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The Material Culture of the Cook Islands (Aitutaki)

1.—Sacred Places, Marae

1.—Sacred Places, Marae

The marae of Eastern Polynesia corresponds to the tuahu of New Zealand. It had a social as well as a religious significance. It was here that the appropriate ritual to the gods was carried out. The supernormal agencies, which, if neglected, might prove inimical to man, had to be placated on all occasions of great pitch and moment. Thus we find all chiefs and ancestors of any note associated with a particular marae. Every navigator who landed on an island named the passage in the reef through which he steered his canoe, the spot where he landed, and the place where he rested. He then dedicated and named a marae, where the proper ritual could be observed. If he moved on and settled in another part of the island he dedicated another marae. Thus some of the marae were of a temporary nature, for the page 209needs of the moment, and retained little beyond their site and name. Probably some of the loose stones lying about were aligned in a particular manner, but there is nothing at the present time to distinguish them from their surroundings. As some of my guides explained, after we had vainly sought for some distinguishing signs, "Kare i te marae noho mou"—"It was not the marae of continued settlement."

Hau-matangi, the first marae of Ruatapu, was of this nature. It was situated on a little summit at the end of a ridge on the northern part of the island, near where he landed, and consisted of a heap of scattered stones of medium size. The stones were the ordinary pohatu aoa that lay about the surface. The absence of large stones of the pohatu maori type and white coral gravel was attributed to its being of a temporary nature.

Te Hautapu-o-nga-Ariki, the marae of Ru, the discoverer of Aitutaki, was also on a ridge, but the site was much overgrown. Medium-sized stones had been arranged into a loosely-fitting pavement. The well-defined edge of one side could be followed for 63 feet. The other side could not be so clearly followed, but the widest part between the two sides was 22 feet. Though no large stones were present, imported white coral was abundantly present in the soil.

An old marae on a ridge at Arutanga had several large stones imbedded in the earth. One of these, which lay flat, formed the sacred part of the marae, and was named Tangaroa. It seemed to me that the site had been selected because of the stones, and not the stones carried to the site.

From the meagre information obtained, there were two general types of marae, temporary and permanent. The temporary marae were used by navigators who did not settle permanently in the particular district where they landed and placated the unseen forces of the new land. The loose stones, which are abundant everywhere, were probably collected in a heap or arranged in some manner of which we have no information.

The more permanent marae, which were in continued use for a period, had large stones of the pohatu maori type set up. Evidently some part was paved, and the rest covered with white coral gravel, kirikiri tea. There is no marae in Aitutaki that gives any idea of what the original page 210arrangement was. They were purposely dismantled early after the acceptance of Christianity. The early missionaries, after weaning the people from their ancient gods, encouraged the destruction of what they regarded as the evidences of heathen practices. Their converts were also eager to display their zeal in such a convincing manner as the destruction of the marae. Incidentally there was some personal satisfaction in thus cutting the ground away from their more conservative kinsmen, who were designated as the etene, the heathen.

Whilst admitting that the mental attitude in those days may have been justified to some extent, it is a matter for deep ethnological regret that these important landmarks of a stone age culture should have been purposely destroyed. Their preservation would have been a greater monument to Christianity than their destruction.