William Swainson writings
And when, slowly but surely, the dark blood of the Maori shall have faded in that of the pale face who is destined to replace him, and when the heightened colour in some passing cheek shall be the only living remnant of the dark-skinned race, then will the early history of these islands, and the commingling of their races, be read with all the interest of romance. Pg 2
There is reason to believe that their native inhabitants have occupied the islands of New Zealand for at least five hundred years; but, though they can trace back their genealogy for more than twenty generations, there no longer exists any reliable tradition of their origin. Beyond their geographical position, but little is yet known of the numerous islands of the Pacific; but amongst the great variety of languages spoken in that vast Archipelago 2
distinct traces of the Maori language are to be found in several small islands lying northwards of the New Zealand group. In Rennell Island, the inhabitants, consisting of not more than a dozen families, speak a dialect of the Maori language, and are tattooed like the New Zealanders 3
The descendants of these adventurous navigators-- evidently a mixed race--are a fine body of men, dark brown in colour, full sized in stature, and with an independent and manly bearing. They have large and well-formed intellectual heads, and a powerful muscular development. Many of them are above the middle height, of a light copper colour, with straight black hair; these are evidently of Malay origin. Others again, who are comparatively short, of a dark brown colour, with crisp and curly hair, bear some traces of African descent. The Maori women have a large share of the drudgery of life, marry young, fade early, and, as is commonly the case with uncivilized races, are, in their physical appearance, greatly inferior to the men. 7
the practice of tattooing is discontinued as they become converts to Christianity. The operation, performed with a hammer and a serrated chisel, causes great swelling and excruciating pain, and is sometimes the work of years. The punctures are stained with a dark vegetable dye: the pattern, in circles and curved lines, is punctured on various parts of the person, as well as on the face; and the faces, hips, &c, of the great chiefs are usually covered with ornamental scroll
They are keen traders, very cautious, and are not easily deceived. They have not had the advantage of inheriting our gradually acquired powers of abstract thought; but in intellectual quickness,they are by no means inferior to ourselves. They prefer the useful to the ornamental; spend nothing in mere trash and finery, and appear to have little taste for, or appreciation of, the beautiful. 9 - 10
It is only in the interior of New Zealand, however, that the natives can now be seen in their primitive condition, unaffected in their habits and manner of life by English civilization. 10
Some years ago, the influenza carried off a considerable number of the natives, of all ages; and more recently the measles proved still more destructive. Small-pox has not yet shown itself in the country, and great efforts have been made to prepare for it by a general vaccination of the people. In one respect, their constitution appears to have improved; owing, probably, to the use of wheaten bread, and to a general improvement in their diet: they certainly appear less scrofulous than before.
When in their heathen state, the New Zealanders had no knowledge of as the alone Creator of all things. "Is there maker of all things amongst you Europeans?" urged one of their most powerful heathen chiefs. "Is not one a carpenter, another a blacksmith, another a shipbuilder, and another a housebuilder? and so it was in the beginning. One made this, and another that. The god made trees, made mountains, and made fish." "Your religion," added he, addressing the Christian missionary, "is of to-day-- ours, from remote antiquity: think not to destroy our ancient faith with your own new-born religion." In the order of existence, they believed that came first, then and that last of all came ; but though they believed in the existence of a spiritual world, they had no knowledge of the one true God.
The New Zealanders have always been cultivators of the soil: upwards of five hundred years ago, their ancestors brought with them the taro, the kumera, and the gourd--three excellent vegetables, which they still highly value and cultivate with care; but until the last few years their agricultural operations were carried on in the most primitive manner, and with hardly any other implement than a pointed stick. They select the best soil for cultivation, crop it until it is nearly exhausted, and then abandon it for a virgin soil. In this manner large crops of potatoes, wheat, kumeras, and Indian corn, have been grown by them. Their kumera cultivations are kept with all the labour and neatness of a London market-garden. They are now, however, beginning to use the plough, and the attempt is being made to induce them to breed sheep and cattle, instead of pigs, to lay down land with English grasses, and, instead of wearing out the land by constant cropping, to fix themselves to the soil by adopting the system of a rotation of crops. 21
The general intelligence and independent bearing of the New Zealanders, their scrupulous observance of religious ordinances, their intellectual capacity, and the progress which has been made by them in the rudiments of education, can hardly fail to be remarkable. But because the great majority of the people have received the religion of their Christian teachers, and have learned to read and write, it is assumed that they must at the same time have adopted the habits and usages of civilised life; and, not reflecting on the length of time required, under the most favourable circumstances, for acquiring new tastes and confirmed habits, strangers are commonly disappointed with the amount of improvement which has taken place in their social, personal, and domestic habits, and with the rude condition generally in which they are still content to live. Though gradually acquiring the habits and usages of civilised life, they have as yet, however, made but little improvement in their habitations; and the description
Formerly the dress of both men and women consisted of a mat made of the native flax, manufactured in various styles: some rough and shaggy; others, again, made of the finest kinds of flax, wrought with the greatest care and ornamented with a handsome variegated border. As the English blanket became known, it gradually succeeded the native mat; and the blanket is now gradually giving way to an English style of dress. Instead of either the mat or the blanket, the men now commonly wear a shirt and trousers; and the women, a long loose roundabout of coloured cotton print.
The total number of the half-caste race in New Zealand has never been correctly ascertained. In the province of Auckland, according to the census of 1857, the number amounted to 500; and this return only shows the number of half-caste children living with and acknowledged by the father, and does not comprise those who are living amongst the natives in the native pas and villages, brought up Maori fashion by the Maori mother. Intellectually, if not morally, they are equal to either parent. Physically, the New Zealand half-caste is a good-looking race, varying in complexion from a dark olive to a fresh English red and white: their prevailing colour being a dark brunette. 29
The New Zealanders had no written language; and for several years the only book in the native language was a portion of the New Testament: copies of the Maori translation were, by the natives, eagerly desired and diligently read. But few of the colonists make a study of the Maori language; they are content to pick up a few useful words: the Maori, on the other hand, learn a few English words in common use, and, by means of an extemporised colloquial jargon, eked out by much emphasis and gesticulation, the two races carry on their commercial dealings with each other.
Their ancient mythology and traditions are now being gradually lost, and but for the timely exertions of Sir George Grey, Dr. Edward Shortland, and the Rev. Richard Taylor, who have recently collected and published some of their most interesting legends, rhythmical prayers, and ancient songs, these traces of the early history of the Maori race would, in the course of another generation, have been irretrievably lost. 38
Swainson, William. Smith Elder, 1859. (Digitized on the 11th October 2007).
