Abstract
IN this book Mrs. Rout reports the sacred lore of the Maori as faithfully transmitted to her by a Maori noble, Hohepa Te Rake, and solemn declarations to that effect by both participants in the production form part of the contents. It is, however, difficult to accept these statements at their face value, as the lore is not given in its original form, but as interpreted in the light of a theory of the origin and migrations of the Maori, based upon identifications which trace them back to Assyria alid suggest identity of culture in Egypt, America, and elsewhere. The illustrations, which are exceptionally well reproduced and in another context would be both interesting and suggestive, have been carefully selected with this end in view. In spite of this defect the book does, however, contain a very full account of the customs and practices of the Maori which conduced to sound sanitation, personal cleanliness, and good health.
Maori Symbolism: being an Account of the Origin, Migration, and Culture of the New Zealand Maori, as recorded in certain Sacred Legends.
Report made by Ettie A. Rout., from the evidence of Hohepa Te Rake (an Arawa Noble). Pp. xxxii + 322 + 32 plates. (London: Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd., 1926.) 21s. net.
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Maori Symbolism: being an Account of the Origin, Migration, and Culture of the New Zealand Maori, as recorded in certain Sacred Legends . Nature 119, 386 (1927). https://doi.org/10.1038/119386c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/119386c0