New Zealand

     From Scotland, George Sassoon sends this message, which raises a serious question that WAIS experts on that area may be able to answer; I cannot. He says:
     "At a millennium party, a girl rushed up to me and gave me a book: DOUTRÉ, Martin. Ancient Celtic New Zealand. Published by Dé Danann Publishers, 66 Highway 28, Coatesville, Auckland, NZ.
     According to this, there are ancient Maori traditions of a race who were in NZ when the Maoris turned up about 1200 AD. They were fair-skinned with blonde or red hair. They built stone circles and other monuments. Some of these artifacts have been found.
     All this has been suppressed by the NZ government because they don't want to upset the Maoris and their claims to own the entire sub-continent and everything that is above and below it. This is rubbish of course, because the Maoris ate these original people, and under their law they therefore possess any claim that these aboriginals had to the islands. So as often, political correctness is standing in the way of genuine research. There is said to be a Web site www.celticnz.co.nz.


     My comment: The fiction of the good sauvage (le bon sauvage) has distorted our interpretation of Pacific islanders. Head hunters and cannibals existed in the area until recent times, but I know of no serious study of the history of cannibalism in the whole South Pacific. I asked our Tonga keepers about it, to which they replied that it existed in other islands but not in Tonga. The whole culture of the Tongas has been deeply influenced by Methodism. Because the written history of the area is recent, it may be difficult to get accurate information. The natives will obviously deny unpleasant truths, especially as it affects their land claims. In the northwest of the United States there are tribes which deny that their ancestors were immigrants, since this proved fact would weaken their claims. However, the story of ancient Celts in New Zealand seems to me spurious.

Ronald Hilton - 1/1/00