May 28, 1914] 
NATURE 3 
been held for some time by other students. He 
says, “By the word ‘ Maori’ I mean the brown- 
skinned race called Polynesian by European 
writers. Maori was their own word, should 
always be used... The Maoris were the first 
people to discover the Pacific islands . Some 
writers talk of other races who inhabited these 
islands prior to their discovery by Maoris. I 
assert that there were never any people in these 
islands except the Maori.’ The Maori were, he 
claims, an ““Aryan-Naga people”; he agrees they 
are dominantly Caucasian, but is convinced they 
have a large infusion of Mongolic blood, which 
they received, according to him, before their emi- 
gration, since he classes the Kolarians and Santals 
as Mongolic. He says, “centuries before India was 
invaded by Aryans there was an invasion from the 
north-west by Mongolic peoples called Scythians, 
Turanians. These Mongols conquered the 
black aborigines and extended their dominion all 
over northern India. Their principal tribes were 
called Takkes or Nagas, Kolarians, and Santals.”’ 
It is a pity that he gives no references in support 
of these wide statements. “In India the word 
Maori was variously spelt—Mauri, Maurea, Maori, 
Maoli, Mauli, Baori, Baoli, Kaori, Waori,” for 
most of which he finds parallels in the Pacific, 
and he gives a large number of place- and tribal 
or 
names, mainly in Bengal, which are similarly 
equated. 
The author is evidently unaware of the lin- 
guistic researches of Father W. Schmidt, who 
showed in 1906 (“Die Mon-Khmer-Voélker’’) that 
the Polynesian, Melanesian, and Indonesian are 
dialects of the Austronesian group of the Austric | 
linguistic family, of which the Austroasiatic was 
the other group. The latter group includes the 
Munda, Khasi, Mon-Khmer and other languages. 
The Nagas may be “dropped colonies of Maoris,”’ 
but surely allusion should have been made to the 
IXKhasis, who alone in Assam speak an Austric 
language. 
Religion, mythology and various arts and crafts 
are alike impressed to bear witness to the Indian 
origin of the Polynesians and their migration 
through the East Indian Archipelago. There is 
certainly a great deal to be said in favour of the 
main thesis, and doubtless many of the facts 
adduced may support it, but the entire absence of 
references makes it impossible to gauge their value 
unless the reader happens to know the authorities. 
A number of parallels are cited which would 
equally prove an African or American affinity with 
the Maori. There is a good deal of repetition 
this badly-arranged book, and there is no 
index. 
NOm2326, VOL; 93) 
in 
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OUR BOOKSHELF. 
Marriage Ceremonies in Morocco. By Prof. E. 
Westermarck. Pp. xii+422. (London: Mac- 
millan and Co., Ltd., 1914.) Price 12s. net. 
_ It is to be hoped that Dr. Westermarck will one 
_ day 
give us a general work on the origin and 
development of social ceremonies. Ceremony is a 
sort of material complement to social ideas, an 
_ action-language embodying and expressing, if 
not imitating ‘and compelling, the social will. Its 
' roots are in thie same soil as magic. 
' none of which is unimportant. 
_ shows, 
_ bride-price, the preparation of the trousseau, 
| arrival and reception of the bride, the meeting of 
bride and bridegroom (as a rule they have never 
This very complete study, by. the historian of 
human marriage, of the marriage ceremonies of 
the Moroccan peoples, includes a mass of detail, 
The wealth of 
ceremonial possessed by Arab and Berber folk- 
custom is extraordinary..- But in most cultures 
marriage tends to be more ceremonialised than 
any human happening. Even modern Germany, 
as Reinsberg - Diringfeld’s ‘‘ Hochzeitbuch” 
is in this respect nearly the equal of 
Morocco. Most of these -are what anthropolo- 
gists ten years ago styled customs, but the formal 
“solemnity” of practically all social. and most 
individual acts in semi-civilised societies has now 
been well established. It is the main character of 
the “religious” or “magical” stage of culture. 
The betrothal, the negotiations about dowry or 
the 
set eyes on one another), these. and other scenes 
_ are set off by continuous and.minute ceremonial. 
The preservation of so many ‘thousand {details by 
I 
oral tradition is an astounding feat’ ofgmemory, 
which deserves the attention of psychologists. 
In dealing with the ideas embodied in these 
ceremonies, the author refers to the magical 
theory advanced by the present writer in ‘The 
Mystic. Rose,” and to Mr. Van Gennep’s theory 
of rites de passage, rites de séparation, and rites 
d’aggregation. But he recognises the extreme 
probability that they may have a mixed origin. 
Some may be prophylactic or purificatory, others 
mere expressions of emotion, others again may 
be positive and intended to promote welfare. The 
author does not aim at a general philosophy of 
ceremony; but the many points of view which the 
material and the comment suggest should lead to 
important conclusions. 
The work is a splendid monograph, worthy of 
its author. A. E. CRAWLEY. 
A Text-book of Geology. By Prof. James Park. 
Pp. xv+598+Ixx plates. (London: Charles 
Griffin and Co., Ltd.,-1914.)- Price 15s. net. 
Pror. PARK’s mining researches have increased 
rather than lessened his interest in the wide fields 
of geology, and the present text-book adequately 
covers the range required for students of mining 
colleges and secondary schools. It is systemati- 
cally divided into paragraphs, headed in_ thick 
type; facts are concisely stated, and the author’s 
personality is not permitted to intrude. 
