THE MAORI RACE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14846, 25 February 1919, Page 3

THE MAORI RACE.

LANGUAOE, DANCES, AND GAMES RECORDS BY PHONOGRAPH AND •KINEMA." During the month of December, the I Imi. A. T. Ngata, M.P., brou&it, under the. attention of the Government the '.testability of endeavoring to supplement the work which has been done by the completion of Williams's dictionary ff the Maori language by having phc o,'raphic records made of the spoken Maori tono-ue. Mr Ngata a^-o suggested that kinem-a-tograph pictures should ,-e taken of Maori haka dances, po : s, j etc., for the benefit cf future genera- j YoiiiS. The matter has been considered, stated the Hon. G. VV. Russell, M:n:ster for Liternal Affairs ? to a New Zealand Times representative; and, as one r-.f the largest native gatherings ever held on the East Coast is to take place during the first iveek of March, to augment the Maori soldiers' fund and .inveil the monument to the late Wi Pere, it has been determined to take steps to accede to Mr Ngata's wishes. There are a few films of poi dances in possession of the Tourist , Department, which are at present stored at the Museum. Tt is intended that the number shall be considerably increased during the coming function, and an effort will be made to induce some of the adults and the children to indulge in* a number of o'.d-tirne Maori games, besides the poi dances and hakas. in order that these also may be recorded by the 'kinematograph. Illustrations of several of these Maori games are now required for some of the Museum bulletins on which Mr Eled-on Best is engaged. Arrangements have been made by which Mr J. MacDonald, of the Museum staff; Mr K.sdon Best, the well known Maori i thnologist and author, also of the Museum staff; and Mr J. C. Andersen, who is in control of the Turnbull Library, have been authorised to visit the Maori gala for the purpose stated.