1 54 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



thirty years' residence amongst them ; a knowledge of which may in some 

 small degree assist those who have undertaken the solution of this very 

 interesting problem. 



It may help to render my paper more intelligible, if I state briefly what 

 Mr. Gladstone calls the stages of the historical development of the colou.r- 

 sense. 



The starting point is an absolute blindness of colour in the primitive 

 man. 



The Fu-st stage attained is that at which the eye becomes able to distin- 

 guish between red and black. 



In the Second stage, the sense of colour becomes completely distinct 

 from the sense of light ; both red and yellow, with their shades, are clearly 

 discerned. 



In the Third stage, green is discernible. 



In the Fourth and last stage an acquaintance with blue begins to 

 emerge. , 



"What stage had the colour-sense of the Maori reached before inter- 

 course with Em-opeans began ? This can readily be ascertained by reference 

 to the terms existing in the language at that date, for giving expression 

 to the sense of colour. 



We find, upon examination, that the language possessed very few words 

 that conveyed to the mind an idea of colour, apart from the object with 

 which the particular colour was associated. There are only three colours 

 for which terms exist, namely, white, black, and red. 



White, ma (sometimes tea — very limited application). 

 Black, j)ouri, pango, mangu. 

 Red, wliero, kura, ngangana. 

 If we analyse these words they seem all to relate to the presence or absence 

 of sunlight. Ma is doubtless a contraction for Marama, light, which is 

 derived from Ra, the sun. Pouri, black, is derived from Po, night. The 

 derivation of pango and mangu is not so apparent, but I venture to think 

 that both whero and kura may be traced to Ra. Ma is not only the term 

 for whiteness and clearness, but also for all the lighter tints of yeUow, grey, 

 and green. Grey hair is caUed hina, but the term was never used to desig- 

 nate anything else but hair ; every other grey object was either tna or pa?igo, 

 as it inclined to a lighter or darker shade. 



To express blackness three terms exist, pouri, pango, and mangu. The 

 night was pouri, and any very dark tint might be expressed by the same 

 word. Pouri and Marama were constantly used to express opposite mental 

 conditions. Pango and mangu were applied indiscriminately to describe 

 anything black ; the former word seems to approach closely to a true colour 



