GEOGRAPHY, OR THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 7, 1 September 1855, Page 6

GEOGRAPHY, OR THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

Chapter V. There are several European Colonies in India of the Portuguese the French and Dutch. But the larger number of foreigners are English people. When they first came to live there all they thought of was to buy and sell. The people of India were then in great confusion and trouble. The people of India were then in great confusion and trouble. There were many small kingdoms and the Kings were always at war with each other. And so there was nothing but blood shed. These wars have now almost ceased. The English have given the people of India good laws. The Queen's law is obeyed by all aßd the people are living at peace. India is a very large country. The people there are black. It is bounded on the North by the snow mountains of Himalaya. These aro the highest mountains in the World. Two great rivers rise there, the Ganges and the Indus. The Ganges flows to the East and the Indus to the Southwest. At the mouth of the Ganges is Calcutta. It is the chief towns of the English. There are a great number of town belonging to the people of India, large fine cities. Some at the mouths of rivers some inland. But we do not write down the names of all these. There are two other large cities built by the English. Madras on the Southeast coast, and Bombay on the West. India is a very hot Country. Rice thrives best there. The rice is sown in the swamps and in all damp places near the rivers. When the waters overflow the rice fields, then there is an abundant crop But in seasons when there is no rain and when the rivers become low, the Indian people suffer greatly and many die for want of food. There are plenty of cows in India. The milk and butter is used as food, but the Hindus will not eat the flesh. According to their religion, thej cow is a very sacred animal. j Sugar and cocoanuts and coffee are grown there! and many other good things which are only found in the countries. It is from India that we first

gob cotton from which so many of our clothes are made. The cotton grows on a small bush. It is f-und in the pod after the flower falls off. It is prepared just as sheep's wool is. Spun and then woven.into garments. Before we had cotton, only -wool.en and linen garments were used in Europe, linen is made from flax, not from the sort of flax however which grows in New Zealand. Calico which is the name fof the cotton when it is woven is used every where. There are many large animals in India, Camels and Elephants and Lions and Tigers. The Elephant is the largest of all animals, and is very Strong. It is -about 10 feet high. It will carry several men on its back. It docs not go fast, but it does not get tiredor weak. The driver sits on itsneck, and there are often four or five men sitting behind on its back. The Elephant is quite gentle. It eats grass and branches of trees and rice and fruit or cabbages. It lias a yery long trunk which it uses like a hand, with it he lifts up his driver on to his back. He breaks off the branches from the tree with it and puts them into his mouth, and with it he can also "pick up | the very least thing He has two long tusks on each side of his mouth. And these are what we use for knive handles and other things and call ivory. There are Tigers also in India. These are fierce, cruel beasts much bigger than the largest dogs. They are more like cats however in their ways. They lie lurking among the high bushes waiting for some man or cow or other animal to pass. Then they spring out like a cat on him and seize him. They can easily run off with a man in their mouth. In India and all hot countries there are great snakes. • The largest kinds are thirty feet long. These snakes coil themselves round a tree to wait for their prey. They hang down like a piece of supple jack, the head down and the tail fast round the tree. If any man or beast pass near they dart forward and twine themselves round and round his body squeesing him tighter and tighter till they break all his bones. The people of India are idolators. They worship huge idois. The largest of these has three faces and many hands. These idols are kept in temples and gardens by the priests one of their idols is named Juggernaut, every year their is a great east held in honor of him. The idol is taken out of the temple and placed on a very high car, and dragged for a great distance to another temple. Thousands of people go before and follow after the idol, and some of these throw themselves down under the wheels and crushed to death. They think this a good death to die and that the God will be favorable to them in the next world. Some of the Hindus torment themselves day by day for years. They think that such torments here will make them sure of living happily after death. One of the customs of the people formerly was when]a great man died to burn his body in the

fire and to make his widow bum herself also. They did not think it right that the wife should outlive her husband, a great pile of wood was laid and then the relatives of the widow led her to the side. She herself climbed up on it and laid herself quietly down by the body of her husband. The relatives set fire to the wood and they wereburnt together. This custom has now ceased. The English have persuaded the people to give it up The great men in India have many wives. These live altogether in a seperate house. They will not allow the women of rank to be seen. If their wives go out of doors in public, they wear veils on their faces. This is a very ancient custom in the East. The men used not to allow the women to read or write they thought the only fit work for them, was to nurse children and weave muslin, but now the gospel is spreading in India and there is a growing desire for instruction, many Christian Ministers have gone there, some of the Hindoos have become Christians, these are greatly illused by their countrymen, they are driven out of their Villages or homes their wives and children forsake them, their goods are taken from them, and yet, in spite of this the gospel is spreading in all parts of the Land, there are many Schools now, both for boys and girls, hundreds of children are taught to read the Bible and to speak English, some of these when grown up, have been ordained Ministers for their own people. The people of India are very dark, nearly Black,] but they have not the flat noses or curly hair of the African Negro. The Island of the Southern point of India, is Ceylon, a very fertile country, the natives there too are Idolaters, but there are Missionaries there and large schools, some of the boys trained in those schools have been ordained clergymen, and are jnow teaching their countrymen, the christian Religion. To the West of India is Persia, this is a pleasant country to live in, neither too hot nor too cold, it is a mountainous country, the people are light colored and good looking; the Persians used formerly to worship the sun, the moon, and the fire. They were in old days a very powerful people, it was one of their kings, Cyru? who sent back the Jews from Babylon to their own country, there were many great cities there that are now lying in ruin, some of the temples and portions of other great buildings, are still standing, on the wall of which there are pictures of men and Idols, and writings, in the language which the Persians spoke 2,000 years ago. It is still a kingdom, and has a large Population. On the North of India, on the other side of the Himalaya mountains, lie Thibet and Tartary—a large part of these countries are desert, nothing but rocks and sand to be seen, in other parts are large! grassy plains, without any forests, or even trees ;| most of the people of Tartary live in Tents, there: are Towns here and there, these are mostly built'

He taone ano kei reira Kabore i maha. Ko ana taone kei nga wahi raorao kei nga wahi e ngakia ai te whenua. E tuturu tonu te noho o nga tangata mahi kai kei reira. Ko te nuinga e takoto kau ana. He kamera, he kau, he hoiho, he hipi, e haereere ana i reira. Ko te kai a nga tangata, he wai u, he kiko hipi, he cheese, he butter, he oatmeal. Ko te witi kabore e tupu pai ki reira No reira taua iwi i noho tonu ai i roto i nga teneti. He whakaneke tonu te mahi, ki nga wahi kai, ma nga kahui. He tawiti rawa te wahie o taua whenua hei tunu kai. Ko nga wahie he paru kamera. Ka kohikohia ka whaka pipia kia maroke. No tua iho ano ta tenei iwi tikanga te noho teneti. Ko nga kakahu be peha hipi me nga huruhuru tonu o waho. Mo nga rawa kore tenei kakahu. Erangi ko nga rangatira he hirake, nga kakahu. He mea tiki atu ki China hokoai. Na kei te taba kite rawhiti o India he whenua ano. Ko Burmah. Ko tona awa nui ko Irawari. Kei tera taha ko Siam. Kei tua atu. ko te pito e kokiro ana kite moana. Ko Malacca, ko nga tangata e kiia ana he Malay. Kite ki a nga mea mohio o tawahi i ra konei mai nga tupuna ote tangata maori. He niaba hoki nga kupu a tenei iwi e ahukahuka ana ki a te tangata maori. Ko nga tangata o tenei iwi kua wh::kauruuru haere ki nga iwi katoa o nga motu o tera moana. a puta noa mai ki tera pito o Australia, ko nga motu nei he tini ke. Ko nga mea i nunui ake, ko Sumatra,, ko Java ko Borneo, ko Celebes, ko New Guinea, ko nga Philippine Islands. Ko te tikanga a tenei ingoa ko motu o Piripi. He kingi hoki tera no Spain. No ieira nga Pakeha nana i kite tuatabi aua motu. Ko te pa nui ko Mauilla. Na, te kainga tupu nona te sugar, ko enei motu, ko te take ote sugar mete kakau kaanga nei te tu; te abua o nga ponopona, te ngawari me ka ngaua e te tangata, ka hangaa hei buka e hurihia ana kite mira. Mau noa. Ka rere te wai, ka kohuatia a mimiti noa te wai. Ka takoto kau, ko te huka, ko te marabihi. Kei te taha kite rawhiti o Tartary, ko China. Ehara tera i te mangumangu. Ehara i te whero me to te tangata maori nei. Erangi he whero ko--whai nei te tu ote kiri. He tini noa iho nga tangata o reira. He maha nga taone, puputu tonu te wbare. He iwi ata noho tera. He iwi uaua kite mabi. Kotahi tonu te kingi mo tera whenua katoa He whenua momona hoki tera. He mahinga kai kau te whenua, tae noa ki nga tike o nga pukepuke. Kahore be wahi e takoto kau ana, te ngaki. He awa nunui ano o reira. ko Hoan-ho, ko Tang-se-kiang, ko nga kouru i tutata tonu. No te rerenga ka wehe ke. A matara noa atu. No te putanga kite moana nui ka tata ano. Kei China ano te raihi e tupu ana. Ko te tie inumia nei, no reira ano. Heoi ano te whenua i tupu ai te ti. Ko reir\ anake. He rau rakau te ti he rakau iti nei. Kei te

though it is now so cheap. Europeans are Dot allowed to travel freely through China, the "Emperor is afraid ofToreigners, formerly he only •allowed foreign ships'to enter one river which is called Canton. The Chinese are however more friendly now to strangevs, and there are now five Harhours where foreign ships may enter and trade. Christian Ministers are now established in the Towns, who teach the people, and the Bible is translated into Chinese, the principal towns are Pekin where the Emperor lives, Nankin and Canton, Hong Kong where the foreign merchants chiefly live is a very small Island opposite the Mainland from which they get most if not all their supplies. The Chinese have been for a great many generations, a Civilized people. They have had Schools of their own, where all the people of the country are taught to read and write their alphabet is quite different to ours, they have long Tmown how to Print, to weave Silk and to follow most other European trades. That which they are unfortunately still ignorant of, it the knowledge of the true God! there are two forms of Worship among the Chinese, one part of the people worship Idols, the others the Spirits of their forefathers, none of them follow such an evil form of Idolatry, as the Hindoos in India do, but it is; by the Gospel alone that they can grow to be a really great people. To the North of Asia is Siberia, this belongs to the Russians, there are veiy few people living there, these are chiefly Prisoners, sent there by the Emperor of Russia, as a punishment for their crimes. It is exceedingly cold in Siberia, there are many wild Beasts there, among the rest the ; Bear, he is much feared, he is so strong, if he catches hold of a man he hugs him until he breaks the ribs and crushes him to death, This Siberian Bear has very long hair, and men there hunt him for the sake of the Skin, which they use as aD, outer coat. The Island of Japan is a very populous country and the people like the Chinese are very civilised but unfriendly to strangers. They will not let Foreign Vessels enter their Ports.