Page:Maori Division of Time.djvu/7



HE Polynesian system of division of time was crude and incomplete. It contains, however, elements of interest, for it was probably brought from the old home-land of the race in the far west. Moreover, it possesses an evolutionary interest, for we see in the primitive time-measurement of the Maori the rude system from which our accurate one has been developed. It seems by no means improbable that the two systems sprang from a common source, and it is probable that its place of origin lay in the far-off regions of southern Asia, in India, or the ancient Land of the Two Rivers.

From whatever region the ancestors of the Maori may have wandered in long past centuries, it is clear that their knowledge of arts and sciences must have been but elementary when they settled in the isles of the Pacific. Also it is evident that such crude knowledge became fossilized in this region. Dwelling in small communities in isles of small area, cut off from communion with more advanced peoples, the Polynesians must have lived for many centuries in much the same stage of culture as they had been when they first entered the Pacific.

The Maori of New Zealand followed in the footsteps of many other divisions of mankind with regard to the commencement of the year. His year commenced at the beginning of winter, after his harvesting operations had concluded. It would appear that some change was made in the Polynesian system when immigrants from that region settled here in New Zealand, for we are told by several writers that the Polynesian year commenced in December with the evening rising of the Pleiades.