MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 March 1941, Page 2

MAORI MEMORIES

HOW TO BE HEALTHY AND HAPPY. (Recorded by or Palmerston North, for the "Times-Age.”) In New Zealand of all countries in the world, and where the climate was by far the most favourable for production, there were -no apples, peaches, nuts or fruits, other than berries; no wheat, oats, or barley; no pumpkins or melon; no flesh food but rats —and humans. Can we be surprised , then, that in desperate need and utter starvation, the sacred ceremonial of tasting human blood as a sacrament led to cannibalism and war, and feasting on their dead enemies as the only alternative io starvation. In Australia, a country most suitable for its cultivation, they had no native fruits worthy of it; but they had kangaroos and other i quadrupeds numbered in tens of thousands. Why then were their men and women physically and mentally inferior to the noble Maori? Because in hand-to-hand fighting the fit 'survived, and the human flesh, instinctively repulsive to us, nourished them. While these conditions tended to deplete their numbers, their physical fitness improved —why? Because of their limited food supplies, and the constant exercise necessary to obtain it. The Maori never drank at a meal and the literal translation of his code of health discloses the secret of his fitness. “Eat little and seldom, drink deeply and often, for heal, vigour, and form.’’ Thus health (ora.) became a compulsory virtue. Contrast this with our conditions today. Our hospitals are crowded, and “organ recitals” the favourite topic. Tn addition to their "ordinary” meals our school children are put upon a milk diet.” Following the Maori example of “moderation, mastication, lubrication, and elimination.” one I know to be 85 is as alert and alive as at 25.