MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 September 1939, Page 2

MAORI MEMORIES

THE DOWNFALL (HINGA.)

(Recorded by J.H.S. for “Times-Age.”)

Having no written genealogy, but with their once perfect memories crowded and clouded by current events, few Maoris can now know who are related to them. In past yeais each man selected two or three healthy handsome young women from a distant tribe, with the express purpurpose of breeding warriors for his own tribe.

Now there is no need for an army of offence or defence among them. We have deprived them of their land, upon which they worked joyously for food and health. So their nearest neighbour becomes the wife (wahine) and if she dies, the widower (Pouapu) takes her sister (Tuahine). Intermarriage is the first cause of physical and mental weakness. Running a neck-to-neck second is drink (waipiro), the moral degeneracy of which is appalling. Not only that, for by habitual use its efficacy as a medicine is completely destroyed. When this question of degeneracy, especially that of inter-marriage, was discussed with a venerable old Maori chief, he reached from the rafter of the low whare roof his well worn Maori Bible and pointed to the text which says: “In the beginning God created one man and one woman.” After a moment of silence the old fellow said: “In our wars only the weaklings lost their lives. The strong men survived. You brought this to an end by your gospel of peace and your guns.” '