THE OLD-TIME EDUCATION OF THE MAORI.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 3130, 9 December 1899, Page 3

THE OLD-TIME EDUCATION OF THE MAORI.

» An interesting anonymous article m this month's Young Maori's Magazine, asserts that " the Maoris are and always haye been (for long ages at all events) an educated people. Let us trace out the early life of the well-born Maori m the earlier portions of thia century— of a real Rangatira of the good old type — and let us see what kind of a claim he could have had to be called an educated man. For the purposes of this paper, " educated " means having the capacity to act intelligently thorougoly developed, and not having mere remembrance of facts or even principles. Almost as soon as our young liangativa was born he began to live m the stream of Maori life almost m its completeness. His world became known to him with great rapidity, for the very sameness and narrow scope of the Maori lesaon of life caused it to be well and quickly learnt. By the time that he waa five or even four years old he had ingrained into him very many of

the more Important and principles that regulate Maori existence. By the time this point was reached the young Mnori had already begun life for himself. He would wander away from the settlement making short excursions into the bush or down to the beach. Soon he would be acquainted with all ordinary forms of animal and vegetable life, and would become familiar with the sights and sounds of nature and their meaning for him. He lived a free and even fresh life :he was always educating himself always increasing his capacity, or at the least developing it. Especially he was always keeping his power of arranging his facts and utilising them on a level with his acquisition of them. There was nothing crude about his education. As time went on the young Maori learnt to do every kind of work that the Maori mode of life rendered necessary. Everything that a Maori rangatira might do, m peace or m war. he learnt to do and to do well. He could fish and he could hun t ; plant and garner ; build and fortify ; make a canoe and use it ; make, too, the tools with which the ornamental parts of the canoe were made. For the artistic part of his education was not neglected ; he could carve, paint,decorate; make handsome mats, featherwork, and many other useful and beautiful things. Neither was he altogether without literary training. He learnt the poetry of his tribe, the waiata ; he could compose m prose and verse and could sing his own compositions ; also he mastered the numerous proverbs m which the wit and wisdom of his' tribe and his race were stored. He learnt the art of fighting, and: could make the weapons used m war ; he was a master of tactics, and could lead a detachment into battle and bring it out again. Above all he learnt that the greatest evil that could overtake a man waa to be a taurekareka. Physical pain or even death he could bear with Stoic fortitude, but there was one thing that he could not endure, and that was deserved disgrace. He could take part m the deliberative assemblies of his people and could make a clear logical speech on any subject of interest ; his remarks were to the point always, and often witty or humorous, and with hardly a word out of place. Then, too, the Maori was thoroughly acquainted with the \7orld around him, with his world, that is. He could name the trees, and birds, and fish, and theßtars of heaven. He knew the legends of his tribe and his race, and could trace back his descent for hundreds of years. Now what have we to set against all these attainments ? Cnly this, that the Maori could neither read nor write."