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Maori and Polynesian: their origin, history and culture

The Last Immigrants from South Asia brought Negroid — Blood and Cannibalism

The Last Immigrants from South Asia brought Negroid
Blood and Cannibalism

(21) But these rested in Papuasia or Melanesia by the way, and married dark negroid women before they went on to the island world. But they did not rest long enough to take the bow as a weapon of war with them or to think of pottery as an art that should displace the calabash and the steam-oven of the Polynesian aboriginals. Some of them settled in these resting-places, and others afterwards led back Polynesian colonies to reinforce the settlers they had left. It is more than likely that they learned cannibalism in these resting-places, and took it with them as an intermittent habit into their final settlements. It was always sacred to the men, and usually to the aristocrats and warriors. The women as a rule were not allowed to touch human flesh. Only one or two contingents took the pig with them, the others indulging in cannibalism till that animal was introduced into their group. One or two seem to have missed taking the domestic fowl with them. But most of them took the dog. This and this alone will explain the choice of animals by the six canoes, when they came to New Zealand. Both the pig and the fowl had got into some of the groups long before that emigration, as we know from the language.