CorENso.—On the Maori Races of New Zealand. ` 387 
wails and chaunts over the recent dead ended with—* Go, go, away to thy 
people.” It is a curious fact, that by the Fijians, Tahitians, Tongans, and 
Samoans, as well as by the’ New Zealanders, the place of departure of the 
spirits to the unseen world is uniformly fixed at the western extremity of 
the island. 
TII.— PHILOLOGICAL. 
40. The New Zealand tongue is a distinct dialect of the great Polynesian 
language, spoken more or less throughout most of the numerous isles in 
the Pacific Ocean lying east of the longitude of New Zealand. It consists 
of fifteen letters—five vowels and ten consonants ; of the latter, two may be 
called double, though having each but one sound. No two consonants can 
possibly come together, and every syllable and every word ends with a 
vowel. The New Zealand dialect has ten principal subdivisions, which 
cannot, however, with propriety be termed sub-dialects, viz., —(1) Rarawa, 
or Northern; (2) Ngapuhi, or Bay of Islands; (8) Waikato; (4) Rotorua 
and Taupo; (5) Bay of Plenty ; (6) East Cape and Poverty Bay ; (7) Hawke 
Bay to the Straits; (8) Ngatiawa, or Wellington to Taranaki ; (9) the South 
Island; and (10) Chatham Islands. In all these sub-divisions the gram- 
matical structure is the same, with very slight variations; the principal 
differences being found in words and idioms. There are, however, three 
exceptions as to the change or dropping of a consonant :—(1.) The Bay of 
Plenty, where n is used for ng. (2.) The Ngatiawa tribes, from Wellington 
to Taranaki, who alone, of the New Zealanders, have a. very peeuliar mode of 
expressing the A by a kind of guttural click, or half-expressed hiatus, or 
semi-stop; and (3.) The Ngaitahu in the South Island, who use for ag. 
Itis highly worthy of notice, that all these differences are also found in the 
dialects of the various island groups, though not as in New Zealand—all in 
the one dialect of one island or group. : 
41. Its grammar is peculiar, as compared with those of western lan. 
s, having neither declension of nouns by inflection, nor conjugation 
of verbs as there obtains; all such being clearly done by simple particles 
affixed or suffixed. Its singular is changed into the plural number by pre- 
fixing a syllable. There is no auxiliary verb “to be,” but the particle ano 
often supplies its place. Every verb has a causative, as well-as active and. 
passive meanings. Intensitives, superlatives, and diminutives abound. It 
has double dual pronouns, and also a double plural; both of which may be 
termed inclusive and exclusive, allowing of great grammatical precision in 
speaking. It has several articles, singular and plural, and is rich in prepo- 
sitions, adverbs, conjunctions and particles ; each bearing delicately different 
shades of meaning. The New Zealanders all speak grammatically from their 
