Myths and Legends of New Zealand, intro

Sir George Grey, 3rd Governor General of New Zealand, from November 1845 to January 1854, and December 1961 to February 1868, also 11th Premier of New Zealand from October 1877 to October 1879.

Image Source

I have found, deep in dust, in the back of the garage, an old book from my youth, where George Grey explains his mission to record the ancient myths and legends of New Zealand.

I hope you enjoy them.

They are written in the English and the style of the day.

George Grey was unexpectedly required to administer the affairs of New Zealand, and shortly after was appointed Governor-In-Chief of those Islands.

When he arrived he found the native subjects engaged in hostilities with the Queen’s troops, against whom they had up to that time contended with considerable success.

So much discontent prevailed generally amongst the native population, that where disturbances had not yet taken place, there was too much reason to apprehend they would soon break out, as they shortly afterwards did, in several parts of the Islands.

He soon perceived that he could neither successfully govern, nor hope to conciliate, a numerous and turbulent people with whose language, manners, customs, religion, and modes of thought he was quite unacquainted.

In order to redress their grievances, and apply remedies which would neither wound their feelings nor mitigate against prejudices, it was necessary that he should be able to understand their complaints to win their confidence and regard.

It was also required that he should be able at all times to listen to the tales of their wrongs or sufferings, and, even if he could not assist them, to give them a kind reply, couched in such terms as should leave no doubt in their minds that he clearly understood and felt for them, and was really well disposed towards them.

Although furnished with some very able interpreters, who gave assistance of the most friendly nature, he soon found out that even with their aid he could only imperfectly perform his duties.

He could not at all times and in all places have an interpreter by his side, and often when waylaid by some suitor, who had perhaps travelled two or three hundred miles to lay before him the tale of his grievances, he was compelled to pass on without listening, and to witness, with pain, an expression of sorrow and keenly disappointed hope cloud over features which a moment before were bright with gladness, that an opportunity so anxiously looked for had at length been secured.

Again, he found that any tale of sorrow or suffering passing through the medium of an interpreter, fell much more coldly on his ear than what it would have done, had the person interested addressed the tale to him direct.

In a likewise manner, an answer delivered through an interpreter appeared to leave a very different impression upon the suitor from what it would have had coming directly from the lips of the Governor.

Moreover, this mode of communication through an interpreter was so cumbrous and slow that, in order to compensate for the loss of time thus occasioned, it became necessary for the interpreters to compress the substance of the representations made to him, as well as his replies, into as few words as possible.

This had in each instance to be done hurriedly at the moment, there was reason to fear that much that was material to enable him to fully understand the question brought before him, or the suitor to comprehend his reply, might be unintentionally omitted.

These reasons, and others of equal force, made him feel that it was his duty to make himself acquainted, with the least possible delay, with the language on the Maori, as also with their manners, customs, and prejudices.

He soon found that this was a far more difficult matter than he had first thought.

The Maori language is a very difficult one to understand thoroughly, there was then no dictionary of it yet published, also there were no books published in the language which would have enabled him to study its construction.

It varied altogether in form from any of the ancient or modern languages that he knew, and his thoughts and time were so occupied with the cares of the Government of a country pressed upon by many difficulties, and with a formidable rebellion raging in it, he could only find very few hours to devote to the acquisition of an unwritten and difficult language.

Soon, however, a new and quite unexpected difficulty presented itself,

On the side of the rebel party were engaged, either openly or covertly, some of the oldest, least civilized, and most influential chiefs in the Islands.

With them he had, either personally or by written communications, to discuss questions which involved peace or war, and on which the whole future of the Islands and of the native race depended, so it was essential that he should fully and entirely comprehend their thoughts and intentions, and that they should not in any way misunderstand the nature of the engagements into which he entered with them.

To his surprise, however, he found that these chiefs, either in their speeches to him, or in their letters, frequently quoted, in explanation of their views and intentions, fragments of ancient poems or proverbs, or made allusions which rested on an ancient system of mythology.

Although it was clear that the most important parts of their communications were embodied in these figurative forms, the interpreters were quite at fault, they could rarely, if ever, translate the poems or explain the allusions, and there was no publication in existence which threw any light upon these subjects, or which gave meaning of the great mass of words which the natives upon such occasions made use of.

So that he was compelled to content himself with a short general statement of what some other native thought that the writer of the letter intended to convey as his meaning, by the fragment of the poem he had quoted, or by the allusions he had made.

It must be added that the young Christian natives were quite as much at fault on these subjects as were the European interpreters.

Clearly, as Governor, he could not permit so close a veil drawn between himself and the influential chiefs whom it was his duty to attach to British interests, and to the British race, whose regard and confidence, as also that of their tribes, it was his desire to secure and with whom it was necessary that he should hold the most unrestricted intercourse.

The only thing that could be done, under such circumstances, was to acquaint himself with the ancient language of the country, to collect the traditional poems and legends of the country, to induce the priests to impart to him their mythology and to study their proverbs.

For more than eight years he devoted a great part of his spare time to these pursuits, spending his spare moments at this duty in every part of the country he travelled and during the many voyages from portion to portion of the Islands.

He was always accompanied by natives, and at every possible chance continued his studies.

Once, having amassed a great amount of materials to assist with his studies the Government House burnt down destroying all the materials and papers he had collected, thus, he was left to recommence his difficult and wearying task

The ultimate result was that he had acquired a great amount of information on these subjects, and had collected a large mass of materials, which was, however, from the manner in which it had been collected, in a very scattered state.

Different portions of the same poem or legend were often collected from different natives, in different parts of the country, with long periods of time between collecting one part of a poem or legend, before he could find another native accurately acquainted with another portion of it.

Consequently, the fragments thus obtained were scattered through different note books, and, before they could be given to the public, required to be carefully arranged and rewritten, and, what was still more difficult, [whether viewed in reference to the real difficulty of fairly translating the ancient language in which they were composed, or his public duties] it was necessary that the should be translated.

Having, however, with much toil acquired the information which he found so very useful to himself, he felt unwilling that the result of his labors should be lost to those whose duty it may be hereafter to deal with the natives of New Zealand.

He therefore undertook a new task, which he was often sorely tempted to abandon, but the sane sense of duty that had made him originally study the native language enabled him to persevere and produce a large volume in the native language, containing a very extensive collection of the ancient traditional poems, religious chants, and songs of the Maori race.

Plus to the European reader, this collection of the principal portions of their ancient mythology and some of their most interesting legends.

With regard to the translation he felt a few words were required.

He fears that in point of care and language it will not satisfy the critical reader, but he can truly say that he has had no leisure time to carefully revise it. The translation is also faithful, and it is almost impossible to closely and faithfully translate a very difficult language without almost insensibly falling into the idiom and form of construction of that language, which, perhaps, from its unusualness may prove unpleasant to the European ear and mind, and this must be the case in a work like this.

No continuous portion of the original was derived from one person, but which is compiled from many written or orally delivered narratives of many, each differing from the others in style, and some, even materially different from the rest in dialect.