470 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



ized by the horns) is universally typical of cosmical, regal, or 

 national power, and also of masculine force. * 



The Aramean tur, a "height" {tau), meant also "bull" 

 and " prince." I will requote Mr. Colenso's translation 

 of tara o te marama as "cusps of the moon" — the moon's 

 horns. The Tahitian and Mangarevan vocabularies both give 

 tara as " horn." " Spear-point " is a more common word, of 

 course, with modern Polynesians, but the connection is clear : 

 in the words of Macrobius, " Under the name of arrows, the 

 darting of the rays is shown."! The English word " star " 

 has been derived from a root star, to strew, spread ; the Sans- 

 crit taras (star) being supposed to have lost an initial s. But 

 the Maori tara, to throw out rays, to emit light, would seem 

 to have been nearer the simple notion of primitive men than 

 any other : if so, the excrescent s was very early introduced. 

 The Icelandic tarra, to spread out, has not the prefixed s. 

 The Ma^ovi putara (jm-tara ; iJU — to blow) means "a trumpet,, 

 a shell used like a horn for signals " (Williams's Diet.). 



A curious fact in connection with tara is that this word is 

 used as denoting "a fable" {korero tara). Perhaps the 

 stories of the elders respecting the taitra or tara — ^impossible 

 creatures, as the new generations of islanders began to believe 

 —made all fabulous narratives be called tara. Samoan, tala, 

 a tale, narrative; Hawaiian, tala, to proclaim; Tongan, tala, tO' 

 tell. (Cf. Icelandic tala, to talk.) These, again, compare 

 with the curious meaning of kau in Maori, as " non est" — as,. 

 kahore-kau, not at all; rakau-kau, not having trees {rakau^= 

 tree) : Mangarevan kaJca.utara, babel, confusion; and the Tahi- 

 tian aai (ka-kai), a tale or fable (our old friend kai or kye, 

 cows). This tara, an idle tale, in its Samoan compound, tala- 

 cjafa, "to recite a pedigree," also compares with Maori kau- 

 ivhaiL {kau-iu}iau) , to recite old legends or genealogies — per- 

 haps legends of Kaai or Tara. 



The English etymology of " tale " gives " a number, reckon- 

 ing, narrative;" Dutch, taal, language, tongue, speech: 

 both from Teutonic tala, a tale, number. In Maori, tau 

 (ta-tau) means to count ; so that tau and tara would be forms 

 of \/ taur, and the original idea "mustering" or counting 

 cattle. The Sanscrit tara, "a spell for banishing demons" 

 (Benfey),= Maori tara, to influence by charms. The Maori 

 jm-tatara (or imtara, also putetere), " a trumpet," compares 

 with Old Dutch tateren, to sound with a shrill noise, to tara- 

 tantara with a trumpet (Hexham) ; Low German tateln, ta 

 tattle. Cf. Maori tutara, small-talk, gossip, chatter. 



* Cf. Irish tar, I dare ; Gothic dars, I dare ; Welsh tar, shock, im- 

 pulse (tarw, bull) ; Icelandic thoran, courage ; Hindi dhor, cattle, 

 t Sat. i., 17. 



