PO Pe ee ae eM me Tes 
Fat ee Lee a Tae EeAR MTT es ee pe me 
ia i a a a a a a a a a lk 
3 
4 
3 
ee LS ee ee 
Cotznso.—On the Colour Sense of the Maoris. 73 
I will conclude this paper with an excellent observation by the celebrated 
Professor Owen :—‘‘ Past experience of the chance aims of human fancy, 
unchecked and unguided by observed facts, shows how widely they have 
ever glanced away from the gold centre of truth.’”* 
APPENDIX. 
A Paradigm of the word Whero, one of the (several) Maori terms for the red 
colour. 
“Tt is said, that the New Zealander’s perception of colours was defective 
and weak; this, however, is a mistake. Their colours were mainly divided 
into three distinctive classes,—white, black, and red ;—but they were never 
at a loss clearly to express all colours. They used them, much as an 
English mariner uses the four names of the principal winds and points of 
the compass, repeated and involved to make 32, only much more expres- 
sively ; as they also used with them several adjectives, increasing or lessen- 
ing the meaning ; also the words themselves reduplicated as diminutives. 
Besides which, if a New Zealander wished to convey to another a very exact 
idea of any colour intended, he would mention that of some natural object 
which was of the same shade of colour,” etc., etc. (W. C. “ Essay on the 
Maori Races,” § 83, Vol. I., Trans. N.Z. Inst.) 
Whero = red.+ 
I. Ascending: intensifying. 
(Indicating, pure, clear, strong, brilliant, and lasting red colours. ) 
Kowhero. 
‘Tino kowhero, 
Tino whero. 
Tino whero rawa. 
Tino whero nui rawa whakaharahara. 
Tona whero i whero ai. 
Tino whero whakawhero. 
Katahi te tino whero. 
Katahi te mea i tino pai tona whero. 
* Paleontology, p. 443; Second Edition. 
y 
+ There are also several other proper names of red,—as, kura, kurakura, ngangana, 
pakurakura, ura, ete, 
