386 REPORT— 1891. 



the memories of the people; still, there is quite enough to show 

 how much poetical feeling may coexist with the most revolt- 

 ing usages of a barbarous life. These poems comprise speci- 

 mens of the various compositions which may be classed under 

 the headings of incantations, visions, and charms ; war songs 

 or chants ; love songs ; canoe songs ; historical ballads ; dirges, 

 laments ; children's songs, lullabies. 



Mr. Colenso, remarking upon the poetry of the New-Zea- 

 landers, says, "The people frequently beguiled the monotonous 

 drudgery of some of their heavier work, performed together in 

 company, by songs with suitable choruses. Such songs were 

 sung when dragging or paddling their canoes, or digging in their 

 cultivations. Their war songs and defiances contain horrible 

 curses, and breathe a spirit of ferocity ; while their love songs 

 are full of the tenderest feeling, expressed sometimes in the 

 most touching and beautiful language. Their sentimental 

 songs, expressive of abandonment, loneliness, and despair, 

 contain much pathos, and, sung as they always were in a 

 minor key, were often very affecting. The whole of their 

 poetry, though abounding in poetical images, is destitute of 

 rhyme and metre, a deficiency their poets got over by lengthen- 

 ing and shortening vowels and words ; proving that the 

 Maoris, like ourselves, conceive of poetry as something far 

 higher than mere versification." 



Translators have found great difiiculty in getting at the 

 real meaning of many of the compositions, not only owing to 

 the presence in them of obsolete words of great antiquity, but 

 to the extraordinary license allowed to poets in dealing with 

 the words they used. Owing to the peculiar character of the 

 language the omission of a letter might entirely alter the 

 meaning of a word. Take the word " haiiga," for instance, 

 which means "to make;" omit the "h," and it means "turn," 

 or " facing." 



I may be excused for referring here to a note by the 

 Eev. Dr. Maunsell, one of the most learned Maori scholars 

 New Zealand possesses, on the peculiarities of Maori poetry. 

 Dr. Maunsell says, — 



" The construction of Maori poetry was not only abrupt and 

 elliptical to an excess not allowed in English poetry, but it 

 also carries its license so far as to disregard rules of grammar 

 that are strictly observed in prose ; alters words so as to make 

 them sound more poetically ; deals more arbitrarily with the 

 length of syllables, and sometimes even inverts their order or 

 adds other syllables. It is true that these irregularities help 

 much to invest Maori poetry with that deep shade which none 

 can penetrate without close study of each particular piece ; 

 but it must be remembered that by far the largest measure of 

 the difficulty arises from the peculiarly local circumstances, 



