Maori Pendants

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 202, 15 November 1927, Page 11

Maori Pendants

WELL - KNOWN AUCKLAND MAORi SCHOLAR'S ADDRESS ON NATIVE ORNAMENTS TO AUCKLAND INSTITUTE

NEW FIELD FOR STUDY “I hope that this sketch of an interesting branch of Maori ethnology will appeal as a suitable field for further study, for it is apparent to me that further inquiry is essential both in regard to the meaning of these decorations and the actual part they played in ritual.” With this parting injunction Mr. George Graham concluded an interesting paper on Maori pendants before the anthropology section of the Auckland Museum and Institute, last evening. Mr. A. T. Pyecroft presided over a good attendance. The generic name for all pendants, explained Mr. Graham, was whaka-kai or whaka-tau. Each particular variety, however, had a descriptive name. The neck pendant was known as mau-kahi, and that for the ear, mautaringa. Mr. Graham divided these ornaments into different sections. First, there was the desire for personal adornment whereby the individual who wore the pendant might make himself or herself more prominent among the people in their assemblages. Secondly, the wearing of such objects with a mythological purport, as mascots, or as mementos of the dead. Third, the use of a pendant for some actual utilitarian reason, for instance, as mat fasteners. MAKO TEETH RARE The comparative rarity of mako shark teeth, as only one pair could be taken from each for earrings, was emphasised by Mr. Graham. Consequently, they were highly prized. This variety of pendant was still sought after, he said, particularly by the elderly women of the tribe. Other forms of purely ornamental pendants were birds' feathers or down .worn in tasselated tufts, and known as pulioe. The feathers of the toroa or takapu were highly prized for this purpose. Various vegetable substances were also worn in the ears. The first and most important vari- i ety with a mythological significance was, of course, the hei-tiki, which Mr. Graham said was an essentially New Zealand ornament. It had not been found in any other part of the Pacific. The marikihau was another figure which had certain mythological foundation. Tradition distinctly described it as a seal or some sea-animal. He recalled the fact that the famous voyage of Tu-te-Rangi-ora was said to have reached the Antarctic regions. The koro-pepe, another ornament, represented the grub of the butterfly. Here again was a refeernce to Maori mythology. The kuru, on the other hand, was said to represent the fruit of the poro-poro, or bread fruit. The mania was a fish-like, monster, probably a sea-snake. The peka-pelca was formed after a bat, a conventionalised representation of that little animal of which New Zealand has its native species. The third section, or pendants for actual utility, included the matau, or hook, also, as a matter of fact, an important factor in fishing ritual. The autuhi, or needles, were also used as mat-fasteners. Related to these were the articles known as rei-puta or niho-puta, formed of whale teeth. There were also the smaller forms of chisels or adzes, which were used as ear or neck pendants. The rings used to catch the tui or kaka made of jade, stone, or bone, and known as poria, were also valued as ornaments.