88 TRADITIONS. [PART I, 



the island of Tawai. E Tiki, her husband, was a 

 stranger to the New Zealanders, although of the 

 same colour and language. 



We cannot fail to recognise, in the names Ha- 

 waiki and Tawai, the Sandwich Islands, Hawaii 

 and Tauai. One of the differences between the dia- 

 lect of New Zealand and that of the Sandwich 

 Islands is, that in the latter, as well as in the dia- 

 lect of Tahiti, fewer consonants are used : the Arii 

 of the Sandwich Islands becomes Ariki in New 

 Zealand; Ranakira becomes Rangatira; Tanata be- 

 comes Tangata; and in the same manner Hawaii 

 has become Hawaiki. The u and w are in all Poly- 

 nesian languages of an equal value, the pronuncia- 

 tion being a sound intermediate between both, and 

 there is no difference therefore in sound between 

 Tauai and Tawai. But there is still better evidence 

 for the assertion that the Sandwich Islanders must 

 be regarded as the last stock from which the New 

 Zealanders have sprung. There are traditions 

 which lead us back to still more ancient times, 

 when Maui and his brothers fished up the island of 

 New Zealand. Maui is not a god ; although tradi- 

 tion gives him supernatural powers, he is distinctly 

 stated to be a n an. There were four brothers 

 Maui mua, .Maui roto, Maui waho, Maui tiki tiki o 

 te Rangi; which literally means Maui (who was) 

 formerly, Maui (who is) within, Maui (who is) 

 without, Maui tiki tiki, from heaven. 



