Evolution in Maori Art. Author(s): H. D. Skinner Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 46 (Jan. - Jun., 1916), pp. 184-196 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2843471 . Accessed: 28/06/2014 13:02

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 184

EVOLUTION IN MAORI AIRT.

[WITH PLATE X.] By H. D. SKINNER.

INTRODUCTION.

THE followingstudies on the origin and developmentof variousforms of Maori pendant,and of the meere,were undertakenas the firststep towardselucidatiilg the historyand affinitiesof Maori art as a whole. It is believed that the method followed-that of tracingout the ancestral formsof the sinmplestdecorative designs and workingfrom them towards the far more complex problemspresented by the great wood carvings-will yield more reliable results than any other method. Events forbade the finishingof the task, and the studies are presented as a fragment. The conclusionreached by the writer is that Maori art in its mostcharacter- istic forms is native to New Zealand. Some of the inotifsare derived from Melanesia,notably the lhumanfigure with the two supportingbird-headed manaias, a designrecurring with endlessvariations through the whole fieldof Maoli carving. To the same region may be traced the love of scroll patterns in carving and decorativepainting. From Polynesia were apparently derived the perfectionof execution,the technicalskill, and the tendencytowards repetition and symmetrical balance whichmark the Maori artist. The fusion of these two diverse elements produceda vigorousand fertilenative art, derived from Melanesia and Polynesia but markedby new and distinctivecharacteristics of its own. It is with these two Oceanic areas, and not, as is often confidentlyasserted, with India and Eastern Asia or withAmerica, that Maori art is most closelyconnected. In a paper published in Man,' the presentwriter has traced the ancestryof the J-shapedpendant called tau-tau and proved it a native New Zealand form. In two papersof the followingseries, a similar origin and deseentis tracedfor the straightand the curvedtypes of pendants. Each of themoriginated in an object of practicaluse, and each developedthrough a series of closelysinmilar forms into a type of pure ornamentshowing little resemblance to the implementfrom which it originallysprang. ln the case of the hei-tik/iand of the peka-pe/ca,we shall see reason to believe that a foreignelement is involved and that this element is Melanesian. In each case the evolutionof the ornamentand the shape ultimatelyevolved has been profoundlyaffected by the material-greenstone-in which the workwas generallyexecuted.

1 Vol. xv, No i, Article2. This paperwas by errorattributed to Mr. Elsdon Best.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H. D. SKINNER.-Evolutio0n 2iMiaori Art. 185

ORIGIN AND RELATIONSHIP OF PATU, ONEWA, AND MERE.

In all large collectionsof Maori anatiquitiesthere are to be seen specimensof the spatulateweapon to whichthe generic name patt was given. They range in lengthfrom 20 inches to 9 or 10. Ia outlinethey vary greatly, and thisvariability is speciallypronounced in those types which are made of whalebone or of wood. Some are completelycovered with intricateand beautifulcarving, while othersare perfectlyplain. The onewa may be taken as the typical shape, but many of the woodenand whalebonespecimens are in outline like a fiddle. From this shape furtherdevelopment has produceda fantastictype in which part of the cutting edge is lost altogether,its place being taken by a grotesquefigure with arched back and protrudingtongue. Common features in all these formsare the narrow neck or grip which expands into the blade, the flatblade, its flatnessvarying according to strengthof material,and the cuttingedge aroundthe most expanded part of the blade at the distal end. This last feature is specially noteworthy. Though the strikingor cuttingedge of the onewa and the mereeextenids from the distal end round either side to the grip,this is not the case with the older and more primitivetypes. In these the cuttingedge does liot extend to the grip at all, but is confinedto the distal end. Frolmithis we should concludewhat we know on other grounds to be true,name]y, that patmis rnota club, as it is sometimeserroneously called,' nor developedfrom one, but a thrustingor stabbing weapon. Further consideration mightlead us to the conclusion that the patu is designed for stabbing,not the body,but the head. I believe the methodof use varied little throughoutNew Zealand. Among the Taranaki tribethe flaxor leatherthong is secured around the wrist and the weapon is grasped in the right hand. The left foot and shoulder are advanced towardsthe enemyand the lefthand and fingersare vibrated with extraordinary rapidity: the knees are bent and the whole frame is tense, the eyes roll and the tongueis protrudedto an extraordinarylength: suddenlythe warriorsidles crab- like half a dozen yardstowards the enemy: then as suddenly he swings round, using his leftfoot as a pivot,bringing his rightside forward,the weapon readyfor the blow: with a whirnyingscream the sidelong advance is continueduntil the opponentis engaged. The strokeis not actuallyhorizontal, but an uppish thrust deliveredwith the action of a round-armbowler and generallyaimned at the temple. Fig. 1 gives a good idea of it. The individualwhose skull is shown in Fig. 2 has Teceivedsuch a blow and it has pierced his skull. He survived the stroke long enoughfor bone partlyto close the gap.

I McMi]lan Brown, Mlaor-ianid Poloynesian,p. 169. " The mere is a modificatioil of a club rather than a cutting weapon." o 2

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 186 H. D. SKINNER.-EcoUlutN1io -il1aori Art.

FIG. 1.-STROKE WITH MERE. Illustiationsto AncentIistory of theifaori. By JohnWhite.

FIG. 2.-WOUND ON TEMPLE, RESULT OF STROKE WITH MERE. Skull in the Museumof NelsonCollege.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H. D. SEKINNER.-Evolmtionin MlaoqiArt. 187

Such was the proper blow with a mere,the only one, so far as is known,that was sanctionedby Maori honour. Doubtless in a tight corner a warrior would banish etiquetteand deal what kind of blows he might,but such an action was disapproved.' The reason for this curious piece of military etiquette was firstindicated manyyears ago by Lieut.-GeneralPitt-Rivers, who suggestedthat the ancestorof the merewas probablya stone celt or adze. The natureof such a weapon and the positionof the cuttingedge would limit the blows possible to a single one-the thrust at the head. The present paper is intended to supplythe proof of Pitt- Rivers' theoryand to indicatethe relationshipexisting between the variousspecies ofj9at7t. It is believedthat the evidenicebrought forward will also throwlight on some questionsconnected with the historyof the Maori race. The mostbeautiful of all the species of Maori adze is the toki-pom-tangataor killingadze. It is almostinvariably made of greenstone,and is generallymuch thininerin cross-section than the ordinaryworking adze. When used as a weapon, it was sometimeshafted on a carved handle, but more generallyit was used unhafted. Fig. 3 is a good example,having the proximal end shaped to hold the lashingswhich fastened it to the handle. When used unhaftedthis part would serve as a grip forthe hand. For this type of weapon the only strokepossible is that already described as the characteristicstroke with the mere. Fig. 3A is anothergood example,the largestknown to the writer. Fig. 4 illustratesa slightadvance in the directionof the mnere.A small hole has been drilledin the reke,or poll, forsuspension about the owner'sneck whennot in use. The notcheson the edge (visible faintlyoni the side elevation)are also note- wortlhy. In Fig. 5 a hole for suspension drilled near the edge has broken,and a secolndhole has been drilled well down the blade. At this stage the leather thong securingthe weapon to the wrist probably made its appearance. The notches (whaka-taratara)are probably decorative in purpose. There is no fixed number,but theygenerally occur in groups of three. I believe they took their originfrom the transversegrooves for holding the flax binding sometimesseen on greenstoneadzes. Fig. 6 shows such an adze with threegrooves. Fig. 7 is intendedsolely foruse in the han(dand can never have been hafted. The grip has developed and the niotchesare disappearing. In Fig. 8 the notcheshave disappearedand the grip has fully developed,though the weapon is still adze-shaped. In Fig. 9 the typical mere shape is emerging,although the cuttingedge is still confinedto the distal end. The reke or knob makes its first appearance. Fig. 10 is the merepounamnm fully developed, the cutting edges passirg back on eitherside to the grip, and the reke synmmetrical.Fig. 11 is an onewa(patmt in black basalt) whichexhibits the highest developmentreached by the Maori in the manufactureof stonepatu.

1 Since thiswas writtenI have seen a wooden.patu in the CambridgeUniversity Museum, which must have been used for a club blow. This is the onlyspecimen of the kind known to me.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions FIG. a3-GREENSTONE ADZE. SKINNER COLLECTION. LENGTH l01 INCHES. GREENSTONE. LOC. TARANARI.

FIG. 3A.-TOKI-POU-TANGATA. SKINNER COLLECTION. LENGTH 15 INCHES. GREENSTONE. LOC. UNKNOWN.

FIG. 4.-TOXJ-POU-TANGATA. SKINNER COL- FIG. -5.-TOKI-POU-TANGATA. FELS COL- LECTION. LENGTH 10 INCHES. GRE NSTONE. LECTION. LENGTH 7i INCHES. GREEN- LOC. UNKNOWN. STONE. LOC. WAIKATO.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H. D. SKINNER.-Evolution in Maori Art. 189

i

j1t11I

FIG. 6.-ADZE. SMITH COLLEC- FIG. 7.-TOKI-POU-TANGATA. TION (AUCKLAND MUSEUM). FELS COLLECTION. LENGTH 8 LENGTH 31 INCHES. GREEN- INCHES. GREENSTONE. LOC. STONE. LOC. NEAR DUNEDIN. NORTH AUCKLAND.

lit

FIG. 8.-INTERMEDIATE FORM. FIG. 9.-INTERMEDIATE FORM. BUDDLE COLLFCTION. LENGTH SMITH COLLECTION (AUCKLAND 8! INCHES. LOC. PURAKANUI, MUSEUM). LENGTH 84 INCHES. OTAGO. GREENSTONE. LOC. OTAGO.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 190 H. D. SKINNER.-EVOlutiOn in Mlaori Art.

At this point a new and mnoretractable material comiies into use,namely whale- bone. Fig. 12 is a splendid specimen of whalebonemere, surpassing in execution and finishanything possible in stone. Fig. 13 (face and side view) representsa rare type fronmOtago. In the fragmentA, the rekehas dividedinto two,each part representinga bird,or gianaia head. In the fineweapon, shown full length,these heads have beconmeconventionalized into roundedknobs, in which,however, the eye

FIG. 10.-MERE POUNAMU. SKINNER COL- FIG. 1l.-ONEWA. SKINNER COLLECTION. LENGTH LECTION. LENGTH 11 INCHES. GREEN- 143 INCHES BASALT. LOC. NORTH TARANAKI. STONE. LOC. TARANAKI. of the manacia is still indicated. Fig. 14 is a developmentof Fig. 12, having a head or whelmin place of the ridges on theknob, and a blade indentedon bothsides. The indentationsare opposite holes throughthe blade. How little any part of the cuttingedge except that at the distal end was used in fightingis provedby Fig. 15, a commontype in whicha humanfigure has been substitutedfor the cuttingedge along two-thirdsof one side. Name and significanceof figureare lost, but I believe it was purelyornamental. Many theorieshave arisen as to the purposeof

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H. D. SKINNER.-Evolutioni, Maori Art. 191

the hole and iiidentation,some of whichI hope to examinein a futurepaper. I believe that theyare in purposeornamnental, that the primaryelemnent is the hole, and that the indentationis a secondaryelaboration. Any functionthey performed

1~~~~~~~~~~~

FIG. 12. MERE PARAOA. SKINNER COLLECTION. FIGc. 13.-MERE PARAOA. LENGTH ABOUT LENGTH 16 INCHES. WHALEBONE. li INCHES. WHITE COLLECTION. LOC. TARANAKI. WHALEBONE. LOC. WARRINGTON.

apart fromdecoration was merely incidental. This conclusionarises principally froinconsideration of Fig. 16, the distal end of an unusual type ofpatu fromOtago. Here the two holes are verynear the cuttingedge and are only large enoutghto pass threads through. It is probable that on ceremonialoccasions a bunch of

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 192 H. VD. SKINNER.-Evolution in Maori Art. featherswas attachedto the weapon by each hole.' The holes musthave seriously weakened the cuttingedge. It is suggested that they were thereforemoved to a less dangerousposition aid enlarged in size. Subsequently the indentationwas added. Hamilton long ago pointed out2 the frequency in Maori greenstone ornamentsof an indentationin edge opposite a drilled hole. It is suggestedthat this is a parallel case. A furtherstep in developmentresulted in the coalescence

/1

UPv

xv//Y ~ ~ ~ 7

FIG. 14.-KOTIATE. SKINNER COLLECTION. LENGTH 138 INCHES. WHALEBONE. LOC. TARANAKI. of notch and hole, a stage often seen in bone patu and less frequently in wooden ones. By a furtherrefinement, probably rendered possible by steel saws, the two lobes sometimes overlap. (Fig. 17.)

1 Since writingthe above I have seen in the CambridgeUniversity Maseum a wooden specimenof the same type as Fig. 15. Near the end of the cuttingedge, above the human figure,a smallhole is drilledevidently for the suspensionof a bunchof feathers. This love of featherdecoration is one of the mostnoticeable features of Maori weapons. 2 lfaoriArt, p. 342, Fig. 2.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H. D. SKINNER.-Evolution igtJiaor-i Art. 193

All the types that occur in whalebone are also foundin wood. Hamiltoni's statementthat the true mereform does not occur in wood' is erroneous. There is in the DominionMuseum a woodenmere, the reke ridgedand the blade beautifully carved,as is the case with almostall woodenpatu. It is believedthat the specimens figuredindicate the principal steps in the evolutionof the moreimportant subdivisions of the genus patu, and it is further

i"c

A. ~~~~~~~~~~/X

FIG. 15.-WAHA-IKA. SKINNER COLLECTION. LENGTH 15 INTCHES. WHALEBONE. LOC. UNKNOWN. believed that no importantstep is missing. Fig. 18 gives a clearer conception of that pedigree. The importanceof the pedigreelies in the conclusionthat must be drawnfrom it, namely,that the mere is native to New Zealand, and is not geneticallyconnected with any weapon of similarshape foundin otherlands. NeolithicIreland produceda weapon whichwas a developmentof the adze or celt,but thereis no evidencethat it evolved furtherthan a stage correspondingto

I Ibid., p. 342.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 194 H. D. SKINNER.-EVO1Utio?,hin Maoq'i Art. that of Fig. 8.1 It is possible that a type similar to this may have arisen in Americaor in the Pacific. But it is extremelyunlikely that so specialized a formof the patu as the onewator the mqerehas arisen elsewhere than among the Maoris. If a mereis foundin the SocietyIslands2 we must concludethat it came there from New Zealand. So also with the several cases reported from America,3especially with the right-handone of two specimens described and figuredin the reportof the United States National Museum for 1896. This one withits cord is an onewadown to the smallestdecorative detail. Unless convincing proofof the processis brolightforward it is -impQssibleto believe that evolution can have produced,under conditions so different,results so exactly similar. The otherspecimen which is very.dissimnilarappears to be genuinelyAmerican and to have reacheda stage corresponrdin-gto Fig. 8. Furtherlight is thrownon the historyof the patu by the weapons of the Mori-oriof the ClhathamIslands. Typical examples of the Mori-oriweapon called

FIG. 16.-BLADE OF MERE PARAOA, FIG. 17.-PROBABLE EVOLUTION OF WITH HOLES FOR SUSPENSION OF SHAPE OF BLADE OF KOTIATE. FEATHERS. WHITE COLLECTION. LOC. OTAGO.

okeuwa,a word closelyallied to the Maori onewa,are representedby Figs. 19 arnd20. Fig. 19 is notched along its distal edge, a feature which recalls the whaka-taqra- tcaraand proves,if proof were n-eeded,its close connectionwith the Maori patl. Fig. 20 proves the antiquityof this type and indicates its independenceof the hole and curve. All the prinicipalNew Zealand typesalready described are repiesentedat the Chathams. Some subsidiaryfeatures of these typesare absent,however, the more notable being: (1) The hole and curve of Fig. 15. (2) The ribbed ornamentation on the reke of Figs. 11 anid 12. (3) The human figureof Fig. 15. Important subsidiaryfeatures which are commonto bothMaori and Mori-origroups are: (1) The double-headed reke of Fig. 13. (2) Notched ornanmentation.(3) The bird- headed re/ce;in the Chathamsthis was realistic,and -notin any degree humanized. (4) A branchedridge on the blade whereit joins the handle. This ornamentation occurs on a bone patu from Southlanidin the Fels collection,and on a stone okcewain the Otago UlniversityMuseum. Okewain general show a very close

1 Pitt-Rivers, Evolution of Culture,p. 119. 2 Journ. Anthrop.Inst., vol. iii, p. 266. 3 e. . American NVat.,1876, p. 558.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H. D. SKINNER.-Evolution in MJiaoriArt. 195

NAME. MVATERIAL. FORM.

CuUtrmnede~ Ja Heimdgrio, develqpng

| Hand grv, developJed. 0~~~~~

C~~~

i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~mm form Reke cevelo,ec1. o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~eCu%n fqt _m .-, ClMn cdge

'Htmam-kealedrele OujIe m1nuiL-h k'e.

CL FlucnanH hended re -e

Cssi

FIG. 18.-GENETIC CONNECTION OF THE FORMS DESCRIBED. THE HEAD CARVED ON THE REKE IS MORE PROPERLY DESCRIBED AS A HUMANIZED BIRD S HEAD.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 196 H. D. SKINNER.-Evolutionin McaoriArt. relationshipto the patu of the Otaao district,a relationshipwhich is exemplified to an even greaterdegree by the fish-hooksof these tworegions. Two types of okewa, both representedin the Otago University Museum collection.have no parallel in New Zealand, and there are some mninorvarieties in New Zealand whichhave no parallel in the Chathams. If Mori-ori trcaditionis right in dating the settlementof the Chatham Islands at 28 generations,or 700 years ago,and in statingthat therehas sinicebeen no communicatioiiwith the outsideworld, then we mustconclude that all the chief varietiesof patu had evolved in New Zealand beforethe year A.D. 1200, and that these varietieshave persistedsince that time in New Zealand and the Chathams,

si 114 t I~~~~~~~~~~

FIG. 19.-OKEWA. OTAGO UNIVER- FIG. 20.-OKEWA. OTAGO UNIVERSITY SITY MUSEUM. SCHIST. LOC. MUSEUM. SCHIST. LOC. CHATHAM CHATHAM ISLANDS. ISLANDS. with only minor changes. The discussion of this and kindred problems must lhowever,be postponedtill the end of the war,when the writer hopes to complete a workalready begun on the technologyand art of the Mori-oris. Since theabove was writtenBaron A. von Hifigelhas shownme the magnifi- cent example,Plate X, whichis underhis carein the CamibridgeUniversity Museum of ArchTaologyand Ethnology. This specimen exhibits as perfect finish as Fig. 12. Its principalinterest lies in the two birdsabove the grip. They indicate clearly the originof the manaia figurein Maori art. In spite of the curvedbills they do not necessarilyrepresent parrots. From this piece of evidencewe are justifiedin believing,that the wheklcof Fig. 15, and other figures,is a bird's-head humanized. Unfortunatelythe localityof this specimenis unknown,though it may be conjectuiredto be Otago. It is thoughtto have been broughthome by Cook.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Jourtnalof the Royal -. nthropologicalIn.stitute, Vol ,YLPI, 1916, Plate X. MI ...... , :I

K.i g ..

' ,.~~~~~'

=~~~~~~~~~~41. 'b

: "':.

'J0'

MiERE PARAOA. CAMbBRIDGE. UNIVERSITY ARCHAOLOOICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM. Length 19i inches. Whalebone. Loc. unknown.

EVOLUTION IN MAORI ART.

This content downloaded from 92.63.104.30 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:02:36 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions