Page:Hawaiki The Original Home of the Maori.djvu/33

Rh wife who did not come into the line of descent, and also say what tribe they came from and give something of their history. Efforts of memory of this character are impossible with us, and are not known of, or not considered by the generality of writers on traditions, which are hence set aside for the fanciful creations of their own brains, after the manner of the German philosopher who was able to evolve the idea of a camel out of his inner consciousness!

I have thought it necessary to say this much on the subject of traditions, for it will be mainly on them, and the inferences that may be drawn from them, that the principal reliance is placed in seeking the origin of the Maoris in the following narrative. 



moreover, unless we can fix some approximate date to the various legends, they are of little value in this particular connection—they serve to show the ideology and beliefs of the race, but without dates they cannot form history. We are met at the outset with this difficulty: that the Polynesian has no idea of time in our sense of the word. All he can say with respect to any event is, that