8

Maori and Tamil Word Correlations

The thesis on Maori heritage that is promoted in Tregear’s 1885 book The Aryan Maori documents many links between Maori words and the Indo-European roots of the Sanskrit language, but it expressly denies any consequential relationship between the Maori and the non-Aryan indigenous cultures of India. Tregear’s viewpoint goes against our outlook on the evolution of an ancient system of cosmology that likely originated in the region of the Fertile Crescent and descended in part through these same indigenous groups to later cultures in India, Africa, and Asia. This progression notably includes the Tamil in India, who preserve the traditions of the Sakti Cult and speak the Dravidian languages. Our outlook rests in part on the role that Tamil words can be seen to play in Dogon cosmology. However, Tregear writes, “The Dravirian [Dravidian] (aboriginal Indian) languages have only a few words resembling Maori, and these have been picked up by forty centuries of residence in a land where the Aryan is lord. The Dravirian languages have no more affinity for Maori than the Maori has for reptiles.”¹

If we presume Tregear’s perspective to be a correct one, then any apparent Tamil word correlations that might be demonstrated in the Maori language would have been acquired through day-to-day contacts, but without the opportunities that would have been necessary to acquire the innermost concepts of an esoteric cosmology. So with this as our working premise, one direct approach to reconciling our outlook with Tregear’s might be to consider the extent to which Maori words reflect root concepts of the archaic cosmology. In our view, these concepts represent insider information known only by trusted initiates of the tradition and not likely to be assimilated through everyday associations. Their presence among the Maori would imply a period of extended closeness that Tregear’s viewpoint specifically disallows.

As we proceed with these prospective comparisons, it is important to keep in mind that, notwithstanding Tregear’s Maori/Sanskrit word comparisons, significant differences in phonetic structure may have evolved between language groups of different cultures over time. We have seen this to be the case previously as we have compared words between language groups. Sensitivity to these types of phonetic differences allows us to arguably correlate the Dogon concept of the Sigi celebration with the Egyptian word skhai, which means “to celebrate,” and the Dogon word yala with the Egyptian word ahau. From the outset, we understand that the Maori language does not offer direct equivalents to the English letters L or S. Knowing this to be true, we might reasonably expect some of the terms that we correlate based on shared meaning to be phonetically inexact. However, we also know that cosmological terms typically carry more than one meaning, so in cases where the phonetics of a Maori word might represent only an approximation of the correlated Tamil word form, it might still be possible to demonstrate agreement for secondary meanings of a given term based on the same phonetic equivalence and thereby validate the comparison.

In the mind-set of the archaic philosophies of the cosmology, the processes of creation are induced when the feminine energy of the nonmaterial universe (characterized as light) becomes entwined with the masculine energy of the material universe (characterized initially as waves or water). Within that context, a likely place to begin our Tamil and Maori word comparisons would be with the name of the Maori god Ao, whom we associate (based on his cosmological role) with the Hebrew light god Yah. This outlook is upheld by Maori passages presented by Best that bear strong resemblances to verbiage in the biblical Book of Genesis. As this initial stage of creation is related in Genesis, the world began in darkness, and the spirit of God was said to “move upon the face of the waters.” Accordingly, the Maori word ao means “light,”² and ea means “to appear above water” or “to emerge.”³

Linguistic references cited in The Mystery of Skara Brae suggest that a deity named El, whom we take to be a surrogate of or counterpart to Yah, was celebrated on Orkney Island in Northern Scotland. In our view, the deity is commemorated in the name of the Bay of Skaill (skhai El, or “celebrates El”). Appropriate to that interpretation, the Tamil word el also means “light.” This outlook is supported by the relationship between a second Tamil word, mai, meaning “water,” and a comparable Maori word, maea, which means “to emerge” or “to appear above water.”⁴

Within the mind-set of the cosmology, this entwining of the feminine nonmaterial essence with masculine material substance is characterized as an embrace. It is the feminine or matriarchal aspect of this embrace that is emphasized in the archaic tradition and expresses itself within the Sakti Cult in relation to two Mother Goddesses whose names rest on the word penu. These goddesses are Dharni Penu and Tana Penu. In Tamil culture, the concept of “female” is expressed by the same phonetic root, pen, that is applied to nurturing Mother Goddesses. Although there appears to be no direct Maori phonetic equivalent to the Tamil word, the Maori word penapena carries the motherly meanings of “to cherish, to foster, to take care of.”⁵ Meanwhile, the Tamil word for “male” is given as an, very much as the Maori word for “male” is ana.⁶

From the perspectives of both the Dogon priests and modern astrophysicists, an act of perception causes matter in its wavelike state to behave like particles. The Dogon say that the act of perception disrupts the wave, causes it to vibrate and pivot, and thereby induces changes in the physical state of the wave. These changes are described as phase transitions, which are comparable to the transformation that occurs in water as cold temperatures transmute it into ice. The Tamil word for “embrace” is taluvi. The comparable Maori term (which may express the sound of the Tamil L as an H) is tahu, meaning “spouse.” Suggestively, however, the word tahu also means “to kindle,” and it is the phonetic root of the word tahuri, which means “to turn around” (pivot) or “to set to work.”⁷ The underlying Tamil root ta means “to give, grant, or bestow,” while the Maori root ta means “belonging to.”⁸ Our choice to correlate the Tamil phoneme tal with the Maori phoneme tah is supported by an additional pairing between the Tamil word talai, meaning “head,” and another Maori word tahuri, which also means “head.”⁹

In the symbolic language of the cosmology, the notion of vibration can be characterized as wind or as breath. Similarly, within the Tamil language the concept of “breath” is expressed by the word ha. For the Maori, the comparable term whaka-ha means “breathe.”¹⁰ The Maori prefix whaka means “to cause” or “to cause to.”¹¹

One important storyline that serves as a common metaphor for the seven stages of creation of the “egg” of matter is that of the cross-cultural myth of the Seven Houses. Varying renditions of this myth, which are given both in India and in Egypt, compare the emergence of matter to an awakening. From this perspective, Yah’s commandment “let there be light” is reflected in the act of a sleeping woman (or goddess) who simply opens her eyes as she awakens to the light of a new dawn. From this perspective, Yah represents the glow of light from a rising sun that comes to define the shapes that she perceives. In many of the traditions we have studied, concepts that pertain to light are expressed using the phonemes ak, akh, or aakhu (the Dogon ogo). In keeping with that outlook, the Tamil word aku means “to become,” while the comparable Maori word ahu means “to cultivate,” “to foster,” or “to heap up.”¹² Similarly, the Tamil word akaram means “shape,” while the Maori terms ahua and kahua also mean “shape.”¹³

From the Dogon perspective, the processes of creation culminate in the first coherent structure of matter, which is referred to as the po pilu. One entry point for our cosmological comparisons to the Maori rests on concepts they share in common with the Dogon regarding the nature and symbolism of the atom-like po. The cosmological terms pil, pille, and pilu serve as a connecting link for cosmological concepts among a number of ancient cultures, and various meanings of the terms play out in relation to symbolism of the elephant god Ganesha in India. Ganesha was seen as the son of a mother goddess and was given the head of a white elephant. Appropriately, depending on the language involved the word pilu can mean “elephant,” “son,” or “white.” The po pilu itself is seen as a bubble-like structure that is associated with seven arrow-like or spear-like rays of a star, the last of which grows long enough to finally pierce and burst the bubble. In this context, it is understandable that the Tamil word pil means “to burst” and is a term for “arrow.” The arrow is also a traditional icon of various goddesses who can be seen as surrogates to Ganesha’s mother. A comparable Maori word, pahu, also means “to burst,”¹⁴ while the word pere means “arrow.”¹⁵ Similarly, the Tamil word po means “perforate” or “to make a hole,” while the Maori word poaha means “open.”¹⁶

From the metaphoric viewpoint in which the action of the chambers of the po pilu is compared to that of a sieve, Ganesha is conceptualized as the keeper of the gateways that divide the chambers. As such, he comes to be associated with the placement and removal of obstacles. In keeping with this outlook, the Tamil word tatai refers to an “obstacle,” while the Maori word tatari means ”strainer, sieve,” or “to strain or sift.”¹⁷

We have discussed the obvious correlations that can be shown to exist between the Maori concept of the po and the Dogon po, most specifically as a conceptual correlate to a scientific atom. These terms are also reflective of concepts as they are expressed in the Tamil language, where the notions of “substance” and “material” are expressed as porul.

Several other aspects of the ancient system of cosmology can be seen to be reflected in word forms that are shared commonly by the languages of the Tamil and the Maori. Both the Dogon and Buddhist traditions take their symbolic forms in relation to an aligned ritual shrine that the Buddhists call a stupa. The geometric plan of the shrine replicates the stages of creation by which matter comes to be established and grow. The stupa form is a conceptual correlate to the steeple of a church. In keeping with these definitions, the Tamil word stupi refers to the “top of a temple,” and the Maori word tupu means “growth” and implies the notion of being “firmly rooted” or “firm.”¹⁸

Another symbolic concept that has importance for the cosmological tradition is that of an ancestor. This same concept arguably lies at the heart of the Maori outlook that conceptualizes the processes of creation in relation to genealogies. We have said that in the mind-set of many ancient traditions, an ancestor was conceptualized as having preceded you and so would stand “before” or “ahead of ” you. From that perspective, the Tamil word mu expresses the notion of “that which was before,” while the Maori words mu and mua refer to an “ancestor” and to “the front or forepart” of something.¹⁹

Finally, in the Dogon and Egyptian traditions, the concept of “completion” is expressed by the words toymu and temau, while in many ancient traditions the phoneme mu can be seen to refer to water. Likewise, in many traditions the birthing process is brought to completion with a ritual baptism. Similarly, the Tamil word toy means “to dip in water,” while the phonetically similar Maori word tohi refers to a “baptismal ceremony.”²⁰

Cosmologically speaking, we see a great deal of overlap among cosmological concepts of the Maori, the Dogon, and the Tamil that are supported by cosmological words of the Maori and the Dogon. That observation goes against Tregear’s perception that no significant relationship could be demonstrated between Tamil words and Maori words. Meanwhile, it is consistent with his report of the finding of an ancient bell in New Zealand with Tamil words inscribed on it. Based on all of this, a reasonable person could easily conclude that we do, in fact, see Tamil influences in the Maori culture.