THE STORY OF TOHUNGAISM.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 146, 21 June 1904, Page 5

THE STORY OF TOHUNGAISM.

A PAGE OF ANCIENT HISTORIC ' THEN AND NOW. Tho "tohunga" of the Maori is no pro< duct of mock-ru civilisation ; he is ac old •as t ho race its-olf. But the "tohunga" o« to-day is not Iho "tohunga" of past decades. The "lohunga.s" of (he early daya were for the mont, part men of high biitln and rank, bred into tho cult, as it were, not &ilf-made. It was no infrequent! thing to find that (lie rangitira of a tribo was chief, "tohunga," and fight ing-g<?neruJj all in one. But it more often happened that each tribe, or section of a tribe, had' its own particular "tohuuga." The meaning of "tolnuiga" is "act apart," or "set i.?ide," because a particular mail was <>el apart for that particular vocation. The« "tohunga" was trained in a special ochoot or college. Before he qualified as a pupil ho was often required to perform sum* :>p.cial feat — a fort of "hazing," asit were. It might be that Jie had to swallow liva lizards, or stones, or other abominations, (ho accomplishment of which was intended to illustrate that ho was a. man of heart, of determination, and of great bravery. To be brave, however, wos on« of the first essentials of a Maori warrior, and it wa>s inculcated almost with, his mother's milk. riio "tohunga" school or college assembled at sunset and continued in session, until midnight, and wa& known as tho "whare wananga." or "whave- kure." It* student/; and professois ato but twice a> day. The teacher* were- the sacred "tohungas," or wise men of the tribe — mad* sacred by tho greatness ' of .their gift*, Tho students were instructed in the my*« tics, iv a6(ronomy, and in genealogy* They were taught the legends and tltsi songs of the people, the laws of th6i* race, and they wero also taught botany— one of the greatest essentials to succes*, for the treatment of the injured, the sick* aud tho diseased. Somo of these "to. hungas" were adepts in the ivse of herbs, aaid decoctions made from leaves, bark? and roots of trees und shrubs. They bad medicines corresponding with the astringents, the purgatives, and tho balsams of tho pliarmncujpia of the present day. borne pf them, again, were students off zoology, and knew well the habits of th« buds of the country, and when and wheso to get them, and they knew.aH about feb* fishes of tho lakes, the rivers, and the ocean. All brandies of Nature cam© with* m the scope of study and examinatkm.I have wer« special incantations for invoking tho aid of the gods in all matters oi moment The god of the- trees, forests, and the Amis was named "Tanemahuta "■ the god of tho sea (the native Neptune) was "langaroa," and the god of Vinda and storms (Vulcan and Thor) was "Tawhinimatea." Combined with the knowledge of mcdi* cino was the knowledge of surgery. IK ib known that in some instances the "tohungas were particularly skilled in tba uso of tho rough surgical instruments at their command. They operated succeah fully for toiißilitis with a email, sharpen* ed flint-attached to a handle; they sue* ccvssfully treated the wounds received bw warrior,* i n tho heat of battle; and the* could stop hemorrhages by the application of poulticea of hot leaves, or th* cobwebs of bush spiders." Tn all thesa things it was necessary for students afc tho bchools to pass examinations. These wero somo of tho arts of the "tohunga** operating for the. good of their race, ijiera were others of evil influence. Witchcraft, for instance, was^n art etudied by many- . and used with the worst effects. Before a "tohunga" graduated in witchcraft ib was necessary that he should put hia powers to a test. A slave of the tribe waa brought before, him, and he must bewitch the unfortunate unto death before conviction was carried to the minds of hia following. This was, s\» a rule, an easy" matter, for the Maori is a man of superstition and a fatalist. Convince him that his time on earth has come, and .he hao * been known to resign himself at once to> what he believes to be the inevitable, and proceed straightway to die. It wuet ba a powerful "tohunga," indeed, that ca» cast out the devil of superstition and revive the- hope ncoassary to. restore phy« sical vitality to a deluded brain. N« doubt hypnotic and mesmeric influence!) were frequently at work in such case* lha counter-acting influence was oftea found in the sootlu«yer and healer, a "tohunga" whoso profession it was to euro all kinds of diseases and ailment*,, and avert the evil effects of Avifcbcrafl*.Such, in brief, were some of the pra* 4ices of the ancient "tohungn." With the introduction of Christianity, - into the laud of the, Maori there came a cbwige. Most of the old practices' were swept away ; that was the price the Maori paid for his Christianity and his civsUsa. tion. But, unfortunately, in abolishing much of tho evil much of the good wenil with it.. Most of the '"tohungas" of today, wo are told, are either half-witted] tribesmen or, to use- au expressive colonial term, "wasters." They spring up like mushrooms all over tlie country, at unexpected intervals. Tho thing appears to work in cycles. As foon as a ''to-> hunga" can get a following he is up and] away practising on the credulity of hia " race. There- was a "tohunga" not so very long ago who gathered a large following in the Hawkts Bay district, and performed abominable things. He was accustomed to visit variQus pahs and practise his arts until he and his disciptea had practically eaten their brethren outi of house and home. Then ho passed on.. Thoy called his performance the "roto* kuihi." which meaiis literally "goose's lake," and many fat geese fell into that, same deceptive lake. His son lost year " attempted to follow in the footsteps of his father, but was prosecuted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment. The methods of the modern "tobunga* vary, and .sometimes as many as two oa three practice differently in one district. There is tho "tohunga" who professes th<s ' cold water cure for the sick, and he wh<r treats with water which Ls warm, whil« others will not have water used at all— which is, perhaps, in some circumstances, n distinct disadvantage from a. hygienic point of view. Some, again, still pursu* tho herbal treatment—generally tho mos\ efficacious, though the knowledge of th« old-time s«er is now to a great extent a. lost art— and it is on record that certain "tohungas," practice what is known aa the "handkerchief cure." They send « fockct-handkerelrief to the person sick, with instructions that jie is to tic it roundl his head. Faith is presumed to do the, rest. Yet another "lohungn" puts hin fnilh in boiled potatoes, which, applied in ths form of a poultice to the body, are presumed to bo a potent factor la driving out bad spirit*. This, perhaps, is no worse than tho belief of many whito people that a potato carried in the'pockci is an infallible remedy for rheumatism, and other similar falfacks. There is a, "lolmug.i"*on tho Wes,t Coast of this island who is accustomed to prescribe a cure-all decoction. The ingredients con w*t of the following: A lor.f torn from thy New Testament, well diseiitvgrnted, and mixed with a proportion of all the alcoholic beverages known to civilisation as far ns they arc procurable. Doeo: Ono tablespoonful whenever required. This prescription, it is said, is much in demand, und its influence is generally very potent within a short, period. Tfieif in another "tohunga" on tho coast who "believes in Uie ..-fficacy of warm baths, taken in tubs. It is necessary, however, that before the patient enters his tub ho should drop in coins of the realm, and th* bigger tho value of the coins the quicker aud more permanent is the euro promised.

T,'ho "tohunga." is careful to impve&s upon the bather that he need not stay to empty tho tub. This man is said to bo doing ft good practice in some of the viliages, to live on tho fat of tho .land, and is distinguished by his public uppeai\uices in a tall hat and a red tie. A third memoer of tho cult parading tho coast is a Jispen&er of alcoholic mixtures of the aori, de.scribed above, and he also prac- # fcices tho laying-on of hands, and the crippled, the maimed, tho ball, and theblind from tho north, Ihe south, the eiutt. and tho west come to consult him and receive hi. a magic influence. His maun, however, received a shock when, during a measles epidemic, which ho and his di.seiples sought to stay, the infant moilality feached a total of seventeen in one pah. Discussing "fohungaism" with Dr. Po■lare, Xativo Health Uflicer, the doctor remarked that the occurrence of the things abovo enumerated was, perhaps, t-earcely to be wondered nt, in view of the. superstitious nature of tjic Maori race, nnd more so .when it is considered that there aro numbers of pakeha people, Indiun.H, Chinese, and negroes who regularly practise on tho ciedulitv of the Maori and encourage him in Uio belief of tho supernatural. Ho knew of many cases in which natives bad been deceived into absurd beliefs and encouraged to part with money and Valuables. In ono hv atnuco a, white person professed to be ablo to diaguoso a caso of sickness from a .vunplo of hair. Acting under advice, tho native «ieiit a small sample cut from hi.s pet poodle. Tho reply came, back that the symptoms had beeu diagnosed — he ■was "buffering fyorti rheumatism, and unless he came at onco and underwent a 'cour&o of treatment ho, would die." That poodle still lives, and so does its owner. A* Btivtcd in a previous article, Dr. Po■mare has year in. and year out in his reports to Parliament urged the necessity for legislative, measures for tlio suppression of "tohungaism." In his 1902 report ho wrote: "rohungaism is in its death-throes ; und though it may bo compared with tho feline of nine lives, yet it i« surely dying out. Tho strong arm of the livw is th© only potent medicine thnt can cure this cancerous malady. A few doses of tho lock-up will soon havo the desired effect. It is wonderful how superstitious even tho most 'enlightened are. Who has not seen a delicate silk-attired lady of fashion sigh her wishes over her •left hhoulder afc the inconstant moon? Who does not dream of bad luck" when there aro thirteen at a table? Who has not heard of the mariners refusing to goto sea on a Friday? And who has not seen tin old shoe cast at the happy wedded pair? And if these things can happen in tho far-advanced, we can surely excuse Home of the peculiarities of the Maori, who hns barely emerged from tho dark night of superstition into this blazing 4>un of civilisation. However. I do not by any moans excuse the acts of Miungas. The- immersion of the sick in cold rivers, J am glad to say, has been stopped by the Councils; not that a bath, even a cold one. is altogether detrimental, but that the attending mk» in exposure, etc., are so enormous, and the result so disastrous, that it hns been deemed wise to stop all such treatment." Last year ho cmphasis>ed tho matter, and gave illustrations of tho evil effects Of the practice, and ho will return again to the charge. thia year. The dny of the "tohunga" is aurely passing, but the illustrations which liavo been given in the foregoing article show pretty conclusively that it is not yet, and that it remains for the luw to end it once and for nil time.