Show interesting FROM NEW ZEALAND THE RECENT convulsions OF NATURE THE MAORIS A REMNANT OF SCATTERED ISRAEL RELICS OF THE PAST CUSTOMS AND traditions elder charles hardy now laboring as a missionary in new zealand wrote on june 18 1886 from dairy flat rear cear auckland to a friend in this count country ry by courtesy of the latter we are enabled to pit publish blish the following interesting extracts 1 I will send you by this mail a newspaper p containing the account of the te terrible i ble convulsions of nature which ch occurred in tile the hot lakes district on the tenth of june and which I 1 hope you will receive this place dairy airy flat is about miles dib in straight line from the scene of the volcanic eruptions eruptions and they sounded to me just I 1 like e the constant firing of very heavy cannon I 1 lay listening from nail halt past 2 till 5 in the morning and I 1 thought that either tile the french or ane russians were bombarding auckland it maje made toe the windows in our houe constantly shake and it was heard from one end of the island to the other and even near nelson in the middle island tae whole of the tribe 95 persons L were killed with the ex one man who happened ha p P e ed to be away at the time bat ba t I 1 need e d it not ot relate further particulars as you will see a full account in the paper on sunday I st the lath dinst we realized a smell like that of burning sulphur here and tuis in I 1 heard beard what sounded like another volcanic au explosion tx it is expected that other eru eruptions eions will soon follow C we see how truly the prophecies are being fulfilled and that the end ligh I 1 lam am very glad to learn that the it iu bioti are trying to live their religion iou tor for it is time for us all to 10 have our light I 1 abt shining and to devote ourselves and all we possess to the cause of truth I 1 send you a few items IN RELATION TO THE as requested I 1 will send others if these are interesting but they are m merely comp lations irom from old works principally published many years ago when the laoris maoris and their customs were but little changed by contact with europeans all the polynesian people have similar and traditions differing but little comparatively in the fiji islands circumcision is practiced but has never been with the maurisso Mao risso far as I 1 have been able to learn in the aslant of espiritu saulo in the new hebrides hebr I 1 des not cape cumberland oe rland at the northern end are to be seen remains of singular buildings of great size pillars of regular shape composed of large stones ched portions of wall and fragments ot of cemented masonry are scattered over a plain about three miles in extent ina in a settlement north nonh east of cape cumberland and abent five miles distant are remains of another edilee ed itice the natives are quite ignorant rant of the nature of the ruins 1 and merely state that they are tapu I 1 1 in easter island there are great numbers of immense stones covered with hieroglyphics the language lau guage of the polynesian islands has been proved to be belated to the hebrew rev 1 I 1 think there cannot be the least doubt it ft only frum from the evidence which I 1 have here given that these people are truly of the house of israel and how bow wonderful it is that after the lapse of so lung long a time since their ilis the elders of israel should now be carrying the of the gospel to them you X on are well aware that many of them have already embraced these principles and I 1 have not BOC the slightest doubr but bul that the greater part of them will accept the same before but a very few years have passed I 1 have no doubt but that the volcanic eruptions wil have a great effect on them in ia this respect as they are not slow the hand baud ot of god in tais lp to the gentiles Geu tiley we the mure more the judgments ts of god are poured forth the blinder they seem to become the following are I 1 SOME MAORI CUSTOMS identical idea with those of the ancient israelites ra ls ast 1st fringes were worn on their g garments in t S ad d ahey used to cut their bodies and the women alsoto also to cut oft off the hair from their heads in lamentation for their dead ad any person touching a dead body was polluted td and kept separate until the pollution pol lulion ion was removed by washing in water andily other ceremonies ath any vessels used in the preparation of food which happened to be touched by a person so polluted were broken to pieces fth the bones ot of the dead especially ot of chi fis were carefully preserved often in caves or other beci secief et places ata maori carriom war norb om going on a dangerous s expedition strictly ob berged the custom recorded in samuel chap ath aud and ath verses ath mauri maori women whilst lu in the me menstrual D slate sta teare are kept separate aiom fro in others yih marriages were strictly confined to alliances between members ot of tile the L swe same tribe aih polygamy was practiced very gene generally r loth conquered conquered red enemies were reduced to al slavery aery letl alth adultery was punished by death 12 lath lb theft was punished by making the thief pay four timed limea the value of the thing stio stolen leiV isan the land was wag the common property of the tribe each member bein being allowed to cultivate a portion but not got to alienate the same without the consent of the tribe the law of tapu or of consecration was strictly observed thus persons were consecrated to particular offices fields lor for the growing of the kumaras or tweet potatoes were consecrated sec rated with those who wrought in them fishing nets acts etc were consecrated loth the law of muru or of f restitution for injuries in jaries dries careless y or accidentally inflicted by one person on another was strictly observed lands conquered from their enemies were held forfeited but only when actually used by the conquerors for cultivation the catching of bibb etc nth the eldest son of a chief was heir to the chieftainship but could be excluded for want of intellect for etc tue issue of a battle was sometimes divined by tue the throwing of small darts wade of the raupo or bul bulrush and by other devices lath sorcerers urs were punished by death colb grandchildren were rightful heirs to the property of their grandfather to the exclusion of their uncles genealogies were strictly preserved the maori krithis Arif chis or priests were held as sacred by virtue of their office the eldest son was heir to his fathers priesthood priests professed to have the power of prophecy of interpreting ei dreams reams of controlling ake elements 0 ot t bringing back and conversing cou with the spirit of the dead the shedding of blod in war rendered a man unclean and until this uncleanness was removed by certain ceremonies he coald not mix with tee people sacrifices were often made to the gods 27 ih when a man died it was the custom for his brotherto brother to marry his widows the produce of a hapu or minor tribe was stored all together to getner gemer and the food cooked at a settlement was a common meal at which all the hapu hapa partook the maoris laoris when praying to their abua or god held their hands uplifted towards heaven many of the above customs are still reserved preserved by the maoris laoris while othe s have gave fallen into disuse for this reason I 1 employ the past tense tease SOME MAORI traditions I 1 the conspiracy of the nods gods in heaven ad tradition of the flood ad tradition of the creation ath tradition having reference to the narratives of moses and joseph oth tradition of the fall of man eth tradition of lots wife ath tradition of the first roan man whose name was i e red earth ath tradition of tadaki affording in many parts a striking resemblance to our savior tradition of two men and a woman who were taken up to heaven alive loto iota the wisdom of man was derived from golt goir alth the maoris laoris gulshen between two states after death one in heaven whither the god map maia tadaki had bad ascended and the other place hades in the depths below but te heinga or hades was never considered as a place of torture or puni punch h ment nor was the other place considered as a place of supreme and continued happiness the priests possessed secrets in relation to religion they dared not reveal unlawfully under penalty of death or even evea speak of except in sacred places |