It has always been the special function of the priesthood, from the very earliest dates in Polynesian history, to keep the verbal record of the history and literature of the race, and as the office of priest (tohunga, tahuna, tahua, kahuna, etc.) was, in most branches of the race, hereditary, it was the duty of the father, and very often the grandfather, to educate their offspring in the tribal lore. This teaching was accompanied with many ceremonies, and karakias, or incantations, invocations, etc., in order to impress the pupil with the importance of the matter taught, and as was thought, to impress it indelibly upon his mind. There was a special sanctity attached to many things taught; deviation from the accepted doctrines, or history, was supposed to bring on the offender the wrath of the gods who were ever present, watching to catch the people tripping. It is obvious from this, that traditions acquire a value they would otherwise not possess. The fear of the consequences arising out of false teaching acted as an ever present check on the imagination. There are many known instances where serious troubles have arisen through deviation from accepted teaching—due generally to separation of the people in islands or places without frequent communication. As an illustration of this may be mentioned the series of deaths, wars, migrations, etc., that took place in the time of a noted ancestor of Maoris, Rarotongans, and Tahitians, named Whiro, who flourished about the eleventh century, which incident is known as the schemes of Te Aotea and Te Aouri in Tahitian history,[1] and is also known to Maori tradition in connection with Wharekura in the history of Whiro.
Notwithstanding the care with which traditions were kept, it is only natural that innovations gradually crept
- ↑ From Miss Teuira Henry, the Tahitian scholar.
