Mangold's Religious History Has a Lesson For Modern World

Modern World

NEW and interesting material relating to Mangaia has been placed on record by Professor Peter H. Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa) in his lectures for the Dwight Harrington Terry Foundation, published as “Anthropology and Reli gion”.

Myths and traditions of Mangaia, says Dr. Buck, suggest that the Mangaians emigrated from the neighbouring island of Rarotonga. But not only did they shake off the temporal yoke of Raro tonga (where the principal god was Tan garoa) but they substituted another god —Rongo.

The Mangaians differed somewhat from their neighbours in the other Cook Islands in the emphasis they gave to success in war. The leader of the vic torious tribe was publicly installed as the military dictator of the island. He was regarded as having secured the Man gaia, which is not only the name of the island but refers also to absolute tem poral power. His installation was marked by the offering of a human sacrifice to the god Rongo.

The fortunes of war wavered among the tribes of the different districts. The vanquished of yesterday were the con querors of to-morrow, and so on. But the successful tribe for the time being enjoyed the rich food lands, and the conquered eked out a bare existence in the narrow upland valleys and the reces ses of the raised coral reef known as the makatea.

THE complex culture evolved during the centuries was rudely shaken, however, when the Mangaians de serted their own gods. “When they deserted their own gods,” says the author, “they destroyed them as surely as if they

had been mortal beings.”

Three missionaries, all natives from Tahiti, were landed at Mangaia by the LMS schooner in 1823. Two had their wives with them. But all received such rough treatment at the hands of the Mangaians that they swam back to the vessel. An epidemic of dysentery that broke out shortly afterwards was attri buted by the hatives to the anger of the visitors’ god.

Therefore, when two other mission aries, Davida and Tiare, landed the fol lowing year, the Mangaians, afraid of incurring another epidemic, afforded them protection, and allowed them to their faith.

IT so happened that in the last war the combined tribes of Ngati-tane and Ngati-manahune had defeated the existing government of Ngati-vara. The personage called the Shore high priest by Dr. Buck, whose sympathies were with the defeated Ngati-vara, entered prac tical politics and refused to assist in the installation of the victorious leader, Pangemiro. The latter promptly deposed the Shore High chief "from office, and combined the position with that of the Inland high priest, held by one Numan gatini. As the ritual of installation could not be carried out properly. Pan gemiro did what any modern dictator might do —he assumed the functions of the overlord.

However, Dictator Pangemiro died three years later, and his office fell into temporary abeyance. The highest rank ing chief was Numangatini, and he held the offices of both Inland and Shore high priests.

It was at this peculiar stage that the two Tahitian missionaries landed, and

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they came under the protection of the dominant Ngati-tane. Finally, the chiefs of both that tribe and Ngati-manahune accepted the new religion.

Converted males marked the occasion by cutting off their long hair, removing the taboos that prevented the sexes from eating together, and the national god house was burned. By exposing the gods to the vulgar gaze, they were dishon oured. Led by the native missionaries, the work of destruction went on. Even the groves of noble trees that gave shel ter to the temples were felled.

The Ngati-vara, who remained in opposition, were horrified, and went into mourning. But the new religion preached brotherly love and the cessation of war.

The latter was agreeable to the tribes in power, and the missionaries, perhaps without fully realising it, were political propagandists.

MATTERS reached a head when the Ngati-vara assembled their forces and offered battle to regain the government. European missionary writ ers have described the event as a struggle between the Christians and the “heathens”. But to the anthropologist the struggle was not religious, but political.

During the battle the Tahitian, Davida, remained on his knees supplicating Jehovah to grant victory to the Ngati tane. In a thatched hut, perched on a high rock, Tereavai, priest of the Ngati vara, invoked his tribal god, Te A’ia. But the spiritual power of Te A’ia had departed with that of the other Poly nesian gods, and the heathen were defeated.

The Ngati-vara were offered food lands conditionally upon accepting Christian ity, and these new Christians signalised their conversion by cutting off their long hair, and the women wore garments of white bark cloth instead of the brown colour previously in fashion.

WHAT occurred in Mangaia happened elsewhere in Polynesia. The whole sale conversions reported to Europe were largely political—not religious.

Dr. Buck concluded (this 'was pre- World War II) with some pertinent com ments regarding present-day “civilisa tion”, which he described as sick, and fast losing its right to be called civilisa tion. Instead of brotherly love, we have racial intolerance and merciless persecu tion. Civilisation stands on the verge of a relapse, not into barbarism, but into sheer savagery. He pointed out that the death of the Christian gods would mean the collapse of the culture to which they belong, just as surely as did the death of the Polynesian gods mean the end of Polynesian culture.

Could we but restore our faith, he says, we might be able to say to a sick world, in the words of the Great Master: “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole”.—EßlC RAMSDEN.