1929: Primitive Economics of the NZ Maori
May 17, 2021
By AHNZ
Raymond Firth’s The Primitive Economics of the NZ Maori was published on about 29 May, 1929. I have the second edition, printed in the 1970s. Firth made a comprehensive study of Maoris and of course he did it from a particular point of view and it was a new and different one for its time.
“While its principal appeal will bo to students of ethnology, it is simply enough written to interest anyone who, without special technical knowledge, still displays the interest in Maori lore that should mark an educated New Zealander. The economic organisation of the primitive Maori society is dealt with in strict scientific method, and the writer goes exhaustively into questions of industry, payment for work done, distribution of goods, ownership of wealth, land tenure and the like.” – NZ Herald (25 May 1929), Papers Past
Previous studies (eg Tregear, Best, Smith) viewed Maoris as a colony of wider Polynesian culture. Indeed, they saw Maoris as a later extention of a culture that came out of India and had a case to make. We don’t want to talk about that possibility any more. Nor do we talk about the similarities between Maori and Hawaiian or, in particular, between the Taiwanese and the Maori.
Firth put the focus on Maori society and economy. His book represents a huge amount of work. For one thing, Firth was trained as an economist and during a time where economists in New Zealand took on history. There are no history papers to be had in an economics degree these days and probably none left alive who could teach it. Firth also had the privilidge of being a researcher for James Frazer, the author of the incredible book The Golden Bough. Another impressive thing about Firth was his longevity..
“After retiring from teaching work, Firth continued with his research interests, and right up until his hundredth year he was producing articles. He died in London a few weeks before his 101st birthday” – Wikipedia
The Economics of the New Zealand Maori was the thesis that earned him his PhD at London School of Economics. That was handy because by the time it was published as the book he could call himself ‘Doctor’ on the cover. Firth died in 2002.
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Image ref. Firth in the 1940s, Auckland Libraries Heritage Images Collection
Ref. p35, Tony Ballantyne, Webs of Empire (2012) for helpfully summarising the book this way in his own book
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