University of Otago Library
Letter: Reverend Samuel Marsden to Reverend Josiah Pratt, 22 December 18 1823
Reverend
Samuel
Marsden
Author
Reverend
Josiah
Pratt
Receiver
text
Letter
New South Wales, Australia
22 December 18 1823
3 July 1824
Notes about where the letter was created: Parramatta, New South Wales
eng
text/html
321 x 205 mm
4 leaves
6 pages
reformatted digital
Hocken Collections' Title: Marsden's Answers to Queries Relating to Cannibalism of New Zealand Natives
Parramatta
-33.814525,151.003448
Decr
1823
Sir
Cannibalism
Cannibalism
New Zealanders
Committees
Committee
Missionaries
Missionaries
Mr
Kendall
Rangheehoo
-36.809285,175.061835
Kiddee Kiddee
-35.225429,173.946319
Death
Death
Dead
Dead
Battles
Battle
God
God
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Funeral
Mowhee
Priest
Sepulchral monuments
Sepulchre
Grief
Mourning
Blood
Blood
Prisoners
Prisoners
Master
Children
Children
Holy, The
Sacred
Potatoe
Bones
Bones
Crime
Crime
Bay Of Islands
-35.17886,174.169586
River Thames
51.512161,0.113876
Belief and doubt
Belief
Mowheeboo
Revd
Saml
Marsden
Pratt
Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand.
http://www.marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0057_106
http://www.marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0057_106_001
http://www.marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0057_106_002
http://www.marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0057_106_003
http://www.marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0057_106_004
http://www.marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0057_106_005
http://www.marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0057_106_006
http://www.marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0057_106_007
MS_0057_106
Trimble 106
CMS Number 11
The manuscript images, transcripts and metadata displayed on the Marsden Online Archive site are governed by a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NZ) copyright agreement (available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/). Please contact the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand for more information.
University of Otago Library
2015-06-11T14:39:11+12:00
machine generated
eng
Letter: Reverend Samuel Marsden to Reverend Josiah Pratt, 22 December 18 1823
Reverend Samuel Marsden
University of Otago Library
Digitised from the Hocken Library
Collection Number MS-0057/106
Trimble 106
CMS Number 11
Digitised by the Marsden Online Archive
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Letter
Maori Subject Headings
Reverend Josiah Pratt
22 December 18 1823
New South Wales, Australia
3 July 1824
British English
Cannibalism
Committees
Missionaries
Death
Dead
Battles
God
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Sepulchral monuments
Grief
Blood
Prisoners
Children
Holy, The
Bones
Crime
Rites and ceremonies
Belief and doubt
Parramatta
Decr
1823
Cannibalism
New zealanders
Committee
Missionaries
Kendall
Rangheehoo
Kiddee kiddee
Death
Dead
Battle
God
Funeral
Mowhee
Priest
Sepulchre
Mourning
Blood
Prisoners
Children
Sacred
Potatoe
Bones
Crime
Ceremonies
Bay of islands
River thames
Belief
Mowheeboo
Saml
Marsden
Pratt
Parramatta
Decr 22d 1823
Revd & dear Sir
Agreeable to your request I have made every enquiry respecting the Cannibalism of the New Zealanders & beg to return the following answers to the Queries proposed by your Committee.
Question (1) “What acts of the New-Zealanders eating human Flesh, have fallen under your own actual Observations?”
Answer Some of the Missionaries never saw them eat human flesh. Mr Kendall never did & I could not learn that any of the Missionaries at Rangheehoo ever did. At Kiddee Kiddee on
Shunghees
Hongi Hika
return from war some Slaves were killed and eat. The Missionaries saw some human flesh dressed for eating.
Question (2) “On what occasions were these perpetrated”?
Answer As a sacrifice or satisfaction for the death of a Relative or Friend. The dead Body is considered holy food, or holy sacrifice, & the Persons who eat it are holy after a Battle
the heads of the
Cheifs
chiefs
are cut off and laid by themselves, and when this is done, the Brains, and the whole of the inside of the Scull are taken out, & prayers are offered up to their God & the funeral ode is sung the very same ode they believe which the first man Mowhee sung over the dead Body of his Son. When the sacrifices are offered up at too great a distance for their Friends to partake of them, the Priests take some small splinters of Wood & pass them
thro’
through
the flesh of the sacrifice & when they return home bring them with them when they are put amongst the food, when dressed & afterwards drawn
thro’
through
the Mouth of the Priest in the presence of the
Cheifs
chiefs
who went to war & prayers are offered up at the time and then the Splinters of wood are taken to their family Sepulchre and deposited there. When the Cheif has eaten the Sacrifice at a distance and returns home with the
peices
pieces
of wood, he is considered unholy having touched a dead Body, but when the Priest has received the
peices
pieces
of wood from him & he has been sprinkled by the Priest
between the Shoulders with water, he is cleansed from all his
pollutions
pollution
& admitted into the Society of his Friends again— It may here be remarked, that every man who goes to war & kills and eats another, is considered as having done the act of a God. When the
Cheifs
chiefs
return from Battle and have any particular cause for rejoicing or mourning they will kill a Slave or Slaves and eat them.
Question (3) “By what circumstances were such acts accomplished?”
Answer I have heard of Slaves being killed in cool blood as well as in moments of revengeful anger, & one young Woman was killed and eat in cool blood when I was then at this time near my lodgings.
Question (4) “Is the Cannibalism of the New Zealanders confined to their prisoners of war”?
Answer It is, excepting the offering & eating those who are killed in Battle.
Question (5) “Is the killing and eating Prisoners of war limited to any specific period after they are taken”?
Answer Prisoners of war are seldom
killed but are kept as Slaves; but they are liable to be killed by their Master at all times
—
with respect to the Women and Children they generally save what they can of them.
Question (6) “Is it a custom amongst the New Zealanders to kill & eat those who are convicted of Thefts?”
Ans[wer] Thefts are of different kinds common and sacred.
Sacred thefts are often punished with death. I saw one young woman who was killed for sacred theft such as breaking into the sweet Potatoe Houses when tabooed or into the sepulchre of the dead to carry away the bones, or into any sacred ground, especially if the offender be a slave— If any of their own Friends are guilty of theft, they are liable to be punished some other way— The New Zealanders do not think that theft is a crime of that magnitude generally, as to merit death.
Question (7) “Is there any particular class of Persons to whom the liability to be killed & eaten is confined?
Ans[wer] There is no class of Persons that are liable to be killed and eaten in cool blood, there is always a reason assigned for such an act which generally originates in
superstition & very distinct from Cannibalism, tho’ the whole system of their religious Ceremonies is interwoven with the eating of human Flesh.
Question (8) “Are there any Restrictions with respect to age in persons who are killed & eaten by the New Zealanders?”
Answer Persons of all ages are liable to be killed in battle, those who are, or have been the greatest Warriors are the most aimed at. I have not heard of any old persons, or very young Children having been killed as sacrifices, but those who are grown up.
Question (9) Will you state such well authenticated facts relative to the practice of Cannibalism by the New Zealanders as have been communicated to you by others, distinguishing those from such as you are acquainted with from your own Knowledge?
Answer I have had many Conversations with the
Cheifs
chiefs
at the Bay of Islands, the River Thames &c &c respecting Cannibalism. It is admited by all as a Fact, & practised by all as a religious ceremony in their wars. Every Cheif when he
falls in Battle expects to be eaten as it is their universal custom, but the New Zealanders have not been known to kill and eat one another privately, without there had been some previous injury, meriting that Punishment, according to their Laws.
Question (10) “What account do the Natives give of the origin, object & advantages of eating the flesh of their fellow Creatures?”
Answer It appears to have originated from a belief that Mowheeboo, the first cause of all sacrificed his Son and eat him. Their object is to satisfy their superstitious minds, to appease the Deity & the Manes of their departed Friends. It cannot however be doubted but that they gratify their appetites & revengeful feelings, at the same time their custom does not originate in this gratification, but in superstition.
I am
Dear & Revd Sir
Yours faithfully
signed Saml Marsden
Revd J. Pratt
&c &c &c
Hocken Archive Reference Number
MS-0057/106
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University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
Processing actions undertaken to: prepare the image for online digital use and maintain the integrity of the image.
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Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand.
hocken@otago.ac.nz
Hocken Archive Reference Number
MS-0057/106
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University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
digital still camera
Canon
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6D
11.0
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Manual
0220
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11.0
6.9
1.4
Multi-segment
tungsten
flash did not fire
50.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 61.2 mm)
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Auto Focus Used
Normal
Digitised as part of the Mining Marsden Project in 2013/2014
8, 8, 8
integer
3
2014:04:30 10:40:34
University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
Processing actions undertaken to: prepare the image for online digital use and maintain the integrity of the image.
Adobe Photoshop
CS6
Windows
7
Cropped item to remove excess border and straightened the image.
The manuscript images, transcripts and metadata displayed on the Marsden Online Archive site are governed by a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NZ) copyright agreement (available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/). Please contact the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand for more information.
Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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Hocken Archive Reference Number
MS-0057/106
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University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
digital still camera
Canon
Canon EOS
6D
11.0
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Manual
0220
1
11.0
6.9
1.4
Multi-segment
tungsten
flash did not fire
50.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 60.9 mm)
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Subject is illuminated from the front side.
Auto Focus Used
Normal
Digitised as part of the Mining Marsden Project in 2013/2014
8, 8, 8
integer
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2014:04:30 10:39:54
University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
Processing actions undertaken to: prepare the image for online digital use and maintain the integrity of the image.
Adobe Photoshop
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Windows
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Cropped item to remove excess border and straightened the image.
The manuscript images, transcripts and metadata displayed on the Marsden Online Archive site are governed by a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NZ) copyright agreement (available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/). Please contact the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand for more information.
Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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Hocken Archive Reference Number
MS-0057/106
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University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
digital still camera
Canon
Canon EOS
6D
11.0
1
Manual
0220
1
11.0
6.9
1.4
Multi-segment
tungsten
flash did not fire
50.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 60.2 mm)
0
Subject is illuminated from the front side.
Auto Focus Used
Normal
Digitised as part of the Mining Marsden Project in 2013/2014
8, 8, 8
integer
3
2014:04:30 10:42:27
University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
Processing actions undertaken to: prepare the image for online digital use and maintain the integrity of the image.
Adobe Photoshop
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Windows
7
Cropped item to remove excess border and straightened the image.
The manuscript images, transcripts and metadata displayed on the Marsden Online Archive site are governed by a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NZ) copyright agreement (available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/). Please contact the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand for more information.
Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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Hocken Archive Reference Number
MS-0057/106
38MB
image/tif
6.0
Uncompressed
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University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
digital still camera
Canon
Canon EOS
6D
11.0
1
Manual
0220
1
11.0
6.9
1.4
Multi-segment
tungsten
flash did not fire
50.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 60.5 mm)
0
Subject is illuminated from the front side.
Auto Focus Used
Normal
Digitised as part of the Mining Marsden Project in 2013/2014
8, 8, 8
integer
3
2014:04:30 10:42:07
University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
Processing actions undertaken to: prepare the image for online digital use and maintain the integrity of the image.
Adobe Photoshop
CS6
Windows
7
Cropped item to remove excess border and straightened the image.
The manuscript images, transcripts and metadata displayed on the Marsden Online Archive site are governed by a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NZ) copyright agreement (available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/). Please contact the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand for more information.
Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand.
hocken@otago.ac.nz
Hocken Archive Reference Number
MS-0057/106
39MB
image/tif
6.0
Uncompressed
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205
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321
mm
2014:04:30 08:33:24.34
University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
digital still camera
Canon
Canon EOS
6D
11.0
1
Manual
0220
1
11.0
6.9
1.4
Multi-segment
tungsten
flash did not fire
50.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 59.9 mm)
0
Subject is illuminated from the front side.
Auto Focus Used
Normal
Digitised as part of the Mining Marsden Project in 2013/2014
8, 8, 8
integer
3
2014:04:30 10:41:01
University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
Processing actions undertaken to: prepare the image for online digital use and maintain the integrity of the image.
Adobe Photoshop
CS6
Windows
7
Cropped item to remove excess border and straightened the image.
The manuscript images, transcripts and metadata displayed on the Marsden Online Archive site are governed by a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NZ) copyright agreement (available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/). Please contact the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand for more information.
Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand.
hocken@otago.ac.nz
Hocken Archive Reference Number
MS-0057/106
38MB
image/tif
6.0
Uncompressed
MD5
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Hakena
MS-0057/106
205
mm
321
mm
2014:04:30 08:32:30.03
University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
digital still camera
Canon
Canon EOS
6D
11.0
1
Manual
0220
1
11.0
6.9
1.4
Multi-segment
tungsten
flash did not fire
50.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 60.1 mm)
0
Subject is illuminated from the front side.
Auto Focus Used
Normal
Digitised as part of the Mining Marsden Project in 2013/2014
8, 8, 8
integer
3
2014:04:30 10:40:09
University of Otago Library, Reprographics Unit
Processing actions undertaken to: prepare the image for online digital use and maintain the integrity of the image.
Adobe Photoshop
CS6
Windows
7
Cropped item to remove excess border and straightened the image.
The manuscript images, transcripts and metadata displayed on the Marsden Online Archive site are governed by a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NZ) copyright agreement (available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/). Please contact the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand for more information.
Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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