Tapu!

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 51, 3 July 1931, Page 8

Tapu!

(CONTINUING his fectures from’ ~ 3YA° on Thursday, Te Ari, Pitama was still: most entertaining. Among much of interest: in his lecture was "the explanation of the Maori word "Tapa." The speaker stated that the law of Tapu formed the Mosaic commandments of the Maori. To quote him. . . "The very mention of. this (Tapu) gave to the Maori mind a’ negative thoughtThou Shalt Not" ‘The word fortns one more link in the chain of similarity which is to be found * the language of the Maori and that of Other nations. While its origin has been lost. i in oblivion, the. interpretation may generally be stated as "sacred." The old Hebrew, laws and the Brahaminical institutes of" Menu and the Tapu of the Maori possess a resemblance indicating common origin. The Sanscrit rendering is of unusual interest-"Ta," to. mark; "Pu," to purify. A worthy point made by Te Ari Pitama was that in attempting to understand Maori laws and ceremonies the pakeha must be careful not to judge :

them by orthodox Christian standards, Let Te Ari Pitama put it in his own inimitable poetic phraseology .... "A standard of Faith which has bathed under the shadow of Calvary’s Sun for nigh two thousand years." As an illustration of the modern application of Tapu, the speaker referred to the fact that to-day, at certain seasons of the year, fish and birds undergo the laws of Pakeha Tapu. To violate the laws is to break the laws of the acclimatisation societies. So, in the past, other things and persons were also subject to this same law, and many of the lives of the Europeans were lost because they violated the laws of Maori Tapu. I cannot quote here more of this enthralling lecture, but once more must I hand the palm to Te Ari Pitama for the most entertaining and lively talk of the. week,