MAORI ANTIQUITIES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6625, 15 September 1908, Page 9

MAORI ANTIQUITIES.

AN INTERESTING LECTURE. "The Maori, his curly history, mythol* ogy, manners and customs," was tho title of an exceedingly interesting lecture which Mr A. B. JJ. Eraser, M.i J „ delivered at Newtown last dvenmg bi> lure quite a goua auuumce. Tuo emur wub 00-cuxnua oy Mr B. xregour. Mr xraser, vvuo was quite at homo witn nis suuject, remarked luat ms aim was to bring bis bearers closer to tiio gieut Maun people and. make Uiem realise its poujiitiuxiues. Tnuy linel ©pent largo sums upon uio Maori, but dm not remise tnat inoy snouxd look alter Him waoii lie. belt tuo senooi anti college in order to save him iron succumbing to tne influence of generations ot ancestors. Briefly ahudiug to the early history of tho race Mr Eraser told how tho youths were instructed in its traditions and secrets, ami now, in tact, they were educated in a manner tuc thorougliness of wmch could bardiy be conceived, ’mere was no written language, all having to bo committed to memory. In inis connection Mr Fraser told many tales illustrative of the extraordinary manner in wmch tho Muons could remember things, tho preservation of their whakapapa, or ancestral trees, .being particularly referred Jlo. Ho had several such wuakapapa with him. One of them traced tho descent of every person who had any claim to the Heretaunga lands, and. went back some eighteen or twenty generations. Many interesting illustrations wore given of tho legendary story and sacred history of the race, of its beaulful conceptions of the creation of the heaven (rnngi), and tho earth (papa) by the great being Eo. In the endeavour to bring the Maoris a little nearer to them, Mr Fraser quoted many of their old proverbs and compared them with those in use by ourselves. Though they wore but the sayings of what was thought by some to bo an alien race, they showed that the Maoris had tno philosophic min’d, and were tho k<xm«t of observers. Many of their proverbs had exactly tho same meaning as some of ours, but were, couched iu different language. Ho drew attention to • tho many points of similarity between tho two races, and asked whether, in view of them, wo could not consider that in the days gone by we were one and tho same people. Concluding his lecture, ho said lie took it that wo had a duty to perform to the Maori people. They should not bo allowed to drop out, but should be brought closer to ua and to our high ideals. Ho believed it would be found to our interest to uplift tho raoe ? and to keep alive their traditions, stones, poetry, and language. If wo did that posterity would bless us. The lecture was the lost of the winter eerie© given under tho auspices of the City Council.