530 Transactions. — Miscellatieous. 



womb ; and she is, moreover, the patron-goddess of gambhng, 

 and of the mm-dering robber, the Thug. Kah, in her more beauti- 

 ful bearing, represents Aphrodite, or Nature in its poetic garb. 

 Tawaki is the Aryanised Krishna ; his story is that of Krishna : 

 he is the loved of women, and dies the death of the solar god- 

 man on the confines of the West, slain at the hands of the 

 powers of darkness, the children of the cloud-serpent of Aryan 

 myth. After a time of sleep, he rises to a new life and immor- 

 tality, and ascends to heaven, pouring down vengeance on the 

 powers that had formerly injured him. 



The prejudice that had impelled the Hindu Aryas to remodel 

 the story of Krishna to favour Aryan proclivities, and to make 

 Krishna (really the offspring of the Turanian Kali) a son of the 

 Aryan goddess Dewaki, seems to have wrought still more power- 

 fully with the Maori arikis, for they belittle Krishna entirely, 

 and transfer his exploits to an unmistakably Aryan hero, with 

 a name modelled on that of the Aryan Dewald — viz., Tawaki, 

 who opens the way to heaven, whereas Krishna (that is, Kanhi 

 of the Maori,) not only fails to gain apotheosis, but is condemned 

 to condign punishment for his envy of Tawaki. These deduc- 

 tions will be fully borne out by the following extracts from 

 Mr. Taylor's work ; the whole account is too lengthy : — 



" Originally men were not aware that Tawaki was a god, 

 until one day he ascended a lofty hill, and some one who 

 was cutting brushwood saw him throw aside his vile garments 

 and clothe himself with the lightning. They then knew he was 

 a god. When Waitiri, or Watitiri, (his grandmother,) descended 

 from heaven, the fame of Kaitangata and his bravery reached 

 her. She slew her favoiirite slave Anonokia, and took out his 

 lungs as an offering for Kaitangata, which, when she came, she 

 presented to him. Kaitangata feared her. . . . They became 

 man and wife ; their firstborn was Puuga, afterwards Karihi ; 

 and the youngest Hema. Their children were not particularly 

 clean. Kaitangata turned up his nose and said, ' Hu! the filthy 

 children!' Waitiri was offended. . . . Afterwards she re- 

 turned to heaven ; her parting words were : ' When Punga has 

 children, do not let them follow me.' She called to Karihi, 

 ' When you have grown up, do not sufl'er your children to go and 

 seek me. When my Waka Makanga (my sliame) has a child, he 

 may come to mo.' . . . When Kaitangata returned from the 

 sea, he asked his children, 'Where is j'our mother'?' They 

 said, ' She has gone to heaven, to her dwelling-place.' Kai- 

 tangata inquired, ' What did she say to you ?' ' She said that 

 Punga, the anchor of your canoe, was to be my name ; that for 

 this here (pointing to his brother) the name was to be Karihi, 

 the sinker of your net ; that for our sister, the Waka Makanga 

 (" the shame") of our mother, for your turning up your nose at 

 our filth.' They went and showed the p'lqmc to their father. 



