity have been recorded.

Owing to his mode of life the Maori possessed keen powers of sight and hearing; both of which he needed to exercise in connection with the task of gaining his daily food. Offensive odours do not appear to be so repulsive to them as they are to us, and their sense of taste is also different to ours. They ate certain foods that would repel us, on account of both smell and taste. The most revolting illustration of this was the practice of kai pirau, the eating of partially decomposed human flesh. This was by no means a common custom, but it certainly was occasionally done.

Our Maori folk are of a cheerful disposition, much given to merriment in youth, keen appreciators of quips and cranks, though a sense of dignity comes with advancing age. The higher class folk are distinguished in many cases by dignified behaviour (save when enraged) and by punctiliousness. They are extremely sensitive, and very susceptive to ridicule; this page 11

Te Araki Te Pohu. An Arawa warrior chief.
J McDonald, 1905.

page 12 latter weakness has been the cause of many cases of suicide. Men of standing are often generous, and also possessed of other good qualities, but extremely “touchy,” and this peculiarity led to many quarrels and the fostering of a revengeful spirit. A sense of the ridiculous was much in evidence, but a higher sense of humour was also a characteristic of many. Many weaknesses of the native character are due to some form of irresponsibility. Deformed persons did not meet with overmuch sympathy, and indeed often received a name descriptive of their deformity. Treatment of the sick was deplorable indeed, for superstition prevented medical research. Religion was an enemy to this science in Maoriland, as it was elsewhere.

In dealing with Maori mentality we touch upon an extremely interesting subject. Its most interesting aspect is that of the mythopoetic faculty that is so much in evidence in his mythology and religion. His genius for personification, his love for allegorical myths and metaphysical abstractions, are among his most interesting characteristics. In these mental activities he was not excelled by the Greeks of antiquity, and was far before the peoples of northern Europe. The powers of reflection, of introspective thought and ideality, shown in many of his conceptions, are truly remarkable, and furnish most admirable evidences as to the advantages of a study of Cultural Anthropology. For in these concepts we see myth and religion in the making, while much light is thrown upon the origin of both. They show us that a long study of natural phenomena, a close contact with the old Earth Mother, combined with the mythopoetic faculty and power of abstract thought, led the Maori to the conception of a Supreme Being of remarkable attributes. In no case of barbaric culture have we better evidence of the effect of Nature upon human mentality.

It will now be clear that the Maori is mentally acute and possesses keen powers of comprehension. His intelligence is of a high order, his outlook on life and its activities is clear and is marked by common-sense—until his superstition is awakened, and then anything may happen. His powers of memory often appear marvellous to us; they are the result of the lack of any form of script, and a strong desire to preserve page 13

Maori woman.—Polynesian Type. Shows design of tattoo on chin. Shark's teeth as ear pendants.

page 14

Profile view Maori woman.—Polynesian Type.

page 15 tribal records, and racial myths, ritual and traditions. A somewhat bulky tome facing me as I write, contains 406 songs that were dictated to me by an old man of the Tuhoe tribe twenty-five years ago. Such was the memory of Paitini Wi Tapeka. Another grey-haired old man recited the genealogy of his hapu (sub-tribe) for many generations, bringing down each branch so as to include all living members. This feat necessitated the memorising and recital of over 1400 personal names, and much data concerning tribal history was also given by this man.

Quickness in learning is a marked native characteristic. Their initiative powers enable them to quickly learn the use of our tools, though a lack of continued application is often a prominent weakness. Native children are more amenable at school than are our own, a singular fact when we remember the lack of true home life and training of the young in native villages. Many of the weaknesses or backward phases of Maori character in civilised life are, of course, the result of the communistic life he has lived so long. On the other hand his universal hospitality is also a heritage from that mode of life, though therein it possessed not the spirit and meaning that it does to us.

Courageous daring, initiative, and self-confidence have been very prominent qualities of Polynesian sea rovers for many centuries. The local branch of the race owes its present home to those qualities, and inherited them from the hardy explorers and colonisers who settled innumerable isles from Easter Island to the far Caroline Group, from Hawaii to New Zealand.

As to courage in war, this quality cannot be viewed from the same point of view as among more highly civilised peoples. The reason of this is that superstition stepped in and claimed its own. Thus an individual, or a whole clan, might decline to take part in an engagement on account of some evil omen, and such action would be approved of. The Maori performed many acts of cruelty in war time, but magnanimous actions are also recorded in tradition. As a rule slaves taken in war were well treated, but might be slain by their owner if he wished to make a human sacrifice, or to add a much appreciated dish to a feast.

Maori girls. Whanganui Tribe.
J. McDonald photo

As a rule a native community lived in harmony in the hamlet, but quarrels might cause a noisy and boisterous scene when some cause of dissension arose. Idlers were almost unknown, for all engaged in the industrial activities of the community.

The mentality of the Maori will receive illustration when we come to deal with his myths and religious beliefs. With regard to his artistic sense, we note that the decorative art of the Maori differs widely from that of his brethren in Polynesia. The former is essentially curvilinear, while that of Polynesia is emphatically rectilinear. The only way in which the writer can account for this startling contrast is to assume that the incoming Polynesians adopted the artistic designs of earlier inhabitants of Melanesian affinities. In seeking analogies in this line, we find them in Melanesia, e.g., in New Guinea, but not in Polynesia. This applies especially to painted designs. The graceful designs seen in certain painted house decorations of the Maori are extremely interesting as the work of an isolated barbaric folk. They show how he carried his appreciation of rhythm even into that art, and satisfied his desire for harmonious finish. Although his execution in wood carving was purposely grotesque when representing the human figure, yet the fine work on small boxes, and on implements, was remarkably neat and precise. Some of the fine work executed with stone tools is a marvellous illustration of neat workmanship. The love of decoration was highly developed, and this led to the carving of ornamental designs on many implements, notably weapons, and even on rude agricultural tools.

The language of the Maori of New Zealand is a dialect of the far-spread Polynesian tongue that is spoken over so great an area of the Pacific. Nor is that language confined to Polynesia proper, inasmuch as it is retained by many Polynesian colonies in Melanesia and Micronesia. Owing to long isolation of many of these units a number of differing dialects have come into existence, some of which have been affected by foreign tongues, such as Melanesian and Micronesian.

We have in Maori fifteen sounds to deal with, the consonants being h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w, with the nasal sound page 18 represented by ng, and the aspirated w written wh. Of these the t is a dental sound differing from the English t, the r is sounded softly, and the sound of n differs somewhat from that of ours. No two consonants ever come together, the ng and wh being, of course, improvised symbols. As to vowel sounds, a is always sounded as the a in “father,” though it may be long or short. E is pronounced as is the initial e in “enter,” never as a in late, mate, etc. I has the sound of double e, as in “asleep”; it is the i in agitate. O is pronounced as in English, and u as double o in spoon. All vowels have both long and short sounds, and a recognition of vowel quantities is extremely important when conversing with natives. The following illustration will serve to make this point clear. The word kaka has four different aspects, each having its own meaning, or meanings:— Kākā. Name of a bird; the brown parrot. Kăkă. Garment. 2 Fibre. 3 Ridge, etc. Kākă. A bird, the bittern. 2 Affected by tutu poison. Kăkā. Red hot.

It is here plainly seen that an error made in enunciating vowel lengths might have a serious effect on the meaning of a passage. Careless or dull-eared Europeans confuse the vowels e and i, thus the writer has heard a Maori-speaking English-man tell a native audience that he did not desire to see native deafness abolished, when he realy meant native usages and social rules, the two words being turi and ture.

Europeans have some difficulty in correctly pronouncing the nasal sound; it resembles the ng in ringer. The difficulty is principally apparent when the ng occurs at the beginning of a word. Inasmuch as all syllables are open, the impression gained of the tongue is one of softness. It is euphonious and possesses a copious vocabulary, when we remember that the Maori occupied the barbaric culture plane. Although terms denoting abstractions are not numerous, yet the language lends itself to the mythopoetic imagery that is so marked a characteristic of Maori mentality. It abounds in metaphorical expressions, and old narratives teem with aphorisms, similes, personifications and allegories. The Maori is a very fluent page 19 speaker, his mode of diction is easy, eloquent and pleasing. Gesture may be said to have formed an important part of his language, and assisted to no mean extent in illustration of a narrative.

Stone artifact of unknown use.