THE BOOKMAN

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 7, 8 July 1922, Page 17

THE BOOKMAN

"Maori Myths aiwl Religion." By, Elsdon Best. Weliiugtou : Dominion Museum.

This is the first of a series of monographs relating to tho Maori .in New _______„ which the Dominion Museum is publishing under authority, of the .Minister ol" internal Afiaiiß. In his preface to "Maori Myths _ud Bciigioii," _ir. J. M'Douald, Acting-Dir.cctar of tlie Museum, refers to other monographs by Mr. Best that are now in the pr_s6. They* will deal witli Maori spiritual and mental ooncepts, division of time, and stellar lore. "In these (writes Ma\ M'Donald') are contained tlie matured- thoughts, and definite conclusions of Mir. Elsdon Bast, who is now recognised, not only hi New Zealand, but in centres of learning abroad, as the greatest living authority on the Maori." Mr. M'Donald- miglit have added, a_ is apparent in the work under notice, __at Mr, Best lias that happy, faculty of writing so that the ____ in the street can read' and understand,, no matter how abstruse the subject that he deals with may be. Mr. Best shows that the Maori believed in a supreme being called "lo of the Hidden Face." Hhis higher class cultus, he explains, was confined! to the highest grade of priests and men of superior rank; its secrets practices, and teachings forming the most highly-venerated and most intensely tapu portion of the esoteric lore of the Maori. The common people were not allowed to gain any knowledge of the ritual or practices of this cult. Priests of a lower grade upheld and expounded departmental and tribal gods., ami practised ceremonies and ritual pertaining to them, but knew nothing of that connected with the Supreme Being. A third class of tohunga appealerl to tribal deities, and deified ancestors; and, in addition, any person might act as the medium of ♦the spirit of his defunct parent, grandparent, or other relative. The lower grades of the Maori religion, i were more conspicuous among the peopte than the higher, which. was in tlie hands of a small class and jealously guarded. This intensely conservative feeling, this rigid retention of the superior cult by the few xjxplains why for so many years no details pertaining to the higher type of Maori religion were disclosed to alien .observers. And, by the way, Mr. Best shows how naturally tolerant in the matter of religion the Maori was. There was no hell in the Maroi's religious concepts, although the tohunga had assuredly made some progress in the art of gaining ascendency over, people by influenceused by priests of other religions. The Maori helieved! that all offences against the gods were punished in this life, not in the world beyond.. This belief enabled the Maori to dispense with civil law in^his commune, and to substitute therefor, certain institutions that ware rendered effectual by the belief in the gpdis, and in swift and certain punishment of offences by such god. Tires c institutions, 'of which tapu, was the moat important, held society together, and took the place of civil law. Mr. Best then enters the shadowy realm of myth, and shows how the cosmogony of the Maori goes back to before the formation of the heavens and the earth, back to ■" Te Po," or The Unknown, a period covered by a number of names, which include references to parts of a tree, suggesting that mythical Norse ash tree, Yggdrasil. Then came Bangi and Papa, tho sky and earth, the primal parents from whom all things come., Maori legends relating to these, their separation, the overturning of the earth; and the parting of the contending principles of darkness and light, Tane and Whiro, are all dealt wth in simple terms by Mr. Best; always keeping in mind, the sometimes elusive stratum of truth underlying the fabulous. Some of these myths are exceedingly beautiful. There is, for instance, the,story of the descent of the Dawn Maiden into the underworld. To revert to Te 10, Mr. Best remarks: '' Standing alone in his majesty comes 10, he who is termed lo the Parent, 1° the Parentless, lo the Great, lo of the Hidden Pace." He is not a local production, and the idea of him comes from other lands. Proceeding, Mr. Best thinks " It is just possible that the ancestors of the Maori brought the name of lo from an Asiatic homeland. In Renan's ' History of the People of Israel,' the author states that the name of lahveh, or lahoue, became contracted into lahou, or 10. Of a verity it would be a startling disclosure to,find that lo is but a form of the name of Jehovah !" But he stops there, although later on he is moved to remark: "Certain barbaric folk of yore believed in a Supreme Being they called Jahweh, or some such name. We believe in one we call God, a conception apparently derived from that of Jehovah or Jahweb. The Maori believed in his 10. There cannot be two Supreme Beings. Are these different names for one Being, oris lo of the Maori to be put out of Court? And, if so, why?" Truly a fascinating and ably written work is this of Mr. Best. Future writings, as referred to in the preface, will be read with absorbing interest if they approach the character of -'.'Maori Myth and Religion."

"Safe--Marriage;, a Return to Sanity." By Ettie Rout (Mrs. F. A. Hornibrook). London: William Heinemann (Medical Books).

Messrs. Heinemann have a departmeht,. inamed "Medical Books," which piakes .it a condition that certain works shall,be/sold only to members of the medical profession, and sometimes to members of the legal profession as well; but Miss Rout's book is written for general reading, although published by the Medical Department. She will be remembered as "a New Zealand journalist who was awarded the Reconnaissance Francaise for special work in France, and bad recognition of ,the British War Office for services rendered to soldiers. She has been settled in England for some time, and- has now written a book entitled "Safe Marriage." It is somewhat at variance with prevalent ideas on matrimony, it is true; but Sir Arbutihnpt Lane, Bart., C.8., .M.S., consulting surgeon to Guy's Hospital, m the course of a.pref ace to the volume, says:—"To no woman has it been permitted to do the same amount of good, and to save more misery and suffering, both during and after the war, than to Miss Ettie Rout. Her superhuman energy and indomitable perseverance enabled her to perform, in' the most efficient manner possible, a work which few women would caro to,handle, and of which but an •infinitesimally small nnmba; are capable. . . The'book she has written is bne of very grea!. value, in that its object is the health, happiness, morality, and well-being of tho community.. .. In this book she deals with such simple hygienic measures as aro little known in England, though they are in common use in France and in the United States, in both of which countries sound practical common-sense prevails. She is persuaded that marriago is the goal to be reached by all, and that everything possible should be done to facilitate it, and so to diminish vice. In. her efforts to bring about this happy issue she has tho good wishes _nd congratulations of all who have the health of the community at heart." Miss Rout h_s_ also received highly complimentary notices of her book from other eminent medical specialists, including! Sic Bryan Ponkin, __» James Bare Us, Bax_a__

Crawford. Dr. C. V. Drysdale; also from Mr. Hi G. Wells, tli6 novelist, 'who expresses the wish that "everyone in the country could have it to read before the age of one;and-twenty. I cannot sufficiently express my high and keen admiration for the work you have 'done for the cause of cleanliness in the world." With such high appreciation of the value of her work, Miss Rout may well rest content, independent of what ordinary and nonmedical reviewers may think of it.

•"Partners of Chance." By Henry Herbert Knibbs. Cambridge, Mass.': Houghton Miffti Publishing Co. (Australasian Publishing Co., Ltd., Sydney). ;

A romance of thi bToad-out-W_st is herein told in ratting style. This popular novelist presents most 'likeable Ari--zoniair"characters in "Big Jim" Hastings and "Little Jim,''; his son. Both are romantic and adrenturous, living a rough life under the shadows of the mesas. Their spirit is buoyant with the spirit of the big op;n spaces, of which they are a part. Deserted by a flippant young wife who is lired away by a life of empty gaiety, the father • and son meet with many exciting incidents,, in which Bartley, an author and gentleman; "Cheyenne," trimp-rider and cowboy poet; "Pa-nhardle" Sears, the father's enemy, and nuny other fascinating types of diverse human nature are encountered. Mr.'Knitbs gives his characters genuine vitality aid individuality. They are real men and women, "partners of Chance," with it. big, breezy theme,-is an invigorating.novel,