Tregeae. — Oil a Phase of Hijimotism. 83 



Art. V. — A Phase of Hypnotism. 



By Edward Tee gear. 



[Bead before the Wellington PhilosopJiical Society, 26th August, 1896.] 



While lately trying to trace the relationship of words in the 

 Pacific and Malayan Islands, I found one word of a peculiarly 

 interesting character, interesting because beyond the bound- 

 aries of Polynesia proper it seemed to put on a veil of 

 mystery. In one well-investigated Malay dialect it eluded 

 translation, and in others the significations seemed to imply 

 conditions for which the European has no equivalent in 

 terms. 



The word in question is the Polynesian rata or lata. It 

 signifies in New Zealand "tame, quiet"; also "familiar, 

 friendly." It enters into the composition of many of our place- 

 names, such as that of Whangarata, "quiet beach." In 

 Samoa it means "tame, domesticated; at home in a place; 

 to be near "; fa'a-lata is " to cause to come near," and fa'a- 

 latalata " a coquette." Another Samoaii signification of lata 

 is "my," the possessive pronoun. This is curious, because it 

 has no affinity with other Polynesian pronouns. In the same 

 dialect lau, "my," is also used, this latter form being 

 comparable with the Maori taku, "my," &c., and is on 

 the regular formation of other Samoan pronouns, while lata 

 is not. In Tahiti rato means "tame, docile, familiar"; faa- 

 rata "to tame, to make a person or animal familiar." In 

 Futuna lata is " tame, familiar "; and the corresponding word 

 in Hawaii is used for domesticated animals, and for taming 

 wild ones. One of the Hawaiian compound words — viz., 

 _pa^a/i;a— means " to be inattentive ; inefficient; to live without 

 thought or care ; to be dull or stupid ; stupidity ; hard-hearted- 

 ness." In Mangareva, while the simple verb rata means 

 " to do often" and " to be of good appearance," the causative, 

 aka-rata, signifies "to pretend inspiration; to assume to be 

 the mouthpiece of a deity ; a prophet, a sorcerer ; a man 

 possessed of an evil spirit." These interpretations only con- 

 firm the immense value of the Mangarevan dialect as a trea- 

 sure-hoard of old Maori, for in these Mangarevan Islands alone, 

 almost the most easterly of the whole of the Pacific groups, 

 do we find meanings similar to those to be discovered close up 

 to the mainland of Asia, eight thousand miles to the west- 

 ward. Be it noted also that the intermediate groups appear 

 to know nothing of the hidden meaning of the word, for the 

 conception of "tame, gentle, familiar" has nothing in it of 



