﻿J. T. Thomson. — The Whence of the Maori 43 



Barata was maintaining its existence easily amongst tlie rude and weak tiibes 

 of the Indian Arcliipelago, their parent state was being overrun, and almost 

 extirpated, by energetic and bold northern races, now filling up Hindostan, 

 and the Tamilian race gradually spread itself over South India. These, again, 

 sent off waves of migration in the direction in which they would have least 

 opposition, viz., as shown by Logan, along the volcanic chain of Sumatra and 

 Java to Timor, whence they extended to Australia — the native languages of 

 which yet maintain strong Tamilian affinities, while the physiognomy may be 

 said to be identical with the lower castes of Dravirian. That the second systems 

 of migration should have taken this direction may be accounted for in the 

 barriers formed by the descending Mangian on the central part of the 

 Archipelago. Also, a westerly migration would be opposed by the Semitic 

 migrations in South Arabia. 



Thus, our ethnographical inquiry proves two great eastern systems of 

 migration out of archaic South India. The first we have traced to the eastern 

 part of the Indian Archipelago, the second to Avistralia. We must now 

 follow the further advance of the former, which we left in the region of the 

 Moluccas. No doubt many succeeding migrations from the same fecund soil 

 have taken place, the most notable amongst which is due to the Arian energy. 

 Its effect on the glossaries of the Indian Archipelago has been already 

 shortly noticed, and I would not have further alluded to it had an eminent 

 authority, so often quoted (Crawfurd), not indicated the range of the 

 influence of their language, even as far as New Zealand, by similarity in two 

 words, viz., ap^i^, to join, and taboo, to forbid. These, I think, may be 

 rejected, as apet, in Malay and Sanscrit, signifies to press or squeeze, and 

 tapa, in Sanscrit, means religious penance ; the analogy is, therefore, too 

 remote to require consideration. No doubt the ruder tribes of the Indian 

 Archipelago have the institution of the tahoo, under the name of pantang, 

 and their sacred spots are as numerous, though not so rigidly guarded, imder 

 the name of herhalla, at, or before which superstitious rites are enacted. But 

 this only goes to prove the very archaic connection, which it is the business of 

 this paper to illustrate. 



The next qu.estion then is, how did the descendants of the Barata reach 

 New Zealand? As the first step to answer this, we must have recourse 

 to present observation in similar tx'ibes and circumstances. To bring the pro- 

 priety of this home to ourselves, I may cite the stone age of Europe as being 

 over three thousand years bygone, but the stone age of New Zealand cannot be 

 reckoned as more than thirty, for have we not the remains of chert saws, 

 files, and axes, of almost yesterday's manufacture, in the interior of Otago, 

 aboimding over the valleys of Manuherikia and Taieri. Thus, by personal 

 observation, we know the habits of the modern Maori who used them, and 



