Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, November 11, 1900, Page 18

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6 air Maori Women--- Some Strange Customs Thus runs the chant that used to be sung by the Maoris of New Zealand at the naming of a female child ‘May she industrious in cultivating the ground, In searching for shell fish In weaving garment In weaving ornamental m May he b trong to carry burdens That is the sort of helpmeet that the Maori womuan was expected to be to her hasband in the old day In this respect the infringement of civilization, Chris than churche government schools, have done llitle to improve her lot in life. Maori women are still the hewers of wood and drawers of water for their hushand it THE ILLUSTRATED blankets and the trinkets of polished green stone, dogs' teeth, boars’ tusks, polished hells and feathers, in which my friends lelighied to be photographed But with 1 this the Maori girls possess so unde- niable a charm that not the lines of that still ornament the ching of them, though the practice is no longer a common one with this generation can spoil it It is said that one or two Maori bell married title One is curlous to how old age will treat them, for it is then that Maori women de teriorate into the most hideous of tures, Whether that the result of the hard and ungrateful they live in New Zealand might be modified hy even tuttooing me of have know crea- may be lves and MAORI TEMPLE least when they are old When they are quite another sort of existence is a prob young there's a difference If the Maori lem that 1 have never seen demonstrated girl works in the fields nowadays (indoor In the old days Maori chiefs and freemen gervico she refuses as degrading) it is to were permitted to have several wives and procure the means of buying new dresses the possession of a sultable assortment was or bounets after the fashion of her white supposed to indicate dignity and greatness, sisters, or ribbons and laces oc- casion stockings and shoes and bewitching some of tl glels with thelr fresh, unspoilcd and just with the spice of Euro even on hey are pretty ¢ modern Maorl grace beauty wluringly tinetured A coguelry. Hear the enthusiasm of a stolid Briton over tkem. Mr. Hay, author of “Brighter Britain," writes “Bright and cheerful, neat and comely, pleasant partners at a bush ball are these half anglicized daughters of the Ngate- whatua, They can prattie prettily in their soft Maori English, while their glancing oyes and saucy lips are provoking the by no means oo hard hearts of Pakeha (white) bushmen Then would you appreciate the arms of our Macri belles, the in fluence of musie and the dance, supple forms and graceful motions, scented halr and flower wreaths, smiles and sparkling eyes, the graces of nature not wholly lost under the polish of civilization A Muaori Be “Pre-eminent among the Tanoa is Rakope, whatua. She 18 a beauty, our more, she 18 good as she is beautiful, Her color is dusky brown, under which you can see the blood warming her dimpled cheeks, Her perfection's self, ripe and round and full, while every move- ment shows some new grace and more seductive curve Her rich brown hair reaches far below her slender waist, and when it is dressed pohu- takawa the orange flowers of the kowhairgutu kaka or the soft, downy white feathers that the Maoris prize, it would compel the admiration of any London draw ing room. Her features not be Grecian under young women of the Ngate Rakope, and princess of a soft figure is with erimson blossoms may but what professional beauty of London can compare with our Rakope as she is glowing with the rich warm color, the subtle delicacies of form and all the luxuri ant beauty that is born between the South sea and the sun? 0 hear Rakope sing is to believe in the sirens, to chat with her and recelve her looks and smiles is to be the vietim of a gentle witchoraft Oh, Rakope, I hope you will some day marry a pakeha rangatira (white gentleman) and endow him with your 10,000 acres Beautiful as the Maori Rakope undeniably is, she commonly dresses in a calico frock and nothing else unless it is a straw hat Her flounces and ribbons are not always new or fresh when she is costumed in the latest Auckland modes for church. 1f she dong silk stockings and tight slippers for the dance she does so with infinite pain and kicks them off at her earliest oppor tunity to smoke a comfortable black pipe the ugliest of the old women and, morecover, in her home which is beyond the peradventure of a doubt, probably smelly, possibly dirty she commonly wears nothing more than an old blunket and would feel not the slightest shame were it to slip to the ground before you For is a child of nature and free from artificial standards, like one of nature's fearless and splendid animals Maorl quired at best and all, with some of of her tribe smoky native nature does veneer of but skin still not change. The ac European civilization is deep and the girls, one troasure the native tufted mother of the first born head wife, the others remaining ter than slaves. As a rule there distinctive marriage rite Girls as they grew up bestowed favors on whom they pleased and the more suitors they had the the ranking as little bet- was no more valuable were they accounted. When a girl had a preference for one suitor the matter usually ended by her going home with him and the two lived as man and wife, Men were sometimes known to carry off ® girl by force when her relatives objected 1o their union, and on the other hand women committed suiclde to avold living with men whom they disliked. Occasionally there would be a family con- clave over the marriage of a woman, the chief feature of which was long-winded speeches by the brothers of the bride, who, in any were the ones to be consulted, the parents having little to say in the mat- ter, It sometimes happened that a girl would be betrothed (tapu) to a man in her infancy, but as a rule they seem to have had quite as much to do with their own fates in this respect as have our American girls of today. Divorce was even an easier performance than marriage. The dissatistied husband had only to put the wife out of doors, after which it was lawful for any other man to marry her; nor did divorce operate to the disadvanta, of the woman, In fact, women sometimes case, sometimeg exchanged husbands. The old _colonists and the historians of those times report that once a woman was married in- fidelity was rare so long as she was well treated (from the Maori point of view) and had children. In the reverse case virtue was far from common, just as young glrls before marriage enjoyed much more than European treedom without reproach. Yet there are some dainty romances told by the transmitters of legends in the soft South sea evenings. Lovers of legendary lore will find interesting the graceful tale of the wooing of Hine Moa and Tutanekal. Here one learns of the surpassing beauty of the malden Hine Moa and her confession of love for the low-born Tutanekai, which that timid fellow could scarce bring him self to believe even after receiving the con- firmatory squeeze of the hand; of how she swam across the lake of Rotorua to join him when all of the canoes had been hidden because of the suspicions of her friends, and then of how she coyly sum moned her lover and coquectishly hid her- self that he might not find her too quickly. To this day her descendants along the shore of the lake tell the tale of Hine Moa's beauty and chant the lines of the soft poem. Many of the curious old Maori customs are dying out. Cannibalism has not been practiced for half a century. The present religion of the Maoris 1s a sort of Chris- tianity inexplicably intermingled with an- clent tribal forms and rites. Few of the Maoris now tattoo their faces, a custom formerly universal. One occasionally sees an old and orthodox chief or high man whose face is covered with the curves, spirals and other designs denoting no mean degree of artistic ability. It was rather a serious business, this tattooing, and the operation usually extended over months One chief, who was in a hurry to attain the desirably fierce aspect that was sup posed to terrify the enemy and win the hearts of women, undertook to have th whole scheme of decoration finished in on. day, but his courage was greater than hi stamina, for he died under the knite, In tormer times these highly ornamented heads were greatly prized as war trophies Among the English adventurers who cam. to the islands in the early days a ghastly trade developed in the heac Sometime: as much as £20 was paid for a specimen which went to some museum or collection i Europe. Of course, these heads wert supposed to be obtained in fair and open warfare between the question whether the ready market did not result in private enterprises of decapi- tation. Judge Maning, in his “Old New Zealand,” relates a conversation which he had with a “pakena mori,” or naturalized white man, who had a collection of these human relics. " ‘Looking at the sir?" It was one of the pakehas formerly mentioned. ‘Yes,’ sald I, turniug 'round just the least pos- sible thing quicker than the ordinary. ‘Eds tribes, but it is a eds has been a getting scarce,’ says he. 'l should think =o0," says I. ‘We ain't 'ad a ed this long tim says he. ‘The devil,’ s 1. ‘One o' them eds has been hurt bad,” says he ‘I should think all were rather so,' 8 1. ‘Oh, no, only one on ‘em,” he; ‘the skull is split and it won't fetch nothin',” says he. ‘Oh, murder! I see, now,” says I. ‘Eds w WEerry scarc says he, sbaking his own ‘ed. ‘Ah,’ said I. “They had to tattoo a slave a bit ago,’ says he, ‘and the villain ran away, tat- tooin’ and all!" says he. ‘What?' said I ‘Bolted afore he was fit to kill,’ says he. ‘Stole off with his own head? says I ‘That's just it," says he. ys 1. ‘You may say that, sir,’ says he. ‘Good morning,’ said I, and walked away pretty smartly, notions about in ‘Capital felony!’ ‘Loose this country,’” said I to myself." It is a question whether this race of stal- wart and beautiful people is not dying I'rom 1840 to 1870 their numbers fell from 150,000 to 40,000, Since then their BEAUTIFUL MAORI GIRL, WITH FULL COSTUME. FACE TATTOOING AND BEE. MAORI CHIEF numbers have remained about statiorary, but this reckoning inciudes halfbreeds in the count Unsanitary conditions ot i keep the death rate up to an equality with the birth rate These Maoris might be rich if they choos. to lease or cultivate their rich lands, bu they are a lazy, sun-loving, child-hearicd people, and are countent to dig kauri gum, shear sheep or clear brush for the whites The beauty of the results in many marriages, as well as less formal alliances women with the whites, and it is to be feared that within a few years a tfull-blood of this splendid aboriginal type will be hard to find How to Reduce Flesh “Give me a woman who is not the slave of the bou-bon, soda water and chicken pate habit, and, be her weight what it may, I'll guerantee not only to rid and cure her of superfluous flesh, but make her as lean and healthy as a hound in the process."”’ That is what the woman in the panne velvet gown said to her friend when they met while out calling the other day. The friend looked reproachtully over her triple chins at the panne velvet gown and remarked. I suppose that's a joke, or, if you going to such ad vice as skipping running a carpet sweeper or walking twice a day to the top of a ten-story building, please don't. I've tried all thuse schemes and grew fat on them, as well losing a good digestion and lots of valuable time. Remedies for women of your waist measure, which 1 should guess to be about twenty-two inches, can hardly apply to me. I doubt if you ever weighed more than 135 pounds in al! your life." are advance some rope, Two ye¢ ago,” solemnly averred the panne velvet's owner, tipped the beam at 179 pounds, with the brightest prospect of running rapidly up to the 200 mark. I had a of me line of fat there long and grandmothers ahead was not a flesh-erasing - MAORI BELLE, WITH November 11, 1900 FACE CARVI scheme that 1 had not tried with dis couraging results. 1 was on he point of resigning every hope of preserving my girihood's throat and waist line when my family physician guaranteed to cure me Of course he my diet Ex flesh s the consequence of digesiive drregularity, though one may not be nsible of malassimilation, and down on a piece of paper he list ot foods 1 could with an equally careful catalogue of those that to be avoided Sweets, cream, bakers bread, fried grapes, peaches, piums, carrot ground oatmeal, green vegetables cooked in cr and with all prohibited. One cotlee in it, some whole wheat bread, an orange was what he gave for my breakfast, alternated with fish, toast and an apple when 1 cried out for a change At luncheon I was allowed to eat eggs or fish or a wee bit of roast fowl with butter less bread; green salad minus oil or cream in the dressing and a plain boiled green vegetable, seasoned with salt., For dinner I took clams, fish without green vegetables, dressed with salt and viregar, a scrap of pretty well done beef, when 1 wearied of fish, and apples o1 oranges for deszert. 1 was allowed celery, radishes, olives, salt fish, plenty of gluteu bread, without butter, a little wine, but not a crumb of cake, not a sugar plum, not a drop of soup and not a taste of water regulated cessive invariably set a cat, wert potatoes bananas artichokes am absolutely with milk one egg and fnods, beets, water meals were onp of oyste sauce, sulad “One and a half or two hours after each one of my frugal meals I was told to drench my chastened stomach with long draughts of perfectly pure water, neither cold nor hot, but at a temperature of about 68, and under pain of increasing weight I was directed to walk four miles a day, a mile more if 1 liked, but not a half a mile less, as 1 hoped to be saved from a fat middle age. “The conditions looked hard, but the doctor was firm and I was ambitious for a twenty-two-inch waist, so after a little futile pleading for softer terms of self- denial 1 went seriously into training. 1 was advised to take my exercise in the morning and I agreed, Every day, rain or shine, and in spite of clamorous committees and tyrannical dressmakers, 1 rose from the breakfast table, arrayed in my short skirt, and tramped off the four miles. Coming home 1 sat down and spent fifteen minutes drinking a full pint and a half of water that had been boiled and set away in a bottle to cool, or I took Saratoga Kissengen one day and Vichey the next “By my watch 1 timed myself for the potations due after luncheon and dinner and I am proud to say | missed brimming goblets never the two “After two menths of this treatment 1 began to feel distinctly slimmer. On weighing 1 found I had lost only five peunds, my gowns were as tight of fit as ever and my chin as richly luxuriant. That wars a discouraging outlook, but I grasped again at hope, when the doctor bade me go on, ‘It will take you all of a year and a balf,’ he said, ‘to get rid not only of the accumulated fat, but to correct the tendency of your digestive tem to convert fours fifths of everything you eat into loose magses of fat.' “I took heart of grace; tedious as the process was, 1 kept on, and now 1 feel free to say that the reason nine-tenths of the stout women fail in their endeavors to remove their flesh is because they demand immediate rewards for their efforts, and finding they do not become appreciably thinner in a month or six weeks, relapse to a normal diet or grasp at some new device for reduction. “I grimly determined 1 cure out, and my strengthened, first by the do:tor's assur ance that the slow process of reduction Is the one and only one that neither in- Jures the digestion nor wrinkles the skin." would see determination the was

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