TE TOHUNGA MAORI.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4363, 9 January 1922, Page 1

TE TOHUNGA MAORI.

AN OLD-TIME SKETCH.

(By

Raymond W. Firth.)

It is not generally known that be-i fore the arrival pfl the European in this country .with his disturbing theory of Are and brimstone, the Maori, far from being the godless heathen that he is sometimes repre-. sented to be, possessed an involved system of religion ,quite as complicated as that of the pakeha. The chiqf exponent of this religion was the tohunga, who acted not only as priest and means of communication with the gods, but also as historian of the tribe, wizard, doctor, and interpreter of dreams and omens. Versed in all karakia, the incantations by which a man might be sent down to the realm of l Hine-nui te-po—the Lady of Death—or preserved to ths world of life and light,"exceedingly tapu in person and property, famed for his knowledge'off tribal lore, and respected for his powers of prophecy and second sight—such w,as the tohunga of old. To-.day he is no more: but from the. writings of such men as Messrs Elsdon Best, James Cowan, Percy Smith, or William Banche, we may glean fragments of knowledge regarding his life and his power.The education of the aspirants to the position-—the tauira or pupils—was a long and trying process, and many tests were imposed to prove ■whether the student was an adept in the art of the tohunga. In one of these, the pupil took a small flat stone, about lin in diameter, and by repeating powerful karakia he would shiver the stone to fragments as it lay in the open palm of his hand. This was done by the potency of the incantations and the sheer exercise of will power, and not by any physical force. The final ordeal was more severe. In this the tauira was directed to select a near relative, and as before, by the repetition of karakia and the exercise of will power, to cause the death of the .loved one. This was the test which proved whether or no the tauira was accomplished in the highest art of the tohunga. The old-time sage knew by heart literally hundreds of songs, spells,and charms, which were so varied as to be applicable to almost l any circumstance in life. For example, if in battle a warrior bethought hiniself of the old proverb, and, being-deter-i mined on fighting another day, was dissatisfied with his speed towards the sky-line, he would use a karakia called tapuae to hasten his flying feet. Again, should a lover be doubtful of his success in winning the object of his choice, he used an atahu, or love charm, to incline her maiden fancy in his direction. To come to more prosaic matters, should a man get a fish-bone stuck in his throat, and be in danger of choking, he will send for a tohunga with all, speed. The wizard, tapping him on the back of the neck with the edge of his hand, repeated a karakia commanding the demon who is holding the bone fast in the throat of the unfortunate individual, to let go and come out. (Possibly our custom of patting a choking, person-on the back is a survival of this I) The tohunga, being ■ in constant communication with the gods, and versed in the karakia by which they were invoked, was of necessity tapu or sacred. It fell to him, therefore, to carry out all these duties which could not be performed by persons of more profane associations, for fear of incurring the anger of the gods—which is. death. Thus the tohunga, as a rule, disposed of the sacred bones of the 'iigh-born dead, and conveyed them to their, last hidden resting place. Tatooing, also, in former days, was undertaken by the priest. In all work connected with constructions tn wood, such as houses, canoes, and carving, a priest directed the undertaking from the first felling of the tree, which must be accompanied by karakia to remove the tapu, for trees were the offspring of Tane-mahuto, the god of the forests. The tohunga had his uses. Thus on occasions he could be a scientific locksmith. A friend of the Maori tells how, when he had occasion to be absent from his raupo, weather boards house, “I drew to the-flax-blade mat door, and went off with a basket of kumara or a string, of eels to the tohunga, and said "Give me a token.’’ After fumbling about in his basket he might draw forth a short piece o' barkless white stick, a few feathers, or may be a shrivelled hawk’s claw.. This I then hung in a conspicuous place on my door, and walked-away with a faith that a mover of mountains might envy, that I could find everything, as f had left it, for word would presently creep froin. house to house —“Kiai mohio ki to whatitoka o Puki.” (Beware of Puhi’s door). That was sufficient.”

But the power of the tohunga was not always thus for good. Too often the karakia were used in the baneful rites of makutu, which bewitched a man, body and soul, and destroyed them both together. Makutu, or sorcery, is too large a subject to be entered upon here, but in brief it is largei ly the effect lof hypnotism, and suggestions conveyed by telepathy, though even yet it is not fully understood. Be .what will, it works, and. a Maori who thinks he is under the influence of makutu will surely die unless a more powerful tohunga be at hand to aid him. Here is an instance of its awful power. An old man, reputed to be a wizard, was one day sunning himself in front of his whare when a young fellow, who had just come home from a shearing job, and

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Continued frpm previous Column, had taken just enough liquor to make him reckless of consequences, crossed the street. Having lit his pipe, he dropped the burning match pn the bald head of the old man. Suddenly the old man hunga snatched it off, spat on it, and throwing it against the other’s chest, yelled “Tan taka tohu, kainga te manawa ie ,to ngarara.” (Behold my token ; may your heart be consumed by cancer.) This sobered the young man instantly, and with an ashen-grey face he half ran to his home, told his people, and went to bed. In three days he was dead. On the funeral night a shot was heard from the.old man’s whare, but from that day to this his murderei went undiscovered, for though many guessed none would tell. But the white man’s law has practically put an end to the avenging of deaths from makutu, .though until quite recent times a tohunga m.akutu who practised his art, was in constant danger of death from lead-ppisoning. Another instance of hypnotic power is given by Mr Percy Smith. The ancient priest Tuhoto, of Rotorua, was visited by an eminent Englishman in an effort to convert the old man to the Christian faith, and the utmost persuasion was used .. But the old tohunga remained firm, and declined all overtures. At last he said, “If you can do this I will become a convert.” Picking up a dried leaf of the ti (or cabbage tree), he held it at aims length, and, saying a few words of karakia, invited his visitor to look. Behold! The leaf was green, as if plucked growing from the tree. The White man turned away, feeling that he was no match for the Maori tohunga.

But Tuhoto, buried in the Tarawera eruption of 1886, and dug out alive after four days, was probably the last of the old-time tohungas. They are gone, and too often their present day successors, who bear their name, are but ignorant quacks and bush doc-* tors, impressing upon the superstition and credulity of the Maori by

their pretence of knowledge, and their often meaningless incantations. With the bld tohungas has perished the dignity of the office; they have gone down to the realms of death ; they have been claimed by Hine-nui-te-po, and with them has' gone store of learning and their ancient lore.