MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 November 1939, Page 2

MAORI MEMORIES

DREAMS (MOEMOEA). (Recorded by J.H.S. for “Times-Age.”) Rekenga kanohi (visions of sweetness) was a popular name for that wandering of the mind in sleep, and repercussion of thoughts which may have lain dormant for 50 years. To the Maori mind, there were absolute beliefs in the reality of moemoea' (dreams), paearehe (fairies)makutu (witchcraft), mana (mental power), utu (reprisal), and wairua (spirit of the dead). Of these mysteries, dreams have not been solved by science. Ordinary folk regard them as a matter of digestion. To the Maori, active and moderate, with little animal food, moemoea ahuareka (pleasant dreams) were the rule. They were sources of pleasant surmise for family and tribal discussion, making optimism the rule of life. To laugh at their belief was an insult. It was a source of intellectual enquiry covering every aspect of our reading books of mental problems, or pleasant fiction. Seeking the solution of some difficult question of a personal, family, or tribal nature, more than one would naturally dream of it, and perhaps even be able to announce its key in triumph at the morrow's huihui (gathering). The name of these daily assemblies is derived from hui (startling in the sleep), which is an indication of the influence of dreams in Maori life. Naturally, these happy people resented our persistent attempts to discredit by ridicule and arguments this source of pride and pleasure, just as we would object to certain cynics who seek to rob us of those works of romance or fiction.