ORIGIN OF THE MAORI

Te Ao Hou, Spring 1952, Page 48

ORIGIN OF THE MAORI Sir, Quite enjoyed your first issue of Te Ao Hou. Please find enclosed 10s. subscription. I have been studying genealogy for five years now, and I am survey officer of the Mahia Genealogical Association. We not only survey local, that is to say New Zealand, genealogies, but also genealogies of different people that may have in some way connections with our Maori people. In my survey work I have come to the conclusion that the Maori people are definitely connected with two brothers of the house of Israel, or descendants of Jacob. The two brothers are Ephraim and Manassah, sons of Joseph and Judah. In the year 600 B.C. Amam Ku and his four sons, of whom Amam Kalam was one, left Kapa Kapa-na-Kane—that is, Jerusalem—and travelled overland till they reached the borders of India. From here they made a boat, and Amam Ku sailed with his family. The south-east monsoon blew them forth until they struck the Antarctic current. Eventually they arrived on the shores of South America, near where the city of Valparaiso stands today, on the Chilean coast. He named the place Kahiki Ku, after himself. Amam Ku died in this land, and his son, Amam Kalam, was the leader. The nation grew, and migrated from the mountainous country to a more fertile land (Peru). It is from here, through wars with the descendants of his other brothers, that the descendants of Amam Kalam left Peru for other places under the leadership of Opukahonua, in 230 B.C. They migrated to Easter Island, and eventually the descendants sailed for Tahiti. Rangi, or Wakea, is a descendant of this group. Another migration from America in 55 B.C. was that of Hawaiiloa, Tiki I and Tangaroa. Their journey landed them on the Islands of Hawaii, named after their leader Hawaiiloa. Up to this time these people, in my opinion, were white, as their Asian ancestor, Amam Ku was. These are the migrations and connections as our genealogical society sees them. We are asking you to publish this letter, to invite questions and arguments about these views. Paumea H. McKay.