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An Introduction to Polynesian Anthropology

Native Manuscripts

Native Manuscripts

After the missionary schools had taught the natives to read and write their own language, many of the older people wrote down their history, legends, genealogies, and other items of their culture in ledgers and exercise books. These were handed down in families, and often copies were made. Many of the latter-day authorities have gained their reputation through the possession of family manuscripts. The older the manuscript, the more valuable it is. Later copies have added later material, the authenticity of which cannot be proved. Some of the old manuscripts are difficult to decipher, because the old-time writers had not acquired a knowledge of punctuation and the use of capital letters. Sometimes the words are run together, and I have seen a manuscript in which each line was continuous without a break between words. Hence, copies of old manuscripts, even when made by the natives themselves, are apt to contain additional errors through their interpretation of the original. Capitals may have been put in where they do not belong and dropped where they do belong. Sometimes in copying, words and even lines have been missed, resulting in confusion in the original text.

In spite of errors, a number of native manuscripts have been preserved and published. An important example is the history and traditions of Rarotonga compiled by Te Ariki Taraare, the descendant of a Rarotongan priestly line. The manuscript was acquired by S. Percy Smith and published in the journal of the Polynesian Society, over a period of some years. A dictated manuscript of the lectures of a Maori priest, Te Matorohanga, has appeared in the Polynesian Journal with the native text and translations, and it has also been published separately in the memoirs of the Polynesian Society. A native manu-page 34script was written by the people of Mangareva on their history and culture through the encouragement of the Catholic priest, Honoré Laval. It was translated into French by Laval in his work on Mangareva, and it proved of inestimable value to me in my work on the "Ethnology of Mangareva." In Hawaii, a number of native manuscripts have been translated and published in Fornander's "Hawaiian antiquities and folklore", "Kepelino's traditions of Hawaii", and David Malo's "Hawaiian antiquities." Kamakau's unpublished manuscript on Hawaiian traditional beliefs and customs is in the keeping of Bishop Museum. Teuira Henry's authoritative work on "Ancient Tahiti" was largely derived from native manuscripts. Many short articles by native writers have been translated and published in various journals and newspapers. On the whole, natives have contributed much valuable information in manuscripts of their own composition.