The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-01-07

Professor Bastian, on late journey made
to enrich the Ethnologlcal Museum of Berlin,
STAYED short time in New Zealand and the
Sandwich Islands, and there gathered some
interesting information as to native traditions,
some not yet published and some which have
been neglected Of ever met witty by Europe
an students. The documents now printed in
small volume all strengthen the opinion
which has for years been gaining ground
among anthrOpologsts as to the civilization of
the POlynesians 1t Is true that they were
found in Captain Cooks time living IN bar
barrie state and their scanty clothing and want
of metals led superficial observers even to
class them as savages. But their beliefs and
customs show plain traces of descent from an
cestors who in some way shared the higher
culture of Asiatic nations, At Wellington
Professor Bastian found Mr.. John White, who,
as skilled translator of Maori worked for
Sir George Grey In bringing out the "Poly-
nesian Mythology" and has been engaged IN
the study OF native lore ever since. He Is
about to publish the results of his long study
with the aid of the Colonial Government and
we have here rs specimen OF one OF those
mystic Maori cosmogonies which make us
fancy we are hearing some Buddhist or Gnos
tic philosopher pour out his dreamy metaphys
les about the origin OF things. Out of the
primal night, says the Maori poet, there dl
vided itself nothing, then came darkness,
then seeking and following, and then such
stages as conception of thought, spirit HE,
desire coming into form, breath of life
space. All this is of a piece with the native
Poyneslan poetry IN Faylor's New leland,
and that lately published by Judge ForDan
der In Hawaii. The poem that begins with
the time when there was no voice nor sound
no day nor night, may remind lis of the IA
nous hymn of the Rig Neda tina, begins "Nor
augnt nor naught existed" We find here the
wel-knowH chant of Taaroa how IN the
emptiness of space when there was no earth
nor sky nor see, Taaroa passing into new
forms became The foundation of the rocks and
the sand of the sea and the land Of Hawaii was
born as his shell. Professor Bastian will com.
pare this with the Scandinavian poem in the
Edda how there was no sand nor sea nor salt
waves, no earth nor sky, till Bros sons made
the mighty MIdgard-earth. He points out,
as he has already done the curious likeness
between the scandinavian story of the fishing
up of the monstrous Midgard snake, and the
South Sea Island tale of Maui finishing up
the island of New leland. Not less striking
is such an analogy as the Polynesian Taaroa
mating with his own energy female form,
like Hindu god with his Sakti. The author
may well ask, are these people, with such far
echoes OF Orphlc, Chaldean, buddhist philOs-
ophy, the simple playful children Of nature
on whom we look down as representing the
lowest rungs In the ladder of Developments
ln Hawaii the German anthrOpologlst learned
much from King Kalakaua, who is thorough
ly initiated in the religious ideas of his royal
predecessors, who used to have the eyes Of
their enemies offered them by the high priest
in the stoi e howl which his Majesty still keeps
as curiosity. Ont of the royal library he
produced MS. temple-chant, written about
the begining Of this century, containing a
cosmogony. of which Professor Bastian repro
duces as much as he had time to have trans