PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
This work was first published in the "Journal of the Polynesian Society," Vols. VII. and VIII., and subsequently issued in book form. It has now been largely re-written, and the whole rearranged in such a manner as to form a sketch of the History of the Polynesian race—particularly the Maori-Rarotongan branch—down to the separation of the New Zealand Maoris from the original stock, when they migrated from Eastern Polynesia to New Zealand. The work is treated from the point of view of the Traditions, and mainly from those of Rarotonga, a written copy of which was secured by the author in Rarotonga in 1897. These traditions were dictated by Te Ariki tara-are, the last of the high priests of Rarotonga, and therefore are from the highest authority possible. A few of the Traditions themselves have been published—both in the native language and in English—in the above-named journal, but the bulk of them remain as yet untranslated.
S. PERCY SMITH.
New Plymouth, N.Z.
