Marriage among the New Zealanders, previous to the introduction of Christianity, did not involve any spe- cial religious ceremonies. Before marriage, girls not betrothed were permitted to inihilge in promiscuous in- tercourse if thej' pleased, and the more lovers they had the more highly they were esteemed. INIarried women, however, were kept under strict restraint, and infidelity was punished severely, often with death. Polygamy was permitted, but was not common, and men could di- vorce their wives by simph' turning them out of doors.
The houses of the better class were snug and warm, ornamented with carved wood. They were built of bulrushes, and lined with the leaves of palm-trees neat- ly plaited together. They were about sixteen by ten feet, and four or five feet long. The entrance was by a low sliding door, and there was one window, four by six
Interior of a Pa, ou the Waugauui River.
inches, with a sliding shutter. Their houses were with- out furniture, and their cooking utensils a few stones. Their villages were scattered over a large plot of ground, without any order of arrangement.
The language of the Maori, like the Polynesian lan- guages generally, belongs to the ]\Ialay family, but it is by far the most complicated of them all. Its alphabet comprises only fourteen letters, viz. A, E, H, I, K, M, N, O, P, K, T, U, W, and Ng, Seven tolerably distinct dialects are spoken among them. The language is represented as rich and sonorous, well adapted for poet- ical expression, especially of the lyric kind. The Maori have an abundance of metrical ]iroverbs, legends, and traditions, of which a collection has been made by Sir George Grey. They are also passionately attached to music and song.
Ilistonj of the Country and its Civilization. — New Zealand was discovered by Tasman in 1G42, but only one hundred years later it was made generally known to Europeans by the repeated visits of Cook. He sur- veyed the coasts in 1770. At that time domestic ani- mals, potatoes, and cereals were introduced. In the following decades the visits of Europeans to New Zea- land midtiplied ; whalers especially frequented the country for provisions and shelter. Eunaway sailors, escaped convicts from New South Wales, and adventur- ers of all kinds, formed a sort of colony at Kororarika at the opening of our century. About this time, too, individual Englishmen began to settle on the coasts and intermarry with the natives, and acquire land in right of their wives or of purchase. JNIissionary enter- prise began in 1814 by the zealous Marsden (q. v.), under the auspices of the London Church IMissionary Society, soon strengthened by tliree other laborers, and favored by various chiefs, who made grants of land to the missions. The missionaries not only labored to convert the natives, but introduced improved culture among them, and did what they could to protect them from the injustice, fraud, and oppression of the Euro- peans who visited the islands or had acquired settle- ments. More effectually to secure this object, a British resident or consul was appointed in 1833, but without any authority. In tlie mean time a desultory coloniza- tion and the purchase of rights to land from the natives for a iaw hatchets or muskets were going on ; and to put an end to this state of anarchy a lieutenant-govern- or was appointed, who, in 1840, concluded atAVaitangi a treaty with the native chiefs, whereby the sovereignty of the islands was ceded to Britain, while the chiefs were guaranteed the full possession of their lands, for- ests, etc., so long as they desired to retain them : the right of pre-emption, however, was reserved for the crown, if they wished to ali- enate any portion. Thus New Zealand became a regular col- ony, tlie seat of government of which was fixed on the Bay of Waitemata, and called Auckland. The previous year an association, called the New Zealand Company, had made a pretended purchase of tracts amounting to a third of the whole islands, and for a dozen years most of the colonization of New Zealand was conduct- ed under its auspices. The conduct of the company is considered to have been on the whole prejudicial to the prosperity of the colony ; and after a long conflict with the government, they resigned, in 1852, all their claims — which the government had never confirmed — on condition of receiving £268,000 as com-
NEW ZEALAND
42
NEW ZEALAND
pensation for their outlay. The unscrupulous way in which the company and others often took possession of lands which the natives believed themselves to have a right to, brought on, between 1843 and 1847, a series of perilous and bloody conflicts with those wa'rlike tribes. But the result of this conflict was more gratifying than the most sanguine Christians had hoped for. An un- derstanding was reached between native and colonizer, and cannibalism and superstition passed away, and in their stead the teachings of the Bible were made the ruling guide of the natives especially. One of the most desperate encounters was in 1863, when 15,000 soldiers, under English command, contended against 2000 na- tives, hiding and fighting behind ramparts. Another struggle followed in 1864, and petty rebellions have been frequent, causing great expense and trouble to the colonists, and great demoralization among the convert- ed natives. As they learned to hate the colonists they came to hate their religion, and invented one of their own, called How-howism, those who professed it being called How-hows. It was a most absurd mixture of their old superstitions with some Bible tenets, and a virtual return to heathenism. One Te Kooti made himself famous fighting with a handful of followers against the English from 1866 to 1872, when the pur- suit of him was virtually abandoned. Since that time the natives have been more quiet, and the colonists seem more disposed to try the effect of kind treatment and conciliation. By the constitution of 1872 the natives M-ere made voters, and eligible to office. Four of them have been recently elected members of the lower house of the Legislature. A noted European traveller, who has recenth' been among the JIaori tribes near Lake Taupo, in the central district of Northern New Zealand, sends a very interesting account of the How-hows in that quarter. These, though maintaining an indepen- dent attitude towards the colonial government ever since the last war left them unsubdued, have not testi- fied any readiness to join their co-religionists to the north on the Waikato in the outrages which have lately raised the fear of fresh hostilities. According to his re- port How-howism has toned down from its first blood- thirsty extravagances into a quiet and respectable sort of monotheism. The How-hows have agreed to reject the New Testament in its entirety, but they have ac- cepted the Old, and from their native translations of it erected w^hat is, in fact, a Judaism of their own. They have even dropped the observance of the Sunday to take up that of the Jewish Sabbath ; and, in fact, in all things conform to Jewish practice so far as their knowl- edge enables them to go. At the headquarters of the tribe, the Ureweras, who have a great knowledge of Scripture, morning and evening services are invaria- bly recited daily. The services consist chiefly in chant- ing in chorus verses of the Psalms, and conclude with short extemporaneous prayers by one of the chiefs.