A STRIKING THEORY

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 806, 2 May 1910, Page 4

A STRIKING THEORY

CHRISTIAN STORY KNOWN TO MAORIS. TAWHAKI: A MAORI CHI! IST. SOME SURPRISING PARALLELS.

(By ' llake Hongi.)

A striking theory, supported by a large . amount of curious and interesting evidenoß,.is put forward by Earo Hdngi (Mr. H. it. Stowell), of Wellington, in a series ,of .articles, of.which tlio following is tho first. The theory is that long, bt-foro the earliest European missionaries' came :to New Zealand, the Maoris were acquainted with the main facts of the Christian story, and that these aro repeated in' the legends of their .god, Tawhaki. The author is confirmed in this remarkable conclusion by the astonishing similarity of references to Tawhaki. his deeds, and character, which are scattered . through the legends of the New Zealand, Efateso (New Hebrides) and Chatham Islands Natives', with numerous' passagesin , tlie Christian Gospel. Altogether, ho has .found .more than -.'thirty- parallels between tho. old Maori and Christian records which must prove of tho deenest interest even to those who may "be. disposed to look for some.other explanation than tho author's theory that the stories of Christ and 'Tawhaki have a toamon The virgin birth of Christ, the • Gheet let'down from Heaven, containing "all manner of - four-footed beasts," the "walking on the sea, the niiraoulous draught of fishes, the ascent into Heaven and. descent into Hell, with numerous other features ttf the Gospel story, have all, close parallels, . though these liave not heretofore been pointed _ out, in various legends of Tawhaki which, Hare Hongi is convinced,, have not been touched by modern Christian influences. The; author has also made a study of Maori geneologioal' trees descending from Tawhaki, which give to the Maori deity a date'exactly corresponding to the lifo period of Josus on this earth. Hare Hongi,. who'is himself of Maori descent, has been a life-long student of Maori ; myths and legends, and has contributed important .papers to tho journals of tlie Polynesian. Society and New, Zealand Institute., We have induced Hare Hongi to summarise very ' briefly —the ' evidence and arguments worked out by him in great dotaji, for determining the date of Tawhaki's existence. The. wholo of this, reasoning is appropriate to the scientific demonstration, of his, theory, but it wo.nld probably prove wearisome to the general reader. , The' following abbreviations are :used: Sir .George Grey's Polynesian Mythology, P.M.; White's Ancient History of the Maori, A.H.M.; New Zealand Journal .Polynesian Society, J.P.S.;. Australasian A.A.S. Sydney Session, 1S98: The Mythology, of. the Efatese, New Hebridesj Dr. Mao Donald, Efatese.] ■ ■ .■ ■ >

.. Part I. ■ A, close acquaintance with the . early literature concerning botli of the remarkable "divinities— Christ ■ And' l'awhaki—enables me now,to present , to' -fellow-students and to the world the;suc-

cessful anil valuable, if somewhat . startling, results of long years of patient investigation and research. I do this in all seriousness, and. not without protest that if there appears, in liiy treat r ineht of this grave subject the slightest evidence of undue freedom or lightness; it .is to be entirely attributed to .lifelong familiarity with the historical facts, and not.'to want of respect or veneration for. each of these divine figures.: During the process of this. inquiry I propose to let the light into some dark recesses of conteftporary "history, 'to invite their long-spirits-forth, aud to. inter-pretilheiri-strangVimessages in tho light afvwhat "may bo announced as the present discovery. J "• There is.no work on the subject that I know .of.;in, which we are not- plainly 'informed . that Christianity.,.was introduced" to' the'Maorian 'face of the' Pacificby the missionaries .of the early nineteenth - century. . That those ! men ': first preached the "glad tidings," apparently no one has hitherto found reason to dispute; it therefore continues to be stated as • a simple fact requiring no further confirmation. ■ Those immediately connected .'with tho founding of mission societies inform. us that the Baptist Mission. Society was established in the Jrcar 1793; the London Mission Society .in 1795, and the Church of England Mission Society in ISOl.' Their records show that little time was lost in the selection' and Bonding forth of missionaries into the' Pacific, and that these earlier attempts to Christianise the Natives ended largely in disappointments, and disasters. The next attempts appear to have opened more hopefully: that of the Kev.- Samuel Marsden, who landed in New Zealand in December, ■ 1814; that which, occupied .Hawaii -in 1820; and that which took up -its work; in Samoa, in 1830. Prom these records it would appear to be fair to concedo • that, in the year A.D -1800, the missionary- teachings dnd influences referred to had not materially affedted ■ the oral literature of the Maorian .Pacific That point is-not pressed, ,it is merely noted as a matter of convenience and history. . ; Early. European Voyagors. . But that in itself does not dispose of tho question of a somewhat early ihtroduction of; Christianity to tho Pacific. It is recorded_ that long prior to the date Tinder notice, Spaniards, Dutch, and Portuguese .have in turn , sailed' the Pacific; and touched at various islands. It may therefore bo * reasonably contended that- those voyagers, who, it may .be claimed, were accompanied by priests, first imbued Maorian oral literature, with; certain striking facts connected with the central figure of Christianity. Beyond those again, there are persistintly conjectural statements that Hindus and Arabians too have widely traversed the Pacific main.

Be that however as it may my . proBent purpose is to' adequately demonstrate that the Ptory of Christ has, apparently since its inception,' formed a component part of original Maorian teachings. This will be dbne entirely by means of historical, traditional, and cenialogicnl'facts, common to the principlo groups of the Maorian area—facts too which, if hitherto misunderstood and : as cortainly misinterpreted, have been easily accessible to. students during the greater part of the past century. This undertaking of so formidable a task is not lightly, entored upon. On the contrary it is done deliberately and with a full sense of its responsibility. . And, I am .confident _ that its immediate result will be to widen tho horizon of Maorian history and to endow with a living interest much that has hitherto been regarded 'as mythical puerilities.

Tho Maorian Area Defined. It is. proper to define this Maorian &rea at the outset as ; being bounded by a western lino running direct from NewZealand 1 to Hawaii (Sandwich Islands) ; thence by a northern line running direct to Easter Islands; thence by an eastern.lino gunning direct to the Chatham Islands; 'and then by a short southern lino back to New Zealand, the point of commencement. The western .lino correctly excludes the Fiji group. . Unfortunately it also excludes the New Hebrides, a group which our records show to have been long since substantially occupied by; our people. That, however, is a detail of little consequence when compared with the importance of clearly defining the area under discussion. With that one exception the area shown may bo regarded • as being perfect, it is the true home of the Maorian race for unknown . generations, and n still their home. Throughout this area the story of tho divinity Tavhaki and his human brother iiarihi is particularly well known. Tho Maori speaks of Tawhaki and Iv,v rihi: tho Mooriori (Chatham Islands) of Tawhaki: the Tongan of Kafakt: the Samonn of Tafai'i and Aliso: tho Niuscan of 'l'nfalu; the Karotongnn of TaAki and Karii: tho Tahitian of Tavai and .\rii: the Paumotuan of Tafai; and tho Hawaiian of Kahai and Alihi. Those com-' priso the principal groups of tho Maorian area with one exception—the 'Marquesas! I have no record of their knowledge of tho subject, they certainly should possess

such. It will bo seen tliat the Efateso of .tlie New Hebrides produce valuable in formation as to Tafaki and Karisi. Genealogical. ITotv long Tawhaki and Karihi liavo approximately been so known we may now proceed to discuss with the aid of oral traditional and genealogical records, sinco theso aro the main sources by which the race noted the passage of time. For this purpose the most informing genea-

logical lines aro set out in the accompanying tables. Theso lines, long since published, aro the ancient records of tho Maori of the farthest 'souths of the Rarotongan of the centre, and of tho Hawaiian t>f the farthest north. That being so they may bo hold to adequately illustrate and rcprcsolit bid-time teachings of the race, as a race. In tho light of thesD then we proceed to fix the approximate period of Tawhaki, or, that period at which he becamo so recogniscd as to be incorporated in the annals and genealogies •of the race; for, as we shall presently see, his name appears on many genealogical lines.

Tho Date of Tawhaki. The Maori line, partly re-published herewith, shows Tawhaki on the piano of fifty-two generations, and tlint of tho Hawaiian on the piano of fifty generations. Dn our' Maori lines, following the name of Ka'rilii, the human brother oi Tawhaki, tho scries of names—Ru-Tnpa-

tapa-I-Awha, 50. To Ueue-Nuku, and To TJeue-Rangi, occur in that order; and, passing down through "Tapu," that of "Tangat.vKatoa," No 43. By referring to our. Rarotongan lino, at No. 72, we discover the same series of names in the same order. What is of further importance is the fact that they transmit through. "Tapu," to reach "TangataKitoa," equally as that of tho Maori. It at ohce becomes evident that these lines have a common origin and result froni a common teaching.

Measuring the Generations. From Burke's Peerage Iwe obtain, a generation-measuring rod of European reliability; We find that William the Conqueror was born A.l). 1025, and that his descendant, tho present Prince of Wales, was born A.D. 1863. Between these dates there lies an intervnl of 840 years, comprising thirty generations from King to Prince. Thirty multiplied by twenty-eight gives us 840, nnd thus a generation-measuring rod whose length is twenty-eight years.. By striking a mean between the Maori minimum of fifty-two generations and: the Rarotongan maximum of seventy-three generations, wo ; get sixty-two and a half generations. Those multiplied by twenty-eight give us 1/50 (years), and (as . from 18G5) places the approximate period of Tawhaki at A.D. 115. ■ It should here be added that competent observers consider twenty-five ana a half years to bo a fair generationaverage. Computed on that basis, the RaJotongan line of seventy-three generations aggregates 1801 years. That would fix the approximate period of Tawhaki at A.D. 4, which too, as wo shall see, would provo this ancient Rarotongan line to be a triumph Of historical and genealogical exactitude. • ■ ' Having shown that A.D. 4 is approx> niately the most remote period smct. which Tawliaki has been known: it may be submitted that twenty generations is the least- remote period in which he has been known to Maori and Mooriori alike 'I:dispose of Maori ' knowledge of the matter by stating as an acceptable fact that there is no /good cvidenco of any migrating canoe landing in New Zealand within tho past twenty generations. As to the Mooriori, of the Chatham Islands, them • Its traditional and genealogical records have been extensively published in the "Polynesian Journal by Mr. A. Shand, a most diligent, intelligent, and conscientious ineruirer. Those show (J.P.S., Vol. v, 28)- that somo? twentyoight generations ago an'important party of emigrants, from -New Zealand landed at the Chathams, off the Rangihoua' and Rangimata canoes.. - The point here is that the. Moonon knew of: Maori ancestors of some twenty generatibns. ago. The most diligent in-; quiry, however, fails to discover, on their part,'a more recent knowledge .'of Maori ancestors;or traditions. 'It may therefore be confidently laid down that the'isolation of - tho' / 'JTooriori i ;fOr*'ji period-of 'twenty generations past has been complete,, and is completely established by this review. It therefore ■ follows -. that, m common with the Maori, the Mooriori has Tpcited tho Tawhaki stories for. a minimum •period of .twenty - generations. - . (The Mooriori recital is •to be !seen m tho J.P.S., Vol. vii, p. 73).