PRACTICAL PSYCHOLOGY CLUB

Evening Star, Issue 22722, 9 August 1937, Page 11

PRACTICAL PSYCHOLOGY CLUB

ADDRESS ON THE ARYAN MAORI Last Thursday evening the Dunedin Practical Psychology Club held its monthly social gathering, at which Mr M. Thomson gave an address entitled ‘ The Aryan Maori.’ The speaker stated that a ■wonderful widening of human knowledge had taken place with the birth of philology. The common root forms of words differed sometimes rather widely in their modern spelling, yet upon examination they showed that their present meaning and form might be traced back to an original form often thousands of years old. The study of comparative philology and comparative mythology had resulted in arranging tbo peoples of the world into three great families, those speaking the monosyllabic languages, as the Chinese, those using the Turaman or Normadic forms of speech as the Tartars, and the speakers of the inflected languages as the Semitic and Aryan races. The Aryan included the Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, Celtic, Sclavonic, and some minor tongues. North of the Himalaya Ranges on the high tableland towards Tartary lay the birthplace of the Aryan people. It was well known to-day that the vast area lying to the east of the Caspian Sea was the home of a nation which was the mother of modern civilisation—a nation speaking one language, but of many' tribes and having a community of customs and habits. They called themselves “ Arya ” from a root word “ Ar,” meaning noble or well born. About 2000 n.c. one great human wave went flowing westward into Europe, while another swept toward the south through the mountain defiles and passes into India. One branch of the Aryans passed through India down into the East Indies, and eventually fared forth upon the vast unknown

waters of the Pacific. The late Edward Tregear devoted much time and research to seeking in the Maori language for words that might trace the Maoris back to their ancient homo amid the cattle camps of Central Asia, or for words that might give a hint of their journeyings through India and eastward.

The speaker gave examples of such associated words and phrases, and also on a sample of Maori carving exhibited pointed out where a similarity existed to carvings found in India. Another interesting exhibit was a fascimile of the 'original Treaty of Waitangi. Unfortunately the advent of European colonists led to the younger Maoris losing interest in their national traditions, and eventually the schools for instruction in the '"religious mysteries, and ancient history were closed owing to lack of scholars. At the conclusion of the lecture, Mr J. G. Macfarlane, on behalf of those present, thanked Mr Thomson for his interesting and instructive address, and an opportunity was given for a closer examination of the exhibits and a study of the map with which the lecturer illustrated his address.