CURRENT TOPICS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 18 July 1925, Page 3

CURRENT TOPICS.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. (By Cjpikms.) One wonders if the serious-minded Councillors who have recently been bailing th» much-harassed head of the local, municipality regard the supper provided Hot the Prime Minister on the. occasion of his. late visit to Levan, have ever- read the Australian classic “On Our Selection.” If they have not, Cynicus would earnestly recommend it to their perusal and consideration—if for no other reason than for an illustration therein contained of the duty of hospitality. The particular passage which they are advised to read is that where Dave—prosaic and unimaginative, but imbued with the essential toackblock quality of a large hospitality—cuts the Gordian knot of a family contrq? versy as to the correct time at which to offer the visiting parson a meal, with a, trenchant: “Give the bloke a feed I.” The on tills subject

comes not only as a surprise to' the citizens of Levin, but constitutes a most unpleasing reflection on the hbspitality which should be, even if it is not, incumbent on a Borough, as upon an individual. So weightily does this duty bear upon the municipality, that whether the Councillors were consulted or otherwise, should surely hot be of importance. That these Councillors, indeed, 'should have been called forth to a specml meeting to give authority to an act which every obligation of cunnion decency demanded, would have been a reflection on the Borough as a, whole, as suggesting their possible refusal to recognise a common duty. Cynicus quite agrees that the Prime Minister would probably have been better pleased to have * escaped the function, however productive of satisfaction it mi gilt'be to his hosts, but at the same time, so long as certain rites of hosnitality are required by the social system, so long does a failure to fulfil those l obligations brand the defaulter, private or public, as a boor and hacking in the ordimfty graces of human intercourse. So much so, that when in doubt, the obligation entails, teat error, if any, should be on the side of generosity rather than the reverse. The saving of money belonging to file ratepayers is a duly of councillors, but parsimony disgraces the Borough, even as it reflects on the ■ontrolliitg councillors. N.B.—Cynicus wishes it to be clearly understood that he does not desire lb cast any reflection on the honesty of purpose of the councillors supporting the present action, fully recognising that, just, as he hiinself lias to fill this column weekly and often has to use means to do it, of which he does not very heartily approve, so also do they have to adopt measures to keep’ their names before the public which 'Only that necessity justifies. • • » » A valued correspondent having expressed his appreciation of Cynicus’ notes of last week regarding a phase of the history of Lake Horowheuua, the writer is encouraged to proceed, mid incidentally accede to the colloquially expressed request of our correspondent, to wit “That’s tha stuff to give the troops. Let’s have more of it!” . * * * « * Just as every ancient castle in Europe must have a ghost, the absence of which would be a serious reflection qii the worth and prestige of the tamily, so every lake and river in Mmoridom possessed its “taniwha,” a fabled monster, possessing most of the characteristics of a crocodile, or huge lizard, and said by those who claim to understand such things to be another survival of the Maoris’ migration down through'the Malay Peninsula, and, previously, India. As befitted the dignity of Lake Horowiienua, a very special taniwha was domiciled beneath its waters, this monster possessing fhe qualities not only of a saurian, but also of mutability, so that when it would roam,

it changed itself at will into a shag. It was named Te Kawan-a-toru, or “the shag that flew,” and unfortunately for the students of ornithology met with a mishap whilst o'n one of these flights—which we protest had a suspicious look about them—‘but then, one never "knows!—and before, the advent of the pakeha, ceased to be. It happened that Te Kawau-a-Toru. flew south one day, and reaching French Pass, in the- South Island, dropped down and floated idly with the tide. Its mind engaged on some other problem—we mentioned that wc had suspicions !, —it floated into a whirlpool, and was long against a rock with such violence that its wing was broken. Cast on the shore in this state, its magic powers apparently deserted it, and it was there turned into a r»ck, which still stands as guarantee of the truth of the story. Although tills particular laniwha was gone, every accident which occurred Qn the lake was credited to the evil machinations of some lesser sprit of the deep. If a man caught cramp whilst swimming in the Lake, and wag drowned, it was a clear case of the activity of the taniwha, although curiously enough, if he were saved, the cramp was clearly recognised and admitted, being called ‘TiukTti” (literally, ‘to draw up’). But no one would be so impious as to suggest hukiti if the . victim went under: to do sp would'have been a positive reflection on the mana Of the lake which required the existence of such spirits to establish its high degree and consequence. ** * * * * Curious circumstances, all explainable enough according to a rational method of reckoning, but undoubtedly confirmatory of a settled faith, occurred at times to keep the belief alive. For instance in the 60’s, a Maori named Taueki went out in a canoe to collect fresh-water pipis. With him was his son aged about two, years, who was left in the stern of the canoe whilst the father, armed with a net fixed on the end of a pole after the manner of a butterfly net, dredged pipis from the 'mud of the lake-bottom. > When he, looked round • the boy was gone. No Cry had marked his going: the water was comparatively shallow, but no trace of the body was to be seen, nor did the most exhaustive search reveal any sign of it. What more natural than that the taniwha had taken the child? Had it fallen into the water of its own accord, surely it would have screamed? Sound reasoning enough, the child was indubitably gone, and faith was justified. Even though the body came to the surface a few days later, it did not prove anything—and assuredly did not disprove the ancient beliefs.

• • • • • Those -who would despise the credulity of the old-time Maori, who assuredly peopled his world with a quite unnecessary number of spirits, mostly malignant and terrifying, would do well to examine the cause of the existence of such beliefs. It is a, curious psychological phenomenon that the human mind, being constituted as it is, detests a mystery. For every cj.rcumstance an explanation must be provided. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so does the mind shrink from a hiatus in the ratiocination of its reasoning: however irrational the rationalisation, something must be supplied Science is merely an attempt to discover explanations for what were the mysteries of an earlier age—mysteries for which explanations were found in those earlier days, which are the superstitions of our own. And who

will say that the discoveries. Qf today will not be the superstition qf an age to come. The forces of nature, the sudden swirl of a whirlpool, disease, death, tile thousand and one evils to which Immanity is heir, are no longer terrifying to us. simply because we have evolved explanations for tiiem which in themselves are not terrifying. But awesome or otherwise an explanation is «scntial, and sq the Maori evolved his taniwha, which sufficed to explain .all accidents on -the water, not otherwise-explainable. The nameless dread which sometimes seizes on die stoutest when in a lonely place in the darkness of the night, required some explanation, and so were evolved the "kikokiko,” really thoroughly objectionable spirits, without a single good point, one understands, who at night wore released from the confines of Hurakia, or the nether regions, and during the darkness flew about on mischief bent. One comfort was that it was possible to keep them off by shouting tend and continuously, but still no honest Maori ventured forth at night alone U it could h» avoided. And so on through a spore of other things. The explanations were foolish admittedly, but they were no disgrace to tire mentality of the Maori, nor does it cast any reflection on his wisdom. For wisdom can exist without learning, just as learning can, and very often does, exist without wisdom.