Taavens.—On the Traditions and Customs of the Mori-oris. 17 
The notes which I am about to read in relation to the traditions and 
habits and customs of the Mori-oris, are drawn up chiefly from memoranda 
furnished to me by my son from notes made during his visits to the Chatham 
Islands some years ago. They are, unfortunately, imperfect—a defect 
which is not, however, to be attributed to any want of interest on his 
part in the subject itself, but partly to the difficulty of interpretation and 
partly to the stil greater difficulty of arousing a sufficient degree of 
interest in these matters in the few old men who can give information in 
regard to them. In this connection it must be borne in mind, that for 
many years after the Maori conquest, the unfortunate Mori-oris were kept 
in a condition of abject slavery by their conquerors, who looked upon them 
very much in the light of sheep and oxen, to be killed and eaten as required, 
a condition of things by no means favourable to the maintenance of tradi- 
tional lore or to the observance of original habits and customs, more 
especially if these should be at all obnoxious to the prejudices of the 
conquerors. Indeed, my son tells me that the Mori-oris have almost 
entirely abandoned their own customs, and that it is only when a few of 
the older people get together that they even speak their own language. I 
have no doubt, however, that with a knowledge of their language—unless it 
be altogether too late—the notes which he obtained would afford a clue to 
further knowledge, and it is to be hoped that some opportunity may occur 
for obtaining it. In former papers (published in the ** Transactions of the 
New Zealand Institute”), some information is to be found as to the manners 
and customs of the Mori-oris; but I purpose, even at the risk of repetition, 
to give all that is contained in the memoranda furnished to me by my son. 
The Mori-oris themselves say that they are a mixed race, and that the 
people who oceupied the islands prior to the admixture, were larger in 
stature, and darker in colour, than the present inhabitants, and had very 
black hair. They state that these aboriginal people traced their descent, 
at a distance of 30 generations from the arrival of the first immigrants, 
with whom the admixture took place, to a great chief named Rongomai, 
whom they looked upon as a godlike man. It will be observed by 
those who have read the ** Traditions of the New Zealanders," and the 
Rev. Mr. Gill’s interesting work, “ Myths and Songs from the South 
Pacific,” that in almost every instance the islanders look back to 
Rongo, or Rongo-mai, or Rongo-ma-toure, as one of their remote ances- 
tors, ascribing to him the powers of a god; and assert that, although 
he was a younger son, yet, through the craft of his mother, Papa, all the 
functions of government, the arrangement of festivals, and the right to 
distribute honours and power, had been secured to him. It is interesting, 
therefore, to find the elements of the same tradition amongst a people so 
B 
