282
16 The Context of Oral Traditions
to safely beach a canoe, individual and even tribal survival depends on the secure
passing on of knowledge and so on the passing on of the opportunities for survival
that knowledge creates.
The dovetailing of the science implicit in these traditional accounts with “myth”
illustrates the value of consilient evidence for confirming the authenticity of the
history they record. Mahitahi is a landfall to which the East Australian current would
have drawn Maui’s canoe. The linguistic and technological divergences that science
would predict for the long-isolated descendants of the Lapita-age colonists who first
settled New Zealand are clearly recorded in tradition. The New Zealand matrilineal
and matrilocal social structure obvious from Maui’s meeting with a chieftainess
at Orokoroko matches the evidence presented in Chapter 10 for early matrilineal
and matrilocal social structures in Polynesia. Maui’s exploration of the coast of
the South Island is recorded in detail through place names still preserved in the
South Island. That news of Maui’s death was brought back to New Zealand and
preserved there supports traditional evidence for later colonizations of New Zealand
by Maui’s descendants claiming land rights by virtue of their descent from him. The
consilience of the evidence is remarkable, both authenticating traditional accounts
and establishing them as a rich historical resource.
References
1. Walters R, Goff J (2003) Assessing tsunami hazard along the New Zealand coast. Sci Tsunami
Hazard 21(3): 137–153, p. 153
2. Orbell M (1985) Hawaiki, A new approach to Maori tradition. Canterbury University Press,
Christchurch
3. Maguire E, Gadian D; Johnsrude I et al (2000) Navigation-related structural change in the
hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proc Natl Acad Sci 97(8): 4398–4403
4. Lamb H (1972, 1977) Climate present, past and future. 2 Volumes. Methuen & Co Ltd,
London
5. Lamb H (1972, 1977) Climate present, past and future. 2 Volumes. Methuen & Co Ltd,
London, p 253
6. Beattie H (1954) Our southernmost Maoris. Facsimile edition, 1994, Cadsonbury
Publications, Christchurch, pp. 148–156
7. White J (1881) The ancient history of the Maori. Government Printer, Wellington. Vol II
8. Tregear E (1891) The Maori-Polynesian comparative dictionary. Lyon and Blair, Wellington,
New Zealand
9. Beattie H (1954) Our southernmost Maoris. Facsimile edition, 1994, Cadsonbury Publications, Christchurch„ p. 154
10. Tregear E (1926) The Maori race. AD Wallace, Wanganui, New Zealand, p. 569
11. Matisoo-Smith E and Robins J (2004) Origins and dispersals of Pacific peoples: Evidence
from mtDNA phylogenies of the Pacific rat. Proc Natl Acad Sci 101(24): 9167–9172
12. The Larousse encyclopedia of mythology. (1959) Paul Hamlin, London, p. 451
13. Beattie, H (1994) Traditional lifeways of southern Maori. Ed. Anderson A. University of
Otago Press, Dunedin, p. 391
14. Beattie H (1954) Our southernmost Maoris. Facsimile edition, 1994, Cadsonbury Publications, Christchurch, p. 391, 159
15. White J (1881) The ancient history of the Maori. Government Printer, Wellington, Vol II,
pp. 84–88
16 The Context of Oral Traditions
to safely beach a canoe, individual and even tribal survival depends on the secure
passing on of knowledge and so on the passing on of the opportunities for survival
that knowledge creates.
The dovetailing of the science implicit in these traditional accounts with “myth”
illustrates the value of consilient evidence for confirming the authenticity of the
history they record. Mahitahi is a landfall to which the East Australian current would
have drawn Maui’s canoe. The linguistic and technological divergences that science
would predict for the long-isolated descendants of the Lapita-age colonists who first
settled New Zealand are clearly recorded in tradition. The New Zealand matrilineal
and matrilocal social structure obvious from Maui’s meeting with a chieftainess
at Orokoroko matches the evidence presented in Chapter 10 for early matrilineal
and matrilocal social structures in Polynesia. Maui’s exploration of the coast of
the South Island is recorded in detail through place names still preserved in the
South Island. That news of Maui’s death was brought back to New Zealand and
preserved there supports traditional evidence for later colonizations of New Zealand
by Maui’s descendants claiming land rights by virtue of their descent from him. The
consilience of the evidence is remarkable, both authenticating traditional accounts
and establishing them as a rich historical resource.
References
1. Walters R, Goff J (2003) Assessing tsunami hazard along the New Zealand coast. Sci Tsunami
Hazard 21(3): 137–153, p. 153
2. Orbell M (1985) Hawaiki, A new approach to Maori tradition. Canterbury University Press,
Christchurch
3. Maguire E, Gadian D; Johnsrude I et al (2000) Navigation-related structural change in the
hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proc Natl Acad Sci 97(8): 4398–4403
4. Lamb H (1972, 1977) Climate present, past and future. 2 Volumes. Methuen & Co Ltd,
London
5. Lamb H (1972, 1977) Climate present, past and future. 2 Volumes. Methuen & Co Ltd,
London, p 253
6. Beattie H (1954) Our southernmost Maoris. Facsimile edition, 1994, Cadsonbury
Publications, Christchurch, pp. 148–156
7. White J (1881) The ancient history of the Maori. Government Printer, Wellington. Vol II
8. Tregear E (1891) The Maori-Polynesian comparative dictionary. Lyon and Blair, Wellington,
New Zealand
9. Beattie H (1954) Our southernmost Maoris. Facsimile edition, 1994, Cadsonbury Publications, Christchurch„ p. 154
10. Tregear E (1926) The Maori race. AD Wallace, Wanganui, New Zealand, p. 569
11. Matisoo-Smith E and Robins J (2004) Origins and dispersals of Pacific peoples: Evidence
from mtDNA phylogenies of the Pacific rat. Proc Natl Acad Sci 101(24): 9167–9172
12. The Larousse encyclopedia of mythology. (1959) Paul Hamlin, London, p. 451
13. Beattie, H (1994) Traditional lifeways of southern Maori. Ed. Anderson A. University of
Otago Press, Dunedin, p. 391
14. Beattie H (1954) Our southernmost Maoris. Facsimile edition, 1994, Cadsonbury Publications, Christchurch, p. 391, 159
15. White J (1881) The ancient history of the Maori. Government Printer, Wellington, Vol II,
pp. 84–88