General copyright and disclaimer - ResearchSpace@Auckland ...

“Er hat den Teufel auf mich losgelassen!”
Von diesem Tag an war ich gefürchtet, und keinem Maori gelüstete mehr nach den
Geheimnissen meiner Tasche. (85f.)
Here, the use of “scheinbar unabsichtlich” 137 does not change the fact that the scene leaves the
reader with the impression that it was in fact a deliberate act of cunning in order to hide his
looting exploits from the prying eyes of his ‘simple’ would-be accusers. 138 Surprisingly, the last
line is omitted from the English version, yet it is clear these are the comments of Reischek junior,
who sought to create a ‘Romantic’ mythos around his father, enabling him to be both ‘feared’ and
‘revered’ by Maori. 139 In other words, the overly dramatised and adventure-laden narrative,
which appears in a bold and blatant manner, is too embellished to be the sole work of Reischek
senior. From his 1928 and 1955 efforts Reischek junior can be seen as quite capable of creating
scenes which diverge from the facts and bend the truth in order to convey a wider appeal and
Romantic touch. 140
It is scenes like this which have led local scholars to chastise Reischek’s behaviour, even
though the manner and language of the narrative in both German and English editions cannot be
attributed outright to the explorer in question:
When dealing face to face with Maoris he would seek with displays of friendship to jolly them
into bartering. Where open dealings failed to secure his objectives, however, he showed no
scruples about giving assurances that he had no intention of keeping. He was prepared to lie, to
cheat, and to steal under the cover of night; and he had no compunction about playing on Maori
fears (of tapu, of night, of guardian spirits) as a cloak for his activities. In addition he frequently
found his activities amusing. 141
137 Priday translates this instead as “carelessly”, but the same impression of falseness and calculated behaviour
remains (YIM, 67), as is the case in Cäsar, der Freund des Neuseelandforschers, where Reischek junior makes his
father’s intentions appear more deliberate by stating: “[E]r kannte nämlich die abergläubische Furcht der Maori vor
Spinnen und Eidechsen” (Reischek, Jr., Cäsar, 58).
138 The same sense of European superiority is seen, for example, in the episode where Reischek is led on a kiwi hunt
by Maori guides who then proceed to get lost and very agitated only to have a calm and composed Reischek lead
them to safety with his compass, all to the amusement of the King (189).
139 Reischek senior’s own description of events in his original manuscript, on the other hand, implies that he opened
his bag out of necessity because the Maori wanted to look inside, not because he knew their fear of insects and
reptiles or wished to scare them away, and states clearly that they were dropped by accident: “[I]ch offnete [sic] den
De[c]kel etwas und liss [ließ] aus Zufall die Büchse auf seine Füsse fallen” (unpublished manuscript, I:249).
Furthermore, the above statement that he was “feared from this day forth” does not appear, only that no-one bothered
to look in his bag again (ibid., I:250).
140 This scene is depicted in varying length in the other versions, although they still convey the same impressions (SW
(1927), 42-45; YIM, 63-67; Ihaka Reiheke, 61f.; Reischek, Jr., Cäsar, 53-59). However, it is left out altogether in the
1955 account, Weißer Häuptling der Maori, presumably due to growing controversy surrounding the ‘Kawhia
mummies’.
141 King, Collector, 61.
254