MAORI CURIOS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 554, 8 July 1909, Page 7

MAORI CURIOS.

KEMAEKS BY -DR. NEWMAN. 'At> last night's meeting of) the Wellington Philosophical Society, Dr. A. K. Newman showed some interesting Maori curios, lately collected by him. The first was a rare kind of mat, made of the fibres of the broad-lqaved toi palm, with a front surface of flax fibre wpven in.,. Such mats, said Dr. Newman, were seldom made,'because the fibres.were hard; and out the fingers. of the makers. He thought mats of this description, with flax fibres woven in .were an imitation of more valuable ones in .which balena, was used. He had lately been 'asked for one of these balena mats, but had thought it more prndint to leave it for some other .'collector. . Dr. Newman's next ourio was a "pounder" of stalactite,, made and used by the Maoris of Barotonga. . He also showed a Maori weapon of bonn, of somewhat unusual shape,'and finely carved. The wargod, with protruded tongue, was a striking feature of the carvings, and Dr. Newman made an interesting reference to similar figures in Hindu; Tibetan, and Egyptian carvings. Hβ believed that all the Maori gods and the Maori weapona and implements could be traced back to India, and thus it was proved that . the Maoris, in the far pa"at, came from India. - xThe president (Mr. A. Hamilton), in thanking Dr. Newman for his exhibits and remarks, said ha hadtried to obtain a : copy of a paper by a Japanese savant on the protruding tongue in.Maori art..' .. ' .-...'■. .

Mr. Hamilton also showed some interesting old • New Zealand paintings, by Br. Merritt, who was here witluthe Imperial forces during the Maori War, and others executed by MajorGeneral Eobley in 1664. v I ■