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.