Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-12-29
A PECULIAR CUSTOM AMONG THE
Mt0EIS

a PECULIAR CUSHION AMONG THE
MAORIS.
Hon. &. ". Drit!in. United Stat, :
Consul at Auckland. New Z2aianH.
r"yontly rca'l Il very Interesting aMd
valuable paper before the st. Louis
Historical Society III relation to on"
OF the pcculiarcu,toms Of the Maors.
or aboriginal Inhabitants of New Zca
land. 1t Is of interest. from the fact
that il illustrated very forcihly a
singular phase of sava%cry which Is
fast disappearing before the march
of civiil2at!cn. Just a. the earl ' GU,
tom, of tn" red men of America are
now little more than traditions among
til" Indians themselves:
the law Of muru Is So complicated
in lis nature. and subject to 50 many
r'!lnemrnts and 81 varied III its ap
llicatun,. that it would Ne about a.
difficult to tell what it is as to tell
what il is not The word murli. IN
Its literal SENSE, mean, to rob or to
plumber. and for this reason Euro
r,'ans have come t. regard the term
;io Il sort Of lcgalizri system Of rob
berry This view of the subject is.
however. very far from being Il just
one The hw OF muru is 50 broad
and general an application that no
human being, whatever may be his
rank or condition in life, is exempt
from its penalties or benefits.
But. in order to understand the
practical workings of the law, it must
he borne III mind that the Maoris are
communists, both i'll theory and prac
tice. They do not think 1T right for
one person to own more property
than another For instance. if a
chief owns six pigs and another four,
one must be taken from the former
and given to the latter. that each
may have the same number Indeed,
property changes hands SO often that
"a man can't tell Il week OF month
beforehand who will be the owner OF
his canoe, blanket or mat, or even
the house in which he lives.
The great principle Is to keep
property III circulation The oftencr
it changes hands the better A mans
relations have the first claim to it.
His friends and neighbors come
next. No one, however, would dare
think of asserting Il claim to the
property of another, except in ac
cordance with the strictest principles
of the law of muru, which alone can
determine the right of ownership.
Should great misfortune overtake
man, such as the death of a favor
ito child, his relatives are allowed, nc
cording to the law of mura. to dis
possess him of all his personal prop
erty, and, if need be, of the house in
which he lives. He must suffer for
his misfortune. But strictly speak
ing, he does not regard the loss of all
his earthly possessions as punish
ment Indeed on the contrary, he
looks upon it as a great honor. He
is blessed both by men and
gods; the greater the loss the
greater the honor. If everything
he has in the world is taken
from him. he is treated with the pro
foundcst respect. and he becomes n
ii man of some Importance in the
community in which he lives.
IF a mans child should be burnt
to death, and the accident prove to
be unavoidable, the father is at once
plundcred to an extent highly graft
flying. Everything is taken from him
his goods. clothing, spears, fishing
nets, mats, canvas indeed, all his
earthly provisions; and in order to
favor him still further, he is severely
dubbed besides. He is usually left
upon the ground in terribly bruised
and bleeding condition. 1t is. how
ever, against the law of muru to kill
him. He is also duly warned of the
process of the law. 1t would never
do to take him by surprise. A mes
senger lis dispatched to inform him OF
the near approach of the officers Of the
law. Sometimes he prepares to receive
them, and great feast Is gwen in
honor of their arrival. He is always
anxious to know whether it is Il great
or little m,iru, If he is told that it
is great muru, he is beside himself
with joy. He is expected to defend
himself with a spear or club until he
is overpowered, but it is against the
law for him to strike the officers too
hard. AS soon rs the first blood is
drawn he must stop. Sometimes
he makes determined resist
ance and is terribly in earn
est and the contest is citing
in the extreme. Ono often Ia,
mires his courage The contest is
unequal he is battling with fate.
Like Macbeth, he knows that he
is doomed; but, unlike Macbeth,
he does not wish it otherwise,
for to be victorious would he against
the law of muru"