Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-10

grew up bestowed faVorS on Wholn 'lles
pleased and the more Suitors they had the
more valuable We're they accounted. When
a girl had a preference for one sutton the
matter usually ended by her going home
with him and the two lived as man and
wife
Marriage and Divorce.
Men were sometimes known to carry off
girl by force when her relatives objected
to their uniOn and, on the other hand.
women sometimes committed suicide to
avoid living with men whom they disliked.
Occasionally there would be family con-
clave over the marriage of a woman, the
chief feature of which was long-windeu
speeches by the brothers of the bride. who,
in any case. were the ones to be consulteu,
the parents having little to say in the mat
ter 1t sometimes happened that girl
would be betrothed (tapu) to man in her
infancy, but a rule they seem } have
had quite as much to do with their own
fateS in this respect as have our American
S.rS of today.
Divorce was even easier performance
than marriage. The dissatisfied husband
had only to put the wife out of DOORS after
which it was lawful for any other man to
marry her; nor did divorce operate to the
disadvantage of the woman. In fact Wo-
men sometimes exchanged husbands. The
old cOlonists and the historians of those
times report that OEce woman was mar
ried intideity was rare long as she was
well treated (from the Maori point of view
and had children. In the reverse case vir-
tue was far from common, just as young
girls before marriage enjoyed much more
than European freedom without reproach
Yet there are some dainty romances told
by the tr1ns1nitters of legends, in the soft
South Sea evenings. Lovers of legendary
lore Will find interesting the graceful tale
Of the wooing of Hine Moa and Tutanekai
Here one learns of the surprising beauty
of the maiden Hine Moa and her confession
of love for the low-born Tutanekai, which
fallT
to believe even after receiving the con-
firmatory squeeze of the hand, of how she
swan across the lake Of Rotorua to join
him when all of the canoes had been hidden
because of the suspicious of her friends
and then Of how she coyly summoned her
| lover ard coquettshy hid herself that he
might not find her too quickly. To this day
| her descendants along the shore of the lake
| tell the tale of Hine Moa's beauty nfchant
| the lines of The soft poem.
| Many of the curious old Maori Gus toms
are dying out. Cannibalism has not been
| practiced for half a century. The present
religion of the Maoris is a sort of Chris
tianity inexplicably intermngled with an
Gent tribal forms and rites. Few of the
| Maoris now tattoo their faces, a custom
| formerly universal One occasionally sees
| an old and orthodox chief or high man
| whose face IS covered with the curves, spi-
| rails and other designs denoting no mean
! degree of artistic ability. 1t was rather 8
! Serfons business, this tattooing, and the op.
GRAFTON usually extended over months. One
| chief, who was in hurry to attain the de
| siraby fierce aspect that was supposed tc
| terrify the enemy and win the hearts OF
women. undertook to have the whole
scheme of decoration finished in one day
| but his courage was greater than his STAN
| ina, for he died under the knife
Market for Human Heads.
In former times these highly ornamented
heads We're greatly priced as war trophies
to the islands in the early days a CHASTITY
trade developed in the heads. Sometimes
as much as EGO was paid for a specimen
) which went to some museum or collection
| il Europe. OF course, these heads were
supposed to be obtained in fair and oper
| warfare between the tribes. but 1t Is
| question whether the ready market did mo-
| result in private enterprises of decapita
ton. Judge Manning, in his 'Old New Zea
land relates a conversation which he hat
with a ''pakeha mori." naturalizet
white man, who had a collection of thes,
| human relics.
Looking at the eds, sir% 1t was on,
of the pakehas formerly mentioned. Yes.
said l, turning round just the least posi-
BILE thing quicker than the ordinary. Ed
has been getting scarce says he.
should think So says l. we amt had
ed this long time says he. The devil,
says l. One o. them eds has been hur
bad says he. I should think all wer
| rather so, says 1. On, no, only one OIL
en- says he; the skull is split and 1
won't fetch nothin,' says he. oh. muir
der! l see now says 1. Eds was wer,
scarce says he shaking his own ed All
said l. They had to tattoo a slave a bi
ago says he and the villain ran away
tattOoin' and all!' says he. 'What?' sal,
l. 'BOlted afore he was fit to KILL says he
Stole off with his own head? says
That's just it, says he. Capital felony
says l. You may say that, sir says he
Good morning. said l, and walked ava
pretty smartly. Loose notions about head
IN this country said 1 to myself.
1t is a question whether this race Of stall
wart and beautiful people is not dying out
! From 1910 to 1870 their numbers fell fror
10000 to 10000. Since then their number
have remained about stationary, but thi
reckoning includes half-breeds in tn
count. Unsanitary conditions of life kee
the death rate up to an equality with tn
birth rate.
These Maoris might be rich If they chos
to lease or cultivate their rich lands, bu
they are lazy, sun-loving, child-hearte
people. and are content to dig Kauri gun
shear sheep or clear brush for the whites
The beauty of the women results in man
marriages. well as less formal alliance
with the whites, and 1t is to be feared tina
within few years full-blood of thi
splendid aboriginal type will be hard t
) find