34 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



Art. IV. — The Diversions of the Whare Tapere : Some 

 Account of the various Games, Amusements, and Trials of 

 Skill practised by the Maori in Former Times. 



By Elsdon Best. 



[Read before the Auckland Institute, 7th October, 1901.] 

 " Ka kaivea tatou e te rehia " (We are allured by the arts of pleasure). 



Among races not possessing a written language and literature 

 it is not surprising to find that great prominence is given to 

 games and amusements of various kinds, more especially to 

 those which would serve to while away the hours of darkness. 

 The Maori people of this land, although possessing no 

 graphic system prior to the arrival of Europeans, had, never- 

 theless, a most extensive collection of ancient sagas, songs, 

 history, folk and other lore retained by their wondrous 

 memories, and thus handed down orally from one generation 

 to another. Such knowledge was most extensively drawn 

 upon during winter evenings or inclement weather for the 

 amusement of the people. They possessed, moreover, a great 

 liking for amusements in the form of games, dancing, toys, 

 and, as we have said, story-telling. As little has been placed 

 on record anent such matters, I propose to bring together 

 in this article such notes under the above heading as have 

 been collected from the Tuhoe Tribe of natives. It is there- 

 fore safe to say that this article will be by no means an 

 exhaustive one, and will but serve to give an idea of what 

 forms of games, &c, were indulged in by the denizens of 

 Tuhoeland in pre-pakcha days. Such amusements would be 

 described by the modern Maori as " almareka," but in the 

 days of yore they were described by the term "rehia," and 

 " Nga mahi a te rehia " meant " the art of pleasure." 



THE WHARE TAPERE. 

 The whare tapere was a house where the young people 

 of a fort or village would gather at night in order to 

 amuse themselves in various ways — i.e., with singing, danc- 

 ing, playing of games, &c. It was the play-house of the 

 neolithic Maori, and doubtless the prototype of the modern 

 theatre of the intrusive pakeha (Europeans). It was not 

 necessary that a village should have a house set aside or 

 used specially for amusement. Such terms as " whare 

 tapere," "whare potae," "whare pora," &c, are to a great 

 extent mere figures of speech. Still all amusements are 

 spoken of as the arts of the whare tapere — i.e., the art of 

 pleasure. 



