Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-03-30

affecting the tribe were discussed and
decided, women having an equal voice
with the men. The same conditions are
the basis Of the tribe self government
today with notifications caused by the
coming Of the white man.
TRIVIAL INCIDENTS
CAUSE OF WAR.
So strong was the III feeling between
tribes that for n time the villages were
deserted and the tribes lived in a CON
slant state Of war, or preparedness for
war. inside their pas, or Notifications,
from which they issued only in force.
Trivial incidents often led TO long and
bitter warfare. For instance, the burn
ing Of war canoe of the Arawa tribe
by q force OF Waikato, who apparently
were inspired only by a feeling Of devil
try. led to a war which gradually in
volved almost every tribe on one SIDE
or the other until all Of Maoriland was
engaged in the game Of bloodshed and
kept It up for generations. There were
periods Of peace and then periods Of
wars between tribes. Finally the white
man came and, as white men generally
have been inclined to do the world over,
rode roughshod ever the natives, vio-
lated their tapu, or sacred things, and
brought on war between whites and
Maori, which ended only when friendly
Maoris helped the whites In such num-
bers that the others were subdued.
Alone 1t is doubtful If the white man
at that time could have held his own
against the shrewd Maori in the battles
in the forests and mountains but, aided
by other equally as shrewd Maoris, the
end was inevitable.
1t is believed by those who have made
close study of the subject that the Maoris
infinite patience was born during those
long war periods inside their fortreases
It was In those days that they developed
the art of fancy and intricate wood cary
ing which Is the admiration Of visitors
from all over the world. Not daring to
go outside, the men turned their atten-
ton to carving to keep them busy.
The Maoris were able through skin
and patience to fashion wonderful
weapons and ornaments out of granite
and the iron-like greensboro and the
women perfected the art Of taking rough
New Zealand fax and from it and the
feathers Of gaudy colored birds making
close woven capes and coats and kits.
Where the savages OF other races
daubed or painted their faces with col
ored mud for war, the Maori, who had
proved his courage, was permitted to
have tattooed upon his face. limbs or his
body scroll work and lines of the most
fantastic designs, each Of which meant
some event in his own life or that Of his
ancestors. Tattooing is at best a slow
and painful process, and what some Of
those warriors OF long ago must have
endured is painful to contemplate. Women
tattooed their lips and chin, which
made them look like a man with a mus
tache and chin whiskers, a custom which
still exists to a small degree.
THE MAORI MAN
SKILLED IN WAR.
The Maori man was not an adept at
making things which had no connection
with war, for mostly he was a fighter
His fshhooks were big, clumsy things OF
shell, with barbed points. He didn't need
any gardening implements, for the WON
en- did all the work. He didn't have to
devise any weapons for killing big game
for there were no four footed creatures,
except native rats, until after Cook came
and supplied pigs from which the island
later was stocked. Birds he trapped by
ingenious methods. The sun was OBJ
scured at times by millions of wild
pigeons, some Of which are still left. He
didn't have to build fires, for the boiling
springs were at hand when he didn't
prefer to eat his food raw. There Is no
characteristic pottery or vessels Of metal
in Maoriiand. Their homes were simple
hutg Of matched straw, for where the