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BEQUEST '

UNl\TtKSlT\' ar MICHIGAN

JOUENAL

OF THE

POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

CONTAINING

THE TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS
OF THE SOCIETY.

Vol. XIV.

1905.

WELLINGTON, N.Z. :

PRINTKD FOR THE SOCIETY BY WHITCOMBE AND T03CB» Til MIXED. LAMBTOX QUAY.

AGENT POIl AMERICA :
SBT. 8. D. PEET, EDITOR OF " THE AlCERICAN ANTIQUARY," CHICAGO.

1906

^r/^o CONTENTS OF VOL. XIV.

No. 63.— March, 1905.

Constitution of the Society, Liftt of Officers and Members
List of Exchanges
Annual Meeting...
Annual Report of the Council
Balance Sheet ...

Maori Medical Lore. By Elsdon Best
"^Principles of Samoan Word-composition.
Notes and Queries (176-177)

By William Churchill, B.A.

v-x

xiii

1
24
46

No. 54.— June, 1906.

Mana Tangata. By Lieut. -Col. Gudgeon, C.M.G.

Te Hekenga a Kahu-hunu. Na Pango-te-Whare-Aublii

The Migration of Kahu-hunu (translation.) By S. Percy Smith

The Coming of Tainui. Related by Rihari Tauwhare

The Iri Karakia. Told by Major Tunui-a-Rangi ...

Notes and Queries (178)

Transactions and Proceedings

100

102

104

No. 55.— September, 1906.

Maori Religion. By Lieut. -Col. Gudgeo

Some Whanganui Historical Notes. By S. Percy Smith

Ngutu-Au. By George Graham

The Canoe of Maui . By J. Cowan

Notes and Queries (179-181)

Transactions and Proceedings

107
131
159
161
163
165

No. 56. — December, 1905.

Mjvori Superstition. By Lieut. -Col. Gudgeon

The Last of the Ngati-Mamoe. By J. Cowan

Te Korero mo Ngarara-Huarau. Na H. P. Tunui-a-Rangi ...

The Stor>- of Ngarara-Huarau (translation). By S. Percy Smith

The Lore of the Whare-Kohanga. By Elsdon Best. Part I.

Genealogical Line from lo ...

The Hunakeha Tree. By W. T. Morpeth

Origin of the Ta-tatau or Heraldic Marks at Aitutaki Island. By Lieut,

Col. Gudgeon
Notes and Queries (182-184)

167
193
200
202
205
210
216

217
219

POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

OFFICERS FOR 1906.
Hn BxosLLSNOT, Lord Plunkbt, Goveiiior of New Zealand.

S. Pebct Smith, F.R.G.S.

O^ounHi :

M. Fbasbb. W. Kbrb.

W. L. Nbwican. F. p. Corkill

W. H. SKiiraER. W. H. Parkbr.

^hliov^ of 9ovtv%xal :
W. H. Skinnbr and Wm. Kerr.

^^HE Society is formed to promote the study of the Anthropology, Ethno-
logy, Philology, History and Antiquities of the Polynesian races, by the
pnbUoation of an official journal, to be called " The Journal of thb Poltnbsiak
SooBTT," and by the collection of books, manuscripts, photographs, relics, and
other illostrations of the history of the Polynesian race.

l%e term ** Polynesia" is intended to include Australia, New Zealand,
Melaoeaia, Micronesia, and Malaysia, as well as Polynesia proper.

Candidates for admission to the Society shall be admitted on the joint
leoommendation of a member of the Society and a member of the Council, and
OD the approval of the Council.

Eyery person elected to membership shall receive immediate notice of the
mxae from the Secretaries, and shall receive a copy of the Bules, and on pay-
ment of his subscription of one pound shall be entitled to all the benefits of
membership. Subscriptions are payable in advance, on the 1st January of
cadi year, or on election.

Papers will be received on any of the above subjects if sent through a
member. Authors are requested to write only on one side of the paper, to use
quarto paper, and to leave one inch margin on the left-hand side, to allow of
binding. Proper names should be written in ROMAN TYPE.

The office of the Society is at present at NEW PLYMOUTH, New Zealand.

The price of back numbers of the Journal, to members, is 28 6d.

Vols, i, ii, iii, and iv are out of print.

Members and exchanges are requested to note the
change in the Society's Office from Wellington to New
Plymouth, to which all communications, books, exchanges,
ACm should be sent, addressed to the Hon. Secretaries.

VOL. XIV.
MEMBERS OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

AS AT IsT January, 1905.

The si^ * before a name indicates an original member or founder.

I this list will be pabliehed annually, the Secretaries vronld feel obliged if members will supply
any omissions, or notify change of residence.

HONORARY MEMBERS.

Liliuokalani, ex-Queen of Hawaii, 1588, 2l8t Street, Washington, U.S.A.
Bev. B. H. Godrington, D.D., Chichester, England
Bev. Prof. A. H. Sayoe, M.A., Queen's College, Oxford, England
Hon. Sir J. G. Ward, K.C.M.G., M.H.B., Wellington, N.Z.
Sir James Hector, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., Petone, Wellington, N.Z.
Professor H. H. Giglioli, Maseo Zoologico, 19, via Bomana, Florence, Italy
H. G. Seth-Smith, M.A., Chief Judge N.L. Court, Auckland, N.Z.
Prof. W. Baldwin Spencer, M.A., The University, Melbourne (8/3/04)
Prof. A. H. Eeane, F.B.G.S., "Aram Gah," 79, Broadhurst Gardens, South
Hamstead, London, N.W.

CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.

Prof. Otis T. Mason, A.M., Ph.D., Smithsonian Institution, National Museum,

Washington, U.S.A.
Bev. T. G. Hammond, Patea, Taranaki, N.Z.
Te One Bene Bawiri Te Mamaru, Moeraki, Otago, N.Z.
Bev. Mohi Turei. Waiapu, N.Z.
Takaanui Tarakawa, Te Puke, Maketu, N.Z.
Karipa Te Whetu, Whangarae, CroixeUes, Nelson, N.Z.
Tiwai Paraone, Miranda, Auckland, N.Z.
Aporo Te Eumeroa, Greytown, N.Z.
Hare Hongi, Wellington, N.Z.
Wiremu Eauika, Waitotara N.Z.
Tati Salmon, Papara, Tahiti.
Pa-ariki, Ngatangiia, Barotonga.
Bev. J. E. Moultan, Nukualofa, Tonga Island.
Churchill, W., B.A., Fale'ula, East 12th Street, near King's Highway, Brooklyn

N.Y., U.S.A.
CoRnet, Bev. Claud, S.M., Okato, N.Z.

Tmiui-a-rangi, Major H. P., Turanganui, Martinborough, N.Z.
f

ORDINARY MEMBERS.

• Adams, C. W., 9, Telford Terrace, Oriental Bay, Wellington

• Alexander, Dr. E. W., F.R.G.S., Dunedin, N.Z.

• Alexander, W. D., F.B.G.S., D.Sc, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands
Aldred, W. A., Bank of New Zealand, Christchurch, N.Z.
Aitken, J. G. W., M.H.B., Wellington, N.Z.

Ashcroft, B. H., Esq., c/o Taupo Totara Timber Co., Mokai, via Putaruru, N.Z
Atkinson, W. E., Whanganui, N.Z.

JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Biroh, W. J., Bfarton, N.Z.

Blair, J. B., Terrace, Wellington, N.Z.

Barron, A., Land for Settlement Department, Wellington, N.Z.

Best, Elsdon, Buatoki, Botorua, N.Z.

Boiler, Sir W. L., K.C.M.G.. F.B.S., Terrace, Wellington, N.Z.

Battley, B. T., Moawhango, N.Z.

Bamford, E., Auckland, N.Z.

Benn, H. B., Botorua, N.Z.

Buchanan, W. C, M.H.R., Carterton, N.Z.

Bennett, Rev. F. A., Botorua, N.Z.

British and Foreign Bible Society, 114, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.G.

Browne, A. H., Barotonga

Brown, Mrs. J., Eohimarama, Auckland

Brown, Prof. J. McMillan, Christchurch, N.Z.

Boston City Library, Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

Chapman, His Honour F. B., Wellington, N.Z.

Carroll, A., M.A., M.D., Denbeigh Ho., Koogarrah, Sydney, N.S.W.

Carkeek, Morgan, Otaki, N.Z.

Chambers, W. E., Kepongaere, Gisbome, N.Z.

Carter, H. C, 475, West 143rd Street, New York

Comins, Yen. Archdeacon B. Blundell, Norfolk Island

Chapman, M., Wellington, N.Z.

Cooper, His Honour Theo., Wellington, N.Z.

Coates, J., National Bank of N.Z., Wellington, N.Z.

Corkill, F. P., New Plymouth, N.Z.

Clarke, A. E. A., New Plymouth, N.Z.

Clark, Patrick, o/o Wilkie & Co., Danedm, N.Z.

Chatterton, Bev. F. W., Te Bau, Gisbome

Cole, Yen. Archdeacon B. H., D.C.L., New Plymouth, N.Z.

' Denniston, His Honour J. E., Christchurch, N.Z.
Davies, Henry, Tennyson St., Napier, N.Z.
Dulau & Co., 87, Soho Square, London

Drummond, James, "Lyttelton Times ** Office, Christchnrob, N.Z.
Donne, T. A., Tourist Department, Wellington, N.Z.
Dixon, Bonald B., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.

' Emerson, J. S., Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands
fiwen, C. A., N.Z. Insurance Co., Wellington, N.Z.
Edger, F. H., Judge N.L.C., Auckland, N.Z.

*Fraser, D., Bulls, Bangitikei, Wellington, N.Z.
Friedlander, B., Carlstrasse 11 Berlin, N.W.
Friedlaender, Dr. B., Begenten Strasse 8, Berlin, W.
Fletcher, Bev. H. J., Taupo, N.Z.
Forbes, E. J., 8, Spring Street, Sydney, N.S.W.
Fraaer, M., New Plymouth, N.Z.,
Fisher, T. W., New Plymouth, N.Z.
Frear, Cbief Judge, W. F., Honolulu, Hawaii
Frith, John F., Survey Office, New Plymouth.
Fowlds, G., M.H.K., Auckland, N.Z.
Fenwick, Geo., •*Otago Daily Time8,**^Dunedin

' Grace, L. M., N.L.P. Dept., Government Buildings, Wellington, N.Z.
' Gudgeon, Lient.-Col. W. B., C.M.G., Govt. Besident, Barotonga

Gordon, H. A., F.G.S., Auckland, N.Z.

Gnrr, B. W., Chief Judge, Pagopago, Samoa.

Gill, W. H., Kobe, Japan.

Graham, Geo., c/o Wynyard & Purohas, Auckland, N.Z.

Gray, M. H., A.B.S.M., F.G.S., <&c., Lessness Park, Abbeywood, Kent,
England

LIST OF MEMBERS. w.

HaddoD, A. C, D.Sc, F.B.S., Inisfail, Hills Boad, Cambridge, Bngland

* Harsthouse, C. W., Roads Department, Wellington, N.Z.

* Hocken, Dr. T. M.. F.L.S., Dunedin, N.Z.

* Hamilton, A., Museum, Wellington, N.Z.

* HeniT, Miss Teuira, Little Britain, Sheridan Street, Honolulu, Hawaiian

Islands
Harding, B. Goupland, Wellington, N.Z.
Hutohin, Bev. J. J. E., Barotonga Island
Hastie, Miss J. A., 11, Ashbum Place, Cromwell Boad, London
Hutton, Gapt. F. W., F.B.S., Ghristohuroh, N.Z.
Hughes, B. G., New Plymouth, N.Z.

loms, William, Masterton, N.Z.

* Johnson, H. Dunbar, Judge N.L. Court, Whanganui, N.Z.
Jollie, Mrs., Edinboro Boad, Biocarton, Christcharoh, N.Z.

* Kenny, Hon. C. W. A. T., M.L.C., Picton, N.Z.
Eiihl, W. H., W-Jager Strasse, 78, Berlin
King, John, Oisbome, N.Z.

Kerr, W., New Plymouth, N.Z.

Kelly, Hon. T., M.L.C., New Plymouth, N.Z.

* Lawrence, Bev. W. N., Aitutaki Island, Barotonga

* Large, Major J. T., Mangaia Island, Barotonga

* Laing, B. M., M.A., High School, Christchurch, N.Z.
Leggatt, Bev. T. W. Watt, Malikula. New Hebrides
Lambert, H. A., Tane, Pahiatua, N.Z.

Leslie, G., Government Buildings, Wellington, N.Z.
Lethbridge. F. Y., M.H.B., FeUding, N.Z.

* Marshall, W. S., Te Hekenga, Pemberton, Wellington, N.Z.

* Morpeth, W. T., Survey Department, New Plymouth, N.Z.

* Major, C. E., M.H.B., Hawera, N.Z.

* MacDonald, Bev. Dr. D., Efate, New Hebrides

* Mackay, A., Feilding, N.Z.

Mitchell, F. J., Home Bule, Mudgee, N.S.W.

Mackay, Captain A. W., Bathurst, N.S.W.

March, H. Colley, M.D., F.S.A., Portesham, Dorchester, England

Mair, Captain G. W., F.L.S., Wellington, N.Z.

Marshall, J. W., Tututotara, Marton, N.Z.

Marshall, H. H., Motu-kowhai, Marton, N.Z.

McNab, B., M.H.B., Gore, N.Z.

Maunsell, B., Eridge, Masterton, N.Z.

Madaurin, Professor, Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z.

Martin, Josiah, F.G.S., Auckland, N.Z.

Marchant, J. W. A., Surveyor General of N.Z., WelliDgion

Mackintosh, Bev. Canon A., F.B.G.S., Honolulu, Hawaii

Malone, W. G., New Plymouth, N.Z.

Matthews, H. J. Chief Forester of N.Z., Wellington

* Nelson, C. E., Botorua, Auckland, N.Z.
Nathan, D. J., Wellington, N.Z.
Newell, Bev. J. E., MtJua, Samoa.
Nairn, F. E., Hastings, H.B., N.Z.

Ngata, A. T., M.A., LL.B., Awaroa, Gisbome, N.Z.

New York Public Library, Astor Library Buildings, New York

Newman, W. L., New Plymouth, N.Z.

Oahu College, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands

JOUftNAL OF THE POLYNESiAN SOCIETY.

Peebles, James M., Glenavy, South Canterbury

* Phillips, Coleman, Featherston, N.Z.

* Pope, J. H., Education Department, Wellington, N.Z.
Pritt, Archdeacon, F. G., Gairlook, Brisbane, Queensland
Partington, J. Edge, F.B.G.S., British Museum, London, England
Pomare, Dr. M. H. P. N., Health Department, Wellington, N.Z.
Parker, J. H., New Plymouth.

Beeve, Wellwood, Tologa Bay, Gisbome N.Z.

* Butland, Joshua, Canvastown, Marlborough, N.Z.

* Boy, B. B., Taita, Wellington, N.Z.
Beweti, Bu, Opua, Auckland, N.Z.
Boy, J. B., New Plymouth, N.Z.
Boberts, W. H. S. Newborough, Oamaru

* Smith, W. W., F.E.S.. Ashburton, Canterbuiy, N.Z.

* Shand, A., Chatham Islands

* Smith, F. S., Gisbome, N.Z.

* Smith, M. C, Survey Department, Wellington, N.Z.

* Smith, S. Percy, F.B.G.S., New Plymouth, N.Z.
Smith, H. Guthrie, Eaimoe, Patutahi, Gisborne

* Stout, Hon. Sir B., K.C.M.G., Chief Justice, Wellington, N.Z.

* Skinner, W. H., Survey Department, New Plymouth, N.Z.
Saxton, Henry Waring, F.L.S., New Plymouth, N.Z.
Smith, T. H., Grafton Boad, Auckland, N.Z.

Scott, Prof. J. H., M.D., F.B.S.E., Otago University, Dunedm, N.Z.

Stainton, W., Mokoia, Woodville, N.Z.

Smith, Hon. W. 0., Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands

Spencer, W. E., New Plymouth, N.Z.

Ssunuel, Oliver, New Plymouth, N.Z.

* Tregear, E., F.B.Hist.S., Wellington, N.Z.

* Testa, F. J., Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands
Tumbull, A. H., Bowen Street, Wellington, N.Z.
Tinline, J., Nelson, N.Z.

Way, Bight Hon. Sir Samuel James, Bart., P.C., Chief Justice, Adelaide, S.A.

* Webster, J., Hokianga, N.Z.

* Wilkinson, G. T., Otorohanga, Auckland, N.Z.

* Wheeler, W. J., Survey Office, Auckland, N.Z.

* Williams, Bight Bev. W. L., D.D., Bishop of Waiapu, Napier, N.Z.

* Wright, A. B., Survey Department, Auckland, N.Z.
WiUiams, Bev. H. W., M.A., Gisbome, N.Z.
Williams, J. N., Frimley, Hastings, Hawke's Bay, N.Z.
White, Taylor, Wimbledon, Hawke's Bay, N.Z.
Wilson, A., Survey Office, Auckland, N.Z.

Wilcox, Hon. G. N., Kauai, Hawaiian Islands

Watt, Bev. W., Tanna, New Hebrides

Williams, F. W., Napier, N,Z.

Wallis, Bight Bev. F., D.D., Bishop of Wellington, N.Z.

Whitney, James L., Public Library, Dartmouth, Boston, U.S.A.

Woodworth, W. McM., Museum Comp. Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.

Webster, W. D., New Plymouth, N.Z.

Walker, Ernest A., M.D., New Plymouth, N.Z.

* Yoang, J. L., o/o Henderson A Macfarlane, Auckland, N.Z.

PRESIDENTS (Past and Present).

1892-1894— H. G. SethSmith, MA.

1896-1896— Bight Bev. W. L. WUliams, M.A., D.D.

1897-1898-The Bev. W. T. Habens, B.A.

1899-1900— J. H. Pope.

1901-1908— E. Tregear, F.B.H.S., Ao.

19041906— S. Percy Smith, F.B.G.S.

LIST OF EXCHANGES.

THB foUowiog is the list of Societies, Ac, Ac, to which the Joubhal is sent,
and from most of which we receive exchanges. There is a tacit under-
standing that several Public Institutions are to receive our publications free, so long
as the New Zealand Government allows our correspondence, Ac, to go free by post.

Agent-General of New Zealand, 13 Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W.

Anthropologische, Ethnographische, etc., etc., Gesellschraft, Vienna, Austria.

Anthropologie, Soci^t^ d', 15, Bue Ecole de Medicin, Paris.

Anthropologia, Museo Zoologica, Florence, Italy.

Anthropological Society of Australia, c/o Board of International Exchanges

Sydney.
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, 3 Hanover Square, London, W.
Anthropologie, Ecole d', 15 Bue Ecole de Medicin, Paris.
Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, University, Sydney.
Ante (Te) Students Association, The College, Te Ante, Hawke's Bay, N.Z.
American Oriental Society, 235, Bishop Street, Newhaven, Conn., U.S.A.

Bataviaasch Genootschap, Batavia, Java.

Buddhist Text Society, 86/2 Jaun Bazaar Street, Calcutta.

Blenheim Literary Institute, Blenheim, N.Z.

Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington.

Bemice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, H.I.

Canadian Institute, 46 Richmond Street East, Toronto.
Cambridge Philosophical Society, Cambridge, England.

Faculty des Sciences de Marseilles, Marseilles, France.

General Assembly Library, Wellington, N.Z.

Geographic, Soci6t6 de, de Paris, Boulvard St. Germain 184, Paris.

Historical Society, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands.

Institute, The Auckland, Museum, Auckland, N.Z.
Institute, The Philosophical, Christchurch, N.Z.
Institute, The Philosophical, Wellington, N.Z.
Institute, The Otago, Dunedin, N.Z.

Japan Society, 20 Hanover Square, London, W.

Eongl, Vitterhets Historic och Antiqvitete Akademen, Stockholm, Sweden.
Eoninklijk Instituut, 14, Van Galenstraat, The Hague, Holland.

Literary and Historical Society, Quebec, Canada.

Museum, Christchurch.
Museum, The Australian, Sydney.
Minister of Education, Wellington.
Minister, Bight Hon. the Premier, Wellington.
Minister, Hon. The Colonial Secretary, Wellington.

Na Mata, Editor, Suva, Fiji.

xii JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Public Library, New Pljrmoath, N.Z.

Public Library, Auckland.

Public Library, Wellington.

Public Library, Melbourne.

Public Libraiy, Sydney.

Peet, Bey. S. D., Pk.D., Editor of '*The American Antiquarian," 5817, MadiMn
Avenue, Chicago.

Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, Hanrard University, Cam-
bridge, U.SJL.

Beading Boom, Botorua, N.Z.

Boyal Gteographical Society, 1 Saville Bow, London.

Boyal Geographical Society of Australasia, Brisbane.

Boyal Geographical Society of Australasia, c/o G. Collingridge, Waronga

N.S.W
Boyal (Geographical Society of Australasia, 70 Queen Street, Melbourne.
Boyal Geographical Society of Australasia, Adelaide.
Boyal Society, Burlington House, London.
Boyal Society of New South Wales, 5 Elizabeth Street, Sydney.
Boyal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 87 Park Street, Calcutta.
Boyal Colonial Institute, Northumberland Avenue, London.
Beal Academia de Ciencias y Artes, Barcelona, Spain.

Smithsonian Listitution, Washington.

8oci6t6 Neuchateloise de Geographic, Neuch&tel, Switserland.

Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington.

Secretary (Under) Colonial Secretary's Department, Wellington.

Secretary (Under) Justice (Native), Wellington.

Wisooniin Academy of Science and Arts, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

itf^^^M

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY,

UM at New PlymotUh, N.Z., 3Ut March, 1905.

Ttn& adjourned Annual Meeting was held as above, the President (Mr. S. Percy
Sniith) in the ohair, the following members being present :— Messrs. W. L.
Newman, W. Kerr, J. H. Parker, F. P. Corkill, W. D. Webster, and W. H. Skiniier.

The Minutes of the last Annual Meeting, together with the Annual Report and
Balance Sheet, were read and confirmed, and ordered to be printed in the next
Journal.

The following officers were elected for the ensuing year : — President, S. Percy
Smith ; Secretary, W. ti. NeWman ; Council, Messrs. W. Kerr, M. Frazer, and W. L.
Newman ; Hon. Auditor, W. D. Webster.

The following new members were elected : —

866. Honorary Member— Professor A. H. Keane, F.R.G.S., '• Aram gah,"

79, Broadhurst Gardens, South Hampstead, London, N.W.
367. Corresponding Member — Major H. P. Tunui-a-rangi, Taranganui,

Martinborough, N.Z.
868. Ordinary Member — R. H. Ashoroft, care of Taupo Timber Company,
Litchfield, N.Z.
At a previous Council meeting, Mr. W. H. S. Roberts (365), of Newborough,
Oamara, N.Z., was elected an ordinary member.

ANNUAL KEPORT OF THE COUNCIL,

FOR THE YE^ ENDING 31st DECEMBER, 1904.

Preunted to the adjourned A nnnal Meeting, 31st March, 1905, in terms of Rule No. 31.

IN presenting its Thirteenth Annual Iteport the Council desires to congratulate
members on the continued well-being of the Society. No incident of any
importance has marked our proceedings, but matters have, as ever, gone smoothly on,
whilst we may fairly claim that the object for which the Society was founded has
made some progress. Our quarterly Joubnal has appeared not quite so regularly as
daring the preoeeding year, dae to the continued absence of the Editor, but it is
hoped that the ensuing year will see a return to its normal conditions in that respect.
Vdume Xm. contains a few more pages than the preceeding one, and a good many
iUustrations. It has often been stated that the size of the Journal might be
inereased, as there is plenty of matter on hand, if some of our members would assist
in translating the many papers we possess, some of which are of great value, and
should be rendered available for members. There are over twenty members of the
Society who are competent Maori scholars, and who might undertake some of this,
and thus relieve the Editor of some of this onerous work.

JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

The Society has, for some years, been without a Patron — indeed, ever since Her
Majesty Liliuokalani, ex-Queen of Hawaii, ceased to hold her high office as Queen of
that group — but during the year His Excellency Lord Plonket, (Governor of New
Zealand, has most graciously consented to accept this office.

In our last year's report we referred to the new Maori Dictionary, which the Rev.
H. W. Williams has in hand. We learn that fair progress is being made in the
matter, and that many contributions from gentlemen who have made collections of
words have been received, and others promised. As Mr. Williams proposes visiting
Capetown during this year, advantage was taken of this opportunity to request the
Bight Hon. the Premier to put Mr. Williams in communication with the Premier of
the Cape, with a view to his ascertaining the value of the Qrey collection of Maori
documents, now at the Capetown Library. It is hoped that the short time at Mr.
William's disposal at the Cape will enable him to obtain some idea of what the value
of the collection is for, at least, philological purposes.

We regret that death has removed some of our members during the year, amongst
whom may be mentioned Te Kahui Kararehe, of Bahotu, Taranaki, a former con-
tributor to the Journal; and John Fraser, LL.D., of Maitland, N.S.W., a frequent
contributor to our Transactions.

On the 1st January, 1905, our numbers stood as follows : —

Patron . . 1

Honorary Members . . . . 8

Corresponding Members . . . . 16

Ordinary Members .. .. 164

189

This shows a decline of six members as compared with the previous year, and is
due to the fact of a considerable number of members having been struck off the roll
for non-payment of subscriptions.

Our financial position is much as it was in previous periods, as a glance at the
Accounts attached will show. Our total receipts (with balance from last year) were
£179 8s. 3d., whilst the expenditure was £138 4s. 6d., leaving a balance in hand of
£41 3s. 9d., all of which was required to meet liabilities. The Capital Account
increased by £18 9s. 5d. The members in arrear were : — One year, 18 ; two years,
13 ; representing a sum amounting to £44.

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VOL. XIV., 1905.

MAOKI MEDICAL LORE.

NOTES ON SICKNESS AND DISEASE AMONG THE MAORI

PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND, AND THEIR TREATMENT OF THE

SICK ; TOGETHER WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF VARIOUS

BELIEFS, SUPERSTITIONS AND RITES PERTAINING

TO SICKNESS, AND THE TREATMENT

THEREOF, AS COLLECTED FROM

THE TUHOE TRIBE.

By Elsdon Best, of Tuhoe Land.

Part I. — Continued

The Ngau Paepae Bite.

THE singular performance known by the above name is one of the
most extraordinary customs of a strange people — extraordinary even
for a Maori. It consists of causing a sick person to bite (ngau)
the beam of a latrine, with which native villages were provided in
former times. By sick person is meant any one suffering from hara
(transgression of laws of tapu) or of witchcraft, i.e., any person afflicted
by the gods ; and the vast majority of ills, pains, and diseases were
so caused, according to Maori ideas. The one idea which seems to
pervade this ancient rite seems to be that the paepae hamuti, or latrine,
which is very tapu and possesses great mana (power, prestige) holds the
power of being able to prevent or avert the effect of the anger of the
gods and the shafts of magic, which latter, although directed by man
are really carried out by the gods.
1

2 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

It is not the intention to here give all matter connected with this
subject, which would lead into many byways in which, I believe, are
traces of an ancient system of phallic worship, or of a recognition of
and belief in the male and female forces — the active and the passive —
as applied to the universe. My notes on these matters are getting
somewhat numerous ; we will reserve them for a future paper, giving
here some explanation of how such beliefs influenced the treatment of
the sick.

These rites performed at the latrine are described as a whiti i te
mate (averting the evil of death or sickness), or as a parepare, which
means the same thing, or as a ripa, which signifies to deprive the gods
of power, to put bounds to their power for evil. But the general term
for the rite is ngau paepae. An old man said to me, " The paepae is
the tangata matua, it is the hau ora of man. It is the destroyer of
man ; it is the saviour of man." Should a person be going on a
journey he will first be conducted to the latrine and caused to bite
the beam thereof. That will avert the magic arts of those he is going
amongst. Persons going through this rite always stand in front of the
bar, for that is, life. The other side, the rear of the bar, is death, and is
termed kouka. It is the Po,-' it is the rua iti, it is the realm of Hine-
nui-te-Po. When performing rites of magic at the paepae whereby to
slay man the performer stands at the front of the bar, for that is the
world of life. Should the wairua (spirit) of his enemy cross to the
Iconka^ it will assuredly be destroyed.

But that sick person has yet to be cured. In the evening, when
the sun has set, the priest conducts his patient to the paepae. They
place themselves before the bar, the priest saying, ^^Engau to waha Id te
paepae ^' i.^., commanding the person to bite the bar, which he does.
The priest repeats : —

** Ea kai koe ki tua

Ea kai koe ki te paepae

£ takoto nei

Eoia nga tapu

Eoia Dga popoa

Eoia nga whare

Eoia nga urunga

Eoia nga tapu nei.

He atua kahu koe

Haere i taa

Haere i waho

Haere i te rangi nui e tu nei

Mahihi ora

Ei te whai ao

Ei te ao marania

Eo rou ora."

They then return home ; the rite i« over.
* I.e., Hades, the realm of darkneis.

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 8

It is said that the demon who has been afflicting the person would
sometimes be seen to leave his body and fly ofif into space, and in the
gathering shades of night a shower of bright objects would be seen
flying off, these being the offspring of the expelled demon.

When a person had been guilty of trespassing on a sacred place,
such as already explained, the iigau paepae rite will take the tapu off
him and save him from the effects of his act, Le,, save him from being
afflicted by the gods. Here is the sort of karakia used on such
occasions : —

" Ngaua i te pae

Ngaua i te wehi

Ngaua i te upoko o te atua

Ngaua i a rangi e tu nei

Ngaua i a papa e takoto nei

Whakapa koe ki te ruahine

Eia whakaorangia koe

E tahito uuku, e tahito rangi

£ tahito pamamao

Ki Tawhiti i Hawaiki."

In time of war any interference with tapu objects, persons, or
places has the effect of causing the person to be afflicted by Tu-mata-
rehurehu, i.e., he will become nervous, apprehensive, listless, and also
lose his power of second sight ; hence he will be of no use in the fray.
These afflictions may, however, be cured by the above rite, or by the
hirihiri.

Km Ure.

Anyone suffering from the numerous ills caused by witchcraft
might be cured by the process or charm known as kai ure. Or it
may be utilised in order to ward off the shafts of magic, which you
believe some person to be directing against you. In repeating this spell
or charm the reciter must clasp his niemhram virile iu his left hand.
The following is a specimen of the incantation used — possibly not
complete.

Ka rere te ringa maui ki te hopu it te tawhitOy ka titoii-ia, ka

karakia atu : —

*' Kai ure nga atua
Kai ure nga tapu
Kai ure on makutu."

Another kai ure spell is that beginning : —
*' Whakataha ra koe
£ te anewa o te rangi e tu nei
He tawhito to makutu
£ homai nei kei taku ure." &q.

Which averts or wards off the magic arts, and after which is recited
the tuaimu spell, in order to destroy the wizard : —
•' Kei te imu te ruhi
Kei te imu te mate." Ac,

4 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

These incantations have abeady been given in full in a former
paper on " Maori Magic."*

Another " warding-oflf " spell commences : —
"Kai ure
Kara ki whakataha te mate
Taa e patu ai ko taku ure."

Whakanoho Manawa.

The rite or invocation known by the above name was for the
purpose of causing the breath of life to be retained by a dying person ,
and it is said that it was used to restore to life those who had died.
Information regarding the actions of the priest are lacking, but below
are given specimens of the invocations repeated : —

*' Eo to manawa, ko taku manawa
Heuea mai

Tutakina mai to manawa
Hoki mai ki roto nei
He urunga, he tapu
Eei te whiua, kei te taia
Mata taitaia te ibi nei
Mata taitaia te atua e patu nei
Haere i tua, haere i waho
Haere i le pu, baere i te more
Ka whiwhia ka rawea
Ea puta ki te whai ao,
Ei te ao marama
Eg rou ora."

He karakia wliakanoho i te manawa o te tupapaku : A charm to
cause the breath of life to be retained by the sick.

*' Eo to manawa
Eo taku manawa
Ea turuturua, ka ponpoua
Ei tawhito o te rangi — e
Eo wai te atua e patu nei ?
Eo moana nui, ko moana roa
Eo moana to takiritia
Ei te whai ao
Ei te ao marama
Ea uru U) ora, ka uru ki roto
Ea uru to mat#, ka uru ki waho
Uru, ton) hoi."

The following example \h a gooil ono. A reference to the wluire 9
attiitf, heretofore mentioned, may Ih* obHorvtHl therein.
*«Eaiheaf
Eai hoa to pii o to luato 7
Eai run|{a, kai ram
Eal te hikahika mii no Hlno nuito Po

* See " Nga Moteatea," p. AOA, for an iiitoroMlinK J^ai nr^.

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 6

Wetekina i runga, wetekina i raro
Wetekina i te ate
Wetekina i te manawa
No hea te atua ?
No ruDga, no raro te atua
He tipua koe, he tawhito au
Wetea,

Wetea mai te whiwhi
Wetea mai te hara
Wetea kia matara, kia mawheto
Tawhito te rangi te taea
Tia hara nui, hara roa
Kati te riri

Rati te patu e te atua
Ka pikitia e koe te tuahu nei
Ka kakea e koe te ihi tapu
Pikipiki, kakekake
Kia kite koe i te hua mokimoki
Tu te rupe, tu te kawa
Ko te kawa i numinumia ai
Ki te pa tuatahi, ki te pa tuarua
Ka haramai, ka whakakiki ahu mai
Ahu mai ki te ao marama
Mo te ao ano koe
Kai hea to ara e piki ni koe?
Kai te rangi tuatahi, kai te rangi tuarua
Kai te rangi tuatoru, kai te rangi tuawha
Kai te rangi tuarima, kai te rangi tuaono
Kai te rangi tuawhitu
Tukua atu tama kia puta ki te ao
He ohorere te tokomanri
Tihe mauri ora ki te ao marama."
The following is said to be a charm or invocation to ward off all
evils from the people. The last lines are those of a charm to heal

wounds.

'* Tua mai te whiwhia
Tua mai te rawea— oi !
Hao ki uta

Hao ki te rangi nui e tu nei — oi !
Haere ki waenga tapu
Tapu ihi, tapu rangi
Toro i rangi
Tonoa mai te pu
Tonoa mai te more
More ki tua, more ki waho ra
Hukia mai te ihi
Hukia mai te hata papatea
Korihi te manu
Korihi te po, te ata haea
Huna mai te ruruku
Kohera mai te ruruku
Uru ki tua, nru ki waho
Kei te awhenga, kei a tutaka rewa
Mahu akuanei, m%hu apopo,
Mahu a takiritanga o te uaua (? ata)
Toro hei."

6 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY,

A charm known as titikura was used by the priests of old to
restore persons to health.

When you have been compelled by the exigency of war to strike
down a relative, and you do not desire that he shall die, you expectorate
into your hand and then rub the spittle on the prostrate body of your
relative, repeating as you do so —
'* Mao ka hoki mai

Hoki mai ki te ao nei."

(Return to this world — t.tf., to life.)
For in war time you are under tapu, and hence your saliva is also tapu
and possesses power, both healing and destructive. A warrior spits on
his weapon when repeating a charm to make its thrust or blow effective.
A tree-feller spits into the kerf or scarp in order that his arms may not
become weary.

Speaking of the Aboona, or Archbishop of Abyssinia, Winwood
Beade, in his ** Martyrdom of Man," says — ** This ecclesiastic is
regarded with much reverence. ... by way of a blessing he spits
upon his congregation, who believe that the episcopal virtue resides m
the saliva."

We have seen that, when a person's illness has been caused by
magic, the priest can identify the individual who performed the magic
rite, either at the water side or at the paepae. But if the person be
dead when the priest arrives, then he will find out who caused his
death when the body is buried, either when the grave is being prepared
or when the body is being placed in it, or sometimes afterwards.

Affections of the throat were thought to be caused by the eating
of sacred food, such as that prepared for the tapu persons who were
engaged in burying the dead, or in exhuming the bones thereof.

A choking person was relieved by means of such charms as the
following, the sufferer being slapped on the back at the time of
repetition : —

" Eaitoa ano koc kia raoa

Nau ka ngau mai, n^au mai

Nan ka ngau atu, ngau atu

Te horo a te kawau

Horo mania, horo panuku

Horo, puhaina mai ki waho.*'
or the following : —

**T« whai whiti raoa, tapa raoa

Kaitoa koe kiu raoa

Na to kai tu, na to kai rero

Nft to kai haore

Na to kai tama-wahine

E hia ou kai ?

E rua ou kai

I horomia e koe

Ko nini, ko nana

MAORI MEDICAL LOME. 7

Eo te patari o Wahieroa
Tama wahine, whakaraakina
Baoa ki waho

Hokaikai ana ou ringaringa
Hokaikai ana ou waewae
Hotu nuku, hotu rangi
Hotu pakia
Whakaruakina
l^au mai ki waho
Charms for the relief of choking and those to cure burns and
wounds all come under the generic term of whai.

Wounds.
The Maori can stand a good deal in the way of wounds. He
recovers from severe wounds very often in a most surprising manner,
as I myself have seen. Tales are told of the warriors of old
and how they often fought on, though severely wounded : How Pa-i-te-
rangi fought Tapoto, of Te Kareke, until eight spear wounds brought
him down ; how Te Ika-poto, of Tuhoe, received six spear wounds in
the desperate affair at Papakai, and then managed to escape from the
victors of that Homeric combat ; how Kai-namu, of Te Arawa, received
six wounds from musket balls at Te Ariki, and lived."

I have heard natives state that half-castes sometimes die from the
effects of slight wounds.

In regard to wounds, there were formerly two methods of treating
such. One was the time-honoured mode of the neolithic Maori — viz.,
by rite and charm. The other was by the use of certain simples, which
we will describe in the latter part of this paper.

If a person cut himself, say with a atone adze while working, he
would first apply the implement with which he cut himself to the
wound, and then repeat a charm such as the following, in order to stop
the flow of blood and cause the wound to heal : —
'* Te whai one tuataa, one taitaia

Te haehaea, ko te piere

Te ngawha, to katikati

Torokina, toro wheua

Toro katikati te nana

E mahu, e mahu — e !

Werowerohia atu nei taku tao

Werowerohia ai Utupaoa.

E te toto poari, nau mai ki waho

E te toto potango, nan mai ki waho

Kinikini, panapana

Ko mata te hakuwai

Ki wai ora, ki wai te mumuhu

Te ara maomao, te tini kai mata

Ki te ara ki Otuimnkia (?)

Ka puta kai waho kai te mokopu roa

E mahu — e !

E mahu -e!"

* See St. John's ** Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands," p. 29, for some
good instaoees of Maori fortitude.

8 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Here is another whai charm for healing wounds : —

*' Te whai one taatoa, one taitaia
Eo te piere, ko te ngawha
Eo te kapi ka — pi
Mahu akuanei, mahu apopo
Koi tae mai ki to kiri tipu
Ei to kiri era, ki to mataniho
Eai tai rori i tai pupu
Tenei le rangi ka ruraku
Bnkatia i o kiko
I o toto, i o aaua
E mahn— e ! "

And yet another : —

" He nonota, he karawa, he an ika
Eo Tane tatakina te iwi
Tane tutakina te nana
Tane tutakina te kiko
Tane tutakina te kiri
Tane tutakina te parapara
Tane tutakina te kapiti rangi
£ mahu akuanei
E mahu apopo
E mahu a takiritanga o te ata."

In the case of a broken limb, a piece of manuka bark was placed
lengthways on the limb so as to cover the fracture, and then wrapped
round the limb and tied, and there left until the bone set. The
process, however, was expedited by the repeating of a charm known as
a hono.

The following is a very ancient method of treating a person who
has been wounded, or has a bone fractured, or has been bruised by a
fall, etc. The priest would proceed to takahi the sufferer —t.<?., he
would, as the person lay on the ground, place his left foot on his body,
and repeat the invocation, termed haniru: —

**Harura ki tua
Haruru ki waho
Haruru ki runga ki tenei tangata."

The priest then repeats the following charm, termed a hono,
(Were it a bum he would refMnvt the ivhai wera,)

"Tookatu
Ka tu ki hoa 7
Ka lu lei runga
Ka tu ki wahu

Ka tu ki te imiia nui o rangi
Ma wai ft niiini ?
Ma tahitn i« tnimi
Ma wai fi tnimi 7
Ma t«< ntiia n niinii
Taku kiri nni
Taku kiii tapii
Hit kiri ka tortona

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 9

Ka hahaea ki te taha o te nmn

Hai!

Ka toro te kiri ora

Ka mahu te kiri ora

Mahumahu akaanei

Mahumahu apopo."

The priest places his left foot on the patient's body because that
foot is tapu. The manea of his left foot will give power, efficacy, etc.,
to the rite. Manea is a term applied to the hau of the human foot
and footstep. It is the sacred vital principle, prestige, power, of that
member. The manea is the caretaker and salvation of man ; its
influence is very great.

Burns.
The following is a charm repeated in order to cure a burn. It is
termed a what wera, and is said to have originated with Tawhaki, a
remote ancestor who possessed strange powers.
•• Te whai, te whai

Te turitakn, te poko taringa

Te mahine mataa.

I wera koe ki bea ?

I wera ki Tarahanga a ue Tawhaki

Hoki takn tama

Ka tokia to kiri ki te wai ti

Ki te wai ta*

Ka ka te motamota

Ka ka te Dgarahu

He wera iti te wera

He wera rahi te wera

He wera kaupapa

Maha akaanei, mahu apopo

Mahu a tikiritanga o te ata."

Splints for fractured bones were sometimes made of the thick leaf
base of phormium tenax.

Part II.

We now come to the second part of our paper — viz., the treatment
of disease, wounds, etc., by various simple remedies. This part will
not cover much space, inasmuch as the Maori of old relied principally
upon his priest when attacked by sickness, and the priests did not
deal in simples, herbal remedies, etc., but believed firmly that their
cryptic karakia and strange rites were the sole means of saving the
patient's life. Ridiculous as these beliefs were, it will yet be seen
that we are not yet out of the wood ourselves, and holy relics, wells,
etc., are still believed in by the superstitious. Our praying for rain
and fasting are also survivals of barbarism which die hard.

* Whai ti and whai ta in another version.

10 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOOIETY.

In regard to the following account of the various simple remedies
used by the natives, I am hy no means prepared to state that all such
here given were used in olden times — 1.«., before the arrival of
Europeans. In fact, I believe most of them to be modem, being based
on the European methods of treatment of the sick. The use of simples
was not encouraged in the days of old, for that would have lessened
the power of the priests, who relied principally upon their absurd
rites and incantations. For no Hippocrates had appeared to separate
medicine (!) from theology, and shamanism was rampant.

DiARRHcEA (Korere),

Several native remedies obtain for this complaint. One consists
of the lower part of the young undeveloped leaves of the toetoe plant.
These are simply chewed. The young leaves of the kokomuka, a
veronica, are also used in a similar manner, as also are the roots of the
flax {jpJwrmium tenax).

The bark of the manuka tree is also used for diarrhoea and
dysentery. Pieces of the bark are boiled until the water is dark
coloured, and this decoction is drunk. Here, again, superstition
steps in. The aged lady who gave me this note states that just
twelve pieces of bark must be used — neither more nor less — and they
must all be cut of an even length and size. If this be not done, then
the medicine will not be effective. The bark of the white manuka only
is used, the branches of which are drooping and the leaves fragrant,
and which is said by the natives to be the male tree {rakau toa).

A diet of fern root causes severe constipation, in which a stick was
often used to assist evacuation.

Math Pokapoka.

The above term is applied to diseases which eat into the flesh, and
certain forms of venereal disease would come under this head. It is
applied to patito (ringworm) and hura. The latter is a very disfiguring
complaint, of which I do not know the European name, and seems
generally to attack the neck and side of the head, which gets into a
dreadful state. When cured it leaves the skin much marked, drawn
and seamed. This complaint is also termed how. It is said to have
been common here before the arrival of Europeans.

The patito is here given as the name of an eruption on the head.
It frequently attacks children. I have also heard that it is applied to
ringworm. The following is the the local method of treating these
complaints : — Some wood ashes are placed in a small vessel, and over
them is poured a liquid made by boiling or steeping pieces of the bark
of kowhai and manuka trees in water. This delightful mixture is

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 11

stirred and allowed to dry, when it sets hard. When used, the skin
is scored with a sharp instrument, and some of the block of ashes is
scraped off and rubbed into the scored lines. This ash mixture is
termed pureke.

This scoring of the skin is very common among the natives. It is
done for headache and almost any pains affecting the body. The skin
is scored with a needle, and then either pain-killer or vinegar is rubbed
in, as a rule.

The above treatment of hura is probably modem, as the mate
pokapoka are thought to be caused by Buamano, one of the gods, or
rather demons, of the Tuhoean Pantheon, and divers other attia, or
demons. Tarakumukumu is another demon of this class, and is the
cause of the disease to which the same name is applied. It is a mate
poka (ulcer) which appears ou the thighs. Bathing with hot water is
the modern remedy. The papaka is another atiut, or disease of the
mate poka class. It will heal up and then break out in another place.
Deaths occur from it. It does not seem to have any special treatment.
It is said to have originated with the Whatu-i-apiti people of Hawke's
Bay.

Mate Tokatoka.

The above complaint is, I believe, what we term piles. One
method of treating it is frequent bathing in a sulphur spring. The
method employed in this district is for the person to sit over a small,
smouldering fire of chips of totara wood. I am told that tokatoka is
the same complaint as the pre-European paipai, or allied to it. Eating
of taro causes, it is said, an intense itching of the anus with some
natives.

Ngerenoere (Leprosy).

This complaint is said to be peculiar to the Taupo district, but I
give here the few notes I have obtained concerning it. It was
unknown in Tuhoeland. The disease termed tuwhemta, mentioned
in native tradition as having formerly afflicted the Ngati-Whatua
tribe, may have been something similar. Ngei-enyere is a species of
elephantiasis.

A singular belief exists among the old natives, that the n/ferengere
disease is caused by the fish of the sea'*' and by the land birds. The
aged Pio, of Ngati-Awa, said to me : — "Another atna (god, demon,
affliction) of the Maori people is the ngerengere. No one recovers from
that disease. The persons who destroy the Maori people by that

* This belief seems to support a theory lately enunciated in the London Timet,
to the effect that leprosy results from the eating of stale fish.— Ed.

12 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

complaint are the fish of the ocean and the hirds of the land. I say
that the ngerengere is a plebeian complaint, unlike the whewhe (boils)
and hakihaki (cutaneous diseases), which are aristocratic complaints.
If a person appears to be recovering from the ngerengere, that means
that the cause of the disease has fled to the ocean, but ere long th^y
will return and again assail the person. Then he will die. This
disease was first introduced by the Ngati-Whatua tribe. It appeared
at Taupo a long time ago, and the first person afflicted by it there was
cast into a cave called Orerau."

It is said that certain persons had the power of causing others to
be afflicted by the ngerengere — t*.^., by means of a magic rite termed
wero ngerengere. As the disease progressed, the person's extremities
dropped off joint by joint. Some assert that Te Whetu, of Taupo, still
possesses this power.

Now, in an article on leprosy, contributed by M. Dastre, to a
French magazine, the writer states that several experts have main-
tained that the use of decayed fish and thirst-giving salted meats as
food is one of the most efficacious causes of leprosy.

The two songs here given were composed by Te Rohu, of Taupo,
when he was attacked by the ngerengere : —

'* Ea ura mai te ra, ka kohi au he mahara
E hoa ma — E ! He aha tenei hanga, E te rau e pae
Tirohia mai ra aku pewa i taarite
Tenei ka titiko kai te ngara whakakeo
£ tere i Taapo

Eo te rite i taku kiri. ka ura mai i te rangi
Ea riro aku taonga i a Te Anga-a-mai i tawhiti
Tatata a Ngati-Whatua
Whakarongo mai ra, E koro !
I Tongariro, i te puke ronuki
To uru ki te whenua i niahue raatau
Te tira o te taniwha
Me i hurihia iho, e au aua taku moe
Ei taku makau tipu — e ! "

Te Anga-a-mai — or, perhaps, Te Anga, is said to be the name of
the ancestor, who was the ariki of the ngerengere disease.

A Lament.

liy Te Rohu. He tangi nana, nutna c ngaiia ana e te ngerengere,

" Tera te ata iti hohoro mai koia
Matatu noa ana ko au nei anake
Eai te mura tonu o te pu a Revri e ka ana
E pa I I heria mai i tua
Eia rongo atu au i te papa koura
Hai taoro iho mo te kino
I taku tinana ka tuaketia
Ko tahau repera pai tonu tenei e te tangata

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 18

Eo te tika i to pono

Horahia mai ra, kia ui atu au

Eo wai to iDgoa ? Eo te ana i Oremu

Eo taa rakau kai te mata ngira tonu

Te ngotonga ki roto ra

Aue ! Te mamae ra ! "

Tenga (Goitre).

Goitre is common in this high lying district, but those afflicted
by it are mostly women. No attempt seems to be made to cure it.
The term tenga is a singular oue (here pronounced tena). It is applied
to the Adam's apple of the throat, and also to a bird's crop. Only
three cases of men being affected by goitre have I noted among this
tribe, but many women have it, some of them being quite young girls.

Whewhe (Boils).

This appears to have been a fairly common complaint in former
times. When ripe they are squeezed, so as to force the core (whatu)
out, and in former times human milk was then applied. A sort of
decoction made from the leaves of the kawakawa shrub (piper excelsum)
is now used ; it is drunk as a blood purifier. It is probably a modern
item. Another decoction, made from the rauriki plant, is also used to
cure carbuncles and that sort of thing. Captain Mair relates a
singular rite of yore connected with boils.'*'

Tapoa is a name applied to an abscess, as also is maiao and
makimaki,

Maki is applied to a scab.

Huahua is applied to pimples or a rash on the skin.

HoipUf a blister containing water.

Murupo. This term is applied to a sort of rash which breaks out
on the lips. It itches very much. Many small pimples (huahua)
appear, and the lips feel hot and appear red. Then blisters (hovpu)
appear.

The sap of a plant called parani^ a wild daisy, is used to cure an
ulcerated (niaoa) mouth. Fronds of the kiwikiwi fern are chewed for
sore mouth or tongue.

The term mnte pukupuku is applied to any complaint in which the
skin becomes rough or pimply (ka papa hueke katoa te kiri or papa
uku). It includes kawakawa or low fever, and other complaints, such
as measles.

See Ahi tapoa, Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. 35, p. 30.

14 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Hakihaki.

Hakihaki, a severe form of itch, a skin disease, is common in this
district, which is not to be wondered at ^hen one notices the native
diet, mode of living, and aversion to soap and water. It is known as
harehare among some tribes. This distressing malady was formerly
treated by the use of a sort of lotion applied to the affected parts.
The outer bark of the munono (coprosina grandifoliaj was scraped oflf
that tree, and the inner bark obtained. This was squeezed in order to
express the sap, which was applied as above, the affected parts being
first rubbed with oil or fat in order to soften the same and expose the
diseased parts. The sap of the Iwropito (drimys axillaris j shrub was
also used to cure skin diseases.

The paipaif another pre-European cutaneous disease, obtained
here. It was cured by means of the smoke of a fire of totara wood,
elsewhere described. The name has also been applied to gonorrhoea,
introduced by Europeans. Remedies for the latter are the sap of the
horopito, tobacco leaves, and the bark of the toromiro tree (podocarptu
ferruginea).

Koturetiire. — A venereal disease. It affects both sexes, and causes
the skin of body and limbs to turn a hideous white, in large blotches.
Copper filings from a penny are used to cure the kotureture. The
natives pretend to believe that this disease is caused by eating the
liver of the shark. Another method of treating this and other venereal
diseases, as also piles, is to make a hole or short tunnel in an earth
bank, with a small shaft for on outlet. A small smoky fire of chips or
shavings of totara is made in this tunnel, the smoke escaping by the
shaft, over which the person sits, covered with a sheet or old cloak, to
prevent the smoke from escaping too rapidly.

Pakewakewa, — If a woman uses her own or another woman's
clothing for a pillow, she will be affected by the complaint known as
pakewakewa. The skin of her face and neck will become rough
(whekewheke), possibly pimply, or covered with eruptions. The pakeu>a-
kewa, it is said, is followed by the kiri hoko or blotched skin, repulsive
white patches appearing thereon (see under kotureture). Possibly the
pakewaketca may be some form of venereal disease. Oil is rubbed on
affected parts. It seems to me that syphilis is not nearly so prevalent
among the natives as it was twenty or thirty years ago.

Patuheni is said to be another name for the paipai Maori or
original paipai (see ante).

Mimi taeturi is applied to painful and difficult urination. The
parts are bathed with water in which leaves of the hutiwai plant have
been boiled.

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 16

In cases of venereal disease a moss known as angiangi is steeped
in water and placed on the affected parts. Faea (? fire) seems to be a
term for gonorrhoea. It is accompanied by retention of urine. In
these cases a plant known as maaive is boiled, and the water applied to
parts.

The affections of the eyes which trouble the natives are probably
caused by their mode of living — the smoky state of their huts in winter
time.

Torlwai, — This term is applied to a weakness of the eyes, in
which state they are always watering. For anything of this nature the
sap of the aka kura, a creeper, is used. A piece of the creeper is cut
into short lengths, one end of which is placed in the mouth, and by
blowing the sap is forced out at the other end. This is collected and
applied to eyes.

Toretore. — This is an inflammation probably. It is a redness of
the corners of the eye. It does not affect the whole eye. The sap of
the kopuktipnku plant is applied to the eyes.

Kiritona, — This is what we term a sty on the eyelid. When niaoa,
or ripe, it is squeezed to express the core {whatu or nganga), and
human milk is then applied to the place. Another method of curing(!)
a kiritona on the eye is simply to point the finger at is. Yet another
is to hold, with both hands, a piece of fern stalk close to the affected
eye, so as just to touch the kiritona. The stick is then bent until it
snaps, while in that position. This process is repeated. My in-
formant added — ** That will cure the kiHtona for a time, but it appears
again.**

Paeh&na is a term applied to the discharge from sore eyes, or to
the effect of it upon the skin adjacent. **Ka paehena katoa i waho o
nga kanohi i te piraii,*' It sounds suspiciously like our word "poison.**

Paua is a term applied to a light coloured spot, mark, or growth
on the pupil of the eye.

Eye complaints were sometimes said to be caused by atua kahu
(see ante).

Toothache (Niho tunga).

Some singular cures for toothache are used by the natives, and the
old people state that toothache has become much more common since
the natives have become Europeanised — i.e., since the advent of the
white man. One method of treating toothache is to place one end of a
small stick against the tooth and then to strike the other end a smart
tap with another stick. A Spartan -like remedy this. Another cure is
for the person to hold some of his urine in his mouth for a time. This
is done early in the morning. This is said to kill the ngarara (insect,
grub, or reptile) which causes the pain, according to native belief.

16 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

In olden times charms were repeated in order to cure toothache, as also
others to cause children's teeth to grow. A modem cure is to place in
the tooth a piece of the chestnut {maki) of a horse's leg, hut the patient
must not see the article, or no cure will be effected. He must get
some one else to procure it and place it in his mouth. Another way to
cure toothache is to apply to the toothe a piece of the tough, leather-
like cocoon of a kind of caterpillar which is found attached to branches
of the manuka shrub. The sap of a plant known as kopukupuku and
mdruru is also used. The leaves are clenched between the teeth of the
suffering person, who is then told to sleep, and when he awakens the
pain will have disappeared. But, as in the former case, the sufferer
must not see the leaves, or they will lose their virtue. A piece of the
bark of the ngaio tree {myoporum Imtum) is also used as a cure for
toothache, and I think that I have heard, on the West Coast, of
pukatea bark being used for the same purpose.

In cases of difficult menstruation a decoction made from flax root
and a creeper called aka taramoa is used. Another medicine used for
the same is made from the bark and berries of the rohutu tree.

Wounds, etc.

A decoction made by boiling in water pieces of bark of the rata
tree {fnetrosideros rohusta) is said to be an old time lotion for wounds.
Another lotion for a like purpose is made from the barks of the rimu
fdacrydium cupressinumj and tawa ( nesodaphne taiva) trees, the bark of
the former being cut into pieces and that of the latter scraped, and the
whole then boiled or steeped in water, together with some leaves of
the tutu shrub (coriaria ruscifolia).

In preparing such things in former times either stone boiling
{huahua) or steeping in water was practised.

Another such lotion is made from a plant called namunamti
(geranium molle), Mr. Cheeseman informs me that this plant is
probably an introduced one, but that opinions differ on the subject.
The namunamu and piripiri, and sometimes other herbs, are boiled or
steeped in hot water, and the water is used to apply to open wounds,
or rubbed on as an embrocation for contusions. It is said to be an
antiseptic. The leaves are also applied as a poultice.

An infusion of the barks of the kowhai and manuka trees is drunk
for internal pains and applied outwardly for pains in the back or side.

Children apply the sap of dock leaves (paewhtnua) to abrasions.
If I can trust my memory through long years, we used to rub dock
leaves on the hand when stung by a bee.

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 17

When women have been tramping the rocky beds of these moun-
tain streams engaged in netting the somnolent kokopu, they find their
feet (the women's, I mean) sore from treading on rough and sharp
stones. To ease this feeling they heat leaves or plants at a fire and
apply them as a sort of dry poultice, the process being known as tdpL

Wounds are sometimes cauterised, a piece of half dry pirita
(supplejack, a creeper, rhipogonum scandens), being burned at one end
held close to the wound.

In the case of a cut, or any slight wound, a native will often
urinate on the same, believing that it will prevent swelling or in-
flammation. This is a very old method.

A sort of embrocation, applied outwardly for divers aches and
pains, is made by steeping pieces of rata bark in cold water until the
latter is discoloured. It is, however, necessary that the person who
procures the bark does so early in the morning, and no member of the
household may eat or smoke until he returns, or the medicine will lose
its virtue.

In cases where a swelling appears in the groin, as from a wound
in foot, etc., two cooking stones are obtained from the nearest steam
oven. One of these stones is held on the swelling while it is struck
with the other stone. This will cure the swelling — at least so say the
Maori.

To restore a person apparently drowned, the process known as
whakapua is employed. The person is held so that the smoke of a fire
will enter his nostrils, which will bring him to {ka ketu ake te manawa).

Pimples, termed huahua, are simply squeezed when ripe.

Kopito is a term applied to pains in the stomach.

Hawaniwani is a skin disease which affects children. It is said to
be cured by applications of the sap of the veronica and hangehanye
shrubs.

Natives are affected by two kinds of worms, termed nyaio and iro.
Some assert that both are modern complaints. The ngaio is so named
because it resembles a worm of that name found sometimes in the
kokopu fish and in the kaka bird. Both these worms are collected when
passed, and cast into a fire. Should they burn with a slight report or
explosion, that is a sign that the worms will soon leave the person.
Should they not so explode, then the person will not get rid of them.

The bark of the manono tree, a coprosma^ is crushed and applied to
cuts and bruises.

The water which exudes freely from a broken young shoot of the
supplejack {rhipogonum scandens) is applied to wounds.
2

18 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

A sort of steam bath was occasionally used by the Maori, in some
cases by women suffering from soreness after parturition. When,
having given birth to a child, milk does not flow from the mother^s
breasts, they are bathed with warm water to cause the milk to flow and
prevent the affection of those parts termed u taetaej in which the
breasts get very bad. In cases of retention of the placenta, a modern
custom is to make a decocfcion by boiling leaves of kopakopa (plantago
major), clover, and puwha pororua, in which some salt is put. This is
drunk by the sufferer, and everything will then come away.

The disease termed hura^ before mentioned, commences its ravages
on the neck, and extends upwards to the ears and downwards to the
shoulders or armpits. Then, in some cases, death ensues.

The placing of sick persons in cold water, immersion in streams,
was, and is, a common habit, and seems to be done quite regardless of
what the person's complaint may be. When the siege of the Matai pa^
at Waihora (Turanga), was lifted, the rescuers found the garrison in
the most dreadful state from starvation, etc. So they collected the
numerous sick and immersed them in the stream hard by — to cure
them.

The expression ahi mate (extinct fire) is applied to places where
all the people are ill of some epidemic sickness and so cannot keep
fires alight. It is the '' cold hearthstone " of Celtic peoples.

We have already noted the disastrous effects of various epidemics
which, at different times, decimated the Maori tribes. Captain Mair
mentions one such which carried off great numbers of the aborigines of
the Chatham Isles in 1839, and adds that in the same year a great
plague of influenza committed great ravages among the New Zealand
Maori.''

Some remarkably interesting, though brief, notes on disease
among the Maori people, by Dr. Newman, will be found at p. 488 of
Vol. Xn., Trans. N.Z. Inst.

Poisons.

The poisonous substances in this district are the wharantfi, tutiij
traoriki, d^nA piMpua-a-Autahi, The latter is a kind of toadstool, and,
if eaten without being properly cooked, affected the eater severely.
He would be unable to walk properly, but would stagger about {ka
ruriruri te tangata nana i kai). This article was formerly wrapped in
layers of rangiora leaves and baked in hot ashes. In modem times it
has been boiled. These modes of cooking render it harmless.

To cure a person poisoned by tutu berries, the old method was
to place him bodily in the water, but in late times salt and water has
come into use, presumably as an emetic. The poisonous properties of

• See Trans. N.Z. Init., Vol. III., p. 812.

MAORI MEDICAL LORE, 19

the tutu berries are termed huurua, and are said to be contained in the
seeds. The sufferers were usually children, and, when affected, their
bodies would be immersed in a stream. They would sometimes
recover.

The waorikij a swamp plant, is poisonous to animals, and the
honey of the blossoms is also poisonous, and sometimes causes death.
It appears to bloom in the fall of the year. Tatu, of Tuhoe, died of
eating some waoriki honey. A companion took a dose of painkiller
and recovered.

The leaves and honey of the wharangi shrub are poisonous.
Horses poisoned by it are sometimes cured by being bled, or running
them about until they sweat profusely.

The bite of the katipo spider is treated by the whakapua process
already described — i.e., by holding the person in the smoke of a fire.
Some state that the sufferer was first placed in a stream.

The placing of sick persons in cold water appears to have been
always a habit of the Maori, and doubtless has caused many deaths.

The wound inflicted by a sting-ray was, I have heard, treated in
some way with the para of that fish, though what that particular para
may be, I know not.

Insanity was formerly believed to have been caused by the gods,
and such persons were often credited with possessing powers of second
sight. It is also believed that persons were sometimes rendered insane
by magic arts, as a punishment for theft. Insane persons often wander
aimlessly about, repeating meaningless words or sentences. Others are
said to become insane through being possessed of a kikokiko — 1.«., the
spirit of a dead person. An insane person is here termed a keka.

Delirium in sickness is termed kutukutu ahi and kuawa. It is said
to be the aimless talking of the wairua or spirit of the sick person, and
is viewed as a fatal sign.

A tradition of this district is that it was Irakewa, father of Toroa,
of Matatna, who introduced disease into this island. Irakewa and
Wairakewa were probably the same person. He seems to have visited
this country in some mysterious manner just before the coming of the
Matatua canoe. Before the arrival of these voyagers it is said that
disease was unknown here — a dubious statement.

Suicide was by no means a rare cause of death among the natives
in former times. The women seem to have been more given to suicide
than the men. They sometimes committed suicide on the death of a
husband, or on being deserted by a husband, or when made the subject
of ridicule. A woman of the Arawa tribe committed suicide by
jumping into a boiling spring, because her husband had favoured
another woman.

20 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

We will DOW proceed to note a few customs, expressions, etc.
applying to sickness, as collected in this district : —

When a native is taken ill away from his own home, it has ever
been a common thing to carry him back to his own place, there to
recover or die, as the case may be. The most probable reason for this
is the desire that he shall die and be buried on his own lands. I have
known sick persons and bodies of the dead to be so carried on litters
{amo) for forty miles over this very rough country, and seen dying
children carried on men's backs when every movement must have been
agony to them. I have, moreover, encountered bitter hostility when
endeavouring to dissuade the people from moving children in such
a state.

When Te Puehu was taken ill at Oputao, it was resolved that he
should be carried to his own place lower down the valley. When the
bearers arrived at the descent to the Rua-tahuna stream tliey stopped
to rest, putting the litter on the ground while they did so. Afterwards
a post was carved a la Maori and set up at that spot, and a small shed
built over it. When the shed decayed another was built. On the post
were suspended articles obtained from European traders, such as
pieces of bright coloured cloth, handkerchiefs, etc. Another such post
was set up at Te Whakatakanga o Te Piki, where the bearers also
rested. The latter post was destroyed by the Native Contingent
during Whitmoro's raid on Tuhoeland in 1869, but the other one still
stands. This custom no longer obtains.

The reason of thus marking the above places so was that they
were tapft ; an important chief had lain there when at death's door.
The })ost set up is termed a Uiapa, It will be fully explained
in a future paper on " Death and Burial."

Tapohe is a term applied to the polluting of persons, etc., by
placing tapK objects in common places. The placing of the food, or
remains of food, of a taim person in a conmion place — /.<*., a place not
tapiif would be a tapn/n'. If it happens to be the maafuja (remains of
a meal) of a sick person, the invalid will have a relapse, and the
person who coniinitted the dread act of tapohc will also be taken ill.
If a sacred oven is tapoluiia, it s^k'IIs death for the offender, unless he
takes time by the forlock and hies him to the priest, or a mCitdmua^
who may shrive liini of his sin.

\Vhakaheht\- This is what we would term a change of air. When
a person is ill, and the priest or wise man sees that the cause of his
illness is located where lu' is residing, he tells him to go away to
another place, and ther^' live for a year or two. The trouble will not
assail him there. This refers to illness causeil by atmi or malevolent
spirits, witchcraft, etc., and ills of that nature.

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 21

Some years ago a womau of this district was betrothed to a man of
the Ngati-Awa tribe at Te Teko. An aunt took her to that place, but
the young woman found she had no liking for the man, and hence
returned home. Some time afterwards a party of Ngati-Awa came to
Bua-tahuna on a visit, and contrived to obtain a fragment of the
clothing of the woman. This they took home with them to serve as a
uhonga, or material medium through which to bewitch the woman and
her relatives. The victims of the magic arts were saved by a tohtirufa,
or wise man, who was the medium of the god Taimana. He sent
them all to Waikare-moana, where they lived for two years at the
Matuahu y>a, leaving there just before Lieutenant Witty's expeditionary
force found that place deserted.

I am exercised over the word rata, which appears to have been
been applied to European doctors in the early days. Williams appears
to consider it a pakeha word. But what is it ? Riitd is, I believe, a
genuine Maori word, and signifiies the power of second sight — at least,
according to the Tuhoe people. ''Mehemea ha woe iho ahau, ka haere
tokn irairna^ ka kite i tetahi aitua mo takn tamaiti, mo toku papa raiid —
lie Tutd tena,'' (If, as I sleep, my spirit wanders forth and notes some
impending misfortune for my child, or my father — that is a rata,)
Williams has rapa Maori — a familiar spirit — and under rata (as a
Maori word) gives its common Polynesian meaning of ** tame, quiet,
friendly.'* Tregear gives the latter meaning only, but in the Poly-
nesian comparatives gives : Mangarevan — aka rata^ to pretend
inspiration, to assume to be the mouthpiece of a deity, a prophet, a
sorcerer, a man possessed of an evil spirit. Observe also an article
by Mr. Tregear, on the word rata or lata, in Trans. N.Z. Inst.,
Vol. XXIX., p. 83. Now, in the above Maori sentence, written as
spoken to me by an old native, rata appears to = matakite or something
similar. I am convinced that there is a kind of sacerdotal meaning of
this word which we have not yet obtained.

A woman of this district, near to death, was taken to the hospital
of the white man, and her life saved by an operation. When she
returned home, her friends, who had never expected to see her
again, came to greet her. An old man said — '^Tena ra koe ! E whaka-
maui ake net.** She had, as it were, risen from the dead, like unto
Maui of old. Hence the singular expression.

When a person feels listless and weak (iwimjohe) in summer-time,
it is said to be caused by Rehua (a star), or rather by his summer
wife, Whakaonge-kai.

Ever among the Maori have the sick been much neglected. A
sick person was, and is, never allowed to remain in a house, but is
taken away outside the village. In former times a rough shed would

22 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

sometimes be bailt, but afforded little protection to the sufferer. In
these times a tent is often used. Some person remains in attendance
on the sick person, but the attendance is of the poorest kind.

This custom of making sick persons lie out of doors on the
groand probably sprang from the racial ideas of tapu. If a person
died in a house, that house would become tapu and be no longer
habitable, but allowed to fall to pieces and decay.

Sick persons are not wanted in the social system of the Maori— a
fact which may be noted among many barbarous peoples. No
attempt is made to provide the sick persons with comforts of any kind.
Any such given by Europeans for the use of the sick are probably
eaten by their friends. I have often prepared food for sick persons
here, but find it necessary to take the food myself and watch the
invalid eat it ; otherwise he or she would see but little of it.

It is but seldom that one can detect any sign of affection for, or
loving care of, a sick person among these natives, except sometimes
in the case of children. But, when death comes, then the most
extravagant demonstrations of affection and sorrow are made, accom-
panied by much eating of the foods provided on such occasions.

KdngSngS \

Mate aitu \ Terms applied to death from sickness.

Mate aitua )

Mata tara whare Death from old age or sickness.

Mate atua Death or sickness caused by the gods.

Mate taua Death in battle.

Koohi Wasting sickness.

Kdrawa Inflammation.

Kirikd Fever.

Haura An invalid.

TUpdpdku A sick person. Corpse.

TUrdrd A sick person.

Mangeo Itch, tickle.

Wairau Discoloured, as bruised flesh.

Kumdmd Denotes the desire of a sick person for certain food.

Papa reti A term applied to an epidemic. So named from

the toboggan board formerly used to ride on

down a slide.
. I Scurf or dandruff on the head, said to be cured by

^ ., . I- applying ashes thereto. Ashes are rubbed on

) the head.'-''
Maiarohea=^tnau)roh'(i Applied to an uneasy feeling in the stomach —
perhaps indigestion.

MAORI MEDICAL LORE. 28

Mate whakapioi roa Applied to the illness of a person who looks very
bad, and appears to be dying, but yet lives on
for a long time.

Mate whakauru A new or fresh complaint contracted when re-

covering from another.

Matahoki A relapse in sickness.

Mate kikohiko Illness caused "by spirits of the dead.

Matihe Sneezing ; is looked upon as an evil omen, a

token of coming disaster or sickness. Several
short charms are used to avert the trouble.
Some simply repeat the words ** Mahihi ora.*'

The above completes the notes on sickness and the treatment
thereof, as collected from the Tuhoe tribe. It is, of course, very
incomplete, but will serve to give some idea of how the old-time Maori
viewed and treated sickness, together with his opinion as to its cause.

I have said that many of the simple remedies, prepared from
barks, leaves, and roots, herein mentioned, have most probably been
devised since the advent of Europeans. Here is an extreme case :
When Tuhoe collected at Rua-tahuna in order to march northwards to
fight the pakeha in the Waikato district, their tohunga prepared a
decoction from various barks, plants, etc., which he put into bottles
and gave to the fighting men, telling them to drink of it in the hour of
battle, and no harm could then come to them, no bullet touch them.
That medicine did not act up to expectations.

We have therefore seen that most of the ills which afflicted the
Maori were looked upon as mate atna, caused by the gods, and were
only to be cured by arts of sorcery, necromancy, and superstitious rites
of divers kinds. His mind had not risen above this plane; it was
clouded by superstitious beliefs in magic, in demonology, in the
malignant powers of the dead. Yet the Maori shows to better ad-
vantage in other channels of thought. Superstition, that heavy drag
on advancing civilisation and the evolution of the human race, has
truly been as a millstone about the neck of the Maori.

* Scarf, said to be caused by poor diet, or to accomp&njring poor condition.
Pigeons are affected by it when feeding on leaves and in thin and poor condition.

PRINCIPLES OF SAMOAN WORD COMPOSITION.

By Willum Churchill, B.A. (Yalens),
Some time Consul-General of the United State$ in the Kingdom of Samoa,

V3^

* Y"l7>\0BD COMPOSITION in Samoan exists more as a necessity
arising in the orderly arrangement of the dictionary than
in the free use of the language, an attempt to remedy an
incompatibility in the effort to deal with a language of one type
through the apparatus which has come into being in conditions
characteristic of language of another and very distinct type. To those
who think in Samoan there is a recognition of that mtangible yet
easily recognizable element known as the Sprachffeist or genius of the
language. Under its conditioning influence the ready speaker brings
into association such roots as may express and shade the ideas he
would convey, making a momentary compound word. In like manner
his hearer notes the elements of such a compound, senses the value
and the relationship of each element and comes into possession of the
idea sought to be conveyed. Thus Samoan speech may, and does, com-
pound each vocable with each other vocable save as they are essentially
incongruent. Such a combination serves well its immediate purpose
and dissolves into its elements without leaving of necessity any trace.
When the same need again arises the same elements once more assemble.
In proportion as the need is apt to arise frequently so does the compound
word tend to take its place in the armamentarium of the speaker.
According to the frequency of its usage and the persistency of the need
for it any particular association of ideas may give to the language
either an evanescent consociation of roots or a permanent addition to
speech in the shape of a new vocable. In theory the one is as much
entitled to a lexical place as the other ; in practice, however, a valid
distinction will be found to subsist. The evanescent consociation
musty from the very underlying conditions of its being, be such that

PRINCIPLES OF SAMOAN WORD COMPOSITION. 26

its meaning shall be patent at its very first hearing and, therefore,
at any subsequent hearing ; we may, therefore, class it as self-evident
and self-explanatory and save the space in our dictionary. But when
such a compaction of roots comes into general currency it becomes
subject to the universal law which governs speech-units in living
languages, it takes on sometimes amplifications and sometimes
restrictions, through metaphor it acquires new connotations, in a word
it lives its own life and in its maturity may retain scant moral and
physical resemblance to its infant estate. In our own tongue we may
see such a change ; for an instance, dilapidation began by meaning
the taking of one stone down from another in a wall, it winds up by
becoming a term that will apply to the dropping apart of a wooden
bouse or an old hat, and the formerly essential concept of stone to
which the root LAPID still unfalteringly points has vanished from
the word.

It is for the lexicographer to certify himself that any given
compound has entered upon its career as a speech-unit before entering
it in his dictionary.

That the Samoan regards the article and the noun as forming a
compound word is immediately manifest.

Note that the terminology of the grammar of the inflected
languages is used for convenience in this early discussion. Later when
this paper is elaborated to fill its proper place in a comparative grammar
of the nuclear Polynesian (it being now in the nature of a prolegomenon
thereto), will be time enough to present these relations more accurately
in terms proper to the grammar of the agglutinative, or earlier,
languages. In such a statement we should amend the foregoing to
read that the Samoan regards the demonstrative and its modifying
attributive as forming a compound word.

To any one who feels the spirit in which the Samoan speaks it is
clear that he uses the noun and the article as together forming a single
vocable. The same appears in the more vivid of the modern
languages of the post-inflected, i,e.y analytic type. In French we say,
aa we write, Venfant\ an outward and visible sign of the fact that
noun and article are treated as one vocable. Just at present it is a
little out of the fashion to allow it to appear in the literary dialect of
our English, yet so very respectable a performance as the metrical
version of the Psalms admits it freely and calls attention to it by the
use of the apostrophe, as :

Bend all their counsels to destroy

Th' Anointed of the Lord. — Second Psalm.

Inasmuch as the recurring accent maintains all Samoan speech,
with scant exception, in a constant trochaic rhythm there is very little
opportunity for elision, and such as there is does not affect the

26 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

demonstrative le when used with a noun in the function of an article.
Accordingly this unification of article and noun does not appear at all
to the eye and may pass unrecognized upon the ear. That article and
noun are really compacted up to the point of heing compounded is seen
at once on inspection of secondary compounds where the compound of
article and noun is subjected to a new compounding. Here are a few
of just a single type of such compounds, yet enough to illustrate the
point :

fa^aleagaga fa*ale^ele^ele fa^alcpo

(spiritual) (earthly) (a dream)

fa^aleaiga fa^alelcufi fa^aletino

(domestic) (heavenly) (bodily)

fa*aleatua fa*alenu*u fo*aleva6

(godly) (country fashion (rustic)

Any one who has attentively heard Samoan spoken must have
recognized that the proper names involving the article are a single
word in usage, that is to say a compound. Take in the Fa'alupega
of Solosolo, the official name of the ruling chiefs, Leota. On Samoan
lips it is as clearly a single compound word as is the English surname
Goldsmith or Nasmith. Yet that it is immediately resolvable is shown
in the formal phrase :

Tulouna a lua Ota ma le falejia a Leota.
(Saving the grace of two Otas and the three-house of Leota).
It is, in eflfect, as though one were similarly to salute Goldsmiths
and Nasmiths collectively as ** Ye two Smiths.**

We may go further and say that the spirit of Samoan speech looks
upon a noun (with or without article) and an adjective as forming
together a compound vocable. Instances of such compounding where
the noun with modifiers is treated as a unit are of the type :
fa'alenuUipo fa^aleolanei

(as of the land benighted) (as of this life)

A further development, where a preposition and a noun thereby
governed form a secondary speech unit, which then is compacted with
the article into a tertiary unit and that again enters into a quarternary
compound will be seen in :

larji lalolagi lelalolagi fa^alelalolagi

(sky) (under-sky) (the earth) (earthly)

Other cases are shown where noun and adjective are used as verb,
and the fact that they are regarded as together a single vocable is deducible
from the fact that they take the so-called passive termination as a unit.
Of this type are :

aga leaga agaleaga agaleagaina

(conduct) (bad) (to ill-use) (to be ill-used)

PRINCIPLES OF 8AM0AN WORD COMPOSITION. 27

From the most cursory examination of these principles it should
be patent that we cannot pretend to include in any reasonable dictionary
all those words, amounting at times to whole clauses, which in the
Samoan sense are compound units of speech. It would cause an
absolute duplication of entries; nay more, it would amount to a
geometrical progression, if every vocable were entered in the dictionary
with every other with which it might be compounded. In its simplest
form it would mean that every noun substantive would have to be
entered under its stem and under the article, definite and indefinite.
Thus, the noun fanau would have to be split up among the entries
fanauj lefanau, se fanau, with resultant great confusion. In the case of
the verbs it would be even worse, for we should have to recognize a
compound of each negative, le (not) le*i (not yet), resnlting in a tripli-
cation of entries ; as, alu, lealu, le^ialu.

Among our existing authorities on Samoan there is no uniformity.
In general it may be said that Pratt in his dictionary compounds rather
freely, that the text of the Tusi Pa*ia compounds very little. In each
are to be found in one place words as compounds which elsewhere are
two words. And this inconsistency is more marked when we come to
the effort to develop some system or principle out of their usage. The
most that can be said is that Pratt in his vocabulary represents a more
advanced stage of his ultimately great facility in the Samoan and that
therein in a certain crude and unphilological fashion he has come to
recognize the fact that many of the expressions in the text of the Tusi
Pa4a (Bible) needed to be expressed as compound units of speech.
The limit of disintegration is reached by Meisake in Dr. Stuebel's
collection, where the language is represented almost in words of one
syllable. Fortunately " Samoa o le Vavau *' includes practically all
this material communicated by a more sagacious Samoan authority.
A reading of a considerable amount of the matter printed for the use of
Samoans, even down to the current '* Sulu,'* shows that no diligent
attempt has been made to come to a settlement of this matter. Powell
in " Le Tala i Manu " is both inconsistent with himself and out of
harmony with Pratt, at least in so far as Pratt shows any consistency.
In the volume of **Pese ma Vi*iga '* it is scarcely fair to expect much
consistency, inasmuch as the hymns are the work of many different
hands extending over a considerable stretch of time ; yet on the
contrary, there is such a gratifying degree of internal concord as to
argue that the revising editor of the collection gave the matter his
thought. I pass by the Samoan school books and other such matter
available and mention finally Mr. Beveridge's excellent, though
illogical, ''Le Fa'amatalaga o le Gagana Samoa,'* based upon a
preceding and unfinished work of Mr. Newell. This reference to Mr.
Beveridge's little volume relates solely to this topic of word-composition.

28 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Yet the opportunity should not be neglected to say that this slim
volume should prove a most valuable instructor for such as seek to
acquire a working knowledge of the speech. In the matter of com-
position the author has proved self-consistent and has evidently set
before himself the purpose of securing some system that shall prove of
general application.

Yet, if it is clear that for lexical reasons we may not pretend to cover
all the shifting phases of Samoan composition of word elements,
it should be no less plain that any truly scientific treatment of our
materials calls for a clearly defined working plan of word-compounding.
In any such plan we must never lose sight of two prime aud basic
essentials ; that it be in the direction of the flow of the language and
never counter ; that it be simple, a system so simple as to accord
with the vivid simplicity of agglutinative speech.

That such a need exists may be shown all through the Bamoan.
I adduce, here, but one example.

For the verb nofo Pratt gives the five significations, to sit, to

dwell, to live with, to cohabit with, to remain.
For the verb mau he gives the four significations, to be firm, to
have abundance of, to dwell, to be unwavering.

Now when the Samoan says ** *»/a nofomau *o ia ** he means to
present a certain distinct and definite meaning which will be found by a
combination of the significations of each element. In this case the
compound, as we shall see in its proper place, is of the determinant
class; that is to say, the second member, man, is supplied to determine
in which of its senses nofo is employed, namely that one which the
two elements have in common, to dwell. As that is the meaning of
the compound vocable nofomau a dictionary of Samoan speech should
take cognizance of the word and the sense. Otherwise we should be
forced, on every occasion of its employment, to combine each of the
four significations of mnu with each of the five significations of nofo
and essay to select from the resultant twenty senses that which fits the
case. Furthermore, as soon as nofomau lias through use become an
established vocable and not a merely temporary association of ideas,
the psychology of speech takes hold of it as a speech unit, subjects it
to expansion, selection, metaphor, limitation, all under rules which we
can recognize though whicii we cannot account for until we shall have
learned the secrets of the third frontal convolution of the brain and
its obedient machinery, the apparatus of speech embraced between the
larynx and the lips. If nofomau bo not entered in our dictionary we
are completely in the dark as t(5 this series of derived and secondary
meanings. If this point, to wit, that for lexical purposes we must
establish a working system of word-composition, really needed any
proof it would easily be found in the effort to read a single paragraph

PRINCIPLES OF 8AM0AN WORD COMPOSITION. 29

of unfamiliar Samoan with no further assistance than the existing
vocabulary of our educated by uneducating George Pratt. K this be
doubted it is easy to test it, try to read the material on pp. 41-50
by the aid of the remainder of the volume.

At this point before proceeding to establish a few necessary
definitions, it will be in order to present as postulates certain data as
to agglutinative speech and its methods which, when this subject shall
have been elaborated in the comparative grammar of the nuclear
Polynesian, will have preceded it with a freedom of treatment for
which there is here no room.

It is to say, then, that the families of languages are, in order of
evolution :

The Monosyllabic (Chinese)
The Agglutinative (Magyar)
The Inflected (Sanskrit)
The Analytic (English)

Our care is with the agglutinative family, yet with the necessity
of harking back for origins into the monosyllabic, and with a lively
expectancy as to the germ of termination and other apparatus which
make the inflected family. For the Samoan is a miocene tongue
revealing in its methods an eocene speech.

The agglutinative is in evolution the second of the great families
of speech. It lies on the anterior face of the highest formal develop-
ment of language as found in the inflected tongues. Therefore it is
everywhere characterized by great fertility of resource and intense
activity of trying, proving and adopting new methods of expression.
From the monosyllabic it differs by a very slight, yet all-important,
distinction in that it may compact two roots with a distinct sub-
ordination of one, which determines and modifies the sense of the
root syllable. This subordinate root in the later stages of speech still
classed as agglutinative may undergo change progressing gradually
to the extent of atrophy. Such change of the subordinate root may
consist of change in form, in sound, in sense, in any or all.
Monosyllabic and agglutinative share the immutability of the root
syllable, agglutination has taken the further step of changing the form
of the subordinate root.

Now all our authorities are at one in classing the Polynesian as
among the languages of the agglutinative family, and I am not
prepared at the present to dispute this classification, though 1 have
my doubts. I will at this time do no more than put on this record
the statement that with a very few exceptions (which, in turn may prove
reducible on further study) the secondary roots in the nuclear
Polynesian have not yet begun any such alteration in form, sound or

80 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

sense as would suggest atrophy, except as it may be forecast for the
distant future from the general laws of the growth of language.
It may, accordingly, become necessary at a later stage of our research
to vacate the position taken by our systematic philologists and to class
the Polynesian as a monosyllabic speech ; and this we may do with
all the more assurance because of the fact that all the philologists from
Humboldt and Fr. Mueller down who have set our Polynesian in the
agglutinative family have also bracketed it with the Malayan group, a
consociation which will now find few supporters. I shall for the
present continue to speak of the Polynesian as agglutinative, but with
full reservation of rights to alter the classification.

If, then, the subordinate roots in nuclear Polynesian show such an
absence of progression toward that atrophy which is required to bring
them within the agglutinating class, it is, on the other hand, to be
noted that there is a marked group of principal roots (the closed roots)
which have undergone alteration through the elision of a final
consonant, apparently to establish a concordance with the otherwise
universal law of these languages to employ only open syllables.
Taking cognizance here of just the modem phase of Samoan (nuclear
Polynesian develops some further instances) I illustrate with a single
example from each of the sub-groups of consonants worn off :

>tend

current item

08O

earlier root
OSOF

dednoed from
osofia

9
I

po
au

POQ
AUL

pogia
aulia

tanu

TANUM

tanumia

8U*e

SUKEN

9U*ena

tagi
na

TAQIS
NAT

tagisia
natia

The great majority of the seemingly primary stems, in fact all save
for 45 monosyllables in Samoan, are dissyllabic. For the reduction
of these characteristic dissyllable stems, there lack to-day the method
by which, and the data upon which to work. Leaving for further
study as we must, the solution of these dissyllables into monosyllabic
roots, we find a fresh point of departure in the statement that from
the composition of these few monosyllables, and of the 525 dissyllables
which is the maximum number that can be formed from the present
alphabetic elements of the Samoan (a maximum by no means reached,
but whose net value I have not yet fully established) from these 570
primary stems are derived by composition alone the polysyllables which
form so much of the Samoan speech.

What then, is composition ? What is a compound word ?

In the next higher family of language, the inflected, that which
stands forth as the highest development of the form of speech, we shall

PRINCIPLES OF SAHtOAN WORD COMPOSITION. 81

find composition to be the compaction into one of two or more words,
each of which is, or may be traced back to one that is, separately
intelligible. One of the indicia that two or more roots or stems are in
composition—and it is only roots or stems which are compounded — ^is
the loss of their individual accents. Another is the possession of but
one set of inflexions, instead of the individual inflexions of the words
whose roots have thus entered into combination to form a new word,
which has its own inflexion as a new speech unit. Apart from the
fundamental fact that compounds in the languages of inflexion are not
the combination of words, but of the roots or stems of those words we
have other criteria by which to distinguish compounds from mere
juxtaposition of the simple words of which they are or might appear to
be compounded. Such are : —

1. The two words not being used together as simple words.

2. One or both not being used at all independently in the

form at which they appear when compounded.

8. One or both losing their proper terminations or inflections.

4. A vowel being changed or omitted owing to the words being
brought under one accent.

6. The meaning of the compound being different from or more
than the sum of the meaning of the two elements.

Just how much of this is an accident of inflection and just how
much is inherent m the nature of compounds may best be determined
by examination of what constitutes a compound in the final evolution
of speech, the analytical family of languages. In analytic languages
(I cite Whitney), a compound is generally a shortened or abbreviated
description of something, and, though really made up of two, comes to
seem only one to us ; sometimes the elements stand in the compound
just as they would in the sentence and seem simply to have grown
together into one ; but much more often they have such a relation to
one another that if we used them separately we should have to change
their order or put in other words to connect them, or both ; the two
main ideas are put side by side and the mind is left to infer their
relation to one another from the known circumstances of the case.

In the compounds of the inflected type of languages we see from
the fact that the composition is of roots or stems that word-composition
is an inheritance from an earlier phase in evolution, namely from
speech of agglutination at the least. In the compounds of analytic
language we see that the principle which has endured through at least
one preceding phase of evolution is that two ideas may be set in
juxtaposition and the inference of the manner or kind of relationship
may safely be left to man's common sense. Such also we are to find

32 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

compound words in the languages of agglutination, only in far greater
freedom and perhaps less fixity, as befits the quick vitality of this type
of speech.

We may, then, look to find our Samoan compounds in the follow-
ing classes, deducible as the permanent element which has been found
to extend through the inflected into the analytic family.

1. Where two or more roots are compacted into one word which

expresses either more than the sum of the two units, or
presents the meaning of the units more distinctly than
either can do, or indicates a different signification or usage.

2. Where the two elements used singly would need other words

to express their relation.
8. Where the accent of the compound varies from the accent of

either of the units.
4. Where the affixation of formative elements, or the employ-
ment of embracing grammatical apparatus shows the two
units to be used as a single speech -unit.
In composition in the inflected family our attention has l)een
directed to one prime character, namely that it is not between words
but between roots or stems that composition takes place ; and thence
we have argued that the active principle of composition was so
thoroughly established in a prior and agglutinating stage as to fix the
rule and method of compounding even inflected words. Likewise we
may see how that in analytic languages word-composition is so strictly
bound by the rule established in at least a penultimate stage that the
inflected form of each compound word (that is, the inflection proper to
it as a speech-unit) sloughs ofif the inflection as far as is possible.
Now in our nuclear Polynesian the rule that roots or stems, not words,
enter into composition holds so universally that the need for its
statement might escape the attention were it not that we see its
importance in the developed principle in later types of speech. With
the possible exception of certain irreducible formative adjuncts, or at
least of adjuncts whose proved or probable reducibility it is not
necessary here to establish, all words are existent as roots. Yet as we
change the direction of our view and look backward for origins we may
need to regard them in turn as stems and to look for their roots in the
preceding and probably primal phase of monosyllabism.

One prime distinction we cannot recognize too soon nor keep too
clearly in our thought. In the nuclear Polynesian we find that we
are engaged upon a grammar distinctly anterior to the parts of
speech. The noun is not, and the verb has not yet come into being ;
ages must pass before the adjective and the adverb are to become differ-
entiated from either; the conjunction, the preposition, the pronoun

PRINCIPLES OF 8AM0AN WORD COMPOSITION. 38

in all its various phases and the particles of place and time are as yet
merely fanctional one of the other. None the less do we find a
grammar, active, vivid in tone, in one aspect expressing the usages of
Bpeeoh and in another phase sufficiently powerful in its own existence
to modify speech into conformity with a majority usage. Though real,
though recording and directing by turns, our Polynesian grammar
contains few of those categories of grammar which have arisen out of
the needs and usages of a later stage of speech-evolution. For an
example, the rule that a verb shall agree with its subject in number is
80 widespread that we regard it as inherent in the essence of grammar.
Yet when we examine into the philosophy of it we shall see that it
dominates grammar Qitrei not 0v<r€t, by usage and selective imposition
upon the forms of speech by those who consciously use it, not as
inherent in the nature of things. There was a time in the integration
of speech forms when it was an even chance whether the concord of
the verb should hang on its subject or on its object. We shall not
comprehend the syntax of the Polynesian if we neglect to recognize
this other and parallel rule, that a verb may agree with its object in
number.

It is essential to bear in mind this prime characteristic, that we
are prior to the differentiation of the parts of speech. Yet we find
still a marked division between two classes of speech-units, possibly
three if we grant to the expletive or interjection or ejaculation the
great value which inheres in it as the cry, that first phase of
vocalization, the beginning of speech which we hold in common with
much of the chain of life below us. Praetermitting this subject as
not absolutely germane to this more restricted inquiry, we find in keen
existence and already rigidly delimited these two parts of speech, the
demonstrative and the attributive. These two classes, abundantly
differentiated in our nuclear Polynesian, are sufficient to establish the
later parts of speech. For as we chain our course to the first
monuments of the survey of the languages of inflection we shall
discover how the demonstrative differentiates into the pronoun in one
phase and into the connective (the conjunction and the preposition)
in another ; how the attributive splits off the particulars of noun and
again of adjective and retains its nucleus as verb. These processes
are in the doing at the horizon of our nuclear Polynesian. The
attributive words are the expression of acts or qualities. The
demonstrative words are those rudimentary words which serve to
specify the act or quality contained in the attributive, to localize it as
to person variously involved, as to place, as to time, as to its relation
to other ideas which may have preceded or may yet be to come.

Having regard to these two parts of speech we may deduce a
diagrammstic scheme of the possible nature of all tiie compounds

84 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

which may be made in the Samoan, and in the nuclear Polynesfan
from which it has been so freshly derived, and in its later and more
highly evolved congeners at the distal ends of the cruises of the era of
Pacific voyaging. This is the scheme :

1. Demonstrative with demonstrative : ana.

a. Demonstrative with attributive : *afai.

8. Attributive with demonstrative : passives, nouns, in ga, de.

4. Attributive with attributive.
It is the most elementary mathematics that there can be no other
classes, this diagram has exhausted all the possibilities. Compounds
of each of these classes will be, as new speech -units, either demonstra-
tive or attributive and as such may and do form members of new
compounds, but such new compounds are yet reducible within this
classification. We may here note that the compounds of the types
demonstrative plus demonstrative or demonstrative plus attributive are
themselves demonstrative, that those of the types attributive plus
demonstrative and attributive plus attributive are attributive. From
this we derive the rule that compound words in Samoan take the
quality of their initial member. This rule concords with the genius of
the language, which presents the theme first and the modifiers in
succession.

We will now pass to a more detailed examination of the compounds
of these several categories. It will be here sufficient to present a few
examples of each, just enough for explication. In the later elaboration
of this paper as a chapter in the grammatical study of nadear
Polynesian it will probably be found advisable to present a list of the
compounds of the first and second categories with an analysis of each
word. In the following examples it is deemed proper to select typical
cases in illustration of the principle, the more complex and doubtful
cases being reserved for the detailed dissection and discussion whioh
they shall receive in the fuller analysis of the demonstrative roots.

In that section of the work it will be shown, among others, that
the sound a, the first sound of human speech, the sound involving the
least complicated intervention of the apparatus of vocalization,
represents in its ultimate reduction the non-ego and the non-tu, that
which is neither speaker nor person addressed, but which is outside of
each and beyond the conditions under which they are momentarily
placed — it is the third person as a pronoun, in place it is the not-here,
in time it is the not-now, it is centrifugal, peripheral. Qualified by
other sounds it distinguishes between he, this, that ; it becomes near
or distant in space, before or after in time. The detailed consideration
of this fruitful subject will find its proper plac« in a projected
monograph on '* Pronominal Particularization of the Polynesian
Demonstrative." This peripheral conception runs through the severid

PMNCIPLES OF SAMOAN WORD COMPOSITION. 85

vocables ma^ sa, na, ia, a, &c. Let us look at some cases of its
entrance into composition with other demonstratives, forming thereby
compounds which are themselves demonstrative.

(a) Personal, the non-ego non-tu. The a in this sense combines
with another demonstrative ?, which seems to exist in some uses
without assignable individual signification of its own but rather to
serve as an accent upon the meaning of the element with which it is
combined. When one is dealing with these usages of the childhood of
speech he must not omit consideration of the other manifestations of
intellectual activity that accompanied them, above all the gesture.
Any one may try this for himself, for surely we are not forbidden
laboratory investigation in linguistics now that thought itself is
measured with machinery and the utmost speed of the quickest witted
may not prove too swift for record on the chronograph. In conducting
this little experiment do not make the mistake of being too refined,
remember that you are trying to put yourself in the situation of a very
primitive man, it may be with no more refinement than cave man.
Stand with all the vocal organs relaxed and lips open. To carry out
the idea of force clench the fist. Now raise the arm and point out
some object remote, at the same time exhaling the breath, not failing
to put a few ounces of force into the gesture. Listen to the sound
that the breath makes and see if it be not a. Now, when you have
made yourself familiar with that phase try the gesture with the fore-
finger extended, a case of sharper definition. Observe the sharp snap
of finger, eye and brain when the linger rests upon the object. Now it
is that sharp fining of the sight on the target that the i represents,
it may be not as a sound we can prove to develop naturally from the
motion but certainly as a sonant expression of the physical fact of the
case. Last of all try the gesture in this latter form consciously
sounding the two vowels, the i while the finger is finding the
target and the a when it has rested. In all study of gesture this
can mean nothing but that-one, the fundamental conception out of
which arise both that and he. Thus we have ia as the basis of the
Polynesian third personal pronoun. In like manner lend is of the
third person, but with an obscurer personal element just in proportion
as /e is less incisive than i ; lendf therefore, comprises the senses in
which we use '* this " and ** that."

(b) Of time, the not-now. In the specialization process the
unmodified a retains the more vivid signification of time yet in front
of the speaker, the future ; all of which we see in the substantive clause
*o le a *ou te *a representing a definite future **I shall go away" but
more literally reaching that sense through saying *' the that- time my
going-away.'* With a more general and less definite sense we find it
in the attributive modifier in le fafing dfetnau, literally ''the woman

86 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

that-time giving-birth " and corresponding to our future periphrastic
<* the woman about to give birth.*' Time in the other direction, time
behind the speaker, past time, finds its expression in na. As a sample
of its demonstrative compound look at ana, in which to the *' when "
or '' if " signification of this a the na adds the preterit sense.

In the second of these classes of compounds, the demonstrative
plus an attributive resulting still in a demonstrative, we have
abundance of examples, none difi^cult of resolution into their elements.
Such are afai and apau, a as " when " or ** if " with the attributives
fai and pau respectively. Let us give a passing glance at afai which
is no more than a determinant of a as *' if." The attributive fai is
polyphase, it underlies a host of different meanings and enters into
many locutions in different ways where the basic signification is far to
seek. In this case it carries a signification which Pratt failed to see,
yet one of particular moment in Samoan ; it is the substantive verb, it
means ''to be." It is not Samoan alone that feels a need for
strengthening its ** if,*' our own English folk-speech, even if not the
literary dialect, employs exactly the same fortifying agent in the by
no means uncommon locution '* if so be." Into this same class of
compounds fall also the non -singular forms of the personal pronouns
of which mdua and matou are the type. Here the subordinate members
of the compound, the attributives lua and toluy have undergone a
modification in form which is not in nuclear Polynesian by any means
so common as in later developments of agglutinating speech.

The third class of compounds that in which are attributiye
compounds with a demonstrative, is of peculiar interest, for
in it we see the beginning of the process out of which is at a
later stage to arise the principle of inflection. While there are
many examples of this class of compound the number of groups which
may be established is small, because not many demonstratives are at
our period brought into use as the second and subordinate member of
the compound. Just as foreshadowing the fuller discussion for which
there is not now space I note a few examples of several groups.

1. i. *Eleiy to apply color to siapo ; from *eU, the earth used as

pigment, and i in a localizing sense.

2. a*i. Ulua% to be first; from ti/i/, the head, and a't. This

demonstrative enters characteristically into the formation of
many reciprocals with prefixture of /<f-, the i seeming to be
the reciprocating theme.

8. a, passive. Tu*uaf from tu*u and a»

PRINCIPLES OF SAMOAN WORD COMPOSITION. 87

4. ia, passive. Alofagia, to be loved; from ALOFAG, to love,

and ta. This termination is applied to the closed roots in
general.

5. a, adjectival. Tagatd, manned, peopled ; from tagata, man,

and a,

6. ina. The characteristic formative adjunct of the so-called

passive (and middle). It is a compound demonstrative
compacted of i and na.

7. i/a. Though this suffix are formed from verbs several classes

of nouns, less frequently are met verbs which seem to have

been formed through this agent. In this case, and in

the possibly cognate instances of -gatd and -gofie I am not

prepared to make a definite determination as to whether

these elements are demonstrative or atrophied attributives.

I may here mention another point as to which I have as yet

arrived at no satisfactory solution. That is the function and character

of the a in such compounds as tanumdga and feasogi. To say that it

is euphonic seems a mere begging of the question, and its structural

position is still obscure.

Mention has already been made of the principle of a shift of accent
as determining that root-compaction amounts to a full degree of com-
position, and this is an appropriate place to give the topic a little more
detailed consideration. The normal incidence of accent in the Samoan,
in nuclear Polynesian in fact, is on the penultima. That of an equal
chance to find the incidence of the voice ictus on the former or latter of
two syllables we find it uniformly on the former I cannot regard as at all
fortuitous. Remember that the whole system of the language consists in
the enunoiatiation of the principle idea, the theme, and the secondary
position of its modifiers. So also in the psychology of speech the
voice ictus gravitates to the theme. Take so simple a statement as
"I will go" and see how widely the sense varies as we accent the
pronoun, verb auxiliary or the verb principal. If, now, such a
dissyllabic stem as tu*u is invariably accented tu*u we are led along
this line of inquiry also to face the possibility that in these dissyllabic
stems we are again dealing with the compaction of roots, monosyllabic
and very primitive, even primordial. In the example which we have
under examination I incline to divide the root elements as TU and KU,
The other disintegration of TUK and Uis schematically possible, and I
have already called attention to the fact that closed syllables are not
impossible in the Protosamoan, for one must feel that it is only
recently the final consonants have dropped off. The crowded signifi-
cations of tu*u may, indeed require us to accept a devolution from both
TU'KU and TUK- U. But whether it be TU or TUK, that is the theme.

88 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

the prime member of the compaction, the arsis, the voice ictus falls upon
it ; the modifying KUot Ua,8 being the subordinate member rests in the
thesis. Therefore tu^u. In 5 preceding, I have noted one class of
compounds which prove in effect oxytone. This is but superficial ;
tagatd is only tagata with -a ; then tagatda, following the uniformity
of penultimate accent ; then the two vowels coalesce by crasis under
the accent, which remains where last set. Having then a uniformity
of penultimate accent the language enjoys the power to call particular
and distinguishing attention to a word by altering the order from
arsis-thesis to thesis-arsis, from a trochee to an iambus. It will be
seen how that must break the rhythm, must challenge the attention
as anything unusual does, must fix more closely the mind upon the
word so inverted. To remain effective such a device must not be used
too often, and that we find is the case in the Samoan. Between stems
of the same component syllables it serves as a mark of distinction, as
between nidlUf a shade, and maliif soft. It even serves to mark out a
terminus ad quem, possibly to compensate for the uncertainty which
in the current phase of Samoan must subsist as between the two
prepositions /, in, and *i to; thus we may say *oh tefolau H Saluqfatdf
*' I am sailing to Saluafdta.** There are uses in which it conveys a
strong moral connotation, thus :

*A e alu Hfea ! Whither goest thou ?

*0m te alu *i/afo I go outside.

*0u te alu *ifa/6 I am going to get out of this.

The former reply is merely a statement of fact, colorless. The
latter reply may contain a congeries of connotations even up to the
point of conveying a deadly insult, as were one to snap forth in soom
'< I shall not stay in this house.** Such a thing eludes translatioiiy
but an angry Samoan knows how much venom he can put into the
change of accent from paroxytone to oxytone.

As with the simple words, so with the compounds. There are not
many which employ the device. Amuliy "hereafter," will serve to
illustrate the class.

The fourth class of compounds are the attributives formed by the
compaction of attributive with attributive. Their number is limited
only by mutual incompatibility of the two roots in sense, awkwardness
in sound, or the lack of need in island life for the possible compounds
which we do not chance to encounter. It is the more particularly in
this class that we find the need, initially referred to, of some system
whereby we may keep our compounds within the bounds of a dictionary
on the one hand, and on the other avoid falling into the aridity and
baldness of style of the Tusi Pa'ia. We shall now pass from the
formal consideration of compounds with reference to the nature of their

PRINCIPLES OF SAMOAN WORD COHPOSITION. 39

components and enter upon a new system of classification, that in
respect to signification and other characters not formal.

All oar Polynesian languages (with the interesting hyloglyphs of
Te Pito te Whenoa standing sole as an exception) have heen reduced to
written record at approximately the same point of time, the middle of
the nineteenth century, bat at somewhat different stages of development.
In the case of these languages, no more than in the case of others, does
the redaction to writing and more especially the printing and circulation
of the Bible in the vernacular, entirely serve to arrest development, but
it is certainly a case of putting on the brakes. There is one important
conditioning factor that modifies the braking action in the case of these
languages. They are as yet instinct with expectancy of advancement to
the crowning phase of formal speech, inflexion ; they are under the
inertia of constructive evolution. The Indo-European languages have
passed the divide, their ev(^ution is away from form, destructive of
inflection, their expectancy is of analysis and not of synthesis. The
currency of the Tusi Pa'ia, current verbatim in the marvellously
retentive Samoan memory, tends to establish a norm of speech. The
vigor of evolutionary growth, restricted in certain directions by the
mental presence of this norm, must in other directions find its outlet.
There naturally has begun to result a wide erasure of exceptional
forms and seemingly irregular uses, a smoothing out of independent
construction into accord with more general usage as indicated in the
now written speech. How powerful such a movement may be needs
only a glance at our own English to see. Observe how much we owe
to this smoothing out process, powerful enough to swallow the most
brutally false analogy. Look at our old, strong conjugations of verbs
and see how many forms familiar to us our very children at school are
taught to reject and to regard as proper only in the pulpit. Look in the
dictionary and see what ''adder" and *'newt" and ''ouch" were
before our forebears tripped up in trying to make the articles uniform.
Observe how irresistibly " demean " is borrowing larceniously from
"mean'* and is coming to suggest and idea of "abasement," an
influence so strong as to disregard entirely the presence of its
derivative " demeanor '* to point the true meaning. If such things
can be in the speech of an educated community think what will
happen on an island of the sea, even though the Samoans have
learned to boast of their delimitation from the fa*alenu*up6.

For the purpose of the present investigation I wish to call
attention to the movement toward uniformity in the expression of
the various sorts of dependency in the Samoan. We find a movement
now spreading to express all objects of action by the employment of
the preposition 't and *ia ; all locatives by t ; agents and instruments
by e ; objective clauses by e ; purpose by ia ; and so forth. Yet we

40 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

must not permit this to lead us to lose sight of the fact that before
this harmonizing began these locutions were not of uniform apfdication,
that some of them might be regarded as having reached the rank of
rules to which there were many exceptions, others less fully accepted
were entitled to be held as exceptions to general rules. We fail to
grasp the genius of Samoan speech if we lose sight of this predominant
characteristic ; relationship of whatever sort is normally expressed by
juxtaposition, the character of the relation being left to inference.
That factor will be found prime in all compound words, patent
particularly in these compounds of two attributives.

The tendency of the recording grammarian is to invent rules, to
draw fine distinctions. As far as is possible I aim to avoid that.
While in a general way I find it convenient for the present to make
mention of nouns and verbs and other of the classic parts of speech I
do not believe that there are such things in the speech of the Samoans.
It is only for a present convenience that I employ the terms, for
positive distinctions I refer to the conceptions of demonstrative and
attributive.

Thus I might erect any number of classes of these attributive
compounds, a class for each conceiveable relation which might be
imagined to subsist between the two compacted roots. This I will not
do, for in the Samoan Sprachjeint such relations exist only as temporary
manifestations of the single principle of inferential relation per se. I
will, however, call attention to a few groups of compounds in order to
show some of the various manifestations of relationship, and solely for
convenience in reference do I assign names to such manifestations, the
same being descriptive terms and not classes.

Let us recur to an instance which I cited at the beginning of this
study, the verb nofomau. Let us set in order under each of these stems
the main themes of meaning :

NOFO = to sit MA U= to be firm

to dwell to abound in

to live with to dwell

to cohabit with to be unwavering

to remain
Each of these vocables exists for our purpose as a stem, each is
crowded with significations, the combination would theoretically yield
us the resultant of two significations for nofo plus wau. As a matter
of fact the resultant is lost in the original force, the parallelogram hM
vanished in the line. As a matter of fact nofo means too many things
to lend itself to precise statement, and in any speech the proof of the
fact that any vocal sound is a word and not mouthing of gibberish is
that it avails to bridge the gap between the mind of the speaker and the
mind of the hearer for the safe passage unchanged of an idea N^

PRtNOIPLES OF SAMOAN WORD COMPOSITION. 41

by itself will not do this, it needs some corrective to make it precisely
manifest that in any given phrase it is intended to mean ** to dwell "
and not any one of the four other senses. Add, therefore, another
stem which also, inter alia, means '' to dwell." The mind ranges the four
significations of mau alongside the five of iiofo, and when '' to dwell "
of mau comes in line with ** to dwell " of nofo the two come together
with a click, verbal circuit is made, the current of idea at once passes.
We find nofamauy then, to mean << to dwell " and to mean that without
any of the peradventure subsisting in each of its component stems.
We may call compounds in which this relationship holds determinant
compounds, for the subordinate stem determines the sense in which the
principal stem is sought to be used. This is no new invention devised
to account for the many compounds of this sort in our nuclear
Pdynesian, a very early type of agglutinative speech, if indeed it be
found to be even so far advanced as that. Looking back into the
preceding phase of undeniably monosyllabic speech we find this method
of determinants one of the most valid constructive agencies. If it
were not used, the Chinese, the most cultured of monosyllabic
languages might never have been able to develop its 450 roots into
nearly 50,000 words. I will cite an instance which in principle
exactly parallels the nofomau we have just had under consideration.
Let us similarly arrange in columns for the two Chinese roots too and
lu the significations with which each root is crowded :

TJO=to reach Lf7=to turn aside

a flag a road

to lead a vehicle

to tear away a jewel

to cover dew

corn to forge

a road
Each of these roots means too many things. But put them side
by side. Again the same mental process of sliding the lu scale up and
down alongside the too scale, at <<road" in one and <<road" in the
other they click and stop, the current passes and too combined with
lu can mean but one thing, namely *' road.''

A group of compounds may naturally be assembled in which the
action of the subordinate member is regarded as simultaneously effective
with that of the principal root. We thus have the familiar types of
compounds expressing the modifications of the root idea as to time,
manner, means, place, degree and the like, so simple that we need do
no more than mention them, for examples sxioht^alofatele <' much-love,"
will readily suggest themselves in abundance.

Another order of relationship is represented by a very considerable
number of compounds, sufficient to win for it recognition as an active

42 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

principle of word construction. In this the subordinate root foUowi
upon the action of the principal member, and is not, as in the deter-
minant compounds, simultaneously effective with it. For this reason
this class may be described as sequential compounds. After this prime
characteristic of sequence the relations which may be expressed in this
class may and do ramify to a great degree. They may cover the result
of the action of the principal root, its object, its purpose. As in the
preceding classes let us consider a single example which may be regarded
as sufficiently typical.

Pipi'i (root PIKIT) signifies to cling to, to stick to, to adhere to.
The senses of mau have already been given. Together they form a
sequential compound, jn'imauy ** to cling firmly to.** That is to say,
man in its signification of ^' to remain ** comes after the signification of
pipiH ''to cling'* and expresses the result that *^ it clings and remains,"
it "sticks and stays.**

This example has been chosen for the reason that it will serve to
introduce another topic to be considered in this matter of word-
composition. I have already set forth the fact that the composition is
not of words but of roots or stems. That this is a vital condition of
woi*d- composition appears in the fact that it endures into the last
development of the analytic languages. We may not know just why
the Samoan should find an objection to pipiHmau and harks back to
the older or root form to form piUmau, but we must see in it tha
preservation of a principle handed down from a monosyllabic period.
It equips us to argue that such methods of composition are anterior to
the development of reduplication, a view of the matter otherwise
supported on a priori grounds if we look upon reduplication as a germ-
manifestation of inflection.

Another large class of compounds, limited only by the degree of
sense-compatibility between the two members, is that in whioh the
subordinate member appears as the object upon which the action of
the principal member passes. Take such an example as patilinia from
pati <' to clap ** and lima '' hand.** This is a natural association of
ideas which we in English compound in the noun ** handclap " though
not as a verb. It is a compound because it is an abbreviated statement
devoid of the connectives which would be necessary were it to be
expressed in a phrase, as e pati una lima.

Of like frequency are the compounds in which the subordinate
shows that of which the principal is composed, punarai '* spring of
water '* ; that which it contains, j\viuu'u, ** bottle of oil.'*

Wo find thus early a full expression of the method of adjectival
compounds in which the subordinate qualifies, limits, defines the
principal in order that they may form a conjoint modifier of yet

PRINCIPLES OF 8AM0AN WORD COMPOSITWN. 48

lAother vocable; thus, lima ''hand" and malosi ''strong" unite in
the compound Umamalod " stronghanded," which we may then use to
guiUifj a noun, as le tagata limamalosi " the stronghanded man."

We now come naturally to the Fa*a compounds, the most of
which are of the sequential type. I shall not in this place go deeply
into their consideration, for they offer a field of study sufficiently rich
to warrant a chapter to themselves in the grammar. The logic of the
language as I interpret it will lead me to deal with them as compound
words, yet with full recognition of the view taken by the most excellent
authority that they fall under the head of inflectional development of
their second root. To this view I oppose the facts that we put our
Polynesian in an untenable position if we attempt to discuss it in
terms of the grammar of inflection, that these forms on which the
suggestion of inflection is based are more simply susceptible of
explanation on the basis of the grammar of agglutination, and
furthermore that I shall show that fa*a is not the subordinate but
itself the principal root and that it may exist as an independent
vocable.

This leads me naturally to the consideration of the composition
members which suggest the expectancy of inflection. It would be no
difficult task to arrange these in a diminishing series from such forms
as roo, a plural sign in logic, in the compound le vaotayata " men,"
which is really and grammatically the principal member of the
compound; down by successive steps of obscuration of sense and
failure to conserve the dignity of position ; until at last we reach fe
as in feu or feagaH. Of this we know that it is used to form
reciprocals and some senses of plurals, but its inherent meaning is still
by no means clear. It is atrophied, it looks like a prefix, but I
caanot consent to acknowledge it to be inflectional in nuclear
Polynesian. If that were granted we should have to yield on fa^a and
80 on back along the line to vao, and that is a reductio ad absurdum just
80 long as it is possible to interchange U vaotagata and le van o tagata.
8uch things are not yet in themselves inflection, they contain the
germ that may develop into inflection when ignorance of their primal
signification supervenes and they become mere empty forms. In
nearly the same degree of atrophy as this reciprocal fe- are the
composition members -a, -la, -ina, which have the guise of granmiatical
terminations and the apparent function of creating a passive (middle)
voice for the verb. So far as I have yet delved the root sense of fe- has
not been turned up ; not so with these " passive terminations." They
are demonstratives which limit the action of the principal member of
the compound, and they are almost personal at that, for they are not
limited to verb-ideas but are to be found with noun-ideas as well.
This subject, also, is entitled to treatment by itself, for the mere fact

44 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

of composition is less important than the coloration whiioh these
members give to the verb-idea. I mention in passing that there are
other so-called signs of this or that which add to the pictoresqneneee
and vigor of the Samoan, yet which may easily be proved to be
compounds of one sort or another and by no means as yet mere
grammatical apparatus. That comes with age and death, oar
Polynesian is alive and growing.

It is proper to take note that some changes, even though slight,
may in the process of composition be made in the form of the com-
ponents, all being in the line of the least resistance. Thus, *avatu
is reached by a simple crasis from *ave atu. In like manner are
developed the lona, ^ojuij mona, lana, sana, mana, lo latoUy la latou,
forms of pronominal possessives.

It may be found possible to show in the case of *aumai that we
have a more complex modification from *ave mai, the loss of the final
e and the reduction of the sonant spirant /* of the labial series to the
sonant and nearly labial vowel u. This is a modulation which
becomes very familiar in the next family of speech. It would,
therefore, be of particular moment to find it beginning in agglutination.

Another type of modulated compound is represented by alofa.
Aloj apparently grouping its significations about a basic sense of the
front part, we find in use as a genteel designation of the belly in
exactly the same usage in which we in English employ the word
''backside" as more seemly than a more precise distinction of the
parts. Thus in alo we come to the region of the great pneumogaetrio
nerve, and it is there that all the emotions are felt ; see how we aseigii
them to the heart, the Greeks to the diaphragm {<^fiv)t ftnd many
peoples select the liver for at least certain of the emotiomu
Unskilled anatomists fail to observe the pneumogastric in their orade
autopsies, but whatever emotional organ they select is close to the
tract of that nerve. In OF AG we find the sense of feeling oertain
emotions. Putting the two elements together with the simple and
incidental detail of mer^nug o and o by crasis, we have alqfa^ to feel
emotional excitation of the p^'riphcral nerve-endings of the pneamo«
gastric, to warm the cockles of the heart, to feel a sinking at the pit of
the stomach, to bo phronotic. Thus we find ahfa doing equal duty
for love and grief.

Now in closing it will be well to lay down the few simple principlee
upon which I decide in the recognition of a compound for admission
as such into the dictionary.

When two or more roots are in turn coiu2)oundcd with the -inm
etc. of the conveniently dosignatcil passive torniination I shall enter
them as a compound spoech-iniit. In this I have a general rule of

PRINCIPLES OF SAMOAN WORD COMPOSITION. 46

application to all the formative composition elements, that when
two or more roots are treated as a speech-unit in entering into other
compounds they are a compound word.

When two or more roots form an abbreviated statement which
would otherwise require particles of relation, that is a compound.

Where they vary in meaning or in use from the component parts,
that is a compound.

On the other hand I must avoid overloading the dictionary with
compounds so simple as to explain themselves. Thus it is not
necessary to make an entry of every negative compound, although
such a form as leaogd is in a Samoan sense a speech-unit. In the
same way almost all words may form a compound of degree with tele,
yet that is self-explanatory. So with the directives, mai, atu, ifo, a*e,
even though we find cases where the passive termination is applied to
verb plus directive, as in ^avatua, the compounds are of evident
signification. Such a form as 'o le faimeau'ameaf blacksmith, (maker
of hard things), is a compound of the third degree, the compaction
of fai and meau'amea, yet it is not necessary to make an entry of
meau^amea, for that explains itself as the association of inea and u^ainea^
of which the latter only will find a legitimate place in the dictionary,
and that for the reason that while its components u^a and mea are
readily seen and each maintains an independent existence it is not
self-evident why they are associated in an order that seems to vary
from the normal arrangement of principal and modifier in the
language.

Equally shunning indefinite looseness on the one hand and too
rigid formalism on the other; recognizing that the precisian's
apparatus of unalterable grammatical rules and fixed exceptions has
no place in a living tongue but can only be used of the dead, I deal
with each case on its merits and the few plain principles that I have
outlined. Basing my studies on scientific method I aim at clarity, I
seek to avoid redundancy.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

[175] Some Middle Island, N.Z., Place-names.

Enquiries institated among the Maoris of the South part of New Zealand on a
recent visit resulted in some information which may be of interest : —

Motu-rau is an ancient name for the lake called by Europeans Mana-ponri.
[This name seems to fit the lake, for its meaning is "Many islands.** But the
name of the lake as given to me by Horomana Patu, an old chief of Ngai-Taha,
was Manawa-pore {porCy abbreviated form of popore)^ which probably means the
** anxious heart,** and the name may have arisen through the anxiety of some
early voyager on the lake as to whether he would survive the squalls common
there, in his frail canoe. — Editob.]

Manawa-pore is the name given to the larger and most northern of the two
lakes called Mavora.

Hikuraki (Hikurangi in northern dialects) is the name given to the smaller
and southern Mavora lake.

Te Rua-o-te-moko is a name given to the extensive mountainous district
lying westward of the Waiau river, and is connected with Tamatea, the reputed
captain of the Taki-timu canoe, a name given to the mountain range east of the
Waiau, and called by Europeans Takitimo.

Te Wakaa-Maui, a name given to the Middle Island, t.tf., Maui*s canoe.
[It is said by the Ngati-Kuia natives of Pelorus Sound that Maui fished up the
North Island (or Ika-a-Maui— Maui*s fish) whilst standing on the Middle Island.
—Editob.]

Te Puka-a-Maui, a name given to Stewart*s Island — Maui*s anchor. Its
ordinary name is Baki-ura (Bangi-ura in Northern dialects).

Mahutu-ki-te-rangi, said by the Moeiaki Maoris to be an ancient name of
the Middle Island, and was originally that of a canoe. It is mentioned In the
following fragment of an old haka:—

" Kowai tea waka e—
E Hen E I i wanu atu ai~
Ko Te Kaka-a-matua a-i—
Ko Mabutu-ki-te-ranKi 0-"
By some Maoris this cauoe is said to be identical with that called ** M&hunoi.**

Titi-tea is the Maori name of Mount Aspiring, as Henare Te Maire, of Waihao,
says, and may be translated as the ** upright glistening '* mountain.

Jambs Cowan.

[176] Honorific T^rmt used in the Middle Island, N.Z.

The Murihiku— or extreme south of Middle Island— people use the following
terms when welcoming Maoris from the North :—

Te PoroporO'ki'Huariki, used in speeches of welcome and applied to the
North Island people.—'* Jlaere mat, K Tt Poroporo-ki-Huariki.** The old people
explain that the allusion is to the poroporo fruit (solanum), which grew in
UenQkn*s garden in Hawaiki, and which was stolen by Tama-te-kapoa, of **Te

JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Arawa " oanoe. This fruit, they say, was brought to New Zealand by Tunui-raki,
the captain of the "Tairea" canoe, and planted in the North Island. Huariki,
according to Herewini of Moeraki, is the name of a place in Hawaiki.

Tarere-ki-whenua-uta, — This is a poetical expression referring to the sea-cliffs
of Mori-hiko, when welcoming visitors to that district.

James Oowan.

[177] Hawaiki.

The following fragment is from Herewini, the oldest Maori at Moeraki, and
who is probably aboat seventy-five years old. There were two Hawaikis: —
Hawaiki-kai, and Hawaiki-raro. The Maori people came from the former.
Hawaiki-raro was inhabited by the Nuku-mai-tore people (see " Journal," Vol.
XIII., p. 265), who lived t waenganui i te ora (in the midut of plenty), whose
hair never grew grey, and whose children were born by the mother being cut
open ; they had no necks, and their hands grew straight out of their bodies,
that is, they had no arms. They continuously chattered. In that land the
kumara grew spontaneously : no cultivation was needed. Te Whiti, of Parihaka,
Taranaki, also says that Hawaiki-kai was the full name of their ancestral land,
and was so-called because of the abundance of food there, and little labour
needed in procuring it. — Jaues Cowan.

[With reference to Hawaiki-kai, we think this is not really the name of
the ancient home of the Maori, but that kai is added to the name as exprcEsive
of the abundance of food growing spontaneously there, i.e.y in the Tropics.
Hawaiki-raro is to this day the Eastern Polynesian name for the Fiji, Samoa,
and Tonga groups, whilst Hawaiki-runga is the name given to Tahiti and the
adjacent islands. For an account of the Nuku-mai-tore, see John White's
'* Ancient Maori History."— Editor.]

MANA TANGATA..

Bt Lieut. -Col. Gudgeon, C.M.G.

N any description of Maori life or character, the word mana will
occur frequently, and as a rule the general reader will be left to
give his own interpretation to the word, which is probably one of
the most expressive and comprehensive to be found in any language.
It must, however, be remembered that this word relates to certain
abstract conceptions of a spiritual phase of mankind that will not
readily be understood by Europeans. I have grave doubts whether I
can do this subject justice. I will therefore deal with the matter
generally, and illustrate it by incidents taken from well known Maori
history in which the important element of mana has been a factor.

Personal mana is, I think, closely connected with the old Polynesian
religion, and its continuance seems to depend very much on the
observance of the laws, and rites connected therewith ; there are, how-
ever, certain classes of mana which would seem to be the result of
heredity rather than religion. Mana, it may be said, is the result of
hereditary characteristics transmitted through famous ancestors, and
strengthened in every instance by the belief — shared by all true Maoris
— that a man of this type must be under the special care of the gods.

A man is said to have 7}mna when he possesses genius, audacity,
and good fortune in a marked degree, for these are the signs of mana,
and so long as he can retain these gifts he is regarded as a man
altogether above the common herd, and one not lightly to be offended.
Indeed, such men have been regarded in the light of gods against whom
it was hopeless for mere mortals to contend, even though they might be
as ten to his one. Ma7ia of this description was held in the highest
esteem by the tribe to which the fortunate man belonged, forasmuch as
in war time the element of mana was very conspicuous, and invariably
used in the interest of the tribe ; but it was, after all, but a low type of
mana, for it depended entirely on success, and was easily lost, as has
been shown in my paper on the ** Toa."'" I do not wish it to be

* Journal Polynesian Society, Vol. xiii. p. 238.

50 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

inferred that men possessing even this sort of mayia were ever very
numerous among the Maoris, for they were not. They come within
the application of the proverb, ** He kotuku rerenya tahi''^^'

There were cases in which the inana of a man depended upon the
facility with which he could communicate with the spirits of departed
ancestors, that is, upon his capacity to enforce the aid and attendance
of these minor deities. To this end every man with any pretention to
mana had a knowledge of certain forms of invocation by which he could
summon the spirits of Jong departed heroes and ancestors, but it must
not be supposed that these invocations would necessarily have power in
the mouths of all men, for such was not the case. The eflficacy of a
karakia or invocation depended in part on its method of delivery, and
in part on the mana of the man who used it.

The following is an instance of mana : When the chief Whakanehu
lived at Te Poroporo, his son Te Hourangi died, and was buried at
Tikapa. That same night, the spirit of the dead boy appeared to two
men in their sleep, and said, ** Etama ma^ kna jtau auete tangata'' (my
sons, I have been eaten by men). This speech and vision was at once
reported to Whakanehu, who forthwith inspected the grave, and found
that the body had been removed. The chief returned to the Tore-a-
kaia pa, and remained there until dark ; then Whakanehu summoned
to his aid a familiar spirit or kehiia, whom he intended should precede
the party who were about to search for the body. At Te Karaka the
kehua became luminous, and rested for a moment over a certain place ;
it then moved on to Tuparoa, where it again became luminous, and
hovered over a large stone by the roadside. By these signs Whakanehu
knew that those who had carried the body had rested for awhile at each
place, and placed their burden upon the ground. From Tuparoa the
kehna led the avengers direct to the Ohineakai pa, in Waipiro Bay,
where it once more became luminous over a hamji (native oven), and
thence settled on the ridge of a food store. This place was examined
by the chief, who found a hand and other remains, sufficient to show
that the people of this pa^ who could be heard practising a haka in the
large wharef were the guilty parties. Whakanehu waited quietly until
his enemies slept. He then invoked the aid of Tawhirimatea (god of
storms), who answered the call by sending a very hurricane of wind,
during which the outraged father set fire to the ivhare, and then,
standing at the doorway, speared and tossed back into the flames those
who tried to escape.

To what extent the old Maori religion governed the law of mana
cannot at the present day be ascertained ; those who might have
collected and recorded the ancient history of the Maori did not do so.

* The one flight of the white craoe^ i.e., to be seen only once in a liletime.

MANA TANG AT A. 61

We had no Wyatt Gill among our old missionaries, who, for the most
part, were sincere though narrow-minded men, who did much to soften
what we will charitably call the asperities of the Maori character; but
they died, and left no literary record by which succeeding generations
might remember them.

Sir George Grey and John White alone of the men of their genera-
tion have rescued the legends, songs, and a fragment of old New
Zealand history from Christian intolerance. The late Judge Manning
has left us an admirable sketch of the Maori character as it was in his
time, and indeed in mine ; the chief merit of the same resulting from
the fact that the Judge thought in Maori while writing in English.
I submit, however, that we have no reason to thank him for these small
mercies, for he might have left us ten volumes equally readable, but
did not do so.

'< Te Ika a Maui," by the Rev. Richard Taylor, is not only readable
but instructive, whenever the author succeeds in disentangling himself
from the '' lost Tribes," and that is seldom enough. There are
probably many others who are more or less conversant with the
language and customs of the Maoris, and who may have some notes on
those subjects, for they possess the ability requisite for the task ; but
the hoarded manuscripts which in many cases are supposed to exist,
and which are vaguely referred to by the supposed authors, have not
yet seen the light. Indeed, it is only since Messrs. Percy Smith and
Elsdon Best have taken the matter seriously in hand, that those who
are interested in the history of the Maori people could gratify their
thirst for information.

Briefly, then, we may say that we know something of the history,
songs, and tradition of the Maori, but of their religion next to nothing.
Mr. C. 0. Davis, in one of his pamphlets, says that he learned casually
from a Maori that they recognised the existence of a Supreme Being,
whom they called lo, but that he could learn nothing more than that
bald fact. Now, Mr. Davis was a man very learned in matters Maori,
and it may perhaps be thought that if he did not know, it was only
because there was nothing to be learned. Mr. Davis was, however, the
exponent of a lachrymose species of religion of the miserable sinner
type, and though the Maoris had faith in him politically, as the mouth-
piece of those who initiated the King movement, they none the less
recognised in him the extreme of Christian fanaticism, and would
therefore decline to disclose the secrets of their ancient religion to him.
It may be, of course, that the Maori from whom he derived his
information knew but little more than the name of the deity, and I
have reason for thinking that this may have been the case inasmuch
as they do not at the present day know much of their old superstitions.

62 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

I have asked many men questions about the god lo, and in nearly
every instance the reply was that they knew of this deity by name only,
that he was the greatest of all gods, but they knew no more than that.
I have met only two men who had real knowledge of the Maori god lo,
and it was to one of these that I repeated the remark of Mr. Davis* as
to the existence of lo. He replied . ** Yes, it is tnie, but that name
must not be mentioned in a house ; if we have occasson to speak of lo,
we go away from the dwelling-places of men into the wilderness, where
Nature is sacred and unpolluted.**

Among the old tohuntjaH or priests of the last generation there was
a good deal of traditionary knowledge concerning many things which
have now been lost to the young people. On a certain occasion I
asked a man who was recognised by all as a learned man to tell me
what a marae was, for I believed that on this point my knowledge
would prove superior to his. He replied, as I expected, that it was an
open place in a pa or village, sometimes a platform, from which in
ancient times the chiefs and priests used to address their followers.
When he had finished his explanation, I said : ** To your ancestors the
name implied more than that,* and went on to explain that on some of
the isles of the Pacific there were viarae that were truncated pyramids,
built in steps, platform on platform, and that it was thought that these
structures were^primarily built for religious purposes. He listened very
attentively, and then said: '* All of this has been made known to me
by tradition, and I will prove it by asking you : Why were the marae
built, and why the platforms ? ** I had now to confess my ignorance,
and he then explained that the steps were for the accommodation of
the various ranks of the priesthood — the Tauira above the poople, while
the Pukenga were above both, and above all was the chief priest of the
particular deity to whom the marae was dedicated, who took this
elevated station in order to bring himself into more intimate communi-
cation with those gods who could not approach too near the common
surface of the earth, which was regarded as noa or common by the
Maoris, and therefore the reverse of sacred. In fact, his explanation
showed that they held the same ideas as to the nature of the gods that
we find of old among the Jews, whose high priest deemed it necessary
to go up into the mountains in order to communicate with Jehovah.
My tohunga friend thought that the New Zealand Maoris knew but
little of their ancient religion or of the wisdom of Hawaiki, inasmuch as
of old all knowledge was confined to the higher ranks of the priesthood,
of whom but one (Ngatoro-i-rangi) is known to have come to New
Zealand. There may be something in my friend's view of the case, for
it will be remembered that the Tahitian Tupnea, when on board
Captain Cook's vessel, had a conversation with the Maoris, and
subsequently told the groat navigator that they were a people who knew

MANA TANQATA. 58

but little of their history or religion. The Maori knowledge is, of
course, deficient in the matter of the ancient migrations, but in all of
the ceremonies and forms of his ancient religion he has a knowledge
that the true Polynesian has never acquired. This interesting fact has
not yet been explained, but it may be that these ceremonies, like the
carving and tattooing of the Maoris, is an indigenous growth, though
it is probable that this theory would not be generally accepted. The
only possible solution of the enigma appears to be that the early
migrations found a people in possession, whose weapons, carving,
tattooing, canoos, and even paddles they adopted, for all of these things
are now characteristic of the Polynesian of New Zealand only —
exceedingly symmetrical, and the weapons beautifully balanced,
altogether unlike the heavy, awkward clubs of the Polynesians of the
Pacific.

As I have said, the Maori has a form of invocation, and a ceremony
to provide against all the ills incidental to savage life ; but many of
these rites, though well known to the tohungas, are seldom practised,
and it would seem that certain things cau only be done successfully by
a few of them ; we may therefore assume that great personal mana is
required in such cases. An instance of this description came under my
notice about the year 1872. A girl had quarrelled with her lover, and
as a natural sequence, he had left her and gone to one of the chief
towns of the Colony. After his departure, the young woman regretted
her impetuous behaviour, and wrote to him to return. This he refused
to do, and when his reply reached the girl, she alarmed her relatives by
declaring that she would commit suicide. Here, there was every
chance of a tragedy, for a Maori girl is very unlike her European sister,
inasmuch as she will, as a rule, announce her intention to commit
suicide before she does it. I was therefore somewhat surprised to find
her laughing and talking with her companions shortly after I had heard
all of these things. Probably my face expressed my astonishment, for
she saluted me by saying: ** My husband is returning to me." Naturally
enough, I asked when she had heard from him, and was met with the
reply that she had not heard from him, but that she knew he must
come. This speech was sufficiently curious to cause me to enquire how
she had acquired the conviction that her lover would return, and it
then transpired that her threat that she would destroy herself had so
alarmed her relatives that they had appealed to a tohunga uncle to
exercise his magic powers, and bring back the fugitive.

The nature of the ceremony that was performed I never could
ascertain, either from the girl or her uncle ; but the former told me
that, so far as she was concerned, it was a very serious matter, since
she had now become sacred to this man by the intervention of the gods,
and therefore if at any time she proved unfaithful to him, the penalty

64 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

vould be death. She added that her uncle had duly warned her to
tiia effect, and that she was quite prepared for the consequences.
Strange to say, the recreant lover did return within a month after these
incantations had been performed, and I need hardly say that the
tohunga took the whole credit due to himself ; but he behaved with the
philosophic composure that is characteristic of his profession, and did
not on any occasion express the smallest anxiety or doubt as to the
success of his magic art ; indeed, he regarded the whole affair as
settled and done with. When I subsequently expressed a doubt as to
the vmna of bis gods over any pakeha, he laughed as though he recog-
nised the point, and said : ** Ordinarily they have not, but this is not
ordinary work ; the man will return, and the girl will die. I have
warned her, but I know her character, she will never behave herself.'*
In 1886 I met this same old gentleman, and in course of conversation,
asked him where his niece was. He looked at me queerly for a moment,
and then said : ** She is dead ; you will bear me out that I gave her
due warning."

Many years ago, while stationed in Taupo, I had two places pointed
out to me which would seem to have acquired manay and both of these
were of great interest to my companion, whose ancestors had been
leading actors on the occasion. One of the places to which I refer was
called Te Tapapatanga-a-te-Rangitekahutia, and at that date was a
small conical hillock, barely seven feet in height, and not more than
that diameter at the base, situated only a few feet from the old war
track leading from Runanga to Te Awa-o-te-Atua. From the account
given to me, it would seem that about eight generations previously the
ancestor, whose name has been given to the hillock, found himself
alone in the presence of a hostile war party who were passing down the
valley, but who had not yet observed him, though they were too close
to permit of his escape by flight. Under these circumstances, Rangi-ie
Kahutia called upon his ancestral gods for aid, and threw himself flat
against the hillock, while, scarcely daring to breathe, he saw his foes
file past him almost within touch, in happy ignorance of the valuable
prize that lay almost within their reach. This tale appeared to me to
be slightly improbable, and I hinted as much to my friend, who replied :
**This is a pukepuke ivhai mana'' (hillock possessing mana). To a
Maori this answer would have been conclusive, but at that period of my
life I was too much of a pakeha, and had the bad taste to question the
truth of tales that bordered on the marvellous. In this instance my
disbelief was probably apparent, for Maoris, having carried their lives
in their hands for several generations, are exceedingly observant, and
presently my companion said : " This is a place of many tipiuu
(uncanny things). I will show you a place where the spirit of a man

MANA TANQATA. 65

has existed in the form of a koromiko (veronica) bush for the last five
generations,** and so saying led me to the spot, and there I saw two
large circular depressions in the ground, evidently old ovens, and in
one of them a small shrub, about eighteen inches high, was growing.
'* Here," said my guide, •* the two chiefs, Te Huriwaka and Te
Whakatarewa, were slain, cooked, and eaten by a war party. From
that time the ovens have never filled in, and the koromiko bush has
always been there. It is now in the same condition as when I first saw
it more than forty years ago ; verily, it is the spirit of Te Huriwaka,
and a sign that his mana is still over his land."

Things inanimate may, it would seem, possess quite as much mana
as things animate. I have known at least two weapons that were
almost dangerous to man by reason of the peculiar mana attached to
them, both being the shrine of certain gods. The ** Taiaha-o-Tinatoka,"*
sometimes called " Nga-moko-a-te-Aowehea " is an instance. This
weapon was always consulted by the Ngati-Porou tribe before they
ventured to engage in battle with another tribe, and this fateful
ceremony was held in the presence of all the leading warriors of the
tribe, in order to ascertain their chance of success. If the omens were
favourable, the taiaha would, I am informed, turn itself over as it lay
on the mat, in such a manner as to be seen by all. It was, however,
in single combats that this weapon shone with its greatest lustre, for
then it never failed.

Pahekauri, the famous mere of Te Heuheu, has mana even greater
than that of the taiaha^ inasmuch as it is universally credited with the
power to render itself invisible to anyone but its lawful owner or
guardian for the time being.

A very curious instance of the alleged mana of weapons has been
related in a Maori newspaper. In White's ancient history of the
Maori it will be found recorded that, when the children of Heaven and
Earth (Rangi and Papa) had finally resolved to separate their parents,
one of the axes with which the props were cut, in order to keep them
apart, was called " Te Awhiorangi." It will not be necessary to
expatiate on the antiquity of this weapon, since we find it already in
existence at the beginning of all things — before the earth-born but
god-like inhabitants of this planet had ever seen the light of the sun,
and long before the advent of man. This being a fact proved beyond
all argument, so far as the Maoris are concerned, it will be readily
understood that this axe was and is exceedingly sacred, being, as its
historian relates, left to mankind as a governing power over all the
stone axes of the world.

* Taiaha f a weapon combiuiog the advantages of both spear and quaiterstaff.

66 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

This famous weapon had been handed down from eldest son to
eldest son from the time of Tane, the man-god, to Eakau-Maoiy and
thence through unnumbered generations to Turi, who braved the
dangers of the Sea of Kiwa in his canoe ** Aotea/' and settled at Patea,
on the West coast of the North Island. I need hardly say that he
brought with him the sacred axe, and when he returned to Hawaiki,
gave it to Te Hiko-o-te-Rangi, his eldest sou. The origin of this
weapon is necessarily obscure, but there is a paragraph in the narrative
from which I quote that justifies me in saying that it was not even
wrought by the gods of Maori tradition, but was sought for and found
by Rangi-te-Tipua in the shades among the **Kahui kore,'"^'- and
remained in possessian of the Arild line of the Turi family, down to
the time of Rangitaupea, who lived some seven generations ago.
This old man, when dying, informed his children that he had, in
accordance with Maori custom in such cases, hidden ** Te Awhiorangi"
in a sacred burial ground known as Tieke, and probably gave other
directions to enable them to find it ; but if he did so, they must have
been faulty, for the Nga-Rauru tribe were never able to find the axe, and
from that day to the 10th December, 1887, *' Te Awhiorangi " was lost
to the world. The supposition that the rightful owners of this sacred
heirloom had neglected to search for it cannot be entertained for one
moment, for the mere possession of :3uch a weapon was a sign of mana^
and patent of nobility ; but it may be that the search had not been too
keen or inquisitive, forasmuch as the place where the axe had been
bidden was dangerously sacred, and not lightly to be meddled with.

This long lost weapon has now been found, and in a very carious
manner. On the date I have mentioned a party of Nga-Rauru were in
the neighbourhood of Okotuku engaged in gathering fungus, and among
them a young girl of another tribe, who fortunately had not heard of
Tieke, or this tale had never been told. As the party scattered in
search of the fungus, called hakeke^ the girl Tomairangi took the
direction of Tieke, and there found a tree covered with the growth she
sought. As she stretched forth her hand to grasp the nearest cluster,
a blinding flash of light appeared to issue from the tree. The girl
started back, and then, for the first time, noticed the axe at the foot of
the tree. This sight appeared to alarm her so that she fled screaming
from the spot, and her terror was increased by a sudden and violent
storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, which warned her that she had
in some way offended some potent Maori deity. Scarcely less alarmed
were Tomairangi's friends when they heard her cries ; but among them
was Rangi-Whakairioiio, u tohunga^ who grasped the situation at onoe.
Ua first quietcfl the oleni(3nts by a karakia of great potency, and then

* Spirits of the void.

MANA TAHGATA. 67

asked who had visited the saored place Tieke. Tomairangi asked,
naturally enough, *< What is this Tieke? " and when that matter had
heen explained, and its position in one of the bends of the Waione
creek described to her, she admitted that she had probably been at the
place, and pleaded that, being a stranger, she was ignorant of the
sacred places, that she had seen but one thing which was like unto a
god, and being afraid, had run away, calling for help.

From this speech the tohunga knew that " Te Awhiorangi " had at
last been found, and calling on the party to follow him, proceeded to
the place indicated by Tomairangi, and there they found the axe, and
brougnt it away in triumph. No man doubted, as he gazed upon the
weapon, that this was indeed '* Te Awhiorangi,** the property of their
great ancestor Turi, for they were its natural ciistodiaus, the descendants
of Tu-taugata-kino and Moko-hiku-waru,* and the m^na of the axe
had been made manifest to them. After the tohunga had uttered
many karakias over the long lost weapon, in order that there might be
no danger to the common people while handling it, it was carried to
the village, where it was wept over, as though it had been a long lost
and dear relative. As to the subsequent proceedings, when the leading
descendants of Turi assembled to do honour to the axe, it is perhaps
well that I should not speak, for it may be that the men of the present
day would not believe me : but it is said that when the tohungas, Te
Kapua Tautahi and Tapuhi, led the party into the presence of **Te
Awhiorangi," the sky grew dark, and thunder and lightning burst
forth, and that the elements were only stilled by the magic force of the
two tohungasA

The purport of this article was rnana tangata, that is, the mana of
men ; but rivers, mountains, lakes, and trees may possess mana in a
high degree, and this Maori conception hnds expression in the tribal
pepeha (boasts). That of the Heuheu family of Taupo runs as follows :
*'Tongariro is the mountain, Taupo the lake, and Te Heuheu the
chief.*' At times it seems doubtful whether it is the tribe who own the
mountain or river or whether the latter own the tribe. The mana of
Tongariro is altogether unusual, for a war party crossing the Hangi-po
desert at the base of that mountain, would, in the good old times,
carefully abstain from looking at the summit, and by this caution w ou
avoid the blinding snow storms by which the spirit of the Peak
punished undue curiosity, on that high bleak plateau.

* Two gods of makutu or witchcraft, according to the Taranaki tribes.— Ed.

t See Vol ix, p. 229, for a full account of the finding of this celebrated axe and
with some of the ancient songs connected with it. —Ed.

58 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

There are instances in which trees have heen ohjects of veneration
to the Maoris, not hecause they were trees, hut chiefly for the reason
that they were deemed to he capable of absorbing mana from either
man or weapons. Until quite lately, there was an exceedingly old
totara tree lying in the Manga-o-Rongo stream, at no great distance
from Otorohanga. This tree was a first class tipua of great mana^ and
was known to everyone by the name of Papa-taunaki. The name was
derived from the fact that some thirteen generations ago, one Ruateki,
an ancestor of the Ngati-Maniapoto tribe, while snaring birds, noticed
that there was a nest of young parrots in this tree, and in order to
reach the young birds, used his greenstone axe Papa-taunaki to enlarge
the opening. While so engaged the axe parted from the handle and
was lost forever within the hollow tree. Now this axe, like many
notable weapons of old days, was possessed of great mana, indeed it was
the shrine of a spirit and it would seem that its sacredness must have
been communicated to the tree, which from that time forth was
regarded as an object of veneration. Very gradually the tree fell into
decay, and was at last uprooted by a gale of wind ; but even then it did
not lose its mana, for we are told that about the beginning of last
century, the great warrior Wahanui paid a visit to the fallen monarch,
and addressed it in the following terms. ** So you are the sacred tree
of whom the Ngati-Matakore are so proud ; let us see if your mana be
proof against fire." So saying he lighted a fire on the prostrate trunk.
When the fire had kindled sufficiently to give forth some heat, the huge
log, it is said began to tremble, and finally with one mighty effort
rolled itself into the Manga-o-Rongo stream. Here it lay for nearly
eighty years, until the Native Land Court opened at Otorohanga in
1886, and then Papa-taunaki broke loose from the position it had so
long occupied, and floated some distance down the stream. This
circumstance was noted and referred to by Hauauru, chief of Ngati-
Matakore, in the Court, as an ill omen denoting that the mana of his
tribe was about to pass from them.

As for Wahanui who had committed this wanton outrage on a
sacred tree, his punishment followed quickly, for tipuas — (demons) may
not be injured or insulted with impunity. Up to this period he had
run a long and successful career as a warrior, and though he had on
more than one occasion shown remarkable skill and activity in getting
away from the Whanganui people, yet he had a good reputation as a
fighting man. A man cannot always be brave or successful, but
Wahanui had had his full share of good fortune, and in the opinion of
the best Maori authorities might have died on his bed but for this
freak of childish jealousy against •• Papa-taunaki." As it so happened
he fell in battle against Ngati-Raukawa only a few weeks after the

MAHA TAM6MTM. 59

events mboffe reeorded, lo the gnmi satisfKdoo of the latter who had a
long list of injuries to wipe oat Wahanni was one of those old time
warriors, ccxiceming whom most marrelloas tales are told, but it does
seem to be troe that he was a man of great strength, and that he used
a spear like onto a weavers beam, with which he was wont to spear men
and toss them plajfoll j over his head.

*' Papa-taonaki '* no longer exists as a tree, for >Ir. Edwards of Te
Kiokio has not onlj split his ance^or op and used him for fencing
posts, bnt worse still, has used the chips and splinters for cooking
purposes ; an act of cannibalism which had the effect of relieving him
of the presence of his tribe for many months : thej at any rate could
not tolerate sndi awful impiety.

The most desperate fight of modem days was fought solely to pre-
aure the mama of the A^liaoganni river intact. This battle took place
in 1864, between a party of one hundred and twenty Hauhau fanatics,
belonging to many tribes, on the one side, and one hundred men of
Whanganoi on the other. The battle was, as I have said, fought to
preserve the mana of the river, for there was really no cause of quarrel
between the two parties, who only a short time before had been
amicably fighting side by side against the Europeans at Taranaki.
Moreover, the up river Whanganui men had always been most consistent
in their hostility to us, and would not aUo^ any pakeha to ascend the
river. With a few exceptions they were rabid Eingites, and not at all
disposed to look with favour on the European ; but in one respect they
resembled Mark Twain's hero, Buck Fanshawe. They would have
peace within their boundaries, and to retain that blessing were prepared
to kill half New Zealand.

It was while the Whan<,^anui were in this frame of mind that the
Hauhau — (carrying with them the preserved head of a European soldier
as the shrine of their god) — marched through the forest from Waitotara
to Pipiriki, and appeared suddenly among the Whanganui. Here they
succeeded in converting the most powerful chiefs of the up river
district, viz., Tnroa and Te Kaioroto, and elated by this success, sent
messengers to Ngati-Hau, who lived about ten miles from them,
ordering them to prepare to receive the Hauhau religion, preparatory
to an attack on the town of Whanganui. The covert menace con-
tained in this message deeply offended the Ngati-Hau. But they
returned no answer, for they were by no means certain that the enemy
bad not told the truth when they claimed to be invulnerable to shot or
steel. Being in this condition of uncertainty they made uo reply to
the messenger other than that they would consider their position, and
having thus rid themselves of the Hauhau envoy, they left their pa
and fell back on the Ngati-Buaka tribe of Banana. To this place they
were shortly followed by the Hauhaus, who camped at Tawhitinui on

eo JOURHAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

the opposite bank of the river, and again sent messengers to the two
hupus (sub-tribe), but on this occasion the message was couched in
much milder terms, for they merely requested to be allowed to pass
down the river, in order to attack the town of Whanganui. This
request was sternly refused, and the Hauhaus were told that no alien
war party had ever broken the maiia of the great river nor would ever
be allowed to do so. The reply was short and to the point, to the
effect that they would clear a passage for themselves.

The challenge was joyfully accepted, and Te Aoterangi, Tamehana,
and other leading chiefs of Ngati-Hau, called on their foes to meet them
on the island of Moutoa, in mid channel between the two parties.
The preliminaries were settled that evening, the Whanganuis as owners
of the soil were to occupy the island diuring the night with one hundred
men only, thus leaving most of their warriors as mere spectators, the
Hauhaus were to attack at grey dawn, and were to be allowed to dis-
embark from their canoes before the hring commenced. This chivalrous
but astute arrangement was approved by both parties, by the Hauhaus
because it seemed all in their favour, and by Ngati-Hau because they
had enormously increased the mana of their tribe by the arrangement
that 100 men should fight tbe 120. In my ** Reminiscences of the
War in New Zealand " I have given a brief sketch of this most
desperate fight, and therefore I need only say that within fifteen
minutes of the firing of the first shot three-fourths of the Hauhaus
were dead and some sixty of Ngati-Hau either dead or wounded, but in
either case perfectly happy, for the mana of the tribe and river had
been preserved.

No better instance of tribal mana can be adduced than that which
occurred at Patea on the South side of Ruapehu. An important meet-
ing had been convened at that place, by the tribes of the district, in
order to settle certain boundaries that had long been in dispute, and
which if undefined were likely to cause trouble in the near future. As
usual in such cases the arguments were not only forcible, but very
much to the point. One chief maintained that his title was without
flaw, inasmuch as an ancestor of his when injured in certain domestio
relations by an ancestor of bis opponents had not only slain the
offender, but had also made a binl cage of his ribs and backbone and
therein had kept a tame parrot as a sign of his mana^ and had more-
over set up this very cage on the land in dispute, and that these terriUe
insults had never been avenged. He further stated that if the meeting
wanted further proof that he would produce it in the form of a mesaage
from the other world, that it was known to all that the gods themselves
recognised the maua of his tribe, forasmuch as whenever they moved
out of their village in a body, whether for peace or war, they

MANA TANQATA. 61

invariably greeted by thunder from the direction of Bangipo. Further-
more he expressed himself willing to abide by this test ; he and his
people would ride in the direction of Rangipo, and if they were not
greeted with the thunder aforesaid, they would surrender their claim to
the land, he challenged the opposition to ride with him, and pledged
himself that if they had any doubts as to his mana the thunder would
soon remove them.

To refuse such a test would have been a confession of the weakness
of their case ; so horses were saddled and the party were ready to set
out, when suddenly the clouds — that had been gathering all the morn-
ing — broke with a loud peel of thunder, and one of those violent storms
so common on this high plateau drove the disputants back to their tents
and whares. When the storm had passed away, the chief again
addressed the assembled tribes and asked if there was anyone so
obstiuate as to deny his mana in that district. To this there was no
reply, for no one was so bold as to deny a mana that had been already
acknowledged by the powers of the outer world.

A tribe may lose its mana in a very simple manner, or it may believe
that it has lost it, and this I submit will amount to the same thing.
Such was the position of the very noble tribe of Ngati-Raukawa, who,
up to the date of the death of their renowned chief Hape, had held
their own against all comers, but had subsequently been driven from
their ancient home at Maungatautari, and were forced to take refuge
with Te Rauparaha at Otaki. These misfortunes have been ascribed to
the fact that the burial place of the great Hape had been disclosed to
his Waikato relatives, who had thereby been enabled to perform a
ceremony that ought properly to have been done by his own tribe.
This was a terrible blow to Ngati-Raukawa, and for the time being
deprived them of the mana that was essential to their very existence,
and as a natural sequence caused all their subsequent misfortunes,
commencing with the battle of Hurimoana and ending with Omakukara,
and Roto-a-Tara, where the Nga-Puhi and Kahungunu tribes, under
Te Wera and Pareihe, avenged their ancient injuries and defeats at the
hands of Ngati-Raukawa.

As a tribe may lose its mana so also may individuals, and this
position may be brought aboiit in many ways. For instance, we are
apt to regard forbearance as a virtue, but the Maori makes no such
mistake, for he knows full well that in no possible way can mana be
more easily lost ; even the little Englander would seem to have a dim
conception of the truth of this fact. The Maori regards forbearance as
mere weakness of character, and in illustration of this statement I will
quote an East coast tradition.

Some thirteen generations past and gone, the chief Eapi-horo-maunga
was the sole owner of a rock known as Toka-mapuhia, the chief value
of which was that it stood in fairly deep water, and was a convenient

62 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

place whereon to stand and catch the fish called kahawai. Now this
rock was also coverted by his younger brother Tautini, and he in order
to establish a right over the rock, took possession of it early one
morning and began to catch fish. While thus engaged he was observed
by his brother Kapi, who did not at once recognise the intrader, but
none the less resolved to kill him whoever he might prove to be. On
his way to carry out this very proper resolution he met one of his
followers, and asked who it was that dared to fish from the flat surface
of Toka-mapuhia. The man replied, ** It is your brother Tautini."
Then Kapi hesitated, for like all weak men he began to conjure up
possibilities, and it occurred to him that perhaps their father Eahu-kura-
nui has instigated Tautini to take this action in order to deprive Kapi
of his mana. With this doubt in his mind he went to the old man and
ask him whether he had urged his brother to sieze the rock. The reply
he received was hardly satisfactory, but it was at least characteristic of
the Maori. '* As you have not killed your brother, and avenged his
trespass and insult, you had better remain here and grow food for
him !" Such indeed was the result of Kapi's forbearance, for from that
time forth Tautini took the position of elder brother, and governed the
tribe, the elder brother having shown that ho lacked the decision of
character, which would alone enable the tribe to hold its own in
troublous times. His duty was quite clear, he should have killed his
brother first, and asked his father for information afterwards.

Mana plays a leading part in the ability of a leader, or successes in
war of celebrated warriors. When a man frequently undertakes daring
deeds, which ought under ordinary circumstances to fail, but none the
less prove successful, he is said to possess maua^ and thereafter is
regarded as one peculiarly favoured by the gods, and in such cases it is
held that he can only be overcome by some iict or default ; such as a
disregard or neglect of some religious or warlike observance, which has
been shown by experience to be essential to success in war ; but which
our warrior spoiled by a loug career of good fortune, had come to
regard as necessary to ordinary mortals only and of but little conse*
quence to men of mmm.

Such a man was Te Mau-paraoa, of Te Wairoa, H.B., who by his
courage and ability raised himself from an obscure position (it is said
that of a slave) to be the fighting chief of the Nga-Puhi confederation
under Pomare and Kawiti. So great was the mana of this man that he
succeeded in escaping from the disaster of Te Rore, where Pomare and
COO men fell under the spears of the Thames and Lower Waikato
people. It would be wearisome to relate all of the feats of arms per-
forme.i by this famous warrior, but his last escapade is too characteristic
of the Maori not to be recorded.

MAN A TANG ATA. 68

When the teaching of the early Missionaries bad so far affected the
Maoris as to render them averse to the conditions of perpetual war to
which they had been accustomed for more than fifty years, Pomare
emancipated the slaves that he bad taken from the tribes of the East
Coast, and gave them permission to return to their homes under the
leadership of Te Mau-paraoa. The party numbering in all about 180
set out in 5\e canoes, and en route called at the (Ireat liarrier island
where they were kindly received. The instinct for rapine and plunder
was however too strong in these ex-slaves to permit of good behaviour
on their part ; they were unable to divest themselves of the idea that
they were members of a Nga-Puhi war party, to whom nothing was
sacred. For this reason they failed to reciprocate the courtesy of their
hosts, and not only appropriated all the portable property on which
they could lay hands, but also began to dig the kumara crop. This was
more than the descendants of Maru-tuahu could put up with, and a
messenger was sent to the mainland of Coromandel to warn Te Hoieta
Te Taniwha that his people were being trampled on by Ngati-Kahu-
ngunu. The chief responded promptly and had landed on the island
with all of his warriors before Mau-paraoa even knew that he had been
summoned. There was now no course open to these wanderers but to
fight, and they were not backward in accepting the position ; not that
they were of a very warlike tribe, for that reputation they have never
had, but they trusted implicitly to the undoubted mana of their leader,
even when pitted against the famous Horeta alias Hook- nose.

The battle was long and for some time doubtful, but in the end the
numbers of Ngati-Maru prevailed, and Te Mau-poraoa retired uncon-
quered and unpursued to the shelter of the forest, but with only fifteen
survivors of his onco powerful war party. His canoes had become the
spoils of the victors, and escape seemed impossible ; but during the
night these indomitable men managed to construct what are known as
moklhi, viz., cigar-shaped rafts of rushes, flax stalks, and drift wood,
and on these frail structures crossed the twenty miles of sea dividing
the Great from the Little Barrier island, where they managed to exist
until a passing whaler rescued and carried them back to the Bay of
Islands. Of those who escaped Tutangawaka of Te Whanau-a-Rua
was alive in 1894.

It would occasionally happen that a great toa or undeniably brave
man would be smitten by fear when on the point of engaging in battle,
or worse still when actually engaged. This condition of mind is known
by the name of hauhau aitu^ and according to the description given to
me by old warriors, the afflicted one would grow cold, tremble like a
leaf, and become partly blind. On such occasions the cure was simple,
for the malady was caused by the fact that the sufferer had in some
way assumed the mana of the eldest born or Arifci of his family. This

64 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

being so he could only recover by submitting himself to that Ariki, and
therefore the AHki would cause the afflicted one to crawl betwe<jn his
legs, and by this simple expedient would revive the courage of his
trembling clansman. The principal recognised in such cases was, that
it required an act of subordination to the Ariki to revive a courage
derived entirely from the wana of that man and his gods, the courage
having first been lost by some act of bumptiousness on the part of the
inferior.

Before proceeding on a warlike expedition, all of the great fighting
men of the tribe were required to squat down in line, while their Ariki
would pass them in succession between his legs, in order to ward oflf all
possible misfortune from these valuable men. An absolute loss of mana
was the result of an inferior stepping over a superior while the latter
slept ; I need hardly say that no such action could have taken place had
the superior, or in other words the elder branch of the family, been
awake. On one occasion only was that great tohumja of the Arawa
tribe — Te Unuaho — known to fail when calling on the powers of dark-
ness to aid him, and that occasion was when the Nga-Puhi, armed with
guns, crossed the Rotorua lake and captured Mokoia, slaying many
hundreds of the garrison, and carrying as many more away as captives.
Te Unuaho had assured his tribe, that canoes or no canoes, he could
prevent the Nga-Puhi from crossing, and it was this assurance that had
prevented the tribe from migrating for a time to the mountains of the
Urewera country. At the critical moment, when the enemy were seen
in their war canoes advancing against Mokoia, Te Unuaho was called
upon to perform his promise, that is, raise a storm and swamp the
hostile canoes. The tohuwja did Lis best, using every form of karakia
known to hmi. Once or twice the waters rose, and it seemed that he
was about to succeed in his undertaking, but after a little the waves
fell and a dead calm prevailed so that men thought that the water
•spirits of Kotorua had joined the cause of Nga-Puhi in order to destroy
their own people. The Arawa claim to have discovered the true reason
of this disastrous failure ; namely, that on the night before the attack,
a son of Te Unuaho having occassion to leave the nhare in which his
father slept, had thoughtlessly stepped over the sacre<l man, and by so
doing had for the time being deprived him of the watm, which might
otherwise have saved the tribe.

Such is the tale told and believed by the Awara, but the Nga-Puhi
version of this affair diflers materially from that of their foes. They
contend that the whole thing had resolve* I itself into a trial of strength
between rival tohmujas. That ihtMr man, Kniteke, had forscen and
provided against the contingency of destruction at the hands of Te
Unuaho's storm fiends ; and therefore il was that while his friends
were crossmg the lake, Kaiteke sat on the shore and used every art and

MAHA TANGATA. 65

karakia known to him to still the waters, and when he found that the
spells of Te Unuaho were too powerful and that the waves hej^an to
rise in spite of him; he, as a last resource, placed the bones of a
celebrated wizard ancestor — brought with him for that purpose — in the
water, and from that time the invocations of his rival had no mana.

There is a Maori proverb to the effect that women and land have
caused all the wars that devastated New Zealand before the arrival of
the colonising pakeha, and both may have been important factors
therein, but they were by no means the only source of trouble. To me
it would seem that the chief element of discord was the maiia of their
leading chiefs. No man could be more exacting than a chief of wanUf
and the smallest breach of etiquette, whether intentional or not, was
brooded over and sooner or later avenged by some act of violence or
insult to the offender, which would in Maori opinion wipe out the
original insult. Any man who by design or mere thoughtlessness
failed to obey the somewhat exacting code of Maori etiquette, would
not only cause bloodshed, but might cause the utter destruction of one
of the tribes.

As a minor instance of the touchiness of chiefs, I may quote the
behaviour of old Taipari of the Thames towards a visitor. In a
previous paper I have mentioned the dislike that any Maori has to be
asked his name, and that this dislike was the result of a feeling that
people should recognise a great chief without asking his name. On the
occasion in question, a chief of the East Coast happened to be at
Hauraki and as befitted him called upon Taipari, who was personally
unknown to him. He found the old man sitting outside his whare, but
not knowing who he was, asked, ** Where is Taipari ?" The old chief
was annoyed at not being known, and perhaps at the abruptness of the
question, and instantly indicated his slave Netana who was sitting a
short distance from them, and said "He is there." Consequent on
this direction our chief went up to Netana with much ceremony,
rubbed noses, and then entered into amicable conversation with the
much puzzled old slave. When the real Taipari thought that his
malicious joke had gone far enough, he ended the comedy by calling
out, ** Netana, let food be prepared for my guest." The visitor thus
rudely awakened to a sense of his ridiculous position, made the best of
his awkward mistake, for he knew that he had not used the caution
required in such cases ; but had this little episode only occurred previous
to the year 1840, the Ngati-Maru would have anticipated the result of
the joke by repairing their pa,

A serious case of insulted mana occured about five generations ago
in the person of Te Tuhi, brother to that Te Tuata who was the father
of Potatau, the first Maori king. Te Tuhi was by virtue of his birth a

B6 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

chief in many tribes, and as such could visit his relatives whenever the
spirit moved him to do so. On one of these occasions while en route to
Hauraki, he halted at a small outlying yw of the Ngati-Paoa tribe
which had been built to protect a very celebrated eel weir (Tarahearoa)
on one of the outlets of the great Paranui swamp, and one of the
principal sources of the food of that district.

Te Tuhi was treated with true Maori hospitality, and regaled with
the eels for which the place was so justly celebrated. So far the local
chief had acquitted himself creditably, but Te Tuhi noticed that the
people of the place had a very large store of dried eels, and conBcioas of
his rank he waited expecting Kaiiri to pay him the compliment of
calling out his name and placing the dried eels at his disposal ; for it
was usual that when a great chief travelled, complimentary presents
should be made to him. Such presents were not necessarily taken
away, but in this instance the gift was not made, and the neglect was
intentional, for Te Tuhi like all of his family, did not bear the best
possible reputation, and Eaiiri feared to pay him the usual compliment
lest he should take advantage thereof to found a claim on Paranui.

Burning with anger Te Tuhi went on his way to Hauraki, and there
related to the Uringahu tribe the treatment he had received. He said
** Kill me these Pitoitoi (small birds) at Paranui." Nothing loath to
kill their friends, the Uringahu sent a small war party of forty men by
way of the Piako river, and, as by this route they had to pass many
pas of the Ngati-Paoa tribe who would have turned them hack had
they but known their errand, the war party took the precaution to cover
up most of their men with the fronds of the Nikau palm and plumes of
the toetoc whenever they approached a pa. In answering questions as
to their business the few men who appeared to paddle the canoe said
they were taking mataiud (fish, etc.) to Te Tuhi. The ruse succeeded
admirably. The forty men landed at Tahuna-tapu, and the canoes
returned to Hauraki. ^leaiiwhiie the people of the Tarahearoa pa,
having no reason to anticipate an attack from the Piako side, were
easily surprised and the pa taken. Kaiiri escaped, but his sister,
Paratore, and many men of Ngati-Ringatahi were slain, and the women
and children carried off as slaves and kept at the Great Barrier Island,
where thoy were unable to communicate the news of this treacherous
attack to their friends. For this reason the Ngati-Paoa were unable to
ascertain who it was that had dealt them this blow in the dark;
naturally enough Waikato were blamed for it, with the result that from
that time forward the two tribes never met without fighting, and the
feud only ended after the great buttle of Taunuita-wiwi, shortly before
the arrival of the first European settlers.

TE HEKENGA A KAHU-HUNU.

Na PaNGO-TE-WHARE-AUAHI I TUHITUHI.

T£ putake i heke ai a Eahu-huna ki te tai ki runga, i mahuetia iho
ai a Te Manga-tawa pa i Tauranga, he tukunga no ta ratou
kapenga-ika i te one i Otira. Eaore ano te konae o te ktipenga
i u tnai ki uta, kua rere a Eahu-hunu ki to whawhao ika mana — ara, ki
te mum. Ea kitea atu e tona tuakana, e Whaene, kua riro i aia te ika,
ka riri tt Whaene, katahi ka hopu ki te ika ka whiua atu ki te matenga o
Eahu-hunu ; karohia atu e ia, ka taha.

Heoi, ka pouri a Eahu-hunu ki te rawaki a tona tuakana ko tona
haerenga tera, noho rawa atu i 0-potiki — i roira hoki te tuahine— a
Haumanga — e noho ana raua ko tana tane, ko Tuna-nui — te rua o ona
ingoa ko Harua-tai.

Ea tae a Eahu-hunu ki reira, ka tangi raua ko te tuahine me te
taokete. Ka mutu te tangi, i te ahiahi ka ui mai te taokete— a Harua-
tai— ki a ia, '* He aha te putake o tenei haere au?'* Ka mea atu a
Kahu-hunu, ** He mate noku i to tana hoa, i a Whaene." Ka mutu
tona korero i nga take i heke atu ai ia, katahi ka mea mai te taokete ki
a ia, **A! e pehea ana to whakaaro ?" Ka mea atu ia, "Taku
whakaaro, me haere taua ki te wbawhai." Whakaae ana a Harua-tai ;
haere ana raua me to raua iwi ki te whawhai, ka hinga ta raua pare-
kura, ko Te Awhenga te ingoa. Ka riro herehere mai a Ahu-kawa i a
raua, ka hoki ki 0-potiki.

Te tamaiti a Haumanga raua ko Tuna-nui i rokohina atu ai e
Kahu-hunu e noho ana, ko Tu-tamure. Ka mutu teuei riri katahi a
Kahu-hunu ka heke, a, noho rawa atu i Whangara, ka moe i nga
wahine o tera kainga, a ka korero kino ratou ki a ia. Ka haere te rongo
o tenei korero, ka tae ki a Rua-here-tai i Turanga, katahi ka whaka-
tauki mai tera wahine — a Rua-here-tai — koia tenei ; " Na te mea ra e
aki ana ki runga ki tai o Maihi-rangi, ka taka mai ia ki roto ki te awa i
Takapouri, pokopoko noa tona hanga na." Ka haere te rongo o tenei
korero ka tae ki a Kahu-hunu i Whangara, ka taki id) ka haere mai ki

68 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Tnranga, ka kite i a Raa-here-tai, ka moea e Eahu-hunn hei wahine
mana. Ea hapu te wahine ra — a Rua-here-tai — katahi ka hiakai ki te
mann. Katahi te tangata ra ka haere ki te kimi manu hei whakawaiu-
tanga mo tana tamaiti. Ea tae ki te ngaherehere ka kitea e ia te nia
pi Tieke, i roto i te puta rakau, katahi ka taria e ia nga pi Tieke, man
katoa, ka haria mai ki te kainga, ka tunua ma tana wahine. Katahi
ka ngata te hiakai manu o te wahine ra. Kihai i roa kua whanan te
tamaiti a te wahine ra, he wahine ; tapa tonutia atu te ingoa, ko Bua-
here-tieki — ko nga manu tonu i whakawaiutia raia.

Ka mahue tenei wahine, ka taki te tangata, ka haere ; noho rawa
atu i Whare-ongaonga. Ka kitea e tera wahine, e Hine-puariari, ka
moea e Kahu-hunu. No to raua moenga ka puta tenei whakatauki a
Hine-puariari, koia tenei : *^ Taku he ki te hua-tea, no muri au i kite
ai i te hua-uri." Kei te paua te kupu a te wahine ra e mau ana ; koia
nei te whakamaramatanga o enci kupu, kei te paua, te hua-tea ko te
hua ma ; te hua-uri ko te hua pangopango.

Ka mahue tenei wahine, katahi ka haere, noho rawa atu i T^wa-pata
i Nuku-taurua. Ka kite ia i a Tama- taku- tai raua ko tona wi^ine, ko
Bongo-mai-wahine i reira e noho ana. Te mahi a Tama-taku-tai he
whakakairo. Ka kite te tangata ra i te pai o te wahine ra, o Bongo-
mai-wahine, katahi ka mea atu ki tona iwi, '^ Te whanau E ! he mahi
kai te taonga. Tatou ka piki ki te ngaherehere ki te kari arohe ma
tatou." Whakaae ana te nuinga, katahi ka piki ki te ngaherehere.
Tae atu, e keri ana ; ka pae te aruhe, ka mea atu te tangata ra,
'* Tikina he aka, kumekumea mai hei te aka-turihunga." Ka mahia
mai nga aka, ka pae, ka homai ki te tangata ra ; katahi ka whakatako-
toria nga rona. Ka rite, katahi ka rukea te aruhe ki runga, ka nui.
Ka mea atu tenei tangata, '^Kati kua nui; ma ia tangata, ma ia
tangata, o ana e hari, o ana e hari." Kaoro a Kahu-hunu i whakaae.
Ka ki te rona, katahi ka kumea nga rona, ka niau ; ka whakatakotoria
nga kawe, katahi ka hurihia te tirakaraka ki runga i nga kawe, katahi
ka herea nga kawe ka mau. Ka noho te tangata m ki raro, ka pata
nga pokohiwi i nga kawe, katahi ka whakaarahia ki runga, ka wahS e
Kahu-hunu. Ka tae ki te taumata, ka waiho ki raro tu ai ; ka roa ka
hurihia kia taka i te pari. I runga ano e taka ana, e motumotuhia ana
nga aka herehere. Tana horonga o te aruhe, pae rawa atu i te whati-
toka o tc whare o tena, o tcna. Ka rou^o atu tc tangata ra, i te kuia,
i te wahine, e mea ana, '' E ! te hunaonga ma Uitou, E ! tenei ko
tenei tangata mangere, he whakairo anake tana i mohio ai."

Ka mutu tena mahi a te tangata ra, i te awatea ka noho i runga i
ce taumata ka titiro ki te moana, ka kite i te kawau, manu nei, e
rukuruku ana. Katahi to tangatt^ ra ka pepepope, pepepepe tahi,
pepepepe rua, pepepepe torn tae noa ki tc warn, heoi, ka haere tona
tona manawa. Ea te kau noa ake nga pueatanga o te kawau ra, katahi

TE HEKENGA A KAHU-HUNU. 69

te tangata ra ka mea he roa ke atu tona manawa i to te manu ra.
Katahi ka mea atu ki tona iwi, " Te whanau E I haere ki te tiki ti.'*
Ea haere tona iwi ki te tiki ti (ara, whauake, te rua o ona ingoa). Ea
mahia mai, ka pae. Ea mea atu te tangata ra, '^ Whiria, kia matariki
marie te whiri." Heoi ka whiria, ka pae ; ka mea atu te tangata ra
*' Taia he kawhiu (ara he heki)." Ea taia, ka oti, ka whiria te taura,
e hia ranei kumi te roa. Ea mea atu te tangata ra, *' Apopo i te ata,
me haere katoa tatou ki te one noho ai."

I te ata ka haere katoa ratou ki te one noho ai, te taenga atu, ka
mea atu a Eahu-hunu, '^ Hei konei koutou noho ai, ko au e kau atu ki
te toka e mapuhia mai ra i te moana. Ei te kumekume au i te taura
nei, kua ki te mea nei i te paua, kumea e koutou/' Ea mutu nga
tohutohu a te tangata ra, katahi ia ka kau, ka tae ki te toka ra, ka ruku
te tangata ra, ka ripi i te paua, ka ki te kawhiu, katahi ka kumekumea
e te tangata ra te taura ka kumea e tona iwi te kawhiu ra. Ea u ki uta
ka tahuri te tangata ra ki te whakapiripiri i te paua ki a ia. Ea
mutu katahi ka kau mai ki uta, ki te tunga o te tangata i te taha o te
ahi. Tana horonga o te paua ki raro, ka kohia e tena iwi, e tena iwi.
Ea mutu, katahi ka haria te kawhiu ra ki te kainga ka tukua ki te
tangata whenua. Ea rongo atu a Eahu-hunu ki te kuia, ki te wahine,
e mea ana, ''E ! te hunaonga ma tatou! Tena ko tenei tangata, he
whakairo anake tana e mohio ai, ko te mahi kai mo tona puku, te
pahure, te aha !" Ea mea atu te tangata ra ki tona iwi, *' Ei te kai
koutou, ko nga hua katoa maku — ko nga paua ma koutou."

I te ahiahi ka kai te iwi ra, ko nga hua katoa ma Eahu-hunu. I te
po ko Eahu-hunu ki te kopa-iti o te whare, ko Tama-taku-tai raua ko
Rongo-mai-wahine ki raro i te pihanga ; kua rongo atu a Eahu-hunu
kna hihi nga ihu o era, ka rero atu te tangata ra kei te hura atu i nga
pueru, katahi ka putihitia atu ki roto ki nga pueru o te wahine raua ko
te tane. Ea rongo te wahine ra i te haunga, ka maranga ki runga
kohete ai. Eo ana kupu kohete enei : *' Eo te mangere o tenei tangata
ki te mahi kai mana, ko te kaha o te kaki ki te kai !" Ea mea atu te
tane, ** E hara i a au, E mea ! nau ano !" Penei tonu ta raua mahi
a, ao noa te ra.

I te awatea ka noho te tangata ra i te taumata ; ka kaha te ra ka
pa ie tokerau (te rua o ona ingoa, o terahau, he muri). Eihai i roa kua
eke a Tama-taku-tai ki runga i te waka, e hoe ana i te whakahekeheke
i runga i te tai, ara, ki te whakapupungaru. Tuarua ki waho, ka rere atu
a Eahu-hunu ki te tauranga ; ka u mai te waka o te tangata ra, ka mea
atu a Eahu-hunu, '' Eo taua tahi ki runga ki to waka." Ea whakaae
mai ana a Tama-taku-tai, ka eke raua ki runga ki to raua waka — ko
Eahu-hunu ki te ihu, ko Tama-taku-tai ki te kei. Tuarua ki waho, ka
mea atu a Eahu-hunu, '* Eo au hoki ki te kei." Ae mai ana a Tama-
taku-tai, ka riro ko Eahu-hunu ki te kei. Ea hoe raua ki waho, ka kite

70 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAK SOCIETY.

a Tama-taku-tai i te tai nui (? ngaru nui) ka mea atu, ** E Tama E !
He tai nui tenei I" Ka mea atu a Eahn-hunu, ** E hara tenei i te tai
nui." A, ka tukua to raua waka kia rere i runga i te tai, ka a ki uta.
£a hoki ano ki waho ; ka kite ano tetehi i te tai nui, ka mea atu, '* E
Tama ! he tai nui tenei 1" £a mea atu tetehi, << E hara tenei i te tai
nui." Kihai i roa kua puta mai te tai nui, katahi ka tukua to raua
waka, unuhia ana e Kahu-hunu te hoe urunga, tahuri ana to raua
waka, ka totohu tetehi, mate atu ana a Tama-taku-tai — he rapu hoki ki
te kaukau.

Heoi, ka mate a Tama-taku-tai, ka moea a Bongo-mai-wahine e
Kahu-hunu. Ka roa raua e moe ana ka mea atu a Kahu-hunu, *' Taua
ka haere ki te wai ki te heru i a au." Haere ana raua, ka tae ki te
wai e heru ana te wahine ra i te tane. Ka matara te mahunga ka maa
ki nga koromutu hinu e popo ana. Ka mutu, ka mea atu te tangata
ra, ^'Koukoutia toku mahunga." Katahi te wahine ra ka man ki
te harakeke — o tera kainga ano — katahi ka herea, ka kumea, ka motu.
Ka herea ano, ka kumea ano, ka motu. Katahi te tangata ra ka mea
atu ki te wahine, ** Homai taku tatua." Ka homai e te wahine te
tatua-pupara. o to tangata ra, ka tangohia ake te harakeke i roto — ^no
Kawhai-nui hoki, i Kaituna, Maketu. Ka tukua ki te wai ka ngawhari,
katahi ka hoatu ki te wahine ra, katahi ka herea ki te mahunga o te
tangata ra, ka mau. Katahi ano te tangata ra ka maranga ki ronga tu
ai, ka titiro whakraro ki te aorere i te wa ki tona matua, katahi ano ka
whakatauki, koia tenei : *' Tenei te putiki wharanui o Tamatea i mahue
atu ra i Taurauga.'' Katahi ano te iwi ra ka mohio ko te potiki tenei
a Tamatea, ko Kahu-hunu.

Na 1 ka tuturu ta raua moe ko Rongomai -wahine ; kihai i roa koa
hapu te \vahine. Ka haore te rongo o te haputanga o te wahine ra, ka
tao ki a Tamatea i Tauraiiga ; katahi te tangata ra ka whakaemi i te
kakahu hei hacrenga iiiona ki te wbakataki i tona potiki, i a Kahu-
hunu. Ka pau nga taonf>;a te einiemi katahi ano a Tamatea ka haere,
ka tae ki 0- potiki ka ahu ma roto o te awa o Wai-o-cka ; ka tae ki
waenganui o taua awa ka \Yaiho i reira tona manu, he karoro taua
manu — kua kohatutia taua niauu i naiauei, e noho mai nei i reira.
Katahi te tangata ra ka haero ka t^ie ki Moumou-kai ; te taenga atu ki
reira kua tae niai tc ron<^'o o te tamaiti ra kua whanau, he wahine. Ka
pouri a Tamatea; ka ^Yhakarel'oa noatia iho nga taonga ra ki reira, ka
ahu ia ki Te Wairoa, a Mohaka, a \\ hanganui-a-Rotu. Ka tae te rongo
() tc riringa o Tamatea ki a Kahu-hunu i Tawapata, me te rauiritanga
noatanga iho o nga taonga o tona matua, ka tapa e Kahu-hunu hei
ingoa nio tona potiki, ko iiiiie-rnuiri. Kaorc i tu te whare-kohanga mo
tenei tanuiiti - no muii i tenei, i a Kahu-kura-nui, katahi ano ka tu te
whare kohan«ca.

T£ HmHGA A KAHUHUNU. 71

Kp nga tamariki a Eahu-hunu raua ko Bongomai-wahine i muri,

ko Rongo-mai-papa, ko Tamatea-kota, ko Tamatea-kuku ko

Tamatea torohanga, ko Weka-nui, ko Taubei-kuri — ka mutu.
Te wahine tuatahi a Kahu-kura-nui ko Rua-tapu-wahine ; a raua

tamariki enei : Ko Rongo-mai-tara {he wahine) , ko Rakai-

hiku-roa {he tane), ko Rakai-nui {he tane),
Te wahine tuarua a Kahu-kura-nui, ko Tu-te-ihonga ; a raua tama-
riki, ko Hine-manuhiri {he wahine), ko Rakai-paka {he tane).
Ko Rakai-hiku-roa, tana wahine tuatahi, ko Papa-uma; a raua

tamariki, ko Hine-pane (u?), Taraia (e), Tawhao (e), Rangi-

tawhao (t).
Ko Rakai-hiku-roa, tana wahine tuarua, ko Rua-rau-hanga ; ta raua

tamaiti, ko Tu-purupuru.
Ko Rongo-mai-tara, tana tane ko Kahu-tapere-a-whatonga ; a raua

tamariki enei : ko Tara-ki-utu (t), ko Tara-ki-tai (t), he

mahanga raua.
Ko Rongo-mai-tara, tana tane tuarua, ko Haere-a-tautu, ta raua

tamaiti ko Te Ao-nui.
Ko Rakai-nui, tana wahine ko Pou-whare-kura ; ta raua tamaiti ko

Te Rua-tapui.
Ko Hine-manuhiri, tana tane ko Pu-karu ; puta mai a raua tamariki

ko Tama-te-rangi (t), ko Makono (t), ko Hinganga (t), ko Pare-

roa (<), ko Pupuni (t).
Ko Rakai-paka, ka moe i a Turu-makina, kia puta ki waho, ko

Whakapirikura (he wahine, kaore i tu te whare-kohanga) ko

Kau-kohea {t) (ka tu te whare) ko Rakai-raumea {w), ko Mahaki-

pare (m), ko Maro-tauia (ir), ko Ure-wera (/), ko Pokia (e), ko

Puke (t), ko Rawaru (t).
Ko Rongomai-papa, tana tane tuatahi, ko Rua-pani, kia puta ko

Tu-maroro (t), Rua-rau-hanga (w), Rua-tapu-nui (e), me etehi

atu.
Ko Rongomai-papa, tana tane tuarua, ko Tuhou-rangi ; kia puta ko

Manu-hanga-roa (tr), Te Ao-wheoro (it'), Rangi-whakairi-ao [t)

ko Hapu-riri (u'), ko Ue-nuku-kopako (t).

Ko Maunoa-a-kahia.

I te mea kua koroheketia a Kahu-hunu, kua pakeke katoa ana
tamariki — a Kahu-kura-nui, ratou ko ona tenia, tuahine hoki — ka
mahia to ratou pa, te ingoa, ko Maunga-a-kahia — kei Kahu-tara i Nuku-
taurua taua pa e tu aua.

Na 1 i te wa i wehe ai a Kahu-hunu raua ko Tuna-nui, ko Tuna-nui
he rangatira whakahaere taua. Tona mahi he haere ki te whawhai ki
etehi iwi. Na, i te wa ka haere ia ki era atu wahi ka mahue iho tana
wahine, a Houmanga raua ko tona mokai, ko Ahu-kawa i te pa. Te
moenga o te mokai nei i te kopaiti o te whare, ko Houmangn ki te taha

72 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN 800107.

i te pihanga. Heoi, i tetehi po, kna he te wahine nd ki tans mokai.
Da te wahine ano te hiahia. Ko ta raua mahi tena a tae noa ki te wa i
hoki mai ai a Tuna-nui.

I te taeDga mai o te tangata ra, o Tuna-nni (te roa nei o ona ingoa
ko Hama-tai) i te ahiahi, ka moe raua ko Houmanga, ka awLi atu te
tangata ra ki te wahine ra, ka mea mea te wahine, *' E mate aiia ahau."
Ka ni atu te tane, '' He aha to mate ?*' Ea mea mai te wahine ra,
'' He tamaiti taku mate/' Ka ui atu te tangata la, " Kawxu ?'* Ea
tatau atu ki nga rangatira i mahue iho hei tiaki i te pa. Poto noa te
tatau. kaore ra te wahiue i whakaae. Katahi te tangata la ka mea atu,
•* Na ta taua mokai tonu ?*' Ka mea mai te wahine ra ** Ae !" Ka
mea atu te tangata ra, <' Nau ? Nana ranei ?** Ka mea atu te wahine
ra, '< Naku ! He mate noku." Ka mea atu te tangata ra, *' E pai ana.
Mehemea nana, mo te ata me tahu ki te hangi mo ta taua kai, ki te
whatitoka nei i te ata. Ko tenei, nau, e pai ana. Kati me taipa noa
atu au i konei."

Kihai i roa kiia whanau te tamaiti he tane. Ka tapa te ingoa ko
Tama-taipu-noa, ko te ingoa o Harua-tai.

Na ! ka tupu te tamaiti nei, a, pakeke noa. Koa pakeke hoki tona
tuakana, a Tu-tamure. Ka pakeke rawa raua ka mohio ki te hapai
patu, ka riro te mahi a to raua matua — a Tunanui — i a raua.

Na ! katahi ka whakatika te ope a nga tangata nei ; haere ake e ma
ran ina whitu. Katahi ka haere, ka tae ki tena pa, ka whawhaitia e
niua, ka horo. Penei tonu ta raua mahi, a, ka tae ki Maunga-a-kahia,
katahi ka whawhaitia e raua. Na, ka riri raua me nga tama a Kaha-
huuu. Nawai i waho, i waho, e hara ! ka tapoko nga tangata nei ki
roto o te tata o te pa. Katahi ka unga atu e Kahu-huna tana potiki —
a Tauhei-kuri kia haere ki te titiro i te riri a nga tangata ra. Tae rawa
atu te wahiue ra kua pakaru te meremere maire no te whiunga ata ki
te taiepa hei tapahi i te aka hohou o te pa. Pakaru ana te meremere
ra ka rangouo iho e te wahiue ra e whakatauki ana, koia tenei : " Taua
i te uha, taua i te ake ; mei tikiua ^x^a ki te ika pipiha nui a Tangaroa,
mau ana te wawara ki runga o Mauuga-a-kahia.'* — (Enei kapu, '* taua i
te uha," he maire teni ; '' taua i te ake," he ake rautangi tera ; *' te ika
pipiha-nui a Tan^aroa," he kauae pamoa tera).

Ka ron<^o iho te wahine ra i te whakataukitanga a tetehi o nga
t^ingata ra, ka hoki te kohine ra ki te korero atu ki a Kahu-hunu. Tae
atu, ka korero atu, '' E Koro K ! ka horo te pa nei !*' Ka korero ata i
te whakauiuki ra. Ka inutu, ka mea mai te koroua ra, '* E hoki ano,
uia ilio koe, kowai te urn o tenei opt»." Ka hoki ano a Tauhei-kori,
ka tae ano ki run<^'a ake o nga tangata ra, katahi ka mea iho, *'Nga
tangata nei ! Taiiioa c riri, tona ano korua e riri. He ui iho ki a ko*
rua, kowai iv urn o tenoi opi'?" (Tenei kupu, ** uru," he mahanga; te
maoritanga o t^iuei kupu, he rangatira). Na ! katahi ka peke tetehi o

TE HEKEN6A A KAHUHUNU. 78

nga tangata ki waho o te tata o te pa, ka titiro ki te moana, katahi ano
ka whakatauki, koia fcenei : " Kaore koe i rongo, * angiangi te muri
whakarua, tutu te ngaru o te moana, ka tere te ibu-puku !' Ko au
tenei, ko Tu-tamure I"

Ea hoki te kohine ra ki te korero atu ki a Eahu-hunu, ka mea atu,
'* E Roro E ! Eo Tu-tamure E, te tangata nei !" Ea mea atu te
koroua ra, *< E ! ko to tungane ! Haere ! Eiia atu, kati te whawhai."
Ea hoki ano te kobine ra, ka tae ; ka mea atu ki nga tangata ra, '^ Eati
te whawhai ! Eaore ranei e rongo te ope nei i a koe ?" Eatabi te
tangata ra ka peke, kotahi ano patunga ki tetebi taba, ki tetehi taha ;
kua mutu te whawhai. Eua hoki te ope ki waho o te pa nobo ai. Ea
hoki mai a Tauhei-kuri ki a Eahu-hunu, ka mea atu, *' E Eoro E !
Eua mutu te whawhai ; kua hoki te ope nei ki waho noho ai." Eatahi
te koroua ra ka mea atu ki te potiki, ** E Eo ! kaore koe e whakaae
ki to tungane hei tane mau ?" Ea whakaae mai te potiki.

Eatahi te koroua ra ka tahuri ki te hakari i te potiki ; ka pai,
katahi ka tukua kia haere ki te taua. Ea tae ki te puni o te taua, ka
mea atu te kohine ra, " Eei whea ra te puni i a Tu-tamure ?'* Ea mea
mai te taua, '* Inana ! inana !" Ea tahi ka haere atu te kohine ra ;
rokohanga atu e noho ana raua ko tona teina, ko Tama-taipu-noa.
Eatahi te kohine ra, ka hinga ki runga i te teina, ka mataku te teina,
ka pana ano ki runga i te tuakana. Tuarua ki runga i tetehi, i tetehi ;
katahi a Tu-tamure ka haere, ka tae ki runga i te haupapa kohatu, ka
kite i te wai e tere ana i runga i te haupapa ; katahi ka whakaata ki te
wai, ka titiro ki a ia. Ea mea i roto i tona ngakau, '* E ! he kino ano
noku !" Ea hoki te tangata ra ki te puni, ka tae, ka mea atu ki te
teina, *' Moea ta taua wahine !"

Heoi, ka moea e Tama-taipu-noa a Tauhei-kuri, ka tuturu ta raua
wahine ki tona teina, a, hoki atu ana ki to raua na kainga ki 0-potiki ;
ki to raua na papa me to raua na whaea — me Tuna-nui, me Haumanga.

Eihai i roa, kua hapu te wahine ra ; a, muri iho ka whanau ana
tamariki, ko Tawhiwhi, muri iho ko Mahaki, ekiia nei i Turanga, ko te
Aitanga-a-Mahaki.

Tu-TE-IHONGA.

Eo tenei wahine, ko Tu-te-ihonga, he pouaru na Tu-pouri-ao. He
riringa no Tu-pouri-ao me tona iwi ki a Te Poranga-hau me tona iwi,
ka mate a Tu-pouri-ao ia a Te Poranga-hau. Ea noho pouaru a
Tu-te-ihonga.

Ea haere mai te rongo o te matenga o Tu-pouri-ao, me te rongo
hoki o te pai o Tu-te-ihonga ki a Eahu-kura-nui, katahi ia ka haere,
me tona iwi, a, ka tae atu ki te pa o te wahine ra. I te ahiahi, ka tae

atu te tangata ra ki te tara o te wahine ra, patoto ai Ea rongo

ake te wahine ra, katahi ka mihi ake, ko ana kupu mihi enei, *' E !
mehemea ko nga mahi a nga tane kua mate atu ra ki te Po 1" Ea

14 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

coogo iho te tangata ra i nga kupu mihi a te wahine ra, katahi ia k^
fiomo atu ki te whare, me te ui mai a te wahine, *' He aha taa ?"
Katahi te tangata ra ka mea atu '* I haere mai au kia moe tana.*' Ka
mea atu te wahine ra, *' Kaore au e pai. Kia ea ra pea te mate o taka
cane i a koe katahi au ka pai." Ea ui atu te tangata, '* He aha nga
cohu te tangata nana i patu to tane ?" Ka whakahokia mai e te
wahine, " Kaore e ngaro. Ki te puta atu te taua ki waho o te pa, ko ia
i^nu kua puta mai tu mai ai ; he kakahu-kura te kakahu, he taiaha-kura
w rakau, he to te hapai o te rakau, ko Te Poranga-hau tena, ko ia tonu
kei mua e haere ana mai o mua o nga tohu." Ka mutu nga tohutobu
2k te wahine ra, puta tonu at a Kahu-kura-nui ki waho o te whare.

I te ata, ka mutu te kai, ka whakatika te taua a te iwi ra, haere ake
kotahi rau ma whitu, ka haere, a, ka tae, a, ka tata ki te pa, ara, ki
Poranga-hau. Ka kitea e te tangata whenua ka pa te karanga, *• Ko
ce whakaariki ! ko te whakaariki E !" (tetehi tikanga o tenei karanga,
^^ He taua e !) Kihai i roa kua puta te tangata ra ki waho o te pa tu
niju ai ; he kakahu-kura te kakahu, he taiaha-kura te rakau, he to te
liapai o te rakau. Kahai i roa te tukunga mai kua tae rawa mai ki
mua nga ^^^^ ^ ^ ^^^^ ^^' ^> kihai hoki i roa kua hinga te tangata.
Tiua atu, tiua mai, kua hinga ano te tangata, tokorua i hinga ai. E
jyirt I kua whati mai te taua ra, ana ka whati mai, whati mai, ka eke
lu runga ki a Kahu-kura-nui. \N hakahoki noa, whakahoki noa, a
Kahu-kura-nui, te hoki. Na te mea ano ka matara e mau a Kahu-
fcura-uui, ka kitea hoki e Te Poranga-hau ; ana haere ana tetehi, haere
4lia tetehi. Ka tutata raua, kei runga te rau o te taiaha a Kahu-kura-
nui kei rare tonu te rau o te taiaha a Te Poranga-hau. Tata rawa,
liua rewa te rau o te taiaha a Te Poranga-hau ki runga, kua hoki te rau
^ taiaha a Kahu-kura-nui ki raro, kuhuna tonutia atu ki roto ki nga
tuba a Te Poranga-hau. E hara ! kua hinga a Te Poranga-hau.
Ijioi ano, kua whati tona iwi.

Heoi ano, ka patua haeretai, a, horo atu te pa, a Poranga-hau.
j^ljjii ka arahina oratia mai a Te Poranga-hau e Kahu-kura-nui, a ka
^ mai kite pa, ka hoatu ki a Tii-te ihonga. Katahi ka patua e te
^ine ra.

Heoi, ka pakaru te whare-taua o te wahine ra, ka tuturu ma Kaliu-
i^pqi a Tu-te ihonga hei wahine mana.

Sal mate rawa ake a Tu -pouri-ao i a Te Poranga-hau, riro rawa ake
^ J Tu-te-ihonga i a Kahu-kura-nui, kua whanau ta raua tamaiti. te
^ ko Rumakina ; ana putau^^a ko : —

Keari)a Tujika

I
Tuiauwhii Mahinaa-ranRi

I I

liukai-U' kura Haukawa

jilim-i-ao («i (Kon-ahu (0

\ Tuaka (0 ' Wl.akatero [t)

lKehu(0 (Takihiku \t)

TE HEKENQA A KAHUHUNU. }6

Te Matenoa o Tu-purupuru.

Te pptake i mate ai a Tu-purupuru he hae no tona ngakau ki ona
tuakana, ki nga mahanga a RoDgo-mai-tara raua ko Kahu-tapere-a-
Whatonga, ki a Tara-ki-uta raua ko Tara-ki-tai. No te mea ko ia te
tino rangatira o Turanga — ko ia anake, kaore tetehi atu i runga i a ia,
ko ia te tino rangatira mana nui rawa. Ina hoki : Ki te poua tona
tokotoko i runga i tetehi taumata, ka haere nga mano katoa o Turanga
ki te whiu i te kai ki te tokotoko ra. Ki te waiho tona tatua i runga i
tetehi taumata, ka haere katoa nga mano tangata o Turanga ki te whiu
i te kai ki te tatua, ara, no reira hoki tenei whakatauki : *' Ko te mana
koe o Tu-purupuru, a Rakai-hiku-roa."

Na ! i te mea kua kite te tangata ra i nga mahanga ra, kua pakeke
ka pouri tona ngakau ; ka mea ia, tena e nuku noa atu te mana o nga
mahanga ra i tona, tena e riro te mana o Turanga katoa i a raua ra, te
mana o te whenua, te mana o te iwi katoa. Katahi ia ka whakaaro me
aha ra e mate ai nga mahanga ra i a ia.

Te mahi a nga iwi o Turanga i tetehi wa, he ta potaka. Na, ka tae
ki te wa e hiahia ai nga iwi o Turanga ki te ta potaka, te mahi a nga
mahanga ra i nga ata katoa he moata ki te haere ki te marae taanga
potaka ; ia ata ia ata. Katahi a Tu-purupuru ka mohio ka mate i a ia
nga mahanga ra. Katahi ka taraia nga potaka a te tangata ra, he
potaka tikitiki (he wherorua tetehi ingoa) ka oti, i rite tonu te hanga o
nga potaka raka ki nga mahanga ra ; ina hoki he take tonu a runga, he
take tonu a raro ; ki te whakatungia a runga ka tu ano, na, he mahanga
te ahua o aua potaka. I te ata po ka haere te tangata ra me ona potaka
ki te marae-taanga potaka. Kihai i roa kua tae atu nga mahanga ra ki
reira ; katahi ra ka whakatungia e te tangata ra ona potaka ; ka tu,
katahi ano ra ka taia haeretai. Ka kite nga mahanga ra katahi ka
whai haere i te tangata ra ratou ko ona potaka. Ka taia haeretia e te
tangata ra ka tata ki te taha o te rua, kua kitea ra e ia taua rua i tetehi
wa. Ka tae te tangata ra me ona potaka me a nga tamariki ra hoki ki
te taha o te rua, katahi ka taia nga potaka raka e te tangata ki roto i
te rua ra. Katahi ka karanga atu ki nga tamariki ra, *' E rere ki roto
ki te rua nei, ki te tiki i a korua na potaka.*' Katahi ka rere nga tama-
riki ra ki roto, ka tokorua, tokorua atu ano i rere ai ki roto ; katahi ka
tutakina iho te rua ra e Tu-purupuru. E hara ! Kua mate nga tama-
riki ra ki roto ; oti iho.

Ka hoki a Tu-purupuru ki tona pa, hoki atu ano kei te tarai i ona
manuka hei tokotoko mana; ka oti katahi ka tapa nga ingoa o nga
rakau a te tangata ra, ko '' Nga toa katoa a Rakai-paka." Kua mohio
noa atu hoki ia tena ia e whawhaitia mo tana kohuru.

Na 1 Ka ngaro nga tamariki ra, i te ata a, awatea noa, maoa noa
te kai o te ata. Katahi a Kahu-tapere ka haere ki te ui haere i ona
tamariki i tena kainga, i tena kainga, kaore e kitea. Katahi ka haere

76 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

ki te pa Bakai-hiku-roa, ui rawa atu ; ki ana mai nga iangata o reira,
kaore ratou i kite. Heoi, ka pouri noa iho te tangata ki ona tamariki ;
ka hoki ki tona pa tangi ai ki a raua. A, katahi ka whakaarohia he
tikanga ; ka kitea, katahi ka whatua nga manutara e rua. Ea oti, ka
tapa nga ingoa ko '* Tara-ki-uta, ko Tara-ki-tai.*' Ea whakaemia nga
tohunga hei tukutuku, ara, hei karakia. Ea emi katahi ka whakaangi-
tia nga manu ra ; ka rere katahi ka karakia nga tohunga, katahi ano ka
rere nga manu ra, aua tonu ake, katahi ano ka tiu ki runga ki te pa o
Rakai-hiku-roa. Ea eke ki runga, ka whakahakahaka iho nga manu
ra, ka piki ano whakarunga nga manu ra, aua tonu ake, ka tiu ano ki
runga ki te pa, ara, e rua pikinga o nga manu ra ki runga, e roa
hokinga ki runga i te pa. Heoi ano, e pokaia ana nga taura, kua mohio-
tia na nga tangata o te pa, ara, i patu nga tamariki ra.

Eatahi ka whakatika te taua a Eahu-tapere raua ko Rakai-paka ka
haere ki te whawhai i a Bakai-hiku-roa ratou ko ana tama. Eatahi ka
ngaua te pa o Bakai-hiku-roa ; ko Tu-purupuru i te kuaha tonu o te pa
e noho ana me ana manuka i taraia ra. Eua puta tenei toa, a Rakai-
paka, hopu tonu a Tu-purupuru ki te manuka i mahia ra mo tera, ka
werohia atu. E hara ! kua tu tcra toa. Ea puta ano tetehi, ka hopu
ano ki te manuka i whakaritea mo tera, ka werohia atu. E hara ! koa
hinga tera. Pena tonu, pena tonu. A muri rawa a Whakarau ; te
putanga ana, kua hopu te tangata ra ki tona manuka i whakaritea mo
tera, katahi ka werohia atu. Patua tonutia atu e Wliakarau. E hara I
kua taha. Ea werohia atu e Whakatau. E hara ! kua tu. Ea peke e
Eahu-tauranga, ka mea, *' Tangata a te ringa mau ! *' Eatahi ka whaka-
tauki atu e Whakarau, koia tenei: — '* Waiho ! waiho! kia kahakihaki
te ikao te aho a Hine-tapua-rau '' — a tona whaea. Nal ka mate a
Tu-purupuru.

Eatahi ka amohia mai, takoto rawa mai i te puni o Bakai-paka ;
katahi ka whiria nga taura, ka oti, ka tikina te kahika, ka tuaina mai,
katahi ka toia mai. Ea tae mai ki te puni ka herea nga taura ki runga
katahi ka whakaarahia te rakau ra ki runga tu ai, ka herea nga waewae
o Tu-purupuru ki nga taura raka, ka kumea ki runga, ka piupioa kia
rere ki runga i te pa o Bakai-hiku-roa. Ea tae ki runga i te pa ka
tangi ake te koroua raka, na te mea ano ka ngau kino i roto i te koro-
heke ra te mamae ki tona potiki. Eatahi ka tomo ki roto ki te whare
ka tae ki nga kakahu me nga kohatu e rua, ka ki atu ki te ruahine,
*' E kui e ! taua ka haere hoi wharikiriki mo ta taua tamaiti.*'
Whakaae ana to riiahino ra, haere ana raua, ka puta ki waho o te pa ka
haere, ka tata atu ki te puni o Rakaipaka ra, ka kitea mai e nga tama-
riki, katahi ka karan<^a atu ratou ki a Rakai-paka. ** E Eoro E ! Ko
Paua e haere mai nei !'* Mohio tonu atu a Rakai-paka, ko tona tuakana,

TE HEKENQA A KAHU-HUNU. 77

mona anake tena kupu e kiia mai ra e nga taraariki — a '* Paua," no te
mea mo te rangatira anake tera kupu — ara, mo Bakai-hiku-roa, mo
tona tuakana. Ka wehi a Bakai-paka ; ka mea atu ki nga tamariki,
'* Paia atu ! paia atu ! Eei ahu mai ki konei to koutou papa/* Ea ki
atu nga tamariki, *' Ina tonu ra e haere mai nei na." Eatahi ka mea
atu te koroheke ra, *' Eati 1 Hurahia atu ; tukua mai to koutou papa."
Tae mai ano, e tangi ana raua ko te taina. Ea mutu, ka tae te koro-
heke ra ki nga kakahu me nga kohatu, ka boatu ki te taina, me te ki
atu ki a ia, '^ Eo nga rautao en a mo ta taua tamaiti, ko nga kohatu
ano tera hei tao. Taku kupu ki a koe, tukua mai tetehi o nga mokai
nei hei wharikiriki mo ta taua tamaiti ; mo taua kia noho tahi ai i to
taua kainga i Turanga.*' Eatahi ka utua atu e Bakai-paka. '' Eaore
ra e taea te whakahoki o te pahi-taua.** Na ! e mau nei tena whaka-
tauki i ona uri. £ mea ana, e kore ra e taea te wbakaiti o te pahi-taua
a Bakai-paka. Na ka mea atu a Kakai-hiku-roa, '* Mahara nei au, me
aroha mai koe ki au mo taua kia noho tahi ai i te riu o to taua kainga,
o Turanga. Eo tenei, kati ! Waiho maku e haere ki te Pu-o-Bangitoto
whakarongo mai ai. E kore pea koe e angia e te hau i muri i a au."

Heoi ! Hoki ana a te koroheke, a Bakai-hiku-roa, raua ko te ruahine
ki to raua na pa.

Te Hekenoa o Bakai-hiku-roa.

Nga putake i heke ai a Bakai-hiku-roa, ratou ko ana tama, me tana
mokopuna, me Te Bangi-tuehu, tama a Tupurupuru — no te mea, mate
rawa ake nei a Tu-purupuru, kua pakeke ano a Te Bangi-tuehu tona
tamaiti — Tuatahi : Eo te matenga o tana tamaiti, o Tu-purupuru.
Tua rua : Eo te korenga o tona taina e whakaae mai kia patua tetehi
o ana toa hei wharikiriki mo te umu o ta raua tamaiti. Mohio ana ia,
kaore tona taina e aroha ana ki a ia, e aroha ke ana ki to raua tuahine,
ki a Bongo-mai-tara — ki te whaea o nga mahanga ra. No reira ra hoki
i whakatauki atu ra a Bakai-hiku-roa ki te tama, " Mahara au, me
aroha mai koe ki au mo taua kia noho tahi ai taua ki te riu o ta taua
kainga o Turanga.*'

Heoi ano, ko te hekenga o Bakai-hiku-roa ratou ko ana tama me
tona mokopuna, me tona hapu katoa. Haere ake, hokowhitu, na, noho
rawa atu i Nuku-taurau. Ea tae ki reira ka kite i te waka e hoe ana i
te moana, katahi ka ui atu i uta, ** No wai tera waka e haere i waho ?**
Eatahi tera ka karanga mai, *' Eo au ! ko au ! '* Ea karanga atu tenei i
uta nei, " Eo koe, ko wai ?" ** Eo au ! ko au ! Eo Eahu-pa-roro !"
Ea karanga atu tenei i uta nei, ** E Eahu e ! Haere ! Haere. e tae koe
ki Turanga, kei whai mai ta taua tamaiti i a koe ; waiho atu i Turanga.

78 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIXn SOCIETY.

Eia hae tona wairoa, hae ki roto o Turanga." Ea mea mai a Kahu-
paroro, *' Nana tana kai, ka mea noa atu ai tenei/* Heoi ano, hoe ana
a Eahu-paroro, ka noho te heke ra i reira.

Eihai i roa e ngaro atu ana a Eahu-paroro, kua hoki mai. Boko-
hanga mai ano te heke ra e noho ana ano i reira ; tae mai ano, e t5 ana
i te matau, ka mutu, katahi ka mea atu ki te heke ra, *' Mo a tetehi ra
maku te ohu kari aruhe ; kia hoe an ki te moana ki te hi ika ma te ohUy
mo apopo ka hoe ai au ki te moana." Whakaae ana te heke ra.

I te ata ka hoe te iwi ra ki te moana, ka eke hoki tetehi tangttta
o te heke ra ki runga i te waka o te tangata ra. Eatahi ka hoe te waka
ra, ka eke ki runga i te toka, ka tukua te punga, e whiu ana i te matau
o tetehi taha, o tetehi taha. No muri ka maunutia te matau a te
tangata ra, a Eahu-paroro, katahi ka whiua ki te wai, katahi ano te
tangata ra ka takutaku, koia tenei : —

Titahal Titaha! i o Titahatanga

I wai Tawake,

E maa ki to Taiaha-kura.

Heoi ano. Ea rongo atu te tangata o te heke ra i runga i te waka
ra, mohio ia, ko nga iwi o Tu-purupuru tera. Eatahi ka whakamate-
mate i a ia, ka mea, '^ Aue ! aue ! ka hemo au. Eia tere te hoe i au ki
uta." Heoi ra, ka manawapa te iwi ra ki te tangata ra, katahi ka hutia
te punga o te waka ra, ka hoe ki uta. Ea u, waiho atu te tangata ra i
te one ka hoe ano te waka ra ki te hi. I muri ano o te hoenga o te
waka ra ka ngoi-haere te tangata ra, ka tae ki te puni, ki a Bakai-hiku-
roa, tae atu ano ka korero ki a Eakai-hiku-roa, ka mea atu. " E koro
e ! Eo Hika kei runga i te waka ra." Ea rongo te korohcke ra katahi
ka whakatakoto ritenga mana ; ka oti.

I te ata katahi ano ka tungia te ohu kari aruhe a Eahu-paroro, hoko
whitu ona iwi, hoko whitu o Rakai-hiku-roa. Eatahi raua ka haere a,
ka tae ki te wahi hei keringa nia raua. Eo te iwi a Eahu-paroro ki te
koko, to iwi o Rakai-hiku-roa ki te uku i te pei o te aruhe. Ea roa, ka
riro hoki ko te iwi o Rakai-hiku-roa ki te hapai i te ko, ka riro hoki ko
te iwi o Eahu-paroro ki te aku i te pei o Ui aruke. Ea roa e ko ana,
katahi ano ka whakahuatia te *' tapatapakau," koia tenei : —

Ko peka runga, ko peka raro,
Tenei koia ka werohiu.

Eatahi ano ka worohia, ana hokowhitu ; hokowhitu hoki tera e ftku
ra i tc pei, Ana! mate katoa— ka rerc ko Rakai-weriwori. Ea taoha
tera patnnga, ka kainga. Ka pau.

Katahi ka haere ano tv heke ra, a, Nuhaka. Ea whawhaitia ena iwi
ka mate. Ea rere ano a Rakai-weriweri. Ka haore ano to heke ra a,
Te Wairoa ; ka whawhaitia ano nga iwi o reira, ka mate — ka rere ano a

TE HBKEHGA A KAHUHUNO. tb

Rakai-weriweri. Ko te heke nei kei runga i te waka e hoe haere ana,
na ka mate nga tangata o Te Wairoa, ka rere ano a Rakai-weriweri.
Ka hoe ano te heke ra, a Mohaka, Waikare, Moeangiangi, Aropawa-nui.
Ea takoto ki te taha rawhiti o te ngutu-awa o Aropawa-nui ka kitea ake
te tangata ra e tu iho ana. Eoukoutia te rae, tia rawa ki te huia, ki te
kotuku. Na ! e tu iho ana i te kiritai o te pa — o Te Puku-o-te-wheke
te ingoa — Ea kitea ake e Taraia, katahi ka hoaia ake te kohatu, katahi
ka tipia ake, ara, ka whiua ake. Tahi tonu ki te koukou, E hara ! kua
motu.

Katahi ka hoe te heke ra, ka tae ki te ngutu-awa o Aro-pawa-nui, ka
whakaungia ki uta, Anal kua riri raua ko te tangata-whenua. Te
whana a tetehi, te whana a tetehi, E hara ! kua whati te heke ra ; Aua I
kua kau ki te moana. Eatahi ka aue mai te tamahine a Bakai-hiku-roa
— a Hine-pare — i runga i te kohatu i te moana. Eo ana kupu aue
enei, ** Waia o nga tane ; akuanei te hanga kino o tenei wahine mata-
kitakina ai e era tane !" Eatahi ka akina te taha ki runga ki te
kohatu — tana pakarutanga, pohehe ana nga tungane he angaanga
tangata e pakaru ana i te patu. Tana hokinga o Taraia, o Tawhao, o
ta ratou tama o Te Bangi-tuehu, E hara! kua whati te tangata-
whenua ; katahi ka patua haeretia, a, haere ana te whati ki roto o te
awa o Aropawa-nui; ahu rawa ki roto, kua huaki mai te ara a Tangi-aki,
a te tamaiti a Tikorau (taina o Bakai-hiku-roa), ma uta mai te ara o
tera ope. Te ingoa o tenei parekura ko Wai koau.

Na 1 ka mate a Bakai-weriweri me era iwi, ka mau herehere tetehi
tangata, ko Te Whanga-nui-a-Rotu. Ea uia e te heke ra te ahua o te
whenua katoa e takoto mai nei i mua i a ratou. Eatahi ka korero te
herehere ra, ** Eo Te Whanga-nui-a-Botu te tino kainga e takoto mai
nei i mua i a koutou — he pipi, he kuku, he aha, nga kai o reira." Ea
taunahatia e Tawhao, ka mea, ** Waiho, ko taku mara tera !" Ea
hapa a Taraia, te tangata nana te herehere. I te po ka ui atu a Taraia
ki tona mokai, *' Eahore hoki ranei he wahi momona i tetehi wahi atu
o te whenua e takoto mai nei ?" Ea ki mai tona mokai, ** He momona
ano, kei te putanga o Tukituki raua ko Ngaru-roro ki te moana — he
puna kahawai tera.

I te ata ka maunu te heke ra, ka hoe, ka puta ki te moana, ka ui
atu a Taraia ki tona mokai, ** Eei whea te mea i korero ra koe ?" Ea
mea atu te mokia *' Eei tua o te matarae e ma mai ra." Ea mea atu a
Taraia, *'Me tapahi tonu to tatou waka ki reira." Heoi ano, ka
tarewa tonu te waka o Taraia i te au o te moana, ka tapahi tonu ki
Hukarere, ka tae ki taua matarae, ka tukua taua oko, ara, tona ipu ; tae
rawa atu ki uta e takoto ana mai te ipu ra, tapa tonutia atu te ingoa
mo taua wahi ko ** Te Ipu a Taraia,'* a, e mau nei, e mau nei.

80 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Na ! ka noho nei a Rakai-hika-roa me tana whanau me toDs
mokopuna, me Te Rangi-tuehu ki Heretaunga. A, ka moe a Te Rangi-
tuehu i a Rakai-te-kura ; ana ko Hine-i-ao ; ko Tuaka, ko Eehu.

Ko Tamatea

Kahu-nuna = Rongo-mai-wahioe

Kaha-kura-nui

Kakai-hika-roa

Tu-puropuru

Te Bangi-tuehu

Tuaka

Mahina-a-rangi

Baokawa

Bereahu

Te Ihi-nga-rangi

Kuri

Te Bua-kirikiri

Mahau-rangi

Bere-whakaonga

Tama-mate

Mata-rae

Hine-manu

Whari-anga

Tu-pnku

PaDgo-te-whare-auabi ^

Te Ipu-whakatara

Arataki

Pango-te-whare-auahi '

THE MIGRATION OF KAHUHUNU. 81

THE MIGRATION OF KAHU-HUNU.

Translated by S. Percy Smith.

^T^T^ page 164 (note) Vol. XIII of this Jocjrnal, it is stated that a
IjL fuller account of the causes leading up to the Ngati-Kahu-
^ ngunu migration from Poverty Bay to Hawkes Bay and

Wai-rarapa would be given later on. That account now follows, as
written by an old man of Te Arawa tribe, who died about five or six
years ago. It would have been a pokanoa (unwarrantable proceeding)
on his part to write any of the history of a different tribe to his own,,
were he not descended from some of those who took part in the migra-
tion related in the following pages. But to prove his right to do so, he
furnishes in his MSS. many genealogical tables showing his descent
from them ; only one of which however, will be given here.

In the early years of the Polynesian Society, the Arawa tribe set up
a committee in order to assist us by compiling their tribal history.
The following is the only paper received from them, for soon after they
had made a commencement the leading man died, and his companions
— Maori-like — ceased their labours from that time.

It is to be noticed that the author invariably spells the tribal name
as Ngati-Kahu-hunu, whereas, the more common cognomen is Ngati-
Eahu-ngunu, a mere dialectical variation however, but I think there
can be no doubt, the original hero from whom the present tribe takes its
name, was Eahu- ngunu. I may observe here, that few ancestors of
the Maori people have given rise to more controversy than Tamatea,
acknowledged by all to have been Eahu-ngunu's father ; but whether
he was a Tangatawhenua (or member of one of the aboriginal tribes) as
some hold, or was the captain of the Taki-tumu canoe that came here
with the fleet in circa 1850, is still uncertain. Col. Gudgeon, who has
enquired into this question more extensively than perhaps anyone,
comes to the conclusion that he was of the original tribes — see his
remarks J.P.S., Vol. V.. p. 8, et seq. But there were so many men of
that name who flourished about the time of the arrival of the fleet,
that it is difficult to say wherein the truth lies. It is clear that
Tamatea, father of Kahu-ngunu, is buried at Kawhai-nui, near Te
Puke, Bay of Plenty, in the lands of an alien tribe. At the same time
the Southern Wai-rarapa people — who descended from those mentioned
in this story, all believe that Tamatea was Captain of *• Taki-tumu,**
and as evidence of the belief in the same story of the South Island

82 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

people — Ngai-Tahu, a branch of Ngati-Eahu-ngana — Note No. 176
(J.P.S., Vol. XIV., p. 46) shows the connection between Tamalea's
name and that of the canoe " Taki-tumu." I learn also from Mr.
Cowen that there are many other references in names of places connect-
ing Tamatea with the '* Taki-tumu *' mountains named after the canoe.

This story, however, has very little to do with Tamatea ; it com-
mences with his son Eahu-ngunu. Old Pango may now be left to tell
his story : —

The reason why Kahu-hunu migrated to the East Coast, when he
left Te Manga-tawa pa, near Tauranga (Bay of Plenty), was the hauling
of a fishing net on the beach at Otira. Hardly had the " belly *' of the
net been hauled in, when Kahu-hunu rushed in and seized a fish for
himself — that is he took it by force (before the distribution). When
his elder brother, Whaene, saw this, he was very angry ; he seized the
fish and threw it at Kahu-hunu's head, who warded it off however.

So Kahu-hunu felt troubled at the conduct of his elder brother, and
in conse(juence he left, and went to 0-potiki, where dwelt his sister
Haimianga and her husband Tuna-nui whose second name was
Uarua-tai.

On his arrival at Opotiki, the sister and brother had the usual tangi^
and when it was over, in the evening the brother-in-law Hama-tai
asked Kahu-hunu, *' What is the reason of your coming ?** Kahu-hnna
replied, ** It is duo to my ill treatment by our friend Whaene." After
he had fully explained his reason for migrating his brother-in-law said
to him, " A! what do you intend to do ?'* He replied, ** 1 propose we
go and make war.*' To this the brother-in-law assented, and they
proceeded together to make war, and were victorious in a battle called
Te Awhenga, where Ahu-kawa was taken prisoner. They then retamed
to 0-potiki.'-=

At the lime of Kahu-hunu's arrival at 0-potiki, Han-manga and
Tuna-nui had a son named Tu-tamure. After the fight mentioned
above, Knhu-hunu mi<^mted again, and settled down at WhangarA
(about ton miles north of Gisborne) where he married some women of
that place, who made uncomplimentary remarks about him. When
those gos.siping remarks reached Rua-here-tai, a lady of Turanga
(Poverty Bay), i^he made a remark that has come down to posterity
(the translation of which would not give its true meaning, nor is it in
accordanco with polite langiuige to record it here). When the news of
this saynig reached Kahu-hunu at Whangara, ho prepared himself and
proceeded to Turanga. He thei*e saw Rua-here-tai and eventnally

*'rhe author doos not say with what (icople thoy went to war. It wm sufloMnt,
according to Maori custom, that somo one should suffer for ad affronl, whtthir Ihe
guilty person or not, was a matter of no consequence.

THE MIGRATION OF KAHUHUNU. 88

roarried her. When the time of birth of her child approached, she felt
an inclination for some birds to eat. So her husband started out to
obtain some, in order to cause the milk to flow for his (unborn) child.
When he got to the forest he found a TiekVs nest in a hollow tree,
from which he obtained some young birds and, taking them to the
village, cooked them for his wife. By this means the wife's desire was
fulfllled. Not long after, the child was bom, a girl ; and a name was
immediately given to her, Rua-here-tieki, on account of the birdis
brought for the purpose mentioned above.

After a time Eahu-hunu left this wife, and proceeded on his travels
as far as Whare-ongaonga (about twelve miles south of Gisborne, where
Te Kooti landed after his escape from the Chatham Islands in 1868).
Here he was seen by a lady of that place named Hine-pu-ariari who
fell in love with him, and whom he married, and who also gave
utterance to a '* saying " in reference to Kahu-hunu that has comedown
the ages — " I was mistaken in the white-fruit ; afterwards I appreciated
the black-fruit," which has reference to the paua (Haliotis).

Some time elapsed and then Kahu-hunu left this new wife and
moved on south to Tawa-pata at Nuku-taurua (Mahia Peninsula).
Here he saw Tama-taku-tai and his wife Bongo-mai-wahine. The
former's business was that of wood-carving. When Kahu-hunu beheld
the beauty of Bongo-mai-wahine he said to his people, " relatives I
obtaining food is the most desirable accomplishment. Let us ascend
to the forest to dig fern-root for us all." The greater number assented,
BO they climed up to the forest, and there commenced to dig. When a
quantity had been secured, the man said '* Fetch some aka (strong
creepers) and pull the aka-turihunga (a strong kind)." So they gathered
the aka, and brought it to the man, who then laid out the creepers to
form binders, and placed on them a large quantity of fern-root. Then
said some one, '' Enough 1 there is sufficient, let each take as much as
he can." But Kahu-hunu would not consent. When the binders were
full, they were fastened tight and the slings for carrying the bundle
laid, etc., then inserting his arms within the slings he arose with his
enormous burden and started home. Arrived at the ridge (above the
village) he set his burden down, and after a time capsized the fern-root
over the cliff ; as the bundle fell, the binders broke, and then the fern-
root came down like a land-slip, piling up at the doorways of the
houses. Then Kahu-hunu heard the old and young women saying,
" A ! this is indeed a son-in-law for us ! A ! as for this other lazy
man, he knows nothing but how to carve."

After this feat had been accomplished, one day Kahu-hunu sat on
the ridge above the village to watch the comorants diving. As one of
the birds dived he held his breath, counting all the time, until the
comorant appeared again at the surface. After ten experiments he

84 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

found he could hold his hreath longer than the bird's dive. Eahu-huna
then said to his people, ** relatives ! go and fetch some ti (cordyline)
leaves.** So his people went and brought back a quantity, and he then
said, " Twist them ; very closely.** When the rope was twisted, the
man said, '^ Make a kaivhiu *' (or heki, a basket specially made for pana
shell-fish). This was made, together with a long rope, indeed how
many kumi (10 fathoms) long was it ! Then said Eaha-honu,
" To-morrow morning we will all go to the beach and wait.**

In the morning they all went down to the beach, where Kahu-hunu
said to them, ^* All of you remain here whilst I swim out to the rock
just awash there in the sea. When I pull on the rope the basket will
be full of /)(i//flf- shells — then you pull it in.'* After these directions he
swam out, and reaching the rock, dived down and commenced tearing
off the pana^i ; when the basket was full he gave a pull on the rope, and
those ashore pulled it in. When it reached shore, he commenced to
stick paiias on to himself, and then swam ashore, landing where the
others were standing at the fire. Then fell off the pauas in great
number ! which were gathered up by the various divisions of the people.
After tliis the kaivhiu, or basket, was taken to the village and presented
to the people of the place. Now Kaha-hunu heard again the women
saying, '' A ! this is the son-in-law for us ! As for this other man he
knows nothing but carving, and as for food for his stomach, he can do
nothing." Kahu-hunu said to his own people, " In eating the paua^
save the roe for me ; you can eat the flesh."

In the evening when the people had their evening meal, the roes of
the paua were kept for Kahu-hunu. At night, Kahu-hunu slept in the
house at the kopa-iti (or corner nearest the door), whilst Tama-taku-tai
and his wife Eongo-mai-wahine slept near the window. (The story
then relates a trick played on his hosts by Kahu-hunu which won't bear
translation, but which lead to mutual recriminations between husband
and wife).

When morning came Kahu-hunu again proceeded to the ridge above
the village, and as the heat of day increased, the sea-breeze set in. It
wtis not long before he saw Tama-taku-tai gettmg into a canoe to
indulge in the ancient pastime of whakaheke-mjaru (or riding in on the
crest of the breakers). After he had twice performed this feat, Kahu*
hunu descended to the landing place, and when the canoe got in, he
said, '' Lot both of us get into the canoe.** To this Tama-takn-tai
as^^ented, so they both got on board, Kahu-hunu being in the bow,
Tania-taku-tai at the stern. After twice riding in, Kahu-hunu said,
*' Let me come to the stern," which being agreed to by Tama-taka-tai,
he took his place. They then paddled out and soon saw a big wave
connng in; said Tamu-taku-tai, ** son I that is a very big wave !"
Kahu-hunu replied, *' That is not a great wave !'* And so they allowed

THE MIQRATIOH OF KAHU-HUNU. 86

•

their canoe to be carried by the wave until it reached shore. Again
they paddled out, and the same conversation was repeated. A great
wave came up, and they flew before it ; Kahu-hunu now pulled up his
steering paddle, and the canoe broaching to, over she went — Tama-
taku-tai sinking, and was drowned, for he could not swim.

So died Tamu-taku-tai, and Rongo-mai-wahine became the wife of
Kahu-hunu. After some time, on a certain day, Kahu-hunu said to
his wife, "Let us go to the water so that you may comb (and dress) my
hair." So they went, and the lady proceeded with her work, until the
locks of hair had been properly separated, and then oiled. Then said
the husband, ** Tie up my hair *' (in the usual ancient style, by binding
it in a top knot). The woman took some flax, of that place, bound up
the hair, and pulled the ligature tight ; but it broke. Then said he,
** Give me my belt," which was done — it was a tatua-pvparaj or war-
girdle of prepared flax — and from it he took some flax, which had been
grown at Kawhai-nui," at Kai-tuna, near Maketu, Bay of Plenty. It
was soaked in water until soft, and then bound by the woman round
her husband's head — and it held. The man then stood up, and turning
to the north, to the clouds coming from the direction of his father's
home, said, ** Here is the putikt-whara-mdi of Tamatea, that was left
at Tauranga." And now, for the first time did the people know that
this was the son of Tamatea.

Behold ! Rongo-mai-waihine became the permanent wife of Kahu-
hunu, and it was not long before she conceived. This news spread,
even unto Tauranga, to Tamatea, the father of Kahu-hunu, who
collected together some fine garments to take with him as presents on
a visit he proposed to his new grandchild. When he had collected
sufficient, Tamatea started on his journey, and after visiting 0-potiki
proceeded south by way of the Wai-o-eka valley — about half way up that
valley he left his pet bird, a karoro, or sea-gull, which is turned into
stone and may be seen to this day. He proceeded on his journey, and
got as far as Mou-mou-kai ( — an old joa, about 6 miles up the Nuutika
Valley, now covered with forest) on reaching which place, he heard the
news that the child had been born — a girl. Tamatea was much
distressed about this (query, because it was a girl. Trans :) and therefore
left all the property he was bringing at that place, and proceeded on
on himself (without visiting his son) to Te-Wairoa, Mohaka and
Whanganui-a-Rotu (Port Ahuriri). When Kahu-hunu heard of the

*Where Kahu-hunu's father, Tamatea, was buried.

\Putiki'Whara-nui^ the hair cinture of ichara-nui (a particular kind of flax).
The above is the full name of the Maori village opposite the town of Whanganul,
called generally, Putiki, and is equally connected with Taioatea,

86 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

•

annoyance of his father, and the casting away of the presents, he at
once named his new born daughter, Hine-Raniri (Lady-cast-away).
There was no Whare-Kohanga built for this child — not until the birth
of Eahu-kura-nui was one erected.*

The children of Eahu-hunu by Rongo-mai-wahine were Hine-rauiri,
Eahu-kura-nui, Tamatea-kota, Tamatea-kuku, Tamatea-toro-
hanga, Weka-nui, and Tauhei-kuri.
Kahu-kura-nui by his first wife Rua-tapu-wahine had Rongo-mai-

tara (/), Rakai-hiku-roa (m), Tikorua (m), and Rakai-nui (m).
(For other descendants see the Maori version, ante).

Maunoa-a-kahia.

(Another version — in English — of the incidents connected with the
siege of this pa has already been published by the Society — vide J.P.S.,
Vol. I., p. 146, and some notes on it in Vol. X, p. 208, but it will bear
repeating, the more so, as this account shows the connection of the
various people who took part in it. This event took place in the third
or fourth generation, after the arrival of the fleet in circa 1850, or say,
about the year 1425 to 1450.)

Now when Eahu-hunu had become an old man, and all his children
— Eahu-kura-nui, together with his brothers and sisters — had grown
up, they built a large pa named Maunga-a-kahia, which is at Eahn-
tara, Nuku-taurua, Mahia Peninsula.

Behold ! At the period when Kabu-hunu separated himself from
his brother-in-law Tuna-nui, at 0-potiki, the latter was a great leader
of war-parties. His constant occupation was the making of war with
other tribes. Now, when be absented himself on these expeditions, he
used to leave his wife, Hau-manga, to the enre of his slave, Ahu-kawa,
(whom it will be remembered he and Kahu-hunu captured when seeking
revenge for the slight put upon the latter by bis brother Whaene).
The sleeping place of the slave was in the kopaiti\ (or left-hand corner
of the home), whilst Hau-manga slept (in the place of honor) under the
window. On one occasion the wife misbehaved herself with the slave ;
and this continued until the time of Tuna-nui*s return.

On the return of Tuna-nui, in the evening, the woman said to him,
** I am unwell." The husband asked, " What is the matter ? '* "I
am about to be confined.*' '* Who was it ? " asked the husband, and
recounted the names of all the chiefs who had been left behind to
guard the pa^ but to none of whom would the wife confess. At last he
said, ** Was it our slave ? " ** Yes/' said the woman. Then said the

^Whare-kohanga, literally, "nest-house/' a special building erected for the birth
of high-bom children, in which tlie mother livas confined, and connected with whiefa
were many ceremonies.

THE MIGRATION OF KAHUHUNU. 87

husband, <<Whose fault was it ?" <* Mine !" said the wife. '' If that is
so'/' said he, ''It is well. If it had been his fault, we would have
cooked him for breakfast in front of our door to-morrow morning. As
it is, thine was the fault, it is well. Enough, I will lay me down
{tatpu-noa) here ! "

It was not long after that a male child was born. A name was
given to him — Tama-taipu-noa, one of Haruatai's names, in remembrance
of Tuna-nui's words, tatpu-noa.

Now Behold ! The child grew up to manhood, as did his brother
Tu-tamure (legitimate child of Tuna-nui) and they learnt the art of
bearing weapons, so that the work of their father — Tuna-nui — fell to
them.

On one occasion the war-party of these young men arose, 270,
(i,e, 640) strong and proceeded on the war-path, taking several pas^ until
they reached Kahu-hunu's /?a, Maunga-a-Kahia, which they proceeded
to beseige. For a long time their operations were confined to fighting
outside the pa, until the time came when the war-party carried the
outside line of pallisades. At this time, Kahu-hunu sent his daughter
Tauhei-kuri, to see how matters were going on at the front. Just as
she got there, a rneremere was smashed, and she heard one of the
beseigers say, " It was attacked with the tiha (maire club), it was
attacked with the ake (ake club) ; if the great fish of Tangaroa* had
been used, then would it resound above on Maunga-a-Kahia."

When the girl heard this ** saying," she returned and reported it to
Kahu-hunu. She said, " Sir ! the pa will be taken ! " and repeated
the " saying." Then the old man said, " Go down and ask who is the
leader of this war-party." So Tauhei-kuri returned, and on reaching
above where the men were fighting, called out, " You men there !
stop the fighting ; you can go on presently. I am asking you two,t
who is the chief of this party ? " Then one of the beseigers advanced
and stood near the outer defences, and turning towards the sea, said,
'* Hast thou not heard, when the north-west winds sets in, up rise the
waves of the ocean, and the * blunt-nose ' floats. Tis, I, Tu-
Tamure."J

The girl then returned and said to Kahu-hunu, ** Sir! Tu-tamure
IS the leader I" The old man then said, " A ! it is thy brother. || Go !
Tell him to cease fighting." So the girl returned to the people below
and said, ** Leave oflf fighting I Will not this war-party obey you?"
The young man sprang forward, and with a blow on this side and that
ended the fighting, and the besiegers retired outside the pa. Tauhei-

♦A club made of whale bone.

t*'You two" — i.e., the leader and his party, a common form of address under
such circumstances.

{ Tamure is the Schnapper fish — hence the play on his name.

II t.«., a brother according to Maori ideas, really, a first cousin, as Tu-tamore
WM the child of Kahu-hunu' s sister, Haa-manga.

88 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

kuri returned to her father Eabu-hunu and said, *' sir ! the fighting
has ended ; the war-party has retired outside." And then the old man
said to his young daughter, *' lass ! wilt thou not consent to thy
brother (cousin) as a husband?*' and the girl consented.

Then the old man tui-ned his attention to adorning his young
daughter in all the finery of Maoridom, and when ready sent her down
to the war-party. Arrived at their camp, she asked, " Where is the
camp of Tu-tamure ? The reply was ** There ! Beyond !" So on she
went and found him and his brother Tama-taipu-noa sitting together.
(Not knowing which was which) she fell on the younger, who in fear
(of his elder brother) pushed her over to the elder. Twice was this
done, and then Tu-tamure arose, and went down to a flat rock on
which was a pool of clear water, in which he looded at himself (as in a
looking glass). He said, within his heart, " indeed I am ugly I" So
he returned to the camp, and then said to his younger brother (Tama-
taipu-noa) ** Marry our young lady."

And so Tama-taipu-noa married Tauhei-kuri, and then the war-party
returned to their home at 0-potiki, to the father and mother of the
brothers, to Tuna-nui and Uau-manga. After a time a family was
bom to the couple, Tawhiwhi, then Mahaki ; from the latter descend the
tribe of Poverty Bay called Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki.

Tu-TE-IHONGA.

This woman — Tu-te-ihonga — was the widow of Tu-pouri-ao. During
a fight between the latter and his people with Te Porangahau and his
people Tu-pouri-ao was killed by Te Porangahau, hence was Tu-te-
ihonga a widow.

When the news of the death of Tu-pouri-ao reached Eahu-kura-nui
(eldest son of Kahu-hunu by Bongo -mai-wahine), together with the
fame of the great beauty of the widow, he with his people started off on
a visit to the pa where dwelt the lady.'^' In the evening Eahu-kura-Dui

went to the home of the widow, and knocked When she heard

this, she '* greeted,'* saying, '' Tis like the actions of the men who
are now dead and gone to Hades." When the man heard these wordSi
he entered the house, on which the lady asked, *' What do you want?**
Said he, '* I came, that we might marry !" The lady replied, ** I do
not consent. If you will avenge the death of my husband, then only
will I consent to be thy wife." He then asked, ** What are the dis-
tinguishing signs of the man who killed thy husband?" The woman
answered, ^* They cannot bo mistaken. If a war party approaches his
pa, he will come forth in front and stand there ; he will wear a scarlet
cloak (of red parrot features) and his weapon is a taiaha-kura (halbert
with scarlet feather near the tongue end) ; in *' trail " is his method of
carrying the weapon — that will be Te-Poranga-hau. He will always

*I believe this pa was at Tc Wairoa, but am not certain.

THE MIGRATION OF KAHU-HUNU. 89

be found in front of the oompanies of men that come to attack." On
learning these particulars, Eahu-kura-nui went forth from the house.

After the morning meal the war-party arose,— one hundred and
seventy {i,e, 240) in number, and proceeded on their way, and
eventually drew near to the pa they were bound for, at Poranga-hau.*
When the people of the pa beheld the war-party, the cry was raised,
** An army ! an army ! " Directly there appeared a man who stood
outside the pa clothed in a scarlet cloak, taiaha at the trail in hand,
who advanced in front of the attacking party, and immediately slew his
man. Weapons flashed ; this way and that way, and do\vn went two
more men. Alas 1 the war-party fell back, retreating until they
reached where Kahu-kura-nui was. In vain he urged them to return ;
but to no purpose. As the ranks opened out, Kahu-kura-nui was seen
by Te Poranga-hau : then these heros approached. As they drew near
to one another, Kahu-kura-nui held his taiaha aloft (ready to strike
downwards) whilst Te Poranga-hau trailed his (for an upward blow)
and on getting within striking distance, Te Poranga-hau raised
his taiaha whilst Kahu-kura-nui striking downwards and forwards
thrust his taiaha between the thighs of his enemy, and down the latter
went. It was enough I the people of the pa fled, followed by the war-
party, who took Te Poranga-hau's pa, Te Poranga-hau himself was
brought away alive by Kahu-kura-nui, and when they reached the pa
of Tu-te-ihonga, was delivered over to that lady, who dispatched him.

Enough ! The whare-taua (house of mourning — state of tapu) of
the lady was at an end, and Kahu-kura-nui took Tu-te-iohaga as his
permanent wife.

Thus, when Tu-pouri-ao had been killed by Te Poranga-hau, the

former's wife Tu-te-ihonga became the wife of Kahu-kura-nui, and she

had by her first husband a child named Ru-makina, whose descendants

are as follows : —

Ba-makina

Eearoa

Ta-rauwha

Bakai-te-kura

Hine-i-ao (/) Toaka (m) Eehu (/)

Mahina-a-rangi (/)

Baukawa
I

Bereahu (m) Whaka-tere (m) Taki-hiku (m)

*About 50 miles south of Napier, a well known river. The Chief of the place —
Te Poranga-hau— appears to have been named after the river, and no doubt he was
one of the tangata-whenua, or aboriginal tribes, for no migration of the descendants of
of the fleet had as yet taken place. — vide tupra.

»0 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

(From Raukawa — who was the son of Mahina-a-rangi by her hnsband
Tu-rongo, of Waikato, seventh (or perhaps ninth) in descent from
Hotu-roa, captain of the Tainui canoe, that arrived in New Zealand
circa 1850 — are descended the Ngati-Raukawa tribe of Mannga-tautari
and Manawatu. His three sons are also eponymous ancestors of mil
known fiapus of Ngati-Raukawa. Raukawa flourished approximately in
1676.)

The Death of Tu-PURUPrRu.

Tamatea (The marginal table shows the position of Tu-huruhara

Kahu-hunu (^^^ ^^ fourth in descent from Tamatea, suppoeed

I , captain of the Taki-tumu canoe), who flourished about

Kahu-kura-nui ^^^^ according to this table. What follows shows the

Rakai-hiku-roa real reason of the migration of these Hawaiki Maoris

Tn purupuru ^^^ Poverty Bay and Te Mahia peninsula to Here-

taunga (Napier) and the South.) The cause of the death

of Tu-purupuru was his insensate jealously of his elder brothers, the

twin boys of Rongo-mal-tara and Kahu-tapere-a-Whatonga, that is, ol

Tara-ki-uta and Tara-ki-tai {i.e. elder brethren by Maori custom, first

cousins by English custom thus : —

Kahu-kura-nui = Ruatapu-wahine

Bongo-mai-tara (/) = Kahu-tapere (m ) Rakai-hiku-roa (m) = Rua-raohanga (f)

I I

Tara-ki-uta Tara-ki-tai Tu-purupuru)

The reason of this was, that he — Tu-purupuru — was the principal
chief of Turanga (Poverty Bay), he alone; there were none above him,
and he was the chief of the greatest mana. For instance : If he stuck
his staff into any hill (or place) all the thousands of Turanga would
bring there all kinds of food for him. If he left his belt in any place,
the people would also deposit all kinds of food there ; and hence is the
saying, '* Thou has (equal) nuhia with Tu-purupuru son of Rakai-
hiku-roa."

Now when this man saw that the twins were growing up to man-
hood, his heart was full of foreboding ; and he thought, presently will
the mana of these twins much exceed his own, and the power, guidance
and government of all Turanga fall into their hands, together with
influence over the land and the people. So he considered in what
manner he could compass the death of the twins.

One of the occupations and amusements of the people of Turanga
in those days was top- spinning. On the days that such games were to
take place, it was the custom of the twins to proceed very early in the
morning to the ground (to practise top- whipping), day after day. Then

THE MIGRATION OF KAHUHUNU. 91

Tu-purupuru knew that he should be able to accomplish his wish. He
proceeded to make some tops ; they were long ones (called wherorua)^
and were just like those of the twins, pointed at both ends so that either
end might be upwards — they were like twins. At daylight the man
went with his tops to the whipping-ground, and not long after the
twins appeared. He set up his tops and began whipping them, which,
as soon as the twins saw, they followed suit. The man whipped his
tops till they came to the edge of a deep pit, which he had noticed
before. When he and the twins got to this place, he whipped his tops
into the pit and called out to the twins, " Jump into the pit to fetch
your tops." The twins jumped in, both of them, and then the man
closed the pit. Alas 1 the twin died in the pit."^

Tu-purupuru then returned to his pa, and on arrival commenced
making manuka tokotokos, or spears (the purpose of which will be seen
later), and he named them " All the braves of Rakai-paka." He already
knew that he would be called to account for his murder.

Now, the children were absent, from the morning even to noon ;
the morning food was cooked (but they appeared not). Then Kahu-
tapere, their father, went about enquiring for his children at this
village, and that village, but they were not seen. He then went to
the pa of Rakai-hiku-roa (his brother-in-law, and Tu-purupuru*s father)
and on enquiring was told by the people of that place that they had
not seen them. Enough ! the man was disheartened and anxious
about his children, and returned to his pa and cried over them
(believing them to be dead). Presently he decided on a course of
action (by which they might be found) ; he weaved two kites, and
named them ** Tara-ki-uta and Tara-ki-tai,*' after the twins. He then
assembled all the priests to say their incantations over them. When
they met he flew the kites, and as they ascended the incantations were
recited ; the kites ascended a great height and hovered over the pa of
Rakai-hiku-roa, Tu-purupuru's father. When at their extreme height,
they descended, then ascended a great height, and hovered over the pa
— that is, there were two ascents, and two descents above the pa.
It was sufficient ; the lines were wound up, for it was now known that
the people of that pa had killed the children.

Now arose the war-party of Kahu-tapere (the twins' father) and of
Rakai-paka (step-brother of the first) and went forth to battle with
Rakai-hiku-roa and his sons. They beseiged the pa ; and in the attack
Tu-purupuru stood at the entrance with the spears he had dubbed out.
Rakai-paka came up to the attack ; Tu-purupuru seized the spear he

* Presumably this was a rua or pit, such as are used for storing kumarasy with a
heavy cover to it.

92 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

had specially made for him and lunged at him. Aha ! that warrior was
wounded ! Another came ; the spear made for him did its work, and
he fell ; and thus it continued, until at last came up Whakarau, when
the special spear made for him was lunged at him — it was turned off
by Whakai-au and passed on one side. Then Whakarau lunged ; Aha !
he (Tu-purupuru) was struck. Up jumped Kahu-tauranga, saying,
''The man of the fast hand!'' But Whakarau uttered his saying,
thus : '' Leave him ! leave him ! let (me) catch the fish of the line of
Hine-tapua-rau I** (of his mother). Behold ! Tu-purupuru was killed.

After that his body was brought away and deposited in the camp of
Rakai-pAka. They then twisted some ropes; when finished they
fetched a special kahiha tree, and after fastening the ropes to it, set it
up. The le^H of Tu-purupuru were fastened to the ropes and the body
hauled up, and cast into the pa of Rakai-hiku-roa."^ When it reached
the pa the old man cried over the body of his son, on account of the
anguish he felt at his loss. He entered the house, and taking some
garments and two stones, said to his old wife, '* old woman ! Let
us go and take something on which our son may rest (in the oven)."
The old woni<;n consented and both proceeded forth from the /ni, and
when they drew near the camp of Rakai-pika, they were seen by the
young people who gave notice to him, saying, *< sir ! Here is Paoa
coming.'* Fiakai-piika understood at cmce that it was his elder brother,
for to him alone was applicable the words useJ by the young people,
i,e, Paua, Ix.'Cause it is only used for a great chief — for Rakia-hiku-roa
for instance. Now Rakai-pAka was alarmed ; and said to the young
men, *' Shut (the gate) ; do not lot your old father come here." They
replied, *' He is here already." So Rakai-pftka said, ** Enough ! open
it, and let your father in." When they met they cried over their dead
son, and at the end the old man taking the garments and the two
stones, gave them to his younger brother, saying : *' Here are some
rantao (covering for an oven) for our child, and here are the stones for
the oven. My word to you is, give up one of your slaves as a mat on
which to lie our child (in the oven) in order that you and I may dwell
together in our home of Turanga." Rakai-p&ka replied, " The pahU
tana (company of war) cannot be debased," which saying has come
down to his def^ccndants, and it means, it was impossible to debase
the warriors of Rakai-paka. Rakai-hiku-roa replied. ** I thought
you would have had some regard for me, in order that we two might
still dwell together in the vale of Turanga. But now, enough I Leave
me to go to the Pu-o-Rangitoto, and listen — probably you will not be
blown on by the wind after me."

It WAS enou<,'h, the old man Rakai-hiku-roa and his wife returned
to thoir own pa,

*ThiH id not clour, but possibly the kahika tree was used ;is a spring to throw the body*

THE MIGRATION OF KAHUHUNU. 98

The Migration of Bakai-hiku-boa.

The reason why Rakai-hiku-roa migrated together with his sons and
grandson, Te Rangi-tuehu, the son of Tu-purupuru — for at the time
of the death of the latter his son was grown up — ^were two : First, the
death of his son Tu-purupuru ; second, because his (step) brother
Bakai-p&ka would not consent to kill one of his warriors as a ''mat "
for the oven of their child. He well knew that his brother had no
love for him, but rather felt more affection for their sister Bongo-mai-
tara, the mother of the twins. Hence he had said to Bakai-p&ka, *' I
thought you would have had some regard for me, that we might still
remain together in our home at Turanga."

But so it was ; and thus Bakai-hiku-roa, his sons, his grandson,
and all his people migrated. They left Turanga 70 (140) in number,
and went to Nuku-taurua, Mahia Peninsula, to dwell. When staying
there, they saw a canoe paddling along on the sea, and called out,
saying, «* Whose is that canoe paddling along outside?" The answer
came, ** It is 1 1 It is I !" Said those on shore, " It is thou I who ?"
'* It is I ! It is I ! Eahu-paroro !*' Then those ashore called out,
** Kahu ! Go ! Go on thy way ; when you arrive at Turanga do
not let our child follow thee ; leave him at Turanga so that if he feels
envious, let his envy be displayed within Turanga." Kahu-paroro
replied, ** His food is his own ; it is useless my saying anything." So
he went on his way leaving the migration there.

It was not very long after Eahu-paroro had departed, when he
returned again, finding the migration still at the same place. On his
arrival he set-to to prepare some fish-hooks, and when he had finished
said to the migration, '' The day after to-morrow I will arrange a party
to dig fern-root, and will to-morrow go to sea to catch fish for them."
To this all consented.

In the morning the people put to sea, and with them, in the chief*s
canoe, went one of the men of the migration. They pulled out until
they got to the reef where they anchored, and commenced fishing from
both sides of the canoe. Afterwards Eahu-paroro baited his hook and
cast it over and at the same time said his takiitaku^ or charm, as

follows : —

Sidle, Sidle, at your sidling,

At the water of Tawake,

And bear along tby Bcarlet-dressed taiaha.

It was enough, when the man of the migration heard this he at
once knew that it referred to the bones of Tu-purupuru.*

*One of the greatest insults that could be offered was to make fish-hooks of an
enemy's bones — it will be remembered that it was Tu-purupuru*8 father who was
migrating.

94 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

The man at once pretended to be ill, calling out, ** Alas ! Alas ! I
am dying. Haste and put me ashore/' The people being apprehensive
about the man, hoisted up the anchor and paddled ashore. They
landed him then returned to their fishing. The man crawled 9kWB,j
(pretending illness) till he reached the camp of Bakai-hiku-roa where
he said, *< Sir ! Hika is on board the canoe there.* On hearing
this the old man proceeded to consider what course should be taken,
and finally decided.

In the morning the party of Eahu-paroro to dig fern-root was
arranged, there were 70 twice told of them, and an equal number of
Bakai-hiku-roa's party. So they proceeded to the digging ground, where
it was arranged that Kahu-paroro*s people were to dig, whikt Bakai-
hiku-roa's company was to scrape the roots. After some time they
changed occupations and Bakai-kiku-roa*s people took the ko or digging
tools (formidable weapons). During the operations the tapatapakau or
incantation appropriate to the occasion was sung : —

The branch above, the branch below
Now then spear it, d'C, &c.

Then they speared the whole seventy ; seventy also were those who
were cleaning the fern foot. Ana I all were killed — but Bakai-weriweri
fled. Then they cooked the fruit of their killing, and ate them, all up I
(So ended Kahu-paroro and his people).

The migration now started again on their further journey, and
reaching Nuhaka, fought the people of that place whom they defeated.
But Bakai-weriweri again escaped. The migration next proceeded on
to Te Wairoa where they fought and defeated the people of that place,
whilst Bakai-weriweri escaped again. The migration were on board
canoes (? which they got from the Wairoa people — see J.P.S., Vol. XIII,
p. 154) when they (again) defeated the Wairoa people, Bakai-weriweri
again escaping. The migration now passed on to Mohaka, Waikare,
Moe-angiangi, and to Aropawa-nui. Here they camped on the east
side of the mouth of the river, and there saw the man (? Bakai-weriweri)
standing, with his hair done up in a knukon top- knot, adorned with huiu
and kotuku feathers ; ho was standi n<; on the bank of the pa named Te
Puku-o-te-wheke. When Taraia (the oldest son of Bakai-hiku-roa) saw
him he took a stone and cast it upwards, which struck the koukou (of
the man) and cut it otl*.

The migration now piM Idled down to the mouth of the river Aro-
pawa-nui and landed. Anu ! there ihey fought the taiujata-wlimua^ or
people of the place. ()n(> party char>;ed, then the other. Alas ! the
migration fled even runnint; out to sea. Then Hine-pare, a daughtar of

*Who Hika may be 1 know not but probably a second name for Tu-pompum.

THE MIGRATION OF KAHU-HUNU. 95

Bakai-kiku-roa, stood on a rock in the sea bewailing, saying, ** Fatigue
of the men ! Presently will the evil works of this woman be gazed at
by those other men." And she dashed on to the rock a calabash, the
sound of which in breaking was mistaken by her brothers for a skull
crushed by a weapon. Thereupon Taraia, Tawhao and their young
relative Te Rangi-tuehu returned to the fight. E hara ! The people
of the place now fled in confusion up the Aropawa-nui river, and
further up they were set upon by the party of Tangi-aki, the son of
Tiko-rua (younger brother of Rakai-kiku-roa), which had comedown the
coast overland. The name of this battle was Wai-koau.

Behold I So died Bakai-weriweri and that people. A prisoner
named Te Whangaui-a-Botu was taken, from whom the migration
enquired the kind of country that laid before their course. The prisoner
replied, '* Te Whanganui-a-Rotu (Port Ahuriri) is the best place that
lies before you, there are cockles, mussels, and plenty of other foods
there." Then Tawhao did taunaha^ i.e. take possession of that place
saying, ** Leave it to be my cultivation !** And Taraia, who caught
the prisoner, was passed over. In the evening Taraia enquired of
his prisoner, *' Is there no other rich and desirable place in the land
that lies before us ?*' His prisoner replied, ** There is ; at the mouth
of Tukituki and Ngaruroro rivers — there is a celebrated kahawai fishing
place there."

In the morning the migration left and pulled out to sea, when
Taraia asked his prisoner, ** Where is the place you spoke about ?"
"Beyond the white point there (Napier Bluff).'* Then said Taraia,
*' Let our canoe strike right across (the Bay) to that place.'* And so
Taraia's canoe floated on the current of ocean and went straight for
Hukatere (Napier Bluff), and on reaching it he put his calabash afloat.
When they reachad the shore there was the calabash, and he called the
name of that place ** Te ipu a Taraia " (Taraia*s calabash) which name
has remained to this day.

Behold ! and now Rakai-hiku-roa, his relations, and his grandson
Te Rangi-tuehu settled down in Heretaunga, and Te Rangi-tuehu
married Rakai-te-kura, and had Hine-i-ao, Tuaka, and Eehu.

Then follows a number of genealogical descents from these and
other people mentioned in this narrative — one line only, that from
Tamatea down to the author is given, for which see the original Maori
part ante. It will be observedun this account, that neither the episode
of the fight at Heipipi, nor the taking of the pas of the Tini-o-Awa
tribe up the Tukituki river, are mentioned (see J.P.S., Vol. XIII, p. 158)
but I believe they both occurred in the times Taraia mentioned above.

THE COMING OF TAINUI.

[The following is interesting as giving a much more complete account of the doings
of Baka-taura — the priest of Tainui canoe that arrived in New Zealand with
the fleet in circa 1350 — than has ever been published before. We have to
thank Mr. Jas. Cowen for it.— Ed.]

^IHARI TAUWHARE, of Kawhia, in giving evidence before the
JL\ Native Land Court at Otorohanga in 1886, in re the Aotea-
Taupo-Parininihi block, said : —
I will now narrate the events which occurred in connection with
the immigration of the chiefs Hoturoa and Baka and their followers
from Hawaiki to New Zealand in the Tainui canoe. Hoturoa was the
chief in the stern of the canoe. Raka had control of the bow, where
the alter of the priest of Tainui was. While they were crossing the
ocean Raka fell in love with Eahurere, Hoturoa*s daughter. When
Hoturoa discovered this he was very angry with Raka. The canoe
arrived at Otahuhu, or at the Otaiki stream (Tamaki). Raka and all
the people jumped on shore, and urged that Tainui should be dragged
overland into Manuka Harbour. Raka ordered the crew to get rollers
to place beneath the canoe, so that she conld be hauled across the
portage. It was here that Raka composed his song : —

" Toia Tainui, tapotu ki te moana ;
Ma waie to?" Ac*

Tainui was then dragged on shore. Raka*s sister Hiaroa (or
Hiaora ?) went to Raka and asked if he were not foolish to try to dng
the canoe overland ; for Hoturoa was angry. When Raka heard this
he exclaimed, ** No wonder the canoe went off the rollers (or skids) on
to the ground I *'

It was here that Raka planted a pole and tied Tainui to it. There
it remained. Then Raka left the place and with his section of the
crew went forth into the country (travelling southwards). They went

^This hauling song is usually uccreilited to Marama. the wife of Hoftaroa,
Captain of •'Tainui."--Ei).

THE COMING OF T AINU I. 97

bearing mauri (** hapai-maun"') to set them up and cause the birds of
the land to he abundant. He said to his followers : ** Go to the
interior of this land, even to the mountains, and set up mauri-manUf
while I myself will go to Manuka.*' These mauri were called Tanekaitu
and Muekakarar The poople travelled inland and beheld the mountain
Te Pukapuka, from which they saw Motakiora. On ascending this
they saw another range, Hakarimata. They went up to this mountain
whence they saw another, Mt. Pukehoua (Pirongia). There Rotu
settled, at a place called Paewhenua, so called because of a phrase used
at Hakarimata, "Behold the mountain" {^^ paewlienua/*) At Pae-
whenua (? near Pironga range) there stood a mangeo tree, resorted to
by my ancestors for bird- snaring. The tree was called Puke-houa.
When Maru and Takupu-o-te-rangi were alive they divided the tree, so
that one branch should belong to Maru, the other to Takupu. They
placed a stone in the middle of the tree, and that was the origin of tho
name Puke-houa through the insertion (houa) of the stone in the tree.
There was a kaka perch on the top of the tree. It was Rotu*s birding
tree. It was burned by Waikato recently. Ten of Raka's people
carried viauri with them to set up at various places. Hiaora and
others came over and occupied Pu-kakaramea.

Moekakara is a sacred spot. It is at Pu-kakaramea (Maunga-rangi).
Hiaora there repeated the karalda : —

" Pi-mirumiru te manu i whakataungia ni te pae-tapu-a-Tane," &c.

When this incantation was repeated all the birds came to the spot.
The biggest bird came and settled upon a mangeo tree at Paewhenua.
Rotu endeavoured to spear this bird but missed it and struck a branch
of the tree instead. So the bird escaped and fled to the southward.
It died at Mokau. Its name was Tauherepu. All the great birds
disappeared there. Hiaora saw numbers of the other birds flying away
and asked: ** Ko wai, ko wai tera e tapahi mai ra i te Ika-a- Hiaora /"
(Who ? Who is that who is cutting the Ika-a-Hiaora ?)

Rotu replied : ** Ko an, ko au, ko Rotu ; wailw, waiho kia whakaraua
aker

The smaller kinds of birds {manu-ririki) remained on the mountains.
All those who occupied the mountains for the purpose of establishing
the mauri were under the orders of Raka.

Tainui Canoe (being unable to cross the portage at Tamaki) steered
northwards along the Nga-Puhi Coast. Raka and his sister awaited the
arrival of the canoe at Puketapapa and Manuka. When they saw
Tainui outside Manuka, Raka lighted a fire and invoked the gods to
send the canoe away from land so that she could not enter Manuka.

•These were evidently whain or sacred stones broaght from Hawaiki with the
intention of depositing them in selected places in the new land to " hold " the mauri
of the food supplies.

98 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

When Hotiiroa saw this (or became aware of it) he steered out to sea.
Then Baka and his sister went to Waikato and then thej separated,
Raka going to Pukerewa, on the sea-beach. He crossed Whaingaroa,
and at Karioi he set up his tuahu named Tuahupapa. He blocked the
entrance to Whaingaroa in order to prevent Tainni landing there, and
the canoe was accordingly compelled to continue southwards. Aotea
and Eawhia harbours were also obstructed to prevent Tainui from
entering. Raka travelled along and built an altar at Heahea ; Ahurei*
was the name of the alter. The canoe went on until she came to
Taranaki ; the crew of Tokomaru had already occupied this country.!
Then Tainui returned and landed at Mimi (near Pukearuhe). There
Hoturoa planted a pohntukawa tree, which is known to the people there
as ** Hoturoa's Pohutukawa." Hoturoa then went to the Mokau,
where the crew landed. There were three poles planted there. | Tainui's
anchor is also there. Baka went to Te Banga-a-Baka, a beach between
Moeatoa and Tirua. Then he went to \Vhareorino.

Hoturoa, travelling along the Coast, arrived at Te Banga, where he
saw Baka's footprints. He said : ** The deformed foot has come here
also.'* Thou the two chiefs met on the beach and greeted each other.
Hoturoa then said : " I forgive you, I will give you Eahurere to wife.**

Baka asked where the canoe had been left. Hoturoa replied that it
had been left at Mokau. Raka then said ^' Your people should go
to fetch it. Let us go to Kawhia.'* The people went to fetch Tainui,
while Hoturoa and Baka went on to Eawhia. Upon their arrival at
Moeatoa, they built their altar there and called it '* Te Tuahu-a-Raka-
taura-raua-ko-Hoturoa." They proceeded further and settled at
Maketu, on Eawhia Harbour. On the arrival of Tainui here it was
dragged on shore.

Baka married Eahurere. Their issue were Houmea, Tu-hianga, and
lastly Eakati. ^' I will make a covenant between us/' said Raka to
Hoturoa. '' I will plant here a rock as a covenant between us." Then
Puna {WhakatupH-taniiata) was planted by the shore. Inland he
planted Hani, a ** destroyer of men" {Whakarere-tantjata), Hani
represented Raka whilst Puna was Hoturoa. ||

*Ahurei, named after Ahurei in Tahiti, from which Tainui and the other oanoee
come. — Ep.

fThis is confirmed by Taranaki traditions, but these latter say it was the Aotet
canoe, not Tokomaru.— Ed.

^ These no doubt give rise to the tradition that the ii^ve of Pomadarie-teinui
(the only place in New Zealand where it grows) found there sprung from the ikide
of Tainui Cimoe.— Ed.

llTbese are the stones near Maketu settlement, supposed to indicate the raiting-
place of Tainui Canoe.- J. C.

THE COMING OF TAIHUL 99

Then Baka desired to travel and spy out the country. Raka knew
at the time that others were occupying the interior of the land. Baka's
children grew up. He said to Houmea ** Your brother Tu-hianga will
occupy Moeatoa, you yourself will occupy Ahurei ; Tuahu-a-papa at
Eorioi should be handed over to Eakati." Baka said to Hoturoa,
** Here remain with your grandchildren, I will depart." Hoturoa said,
** How shall we see each other ?'* Raka said, " We will salute each
other with the clouds of heaven." {Me mihi tana ki n(ja purehurehu o
U rangt), "There shall we meet.'*

Kahurere and Baka then went on to Pirongia. He called that place
" Pirongia-o-Kahu," and then he called another mountain ** Kakepuku-
o-Kahu." A child was born there. He was called Hape-ki-te-Tuaraki.
Afterwards they came and settled at a place where Kahu took ill. ** Ka
pnrea e Raka " (the cleansing ceremony is performed) and Kahu
recovered. This place was called Pure-oro-o-Kahu (a mountain,
Hurakia Banges).

At this time, Nga-toro-i-rangi foresaw that Tongariro mountain
would be climbed by some one, so he ascended the summit of that
moantam himself. Baka ascended the summit of Puke-o-Kahu ; this
was where Kahu died, that was why it was called Te Puke-o-Kahu.
Baka then went towards the West, where Hape was left. Upon his
arrival at Te Aroha, he called that place ** Te Aroha-a-uta," because he
felt regret and love for Hape and his mother who were left behind.
'* Te Aroha-a-tai " was so called because of his love for his children
left at Kawhia.

Baka then married another wife at Te Aroha named Hine-marino.
Here Baka died.

THE ^aRI," KARAKIA.

Told by Major H. P. Tu-nui-a-rangi.

[Tliere are many instances lecorded in Maori history of the powcrfi of the tohttngn*
of old to communicate with people at prent distances. The particulars of the
methods they adopted are now lost, although many of the karakitu*, or incanta-
tions have been preserved. They do not convey to Europeans any particular
sense of power, nor, in fact, aie they anything but a seiies of words which might
equally apply to any other subject. Their potency was, nevertheless, absolutely
believed in by the ancient Maori, and indeed, we may perhaps find in this absolute
beliei itnd faith, some evidence of the truth of the Htatements of the old Maoris
as to the cfiicacy of the charms. Could we but clearly understand the attitude of
mind adopted by the tohuncfaA when performinj^ the ceremonies connected with
the iriy some further light on the subject would be thrown. It can only be
suggested that tlic Maori and his fellow Polynesian had a somewhat complete
understanding of telepathy as well as of other mental processes, of which we
Europeans arc only just at the threshold. The following story illustrates a <
of what is apparently communication by telepathy.— Editor.]

* Y«j'BOUT three generations ago thero lived at Flat Point (Te Una-
i ri imu), some fifty miles south of Napier, a man named Tama-i-
^' pokia, who was a chief of rank of those parts. On a visit to

Porangahan, he became much enamoured with the fame of a lady living
at that place, named Wawara-i-te-rangi, though he did not see her at that
time. On his return home the feeling of love and desire for this lady
so possessed him that he engaged the tnhnnja of the tribe to try and
induce the lady to ccmie to him, by the use of karakia-iri, or invooa
tions, common in such ca^es. The tnhmuja^ selecting a suitable
occasion when the wind Mew from where he was towards the
direction of the village of the lady, ascended a neighbouring
hill and there with all due ceremony i*ei)oated his karakia.
The lady at her home at Porangahau was at once seized with
a strong desire to visit Tama-i-polvia, and with some of her female

THE '^mr' KARAKIA. 101

attendants quickly got away from the village without the know-
ledge of her friends, and proceeded on her way to carry oat the
visit. They travelled along the beach at low water, so that the
incoming tide should obliterate their footsteps, and thus prevent
pursuit. She was, however, seen by the people of several villages
that were passed on the way, and as a woman of rank was invited to
turn aside to rest and eat. But, carried away by her strong desire to
reach Tama-i-pokia's home, she resisted all overtures and hastened on
her journey, finally reaching the pa of her lover. There she entered
by the main gateway, and marched straight through the pa to Tama-i-
pokia's house, which she seemed to know intuitively, for she had never
been there before, nor had she ever seen the man before. In the end
the two were married, and their son was the late Te Apatu of those
parts. Wawara was a very great lady, a tino rangatira ; and the latter
part of her name (i-te-rangi) was given to her on account of her fame
having spread far and wide. She was in her day as famous as Hine-
moa, Hine-matioro, or Tamai-rangi, all ladies of great rank and beauty,
whese fame, their descendants delight to sing. The name Wawara-
i-te-rangi may be translated as '* the echo in the heavens."

NOTES AVD vCEEIES.

Ob tke w«n

t; ** 'traij -f -J:* ^rj=i :f rw ?-uT=e«Lii ^ecoie sr bs kvc an approximate

•uflacfy <sf ^hAir .2asr:r.'Lrs« v:iji 2i» >£aL&> l-rrrpriaan aaid dMnee to the
9»&z3«cs. *x« ±r^ zr^rti laeb.'r ::» zc i^ohz wuu cf la^ni^e, bat tha« U also a
«wmiui>7 >^ .=:pi:rsA:i: ..:i« -.f rtsear^ zi ih^ ^crsiiensiati at ihe M>fwi^!& held in
'kcywtififtii.-.t -,7 -jiftsfe pe*:pl4— zck iiic ct: . ae pqr • fooivL and the domestic
f<yvl «r>K. — ^il. tcTK Tf vijch. v» saj afs^zasie came oricxBaDy from Asia. We
OAj Mk. v«r« :ii«a« %T\ ■^al4 indeii fr:in. 2ae rtx of peoptc to ^"^i****- Hring at a
«tietinr» frxn ictt'^ rar^.zA. hAbi^AS. 3t v«re ^j^ifj arvsghs bj a Palynesiaii pec^le
il/tet vi:£C un&j pnis-izi^clT ±ri; jsti. vuk zre*: oocanrnt of Asia (thai is shoold
vhiij e^er ha-r^ ecc« frifn vcicEjk.

Can ve tnc« th^ir P /Ij:i<fiui sasMs as orgrnamy amaag anj raee cf pu>ple
nam nmdaii in India ? For all ve kzior as predCBt the luune ^o«Jbi aaj be of
Spafuati or Portog^ese or^-.n,* b^:: viii; of can and mom.

The Maon of Nev Z^aJAnd :iicd ui« name mim to denote the Many rarietie$
both lan^ and sznal! lapparentlj witboct distinctioa) ai that woiiderfal race of
birdiii the dinonud4£, acid on Captain Cook introdoeing the di'WM'itir fowl, which he
broogbt to New 21ealand "from the islands." the Maori gaTe it two names other
than moa, which to me seems positive pnxrf that the emigrant Pbljnesians of the
Arawa and those later migrations, came in actnal contact with the dmomi*, and
that these birds were not previooalj killed oat by a prerioos raee of peofde whose
traditions like themselves had becouiv extinct.

I would ask anj of oar members who maj be in a position to do so, to send in
the native names which maj be ased to denote the cassowary and the ema in the
Malay Arcbipeligo, Australia and in Madagascar, as the name of the extinct epiornis.

When a new animal is introduced to a country it is generally the custom to
accept of the animal's original name also, as used by thoee who convey it, and so
we may reasonably expect to trace its original hcnne by this means.

If we are anable to trace the word aioa as denoting the domeatio fowl some-
where on the Asiatic continent, may we not assume that wtoa originally denoted the
dinomU and not gcUlus damfMticuM, and if so that the Polynesian first knew the sioa
as a dinomU during the existence of a great southern continent now submerged —
th<f lost Hawaiki ? This is a very bold suggestion, but is it not well to give a
thought even to what may at first sight appear most fabulous?

We have Maori tradition that the Polynesian voyagers brought in some of their
canoes the kuri (dog), the kiore (rat), the paroquet, and the swamp hen, and even it
is said lizards, but no mention is ma'Ie of the arrival of the moo, the iKirt, or the
weka, and yet these three last mentioned are of far more food value than those said
to have been brought, and mast, especially the kiwi and weka^ have at all times
been a staple article of food, moreover the swamp henpukeho is not found elsewhere,
except perhaps at Norfolk Island and some other islands. We may therefore plaoe
no confidence in this tradition, or at least take it cum grano saUs.i

* We do not think this possible, for the name has been known to the Polynesians
ages before the Spaniaids discovered Ithe New World. It is probable it meant any
animal formerly. — En.

t The pukeko is common in Samoa and other islands. — Ed.

NOTES A SO QUERIES. 108

On certain Paoifio islands the ironwood tree (catiutrinax) is named moa, can
thig nomenclature originate from the droopiinj fol'uute of the tree as in some degree
resembling the feathers of the dinornis ?

It is a matter of surprise that the pig (poaka) was not imported, the more so
when it was said by Captain Cook that the New Zealanders knew the name of the
animabt when seeing them on i)oard his ship— a pig being of omnivorous appetite
would be more easily fed during the voyage than a dog — yet both would consume
any garbage even human excrement. I would be inclined to suppose that the fowl
and pig were introduced to the Pacific islands subsequent to the grea Maoti heke,
Tet I believe the pig and fowl were found by early European navigators even at
Easter Island.

On this same subject of moa^ to my thinking the late Rev. William Colenso has
led ns astray in reference to this bird. Writing from memory of an article
published in Transactions N.Z. Institute, he says: " Moanwa, small heaps of a
shining metallic looking substance, possibly iron f>yrites, seen in the vicinity of
Cape Turnagain.*' Now I have resided for a number of year.^ in that district, but
have never found any metallic objects ; but when a fire has passed over the land, a
careful observer will notice small collections of scattered polished pebbles, so finely
polished as to have a shiny appearance, in one case I found a number of broken
bones mingled with these stones, a sufiicient proof that the stones were the gizzard
stones of a large bird, and these are the moajtwa seen by Mr. Colenso, who, no
doubt, wrote of them from remembrance many years after he was shown them by
the Maoris. These stones were collected by the bird with difficulty, being rare and
of necessity the hardest in texture to be met with, mostly a kind of flint possibly.
I have these bones and gizzard stones yet in possession. Mr. Colenso also gives
moa as a name for a boring implement. No doubt the Maori intended to show the
moa stone by which the implement was pointed.— Taymr W^hite.

MAORI RELIGION.

By Lieut.-Col. W. E. Gudgeon, C.M.G.

'j^OWEVER great our astonishment at the intrepidity displayed by
P^ the ancestors of the Maori people, in their long voya^jes across
^ the sea of Kiwa ; and much as we may admire these instances
of adventurous daring, we must never lose sight of the fact that these
old time Polynesians derived much assistance from their religion.

A Maori firmly believed, not only in the power of his gods, but also
in the ability of the tribal inhuntja to invoke or even compel these gods
to aid the tribe in any great undertaking ; and from this belief it
followed as a natural sequence, that if the tohiuuia declared the omens
to be propitious, there was nothing that the warriors of that family
would not attempt ; for theirs was the faith that could remove mountains.
Whatever our impressions of the modern Maori may be, there can be
no question that during the continuance of their ancient religion, or,
as they themselves express it, during the continuance of the mdna-
maori they were a most religious people. Indeed, their creed was
nothing less than this : Keep the laws of the gods and live, break them
and die.

With this preface to my subject, I will endeavour to show as far as
may be done — in a work that does not profess to do more than give a
popular sketch of Maori manners and customs — what this ri>ligion was
before the arrival of the European with his disturbing theory of tire
and brimstone.

In matters supernatural the mind of man follows much the same
groove, be he Caucasian, Mongol or Maori ; in each case he is equally

108 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

open to receive religious impressions, though the form of the impression
may vary considerably, in order to meet the laws of environment and
satisfy racial instincts.

Among the Maoris there are traces of two religious systems, one of
which is purely abstract in its conception of the Deity, and of a very
exalted type, inasmuch as it attributes the existence of all things to the
great god '* lo/' The second is probably a later and most certainly an
inferior conception, in which the powers of nature are personified in
the persons of certain anthropomorphic gods, and it is this fact that
constitutes the difference between the two systems. lo, the supreme
creator occupies a position in the Maori Pantheon, apart from and
superior to that of any other Maori deity ; he is the great originator,
the All-Father, who pervades space, has no residence, and cannot be
localised. Here then we have a clear and reasonable conception of a
supreme spiritual essence, or controlling power; of a deity who is
practically unknown to the modern Maori, and it would seem not even
dreamed of by the pakeha, since we are informed by Doctor Thompson
and Mr. Shortland that the Maori has a very limited notion of the
abstract. The conclusion arrived at by the latter is, that the Maori is
unable to conceive any abstract notion, and hence the powers of nature
were regarded by him as concrete objects, and designated as persons.
This assertion I shall show to be without foundation, for the conception
of lo in New Zealand and Tangaroa in the Pacific, is purely abstract.
As to lo it is claimed that he dwelt in the expanse. ** / no/w i roto i
te aaha o te Ao.'* That he gave expression to the thought, that he
might dwell without habitation, ** noho kore noho a ia,*' In other
words that he might pervade space. Surely the abstract enters very
largely into ideas such as these ; but even admitting that the Maori
capacity for the abstract is limited, we may still doubt whether we our-
selves are much farther advanced in that respect. Anthropomorphism
is not a peculiarity confined to the Maoris, and it seems to me, that
with all our boasted civilisation our tendency is to revert to the worship
of the graven image on the least possible provocation, even though that
image may not be the golden calf. I may also point out that the
singular tales told of the achievements of Maui-potiki and other god-
like beings mentioned in Maori history are not to be taken as absolute
statement of fact. I do not think that the learned men among the
Maoris ever regarded these tales as being other than ancient myths,
and it has always seemed to me that they were intended to convey
some great metaphysical truth, which, however obscure at the present
day, must have been clear enough to the tohunr/afi of old days ; though
probably at all times obscure to their followers, for whatever his creed,
when did a tohnn/ja allow his fellow man to become more enlightened
on any point than was absolutely necessary ?

MAORI RELIGION 109

It would seem that the name of lo originated in the East, since we
are told that among the ancient Egyptians lo was the Lunar Goddess,
and in the language of the Argives the moon itself. This is, however,
by no means the only instance in which points of identity or resemblance
may be traced between Maori tradition and the records of India or
Egypt.

So exalted is the Maori conception of lo that it would seem that
they had never deemed it proper to address their invocations to him. I
cannot say that this was always the case, but most certainly lo has
never been worshipped in any form during the Maori sojourn in the
Pacific ; nevertheless his name has been so venerated that it was never
mentioned in a house. It is I think during this same period that the
Maori has succeeded in evolving from his inner consciousness those
inferior and anthropomorthic gods who are now held to be pre-eminently
the guardians of the Maori people ; deities who are not known out of
the Pacific.

I cannot say that lo is known throughout Polynesia, for I can find
no reference to that deity in any of the standard works on the Pacific
Islands ; this of course is not evidence that he is not known to the
people, for the same thing might be said of the Maoris since the
references to lo in any work on New Zealand are few, if any. Indeed
it is obvious that the Maoris for reasons best known to themselves have
carefully avoided all reference to this god. The Samoans ascribe to
Tangaroa those divine powers which the Maoris claim for lo. Their
tradition is that Tangaroa dwelt in the expanse, and that at this period
there was neither sea nor earth, but only a rock or foundation, from
which it was designed that all things should spring. Tangaroa is
described as striking the rock which gave birth to the earth and then to
the sea. Subsequently this mother of all things gave birth in succession
to the fresh water, sky, immensity and space. Then came a boy, a girl,
man, the spirit, heart, mind, and the understanding ; those last four
Tangaroa succeeded in combining in man and hence the intelligence of
mankind. This tradition, it will be seen, difters greatly from that of
the Maori ; a fact in itself sufficiently astonishing and hardly to be
accounted for seeing that the Maoris of New Zealand and the Samoans
have only been separated during the last 500 years. These differences
may however have originated in the fact that the Maoris have been
more completely isolated during the last Uxo centuries than any other
Polynesian tribe, and have therefore retained their ancient su^Kirstitions
intact, whereas the Samoans have mixed with those Polynesians who
were in communication with the Melanisian people of the Pacific, and
may possibly have adopted the theories of that race. To the Maori
Tangaroa is merely one of the children of heaven and earth and has
jurisdiction over the sea only ; nor is he the greatest of the brethren by

110 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

any means, though in all matters connected with the sea and it\s fishes
he requires grave propitiation, for the quarrel between Tangaroa and
Tu-mata-uenga (the god of man) has not and never will end.

Among the Greeks, Latins and Germans the earth invariably
received the epithet of Mother, and we learn from the mythology of
the first- named people that Uranos (the Heavens) cohabited with Gsb&
and had issue, Chronos, Oceanos, Hyperion and the Titans, and that
he subsequently took to wife Rhea, who bore him Hera, Hades,
Demeter, Poseidon and Zeus (the Ruler of the Upper World). It is
moreover clear that the Greeks reverenced and personified the vault of
Heaven as the Supreme Being. In like manner the Maoris hold that
Papa-tu-a-nuku was the mother of the gods, that is of a certain class
of gods of whom Rangi (the Firmament) was the father. Therefore
from Heaven and Earth sprang all things necessary to man, and
incidentally man himself. In this myth we have probably the germ
of all religious systems ; born of the awe and perhaps gratitude which
must necessarily arise in the minds of a thoughtful and observant
people when contemplating the complex operations of nature. The
religious system of the Maoris does not however in all cases follow
that of the Aryan people; there are some very singular omissions;
for instance, the Maori word ahi (fire) if not actually derived from
the Sanscrit, is undoubtedly from the same old root, yet notwith-
standing that nearly half of the old Aryan hymns are addressed to
Agni. The Maoris do not appear at any period to have either
reverenced or personified " Ahi,*' and have indeed no very great
respect for the sun himself, since all that we hear of Tama-nui-te-ra
is that he was tied, beaten, and generally crippled by Maui-potiM in
order to regulate the course of the sun and therefore the duration of
the day.

The most universal of all religious emotions is perhaps the
reverence for sun and earth, that is, the recognition of all male and
female principle of life; and reference to the formulfiB of creation,
which may be found in the most ancient Maori chants, will show
how thoroughly that people recognise the receptivity of the earth,
and that its fertility was due to the warmth and moisture received
from above. It is, therefore, as I have said, singular that the Maori
should have little if any reverence for the sun, and that they should
give all credit to Rangi (the firmament).

The chief lesson to be derived from Maori mythology is, that after
lo had by mere force of his will started the powers of nature into
action the world developed itself by evolution, light springing out of
darkness. Perhaps the best Maori version of the evolution of the
world is to be found in the *^ Ika a Maui," a book written by the Bev.

MAORI RELIGION 111

Bichard Taylor. In this work several chants are given all of which
aie coached in highly figurative language, and embody abstract ideas
which are little short of the sublime. The following is a specimen : —

The word became fraiifal,

It dwelt with the feeble glimmering,

And brought forth night, the great night and the long night,

The lowest and the loftiest night, the black night and the night to be felt,

The night far stretching bat not to be seen,

The night that might not be followed,

The night ending in death.

This may fairly be called the first stage of the earth's existence or
chaos, the next stage is that of light : —

Begotten from nothingness, from nothing the increase,
From nothing abundance ;
The power of increase and the breath of life.
Dwelt with the empty space and produced the Heavens aboye,
The Heavens floated above the earth and dwelt with the early dawn
And light appeared.

The Heavens dwelt with the glowing sky

And brought forth the sun which appeared as the eye of heaven ;
Then the Heavens above became light and sent forth the early dawn.
The early sun, the noontide, and the blaze of day from the sun.
Then the Heavens above dwelt with the earth and brought forth
Ta-porapora, Tau-whare-nikau, Kukuparu, Wauwau-a-tea and Whiwhi-te-
rangiora.

These last named children of heaven and earth would seem to be
certain islands of the Pacific, the passage may therefore be taken to
mean that these were the first lands to appear above the sea, but as
the Maoris are much given to reproduce the names of their ancient
homes in new lands, it may be that the reference here made is to their
very ancient homes and may for this reason have a much deeper
significance than we are aware of. Yet another of these ancient
recitals, after describing chaos under the name of Te Kore (the void
or nothingness) proceeds as follows: —

Nothing but hail dark in colour.

Hail dashing forth, hail destroying,

Hail melting and flowing beyond the dark places ;

Thenceforth nothingness is finished forever.

The return from nothingness and it's power

And the pursuit of nothingness.

Meru the releaser from Hades,

Mem the releaser from the bonds of Hades,

Who alone can cause us to retrace our steps to the world.

To the ancient world that Death may not cleave to us.

In these chants I have followed the translations given by the Rev.
Bichaid Taylor for I recognise that he collected these traditions at a
period when he could and probably did obtain the servicer of the old

NOTES AND QUERIES.

[178] On the word Moa, &c.

In the stady of the origin of the Polynesian people or at least an approximate
history of their intercoarse with the Malay Archipelago and thence to the Asiatie
continent, the first great factor is no doubt that of language, but there is also a
seemingly less important line of research in the consideration of the animals held in
domestication by these people— the dog {kuri)^ the pig (poaka)^ and the domestio
fowl {moa) — all three of which we may assume came originally from Asia. We
may ask, were these animals traded from one race of people to another living at a
distance from their original habitat, or were they brought by a Polynesian people
direct when they presumably first left the great continent of Asia (that is shoold
they ever have come from thence).

Can we trace their Polynesian names as originating among any raoe of people
now resident in India ? For all we know at present the name poaka may be of
Spanish or Portuguese origin,* but what of kuri and moa.

The Maori of New Zealand used the name nwa to denote the many varietiet
both large and small (apparently without^ distinction) of that wonderful raoe of
birds the dinornid^e^ aud on Captain Cook introducing the domestio fowl, which he
brought to New Zealand "from the islands," the Maori gave it two names other
than moa J which to me seems positive proof that the emigrant Polynesians of the
Arawa and those later migrations, came in actual contact with the dinomU, and
that these birds were not previously killed out by a previous race of people whose
traditions like themselves had become extinct.

I would ask any of our members who may be in a position to do so, to send in
the native names which may be used to denote the cassowary and the emu in the
Malay Archipelago, Australia and in Madagascar, as the name of the extinct ejHornu,

When a new animal is introduced to a country it is generally the custom to
accept of the animal's original name also, as used by those who convey it, and so
we may reasonably expect to trace its original home by this means.

If we are unable to trace the word moa as denoting the domestic fowl some-
where on the Asiatic continent, may we not assume that moa originally denoted the
dinomis and not galltu domenticm, and if so that the Polynesian fiist knew the moa
as a dinomis during the cxistoncc of a great southern continent now submerged —
the lost Uawaiki ? This is a very bold suggestion, but is it not well to give a
thought even to what may at first sight appear most fabulous?

We have Maori tradition tliat the PolyncHian voyagers brought in some of their
canoes the kuri (dog), the kiore (rut), the paro(|Uet, and the swamp hen, and even it
is said lizards, but no mention is nia'ie of the arrival of the mo(f, the kivri^ or the
weka, and yet these three last mentioned are of far more food value thau those said
to have been brought, and must, cspeciall} the kiwi and ircA'd, have at all times
been a staple article of food, moreover the swamp hen pukeko is not found elsewhere,
except perhaps at Norfolk Island and some other islandK. We may tlierefore place
no confidence in this tradition, or at least take it cum grano salig.f

* We do not think this possible, for the name has been known to the Polynesians
ages before the Spaniaids discovered^the New World. It is probable it meant any
animal formerly.— Ed.

t The pukeko is common in Samoa and other islands. — £i>.

NOTES AND QUERIES. 108

On certain Paoiflo islands the ironwood tree (casuarinux) is named moa, oan
this nomenclature originate from the droopiiuj foliage of the tree as in some degree
resembling the feathers of the dinornu ?

It is a matter of surprise that the pig {poaka) wa*i not imported, the more bo
when it was said by Captain Cook that the New Zealanders knew the name of the
animals when seeing them on hoard his ship — a pig being of omnivorous appetite
would be more easily fed during the voyage than a dog— yet both would consume
any garbage even human excrement. I would be inclined to suppose that the fowl
and pig were introduced to the Pacific islands subsequent to the grea Maori )uke.
Yet I believe the pig and fowl were found by early European navigators even at
Easter Island.

On this same subject of nioa, to my thinking the late Kev. William Colenso has
led OS astray in reference to this bird. Writing from memory of an artiele
published in Transactions N.Z. Institute, he says : " Moanioa, small heaps of a
shining metallic looking substance, possibly iron pyrites, seen in the vicinity of
Cape Turnagain." Now I have resided for a number of years in that district, but
have never found any metallic objects ; but when a fire has passed over the land, a
careful observer will notice small collections of scattered polished pebbles, so finely
polished as to have a shiny appearance, in one case I found a number of broken
bones mingled with these stones, a sufficient proof that the stones were the gizzard
stones of a large bird, and these are the moamoa seen by Mr. Colenso, who, no
doubt, wrote of them from remembrance many years after he was shown them by
the Maoris. These stones were collected by the bird with difficulty, being rare and
of necessity the hardest in texture to be met with, mostly a kind of flint possibly.
I have these bones and gizzard stones yet in possession. Mr. Colenso also gives
moa as a name for a boring implement. No doubt the Maori intended to show the
moa stone by which the implement was pointed.— Taylor White.

TKANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS
POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Minutes of Meetingr of Council.

The Gounoil met at 8 p.m. on 81st March, 1905, in the Borough Goaneil
Chambers.

Present : Messrs. S. Percy Smith (President), W. L. Newman, W. Kerr, F. P.
Corkill, J. H. Parker, and W. H. Skinner.

New Member: 364 Mr. K. H. Ashcroft was elected on the nomination of
Rev. Mr. Fletcher.

The Council met at 4.30 p.m. on 23rd June, 1905, at Mr. W. Kerr's office.

Present: Messrs. S. Percy Smith (President), M. Fraser, W. L. Newman, J. H.
Parker and W. H. Skinner.

The following new Members were elected :—

365 Major Alfred R. Colhoun, 133, East Sixteenth Stroit, New York.

Nominated by W. Churchill, B.A.

366 Dr. Erich Schultz, Apia, Samoa. Nominated by S. Percy Smith.

367 His Excellency Dr. W. K. Solf (representing H.I.M.'k Government

of Samoa), Apia, Samoa. Nominated by S. Percy Smith.

368 Ratana Ngahana, Wanganui. Nominated by Donald Fraser.

Papers Received : —

267 Te Ngarara-huarau. Major H. P. Tunuiarangi.

268 Principles of Samoan Word Composition. W. Churchill.

269 Mana-tangata. Col. W. E. Gud^'coii.

270 Maori Religion. Col. W. E. Gudgeon.

271 The Ngutu-au People. G. Graham.

272 The Tainui Canoe. J. Cowan.

It was decided to exchange publications with the University of California.

The following list of Books, &o., was received :--

1737 Queemland GeographicalJournnl, Vol. xix.

17 38 Popular Maori SoiufH. By John McGregor. 10 copies.

From the Author, the

1739 Ko te karakia Kntorika. \

1740 Ko te Ilitoria-poto o te Ilahi Katorika.

1741 KotvKatikihamioteHahiKat.rika. .1 »«>'. Cland Cognet. S.M.
1742-7 Na Mata. Dec, 1904. to May. 1905.

1748-9 Pipiwharnuroa. Feb., March, 1905.
1750-7 The Geo<jraphical Journal Sept., 1JK)4, to May, 1905.
1758-63 Journal lioyal Colonial IiiHtitute. Dec, 1904, to May, 1905.
1764 Memoir*, Peahody Muncum of American Archtrology — Archicological
Retearchet in Yucatan, Vol. iii., No. 1.

TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS 105

1765 The American Antiquary. Vol. xxvi., No. 6.
1766-1770 University of California Puhlicatioiis, American Ardueology,
it'c. Vol. i., Nos. 1, 2 ; Vol. ii., Nos. 1, 2, 3.

1771 Jourmd, American Oriental Society. Vol. xxv., No. 2.

1772 Archivio per VAnthropologia, Firenze. Vol. xxxiv., No. 2.
1773-78 Revue VEcole d'Anthropologie de Paris. Nov., 1904, April,*05.

1779 Six Pamphlets on Ethnologic and Geologic Subject'*. By Ed. Piette.

1780 Boletin de la Peal Acodemia de Ciencias y Artea^ Barcelona.

1781 Mrmoriag „ „ „ „ Vol. ii.. No. 6.

1782 Bulletinit, Society d'Anthropologie de Parii. 1903. No. 6.
1783-4 Rapporten Commissie in ^ederlandsch-Inde. 1901-2.

1785 Notulen van de Algemeene, dtc. Bataviaasch Genootsohap. Deel

xlii., 3.

1786 Tijdtchrift voor Indische Taal-, Land-, en Volkenkunde. Deel

xlvii.

1787 Dagh'Register, Casteel Batavia 1656-1667.

1788-89 Metteilunijen der Anthropogisclien GeselUchaft in Wien»

xxxiv., 3, 4, 5.
1790 Australian Museum Report for 1903-4.
1791-2 Papers, Peahody Museum of American Archceology. Vol. 1,

No. 7; Vol. iv. No. 1.
1793-4 La Geographic. June, July, 1904.

1795 Bijdragen, Taal, Land-, en Volkenkwidet dtc. S'Gravensbage,

1906.

1796 Preliminary Report on the Palolo Worm. W. MoM. Woodworth.

1903.

1797 VorWuJiger Bericht, Palolowunn.

1798 Annates de la Faculte des Sciences de Marsailles. Tome xiv.

1799 Zur Geschichte der Palolofrage. Dr. B. Friedlaender.

1800 Several Pamphlets on Mauri Matters. From Mr. Geor^'e Graham.

1801 Antikvarisk Tidskrift for Sveridge. xvii., 3.

1802-3 Papers, Peahody Museum of American Archaology. Vol. iii., 1,2.

1804 Tijdschrift, Indische Taal, dtc. Deel xlvii., 3, 4.

1805 Bijdragen, Midden Maleisch, dtc. Deel liii.

1806-7 Memorias, Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes de BarceUma,

Vol. iv., 40 ; Vol. v., 1.
1808 Bulletin de la Soci4tS Neuchateloise de Geographic. Tome xv.

MAORI RELIGION.

By Lieut.-Col. W. E. Gudgeon, C.M.G.

'j^OWEVER great our astonishment at the intrepidity displayed by

L^ the ancestors of the Maori people, in their long voyages across

^ the sea of Kiwa ; and much as we may admire these instances

of adventurous daring, we must never lose sight of the fact that these

old time Polynesians derived much assistance from their religion.

A Maori firmly believed, not only in the power of his gods, but also
in the ability of the tribal tohunga to invoke or even compel these gods
to aid the tribe in any great undertaking; and from this belief it
followed as a natural sequence, that if the tohumja declared the omens
to be propitious, there was nothing that the warriors of that family
would not attempt ; for theirs was the faith that could remove mountains.
Whatever our impressions of the modem Maori may be, there can be
no question that during the continuance of their ancient religion, or,
as they themselves express it, during the continuance of the iniina-
maori they were a most religious people. Indeed, their creed was
nothing less than this : Keep the laws of the gods and live, break them
and die.

With this preface to my subject, I will endeavour to show as far as
may be done — in a work that does not profess to do more than give a
popular sketch of Maori manners and customs — what this religion was
before the arrival of the European with his disturbing theory of fire
and brimstone.

In matters supernatural the mind of man follows much the same
groove, be he Caucasian, Mongol or Maori ; in each case he is equally

108 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

open to receive religious impressions, though the form of the impression
may vary considerably, in order to meet the laws of environment and
satisfy racial instincts.

Among the Maoris there are traces of two religious systems, one of
which is purely abstract in its conception of the Deity, and of a very
exalted type, inasmuch as it attributes the existence of all things to the
great god '^ lo.'* The second is probably a later and most certainly an
inferior conception, in which the powers of nature are personified in
the persons of certain anthropomorphic gods, and it is this fact that
constitutes the difference between the two systems. lo, the supreme
creator occupies a position in the Maori Pantheon, apart from and
superior to that of any other Maori deity ; he is the great originator,
the All-Father, who pervades space, has no residence, and cannot be
localised. Here then we have a clear and reasonable conception of a
supreme spiritual essence, or controlling power; of a deity who is
practically unknown to the modern Maori, and it would seem not even
dreamed of by the pakeha, since we are informed by Doctor Thompson
and Mr. Shortland that the Maori has a very limited notion of the
abstract. The conclusion arrived at by the latter is, that the Maori is
unable to conceive any abstract notion, and hence the powers of nature
were regarded by him as concrete objects, and designated as persons.
This assertion I shall show to be without foundation, for the conception
of lo in New Zealand and Tangaroa in the Pacific, is purely abstract.
As to lo it is claimed that he dwelt in the expanse. ** / noho i roto %
te aaha o te Ao'' That he gave expression to the thought, that he
might dwell without habitation, ** nolw kore noho a ia.'' In other
words that he might pervade space. Surely the abstract enters very
largely into ideas such as these ; but even admitting that the Maori
capacity for the abstract is limited, we may still doubt whether we our-
selves are much farther advanced in that respect. Anthropomorphism
is not a peculiarity confined to the Maoris, and it seems to me, that
with all our boasted civilisation our tendency is to revert to the worship
of the graven image on the least possible provocation, even though that
image may not be the golden calf. I may also point out that the
singular talcs told of the achievements of ^laui-potiki and other god-
like beings mentioned in Maori history are not to be taken as absolute
statement of fact. I do not think that the learned men among the
Maoris ever regarded these talcs as boinp: other than ancient myths,
and it has always seemed to me that thoy were intended to convey
some great metaphysical truth, which, however obscure at the present
day, must have been clear enough to the tohHinjiis of old days ; though
probably at all times obscure to their followers, for whatever his creed,
when did a tohumja allow his fellow man to become more enlightened
on any point than was absolutely necessary ?

MAORI RELIGION 109

I cannot say that lo is known throughout Polynesia, for I can find
no reference to that deity in any of the standard works on the Pacific
Islands ; this of course is not evidence that he is not known to the
people, for the same thing might be said of the Maoris since the
references to lo in any work on New Zealand are few, if any. Indeed
it is obvious that the Maoris for reasons best known to themselves have
carefully avoided all reference to this god. The Samoans ascribe to
Tangaroa those divine powers which the Maoris claim for lo. Their
tradition is that Tangaroa dwelt in the expanse, and that at this period
there was neither sea nor earth, but only a rock or foundation, from
which it was designed that all things should spring. Tangaroa is
described as striking the rock which gave birth to the earth and then to
the sea. Subsequently this mother of all things gave birth in succession
to the fresh water, sky, immensity and space. Then came a boy, a girl,
man, the spirit, heart, mind, and the understanding ; these last four
Tangaroa succeeded in combining in man and hence the intelligence of
mankind. This tradition, it will be seen, differs greatly from that of
the Maori; a fact in itself sufficiently astonishing and hardly to be
accounted for seeing that the Maoris of New Zealand and the Samoans
have only been separated during the last 600 years. These differences
may however have originated in the fact that the Maoris have been
more completely isolated during the last five centuries than any other
Polynesian tribe, and have therefore retained their ancient superstitions
intact, whereas the Samoans have mixed with those Polynesians who
were in communication with the Melanisian people of the Pacific, and
may possibly have adopted the theories of that race. To the Maori
Tangaroa is merely one of the children of heaven and earth and has
jurisdiction over the sea only ; nor is he the greatest of the brethren by

110 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

any means, though in all matters connected with the sea and it's fishes
he requires grave propitiation, for the quarrel between Tangaroa and
Tu-mata-uenga (the god of man) has not and never will end.

Among the Greeks, Latins and Germans the earth invariably
received the epithet of Mother, and we learn from the mythology of
the first-named people that Uranos (the Heavens) cohabited with Gffia
and had issue, Chronos, Oceanos, Hyperion and the Titans, and that
he subsequently took to wife Bhea, who bore him Hera, Hades,
Demeter, Poseidon and Zeus (the Ruler of the Upper World). It is
moreover clear that the Greeks reverenced and personified the vault of
Heaven as the Supreme Being. In like manner the Maoris hold that
Papa-tu-a-nuku was the mother of the gods, that is of a certain class
of gods of whom Rangi (the Firmament) was the father. Therefore
from Heaven and Earth sprang all things necessary to man, and
incidentally man himself. In this myth we have probably the germ
of all religious systems ; born of the awe and perhaps gratitude which
must necessarily arise in the minds of a thoughtful and observant
people when contemplating the complex operations of nature. The
religious system of the Maoris does not however in all cases follow
that of the Aryan people; there are some very singular omissions;
for instance, the Maori word ahi (fire) if not actually derived from
the Sanscrit, is undoubtedly from the same old root, yet notwith-
standing that nearly half of the old Aryan hymns are addressed to
Agni. The Maoris do not appear at any period to have either
reverenced or personified ** Ahi," and have indeed no very great
respect for the sun himself, since all that we hear of Tama-nui-te-ra
is that he was tied, beaten, and generally crippled by Mani-potiki in
order to regulate the course of the sun and therefore the duration of
the day.

The most universal of all religious emotions is perhaps the
reverence for sun and earth, that is, the recognition of all male and
female principle of life; and reference to the formulas of creation,
which may be found in the most ancieut Maori chants, will show
how thoroughly that people recognise the receptivity of the earth,
and that its fertility was due to the warmth and moisture received
from above. It is, therefore, as I have said, singular that the Maori
should have little if any reverence for the sun, and that they should
give all credit to Rangi (the firmament).

MAORI RELIGION 111

Richard Taylor. In this work several chants are given all of which
are couched in highly figurative language, and embody abstract ideas
which are little short of the sublime. The following is a specimen : —

The word became fruitful,

It dwelt with the feeble glimmering,

And brought forth night, the great night and the long night,

The lowest and the loftiest night, the black night and the night to be felt,

The night far stretching but not to be seen,

The night that might not be followed.

The night ending in death.

This may fairly be called the first stage of the earth's existence or
chaos, the next stage is that of light : —

Begotten from nothingness, from nothing the increase,
From nothing abundance ;
The power of increase and the breath of life,
Dwelt with the empty space and produced the Heavens above,
The Heavens floated above the earth and dwelt with the early dawn
And light appeared.

The Heavens dwelt with the glowing sky

And brought forth the sun which appeared as the eye of heaven ;
Then the Heavens above became light and sent forth the early dawn,
The early sun, the noontide, and the blaze of day from the sun,
Then the Heavens above dwelt with the earth and brought forth
Ta-porapora, Tau-whare-nikau, Eukuparu, Wauwau-a-tea and Whiwhi-te-
rangiora.

These last named children of heaven and earth would seem to be
certain islands of the Pacific, the passage may therefore be taken to
mean that these were the first lands to appear above the sea, but as
the Maoris are much given to reproduce the names of their ancient
homes in new lands, it may be that the reference here made is to their
very ancient homes and may for this reason have a much deeper
significance than we are aware of. Yet another of these ancient
recitals, after describing chaos under the name of Te Eore (the void
or nothingness) proceeds as follows: —

Nothing but hail dark in colour.

Hail dashing forth, hail destroying,

Hail melting and flowing beyond the dark places ;

Thenceforth nothingness is finished forever.

The return from nothingness and it's power

And the pursuit of nothingness.

Meru the releaser from Hades,

Meru the releaser from the bonds of Hades,

Who alone can cause us to retrace our steps to the world,

To the ancient world that Death may not cleave to us.

In these chants I have followed the translations given by the Rev.
Richard Taylor for I recognise that he collected these traditions at a
period when he could and probably did obtain the services of the old

112 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

tohungas to explain the highly figurative and obscure language used
therein. But for this fact I should have been inclined to doubt the
•correctness of a translation which describes Meru as a breaker of the
bonds of Hades. Whatever knowledge I have been able to collect
as to the status of this deity is to the effect, that he was the guardian
of Hades, namely the Reiuga, from whence there could be no return.
The old tohiiufjas of the Maori people hold that had the man-god
Tawhaki, when assaulted and apparently slain by his brothers, passed
through the gateway of night, and entered Rua-ki-pouri, which is the
entrance to the shades, he must of necessity have passed those ancient
ancestors, Rua-toia and Rua-kumea, and had he done so he could never
have returned to the Ao-marama (world of light). In such case he
must have proccedcMl onward to Ameto, which is extinction. Now
Rua-ki-pouri is the house of Meru, the portal through which the
wairua or disembodied spirit must pass into the nether world ;
Meru and Kai-pono-kiuo are said to sit on either side of the entrance,
while further back are Rua-toia and Rua-kumea, and these are the four
evil spirits who prevent the wainui from re-entering it's earthly
tenement.

All over the Pacilic the name of Maru, Meru, or Mini, is either
suggestive of death or at any rate of a future state. The Mangaiana
have traditions of a goddess whom they call Miru and they represent
her as being deformed in figure and terrible to bo looked on. She is
moreover described as one who feasts on the spirits of the dead. The
name of ^leru would appear to be of great antiquity. Mr. Gerald
Massey ^ays : *' A persistent (Jreek tradition asserts that the primitive
abode of the Egyptians was in Ethiopia and mention is made of their
ancient city of Meroc or Muru." He adds also that the inhabitants
of this city were called Sabaeans. North of the Himalayan range
tradition has placed a mountain called Meru which is said to have been
the birthplace of the Aryan people, and tliis same place is also claimed
to bo the centre of the lUiddhist universe and to be surrounded by
seven circles of rocks. It is these circles that are symbolised in the
ancient temples and pyramids of Cambodia, notably in that magnificent
mass of ruins known as Nakkon Wat, and it may be that we have here
the idea that possessed the builders of those truncated and terraced
pyramids of the Pacific, known to the Polynesians as heiao or marae.
At the aforesaid Nakkon Wat the great temple is built on only throe
terraces, hut the remaining terraces of that ancient city have each a
substructure of seven terraces in order to correspond with the seven
circles of Meru.

We learn from the ^laori t<ihunga^ that in the beginning all that
there was of life upon the bosom of Mother earth lived, if not in extreme

MAORI RELIGION 118

darkness, at any rate in a dim twilight wherein the sun's rays never
penetrated. The men -gods of that period were overshadowed by the
near presence of the great Rangi, the all father, male principal, and
origin of all life. Hence the children of heaven and earth were
dissatisfied inasmuch as they had reason to believe that light might be
obtained provided that they could permanently separate their parents.
The situation was discussed and Tu of the fierce eyes proposed that
Rangi should be slain. This proposition was opposed by Tane-mahuta
and others of his bretheren who held that mere separation would meet
the case. To this milder measure all agreed with the exception of
Tawhiri-matea ; his objections were however disregarded, and Tane-
mahuta with his back on Mother earth and his feet planted firmly
against the Heavens above, exerted his vast strength and forcibly
separated his parents while his brothers fixed the props to keep them
for ever apart. From this unfilial act arose the war of Tawhiri-matea
against his brethren. Wind, rain, hail and snow beat upon them and
they fled ignominiously ; Tangaroa and his son, Ikatere, fled to the
sea, the other son Tu-te-wanawana fled inland and became a lizard.
Tane-mahuta transferred himself into the giant trees of the forest.
Rongo-ma-tane entered into the kumara, and Haumia-tikitiki sought
safety in the roots of the common fern (Pteris esculmita), Tu-mata-
uenga alone of the godlike descendants of heaven and earth remained
unmoved by this war of the elements, and against him even the anger
of Heaven had little effect ; but he was justly exasperated by the
cowardly behaviour of his brothers, and therefore it was that he converted
them into food for his own use and that of his descendants, and hence
it is that man even to this day eats the fruits of the earth and the
fishes of the sea. To the rebellion of these children against their
august parents we may attribute the fact that we have death in this
world ; indeed the Maoris believe that it was Papa-tu-a-nuku (the earth)
herself that caused man to return to the dust from which he was made,
in expiation of the offence of Tu and his brethren. Having given this
preliminary history of the children of Rangi and Papa I will now show
in detail who they were, and also the part that each took in the economy
of nature.

First among these deities in point of birth though not in reputation
is Tama-rangi-tau-ke. This god is but little known except to the higher
priesthood, and the reason is obvious forasmuch as the offspring of
Tama are held to be the spirits of men. We can therefore understand
that the ordinary untaught Maori would find it difficult to comprehend
such a highly metaphysical view of this subject. It is moreover a fact
that the higher knowledge was carefully retained within the ranks of the
priesthood, and was not taught to outsiders. I may here mention that
the Maoris maintain the right to claim their descent from several of

114 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

the children of heaven and earth. From Tama-rangi-tan-ke, because of
our spiritual nature, from Aitua because of our perishable nature, and
hence it is that death by ordinary disease is called te mate o AUu, in
other words death of the flesh, a Maori recognising that the spirit
cannot die. From Tu-mata-uenga we may claim descent because it was
he who breathed the breath of life into the riverside clay and so gave
life to Tiki. We have a right to claim Mako-i-rangi as an ancestor
because of our descent from the Patu-paiarehe (children of darkness),
and last but by no means least we may claim descent from Tangaroa
by virtue of the fact that it was the karakia of his descendant Tinirau
that caused Hinauri to give birth safely to Tu-huruhuru, from whom
are descended Irakau and all those people of modern days whose boast
it is that they are of the Kaivei ika moana (genealogy of the sea fish).
I will however admit that if I were to mention these things before a
large assembly of modern Maoris, perhaps not one in a hundred would
understand me. The spiritual nature of man is not now understood by
the Maoris. How many are there that could explain the nature or
origin of the liau, the Mauri, the Wainiaf the hlinengaro^ the Mahara
or the origin of the sacredness of the Ariki! And yet of old the priests
did understand and explain these abstract metaphysics to their tauira
(disciples).

Aitua wa.) the second child of heaven and earth and from him have
originated all the misfortunes to which iiesh is heir, and hence it is
said that the offspring of Aitua is misfortune, and all that is perishable
in man, and therefore, as I have already stated, the Maoris call a natural
death ** Te mate o Aitu,''

The third child of these parents is the great god Bongo-ma-tane
who has had altars erected in his honour throughout the islands of
Polynesia where he is known under the name of Rongo or Bono ; I have
however boon told that the proper name of this deity is Rongo-mata-
kawiu. Tho Maoris hold that this god has supreme jurisdiction over
all cultivated food, such as the kuwara and taroy also over all climbing
plants such as the aka {MetroMfms), the ]whtie (convolvolus) and
piki-arero (clematis), and bonce these plants ar> called the children of
Rongo-ma-tane, which is but another name for this deity.

The fourth on the list is Tane-mahuta who is recognised as the
guardian spirit of l)oth forests and birds. The god Rupe who takes the
form of a pigeon is one of his children, and all tho trees of the forest
are said to bo the oft'spring of Tano, anxl thcroforo in old days when
it was necossar}- U) cut down a troo in onlor to make a canoo, or indeed
for any othor pur|x»so, much ceremony was usoil and many karakia*
said in ordor to prnpitiato this deity who^o children were about to be

MAORI RELIGION 116

slain. Any default on the part of the workmen would be made manifest
by the tree resuming its upright position without sign of injury just so
often as it might be felled.

Buaimoko is the fifth child of this family. He is the god of
mountains and earthquakes and his presence is manifested in all the
convulsions of nature. In the language of ancient Egypt the word Bua
is said to signify the mountain ; in Maori Bu is the earthquake, and the
connection of ideas seems very plain in this instance. It is moreover
worthy of note that the Aryans adored a blacksmith god, the personified
thunderbolt which they called " Twachtrei," and ii would seem that
the Maoris must at one period of their history have had a knowledge
of this fact for they call thunder " Whatitiri '* which is but another
form of the same name.

Tawhiri-matea is the sixth on this list and he has mana over storms,
wind, rain and floods ; he alone of all the children of heaven and earth
resented the separation of his parents and followed his father to the
regions above, from whence he has consistently waged war even to the
present day against all his brethren.

Ngana is the seventh son and from him proceeded the sun, moon
and starB. Both in Egypt and Polynesia the word Ba indicates the sun
and the sun god, but I have never yet been able to ascertain that the
Maoris regarded Ba as a deity of mdna, nor that he was reverenced in
any form, although he is known as Tama-nui-te-ra (the great lord the
sun).

Haumia-tikitiki comes next in order of birth and of this god it is
said that his descendants are all of those plants which, though of
natural and indigenous growth, are nevertheless used by man as food.
More especially this deity may be said to be present in the root of the
common bracken, which is known to the Maori by the name of aruhe.

Most famous of all this family is, however, Tu-mata-uenga (Tu of
the fierce eyes) the Maori Mars, who had special jurisdiction over man,
for by him was created Tiki the first man. Tu alone of his family
has defied the power and malice of Tawhiri-matea, and has conquered
aud converted to his own use those of his brethern who deserted him
at the time of the great fight ; but great as his power and mdna have
been it must not be forgotten that he it was that brought death into
the world in expiation of the sin committed when they rebelled against
their parents. Last but by no means least of this family is Tangaroa,
second only in importance to Tu of the angry face ; he is the Maori
*' Poseidon* and his offspring are the fishes of the sea through his
son Ikatere, and the reptiles of the land through another son Tu-te-
wanawana. Very great reverence is paid to Tangaroa by the Maoris
when engaged in fishing, and on no account is cooked food allowed to
be taken in the canoe at such times, and even old pipes are forbidden.

lie JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

No matter how long the fishing might take, those so employed most
fast until they return to the land, unless indeed they would eat their
fish raw, a thing that many Maoris prefer to do. The Ngati-Poron, of
the Kawakawa, and Hicks' Bay, when engaged in moki fishing will on
no account permit the fish that they may catch be cooked in any
manner other than the orthodox Maori oven, their impression being
that any other method would be an insult to Tangaroa and therefore
sufficient to prevent the fish from returning to their shores. I could
hardly be accused of exaggeration if I were to say that the ceremonies
and observances which require attention during deep sea fishing are at
least thirty in number.

After the separation of Rangi and Papa, as already related, the
former is said to have co-habited with Po (darkness) and had issue the
following children :

Te Makoirangi, whose descendants are the Patu-paiarehe, the fairies
or gnomes, the children of mist and darkness who dreading the light of
day above all things, confine themselves to the gloomy forests and
fastnesses of such mountains as Pirongia, Moehau, and Kaimanawa.

Po-whakarere-i-waho was the second child of this connection and
from him has sprung forgeifulness and death, as also the Aroiroi, that
is, the quivering heat of the sun that may be seen dancing over
dry ground when there is but little wind. These things according to
the Maoris are the spiritual essences of the god and therefore rightly
described as his children.

So much for these godlike personifications of the external powers
of nature. I will now speak of certain other deities who are known as
the Kahui o te Rangi. Speaking generally it may be said that the
modem Maori knows nothing of his ancient history or religion, that is,
he is unable to give any connected narrative of either subject; worse
still he is unable to explain passages and allusions which are of
frequent occurrence in his old songs, and which are of very great
interest to those who would learn something of the ancient history of
the Maori, and from this it results that those who would enquire into
and write upon such matters must perforce act as their own
interpreters, and as a natural secjuenco are often mistaken. Mytho-
logical fragments may, however, be found which will stTve to disclose
the outlines of what was the old Maori belief.

I once heard a Maori — who like many of his race was an authority
on the Bible — assert that there was not one single incident in the
world's history as related in that book that was not also to be found
recorded in Maori tradition. He gave many examples in supi>ort of his
statement, but 1 regret to say that 1 did not take notes of the
conversation, for in those days 1 was young and hud merely a passing
interest in Maori history. I do, however, rumember that he gave a very

MAORI REU6I0H 117

good illustration of his views, and proved his assertion to the
satisfaction of his audience. Among other matters mentioned was the
** Deluge," concerning which the Maoris have more than one tradition.
My friend quoted the Tai o Buatapu as the Noachian Deluge, but in
this instance he made a very bad selection, for the Tai o Ruatapu
would seem to have been a purely local flood caused by the anger of
Ruatapu, who was not a very remote ancestor of the Ngati-Porou of
the East Cape of New Zealand. He was also the ancestor of most
of the people of the Cook Islands, and apparently it was at Barotonga
that the deluge took place, for Puke-hapopo, the hill to which Buatapu
recommended his people to fly for safety, is situated between Avatiu
and Arorangi. This tradition is well known to the tribes of Barotonga
with, however, this difference, that Pupupoonga was the hill to which
they were directed to fly, and that it was Uenuku, the father of
Buatapu, who warned them to take shelter on the hills.

The genuine Maori deluge was that of Tupu-nui-a-Uta and his son
Para-whenua-mea. For eight long months these men are said to have
floated on the surface of the water in a sort of primeval ark, while the
rest of mankind perished miserably in the flood that had been invoked
by the said Tupu in order to punish those men who at this period of
the world's history had not only derided the god Tane, but had
also rejected the teachings of certain deities of whom Tupu was the
mouthpiece. Hence it was that the latter, moved by certain emotions
of zeal and vanity which are occasionally dignified by the name of
religious fervour, besought Tane to deliver the world from such
unbelieving scoft'ers. The prayer was answered. Tawhiri-matea
opened the flood-gates of Heaven and mankind perished in an entirely
satisfactory and orthodox manner. Tradition relates that the ark
grounded at Hawaiki, and that the first act of these pious survivors was to
return thanks for their delivery from a watery grave, and an offering
of seaweed was made to each and every important god to whom also
rude altars were then and there erected. The ceremonies used at that
time are performed even to this day whenever the msmbers of the
Whauwhau-harakeke tribe find it necessary to save their lives by
invoking the aid of the sea Taniwha. On such occasions the men
who are thus saved from drowning take pieces of seaweed inland and
place them at the root of shrubs or trees, and at the same time gather
a few handfulls of leaves and cast them into the sea, thus recognising
the mdna of the gods of both land and sea. To the Maori it is a
matter of the utmost importance that he should at all times recognise
the mdna of the gods, for he realises that no mem can look deeply into
the future, nor can he forsee the course of events, neither also can he
know the day that he may not again require the assistance of his gods.

118 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

The most ignorant among them understand full well that so surely
as the prosperous man forgets I he existance of his gods, so surely will
they forget him in his hour of need.

Maori tradition points definitely to the fact that the earth or at
any rate those inhabiting the earth have on several occasions been
partially destroyed, though it would seem not with the aid of water. In
the days of Puta that man found fault with Mataaho and his tribe
whom it is alleged were wanting in veneration for the gods, and
finding it impossible to turn these misguided men from the error of
their ways Puta struck the earth a sharp blow and it thereupon became
convulsed and the majority of those living were swallowed up.

Still further back in the dim past we hear of one Wi, a very great
prophet, who moved by love for his fellow men strove to lead Miru,
the king of darkness, into the path of light ; but finding that he had
undertaken a task altogether beyond his powers he destroyed both
Miru and his friends. This tale is somewhat apochryphal for the
Maori Satan is still king of Hades, and so far as I can see has lost
nothing of his mdna even on this earth.

The Maori recognised that there was a period in the world's history
when men as we now know them did not exist ; had not in fact been
created. Those who did inhabit the earth were of godlike origin
and attributes with the single exception, that they were not superior to
king "Death," inasmuch that they were descended from those children
of Heaven and Earth who had rebelled against their parents, and
were therefore subject to the decree that in expiation of that offence
they should again return to the bosom of mother earth. In all other
respects they were gods having powers altogether super-natural and
were known as the Kahui-o-te-Rangi. Such were Hema (who the
Maoris delight to identify with Shem, the son of Noah), Whaitiri,
Kai-tangata and Tawhaki, the last named of whom is said to have
succeeded in climbing back into Heaven taking with him his stillborn
child Te Makawe-nui-a-raugi. This child he wrapped in the sacred hair
torn from his own hetul and then cast it out into the world in the hope
that he would thereby induce a sontiniont of joy and gratitude among
the minor deities of this planet, for Tawhaki's ofi'ering was intended as
a sacrifice to expiate the oiTences of the world l)elow. From this
tradition it would seem that the Maoris were not ignorant of the
doctrine of atonement ; but all of iho tales told of these men-gods are
equally sensible, some are vvhimsiciil in the extreme. For instance,
we are told that the elder Maui who was also known as Ruixi-to-;angi, for
no conceivable reason changed his sister's husl)and, one Irawaru, into
a dog, with the result that tbo wife, Hina-uri, actuated by that dual
sentiment of grief and revenge which the Maoris civil whakatnomoir^
threw herself into the sea and there drifted about for throe long

MAORI RELIGION 119

months, until she was at last rescued by the sea spirits Ihu-atamai and
Ihu-wareware. To these two deities she became enciente, and when
her condition became known to the great Tinirau he sought her out
and took her to his home. The birth of Hina-uri's child who was
subsequently known as Tu-huruhuru was attended with both danger
and difficulty until the sufferer called upon the name of Rupe, who
came at her summons and instantly the child was born. It is said
that shortly after birth the infant was delivered into the hands of Rupe
who took it to Rehua (Jupiter) in order that the ceremony of tohi
might be performed. He then returned the child to its mother, and
subsequently both of them were taken to the eight heaven. From
this boy Tu-huruhuru came the ancestor Mairatea, and after many
generations Irakau who for the reasons above given is claimed as a
descendant of Tangaroa, and hence it is said that the Waitaha tribe of
the Piako River are of the kauei ika rnoana (genealogy of the sea fish).
The most energetic of this race of man -gods was the youngest of
the Maui family, surnamed Potiki. Concerning this individual most
marvellous tales are told ; not only did he, like Orpheus, descend into
Hades, but he is also described as regulating the course of the sun, and
last but by no means least by the mdna of his fish hook, made from the
jawbone of his ancestress Muri-ranga-whenua, he fished up New
Zealand from the bottom of the sea. Then, like Alexander the Great,
finding no more worlds to conquor he endeavoured to persuade his
brothers to join him in slaying their great ancestress Hine-nui-te-Po
(the goddess of night) in order that death might be banished from the
world. The conversation between the brothers on this occasion has
been handed down by tradition and is exceedingly curious. Said Maui
to his brothers " Let us rise up and slay our great ancestress, the great
mother of night, in order that men may increase and multiply in the
world." The elder Maui answered ** We shall never succeed in this
undertaking ; indeed it is probable that she who glitters on the horizon
may slay us. Already thanks to your pranks we have on more than
one occasion barely escaped the wrath of offended deities." To this
Maui-potiki replied ** Yet will I undertake this great work unaided, for
it matters little if I be slain ; I was not suckled at the breast of our
mother, but wrapped in her head dress, was thrown into the sea, and
finally cast ashore by the drift of the waves. Thanks to the care
bestowed upon me by the great Lord of the Heavens and our Lord the
Sun I became a man, but who cares for deafch ? I will go to the great
forest of Tane and will there gather together a flock of birds, Tirairaka
and Popokatea, who will accompany me in my undertaking since ye
are all afraid." Maui-mua answered him by saying ** Let a man die
as the moon dies, for that luminary returns again and again with
renewed vigor, having bathed in the Wai-ora-a-Tane (the water of

120 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

life)." Maui-potiki dissented, saying, ** Bather let us die and become
like our mother the earth to the end that those whom we leave behind
us may weep over our bodies and lament our death." With these
words he went to collect his company of birds by whose aid he sought
to overcome death, but his enemy, Tuhi-kai-tangata, was at hand, and
as Maui entered the womb of night that man caused the birds to laugh
and thereby awakened Hine-nui-te-Po and so cost Maui-potiki his life.
But for this unfortunate occurrence, say the tohtimjas, Hine-nui-te-Po
would have been slain, and from that time forth man would have lived
forever.

Outside of these god-like personifications of the external powers of
nature, there are deities of another class who are usually mentioned as
the Kahui-o-te-Rangi (Heavenly Host). The origin of these gods is
obscure, and I am compelled to admit that I ctmnot trace their descent.
The most important of them are : —

1. Tama-i-waho 4. Tungia-te-ika 7. Te Marongorongo

2. Tu-takanahau 5. Tungia-te-po 8. Tara-kumukumu

3. Eahu-kura G. Tahaia

These guardians of the tapu are not of equal mnk, nor are they of
the same disposition in their relations to mankind. For instance,
Tama-i-waho is said to be of a kindly disposition and well disposed
towards those who behave respectfully to him, but withal an angry god
towards evil doers. According to the East Coast tribes his spiritual
parents were Puna-hamoa and Hine-pukohu-rangi, and they moreover
assert that he alone of the Heavenly host has earthly descendants.
Chief among those are the Arawa tribes who still bear the proud appel-
lation of Ngaoho or Te Heketanga - ningi (Migration from Heaven).
The traditional account of this incident in Maori history is sufficiently
curious to justify mention, though somewhat difficult to render into
readable English. The desire to tmnsmit descendants who should be in
part human is said to have possessed Tania-i-waho when from his high
place in the Heavens he watched Toi and his wife Kura-nui-a-Monoa
conversing together upon earth. Moved by this desire he rendered
himself invisible to mortal eyes and descending from above, drew nigh
to the woman whom be touched with his hand. Kura would seem to
have been sensible of some stninge presence, for she remarked to her
husliand ** It seems as though some man had touched me though his
awe (astral form) had alone approached me." Toi replied ** Keep quiet
and wait." And so it came to pass that the next time that Tama drew
nigh to the woman they succeeded in catching him, but in what manner
this invisible spirit was caught is not explained; we may however assume
that some very powerful /.v/raAt'i paralysed the god for the time being or
perhaps made visible his astral shape. When Hino-pukohu-ningi saw
her son a captive she swiftly descended and enveloped the earth in so dense

MAORI RELIGION 121

a fog that she experienced no difficulty in rescuing him. The result of this
heavenly visitation was that Kura bore a son who in recognition of his
exalted rank was called Oho-mai-rangi and from him have descended
all the Arawa people. Lest their should be any doubt on this point I
give the genealogy : —

Oho-mai-rangi

Mutu-rangi

Taoanga

Tua-matua

__l

III II

Rakauri Tia Hei Hou-mai-tawhiti Oro

Nga-toro-i-rangi Tapuika Waitaha Tama-te-kapua Maaka

Tu-takanahau is a god swift to anger towards those who break the
tapu, whether by eating food in the vicinity of the sleeping place of
chiefs or tohunyas, or by any unauthorised trespass whatsoever, such as
walking on the borders of the kumara plantations of other men. In all
such cases of infraction of the law of tapu Tu-takanahau will enter into
the offender and destroy him, unless indeed the guilty party be conscious
of his offence in which case he may perchance save his life by sending for
a competent tohunga who could not fail to understand the symptoms,
namely the unnatural distension of the patient's stomach, the same
being an undoubted sign of the presence of Tu-takanahau, or indeed of
any Maori god, in the human system.

The Maori tohunga is superior to his European confrere in this
respect ; that his treatment is more simple and he requires no drugs.
In a case such as I have described his treatment would be somewhat as
follows : — Firstly, he would take a hair from his own head and one from
that of the afflicted man and joining them together would place both in
the patient's mouth as a means of exit for the spirit, a sort of arch of
Al Sirat. This done the tohunga would bite the sick man's head in order
to deprive him of all mdna for the time being and thus bring the patient
more strongly under the influence of the tohunga ; for it is truly said
that a man without mana is subservient to all those who have mdna.
The tohunga would then take a branch of the karangu (Coprosma) and
wave it over the patient with many exhortations to the god to come
forth. The following karakia would be used : —

Tere o te kahui pae, tere o te kahui aparangi

Haere i o huruhuru, haere i o kaupehatu

Haere i o mahunu, haere i o pekemua, haere i o pekemuri

Haere i to waero, haere i to tinana, haere i to petipeti

I to rangahua, haere i to ahimoana, haere i to taitimu,

Puta i runga, maha i raro, ko te ara iti,

Ko te ara i hana i te hemorere, e kuhu, e naomai ki waho.

122 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

I shall not attempt to give any translation of this karakia^ bnt
provided always that the tohunya himself has miina it is an invooation of
great potency and sufficient to force Tu-takanahau to leave the man
whom he had intended to destroy, and free the afflicted man from the
presence of his able assistants Tungia-te-po and Tahaia who, but for
the opportune aid of the tnhmKja, would inevitably have slain their
victim in order to appease the wrath of the guardians of the tapu.

My readers will by this time have arrived at the conclusion that the
religious convictions of the Maori differ very greatly from those of
European nations and they may be summed up in a very few words.
First, their conception of Hades is that of a place of gloom, rest and
eternal monotony, rather than a place of punishment and expiation.
Second, that offences against the gods are punished in this world and
not in the world to come. Third, that they have never quite realised
that offences against their fellow man were deserving of punishment at
the hands of the gods, and it is this omission that is the weak point in
the Maori system of religion.

Like the Brahmin the old time Maori believed that he had the power
to overcome his enemies by the mere force of certain incantations
which had been handed down to him from his ancestors and were
addressed for the most part to the tribal god. The modern Maori does
not now believe that he has this power, for he realises that however
potent the karahia may be when uttered by a man of mdna it is a mere
empty form of words when there is no miina tangata to back it. He is
too shrewd not to comprehend that the mana which had been the
birthright of the Maori from the time of Tiki down to the advent of
the Missionaries, left him for ever on the day that he deserted the
religion of his forefathers and embraced Christianity.

Maori tradition establishes the fact that they had come to the
conclusion that their deities could and would suspend the operation of
the laws of nature at the will of any man who in the hour of need
knew how to invoke the aid of the tribal or universal god of the Maori
people — subject always to the extent of the mana inherent in the man
who called upon them for assistance. Genenilly speaking the gods
invoked would be those of the tribe such as Maru, Uenuku, llongomai
or others, who being deified ancestors charged themselves with the
care of their descendants and specially guard the ariA*/, who is the
eldest born of the direct male line in whose Ixxly the spirit of the
divine ancestor is supposed to reside.

In the matter of war these gods are under the jurisdiction of
Tama-i-waho who alone presides over the tapUy and as a natural
sequence governs the destines of war parties. Of all things tapu
nothing perhaps is so sacred as a war party, and nothing is conducted
on sounder or stricter principles. The reason why this should be so is

MAORI RELieiON Idd

obvious, lor from the Maori point of view the livea and fortunes of
those composing the taua (war party) depend entirely upon the
concurrence of the tribal god, who is supposed to combat above his
people and contend with the war spirit of the opposing tribe.

The formal invocation used to obtain the favour of the gods for a
war party is called an iho or iho taua, and on such occasions it is
Tu-mata-uenga and the tribal gods who are invoked. These latter
deities are numerous, each tribe or group of tribes having their own
god. For instance, the Waikato, Ngati-Maniapoto and Ngati-
Raukawa would call on Uenuku ; the Arawa and Whanganui on Mara,
the Ngati-Eahungunu and Ngati-Porou would invoke the aid of
Rongomai or Tuere, while Ngati-Maru would call on Tu-kai-te-uru, and
Tuhoe on Te Pou-a-tuatini. But whosoever the tribal god might be
the concurrence of Tama-i-waho would be essential to the success of
a war party, that is if they came from the East Coast tribes, but I am
inclined to think that the votaries of Maru and Uenuku held all other
gods to be inferior to these two. The words used in the iho taua of
each and every tribe were not the same ; each one used that form of
words which experience had shown to be the most acceptable to it's
guardian spirit, but whatsoever the form might be it*s object was the
the same, namely, to insure success. The Maoris say that the sign
of success was Ka tara te karakia ka ngahau, lie tohu ora tena. This
may be translated as follows : — If the karakia is rythmic it is a sign of
success. If any part of the invocation be left out or given in inverted
order it is an omen of death or disaster which may not be disregarded,
and therefore the war party if it should start at all must proceed with
extreme caution in order that the results of this omen of ill-fortune
may at any rate be minimised.

The ceremony by which a war party is rendered sacred and
dedicated to the purpose which they have in hand is as follows : At
the earliest dawn the warriors assemble by the side of some water —
a running stream is preferred — for the purpose of the tohi or rite of
purification. When all the warriors are drawn up in line, standing
with one foot on the land and the other in the water, the tohunga takes
in his right hand a branch of the karangu shrub and dips it into the
water, he then waves the branch over the naked warriors so that not
only every man but every weapon is sprinkled. At the same time he
raises the chant *' Wetea ki te wai, kia wetea,"' which may be translated
" Unloose the (sins) with water that they may be unloosed." In this
chant the whole war party joins and then if the oracles and omens —
which have already been consulted — are favourable they start at once
OQ their destroying career, slaying without fail the first person they
meet for he is called he maroro kokoti ihu waka (a flying fish crossing
the bows of a canoe). The victim's body would be immediately offered

124 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

to the gods, and this oeremony oould by no means be neglected, though
it might happen that a man might meet his own father and have to
kill him, for whatsoever the maroro might be, he or she was like
Jepthah's daughter doomed to death.

To obviate the inconvenience and possible danger that might result
from a too strict observance of this Maori rule of war, it was the
custom to reserve at least one of the paths leading to or from the
territory of any two tribes as a path of peace ; so that even in war time
it might be travelled with safety by those who, being nearly related to
each party, could act as mediums of communication between the
two tribes.

When the service on which the war party was engaged was one of
unusual danger a victim would be chosen and offered up to the gods
before the warriors left their village in order that the favour of
those deities might be more effectually secured. In such case the
offering to Uenuku would be a man, but to Maru a dog would be
offered. In each instance the offering would be called a whangai hau
(feed the wind), for the reason that the heart of the victim would be
torn out and burned, to the end that the essence might be diffused
in the upper atmosphere or hau and the gods fed thereby.

When the war party had accomplished the purpose for which it
had set forth or perchance had been defeated in its attempts, it would
return homewards, and when in the vicinity of their pa the chief of
the party would send forward a messenger to warn the home-staying
members of his tribe of his approach. Just outside the ;)a the warriors
would be met by the chief tohunga whose duty it was to demand in a
loud voice ** E Tu! i haere mat kouton i whea.'** The reply would be:
"/ te kimihanga i te hahamufa kai mo Uetiuka,'* (Oh, Tu from whence
have you come ? From the seeking after and searching for food for
Uenuku). Then the tohunga would once more lead his warriors to the
water, and by a ceremony similar to that already described, would
remove from them the tapu of war. This ceremony would be performed
as quickly as possible in order to prevent possible breaches of the tapn :
such as the eating of food by any of the warriors before the sacred
ovens had been opened, or the eating of food by the women and
children before the men of the spoar had been satisfied, or if we use a
Maori expression, to prevent the women eating at the point of the
spear. It was only when the last karakia had been said and the sacred
kinnara eaten that the warriors were declared free of tapu, and might
eat and be merry with their wives and families.

Tu-mata-uenga was, as I have said, the deity who had exclusive
jurisdiction over man, but he was not his progenitor ; both however
spning from the same source, both derived their existence from the
bosom of mother earth. It is not only in Genesis that we learn that

MAORI RELIGION 126

man sprang from the earth ; Maori tradition gives a similar account
of our origin and has even preserved the incantations used by Tu on
that memorable occasion.

The legend is to the effect that Tu-mata-uenga had seen reason to
believe that the godlike race of beings who at that period inhabited the
earth were unfit for the positions they occupied ; he therefore resolved
to make a man after his own image using the clay of the earth as the
material wherewith to carry out his purpose. To effect this project he
built an altar (tiuihu) at Te One-potaka, a place situated in
Hawaiki, that mythical home of the Maori people. The altar was a
very rude affair, merely a mound of earth roughly scraped together.
When it was finished the site was called Te Kauhanga-nui,
and the alter itself Te Oropuke. In the mound of earth so made Tu
planted two green branches of the koromiko (Veronica) both of which
had the leaves and branches intact. The right hand branch he placed
in the groimd with his right hand and the left hand branch with his
left hand. This was a matter of the utmost importance since these
branches represented life and death, and even to this day bright are
the prospects of a child who, after the tohi ceremony, finds that his
tree of^ life has taken root and is growing vigorously. The great Nga-
Puhi chief Tamate Waka Nene was an instance in point, for it is said
that his tree of life grew, and hence his mdna was very great. Tu
called the right hand branch, or tree o! hfe, *'Oromatau"; the other
he called '* Oromania." He then took para-tiku (riverside clay) and
mixed it, kneading it into the shape of a man, in other words into the
image of Tu himself, and having done these things he lifted the
clay, the head of the image in his right hand, and the lower part of
the body in his left hand, and placed it on the branches of Oromatau
and Oromania. This ceremony is still followed by tohungas when they
perform the tohi rite over a newly born child, after the ceremony of
the Ta-ngaengaetanga (invocation used when the first breath is drawn
and the naval string cut). It is then that the tohunga lifts the child
on to the altar, holding as I have said the head in his right hand, and
repeats the tohi dedicating the infant to such work as the parents
shall think fit and proper. Be it understeod that until this ceremony
has been performed the child cannot be relied on to carry out any
work however simple without making many mistakes. It sometimes
happens that an infant is dedicated, even before it is bom, to avenge
some injury of very ancient date ; an injury which has been borne in
mind by the family, whose sacred duty it was to avenge it.

When Tu-mata-uenga had lifted the image of clay on to the altar
he used these words, " Ko waenganui tenei wahi^ ko te manawa, ko taku
nianawaj he manawa-tina^ he manawa-toka, he manawa-keuketi-ora ; ko tou
manawa ko taku manawa, ko te manawa-tinaj ko te manawa-toka^ o Tu, o

126 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

Tu-nukUf Tu-rangi, o Tu-papa, o Tu-kerehere^ o Tu-mata-uenga** We
may translate this speech as follows : — Within this clay are the organs
of life, the organs of my life, the power of digestion and the enduring
heart (the heart of the war god) and the beating heart of Tu (the
circulation of the blood) ; thy powers are derived from me for they also
are mine, they are the organs of Tu (under his various names). Then
Tu breathed into the mouth and nostrils of the clay and instantly this
inanimate effigy of a man was endued with life and sneezed. At this
sign of life Tu used these words ** Tihe waxiri ora hi te Whei-ao hi U
Ao-marama" namely, Sneeze spirit of life both in the outer world
and in the world of light. The Whei-ao is all that portion of space
which is held to lie outside the realms of this earth and which is there-
fore called the realm of life. Then Tu uttered another karakia of great
power and the breathing clay arose and was lifted from the altar
and then was used the karakia known as *' Tawhiwhi-tu,*' and when it
was finished the created being was taken to the water at Te One-potaka
where the ceremony of the tnhi was performed, and from that time
forth the clay became man and was given the name of Te Ahunga, or
Tikii-ahua ki Hawaiki, that is Tiki who was formed at Hawaiki. Of
all these things, says my informant, the most important is the fact that
the clay sneezed, forasmuch as that sign of the power of the gods
remains with us even to this day in order that we may be reminded of
the great work Tu accomplished on the altar of the Kauhanga-nui,
and hence it is that when men sneeze the words of Tu are repeated by
those who are present, namely Tihe mauri ora.

Such was the origin of man, but there is a certain amount of
obscurity over that of women, though there are traditions to the effect
that Tiki's wife, lo-wahine, was made subsequently from the same
material and by the name hands as Tiki.

I have always noticed a certain amount of hesitation in the answers
of my tohunga friends when questioned concerning the origin of Tiki's
wife. They all appear to realise that they ought to know something of
this important fact, but many of them have said plainly that they did
not know, while others have said that it was lo-wahine, and that they
presumed that she was created in the same manner as Tiki. I have,
however, always been impressed with the fact that they did not know,
and am therefore not astonished to learn from Professor Giglioli, of
Florence, that on the handles of certain car>'od paddles from Raivavai
(one of the Austral Group) Tiki is there depicted as of the female aex.
This is interesting and confirms my suspicion that Tiki was the
principal of life in human form, complete in his or herself, and might
therefore be properly represented as of either sex.

From the fact that all that is god-like in man is derive<l from the
breath of Tu it results that the divine, spiritual and intellectual i

MAORI tiELWON 127

in mankind are both numerous and potent, and as a natural sequence
the body being of mere clay is of little importance except as a shrine
for l^e following spiritual or intellectual essences or attributes, namely
the waima, the hau, the inaharut the kmegaro, and the mauri, and
last but by no means least the hereditary atua, who is known as the
kufnonga kai.

The irairua is the astral body which has a life of it*s own inde-
pendant of and apart from the earthly tenement. It is that which
survives of the man after he has left this world and has entered the
reifiga or shades. I am by no means sure that the waima itself has
the power to return either to the Whei-ao or to the the Ao-marama,for I
cannot remember an instance in which the return of the vcairua from
the shades to this earth is recorded. Indeed in the legend of Tawhaki
already quoted it is expressly said that he could not possibly have
returned to this earth had he passed the gates of night and entered
Ameto. But if the ivairua cannot return to the earth it is clear that
the awe or shade of the wairua can do so, for my readers have only to
consult that very amusing book ** Old New Zealand ** to learn how a
tohunya called back the spirit of a young chief to speak to his wife and
family.

Of all the spiritual attributes of man the most difficult to compre-
hend is that known as the hau ; difficult because of the many abstract
ideas conveyed to us by the way in which the word is used. For
instance, we are told that the hau is conferred upon the child by it's
elder relatives when they perform the ceremony of tokiy hence if there
has been no tohi there can be no hau, and therefore it would seem that
the tohi developes or perhaps creates the intellectual spark. If a
Maori were to comment on any European child who had not been to
school he would say that he or she had no hau. It is a perfectly
logical conclusion so far as the Maori is concerned to say that the tohi
produces the fuiu ; because according to their own traditions the first
man was merely clay until life and intellect was conferred upon him by
the breath of the god, and the tohi is but a repetition of the ceremony
performed by Tu, and therefore the Maori is justified in assuming that
the child is mere clay until the tohi has invested him with the divine
spark. Of a silent man or one wanting in energy it would be said that
the man had no hau and from this we may infer that hau is also force
of character. The Maori is not like a European, he does not readily
credit a silent man with the virtues and good qualities which he never

Te hnu o te riri is another expression used by the Maoris and it
means the breath of battle ; but in this case I think the word hau does
not refer so much to the intellectual spark as to the wind.

128 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

So also if a man received a present and passed it on to some third
person, then there is no impropriety in such an act ; but if a return
present be made by this third party then it must be passed on to the
original grantor or it is a hau ngaro. All of these matters are however
merely introductory to the real, or at any rate, most important of the
many meanings of this word. I gather that in the matter of witchcraft
the hau is the actual essence of the man's life ; hence if a lock of hair
be obtained from his head in order to bewitch him it will contain his
hau and in such cases it is called an ohonga. This is however but a
vulgar form of bewitchment, for an artist in the black art can take the
hau of a man's voice while be is speaking to him and then by the aid of
ceremonies and karakias appropriate to the occasion, can cause the
death of the bewitched one. Such a man can also take the nrafiea or
hau of a man's footprints, a method of destruction much used by the
Ngati-Bakai of Akuaku who were the terror of the neighbouring tribes,
so that strangers who had occasion to pass the pa of that people walked
within the wash of the surf so as to leave no footprints.

The vmhara is the power of thought, the reasoning faculty, and as
such is a purely intellectual attribute, which though not bom with the
body yet developes with it, but nevertheless has an existence apart from
that of the body.

The hinengaro is the mind or instinct and according to the Maori
has an existence independent of the thought or reason, but I have
never yet found a Maori who could explain the metaphysical aspects
of the two qualities or show where they were antagonistic.

The mauri is the vital spark, and when a child has been baptised
or to speak more correctly has passed the ceremony of the toAi, his
mauri is sent for safe keeping to Rehua, in the eight heaven, but none-
theless if anything should startle man or woman it is said to be an oho
mauri, an expression equivalent to our saying that one's heart has
jumped into one's mouth.

The Maoris have singular ideas on the subjects of life and death,
ideas which in many instances are derived horn their earnest belief in
the dual origin of man ; that is, his god-like descent on the one hand
from heaven and earth, by virtue of the breath of Tu, and the other lines
of descent from the same source already mentioned, and on the other
from Tiki the clay. A tohnntfa placed me in possession of their ancient
view on this subject in the following words : — '* The old conditions of
man was such that he lived, died, and lived again. That is he was
bom into the world and grew old, but he returned again to childhood
and became once more like a baby in arms. Then again he grew old
and again renewed his youth but on this occasion he did not return to
natural childhood but became an imbecile. On the fourth occasion the
man it is said may renew his youth, but in this stage of existence ho is

MAORI RELIGION 129

a madman devouring his fish raw and eating the flowers of the forest
trees for his food. The fifth stage of old age might be known by the
fact that the man appears scarcely to belong to this world. He has it
is true the body and appearance of a man but he is unable to speak and
can but stare in a frightened manner at those whom he may meet. In
the sixth and last stage of old age the man is no longer a human being,
but has become a spirit, a patu-paiarehey and that is his end.

That in old times a tohunga had the power to bring back the spirit
of a dead or dying man from the gates of night, no reasonable Maori
of modem days will doubt. For each one of those ills to which flesh
is heir there was a karakia, which in the mouth of a competent man
would hold back the spirit from the dread presence of Meru. I have
the whole matter set forth in writing by a man who is thoroughly
conversant with the subject, but unfortunately he has dealt with it in a
manner highly metaphysical, so that in many instances it is difficult to
discover his real meaning. His remarks are, however, delightfully
quaint and simple.

As for natural deaths, which my friend calls Te hemo o Aitu,
he says : ** Do not delay the ceremony of the * Whakanolio manawa*
(The ceremony used by Tu to give life to the clay) beyond the first
day after death or the man will not recover, but if the Manawa-tina
be implanted in him he will recover,'* and he adds, <* When death is
struggling against the sacred rite of WhakcLora it will be well to use
the karakia called Titikura.*' As to injuries by fire he remarks <* That
when a man has been burnt he may be healed by the karakia called
Whaij unless indeed he has been quite consumed in which case nothing
can be done, because he has been eaten up by the fire of Mahuika.
The remarks made under this head will probably be considered
superfluous, but my friend has evidently considered it necessary to be
very exact in his instructions lest the ignorant European should
mistake his meaning or be misled by his explanation.

The Maoris hold that the sea has a mysterious power of preservation,
or perhaps it may be that it is the taniwha of the sea who have this
power, for on this point the Maoris are not explicit, but in either case
we have instances of the power in Maori tradition. We are told that
Taranga threw her immature child Maui-potiki into the sea and that
he was subsequently washed hither and thither by the waves,
apparently deriving great vigour from the process, for certain it is that
he grew into a very famous man-god. In much later times we hear
that Iwi-pupu, the mother of Eahu-ngunu, took her newly bom son,
Uenuku-titi, to the sea in order to wash him, and that he was there
washed out of her arms by the waves and presumably drowned. Very
long after this mishap, another child was bom to the same woman,
and was also taken to the water. While washing the infant, another

180 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

child was heard orying on the strand, but the woman fearing thai it
was an evil spirit returned to the kainya and related the laoi to
Iwi-pupu who at onoe sent her people back to find the child. When
the infant was brought to her, she unhesitatingly declared it to be
her lost son Uenuku-titi, who, it would seem had been reared by the
sea tanivlia.

These are but two of many tr.les which might be related of the
mysterious power of the sea recorded in the Maori tradition.

I will now speak of the kummuja kai to which I have already
referred as being one of the spiritual attributes of man. The ariki of a
Maori tribe is the senior male descendant of the elder branch of the
tribe, that is, he is a descendant of the elder son of the elder son of each
generation from the time of the original ancestor down to the present
day. As such, he was of old regarded almost as a god, inasmuch as he
represented all that there was of mana and sacredness of his tribe.
That he should have been regarded in this light is not astonishing, for
the Maoris believed he was something more than human, in that he was
the shrine of an hereditary Atua, the guardian spirit of the tribe, and
could therefore at any time communicate with the tribal gods. The
mysterious mMa of primogeniture is more fully recognised by the
Polynesian than by any other people, and when we consider that to this
feeling of veneration we must add the presence of the kummiga kai, we
may be able to form some idea of the sacredness with which an ariki
was clothed in the mind of all true Maoris. Such a man was not only
tapu in person but he made everything he touched so dangeroosly
sacred as to be a source of terror to the tribe. To smoke his pipe, or
drink from any vessel he had touched, was death speedy and certain at
the hands of the gods, who avenge breaches of the tapu. These terrors
were very real, yet proud was the tribe who could boast that their ariki
was a sacred man whose blood like that of Te Haramiti was so sacred
that it might not be spilt even by his enemies.

In this chapter I have given a mere outline of the Maori religion as
an introduction to another chapter which will treat of the superstitions
of the same people, and it may well be that my readers will find that
the two subjects so overlap that they might have been treated as one.
On this point I leave each man to decide for himself.

SOME WHANGANUI HISTORICAL NOTES.

By S. Percy Smith.

IN 1895, our energetic member, Mr. Elsdon Best, made a journey up
the Whanganui River, and took the opportunity of explaining to
the natives the object of our Society, and succeeded in interesting
them in it. One old man, Te Korenga (or Kerehoma) Tu-whawhakia
thought so well of our work that he wrote two volumes of matter
relating to the history, etc., of his tribe, which volumes have been
lying amongst the Society's records for some years past. One of
the most interesting things he wrote was the story of Whaki-tapui,
which was printed in Volume V. of the JOURNAL. Such of the
matter as is of general interest is now published, together with a few
other notes, but a large part of the old man's writings consist of
short songs, that have not any particular interest except to his own
people, and these have not been included. But I have included a
few which have a wider interest, though, without help from the old
men of the tribe, I fear the translations cannot be considered
satisfactory. Like all Maori poetry they are full of allusion to their
own history, many of which are only known to themselves. He
also wrote a long story about Tu-tae-poroporo, the famous taniwha
of Whanganui, but as another edition of this was printed in J.P.S.,
Volume XIII. p. 89, it has not been reproduced here. Tu-
whawhakia died a few years since.

As to the tribes that occupy the valley of the Whanganui river,
they claim to be descended, principally, from some members of the
crew of the " Aotea " canoe that arrived in New Zealand about the
period of the fleet of six canoes, i.e., about the year 1350. But it is
certain that the crew of the " Kura-haupo " canoe also contributed
to the population ; and the strong probability is, that the tangata-
whenua, or original inhabitants — te iwi o Toi — formed the basis of
the present tribes. One of the principal tribes is called Nga-Paerangi,
lO

182 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

and it is believed, that Paerangi, from whom the people take their
name, was one of the tangata-wheniui. He flourished about 21-23
generations ago, or about the time of the heke, (or migration) to
New Zealand, and many families of rank trace their descent from
him. At the same time, some natives say, that Paerangi came to
New Zealand with the hekey and more than one line show him
to be a descendant of Whiro, whose ancestors are shown quite
correctly on the Maori lines according to Tahitian and Harotongan
genealogies.

Mr. Best has a note to this effect : " Though all the Whanganui
people say that Kupe on his arrival here, found only the Hwaiwaka,
tieke and kokako birds, with no people, yet when questioned closely
the old men admit the existance of tmigata-wlienua in the valley of
Whanganui. These were the descendants of Paerangi-o-te-
moungaroa whose ancestor came from Hawaiki five generations
l)efore the arrival of Captain Turi in the * Aotea ' canoe. He was
brought here by his atiia\ he had no canoe. There have been three
men of the name of Paerangi, one of whom came in the * Aotea.* "
Now this statement as to Paerangi having been brought here by
his god, means nothing more than that the old tangata-whenua
traditions having become overlaid and obliterated by those of the
more forceful Jieke ; and some origin for Pae-rangi being necessary,
the marvellous has been invoked, and his arrival accredited to the
gods. If we may believe the earliest legends extant relating to
these parts, there was a numerous people dwelling here in the
time of Turi's children and grandchildren. Tu-whawhakia, in his
version of Tutae-poroi)oro, mentions a ver>' numerous people named
Ngu-taha, who lived at Aro-pawa Island and the Sounds, north end
of the Middle Island. Ao-kohu the slayer of Tutae-poroporo was a
grandson of Turi; and Nga- Paerangi are mentioned also as a
numerous people living in the Whanganui valley as far up as Oi>oriki
(near Corinth) and extending to Whangaehu, at the same (leriod.
Mr. Best informs me (after having made inquiries in the Uro-wera
country) that he comes to the conclusion that Paerangi came here
with Paoa, about five generations before the heke. Col. Gudgeon
says, the Whanganui ancestor is identical with Paoa*s companion,
and that there were two of that name — Paerangi— one coming in the
*' Aotea " canoe, the other the ancestor of Ngati-Haua of upi)er
Whanganui, about whose tamjata-whemui origin there can 1x3 little
doubt.

Ngati-Hau is another tribal name of Whanganui, and indcoil, is
sometimes used for the whole of the tril)es of that river. This name
is derived from Hau-pipi, wiio was one of the immigmnts by tlio

SOME WHANQANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 188

" Aotea " oanoe in 1350. He was the ancestor who is said to have
given names to the principal places on the coast between Patea and
Wellington, as embodied in an old song composed by Te Rangi-
takoru, as an oriori or lullaby to his daughter, as follows : —

E hine aku ! kei te kimi au,

Ki to kunenga mai i Hawaiki

I te whakaringaringa, i te whakawaewae

I te whakakanohitanga.

Ka manu, E Hine ! .te waka i a Ruatea^

Ko ** Kura-haupo,"

Ka iri mai taua*i runga i a '* Aotea,'*

Te waka i a Turi,

Ka u mai taua te ngutu Whenua-kura^

Huaina iho te whare, ko Bangi-tawhi'

Tiria mai te kumara, ruia mai te karaka,^

Ki te tai-ao nei

Karia ibo te pou ko te.puna tama-wahine,

Ka waibo i nga tuahine,

I a Nonoko-uri, i a Nonoko-tea**

Ko te here i runga ko te korohnnga

Kapua mai e Hau ko te one ki te ringa

Ko te tokotoko o Tu-roa

Ka whiti i te awa ka nui ia ko Whanga-nui,^

Tiehua te wai ko Whanga-ehu

Ka hinga te rakau, ko Turakina,

Tikeitia te waewae, ko Bangi-tikei

Ka tatutatu, E Hine ! ko Manawa-tu

Ka rorohio nga taringa, ko Hokio,

Waiho Te Awa-iti hei ingoa mona, ko 0-Hau.^

Takina te tokotoko, ko 0-taki

Ka mehameha, E Hine ! ko Waimeha,

Ka ngahae nga pi, ko Wai-kanae,*

Ka tangi ko te mapu, E Hine E !

Ka tae koe ki.a Wai-raka^

Mata-poutia, — poua ki runga, poua ki raro

Ka rarau, E Hine !

Ka rarapa nga kanohi, ko Wai-rarapa

Te rarapatanga o to tupima, E Hine !

Ka moiki te ao, ko Te Pae-a-Whaitiri*°

Kumea kia warea Kai-tangata,

Ki waho ki te moana,

Hanga te paepae poua iho,

Te pou whakamaro te rangi, ko Meremere,^^

Waibo te whanau, ko te punga o tona waka

Ko Te Houmea ko te Te Awhema,

Kati, ka whakamutu, E Hine !

TRANSLATION.
O little maid ! I am searching,
Thy origin in far Hawaiki
Where thou wer*t shaped, thy hands, thy feet.
And given imto thee a face.
Then floated hither, O child, the canoe of Ruatea !^

184 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

The far-famed " Kura-haupo **

And we (our ancestors)'came also in the ** Aotea/'

The famous canoe of Turi,

That landed at the mouth of Whenua-kura'

Where the house was (built and) named Rangi-tawhi,*

There was sown the kumara and the karaka* seed,

In this land of light first seen,

And pillar set up to the female offspring

Jjeft in the charge of (or dedicated to) the sisters

Nonoko-uri and Nonoko-tea

Bound at top with woven belt.

Then Hau taking soil of the land in one hand,

Together with the staff of Tu-roa

(Went forth on his journey, giving names)

First he crossed the river, and from its size called it Whanga-nui,^

Then next he dipped up water and called it Whanga-ehu,

Again, he felled a tree to cross and named it Turakina,

Beyond, with long stride, he reached and named Bangi-tikei

The next with doubts as to his powers of crossing he called Manawa-ta

Then a whistling wind in his ears gave rise to Hokio,

And the ancient Awa-iti, he named after himself, 0-Haa,^

Speech-making to his followers, took place at 0-taki,

The next, disappearing in the sand, was Wai-meha

Now with glistening, wide open eyes, he crossed Wai-kanae^

And with deep sighs, O Lady !

Thou wilt see the famed rock of Wai-raka*

(Kupe's daughter) turned into stone by enchantment

Now with shining eyes the lake, Wai-rarapa is seen —

The shining eyes of thy ancestor, O Lady I

The uprising cloud, with the constellation, Pae-o-Whaitiri^^

Who dragged forth (her husband) Kai-tangata

Out to the open sea.

Then made the beam, and driving in

The strengthening pillar of heaven, Mcrcmcrc,"

Tjcaving the offspring, as an anchor for his canoe

Te Houmca and Tc Awhcma

Enough ! it is ended, O Lady I

Notes.

No. 1. Ruatea, Captain of '^ Kura-haupo.*' 2. Whenua-kura river, a litUe
South of Patca, where the *'Aotea" landed. 8. Rangi-tawhi, Turi*8 hoUBO.

4. The kumara and the karaka^ both said to have bi>cn brought over in ** Aotoa.*'

5. The names of two stars. 6. Whanga-nui, great bay. The native tradition is
that the sea formerly extended over what is now the town of Whanganui in the
times of Ao-kehu, circa 1400. The nature of the country seems to 8Upi)ort thi8,
and hence the name Great Bay seems appropriate. 7. Te Awa-iti, this Khowa — an
does other evidence — that there were names of these places l)eforc the time of Hau.
8. Kanaft the glinting of the sunlight on the ripples. 9. Wai-raka, a rock on
the shore a few miles south of Pae-kukariki, representing one of Kupe's daughters
whom he turned into stone at that place. 10. Te Pao-o-Whaitiri, name of a con-
stellation. Whaitiri and Kai-tangatji were ancestors who dwelt in Fiji circa A.D.
700, and the rest of the story has reference to the legends connected with them.
11. Is the name of a star.

SOME WHANGANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 185

The song contains a play on the names of the rivers Hau crossed
on his journey in search for his daughter.

Liike many rivers Whanganui has its poetical, or honorific names :

Te Awa-nui-a-Rua, the great river of Boa

Te Wai-nui-a-Tarawera, the great waters of Tarawera

Te Koura-puta-roa, the crayfish's deep chasm.

Bua and Tarawera are ancestor's names, whilst the last refers to
the facilities offered by the river for retreat to the fastnesses on its
banks in case of invasion. Some of these pas of refuge were Te
Arero-o-te-uru, Ope-riki, and Puke-ika near Banana. Many an
interesting legend is connected with this beautiful river ; a few only
have as yet been published.

Tu-whawhakia may now be left to tell his story : —

KO RUAMANO.
Ko tenei tangata, ko Ruamano, he taniwha. To ratou ariki i
taua takiwa ko Puhi-kai-ariki, nana i karangaranga nga taniwha, ka
tere ko Te Ninihi, ko Te Wiwi, ko Te Wawa, ka tere ko Ruamano,
ka pae ki uta. E hara i te mea i heke noa mai a Ruamano
ki uta nei ; kaore. Engari he mea ata whakapae marire ; tena me
titiro ki te waiata a Te Ao-tarewa ; pau katoa nga korero katoa o
nehe ki roto ki taua waiata. I te mea kaore he tamariki a taua kuia
nei, ka puta tona whakaaro kia mahia he rakau hei tamaiti mana ;
he mea hanga ki te whakapakoko rakau, ka oti, ka whakakakahuria
nga kakahu ki taua tamaiti rakau nei, ka hoatu nga pohoi-toroa ki
ona taringa, katahi ka hikitia e taua kuia nei tana tamaiti rakau ki
runga ki a ia, na ka waiata ia i tona oriori. Koia tenei taua waiata :

Taku tamaiti e !

I puta mai ra koe i te toi ki Hawaiki,

Kai to uranga, kai to ekenga

Hutia e Maui,

Ka maroke te whenua ki uta,

Ka tupu te rakau hei tamaiti maku,

Tikina e Tangaroa, matai ki roto o Rua-ki-pouri,

He uri ano koe no to tupuna, no !^uhi-kai-ariki

I tere te Ninihi, i tere te Wiwi, i tere te Wawa,

I pae mai ai a Ruamano ki uta

Koia tana nei, whakapeka ake nga tohunga

Naku i tango mai hei oriori mo taku tamaiti

Whakaeaea mai te tu- whenua

Ka tu mai Tongariro, he maimga atua,

Ruia e Nga-toro-i-rangi koia te koaro,

Hoki mai whakamuri ko te komae

Takahia e te waewae Te Papa-a-Tari-nuku,

I tu mai to whare ki Tutae-nui

To tanga-ika ko Tauakira

Toarua o rongo Papako,

186 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

To heketanga na ko Paritea

To hiianui na ko Tahuhu-tahi

To taumata na ko Te Rua-whakahoro,

Kia anganui koe ki te Rewa-tapu,

Ko te hirinakitanga o to tupuna —

Rangi-whakumu, he ariki taua E Tama E !

E Tama 1 E tangi nei ki te kai mahau,

Kaore he kai hei whangainga maku i a koe,

Ko to kuia, ko ahau, E Tama !

Ko To Bahiri, nana i kai te anga o to marama,

Ko te wai-tokihirangi

Kai te whakarongo au E Tama t

Ki te korero a nga whenua,

1 heke mai ano i a Tamatea

Kai uiuia koo i Te Mania, i te Hora-a-Moohau,

Unihia tomokia i tc Rupe-o-Huriwaka,

Ko tc wharc tcna i heke mai ai tc Pokai akatca,

I rawe ai ki ahau ko tc Tokoaru no Pae-kawa

Kihei au E Tama t i rongo tinana —

He taringa puta-kore, he tiringa muhu-kai, —

Kotahi te mca i mau mai ki ahau,

Kai to hiahia, kai to koronga kai a Tano-mata,

Taumahatia te aruhe poipoi,

Ka mama koc o hihiri,

Ka mama koc o mahara,

Ka mama whcnci,

Ka mama tau- wharc- kiokio

Ka mama tc huhi

Ka mama te rcpo,

I tu ai tc muka

He wahino hoki koc i mau ai ki rcira

Ta tc tano haiiga ko to toki whakamoemoctia-a-

Ka moo i te ahiahi-i-, titau o, c,-

Na Tara-hongi, na Tara-honga-a-

Na Tara-kai>ca, te mata o to toki

Pokapokaia Hawaiki, whakaturia Kawarau, 10 Tama !

Nga mahi a Tu-WHAKATrRi.

(Me ona uri).

Na ! Ka noho noi a Tii-whakatiiri i roto i toiia pa i Aro-manga.
Ka tao ki totohi takiwa ka puta te taua, o haore mai ana ki te kai mftna,
ki tc riri. Ka hacre mai nei taua ope taua ki te kai tangata m&na i
Whanpmui nei. Ka tae mai ki konei, ka eke ki runga ake o te pa, ka
takoto te matua a te taua i reira. Kaore te pa i te kite atu, ongari koi
te tupnto tc pa ki tc taua, kei puta noa mai ka mate ratou i to taua ;
engari kua tae mai te rongo o taua taua nei ki a ratou. Takoto mai ra
to taua i runga i te puke, ka ahiahi, ka pouri, ka ^hakapiri ki te pa.
Ka tino ix)uri rawa ka tomokia a roto i te pa. Ko tc tangata- whenua
kua huia kia kotahi to wharc hei nohoanga mo ratou katoa, ko te ingoa

SOME WHANGANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 187

o te whare e noho ra ratou ko '< Takatu-o-Behua." Eo te nuinga o te
pa kua whakarerea atu ki te taua; ko te tatau o te whare ka waiho noa
iho kia tuhera ana, kia kitea atu te tangata i te tatau o te whare e tu
mai ana, kua werohia atu ki te huata, kua tu, kua mate, kua riro mai
ki roto ki te whare. Kaore hoki e kitea atu i te pouri o roto o te whare.
Eo taua whare hoki, he mea kaha katoa nga rakau o nga pakitara me
nga tuaroa me te tuanui.

Ka kite te taua e kore rawa e taea taua whare, katahi ka keria i nga
pou taua whare ; hnri noa, huri noa, tetahi taha, tetahi taha, o taua
whare. Eo nga tangata ia o roto he moe te mahi, ko nga kai-taupua
anake e ara ana i te taha ki te tatau. Eo nga tangata o roto o taua
whare, hoko whitu tuturu, ara 140 ki ta te Pakeha tatau. Heoi, ka
mahi nei nga mano tini ra ki te keri i te whare ra ; kia taea e ratou ki
runga nga pou ka huri atu e ratou ki te pari.

Na, ka marama iti, ka mohio a Tu-whakaturi kua tata te taea te
whare, ka mea ake ki tona iwi, *' Maranga ! Purutia nga pou o te
whare, me te tupato ano ki a koutou rakau-patu ; kei kuare koutou !*'
Ka mea atu ano ki tona iwi. '< Mehemea ki te maranga nga pou o te
whare, kia kaha ki te huri atu i te whare ki runga ki tera taha ; waiho
ma ratou e huri te whare ki te pari, kia raruraru ai ratou ki te whare,
kia kore ai he ringa ki nga rakau-patu.'' Heoi ; ka taea te whare nei
te keri, katahi ka hapainga ki runga. Pohehe te tana ko ratou anake
kei te hapai, kaore hoki te tangata- whenua ; kaore ia, ko ratou katoa
tera e hapai ra i te whare ki runga. Ka rewa ki runga katahi ka tura-
kina atu e te tangata- whenua ki runga ki te taua — warea ana te taua ki
te huri i te whare ki te pari, katahi ka hapainga te patu a te tangata-
whenua ra ; kua haere ake hoki kua marama, ka mate. Pohehe etehi
te taua ra ki te papa o te taiaha me te pou- whenua me era atu rakau
patu tangata, ko ta ratou whare e amo ra ki te pari tera e papa ra ; ara,
kaore ia, ko etehi ano o ratou e patua ana e te tangata o te pa. Ka
hurihia te whare ki te pari, taka rawa ake ki te pari, kua marama te
hapai o te patu. Tahuri rawa ake ki a ratou rakau, me pehea ? Kua
ngau nui tonu te patu a te tangata-whenua ki te taua. Ko muri o te
taua, kua whati noa atu — ka pohehe ki te harurutanga o te whare ki te
pari ko mua o ratou kua mate — kaore hoki e ata kitea ana i te ata po, i
te kohu hoki.

Na ! ka patua nei nga mano ra tae atu ki runga ki te hiwi ; tae atu
ki te wahi tika, ka patu tonu ; tae atu ki raro ki te awa, ka patu tonu ;
piki ake ki runga ka patu tonu. Ka tae ki Kai-iwi te patunga, katahi
ka hoki mai ki muri ki te whakamene i Te-Ika-a-Tu ma ratou, mo te
noho ano i roto i to ratou pa ; ka noho, me te koa me te hari o te
ngakau ki to ratou oranga. Na ! ka aranga te ingoa o tenei parekura
ko *' Whata-raparapa." Te take i tohia ai tenei ingoa, no te whatanga
i nga tupapaku, ka ahu ko nga raparapa o nga waewae ki runga, koia
te take o tenei ingoa.

188 JQUfiNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN aOOIEU.

Tu-whakaturi Heoi: Ka noho nei a Tu-whakaturi, ka tupu tana

Tutamou tamaiti a Tu-tamou ; ka moe i a Te Wai-mona, ka

I puta ko Hihimua. Ka mate atu a Ta-whakatari — ^i

I mate uoa iho hoki ia, he koroheke ano nana — kaore a

Rangi-huru-manu Tu-tamou i pakanga ki konei, engari ki waho. Ka

whakatupuria e Tu-tamou me tana wahine ta raua

tamaiti tane, i a Hihimua. Tera atu ano ra etehi o a raua tamariki,

engari ka korero ake au ki to mua.

Ka tupu nei a Hihimua, a, ka rahi.; ka moe atu i tana wahine,
puta tonu ake ki waho ko Rangi-huru-manu.

Ka noho nei taua kaumatua i roto i tona pa i Aromanga me
tana whanau katoa — tane, wahine, tamariki, — ka tae ana ki
tetehi takiwa, ka haerc atu ki te titiro i tetehi o ana pa i Pou-tama.
I reira ano hoki etehi o ana tamariki, mokopuna, e noho ana.
Ko te matara atu o tera pa i Aromanga, e toru-te-kau ranei nga tini^
iti mai ranei. Heoi, te hokinga atu o nga oranga o te taua i patua ra
e Tu-whakaturi, kore tonu ake i hoki mai, tera te wbakatupu atu ra, a,
ka tae ki tetehi wa ka noho a Hihimua i Pou-tama. Ka mahia nga
kumara o Pou-tama, o Oture, ka oti, ka toko a Hangi-huru-manu ki uta
o Whanganui, ara, ki Tieke ma, ki Utapu ma, ki era o ona kainga. Ka
tae ki te ngahuru ka whakaaro mai ia kua hauhake nga kumara o
Kanibinihi o Oture, o Poutama, katahi ka hoe mai, ka tae mai ki raro
iho o Tau-tara-nui ka kite iho te taua i a ia e hoe ana ; ka kite ake hoki
ia i te taua ra. Ka oha ake, ka oha iho te taua, me te ui iho ano,
kowai tenei e hoe nei. Ka mea ake ia, ** Ko au ! Ko Huru-manu I **
Ka mea iho te taua, *' Ina te peke o ta kaumatua nei te iri nei
na !" Mobio ake ia, kua mate tona papa, a Hihimua. Ka mea ake ia,
" Na wai te ope ? " Ka mea iho tera, ** Naku, na Te Bai-ka-wbiua I **
Ka mea iho ano, *^ E noho ! I muri nei tete Hihimua ake mou 1 *' Ka
mea ake ia, '* Haere ! Ka mau ano to whanaunga ki to ringa ka haere,
Haere ! Mou tai ata, moku tai ahiahi."

Na ! Ka noho a Rangi-huru-manu, ka hauhake i ana kumara ki roto
i te rua i Oture. Ka oti, ka toko ano ia ki uta o Whanganui, ara, ki
Tieke, ki Utapu, ki te tutu taua mana hei ngaki i te mate o tona papa.
Ko tetehi hoki tera o ana iwi, i Tieke ; mene katoa mai i a ia nga hapu
katoa reira. Na, ka hoe mai a Rangi-huru-manu mo tona iwi, me
Ngati-Atua-roa. Ka tae mai ki konei; ka hui katoa a Nga-Paerangi ki
konei ; i te taenga mai o taua iwi, katahi ka haere ki te ngaki i te mate
o Hihimua — ka whai ano i te kupu i kiia atu ra ki a Te Rai-ka-whiua,
*< Haere ! mou tai ata, moku tai ahiahi."

Na, ka haere atu nei te taua a Whanganui nei ka tae ki Wai-totara;
rokohanga atu, ki tonu te pa o te tangata-whonua, ko te ingoa o te pa ko
Potiki-a-Uehua. Katahi ka karapotia e te taua te wharo nui nei, a
Toka-anuhea, tae atu ki nga whare ririki. Ka tika ko Bangi-huru-

SOME WHAN6ANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 189

manu ki te whare i noho ai a Te Bai-ka-whiua. Ka huaki te ata,
katahi ka patua te pa ra e te taua, ka mate. I te ata, ka marama, ka
hurahia te whare o Te Bai-ka-whiua e Haru-mana ; ka ui mai a Te
Bai-ka-whiua ki a Haru-manu, *' Ko wai tenei ? " Ka mea atu ia, ** Ko
au ! I ki ake ra koe ki au ' £ noho, i mari nei tete Hihimua mou.* Ea
ki atu ra au, * Hoatu ! mou tai ata, moku tai ahiahi.' " Ka mea mai a
Te Rai-ka-whiua '' Haere mai e Koro ! Kaore ana, he awatea ! " Heoi,
ka patua, ka mate, ka ea te mate o Hihimua.

Hoki mai ana te taua, mutu ake te pakanga, kore ake nei tenei mate
i ara mai, takoto tonu atu, he takoto nona. Te ingoa o tenei parekura
a Huru-manu, ko *' Whata-piropiro " ; ko te take i tohia ai tenei pare-
kura, no te whakairinga i nga piro katoa ki runga ki te whata.

RUAMANO.
(Translation of the Preceding.)
This man, Buamano, was a taniwha, and their lord at that time
was Puhi-kai-ariki, who had power to assemble the taniwhas. At his
call came forth Te Ninihi, Te Wiwi, Te Wawa, and Ruamano, who
drifted ashore. It is not the case that Buamano came ashore of his
own will, rather was he forced (by the power of karakia) ; see the
following song composed by Te Ao-tarewa, in which all ancient
knowledge is included. Because that old lady had no child of her
own she concluded to make one of wood, it was made in the form of
a wooden image, and when finished was clothed in garments with a
tuft of albatross feathers in its ear, and then she nursed it in her
arms, and sang to it her oriori or lullaby. This is that song : —

My little child

Thou earnest from the peak^ at Hawaiki,

On thy landing, on thy coming ashore,

(To the land) that was hauled up from the depths by Maui,'

And became the dry land on shore.

And trees grew to form a child for me,

*Twas Tangaroa that sought in depths of Rua-ki-pouri'

Thou art a descendant of thy ancestor the famed Puhi-kai-ariki^

That caused Te Ninihi, Te Wiwi, and Te Wawa

To arise and float from their lairs,

When Ruamano was forced ashore.

Such was his fate, by the powers of powerful tohungcts^

And now have I taken it (this story) as a lullaby for my child,

Forth from the depths appeared the main land

And Tongariro stood in his place, a mountain of the gods,*

Where Nga-toro-i-rangi scattered the seed of the koaro ;*

Then turned his love to those left behind,^

And Papa-a-Tarinuku (? the earth) was trodden on.

At Ttitae-nui, there stood thy house.

Thy was Taua-kira hill**

TwioA was thy fame (heard of) at Papako,

140 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Thy descent was at Pari-tea

Thy road was at Tahuhu-tahi

The brow where thou rested was Te Rua^Whakahoro,

Where thou turned thy face to Te Rewa-tapu'

The reclining place of thy ancestor —

Of Bangi-whakumu ; we are of high bom rank, O Child ! ^

little one t that criest for some food,
There is no food for me to feed thee with.
For me, thy mother, O little one t

It was Te Bahiri, who ate the shell of the moon,

(Called) Te Wai-tokihi-rangi,

Often have I heard, O little one 1

The story told in many lands,

That we came hither with Tamatea ^^

Lest thou be questioned at Te Mania, at To Hora-a-Moehau,"

Enter straight the house named the Rupe-o-Huriwaka^

The house from which descended the Pokai-akatea

And whence I gained the Tokoaru from Pae-kawa

1 did not, O little one 1 distinctly hoar the whole.
For my ear has no oriface, a deaf ear.

One thing alone did I grasp,

Thy strong desire, thy ardent wish towards Tane-mata.

Offer up the sacrificial fern-root.

Utter the inciting invocation,

Utter the invocation of memory

Utter the invocation

Utter that known as ** tau-wharc-kiokio *'

Utter the huhi (swamp)

Utter the re^xx-. (swamp)

Wherein grows the flax

For thou art a woman who was there caught,

Man's work is the axe

By Tara-hongi, by Tara-honga — a —
By Tara-kapea, the edge of thy axe,
That burst open Uawaiki, that sot up Kawarau — O Lady 1

NOTES.

No. 1. **the tot at Hawaiki," tot is peak, summit; but other references in
old songs seem to show it to moan also, the '* sovcrencc *' of the people from their
old home and associations. It would also mean, that the child descended from
the high chiefs of Hawaiki. 2. Refers to Maui's hauling up of the North Island,
by fishing — a well known legend, common throughout Polynesia. 3. Refers to
the god Tangaroa's search in the nether world — Rua-ki-pouri, for knowledge, a
tradition of which there are only fragments left. 4. Puhi-kai-ariki, a god of the
tanaiwlia tribe, also name of the ancestor from whom the Nga-Puhi tribe take
their name. 5. Tongariro mountain was until quite recent years very sacrod.
6. The koaro fish is said to descend from Tongariro by a subt<.>ranean stream, into
lake Roto-a-Ira, where they may be seen at any time ; Nga-toro-i-rangi, the high
priest of " Te Aniwa " canoe, is said to have plac^Kl them there. 7. Refers to Nga-
toro-i-rangi calling to his sisters in far Hawaiki for sacred fire, with which he
ignited the volcano of Tongariro. 8. Taua-kira, a mountain some 40 miles up tho

SOME WHAN6ANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. Ul

Whanganui River. 9. Rewa-tapu is possibly the very saored spot near
Waiongana, Taranaki. 10. The last 7 lines appear to apply to some migration.
11. Tamatea, an ancestor and captain of *' Taki-tumu." 12 and 13. Appear to be
names of Whare-maire or houses of learning such as formerly existed — much of
the rest of the song is some invocation that requires the old men to translate.

The doings op Tu-wakaturi and his Descendants.

Behold ! Tu-whakaturi dwelt in his pa at Aro-manga (near Kau-
ara-paoa)," and on one accasion a tatui, or war-party appeared, who
came to fight and obtain food. That tatia came to obtain human
flesh at Whanganui. When they arrived here above the pa, they
formed their company there. The people of the pa did not see them,
though they were on the alert, lest they be surprised and killed ;
for the news of this taua had already reached them. The taua
remained concealed on the hill until evening, and it was dark, and
then they approached the pa. When it was quite dark they entered
the pa. The people of the place all gathered into one large house,
named " Takatu-o-Rehua," whilst the greater part of the pa was
abandoned to the enemy. The door of the house was left open so
that it might be seen if anyone approached, when he would be
speared with a huata (long spear), and on being killed he could be
dragged into the house. Nothing could be seen of the inside of the
house on account of the darkness. The house had been built very
strongly, with heavy planks on the sides, ends, and roof.

When the tatui saw that they could not take the house in
ordinary manner, they commenced to undermine the posts, on both
sides of the house. The occupation of the people inside was sleep —
all but the sentries at the sides of the door. The numbers inside were
70 — i.e., 140, according to the pakeha's counting. The numberless
people of the taua continued their work, with the intention, so soon
as the posts were loosened, to throw the whole house over the clifif.

Directly a little light was seen where the taua was excavating,
Tu-whakaturi knew that the object would be accomplished, so he
said to his people, " Arise, take hold of the post of the house, and
be careful not to forget your weapons ; be on your guard ! " He
continued, "If the posts come up, use your utmost strength to throw

*Eau-ara-paoa, a tributary of the Whanganui on the right bank 7 miles above
Upoko-ngaro opposite Kuamoa. Hiku-wera is an old fighting pa one mile up this
the stream. At the mouth of the stream, left bank, is the famous Hamama-te-
rangi pa^ the high maioro^ or ramparts, of which are still standing, some 16 feet
high, outside of which is a ditch about 12 feet wide. Ngati-Uine, Ngati-Uinerua,
and Ngati-rongo-mai-tawhiri are the people here. The modem name of this pa
was Matai-kai. Major Kepa's carved aukaii post, 30 feet high, still stands at
tiiiB pa, E.B., 1895. (AukatA the '* pale " boundary).

142 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

the house over to that side; leave it to them to heave it over
towards the cliff, so that they may be fully engaged with the house
and have no hands to use their weapons." And now the work of
digging was accomplished, and the lifting of the house commenced.
The tatui were deceived, thinking that they alone were lifting the
house ; not so, all, including the people within were helping. When
the house was quite clear and above, it was forced over on top of
the tatia — which all the time had been striving to throw it over the
cliflf, and thus allowed the people of the place to use their weapons ;
it was getting lighter by this time, and enabled the people to fall on
the tatia. Some of the taiuiy hearing the blows of the taiahaa^ pou-
wheniuis, and other weapons, thought it was the house that cracked
as they bore it towards the cliff, but it was not so, it was some of
their own i)eople being killed by the people of the pa. The house
went over the cliff, and by that time it was quite light enough to
strike home. When the taua turned to secure their weapons, what
could they do ? by that time the slaughter was in full swing. The
rear part of the taica had already fled directly they heard the crash
of the house over the cliff, thinking it was their advance party that
had been killed — for they could not see clearly on account of the
darkness, and it was foggy also.

And now the many of the taua were followed up, right up to the
ridge, and on to the level ground beyond, down to the stream, up
the ascent on the other side, the killing continued. It was not until
the chase had extended as far as Kai-iwi that the slaughter ended,
and the victors turned back to collect the Ika-a-Tu — the fish of Tu,
(the slain), and take them back to the pa, with joy and gladness at
their escape from death. Now, the name given of this battle was
" Whata-raparapa," because the dead were suspended from a whata,
or stage, with the soles of their feet (raparapa) upwards.

And now Tu-whakaturi dwelt at his pa of Aro-manga, and there

Tu-whakaturi ^i* ^^^^^ Tu-tamou was born. The latter married

I Te-Wai-mona, and their son was Hihi-mua. So

I Tu-whakaturi died — of old age. Tu-tamou did no

Hihi-mua fighting near his home, but in other districts.

Rangi-huru-maiiu -^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^'i^G brought up their SOU Ilihi-mua —

there were others, but I shall only speak of this one.

Ilihi-mua grow up to manhood and married, and had a son bom
named Kangi-huru-manu, who also grew up to manhood and became
aged.

The old man dwelt in his pa at Aro-manga together with his
relatives — men, women and children — until on one occasion he went
to visit another of his pas at Pou-tama. There were living some of

SOME WHANGANUI HISTORICAL NOTES, 148

his children and grandchildren. Pon-tama is about f ths of a mile
from Aro-manga. Now, those who escaped from the battle fought
by Tu-whakaturi, never attempted to return and retaliate for their
losses, but contented themselves with " growing men " for revenge
when they were strong enough ; this was up to the time when
Rangi-huru-manu paid his visit to Pou-tama. After the kumara
crop at Pou-tama and Oture (opposite Kau-ara-paoa) had been set,
Rangi-huru-manu went up the Whanganui river to Tieke, Utapu,
and other settlements of his in that neighbourhood. When summer
came, he concluded that the kumaras would be ripe at Kanihinihi,
Oture and Pou-tama, so he started on his way back. When he
reached a little below Tau-tara-nui, he was seen by a taua, and they
were seen by him ; the parties saluted, and the tatui called down from
above to ask who it was that was paddling along. He replied, " It
is I ! Huru-manu ! ** The taua then said, " Behold the fore-quarter
of the old man hanging there ! " He knew at once that his father,
Hihi-mua, had been killed. Rangi-huru-manu then asked, " Whose
war-party is this ? " The other called down, " Mine I Te Rai-ka-
whiua ! " adding, " Remain (goodbye), hereafter make another Hihi-
mua for yourself.* Then said Rangi-huru-manu, " Go ! and take in
thy hand thy relative. Go ! yours is the morning tide, mine the
evening tide ! " {i,e, your opportunity is now, mine will come yet).

So Rangi-huru-manu remained to gather in his crop of kumara
into the storehouses at Oture, after this he " poled "+ inland up the
Whanganui River to Tieke and Utapu, to raise a taua to obtain revenge

* There is a play on the name Hihi-mua here, which I am at a loss to translate.

t Toko, to pole a canoe, a common expression, used because poling is much
more efifective than paddling against the strong current of the river. Along the
banks wherever the rock is seen — and in the upper parts this is usually the case
— the holes made by the tokos or poles are ever3rwhere visible, and the same holes
have been used generation after generation. The Whanganui people are probably
the most accomplished canoe-mon in the country ; and thereby hangs a tale. When
Tamatea, said to be captain of the *'Takitumu" canoe (circa 1350) visited
Whanganui, he took a crew of the local men up the river and on overland to Lake
Taupo. Here a discussion arose as to which was the most difficult river for canoe
navigation, the Whanganui or the Waikato. The Whanganui men naturally
supported the claims of their own river. In the end the Taupo people dared the
others to descend the rapids of the Waikato after it leaves lake Taupo. A canoe
was consequently launched and the Whanganui crew, with Tamatea at the
steering paddle, started down the river. A Taupo man accompanied them as far
as a little islet just above the Huka rapid and falls, whore he jumped ashore telling
the others to proceed ; they did so, and were soon flying down the deep, straight
channel just above the falls, not knowing what was before them. The canoe flew
along like an arrow from a bow, and then the 25 feet perpendicular fall was
reached, over which the mighty Waikato descends in a mass of beautiful foam —
hence the name, Huka = foam — Tamatea and his crow saw too late what awaited

144 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

for the death of his father. The people of Tieke and those parts were
all his own people. So the taiia paddled down the river under Bangi-
huru-manu, which included also the Ngati-Atua-roa sub-tribe. When
they arrived here — at Kai-whaiki — they were joined by all the Nga-
Paerangi tribe, and proceeded on their way to avenge the death of
Hilii-mua — they were bent upon carrying out the words that had
been said to Te Rai-ka-whiua, thus, "Go! return, yours is the
morning tide, mine the evening tide."

The taua of Whanganui proceeded overland to Wai-totara (about
20 miles along the coast north of the former river, and where the
Nga-Rauru people live) and on their arrival found all the people
gathered into their pa named -:Potiki-a-Eehua. The pa was now
besieged, the great house, Toka-anuhea, and many other smaller
ones were surrounded (in the night). Bangi-huru-manu went
straight to the house where Te Rai-ka-whiua was dwelling. As day
dawned, the attack commenced, and the pa taken. When it was
quite light the house of Te Rai-ka-whiua was opened by Rangi-huru-
manu. The former asked, " Who is that? " The latter replied, " Tis
1 1 You (formerly) said to me, * Farewell ; hereafter make another
Hihi-mua for yourself,' and I replied, *Go! yours is the morning,
mine the evening tide ! " ' Te Rai-ka-whiua then said, ** Welcome
O Sir! it is daylight." (i.e. There was nothing underhand in Rangi-
huru-manu's attack ; it was in accordance with his words on the
previous occasion, and the speaker further implied that his present
predicament was justly his due). Enough ; he was killed, and thus
was avenged the death of Hihi-mua.

The taiui now returned to their homes, and the fighting ceased ;
this defeat was never avenged, (the account) lies as it was left. This
battle of Huru-manu's was named ** Whata-piropiro," and the reason
why it was so called was because the entrails of the killed were
hung on a stage (whata.)

Patu-pai-arehe.

(Tranalntion.)
I will explain how it is this atua (god, l)ut better translated here,
as afliction) kills the Maori people. In the summer, in February,
when the karakii berries are ripe, the kernals are cooked in the

thorn. The speed the cimoc was travelling at almost shot her out of the water aa
she reached the top of the falls. With a cry of horror from the crow, the canoe
des(*A'ndcd peri)endiciilarly down the fall into the deep pool helow, and, say tho
Tau^Kj iHjople, neither Tama tea, his crow, nor tho amoo, wore ever seen again —
notwithsUMiding their ability as canot>mon, Waikato was ttw much for them.
There are sewral phwos on tho Whanganui river which boar names connoctod
with Tamatca. See some oborvations about this same Tamatca. J.P.8.
Vol. XIV. p. 81.

SOME WHANQANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 146

native oven for food, and very good food it is. After cooking the
berries are placed in baskets, whilst the embers (charcoal) of the fire
are taken into the houses. When guests are received the charcoal
is ignited for warmth, which induces the guests to sleep, and the door
of the house is closed. Whilst asleep the people do not perceive the
arrival of this god, Patu-pai-arehe ; even if there are 30 or 40 or
more people, they may all be stricken at the same time. Should,
however, any man see this god he calls out " A Patu-pai-arehe I "
and then all the people within the house are dragged outside, and
are soused with cold water. This will save them all, because that
aUia is one who will listen when he is propitiated. It is not the
case that the god is ever seen ; no 1 it is by his works that he is
known. The head aches, and the ^body trembles, whilst the eyes
cannot see.

I myself (Tu-whawhakia) was affected by this atua at Ngati-
Ruanui in 1881. There were 30 of us who were caught by the god
in two houses, and we were saved by the people of the place,
who soused us with water, and thus we recovered, but only after a
week of illness. The houses we were in were built of planks, in the
form of the Maori whare-pun% varnished inside. There was a great
deal of charcoal burnt in the houses the first night we were there,
and we believed that this god, the Patu-pai-arehe, dwelt in the
varnish. (Obviously, our friend was asphyxiated by the fumes of
charcoal. The same name is given to a mythfcal race, who are
white in colour, usually called fairies).

The God Maru.

This god is both good and bad. I will speak of its goodness. If
the food-crop of any man fails, and he repeats his karakias to Maru,
it will be saved, however bad the crops may be. Also, if a man
infringes his tapu and is about to die in consequence, if he says his
tataku (or invocation) to Maru, he will live. If he neglects to do so,
he dies ; even if he invokes other gods, such as Kahu-kura (the
rainbow god) &c. But in case Maru does not listen at first, a native
dog is caught, his throat cut and cooked in the oven. The head is
then given to the tohunga (priest) who takes it to the tiuihu (altar),
and there the teeth are exposed so as to be seen by Maru who
laughs at the image, and the karakias are thus offered by man to
propitiate him so that he may show love to the sick person. This is
the good that I know of Maru, but he has other good points too.

I will now speak of his evil. He is he atua tangi kai (a god
always crying for food). If his share is omitted at meals, he
becomes very evil, even killing men because of their omissions.

146 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Only by karakia can a man be saved in such a case. If a large eel
is killed the head must be given to Maru to appease him. But it is
the same with all fish caught either in the sea or fresh water, their
heads must be given to Maru.

His many good points are shown if food is set aside for him, if
property is given him, if fish is offered, if with him is left the ruling
of the cultivations, if the ruling of new houses is under his direction ;
if man neglects him, he becomes evil.

Numerous cultivations have been ruined through neglecting him.
Pehi-Turoa* had a kumara farm that was eaten up by the pukeko birds,
the awheto caterpillar, and by numerous other vermin. Hence the
old man bemoaned his cultivations, and bewailed them in the
following manner : —

1. E ki ana au E ' Keko !

He tama iana koe na Punga i runga ra-e-e-i
I patua iara ki te Wai-ranga-tui
He toto iana koe no Tawhaki e, i, i,

2. Ngaro noa atu koe, e tc kai maku,
E tangi ki te kuru ki Kakau-a-rangi
Ki taku toki hei whakahoki mai,
Te hiakai, e, e, i

Ka tao kau te rongo ki a Manga-tai,
Tenci au kei tc mahi kai o, c, i

3. Kotahi au i mate ai

Ko taku wharo tane ka tupu kau

Ko te waha pa mai kci Okahu,

Ho whakamcnenga ki Horo-mauga ra, o, e, i, i

Ka tu ai au ki runga ra,

Ka waiho ai koutou

Hei hapai mo taku marae, e takoto noi, e, e, i, i

Hoatu hoki au, i pakia nga pac-manu ki tc Ihupuku

Ki a Tatara e noho mai ra, e, e, i, i.

1. I am Raying O 'Keko ! *

Thou art the offspring of Punga ahove *
Who was killed at \Vai-rang;i-tui,
Thou art of the blood of Tawhaki, *

2. Thou art completely lost, O the food for mo 1
Only by crushing blows with the Kakau-a-rangi^
With my axe, will the food return,

Alas the hunger 1

The report will reach Manga-tai^

That I am engaged in (fresh) cultivation.

• A very well known chiof of high rank, of NVhangnnui, who diod not many
years ago. Sih; note at the end of the ^uipiT.

SOME WHANQANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 147

3. The one thing that afflicts me,

Is my guest-house that stands desolate,

A voice was heard at Okahu,

(Calling) the assemblage at Horo-manga,

Whilst I stand here alone

Leaving it to you all,

To support my meeting-place down there,

My ill-luck strikes the bird-rests at Ihupuku,

Where dwells (my rival) Tatara ^

NOTES.
1. 'Keko, short for pukekoy a bird. 2. Vermin were supposed to be the
offspring of Punga. 3. The god Tawhaki was supposed to have coloured the
red topknot of the pukeko with his blood. 4. Name of the constellation Orion (said
to be an axe) which the composer proposes to use in his new cultivation. 5 and
6. His rivals in cultivation.

The reason of this lament of his was, his trouble lest the news of
his destroyed cultivations should reach the chiefs named in the
song, that is, Mangatai and Tatara, who were very great cultivators,
as was Pehi-Turoa. If the latter heard that those two chiefs had
very large cultivations, he would increase his own to exceed theirs.
Hence was he so desolate, and in those days the news of a great
cultivation spread far and wide, just like news of an invading army.
Thus shame fell on his eyes.

At last the old man concluded to flee to his settlements in the
wilds for fear guests should arrive, and he would die of shame at
having nothing to give them to eat. He also composed another
song in reference to his feelings : —

Ma te tira puta mai e ui,
Kei whea Bau-kawa e ngaro e, e, i, i,
Kei te hunahuna, kei te whakangaro
Kei te whare'^matapihi o Rehua —
Ki Rangi-huna, kia ngaro ai, e, e, i, i.

When the company of guests arrive,
(They will ask) Where is Rau-kawa^ gone,
He is hiding, he is concealing himself.
In the windowed house of Rehua,^
At Rangi-huna, is he hiding.

NOTES.
1. Probably a second name for Pehi Turoa. 2. Rehua, a star that rises at
the time the kumara crops are housed and therefore at that time man is free to
devote himself to war — to avenge any injury his tribe may have suffered.

The reason of this affliction was such as I have mentioned above.
If the direction of the work were given to the god Maru, the
cultivation would be preserved. But on account of the unbelief of
II

148 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOOIETY.

the heart, the fruits were destroyed by the god Mam and his god-
friends Eahu-kura and others. Because he — Maru — is chief of all
gods.*

In the following year things were changed, and Pehi-Toroa's
crops were very abundant, and he was very pleased, because he had
turned for assistance to the god Maru. Thus it may be seen,
sometimes Maru is good, sometimes evil.

A similar case occurred to a man of Ngati-Kuanui, who had to
lament his kumara cultivations eaten by the vermin — the awheto,
the inoe-oiu, the moka, the kowhitiwhiti and others — ^through the
work of Maru, so there was nothing but stalks without leaves left.
So the old man lamented his loss in the following manner : —

Tuku ra, e te wai-kohu o te whitu

He whaitakinga atu naku ki waho ra,

Te matatakinga, i roto te tau-mutu,

Te karapatanga atu ki te puke-i-ahua

Turakina te wai-tao ka hinga ki Bunitu ;

Turakina te wai-manu, ka hinga ki Wai-manu-katea

E tia ia nei, ko te one i tahia

Ka rongo ano au,

Ko Moana-uriuri

Te mara a Behua, i kai-taua ai a Maru,

I kainga tauatia ai a Muru

Tikina atu ra ki te aitanga a Hino-makinokino

Ki rokohanga iho, ko Mohio te rangi,

Ka hinga te kauwaha, ka hinga te moe-ouc,

Ka hinga te awheto,

I whakarauikatia ki waenga

Karia iho te rua, ko Ariki-wareware,

Te pou o roto, Te Bangi-whakakapua,

He ai te kopani ko Haniru-mai-roto

He ai te whakaata, ko Te Kangi-paekuni

Tana papa-ahu, ko Papa-tahia

Kimihia ki Whatitiri, ko Mitihanga-tc-koro,

Nana taku kai ka utoki (or kaupae) iho

I tu ano au te tahanga i a Kongo

Ki titiro iho au e tupu auau ake ana,

Ki whawhatia iho te hou a Kahu-kura,

Hoi o moku ka kimi ai au

I te whatu i te one, ka rewa ko te iho,

Riariaakina nga whakauru ora,

Ko Ri-rangi, ko Te Rangi-tamaru,

Ko To Rangi-hou-kura, ko Tc Rangi-pao-kura,

Nga waka tena o te Kahui-rongo,

I tere mai i Hawaiki

Ngaro noa atu koo,

Ma oku tuakanae pupuru mai

I roto te tapuae, o, i

• Whilst Maru was a ver>* powerful god on the West CoARt, it cannot be
allowed that he was the "chief of all gods*' — nor, if it had been put to him,
would the author luive placed him before Tu, Rongo, Tangaroa etc.

SOME WHANGANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 149

Gome oome, ye mists of the seventh month,

Whilst I go forth to contemplate —

To behold the work of the season of drought,

As I look askance at the moulded hillocks,^

Overthrown as by vollies of spears, as when Rurutu fell —

Cast down by swarms of insects, as at Wai-manu-katea

'Tis as if the earth were swept bare as sand.

I have heard it said,
Te Moana-uriuri was the cultivation of Rehua
That was destroyed as by war, by Mam,
Who brought the crawling offspring of Hine-makinokino
And found there Mohio-te-rangi,
Then fell the Kau-wahat'* fell the moe-onf^
Destroyed was the awhetOt*
And laid in serried rows in the midst
There was dug the pit named Ariki-wareware,
With its inside pillar called Rangi-whakakapua ,
And the covering panel, Haruru-mai-roto.
The reflected light was Te Rangi-pae-kura
They were gathered and burned in ovens.

Seek and ask of Whatitiri at Mitihanga-te-kore,
Who destroyed my crop in heaps,
I stood by the side of (believed in) Rongo
That I might see my crop, as living plants
And delving find Te Hou-o-Kahukura* (the kumara)
For sustenance was what I sought
In cultivating the soil ; but useless germs remain.

Arise the life-giving canoes
Ri-rangi, Rangi-tamaru
Te Rangi-hou-kura, Te Rangi-pae-kura
For those were the canoes of Te Kahui-Rongo
That hither came from Hawaiki
But now are all lost
Let my deceased elders hold
By their sacred life-giving footsteps.

NOTES.
1. The /cuTTtara is planted in little hillocks. 2. A large caterpillar. 3. A grub.

4. The large green caterpillar which becomes afterwards the vegitable caterpillar.

5. Name, emblematical for the kumara^ which is said by some tribes to have been
brought here by Kahu-kura. N.B- — Hare Hongi has helped me with the mean-
ings of some of the lines in this very ancient song, but I fear I have missed the
meaning some times.

When his relatives and elders heard this song they were affected,
and gave him some kumaras for food, and seed for next year.
Numbers of people have been afflicted in the same way, but I cannot
give all their laments.

Maru was the principal god of the Maoris, from our distant
ancestors down to ourselves, even to the time when his works were
shut out by Christianity.

150 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

There are some proverbs (whakatauki) relating to the toortofua,
or warrior, and the toa-ngaki-kai, or cultivator. For the first,
" E hara te toa tana, he toa pahekeheke. The brave in war, are but
transitory braves. But Te toa ngaki kai, he toa inou roa, the brave
in cultivating endure for ever.

He Whakamomori — (Suicide).

When Te Uru-manaao, daughter of Pehi-Turoa died, her father
was very desolate. He said, ** Engari a Huru-tara kei te rekareka
tona ngakau, ka ora tana tamaiti a Te Kapua, Tena ko au, kei te
pouri ki taku tamaiti,'* " Huru-tara has a happy heart for his son
Te Kapua lives. As for me I am desolate on account of my
daughter." When Te Kapua heard of these words he was much
troubled at them, for he thought it implied that he would be killed
by Pehi. He came to the conclusion it would be better to kill
himself. He went into his house to hang himself, but first he dressed
himself in all his finery, put plumes of huia feathers and rau-kura in
bis hair, stuck his greenstone 7nere in his bolt, anointed himself with
oil scented with mokinioki and Ti-kumUy adorned himself with aute
bark, and all the signs of chieftainship. The whole house was full of
sweet scents. But none of his people knew of his death. He had
two reasons for his suicide, the words spoken by Pehi, and the death
of his wife.

Now when Huru-tara died his spirit departed for the Nga-Puhi
country in the north, to Te Au-pouri, i.e., to Te Rerenga-wairua, the
Spirit's Leap at the North Cape. The people of those parts saw his
spirit passing, saw him ascend the hill at Mori-a-nuku, where he sat
down to sing his farewell to his relatives and home, which was heard
by the people of that country and retained in their memories. Tliis is

his song : —

To ra koia ko tc ra

He awa rorehu atu ki tc ma,

Homai kia reia te rcrenga ki Te Tawa-mutu,

Kia tutaki akc i te wairua e, no to urn,

Kia tuku pototia nga rongo kino i a au

Tenei to waua noi he peha kei roa to tau,

Ka hemo i mua ra i aku rangi

E manahau ana nei

Ora ana ra te whetu nui o to rangi

Kurua o to kanohi kei tae au,

Kei titiro i to kohu whakairi

Na runga ana mai i a Koromaki

Nana noi taku aro 1 waero

Te tuaki atu i te puni o te waka o maha,

Ki te utauta ka hara mai ka pakaru

Ma wai ra au e karawhiu

Ma Te Tuatini rawa, i te hau kuru

Ki te hau kaha

Ko to ngutu ki te whakahoki e.

SOME WHANGANUI HISTORICAL MOTES 151

The Rewharewha.

(The above name is given to an epedemic of a most disastrous
nature which afflicted most parts of the North Island at the close of
the eighteenth century. It is beleived to have occurred about 1790,
and the Nga-Puhi traditions say it took place very shortly after the
loss of Rongo-tute's ship in Palliser Bay, when the crew were
massacred and eaten. The following is the Whanganui account of
that great affliction).

BL^U-ARA-PAOA Pa, Hura-aero.

Now behold ! The people dwelt in peace in the pa at Eau-ara-
paoa (about 14 miles up the Whanganui river from the present
town) until, at a certain time there came news of a large war-party,
which were descending the river from its sources to attack them.
There were some 800 warriors in this pa, not counting the old men,
for in those days the people were very numerous, and the Maori
people had not commenced to decrease. The war-party came on
down the river on a raid to the South, and their canoes covered the
surface of the water with their numbers, for the up river people were
very numerous. It was just at this time the scourge called the
Bewharewha attacked our people, it was a very serious calamity and
vast numbers of people died of it. People were attacked one day
and did not live over the night, though sometimes two days and nights
passed before death claimed its victim. It was not a few only that
were seized, but ten, twenty, or thirty were taken at the same time,
so that it became impossible for the living to properly bewail the
dead, owing to the numbers who died. Day after day, there was
no breathing time allowed to the living on account of the numerous
deaths. Now, a great fear fell upon the people of Kau-ara-paoa on
account of this dreadful malady, and through the news of the
approaching war-party descending the river. So an exodus took
place, and the people fled to the mountains, to places where they
could look down on the river and watch the coming war-party. In
abandoning the pa many of those who were too ill to be removed,
were left behind — such was the fear lest the war-party should find
the people in the pa^ for as they fled, the canoes of the invaders
appeared.

As the fleet of the canoes reached Kau-ara-paoa, the men turned
aside and entered the pa, and there found many dead bodies, but the
greater number had been buried. When the war-party saw all this,
they uncovered some of the dead to eat. After this they departed
on their way to make war against the Ngati-Apa tribe (living at
Wbangaehu, Bangi-tikei, &c.) and also with the Ngati-Eahungunu

162 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

tribe. Shortly after the departure of the war-party, there arrived the
Nga-Paerangi, Nga-Poutama, Ngati-Tumango and Ngati-PamoftDa
tribes, indeed all those included in the name Nga-Paerangi, who were
following the war-party in order if possible to save one of their
branches — Ngati-Rongo-mai-tawhiri — least they should be killed by
the war-party ; in which case a fight would have taken place at onoe.
But it so happened that the war-party met none but the dead in the
pa, so that, when the above tribes saw where the dead had been
disinterred, they determined on revenge, and as a first step assembled
all the scattered people of Kau-ara-paoa pa to decide on a oourse
of action. It was resolved to follow up the war-party, and they
sent on in advance a man of the war-party who was related
also to the combined tribes (how he was left behind is not stated).
It was arranged by this man, that the others were to follow after
whilst he went on to Awa-rua, where the war-party was, and there
the avengers were to conceal themselves, and await a signal. If the
war-party had divided its force, the man was to ascend a sandhill
and thence signal the others in the night. If the whole party had
gone south he would wave a fire stick in that direction ; if part
remained, ho would wave it to the north, in which case the avengers
were to rush the 2)a.

After this had been arranged with Nga-Paerangi the man
departed, and eventually reached the war -party, whilst the avengers
l)addled down the river, gathering in the other i^eople of Nga-
Paorangi who had been dispersed by the war-party as they
passed, so that they finally numbered about 2000 fighting men.
On arrival at Awa-i*ua, Nga-Paerangi concealed themselves and
awaited the pre-arranged signal. As night fell, the signal was seen,
and one fire-stick was thrown to the south, the other to the north,
indicating that the \var-party had divided. Nga-Paerangi at once
closed on the pa of the war-party, and awaited the break of day,
when the assault took place. As the war-party arose from their
sleep, they found themselves being killed by the avenging inrty,
which took the pa, killed great numbers, only a few escaping, who
lloil after the other division, which had gone south. But they were
overtaken between Whanga-eliu and Turakina, when the fleetest of
the pursuers called out, ** Here are we close behind you!*' and the
killing went on, some of the pui*sued called out, " Whose warriors
are these?" The reply was, "They are Nga-Paerangi!" Then
the i)ursued knew that the consequences of their defilement of the
dciul at Kau-ara-paoa was about to fall on them.

This battle was named " Wai-puna," and it was the i>ayment for
" Hura-aero," that is, for the dettocration of the dead at Kau-ara-paoa.
After the battle, Nga-Paerangi returned to the pa at Kau-ara-paoa

SOME WHANGANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 168

where every one of the people collected, no one remaining in their
other homes for fear of the war-party, who might return to seek
revenge for their losses at Wai-puna. Here they decided to remain
till the war-party had passed on its way to their homes on the upper
river. On their arrival at the pa, there was not a soul to be seen
anywhere, the land was desolate — Tangi kau te hau ki roto o
Whangarmi — The wind alone blew in Whanganui.

And now the war-party of invaders returned, and started to
" pole " up the river, at the same time having much fear in their
hearts of the Kau-ara-paoa pa, within which they knew all the
Whanganui tribes had gathered. Hence was their fear, lest they be
attacked and prevented from passing up to their homes. So they
came on until close to the pa, when they sent in a messenger to ask
the chiefs of the pa if they would be allowed to pass. The reply was,
" You may pass if you behave properly, and do not go ashore to any
pa or village, but continue right on up the river." The messenger
replied, " Yes ! we agree to your terms." And so the war-party
passed on their way up the river.

After one night had passed, Nga-Paerangi followed up the war-
party, and after the arrival of the latter at Hikurangi, the advance
part of the pursuit returned from Ope-riki and reported that the
others had passed Hikurangi. And now the expedition returned to
their homes, and all the villages of lower Whanganui were again
occupied, as well as the pa of Ope-riki.

[Ope-riki is an extremely picturesque old pa, built on top of a clifif
overhanging the river on the east side just three-quarters of a mile above
Koroniti (or Corinth). It is covered with fine kowhai trees, and is
defended on the north side by the deep canon of the Ope-riki stream.
Mr. Blsdon Best says, " The earthworks remain in good preservation
and are still some 12 feet in height. The pa is 113 paces square,
and must have been an almost impregnable stronghold in former days.
Tradition states that once only did an enemy enter Ope-riki, and that
party never came out again. One cold, dark and wet night a surprise
party of the enemy entered the pa, and finding some of the fires
alight, stopped to warm themselves. A woman hearing a slight noise
and whispering going on, gave the alarm to the garrison who speedily
dispatched the intruders. — From Komene Papanui 1895."

Mr. Best adds also, " A tatui of Waikato, 800 strong attacked
Ope-riki, the pa of the Ngati-Pa-moana tribe, many years ago. They
came down the river in canoes and invested the pa. The siege lasted
many months, but Ngati-Pa-moana had plenty of food in the pa.
Seeing that they made no progress in the seige, the enemy constructed
a huge rangi, i.e., a framework of supplejacks closely wattled so as to

164 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

be impervious to spears. Into this cage-like affair entered 40 men
who lifted it and bodily carried it up to the fortifications of the pa
against which they placed it, and then commenced to undermine the
maiorOf or embankments, by working with ko, or wooden spades, into
the bank, beneath the shelter of the ran(/i. The besieged, however,
procured long poles and placed them in a slanting ix)sition against the
pallisades of the pa so that they projected out and over the rangi.
After the poles were secured in place, the besiegers climbed out on
them, and cast down heavy stones and logs on to the rangi, displacing
and breaking the upper part or roof. They were then able to kill
many of those within it by means of long spears. The discomforted
enemy retired, and took up a position on the sloping ground above
the pa, Ngati-Pa-moana now lined their defences and the towers of
the pa and with excited yells, recited the following ngeri, or war

song : —

Te rongo mai koia koc ?

Ko to waro hiinanga kai tonci,

Ko to waro hunanga tangata tcnoi,

Ko nga tuatara o Kawakawa.

Koi ngenge kau ou turi

I to hapainga i to kakau o to hoc

A, kai riro atu to toka i Matiii

E tu ako noi te whakawohi o to riri.

Wilt thou not then understand ?

This is the chasm in which all food is lost —

The chasm in which men disappear,

(By the) tuataras of Kawakawa.

Lot not thy kncos be fatigued

In using the handle of the paddle,

When you are able to take away the rock at Matai,

That in the river stands,

Then will be felt the dread of war.

Te Awe-o-te-kauri of Koroniti says Ope-riki pa was attacked — Ist, by
Tuhara ; 2nd, by Marama-taupae ; 3rd, by Waikato under Te Tahua,
Te Rangi -whakarurua and Pehi, but was never taken.]

Tu-whawhakia continues: Now, the i)eople dwelt in peace at their
pa of Kau-ara-paoa for a whole year, when news reached them that a
war-i)arty was forming to avenge the losses at Wai-puna, and the
death of Te Kangi-whakateka at that battle. Hence were his people
assembling to come down the river. It was subsequently learnt that
all the upper Whanganui people were coming also.

So the fleet of cahoes came on ; the Whanganui river was oovered
with canoes so thickly, that the eye could not see the water beyond,
the river was dark with men. When the Kau-ara-i)aoa people heard
of this they all went up and assembled at Ope-riki ; there was not a

SOUE WHANGANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 165

single warrior left in lower Whanganui, all went to guard Ope-riki.
It was not many days before the word oame that the enemy was
approfiM)hing, and shortly after the fleet appeared, besides others who
came overland. They came on without looking (or considering
death), without fear, their throats lusting for the flesh of their
enemies, and the desire of battle. They came straight on to capture
the pa. The chief of the pa gave the command, " When they arrive
catch the bodies." (Ka pa ano kia hopu ki te tinanaj As soon as the
attack was delivered, the defenders of the pa arose as one man, and
it was not long before the enemy was beaten off, and a large number
killed, some with the weapons, others by being driven over the cliffs.
The survivors of the attacking party fled — they were allowed to
depart without being followed.

And the name of this battle was Ope-riki. Thus there were two
victories gained in payment of " Hura-aero " (the desecration of the
dead bodies). The war ended here, for the enemy never came back,
even down to this day.

KOHURU-PO, THE DEATH OF TAKARANGI.

At one time when the Ngati-Apa tribe occupied the Kohuru-po
pa at Whangaehu, a large party of Ngati-Eongo-mai-tawhiri, Nga-
Paerangi and other haptis of Whanganui related to them, went
thither to attack the first named people. They assaulted the pa and
in the fight, Te Ata-ura of Ngati-Apa killed Takarangi of Whanganui,
and in conseqnence of the death of this chief, Nga-Paerangi and the
other hapics retreated, being alarmed at the death of their leader.
It was Ngati-Rongo-mai-ta whirl, who originated this war, and it was
the same hapu that fled first. One part of the expedition (apparently)
did not join in the fighting, but went " to warm themselves at the
fire " on account of the cold for it was winter time. This was the
reason of the flight, and how it was that Takarangi's body was left
lying there. Turangapito got on to the pallisades of the pa and sang
his song, a very short one, thus : —

Kihei koutou i haere mai ki te riri,

I haere mai koutou ki te patiti ahi

Hei whakahoki riri, ka turitakutia i !

Ngati-Bongo-mai-tawhiri e !

Whai-roroa i te riri e,

Whakarongo mai ra,

Tenei te hanga kino kei a au anake,

Hua noa i a wai, he mea purotu koc.

No maua nei hoki tahi hoki ra

Nana ra i waiwaha,

He waka pakaru kino ki te akau raid ra, i

156 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

The oanse of Turanga-pito's song was his sorrow at the death of
Takarangi-atua, whose daughter was Bora-Awheuru, who married
Mete-Kingi, and their children were Hoani Mete-Eingi, Takarangi
Mete-Eingi and others.

Now when Takarangi's wife Nuku heard of the death of her
husband she composed a lament for him as follows : —

1. E karanga kan ana, E Whare f

E tahuri mai e karanga kan ana, E Whetu t

E tahuri mai, kowai to ritenga

I tangi ai to papa, e tata te au kawa

Te tuku ki Mangaio

Nana i whakato-a te riri ki Paparoa

2. E karanga kau ana, E Whare f

E tahuri mai, E karanga kau ana, E Whetu !

E tahuri mai na, ki mai na

Me manu-kawhaki,

Tera to nuinga kei nga titahatanga

Ki Puke-totara ra,

E karangatia ai Tawhiri-parae i

3. Taku kai nanenane kei Turakina
E haere ana, ko ingoa kimihia

E noho noa mai ira,

Te nekeneko mai to ta o taku tapi

Mc whakahei ake hci a Turanga-pito

Ka rangona o te tini, ka rangona c to mano.

Ka rongo mai Hongi-hika

Ka rongo mai Te Wherowhero,

E taka i te koki ki Hani-paka raia a i

Here ends Nuku's song ; and the death of Takarangi was never
avongetl by Ngati- Rongo- mai -tawhiri who originated this warfare
in which he was killed. In vain did Nuku sing ; her song was not
considered by those hapm. Some of the ])eople of the pa wore
killed, but none oiiualled Takarangi in rank.

The author, Tu-wkawhakia, then writes that ho fears '* the canoe
will be over laden" (the JoruNAL OF THE Polynesian Society
will not be able to contain all ho has written), but will write more
later.

80ME WHANGANUI HISTORICAL NOTES. 167

Taikbhu.
Taikohu, Tau-kai-tu-roa and Tama-tuna were all my ancestors,
the second being my mother's ancestor, thus : —

Tu-rere-ao = Whaki-tapui*

Tu-ranga-pitof = Hine-moana

Tu-taia-roa = Maru-puku

Tu-wbakaheke = Hine-pane

Maiore Taikebu Tai-o te-wiwi Iri-nga-rangi Kai-taiigi-anaii Te Kapetau

Aiua-rere » Apanga

Te Rangi-raro-whiu = Puata

Tu Whawhakia=Tu-rake

Te Korenga Tu Whawhakia

Hence it will be seen that Taikehu was a descendant of Tu-rere-ao.
Taikehu and Tai-o-te-wiwi, together with their sister Iri-nga-rangi
dwelt at their home at Te Uaneke, below Opiri (a pa just above the
junction of Upoko-ngaro with the Whanganui), and at that time the
news came of a party of strangers from Ngati-Kahungunu having
arrived at Taumaha-ute (the old pa just above Shakespeare cliff,
opposite the town of Whanganui). It was Karihi who invited them
to come there, and the names of those stranger chiefs were Te Kuaki
and Te Wehenga. Te Iri-nga-rangi, hearing of these strangers, arranged
with her brothers to visit Kanihi and ask him to allow the strangers
to visit Te Uaneke pa. So Taikehu and Tai-o-te-wiwi pulled down
the river to Taumaha-ute, and on arrival said to Karihi, " We came
to fetch the old men so that our sister may see them.*' Karihi asked,
" When will you send them back ?" ** To-morrow," said they ; and
80 Karihi consented on the condition that they should not be retained
long, as it was not ho alone who had invited them, but all the chiefs
of the pa. Karihi said to his visitors, ** You two had better go along
with these two old men and return to-morrow," to which they
assented. Taikehu and his brother with the two strangers entered
the canoe, and then the latter bid farewell saying, *' E noho ! me
tatari ake e koutou, e po, e ao, Kei te Awa-a-Taikehu ; kei te kainga

*An interesting and romantio story relating to Whaki-tapoi and her immediate
descendants will be found in J.P.S., Vol. Y., p. 155.

fThis Tu-ranga-pito most not be confounded with the man of tbe same name
who composed the song, ante.

168 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

tino'tangata" — Kemain here ; await a night and a day (we are) at
the River-of-Taikehu,* the home of the brave (or very-man, warrior,
etc.) That was their whakatauki^ or " saying,'* because they felt in
their hearts considerable apprehension from what they had seen.
When those on shore heard the news later they felt that the xohahor
tauki was appropriate.

As the canoe passed up the river, the strangers asked, " Where
is the home of you two, with reference to yonder hill ? '* The reply
was, "There! beyond the hill." They "poled" on until they reached
Wai-pakura, where Taikehu said, "There! behold -that hill; below it
is the home of our sister and ourselves." The hill referred to was
Opiu. When they reached the landing place, the old woman (Te
Iri-nga-rangi) welcomed them with the usual pohiri, and then the
strangers were conducted to the village.

When night came the strangers were killed. The people at Tau-
maha-ute waited one night, two nights, and then they knew that the
strangers had been killed, and the prophetic words of the whakatauki
of the old men, had come true. But these deaths were never
avenged.

NOTES.
From the cannibal lady mcntionod in this story — To Iri-nga-rangi — are
descended the Ngati-Iringa-rangi hapu of Whanganui.

Pehi-Turoa, referred to ante, was a very great chief of the Whanganui tribes,
whose aristocratic (according to Maori ideas) lines of descent lie before me. He
claims as ancestors, Turi, commander of the *'Aotea" canoe; Tama-te-Kapua,
commander of "TeArawa'* canoe; Tamatea, commander of the **Takitimu**
canoe ; Hoturoa, commander of the ** Tainui ** canoe — all vessels forming part of
the fleet of 1350. His son Tahana Turoa died at Wai-pakura, Whanganui, 16th
August, 1894, and was also a man of mark. The following poropofXhaki, or
farewell, delivered at the tangi or " wake " over him is very oharacteristio of suoh
efhisions, and of Maori custom in suoh cases : —

Haere atu ra ! te puhi o Whanganui. Haere atu ra ! E Aotoa !

Haero atu, E te milna o te whenua t Haere atu ra ! te mSna o te tangata !

Haere atu ra t E Kahu-kura ! Haere atu ra ! E Tutu-tohora !

E Poutini ! Rore atu ra i tenei ao ki tera ao atu !

Depart then, the plume of Whsnganui. Depart Aotoa ! Depart !
O the embodiment of the power over the land ! Depart, the influential
one with men ( Depart Kahu-kura (god of Rainbow) ! Depart O Tuiu-
tohora t O Pou-tini ! Take thy ilight from this world to the next !

* To Awa-a-Taikehu is one of the poetical names of the Whanganui River.

NGUTU-AU.

(AN ANCIENT PEOPLE WHO VISITED NEW ZEALAND.)

From Information received from Hone Whetu Tangi-tahekk,

OF THE TU-WHAKAIRI-ORA HaPU OF NgATI-PoROU.

By George Graham.

.^^GUTU-AU was the name of a strange people who came to this
J^ place, that is to Whare-kahika (Hick's Bay, East Cape) many
generations ago. Their cauoe was remarkable for its con-
struction, and the people for their peculiarities of speech and
mannerisms. The Ngutu-au came here from abroad seeking a place to
live, and our people allowed them to settle at Mata-kawa (near Hick's
Bay) and gave them some kumara seed to plant, as they had none, for
that was the planting season for kumara when they arrived.

Ngutu-au pulled up their canoe at that place, built their houses,
and prepared their cultivation of kumara.

Some short time after, a party of Ngutu-au went out with our
people fishing for hofnikuj and were successful until a great hapuku
broke all the hooks and lines. This great hapuku had been in that
place for a long time and had given great trouble to our fishing parties.
It was of such size and strength that no lines or hooks used were
strong enough to ensure its capture. It was always breaking our lines
and hooks. We lost so many lines and hooks that this fish was called
Kai-aho (line-eater).

When our people returned owing to the loss of lines and hooks,
and Ngutu-au returned to their village at Matakawa, it was decided to
make specially strong lines and hooks to catch Kai-aho. The Ngutu-au
were expert in such work, and made a large hook of wood and a line of
totoro'hiti (toe-toe fibre) which is superior to harakeke (flax) for this
purpose. Unknown to us they went out one night, and with their
great hook and line succeeded in catching the fish Kai-aho.

160 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

When our people had finished making strong hooks and lines they
went out, but none of the Ngutu-au oame to accompany them, which
was not understood by our people. Arrived at the fishing grounds^ the
proper karakias were recited, and the lines bated with tamure (schnapper)
and let down. They waited a long time, but no bites came, and
uselessly shifted from one place to another. No success rewarded their
patience. Thus it was for two days. Then our people became
suspicious and thought that Ngutu-au must indeed have already caught
the fish Eai-aho.

Some of our people went to Mata-kawa to find out, but did so as on
a visit of courtesy. It was there mentioned that for two days our
people had fruitlessly tried to catch Kai-aho, but Ngutu-au denied that
they had already caught that fish. Then it was remarked that the
canoe of that people had been lately used, but still Ngutu-au denied
that they had caught Kai-aho.

Our people disbelieved them and secretly decided to exterminate
the Ngutu-au for their mean conduct ; the olden people of ours were
of a very jealous disposition and were really jealous that Ngutu-au had
succeeded in catching Kaiaho after their own long repeated efforts had
failed to do so.

Now Ngutu-au suspected that evil was intended, but to conceal
their uneasiness quietly proceeded with their cultivations and other
daily work. They had really decided to leave and return to their
distant home over seas, and one night they indeed left.

Next morning, not seeing their fires or any of the people, our
people went to look for them, and then realised that Ngutu-au had
departed in their canoe. In a cave on the coast we discovered three of
their people named Mouterangi, Wharekohe, and a woman named
Hine-te-ao, who was a sister of Wharekohe. They stated that their
people had left with the intention of returning to their own home.

These three people lived with us as slaves until they died, and left
no descendants. We never heard anything as to the fate of Ngutu-au.

We preserve an old song concerning Ngutu-au and the three persons
left among us by them, of which the following is a part : —

'* Te heke o te Ngutu-au e haere ai ki tetahi whenoa
Ko tona tuahine ko Hine-te-ao
Ko tona tonara^ ko Te Wharekohe
£ hara tenei, he kura-wai-hape, he mahanga rimu tapu
Kia po-reia ko poihiri ko porara¥ra.

* Mou-te-rangi waR a man of rank, and Whare-kohe was his slave, that is to nay,
his man. Tonnra was the Ngutu-au word for tangata — man. I never heard the
reason why these people were left behind.

THE CANOE OF MAUI.

Obtained Februaby, 1905, fbom Ira Hebewini, of Moeraki,
BY J. Cowan.

THE expression '* Te Waka-a-Maui " ('Hhe Canoe of Maui "), as an
ancient name for the South Island of New Zealand, is still
occasionally heard from the lips of the old people of the Ngai-
Tahu tribe. The notion that it was from the South Island that Maui
fished up the North Island (** Te Ika-a-Maui "— **The Fish of Maui ")
is, however, a purely Southern concept ; it would be hard to convince a
Northern Maori of the superior antiquity of the Greenstone Land.
"Te Taumanu-o-te-waka-a-Maui " (** The Thwart of the Canoe of
Maui ")^-on which Maui stood when hauling up his land-fish — is said
by the Ngai-Tahu to be the ancient name of a place in the [neighbour-
hood of Kaikoura.

The classic name *• Te Waka-a-Maui '* is mentioned in the following
fftmous song, which was sung as a vuita or prophecy, by a tohunga
named Kukurangi, of the Ngati Awa tribe, at Waikanae, just prior to Te
Rauparaha's second and successful raid on Eaiapohia Pa, Canterbury,
about 1880. Standing in the marae in the midst of the assembled
warriors, and pointing towards the mountain-cape of Omere that jutted
into the Sea of Raukawa (Cook Strait), the seer chanted these words : —

'* He aha te bau e pa mai nei ?

He uru, he tonga, he parara.

Ko nga baa tangi rua-e !

£ ta ki te rae o Omere ra

Ea kite koe, e 'Baha

I te ahi papakura ki Eaiapohia.

Ma te ihu waka, ma te ngakau hoe.

A ka taupoki te ria

O te Waka-a-Maui

Ei raro ra !

Tukitukia ha I Berea ha ! Eopekopea ha !

Taku pokaitara — puka

E tu ki te muriwai ki Waipara ra —

Hi— ha!

Ea whakapae te riri ki toa^— ho-o-o !"

162 JOURNAL OF THE POL YNESIAN SOCIETY

Translition.

What wind is this that blows upon me ?

The West? The South? 'Tis the Eastern breease.

Stand on the brow of Omere* hill

And you will see O *Baha,

The glare of the blazing sky at Eaiapohia I

By the bow of the oanoe, by the handle of the paddle.

The Canoe of Maui will be overturned

Below there I

Then paddle fiercely I Fly through the seas ! Plunge

deep your paddles !
See my flock of seabirds
In the backwater at Waipara there !
Hi— Ha ! ^

Beyond that spot will rage the fight !

*Omere is said to be the original native name of Gape Te Ba-whiti (Cook Strait).
The name Te Ba-whitl (" The Bising Sun"), the general Maori term for the East
Coast, was, through a misconception on the part of Cook's Tahitian interpreter,
Tupaea, in conversing with the Maoris in 1770, set down by the oiroumnavigator as
the name of this point.

rOmcre is the point of land just outside and to the South of Oharin, whieh
people desirous of crossing Cook's Straits in former times used to ascend to see
if the sea was smooth enough— hence the lines in the old song: —

Ea rou Omere ki waho,

He maunga tutainga aio.

Where Omere projects outside,

A spying place for calms.
Te Ba-whiti means simply "the East,*' which Cook mistook for the name of
the iK>int, when asking its name of the Queen Charlotte Sound Natives. — Editor.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

[179] Some Middle Island N.Z. Place Names.

In Note No. 175 the question of the true name of the lake called by Europeans
Manaponri, was raised, and the statement made that it should be Motu-rau. I
have since received from Mrs. Cameron, a half-caste lady, wife of the first European
to visit the lake, information which seems to settle this question. Siie says that
the name of the lake has always been Manawa-pore, but that Motu-rau is the name
of an old Maori settlement on the shores of the lake, near a little stream that is
about a mile or so north of the outlet by the Waiau river, and where the natives
were in the habit of camping even within the last 40 years, when fishing and birding.
This was an old Ngati-Mamoe village in former days, and the stream near was the
dwelling place of a noted taniwha in ancient times.

Te Riia-a-te-kai-amio is the name of the limestone caves a little east of Glifden
township on the Waiau River.

Te Taniwha is the Maori name of the Snares Islands.

Nuku-niai is the proper spelling of the place now called Noko-mai.

— S. Percy Smith.

[180] Maori Names of Lakes.

As bearing on the same question raised in Notes 175 and 179, the following
from a Dunedin newspaper of about 1896 is forwarded by Mr. Jas. Cowan : —

♦* Mr. Henry E. Nickless, Te Tua, writes: — On reading your paper some time
ago I saw that Mr. Percy Smith and Mr. Stowell had been giving, as far as their
knowledge went, the Maori names of two lakes — viz., Whakatipu and Manawapore.
I don't doubt that the gentlemen named are good Maori scholars, and bein^ familiar
with the language myself I naturally take an interest in it, and would like to give
my opinion as far as my knowledge goes with regard to the names of the two lakes
in question. My information I got from an old Maori chief living at Colac (Korako)
Bay, who was brought up in his young days at the lakes. His name is Hoani
Matewai Poko, a son of the chief Te Wae Wae, after whom Te Wae Wae Bay was
named ; and I believe Poko is the last full-blooded chief of the Ngatimamoe tribe
now alive. He says that the proper name of the lake now called Manapouri is
Moturau, and there are two small lakes close to it called by Europeans the little and
big Mavaura. The larger of these two the Maories name Manawapore, which
means *' anxious heart,'* and the smaller of the two they call Hikuraki, or
Hikurangi, which is the northern pronunciation of Hikuraki ; and the proper name
of Lake Wakatipu is, according to Poke's knowledge, Whakatipu and not Whaka-
tipua. There are also two or three Maori names of places wrong on the railway
line between Invercargill and Orepuki — viz., the place called Oporo is properly
called Opora. Oraki should be Tehaki, named after a woman who was taken
prisoner at Pahi and killed and eaten at the place now called Oraki. The name
Oraki is a near approach to Oraka, the name of a stream running into the sea at
the Maori Kaika or Kainga. If anyone else could give your readers further

164 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

information on the matter of the names of the two lakes mentioned, I should
consider it a great favour, as I think the names ought to be corrected and th«
proper names taught in our schools, as otherwise the original and proper names
will die out and be substituted by ones that are not correct, and should not be in
in i»ur geographies."

[181] On the word Moa, &c.

(See Note by Mr. Taylor White, last issue of Jouuxal.) Can any member of
the Polynesian Society throw light on the origin of the name Te Itau-a-Moa ? This
is the name of a locality on the Pirongia Range, about midway between the Waipa
Yiilley and Kawhia Harbour. It may be that maa is here a personal name, but I
hardly think so. One meaning of moa is a plot or bed in a gatden [mahinga moii =
a cultivation). Some natives suggest that there were anciently a large number of
cultivation-plots here, side by side— hence the name. This, however, is as likely as
not an effort of the aboriginal imagination.

A member of Ngati-maniapoto informs me that rait-nfffi-moa was a term
foiiuerly applied to a jilume of feathers placed in the hair when it was bound up in
the old style topknot.

It is no doubt a Hawaiikian phrase, analogous to pahl-hengn^ the feather
head-drnament of Niue Island. — J. Cowan.

[We think the name refers to a plume of moa's feathers, like Te liau-o-te-hina,
d'c. The j art of the name that throws doubt on this meaning, however, is the use
of •*/» " instead of "O," and this raises the question as to whether Mr. Cowan^s
first n.e:n<ing, viz., that moa is a man's name is not right. — Ei>itor.j

TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS
POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

Minutes op Mertino of Council.
The Council met at 4 p.m. on the 22nd September, 1905, at New Plymouth.

Present: The President, Messrs. W. L. Newman, J. H. Parker, W. H. Skinner,
F. P. Corkill, M. Fraser, and W. Kerr.

The following new Member was elected : —

369 William Smith, Railway Department, Arumoho, Whanganui.

Papers Beceived : —

273 The Last of the Ngati-Mamoe. Jas. Cowan,

274 Wharekohanga. Elsdon Best.

275 Maori Superstitions. Col. Gudgeon.

The following publications have been received since last meeting of the
Council : —

1809 Maori Names ^ South Island N^ir Zealand. Mr. Roberts.

1810-17 Ln Giographie. Vol. x , 2 to 6; Vol. xi., 1 to 3.

1818-20 Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, ccccxxi., ccccxxiii., ccccxxv.

1 821 -23 Revue de UEcole d^A nthropologie de Paris. May, June, July, 1906.

1824 Records, Australian Museum, Vol. vi., 1.

1825 The American Antiquarian. Vol. xxvii., 4.

1826 Archivio per V dnthropologia. Vol. xxxv., 1.

1827-30 Bulletins, dbc, de la Soci^tS d'Antkropologie de Paris, 1904.
Nos. 2 to 6.

1831 The Northern Maida, American Museum Nat. Hist. From Poland

B. Dixon.

1832 Journal, Anthropological Institute, Great Britain, Vol. xxxiv.

1833 Journal, American Oriental Society. Vol. xxvi., 1.

1834 Annual Report Smithsonian Institution, 1903.

1835-39 Memorias Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes, Barcelona.

Vol. v.. No. 4 to 8
1840 Boletin „ „ „ „ Vol. ii., No. 7

1841-2 Journal Royal Colonial Institute. June, July, 1906.

1843 Inheritance of Digital Malformations in Man. Peabody Museum.

Vol. iii., 3.

1844 Report, Public Library, Museum and National Gallei^y, Victoria,

1904.

1845 Victorian Geographical Journal. Vol. xxii., 1.
1846-48 The Geographical Journal. Vol. xxv., 6; xxvi., 1, 2.
1849-52 Na Mata. June to October, 1905.

1853 The Morphology oj the Hvpa Language. Univeisity of California.

166 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY.

1854 Banket Designs of the Indian* of N. W. California. Umwetatj of

California.
1855-6 Twenty 'first and Twtnty-seeond Reports, Bureau of Awuriam

EthnoUxjy.

1857 Tenth Report Australian Association Advancement of Science. IQCML

1858 NotuLen van de Algenteene, dtc.^ Bataviaasch Genootschap. Deel xUL,

No. 4.

1859 Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land-, en Volkenkunde. Deel zItUI.,

No. 1.

1860 Rapportenf Commissie in Nederlandsch-Inde, 1903.

1861 Annual Report Smithsanion Institution, 1902.

1862 American Antiquarian. Vol. xxvii., No. 1.

MAORI SUPERSTITION.

By Lieut.-Col. W. E. Gudgeon, C.M.G.

EXPERIENCE does not warrant me in saying, that the teach-
ings of the missionary has had any good or lasting effect
on the Maori people. The great lesson of Christianity
appears to be beyond the grasp of the Maori mind, which,
though exceedingly acute, leans strongly in the direction
of materialism. It is, therefore, apt to regard religion from a purely
worldly point of view, so that if no immediate benefit seems likely
to accrue from the profession of any particular form of faith, that
faith is regarded as being of little value.

Christianity, as we understand it, really does not enter into the
life of a Maori ; he does not comprehend it, and the lessons of
brotherly love and charity thereby inculcated do not interest him.
The reward offered is too remote. I am, however, of opinion, Ihut
the myster^^ of the Trinity has his respect, if only for the reason
that it is beyond the experience and conception of ordinary men.
The Maori would, however, make a good Jew of Mahommedan,
inasmuch that outward observances, and ceremonies, even of the
most rigorous tyi)e, are very much to his taste. Not even the
Anglo-Saxon — who has been described by the witty Frenchman as
having 500 religions and only one sauce — is more open to religious
impression than the native race of New Zealand ; but the impres-
sions do not last.

I have a very great respect for the logical Maori mind; but I
cannot ignore the tenor of remarks made to me at various times
by some of the most intelligent of this interesting people, and this
much may be said in their favour, that the most fanatical or super-
stitious is a man at all times, and compares very favourably with
14

168 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

that weak-minded element among the Europeans, who rush hysteri-
cally into the arms of every new religious crank, fraudulent or
otherwise, who may hai)i)en to visit the town in which he resides.
Whatsoever the Maori may do or think he is always manly, and
somewhat prone to helieve in the sword of the Lord and Gideon.
He is, therefore, dangerous in his religious fits, and was at one time
apt to undertake a small "Jehad" on his own account, in order to
illustrate practically the power and virtue of the particular deity
than influencing him.

My long association with the Maoris has afforded me opportuni-
ties for hearing their sentiments on many suhjects, as to which they
do not often open up their hearts to Euroi)eans, and that iX)sition I
have attained by listening sympathetically to all their ancient lore
and superstition, carefully av(jiding any remark that might exhibit
me ns prejudiced in favoui* of or against any form of religion whatso-
(^ver. T simply ]K)sed as a sof>k(M- jifter (ruth, and it followed a«
a natural sc(iue!ico that 1 often received whimsical confidences, and
heard very funny remarks, even from Maori catcchists who were
supposed to be living in the very odour of sancti^. It was a
man of this type who told me that he was a sincere Christian,
but not being an absolute fool he knew that one god could not
attend to everything, ami, therefore, if he wanted any si)ocial
jissistanee he usually invoked the aid of some Atua-Maori^ who was
naturally more conversant with his wants, and undoi'stood him
better than any Euroi)ean god could ])ossibly do. lie evidently
felt that the position he had taken up was not quiet sound, for he
added, ''You will understand that 1 could not ask a great God like
Jehovah to do such little things." This last remark explained all
ihnt ho had in his mind, for the Supreme Being of the Maori is lo,
to wliom they will olTer no su])plication for assistance.

Another man - a good old warrior of a serious turn of mind —
feclin;i assuio<l that I would sympathise with him in his difliculties,
consulted me on the subject of the scriptures. lie said that he had
sttidied them for moie than forty years, and had come to the con-
clusion that lher(» was nothing in them. Having, moreover, given
the subject nnu.'h th()u«;lit, he was convinced that the key to the
Ljj-eat book was in the hands of the Bishops, who selfishly retained
all that was of real value in their own hands. 1 replied that I had
uevt^r h(»ard of any such lK>oks; but the old man cut mo ofT with a
sircastic I'emark U) tlu^ elVect that as I was not a Bishop it was
hardly likely that 1 could know anything alxnit it, *' For,'* said he,
"it is not the Maoris only that are I uMug defrauded but the Euro-
pt»ans ulso." To lht» »»r(linar\ Kuroj.(»an this may sooni a very

MAORI SUPERSTITION 169

childish view to take, but to my Maori friend such a policy seemed
not only natural but also probable ; forasmuch as he regarded the
matter from a strictly Maori point of view, and argued, that where-
as the Maori tohunga has karakia (incantations) by virtue of which
they can compel their atuas to minister to the wants of man, so also
must the learned Europeans have the same power, and as the
Bishops were merely a superior class of tohunga, they would
naturally retain these valuable incantations in their own hands,
and keep them from the inferior clergy and laity.

Yet another valiant old heathen assured me that the only result
he had ever seen flow from Christianity was cowardice. Said he,
Your missionaries come here and talk to our young people about
Hell fire, and all that sort of thing, until they are absolutely afraid
to die. Before they came, this was not the case. At that time men
had no fear, they killed men and were killed, but there was no fear.
There are no men at the present day, the ichakajjcmv (faith) and.
Pakeha guns have made us all cowards."

The doubt latent in the Maori mind, as to the efTicacy or power
of Christianity is always cropjnng up, especially among the old Jind
thinking part of the community. During the long drought of 1878
on the east coast of the North Island, when the whole potato crop
failed, an old chief took a very gloomy view of the tribal prospects.
He said, " I do not know what we shall do for food this winter.
We have a good crop of kumaraj but no potatoes ; that we have
done something wrong is quiet clear, but what that wrong is I do
not know. Since the war of 1865 we have neglected your religion,
and have nevertheless been most prosperous, but last year we agreed
to rejoin your church, and now behold the result of listening to your
missionaries." Seeing the bent of the old man's mind, I replied
that he appeared to think that the tribal Atua was angry at their
desertion, but such could not be the case since it was known to all,
that the Maori gods had mdna over the kiivmra, but that the potato
was a Pakeha vegetable, and as such Eongo-ma-tane could have no
mdna over it, and the abundance of the kwiiara was proof positive
that the Maori gods had not been angered. He pondered over this
for some time and evidently thought my remarks worthy of note,
for he murmured " ka tika " (it is true) ; but nevertheless he was not
comforted, for he added, '* there is something wrong somewhere."

Some years ago it was my good fortune to come across a very
amusing notice in Maori posted on the door of a country hotel.
It is so thoroughly Maori that I did not attempt to translate it lest
it should be said that I had drawn on my imagination. I therefore
handed it over to a good Maori linguist, and his translation is as
follows : —

170 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

" Let all men know that Christmas will be celebrated and a raoe
meeting held at Te Teko on the 25th December next. All those
who patronise 8]X)rts should assemble at that place, not only for the
amusement provided, but to honour the new year, and the advent
of our Saviour from the unknown. We wish Him to know that we
hold his birthday in reverence and love, so that He may in like
manner remember and love us on the day of judgment/'

After this let no man say that the Maori is wanting in a proper
sense of his obligations either to this world or the next. Above all,
let it not be said that he neglects to support his church, for it is on
record in the Gisbome court, that a Maori an-aigned on a charge of
horse-stealing, pleaded guilty ; but moved in arrest of judgment, that
though he had stolen and sold the horse, he had been induced to do
so by the ver^- purest motives, namely, that an important church
conference was about to be held in his village, at which a collection
would be made in aid of Maori missions, and he being a poor man,
l»ad, as it were, been comj)o]leil to steal the horse, to enable him to
contribute towards the support of his church.

There are people who think that they understand the working of
the Maori mind. Indeed, I have once or twice thought I was one
of those gifted individuals, but the improspion did not last, and it
vanished forever after a conver«?ation witli si certain Maori ixirent.
This man sjiid that he ol)jectt(l to send his children to school, not
that he saw any harm in education, indco<l, he thought all children
should be t;iught to rciid and write ; but he did (^l)ject to anyone
making money out of his chil<lren. For sonio monieMts I failetl to
grasp his nlcaninf,^ but a few judic-ious (jiiestions Si)lved the niVbtory.
Teachers were paid by the (loveriinient of tlio Colony to teach his
and other children, and he objected to any such arrangement, because
the teachers were thereby enabled to make money tuit of his children.
This he felt was wrong, and therefore he sot his face against all
schools. We ilid not part in friendshij) on iliis (H-casion for the
reason that 1 changed the conversation al>rupily by asking if ho had
ever received any .serious injury to his hoatl. a'ul wIumt he answered
in the negative I said. '* I am s^orry, for in such case it uni>i ]ye a
bad case of congenital idiocy, and I only Iiojk* that your children
may not l)e similarly atllicted."

1 began this chapter with the fixed intention of writing all that
I knew on the subject of Maori 8ui)erstition. both ancient and
modern, and fortunately it is not too late to pick up the lost thread
of my discourse, which was the facility with wiiich ail Maoris receive
what are misnamed religious imiu*essions.

MAORI SUPERSTITION 171

The most widely extended and important of all the religious
manias, from which the Maoris have suffered during the European
occupation of New Zealand is that known as the '* pat marire or
hauhau " faith. A many-sided fanaticism, the offspring of madness,
racial jealousy of the European, and a too intimate acquaintance
with the Old Testament. The Maori has not found safety among
the numerous religions of the Anglo-Saxon ; indeed, the very fact of
there being so many creeds in existence, has tended to upset his
belief in any one of them, for, he shrewdly argues, that whereas we
are unable to determine which is the true faith, he is thereby
justified in deciding this important point for himself. For these and
other causes which are inherent in the Maori people, they have at
all times been prone to adopt any new faith that might seem to
offer immediate benefit to them, such as success over their enemies.
To this end they have searched the Scriptures and read again and
again those passages which treat of the Jewish wars and the promises
made by Jehovah to his chosen people, not to mention the chapters
wherein the Jews were commanded to kill everything and every-
body regardless of age and sex.

These precepts were so congenial to the Maori mind, and so
much in accord with their own customs on similar occasions, that
they may well be forgiven the assumption that these directions were
dictated for their own special benefit, the more so that it has been
sedulously impressed upon them, that they were the descendants of
the lost tribes, and therefore a remnant of the chosen people. It
was this belief that made them call their prophets of the new faith,
Tins (Jews). All of this was due to the teaching of certain Mission-
aries who were good and well-meaning men, the product of a
thousand years of progressive civilisation ; but they failed to under-
stand that the Old Testament was about the last book that should
have been placed in the Maori hands, and that to impress upon men
who were still savages that they were a chosen people, was, to say
the least, dangerous.

About the year 1864 the Maoris were in a highly exalted and inflam-
mable state of mind, and deemed it ad visible to adopt some form of religion
more potent than Christianity. Since 1860 they had been fighting against
the Pakeha, and thanks to the astounding incapacity of many of our
mihtary leaders, had on the whole been successful ; but the measure
of success had hardly been sufficient to satisfy a chosen people.
They were, therefore, in a mental condition very favourable for the
receipt of messages from the spirit world, and were otherwise ready
to make fools of themselves on the least possible provocation.

The Hauhau creed, if creed it can be called, was the inspiration

172 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

of a weiik-miiuled hut liiirinless man (Iloropapora te Ua), who had
unsettled a mind nevei' very strong hy })rooding over the mysteries
of the Old Testament ; but it would seem that it was the wreck of
the steamer " Lord Worsley " at Te Namu on tlie Taranaki coast,
that caused this miu'derous creed to he inflicted on us. Great events
do, liowevei', spring from small things, and the adage applies in this
instance, for Te Ua, annoyed that his tribe should loot the goods of
the shipwrecked passeng(;rs, began to rave and have visions. Now
visions are not in themselves objectionable, for it is essential that all
reputable tohun(jaH should have a few reliable visions; but Te Ua
went distinctly ahead of his profession on this occasion, for he dis-
dained mere Maori atiuis, and was content with nothing less than the
Angel Clabriel, who not only interviewed him on several occasions,
but also instructed him in the forms and ceremonies of the new
faith, so he believed.

Among other tilings, he was instructed to erect a sort of maypole
to he called a Xiu, round which his converts might assemble, and
which Xiti should jjossess magical virtues, inasmuch that the true
believers, while standing in a circle round the pole in order to
worshi]) the gods of the liauhau creed, would, if worthy, receive the
gift of tongues, as a pieliniinary lo going forth and teaching the true
faith to all the earth. 1 do not wish it to be inferred that all men,
even though sincere belieVers, were to receive this gift ; but those
violent fanatics, who were subsequently called T///, most certainly
believed that they could speak any language. 1 liavo often been
roundly abused by these gifted children of the Wairua tajfU (Holy
spirit), because 1 had to confess my inability to understand them.
They, however, all came to serious grief later on.

It was a standing article of the; liauhau faith that the gods
spoke to thom through the medium of the preserved hoiuls of
Kuroi)eans who had fallen in battle. These lieads wore carried
tibout by tlu; j)rophets, and hung on the A7// whenever the jm or
village assend)led for family worshi]). It is almost certain that
ViMitrilt^quism was called in to give etVect lo the terror inspiixxl hy
these heads, and aid in the conversi»»n »)f unbelievers; for it is
certain that all of the Ilaidiaus did believe that the heads s]>oko to
them. Yet another pleasant little fiction in which tlio llauhaus
placed implicit faith, was that they were invulnemble to steel or
bullets, provided always that they used the word llau at the proi)or
moment, and at the same time raise<l the light hand palm outwards
above their heads. This simple safeguard was supposed to turn the
flight of the bullets ui)wards. Later on they liad abundant oppor-
tunity of testing the eflicacy of thi^ melh.ul t-f life insurance, and

MAORI SUPERSTITION 173

had every reason to call their gods Koroke hangar eka (deceitful
fellows).

As for the ritual of Hauhauism, it is said that the Angel Gabriel
sang a song for the guidance of Te Ua, and that in this song he
apostrophised the Trinity, but with this exception, the ritual was
left entirely to the discretion of the prophets, who, inspired by the
wairua tapu aforesaid, invented a set of chants in doggerel English,
one of which ran as follows : —

**Big river, long river, attention
Qreeks, Germans, attention, etc."

All of which, being rendered with a very Maori accent, was not
unmusical, but provocative of much mirth.

The shibboleth of the members of this creed was Pai marirc (good
and peaceful), but I cannot say that the members of the sect lived
up to it. It was, indeed, like all other party cries, intended to mis-
lead. Another word of even greater mdiui was Han, Hau, the
meaning of this expression is obscure, but it probably had reference
to the spirits of the wind, whom the Maoris called Hau anihcra
(wind angels).

Durii^ the incubation period of the Hauhau religion, Te Ua and
his disciples carefully abstained from interference with their neigh-
bours, whether Maori or European ; but their behaviour was
altogether too good to last, and very soon a change for the worse
was observed, and a most bloodthirsty and fanatical spirit of hostility
was exhibited by all the adherents of the prophet towards the
Pakeha. I cannot say that I think Te Ua himself was to blame for
this change in the Hauhau policy, unless, indeed, he possessed
much greater abiUty than he has ever received credit for, either by
Maori or European. The instructions given to the several minor
prophets who were sent forth to preach the gospel of Hauhauism
were most ably conceived. They were directed to travel through
the North Island, using the utmost circumspection. They were
to treat everyone with whom they came in contact with uniform
courtesy and kindness. They were to carry with them the heads
of certain Europeans who had fallen in battle, and use them for the
purpose of converting the tribes visited ; but they were on no account
to interfere with the Pakeha or those tribes who had thrown in their
lot with us.

Had these orders been obeyed, there can be but little doubt that
every Maori in New Zealand would have become a Hauhau, and, as
a natural sequence, our deadly enemies. Fortunately, the prophets
were disobedient, and, when once away from the influence of To Ua,
each and every one of them behaved as though he was a law unto

174 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

himself. Patara, Matene, Kereopa, Te Wiwini, Horomona, and
Hepanaia one and all acted as though the mdna of the land had been
given into their hands. The old and legitimate chiefs of each tribe
were treated as though they no longer ]X)ssessed either rank or
authority, and both Pakehas and Maoris were slain without pretext
and as opportunity offered. By this line of action the prophets not
only neutralised the able directions given by those who guided the
Hauhau policy, but they also brought about their own destruction.
It is, however, to their credit that they expiated all sins of omission
or commission by dying like men, some by the bullet and some by
the rope ; and, after all, who shall blame them for taking the bit
between their teeth and following their own sweet will ? Who was
Te Ua that he should venture to dictate to Matene Te Rangitauira of
the best blood of Ngati-Hau ? And if the aforesaid Matene and his
merry men did come to unuttei'able grief at the hands of his own
tribe on that grey morning, when he and 60 of his followers lay
dead on the narrow island of Moutoa, why should they not ? A man
may not live when his mdna has left him.

Each of these prophets in due turn met with the same fate.
Hepanaia, misled by messages from the Hauhau gods of the nether
world, induced the Ngati-Ruanui and Taranaki tribes to attack Te
Morere (Sentry Hill), a small but compact redoubt garrisoned by 60
men of the 57th Regiment. This fort was almost impregnable, but
the two tribes, led by Titokowaru, Hepanaia, and other chiefs, not
only attempted to storm the position in broad daylight, but they did
not desist from the attempt until they had lost nearly 60 men,
including most of the leaders. Hepanaia was among the slain, but
Titokowaru escaped with the loss of an eye.

Patara Raukatauri led his disciples, To Wiwini, Kereopa, and
Horomona, to convei-t the tribes of the Bay of Plenty, with the result
that Kereopa incited the Whakatohea people to murder the Rev, Mr.
Volckner; and about the same time Horomona caused the Patu-tatahi
tribe to attack the cutter " Kate " otT Whakatano and murder James
FuUoon and the crew.

Patara and Te Wiwini carried this gosi)el of blood and fire to
Waiapu, Poverty Bay, and Te Wairoa, to the utter undoing of those
tribes and of the Hauhau leaders.

Horomona and the Patu-tatahi wore captured by Major Mair
and his friendly Arawa. Horomona and throe of his most desperate
companions were hanged and otluM-s of the gang sentenced to long
terms of imprisonment. The Whakatoliea wore defeated again and
again by the colonial forces, while Kereo])a lied to the hills and
forests of the Tuhoe country, and there led a imnted and wretched

MAORI SUPERSTITION 176

existence for the ensuing eight years, until he was finally betrayed
into our hands by the people with whom he Uved. He was captured
by that noted warrior, Te Whiu, who handed him over to the Ngati-
Porou, and he was finally tried, convicted, and hanged in Napier.

Te Wiwini, who was of the highest type of Maori — a man who
knew no fear — led a mixed force of Taranaki and Ngati-Porou, and
fought several battles against old Major Eapata and his followers in
the neighbourhood of the East Gape; but the same singular ill-
fortime followed this man, who was shot by Rapata at Pukemaire ;
and of his Taranaki followers only a remnant escaped by sliding down
a precipitous cUff at Hungahunga-toroa on the day that Major Biggs
and Bapata captured the whole force of the Hauhaus at that pa.

Yet another prophet of minor rank was tomahawked by his own
men at Waerenga-a-hika, in the presence of the Government troops,
and this was done for the all-sufficient reason that he had misled his
disciples by urging them to assault the Pakeha lines on the Sabbath
day. The prophet reasoned on insufficient data, viz., that the Forest
Bangers and other Godless material of which the force was composed
would on that day be engaged in prayer. It is perhaps hardly
necessary to say that the prophet was mistaken. The men were in
their rifle-pits, and gave the Hauhaus such a warm reception that the
prophet was one of the first to fall, and was then and there toma-
hawked by his own friends — a victim of misplaced confidence and
imperfect knowledge of the manners and customs of the Forest
Bangers.

Somewhat more than a year after this last affair the Hauhaus
made their final effort to assert the supremacy of their religion. It
was then that the prophet ^Panapa, aided and abetted by the chiefs
Eipa, Eingita, Tahau, and Nikora, raided down from Taupo and
Tarawera with the fixed intention of taking the town of Napier.
That their forces were miserably insufficient for the purpose mattered
not, for they were in direct communication with the spirit world and
strong in fanatical courage and aptitude for war. There are probably
very few people at the present day who realise how very nearly that
small war party achieved success. Kipa led his warriors, who did
not exceed 80 all told, to Omaru-nui, while Te Rangihiroa led his
30 men by way of the Petane Valley. The extraordinary daring
shown by these men almost passes belief. As a rule, a Maori is a
thorough soldier, who never does anything without careful considera-
tion, but in this instance they did not hesitate to commit themselves
to an attack on forces which might well have been 800 men — to an
attack which must be made in the open country, where there could
be no retreat if defeated. At Omaru-nui, though surrounded by

176 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

seven times their own number, they disdained to surrender, but draw
up in close order in the form of a wedge, and in this formation
awaited our onset. It was perhaps fortunate for our raw militiamen
and unwar-like members of the Kahu-ngunu tribe that most of the
Hauhau leaders fell early in the fight, and were therefore unable to
give the order to charge, which it was evident that they intended to
do ; had they done so, who shall say what the result would have
been ? As it was, Kipa, Kingita, and Panapa were slain together with
half their men. Nikora and Tahau with the others were captured
and deported to the Chatham Islands, from which penal settlement,
thanks to the parsimony and mismanagement inherent in popular
governments, they in due time escaped, and lived to fight and die on
other occasions. Nikora fell at Ngatapa, and of all the chiefs who
led the van of battle at Omaru-nui, only Pahau has survived to tell
the tale. Of those who marched by the Petane Valley, only Paora
Toki and a few men escaped. Te Kangihiroa and nearly half of his
men of the fighting blood of Taupo fell ; and, much as we may regret
the death of so many brave men, we nmst recognise that it was
necessary' in the interests of peace and quietness that they should
die, inasmuch as they had become ivhakamomorc, and as such were
dangerous even to themselves.

That the Hauhaus firmly l>eHeved that they were invulnerable
may be infeiTed from their behaviour on the several occasions I have
mentioned. They had the courage of their oi)inions, and the very
rough lesson they received on each occasion did not convince them
to the contrary. They still insisted that the Hauhau religion was
sound and true, and that only man was wrong ; in other words, that
each disaster could be distinctly traced to some sin of omission or
commission on the part of the prophet, which same had created an
aitiai (evil omen) of so fatal a t>'iie that it became imix)ssible to
suceed in that particular undertaking, inasmuch as the gods wore
thereby compelled to leave tlieni temporarily to their own devices.

All of these things were carofuUy explained to me at the time,
and 1 remember that 1 agreed with the Hauhaus to this extent:
that had the sub-prophets obeyed the instructions of Te Ua, the
result would beyond doubt have been more favoural)le to them, and
very much worse for us. There was, indeed, a good deal of method
in this Hauhau madness, and the instructions given were so well
conceived that, had they been obeyed, it would certainly have cost
us the lives of two or three hundred more men, and perhaps another
million of money.

The religion professed by Te Kooti and his followers presents no
special feature requiring remark; it was merely a modifioation of

MAORI SUPERSTITION 177

Hauhauism, and great as Te Kooti's power undoubtedly was it did
not depend on his religion.

The authority of this man was a natural sequence of his personal
mdna which, in this instance, we may translate ** magnificient
audacity " as the only English equivalent. Never for one moment
did he hesitate to destroy his own tribe or relatives, and when he
made his murderous raid on Poverty Bay he slew as many Maoris as
Europeans ; not that the former had done him any particular injury,
but he was simply moved to murder by the fact that he knew the
character of the race to which he belonged. His object was pro-
bably twofold : firstly, to remove all the members of his own tribe
who were of higher rank than himself ; and secondly, he felt that
to secure power and authority he must strike terror into the hearts
of his followers. This object he achieved by ruthlessly murdering
his own people.

The case of Te Whiti differs altogether from that of Te Kooti.
Here we have an entirely new departure, a new and unexpected
phase of Maori character. It is of course true that Te Whiti has
prophesied many things which have not come to pass, and has very
often behaved in a manner sufficiently absurd, if judged by Euro-
pe&n rules. But Te Whiti was not mad in any sense; his only
weakness was that he believed himself to be the Messiah, and
fortunately behaved very much as though he had been the exalted
person he claimed to be.

Te Whiti is a member of the very warlike tribe known as Tara-
naki, who from 1860 to 1865 were our most active and bitter
enemies. They were, indeed, among the first to take up arms
against us ; but Te Whiti took no part in the fighting, and as his
authority increased, so also did the hostility of his tribe to the
Pakeha grow less and less, and, thanks to his wonderful ascendency
over the minds of the turbulent west coast tribes, he has succeeded
in keeping the peace even to this day. To attain this one object of
his life, he has on several occasions found it necessary to send his
people day by day to fence across the public road in the neighbour-
hood of Parihaka, in order that they might be arrested and deported
to the South out of harms way.

Te Whiti' s doctrine has been the gospel of patience and for-
bearance, peace at any price, with the reward in view that at no
distant date God would redress the wrongs of the Maori people by
establishing a millenium, during which the old mdna of the Maori
people would revive, and they would once more dwell peacefully,
untroubled by the restless and encroaching Pakeha, who would, as
a preliminary measure, be banished to bis own country. An ex-

178 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

ception was, however, to be made in favour of those Europeans bom
in New Zealand, and I remember that my Maori friends were
greatly concerned to find that I was not a native of New Zealand ;
but, after condoling with me, they said, " We must not complain,
for Te Whiti's word has gone forth. It is the will of Gk)d, and you
yourself will be resigned when the time comes."

These theories had a great fascination for the Maoris. They
were to bow their heads beneath the yoke and practice non-resis-
tance until God in his wisdom should see fit to relieve them of their
Pakeha burden. But, none the less, they were to assert themselves
as the real owners of the soil, and, therefore, when a Pakeha took a
road through one of their plantations, and by so doing destroyed a
fence, they were to re-erect that fence so often as it might be thrown
down, as a protest against European brutality. So also they were
to ignore the fact that these lands had been confiscated years before,
and awarded to military settlers. Such lands they were directed to
plough by way of protest. These excentricitios were not considered
any infringement of the doctrine of peace, as preached by Te Whiti,
forasmuch as they deemed themselves to be the rightful owners of the
soil, and, therefore, if anyone interfered with them, he it was who
broke the peace. I need hardly say that their views were not
reconcilable with those held by the settlers, and hence it came to
pass that the former were not always handled with gentleness when
the two parties came into collision.

As to the supremacy of Te Whiti over the minds of his fol-
lowers there can be no question on that ])oint. They had absolute
confidence in him, and I think have not lost it even to this day.
At one of his groat meetings he proclaimed, that on a certain day
the dead of the Maori people would rise from their graves, and he
ordered all true believers to attend at Parihaka to do honour to the
occasion. At the appointed time the Maoris flocked from all
quarters to Parihaka, firmly believing that they were to meet their
long lost friends and relatives. Tlicy even carried with them large
quantities of spare clothing in comical recognition of the fact that
clothing is not worn in the other world. It must have been a bitter
disappointment to the majority of those who went to l*ariliaka, tliat
the dead refused to rise ; but -the mere failure of the i)roi)hecy
entailed no loss of credit uiH>n Te Whiti, who simi)ly said, " O ye of
little faith," and exi)laine<l that so long as tluM-(» was any doubt in
their minds as to the innvtM- of the great (ukI to do that which he
saw to be good, so long would the dead remain obstinately in their
tombs.

The success of Te Whiti as an onikuumiI of tiie ilesif^ns of the
Supreme Being has naturally (encouraged iiiany vulgar inuiatora.

MAORI SUPERSTITION 179

Among others, one Ani Kaaro, of Hokianga, visited To Whiti about
the year 1886, and, on her return, claimed to have been instructed
by him in all the mysteries of his religion. On these grounds she
called the people of Waihou together, and set up as a first-class
inspired prophetess. For some time Ani was regarded with great
awe as a specially gifted woman ; but in the matter of prophets the
Maori is £ickle, and very soon a much more able woman, one
Rimana Hi, set up in the same line, and cut out Ani Kaaro.

Rimana's doctrine was fantastic, since it was based on the
assumption that all things white must necessarily be pure, and all
things black in colour bad, and therefore offensive to God. Follow-
ing these broad doctrinal lines, Rimana ordered her disciples to dress
in white. If we may assume that she intended these garments to be
kept clean, she was, on sanitary grounds, deserving of praise. The
spirit of prophecy was strong within her, and very soon she had a
convenient dream, wherein it was disclosed to her that a certain
piece of land was tapii to her and her sect, and that nothing black
should enter thereon under penalty of death. From this dream it
resulted that any pig, cow, horse, or fowl of this obnoxious colour
straying on to the ground was forthwith killed. A Une of flagpoles,
from which hung long streamers of calico, marked the boundaries of
the holy land, the sacredness of which was in some way communi-
cated to the people, so that it was shortly found improper to do any
work ; and, as even holy people must eat if they wish to live,
Rimana's adherents supported life by eating the animals of the
neighbouring settlers. The only visible occupation of the white-
sheet fraternity at this period was that of muttering incoherent
prayers the while they strutted round the flagstaff.

Rimana's next dream disclosed the hitherto unsuspected fact that
the New Testament was neither inspired or holy, and therefore the
Waihou Hauhaus, as they called themselves, must for the future pin
their faith to the Old Testament.

It is perhaps unnecessary to remark that there was bitter enmity
between the rival factions of Ani Kaaro and Rimana Hi, and all
sorts of reports were circulated to the discredit of the latter, even to
the extent of alleging that she was guilty of cannibalism. This
report, though untrue, was very generally believed, and therefore the
people of Waihou lived in fear and trembhng, not knowing what the
next dream might bring forth.

These rei)orts were brought to the notice of the Government
with the usual exaggerations, and Inspector M' Govern lost no time
in visiting the fanatics in order to ascertain their actual condition.
When the Inspector reached the boundary of the holy land he was

180 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

stopped by one Aporo Pangari, who demanded why the two men had
profaned the sacred land with their black garments, and ordered
them to leave at once. The Inspector was a man who could by no
means bo intimidated, and he intimated with characteristic gentleness,
that he would not leave until he had seen Eimana, and ascer-
tained what thoy were really doing ; as for fighting, or violence
towards himself, well, he was quite prepared for that. After a good
(leal of discussion Aporo agreed to consult Rimana as to his admis-
sion. The consultation lasted more than an hour, but the result
was that M 'Govern was allowed to see the prophetess ; but he was
not allowed to enter the inner enclosure unless he would remove
everything that was black from his person. A white sheet was
offered to him, but M 'Govern did not care for that form of penance,
and told Kimana that ho would do none of these things ; that his
end had been attained by speaking to her personally, and he warned
her not to break the law in any way, for if she did so he must
I'eturn and suppress them once and for all.

M 'Govern did not fail to report his convictions, that these
fanatics would sooner or later force him to take action against them ;
and he had not long to wait, for shortly after, a Mr. Heame, who
had lost his way in a fog, entered the sacred enclosure, and was
instantly seized and bound. His boots, sox, and vest, were taken
from him and bunied, they being of the objectionable colour, and he
himself was not released until he had handed over all the money in
his possession, and had promised to send his horse as part of his
ransom.

With the limited force at his disix)sal it was sometime before the
inspector had completed his arrangments in onler to deal finally with
these fanatics, and in the meantime Rimana liad managed another
drenm, in which she foretold that M 'Govern would attempt to enter
the sacrod enclosure, but would fail if her i>eople armed themselves
with spears and tomahawk, or other i)urely Maori weaix)ns. She
further informed thorn that no man nood fear the bullets of the
IH-jlico since they wero invulnorable. That the very worst effect of
any bullet wouKl l»e a small black s])ot, but that not a drop of their
blood would be sIuhI, though the whole of the i^olice would be slain.
Those predictions were not fu I tiled, though the fanatics were quite
equal to their inirt of the ]HM'formance. M'Gvnern, with iierhaps
a score of constables and s]K\Mals, ontoivd the enclosure annod with
warnuits for the arrest i^t these ilisturlnM-s of the iH>ace. M*Govem
and the interpret or woro Si>ino\vhat in front of the main body, and
wore at oxwo surroundo^l h\ a im^b oi howlinii fanatics, who not
ou\\ rotu^od I horn htvuini^ l>ut attom])tod to tomahawk the former,

MAORI SUPERSTITION 181

who only saved himself by catching the descending weapon. Mean-
while, the main body had come up, and blows were freely given and
received until one, Eruera Rapana, the most violent of all the
Maoris tried to tomahawk the interpreter, then M*Govem called on
the two constables to fire, and Eruera was badly wounded in the
arm. This resolute action cowed the fanatics and saved much
bloodshed, for they saw that bullets would draw blood and that
Rimana had lied to them. They saw, moreover, that the Europeans,
who behaved with great forbearance, were becoming angry ; indeed,
it was well that M'Govem had previously taken the revolvers from
the specials; for those men would undoubtedly have killed their
opponents when the fighting commenced, without waiting for orders
to fire. Had this happened, the trouble would probably have ex-
tended throughout the North, forasmuch as among the Maoris blood
is very much thicker than water, and sooner or later any deaths
would have been avenged, and then who shall say what the end
might have been ? As it was, matters were well managed, several
were slightly wounded, and all were arrested ; but none were killed,
and, after all, a little blood letting and hard labour does a Maori no
harm.

I have already dealt with that side of* the Maori character that
exhibits him in the light of a blood-thirsty fanatic ; but it must not
be inferred therefrom that all Maori superstitions are dangerous to
life, for such is not the case. They have many that are derived
from poetic fancy, such as their belief in taniwha^ kura, tiptia,
Phallic trees and stones, patu-pai-arehe, and numerous other minor
superstitions, all of which may possibly have originated in the old
home of the Polynesians far west of the Pacific.

It may be admitted that there are no taniwha at the present
day. These uncanny beings have either died out or are lying low,
awaiting the advent of some powerful tohungay whose mysterious
powers shall call into action their latent life, and once again enable
them to disturb earth's surface, as they did in 1886 ; when Tuhoto-
ariki by his incantations set free the powers of Tarawera mountain,
destroyed the terraces of Rotomahana, and buried the tribes of
Rangi-Tihi and Tu-hou-rangi beneath 20 feet of mud. It may,
perhaps, be well to describe what a Maori understands by the word
taniwha, and to do this will necessitate a short history of some of
the most famous of these monsters. Some of them are described
as lizard-like in form, and man-eaters by profession, and this
variety would seem for the most part to live under water in dark,
deep holes. Others would seem to have been mere harmless lizards,
though of great size ; but the really dangerous type had the power

182 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

to take any shape, and were possessed of supernatural powers. I
will not attempt to classify the genus taniwha, but will simply say
that they are devisible into two great classes ; namely, those
possessed of supernatural powers, and who were probably connec-
tions of the dragon of Wantly, and those who were merely reptiles*
As to this latter class, I can say positively that they cannot now
be found in New Zealand ; but it would seem that there was a period
in the history of the Maoris when they were to be found even by
those who did not seek their society.

Of such was the reptile Tutao-poroporo, whose home was in the
Whanganui Biver, not far from the town of that name. This
notorious man-eater was slain by that stout warrior, Ao-kehu, some
twelve generations back, and the method employed to achieve this
great feat was simple in the extreme. So many canoes had been
upset, and the crews eaten, that it became a necessity that the
monster should be destroyed ; and, as usual in such cases, the hour
brought forth the man in the person of Ao-kehu, who, armed with a
mirotvutini,'^ obtained the services of a brave crow and x)addled his
canoe slowly towards the home of tlie monster. When the taniwha
rose to attack them, Ao-kehu, who was standing in the bow of the
canoe, dived down its throat, narrowly escaping its teeth, and
straightway stai-ted to cut his way out in a manner exceedingly
unpleasant to Tutae-poroporo. I need hardly say that Ao-kehu freed
himself from his living tomb, and that the taniwha died during the
operation. 1 I am willing to admit that this tale borders on the
mai^vellous, and it may be that there are people who will not believe :
but to such people I say, is not Arapota Tamumu, now or lately
living, a direct descendant of tlie hero, and has he not invariably
vouched for the truth of my story ? I have heard the Maoris discuss
the tale of Jonah and tlie whale, and the conclusion at which they
arrived was very much in favoin- of the legend of Tutae-poroporo and
Ao-kehu. They said, " \Vc know that taniwha do swallow men, and
we also know that whales do not ; therefore, if a whale swallowed
Jonah, it must have been by accident, and this we do not believe."

The man-eating taniwha of the higliest order are those of which
Sir George Grey has written, viz., Hotupuku, IV^kehaua. and others,
all of whom were slain by the valiant tribe of Ngati-Tama. There are
circumstances connected with the slaying of these re[)tile8 that will
bear rei)etition, inasmuch as tho tale told by the Arawa people is so
vivid, and the details so natural, that one does not like to believe
that the whole affair is a mere I'ffort of imagination."^'

tSoe the full ston-. .1. P. S., Vol. Xlll., p. <M.

•A wooden blad«< with \\ cutting tnl^o (>f sluirks' teeth.

* We are inclined to say. nither is it the localization of tradition brought from
far Hawaiki, with details added to fit in to local cin^umf^tanoei*. — ED.

MAORI SUPERSTITION 183

In the very early days of the Maori occupation of New Zealand
friendly visits among the neighbouring tribes were not uncommon,
for at that period the custom of killing and cooking casual visitors
had not become fashionable : hence it was that the Arawa of Eotorua
frequently visited their relatives in Taupo, and received visits in
return. For a time all went well, but suddenly a number of these
travellers were found to have disappeared, and were never seen again
by their sorrowing relatives. It was at first supposed that the lost
ones had extended their visit to other and more distant tribes ; but
when those who, fortunately for themselves, had taken the path
across the Kaingaroa plain and returned safely, but without intelli-
gence of their missing friends, then it became certain that some evil
agency was at work.

In due time rumours that men were missing reached the ears of
the brave Ngati-Tama, who lived at Motu-whanake ; and they,
fearing neither man nor taniwhay went out to discover who it was
that had disturbed the peace of the country. Fortunately, they took
the old warpath that led to Te Kapanga on the Whirinaki stream.
When near to this place they heard a noise like thunder that seemed
to proceed from the ground, but they could see nothing, and advanced
cautiously until they came to the old track between Taupo and
Botorua. Here they halted, and for the first time saw the taniwha
Hotupuku travelling through the snow grass in their direction. At
this surprising sight the warriors, brave as they were, fled with such
speed that they succeeded in reaching Motu-whanake, where they
related their adventures to the' chiefs and elders of the tribe, who
could now accoimt for the disappearance of so many travellers. The
result of this knowledge was that the Ngati-Tama held a great
meeting to discuss the situation and consider how they should
destroy the common enemy. The warrior chief Pitama listened to
each and every speaker's views, and then ordered a strong rope to be
made ; and, when this had been done to his satisfaction, he selected
140 men to accompany him to the lair of Hotupuku, to which place
they carried the rope and also some wood wherewith to construct a
snare. With great wisdom Pitama chose a day for his operations on
which the wind blew from the cave of the taniwha towards the site
chosen for his snare. The reptile was therefore unable to scent the
approach of the party, and thus allowed them to complete the work
in hand. When the work was finished they all returned to their
homes, but on the following morning the wind had changed, and was
blowing towards the home of the taniwha. This was the condition
desired by Pitama, who at once proceeded with his warriors to the
scene of action, and there divided them into two parties, one of
16

184 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

which took oharge of the rope and was directed to pull tight the
noose whenever the monster should have been caught therein,
while the other party were to hold themselves in readiness to rush
in and destroy it when the time arrived.

Pitama reserved to himself the most dangerous part of the perform-
ance, viz., that of leading the taniwha into the snare. As he drew near
to the cave, he felt the ground tremble under his feet, and by these
signs knew that his enemy was astir, and had detected the approach
of his victims ; he had not long to wait, for soon he saw Hotupuku
coming towards him. Then Pitama turned and fled, closely pur-
sued, and when near the snare slackened his speed in order that the
monster might not turn aside and attack his men, and by so doing
escape the snare. With this possibility in his mind, Pitama allowed
his enemy almost to seize him and then bounded through the nooze,
closely followed by Hotupuku. The seventy men were, however,
on the alert, and, even as he passed through the snare, Pitama
shouted " Takiritia !*' and the rope tightened about the neck of this
enemy of mankind, while the other party, shouting its battle cry,
rushed in with spear and stone axe, and soon the taniwha was not
only killed, but cut up ready for the oven.

The story as told by the Arawa enters a good deal into detail,
and relates inter alia, that the bones and weapons of those
previously eaten we?e found inside the reptile. The narrative goes
on to state that Ngati-Tama ate up this taniwha: but as to this
part of the tradition I do not feel clear, because if they did eat the
taniwJia it was a most deadly insult to all of those whose relatives
had been eaten by that reptile ; since the act would enable them to
declare with perfect Maori propriety that they themselves had eaten
those men and women.

After the destruction of Hotupuku the Ngati-Tama, proud of the
rei)utation they had thereby acquired, began to look for other
taniwhas, and while in this frame of mind received information that
there was yet another reptile at Te Awahou, who was known to the
tribes of Rotorua by the name of Peke-haua. This particular
taniwJui had not, so far as was known, eaten anybody, but he clearly
belonged to the man-eating si)ecies, and might commence at any
moment. To this end Pitama visited that tribe of the ancient
people known as Te Ao-rauru, and asked their i)ermission to kill
Peke-haua. The request was gi-anted, and as a preliminery
measure he went on to examine the deep pool in which the
monster had taken up his abode. On his return he ordered his
tribe to construct a strong taiki (wicker work basket), and taught
them how to weave in feathers with the wicker work. When all

MAORI SUPERSTITION 186

was ready he called the people together, and explained to them 4he
plan on which he intended to act. He explained that the smaller
rope would be for himself, and the larger one for the taniwha. " I
am/' said he, ** about to descend into the pool ; if I jerk the smallelr
rope know that I am pursued by the taniwha, and in suoh oAse pall
me swiftly to the surface. If, on the other hand, I jerk the lai^r
rope you will know that I have succeeded in attaching it to the
taniwha," When Pitama had given these brief directions, he in-
voked the aid of his tribal gods, entered the taiki, and was lowered
into the water. Then and there only did the tribe perceive why he
had caused them to weave feathers into the wicker work, for by that
means was the water kept out of the basket.

Pitama went down and down, until he had passed right through
the darkness, and it had once more become light, and also he per-
ceived to his great astonishment that he had passed through the
water and come out on the other side. Very carefully he stepped
out of his basket, and looking about him, saw the taniwha fast
asleep. Pitama now uttered a very powerful spell, which had the
effect of making his enemy sleep even more soundly, at the same time
he raised the head of the monster and placed the strong rope round its
neck ; he then jerked both ropes and entered the basket. Probably
Pitama was actuated by a desire for fair play, but whatever the
reason, he caused the taniwha to wake just as he stepped into his
basket, with the result that the monster pursued him, anr^ tliey both
came to the surface together, where, undismayed by his own danger,
the brave chief called to his tribe to haul in the slack of the rope,
so that Peke-haua might not be allowed to dive again to the bottom.
Then came the tug of war. All Ngati-Tama strove in vain to Uft
Peke-haua out of the water ; but there united strength was in-
sufficient for the purpose. The utmost that they could aocompUsh
was to drag him into the creek, which to this day is called Peke-
haua, and there he was despatched.

So far the Bau-hokowhitu (170 twice told, i.e. 340 men) of Ngati-
Tama had gained much glory, but pride goeth before a fall, and so
it came to pass in this instance, for the same men marched to the
blue lake Tikitapu and there slew Kataure, the harmless pet taniwha
of Hine-mihi, a noble descendant of Tu-o-Eotorua. Her iaribe rose
to avenge this injury, but in the battle that followed they reeeived
such rough treatment that but few returned to tell the tale. The
survivors were, however, successful in enlisting the sympathy and
aid of Tu-te-ata and Apu-moana, and these chiefs, having the whole
poww of the Arawa at their backs, defeated the Ngati-Tama at Te
Wai-ndiiti-inanga with such loss that the survivors fled to Whmie-

186 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

puhunga and Kake-puku, in the Waikato district, and were not
again heard of as hunters of the taniwha.

There are tannoha, especially those of the sea, who are held to be
the ancestors of men. Such was Paikea-ariki, who, when called
upon by Kahutia-te-rangi, came promptly to his assistance in mid
ocean and landed him safely at Ahuahu. This incident in the career
of the great ancestor of Ngati-Porou was brought about in the
following manner : — Ruatapu, one of the sons of Uenuku-rakeiora,
while engaged in flying his kite, thoughtlessly climbed on the roof of
his father's house. Now, from any Maori point of view, this was an
exceedingly foolish action, for Uenuku was a sacred chief of the
highest rank, and therefore to climb over his head was in itself
sufficient to deprive him of a i)ortion of his indna. For this reason,
when Uenuku hoard the footsteps above him, he demanded to know
who the offender was. The young man, who realised the gravity of
his offence, replied, ** It is I, your son Ruatapu." Then Uenuku
said in his wrath, " It is not for you, the base born, to tread my roof,
though your brother, the noble-born Kahutia-te-rangi, might do bo."
This reply was a bitter aiTront to Euatapu, inasmuch as it referred to
the fact that his mother, Pai-mahutanga, had been captured at the
great battle of Te Moana-waipu. She had been a woman of the
highest rank, but being a captive, she was, of course, a slave, and the
taint had descended upon her son, who had degraded his father by
merely walking on the roof of his house.

The rebuke administered to Ruatapu had the effect of rousing the
worst passions of the Maori nature, and he quickly resolved on an
extensive scheme of vengeance, which he intended should embrace
the whole tribe. To this end he sot to work to make a canoe, which
has since been known by many names, namely, ** Te Huri-pure-i-
ata," " Tu-te-pewa-a-rangi," and others. When the canoe was ready
for sea he invited the elder sons of all the chiefs of his father's tribe
to join him in the trial trip. Kahutia-te-rangi accepted willingly
enough, for they were ignorant of the murderous intentions of their
fellow tribesman. Ruatapu took up his position in the bilge of the
canoe at the place where it is usual to bale out the water, and where
he had bored a largo hole, so shaped that he could plug it with his
heel. When the young men had paddled almost out of sight of land,
Ruatapu removed his heel and the canoe began to fill. His com*
panions, who believed that the plug had been removed by accident,
rushed forward to stop the leak ; but Ruatapu seized his spear
Tu-aro-punga, which he had hitherto kept concealed outside the
canoe, and killed all of those who came within reach, until at last
the canoe turned over. Of those who were either speared or

MAORI SUPERSTITION 187

drowned on this ocoasiou the names of a few only have been pre-
served by tradition, namely, Haeora, Pipi, Tawhai, Whetoi, Rere-i-
runga, Tupeora, and Tamahina. Kahutia-te-rangi alone escaped
death, by virtue of his mdna, for all that his ancestors had ever
possessed of this particular virtue was concentrated in the person of
this young chief. His mode of procedure was simple : he first used
a powerful karakia known as " Whaka-ahuru " in order to retain the
natural heat of his body, notwithstanding his long immersion, and
he then used the karakia ** Whakakau ** to compel the attendance of
his ancestral taniwha, Paikea-ariki, Whainga-ariki, Hurumanu, and
Whakataka, who were thus called to his assistance. Paikea came at
his call and landed the chief safe and sound at Ahuahu ; and from
that day Kahutia discarded his own name and took that of Paikea,
out of gratitude to his taniwha ancestor, and by this name he is
known as the ancestor of all the East Coast tribes.

I have myself seen men who were descended from tanitohas of a
certain type, for I do not wish it to be inferred that their ancestors
were either man-eaters or lizards. Prom the description given to me
by their descendants, I should judge that the ancestor in question
was a water spirit that scarcely differed from man in outward
appearance. The tribe who claim this distinguished ancestry are the
Ngati-Hine-hika, who own that classic ground, the Whakapunake
mountain and the Beinga falls, on the inland road from Gisborne to
Te Wairoa.

The history of the tribe is as follows : — Their ancestor, Tane-
kino, came to the district some fifteen generations since, and was
seen and loved by one Hine-korako, a female water spirit, who was
one of the tribe of taniwha who lived in the Wairoa river under the
falls of the Eeinga. The lady herself was sixth in descent from
Iwara, a taniwha of great mAna^ who was sufficiently human to
reproduce his si)ecies and die of old age at the appointed time, a
circumstance that has not hitherto come within my taniwha experi-
ence. Love being a great leveller, the lady waived her illustrious
descent and became the wife of Tanekino. All went well until her
son Tuarenga was bom, but then the other women of the village began
to make mischief, in the manner peculiar to women, by sneering
remarks about taniwlia mothers and their general unfitness for the
duties and cares incidental to maternity. The result of this system
of annoyance was that Hine-korako, unable to endure the taunts of
her own sex, left both husband and child and returned to her watery
home under the Beinga falls.

Since that remote period she has, however, kept watch and ward
over lior descendants, making her presence known whenever their

188 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

interests demanded the exercise of her supernatural poweni. The
last occasion on which she intervened to save them was during a
great flood in the Hangaroa river, when Ngati-Hine-hika were
flooded out of their homes at midnight and attempted to cross ^e
river to a village on higher land. They had, however, miscalculated
the strength of the current, and, despite their exertions, were swept
down almost over the falls. At this terrible moment, when face to
face with death, an old man so far retained his presence of mind as
to call upon Hine-korako to save them. Instantly the downward
course of the canoe was arrested, and it began to move slowly up stream
without the least effort on the part of the paralyzed crew, who realized
that once again their taniwha ancestress had intervened and saved
them from certain death. It is not necessary for me to believe this
tale exactly as told, nor do I ask my readers to give it oredenoe so
far as the supernatural is concerned, but I do ask them to believe
absolutely that the descendants of Hine-korako will greatly despise
any man who doubts any portion of the tale as told to me, and most
certainly will not class him in the list of reasonable beings.

Of the taniwha possessing supernatural powers the best speci-
mens will probably be found in Taupo, and of these Horo-matangi
and Huru-kareao are facile priyiceps. They are taniwha of extra-
ordinary mdna, and would seem to be in sympathy with those great
chiefs Te Heuheu and Here-kiekie, probably for the reason thai; men
of their rank, being sacred in the eyes of gods and men, might take
liberties even with taniwhas. But woo to the man of infericnr rank
who ventures to take liberties with the unwritten code of taniwha
laws : instant death would bo his portion. Not even the nutna of a
chief nor the invocation of a tohnnga will always avail against a
taniwha, for neither one nor the other suflicied to save that grand
specimen of a New Zealand chief, To Heuheu Tukino, who, with
many of his tribe, was overwhelmed by a landslip at Te Bapa in
1845. Mere Pakehas adoi)t the conimonplaco theory that these
people were destroyed by an ordinary landslip, l)ut the Maoris, better
instructed on that point, and knowing the peculiarities of their own
land, hold that Horo-ma-tangi was the cause of the disaster, and in
memory thereof call themselves the Huri-taniwha.

Concerning Huru-kareao, it is recorded that he was under the
mdna of certain women of Eoto-aira, and they, having been insulted
by the people of Botorua, invoked the aid of this twiiwha and his
confreres, with the result that the ofTenders received short shrift, for
their pa was sunk hcr.cath the waters of the lake. Modem scientists
are apt to account for all such occurrences by i-eferenoe to volcanic
disturbances, but the Maori insists that the taniwha are alone respo-
sible for the mischief.

ktAORI SUPERSTITION 189

From time immemorial Horo-matangi had been the custodian of
the mdna of Lake Taupo, aided in all his acts by his familiar, the man
taniwha, Ati-a-muri, who may be seen paddling his canoe in the
dusk of the evening on the look-out for unwary strangers. The
home of Horo-matangi is said to be at no great distance from the
island of Motu-taiko, and rarely will a canoe attempt to cross the lake
in a direct line from Toka-anu to Tapuae-haruru, and wisely so if
the tales told be true. There are men now living who, taking advan-
tage of the presence of a well-known tohunga, did actually make the
attempt, and also received a wholesome lesson for their temerity,
which they did not forget ; for be it understood that those who would
cross the path of a taniwha must have very great mdna. Indeed, it
is known that the only human beings who dare brave the wrath of
Horo-matangi are Te Heuheu and two women, who are probably
female Arikis,

The following narrative was given to me by one of the adven-
turous band, and I will relate it as nearly as possible in his own
words. " When we left Tapuae-haruru the water was smooth and
there was no wind, so we steered direct for Toka-anu ; but our
hearts were troubled, and as we neared the house of the taniwha we
quickened our stroke and looked neither to right or left, nor did
anyone speak a word to his fellows. Suddenly the canoe ceased to
move forward, and began to spin round and a large rock appeared
above the surface of the water. This we knew to be Horo-matangi,
for -the reason that taniwha can take any shape they may please.
In another moment we should have been lost, but our tohunga was
equal to the occasion. He took a hair from his head and dropped
it into the water, and as he did so he muttered a brief invocation to
the gods. In a moment the water became quiet, and we realised
that the mdna of the tohunga had mastered the taniwha ; but
though comforted by this conviction we went on our way in fear
and trembling, and did not feel safe until we found ourselves in
shallow water."

Of late years, since Europeans have crossed the lake at all hours
and in all directions, even the Maori at times may take the direct
route, but he decidedly prefers to have a Pakeha with him in such
case, for it is a matter of notoriety that taniwha have no m^dna over
the Pakeha, and the Maori recognised that he may take liberties
while in such comi)any that would otherwise be impossible.

As to the Ati-a-muri. This man taniwha does not appear to be
personally dangerous to himian beings, his business is rather to
decoy the unsuspecting traveller within the reach of Horo-matangi.
He is ther^oie to be feared in the dusk of the evening, at which

190 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

time it is his habit to paddle about in a spectre oanoe, and yisit the
several kaingas on the edge of the lake, but approaching only
sufficiently near for the outline of his canoe to be seen. By these
means he has often deceived the people of the villages, who, hearing
the measured strokes of the paddles, would turn out to welcome
the supposed visitors with loud cries of ** Haere mat" until at last
the ghostly vision would fade out of sight, and di8api)ear in the
growing darkness, leaving the old and learned of the village alive to
the fact that Ati-a-muri had once again tried to lead the unwary to
certain death.

No longer as of old do tantwha of the Peke-haua and Hotu-pukn
type deciminate whole districts, but amidst the natural wonders of
Taupo may yet be heard strange tales concerning the savage Horo-
matangi, and the cunning of his familar Ati-a-muri. There is also a
strange connection between these two taniwhas and certain dogs
who are said to haunt the high land above the Karangahape oliffs ;
but what particular position these dogs may occupy in the economy
of nature, is by no means clear, for it would seem that no one has
ever seen these animals. Indeed, their very existence depends on
the statement, that when the mist lies thick on the hills two dogs
may be heard barking on the high land above Karangahape, and
that those who have been sufficiently curious to visit that place in
order to investigate the phenomena, have found only two large
stones. The presumption that these stones are actually the dogs
that bark when the mist covers the hills, seems hardly well-founded ;
but it may be that the tohunga of the Taupo tribe have information
derived from uncanny source and that these stones are really
goblin dogs who take that form when occasion demands; I will
therefore offer no opinion on the point. It is said that these dogs
are on terms of the closest intimacy with Horo-matangi, who will
resent the smallest familiarity with them as an infraction of the
tapii. For instance, anyone inadvertently pointing his paddle at the
mighty bluff of Karangahape does that which might endanger the
lives of all those in the canoe. But the man who, from sheer
recklessness challenges the power of the whole tantwha elan by
calling '* vioi I vioi ! inoi I " simply invites immediate annihilation.
Now it was this very thint; that a certain friend of mine did, moved
thereto by a direct impulse from Satan himself, and the effect was
disastrous. The crew of the canoe, who would have looked death
cheerfully in the face had it come in an ordinary manner, were
simply paralyzed by the audacity of the act, and gave themselves
up as lost ; but after a while, finding that l)oth winds and waves
remained in their normal condition, they were induced to continue

MAORI SUPERSTITION 191

their journey and arrived safe and sound at Toka-anu. This was a
result so unexpected, and so contrary to previous experience, that
a meeting was held to discuss the fact that they were all alive, and
the conclusion at which they arrived did them credit. It was, that
taniwha have no mdna over Europeans, and therefore the fact of
having one of that godless and unhelieving race in a canoe, was
beyond doubt a protection, and such being the case it was advisable
to bear with those little eccentricities of character which, under
other circumstances might render the Pakeha a very unsafe com-
panion. Kawhia has the reputation of being the home of quite a
tribe of taniwha, no less than fifteen in number. They are called
Ngai-te-heke-o-te-Rangi, and with the exception of one, namely,
Ngataratu, who is a devourer of men, they are of kindly disposition,
and are said to save all those from drowning who call upon them in
the orthodox manner. Their dwelling-place is at Te Mahoe, on the
Wai-harakeke arm of the harbour, and it is related that those who
have had occasion to pass by that place in their canoes have heard a
noise like the shutting of a door. Tradition affirms that Ue-kaha
was the only man who ever visited the actual home of this tribe.
It would seem that he was spearing patiki (flat fish), and was led
on and on, until suddenly the ground gave way under his feet, and
he found himself in a spacious cavern, wherein there was no water,
but many taniwha were lying about. These monsters treated Ue-
kaha well, and kept him with them for a whole week, meanwhile his
tribe had given up any hope of seeing him again ; but before the
death 'tangi could be held a spring burst forth close to the village,
and at the first gush of water out popped Ue-kaha, his hair matted
with water-weed, but otherwise well in both mind and body.

Tawake-tara, who of old held sway under the shadow of the west
side of Pirongia mountain — that is on the high road of all those who
travel between Alexandra and Kawhia — was a taniwha of the man-
eating persuasion, and a rival of Hotu-puku. A number of travellers
had disappeared in a manner altogether unaccountable, inasmuch as
none of the neighbouring tribes had, so far as could be ascertained,
been entertaining their friends. As, however, no man of rank had
as yet disappeared, very little stir was made about it, for men must
die at some time or other ; and if there was foul play, well the secret
could not be kept for ever, and vengeance could then be taken, even
to the extinction of the offenders. At last, however, a young chief
called Te Kiritara was missed, and the wrath of his tribe could no
longer be contained, and two famous warriors, Te Whatu and Te
Ngaupaka, were sent out to investigate the mystery and decide on
what tribe their vengeance should fall. En route the matter was

192 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

made clear, for the two men caught the taniwha in the act of devour-
ing a victim, and being made aware in this fashion of the sort of
enemy with whom they had to deal, they reversed matters by kUling
Tawake-tara.

To the old type of Maori, and in many instances to their modem
representatives, the world is full of uncanny things instinct with a
life derived from the demons who occupy the outer world, and haTring
little, if any, connection or sympathy with man or his pnrmiito.
Such things are, of course, invisible to the European eye, and not
even conceivable by the prosaic Anglo-Saxon, whose training is in
itself sufficient to prevent him from either seeing or appreciating
those supernatural manifestations which are hut ordinary incidents of
Maori life.

THE LAST OF THE NGATI-MAMOE.

SOME INCIDENTS OF SOUTHERN MAORI HISTORY.

By J. Cowan.

PROBABLY no section of comparatively recent Maori history
is so deficient in recorded detail as that which relates to
the conquest and final extinction of the Ngati-Mamoe'
tribe, in the extreme south of the Middle Island of New
Zealand. It is now at least a generation too late to
gather the full story of the Ngai-Tahu — Ngati-Mamoe conflicts. Such
men as the late chiefs Paitu, Rawiri Te Awha, and other well-
schooled natives of Murihiku could have given much information on
this subject had European historians taken the work in hand in
time. Just a few fragments are now to be collected from the
elders of the Murihiku people, in whom the strains of conquerors
and conquered are blended. While visiting some of the Maori
settlements in the south this year, I gained a little information
regarding the subjugation and dispersal of the Ngati-Mamoe, chiefly
fromTiemi, Kupa Haereroa, and Hone Te Paina, the two best-informed
elders of Colac (Oraka) Bay, a small settlement on the shores of
Foveaux Strait. Eupa Haereroa claims descent, on his mother's
side, from Rakaihaitu, one . of the very early Northern chiefs who
explored the South Island, and whose name is preserved in the
proverbial expressions, ** Nga-waipuna-karikari-a-Bakaihaitu" (the
water-springs dug out by Rakaihaitu, i.e. Wakatipu and other
Southern lakes), and " Nga-whata-tu-a-Bakaihaitu " (the lofty food-
storehouses of Rakaihaitu), in allusion to the cUffs of the South
Island coast. Forty years ago Kupa was accustomed to visit Lake
Manapouri (or Moturau, as some of the natives call it), " The Lake
of a Hundred Islands," and Te Anau, in company with Rawiri Te
Awha, who lived, and fished, and snared birds, on the shores of the

194 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

great lakes, and who pointed out to him the sites of the ancient
villages of Waitaha and Ngati-Mamoe, and narrated the story of the
Ngai-Tahu conquests.

The extinction of Ngati-Mamoe as a tribe took place, as nearly
as can be estimated, a Jiundred and fifty years ago, in the time of
the noted chief Te Wera. History was but repeating itself, for
Ngati-Mamoe had, a few generations previously, extinguished the
land-tillers of the Waitaha tribe in the customary manner of the
Maori. My notes deal chiefly with the Ngai-Tahu — Ngati-Mamoe
fights, along the Waiau River (which drains Lakes Manapouri and
Te Anau), and the southern and south-western shores of Te Anau.

Defeated in battle after battle in Murihiku, a section of the
Ngati-Mamoe retreated to tlie western side of the Waiau River.
One of their ancient rock- shelters is still to be seen, on Mr. Tapper's
property, at Clifden, a remarkable wooded limestone ** kopje." The
place is a labyrinth of caves and galleries, and secret ways and
thickly matted woodland. On the northern side, the limestone face
is a series of shallow caves. Deep fissures i)enetrate the rocky hill ;
these were used as shelters and dwellings by the Ngati-Mamoe. A
cave hereabouts was known as " Te Ana-o-te-Ngai*ara *' (the den of
the monster) ; it was the fabled dwoUing-placo of one of those man-
eating reptilian creatures with which the imaginative Maoris peopled
many a gloomy cave and mountain. The remains of incinerated
human bones, together with stone woai)ons and impliments, have
been found on the kopje ; and the rock itself was a Maori Necropolis.

It was most probably early in the second half of the eighteenth
century that these cave-dwellers were assailed by the Ngai-Tahu
from the south-east, under the Chief Tu-te-kawa. An engagement
took place in the neighbouring valley of Wai-harakeke, and the
tayigata-whenuu fled to the rock -recesses. The warriors of Ngai-
Tahu slew most of the Ngati-Mamoe, and such of the women and
children as were saved were enslaved ; their slaughtered relatives
were cooked and oaten. The principal Ngati-Mamoe chief killed was
Te Whetuki, who is described as a man of strangely wild aspect,
covered all over with long hair.

When the fight occurred, two of the Ngati-Mamoe men, Maka-
tawhio and Pani-te-kaka, wore away eel -fishing at Lake Manokiwai
(now known as Monowai)," which finds an outlet into the Waiau
River, some distance above Clifdon. Unaware of the fate of their
friends they paddled their nwkihi raft, with its load of smoked eels,

• The naino of this lako, though so vory Maori in appcnranco, war given
to it hy itK disoovoror, Mr. Jamos ]M('Kt»rrow, aftenvards Sun'oyor-Ooncral, from
the (fHH'k vumo siiigU'. and Maori vuii wator — i.e.. sulitiiry-watt^r (or liikc. — KD.

THE LAST OF THE NGATl-MAMOE 195

out through the Manokiwai Creek and down the swift Waiau.
They were about to land (just above where the Clifdon suspension
bridge now spans the river), when the unusual silence, and some
indefinable sense of danger warned them that all was not right in the
pa. All at once they saw a stranger, whom they immediately knew
to be one of their inveterate enemies, stooping down to drink at the
riverside. The Ngai-Tahu warrior saw them at the same moment,
and shouting an alarm, sprang for his spear. Instantly the Qel-
fishers plunged their paddles deep into the water, and shot the raft
out into the strong current again. Plying their paddles desperately,
they swept down the river, and when the warriors of Ngai-Tahu
rushed to the banks all they saw was the mokihi disappearing round
a bond of the rapid stream. The two fugitives escaped and rejoined
some of the rest of their much-harassed tribe, attributing their
safety as much to the efficacy of the karakia, or incantations, to
the gods which they repeated as they fled down the river, as to
their prowess in paddling. A fragment of a song composed in
memory of this adventure is handed down to this day amongst the
Southland natives :

' ' Panapana tu tere poka
Ko te wairua e moea nei
Nau mai, ka whakaatu te rere
Ki Waiau, ko Maka-tawhio,
Pani-te-kaka."

The next scene in the tragedy of the Ngati-Mamoe was on the
southern shores of Lake Te Anau. This region, it may here be
mentioned, had been originally peopled by some of the crew of the
" Takitimu " canoe from Hawaiki. About twenty-four generations
ago the " Takitimu " immigrants, under their chief Tama tea, settled
at Tarahau-kapiti, near the base of Takitimu Mountain, and
established kaihas around the foot of Te Anau, where eels and birds
were abundant. One of these villages was 0-whitianga-te-ra (the
place of the shining-sun), close to the southern corner of the lake,
where the Waiau River takes its exit. Here was a noted pa-tuna,
or eel- weir, whore great quantities of the lake tuna were taken.
Another settlement was Te Kowhai, close to the present township
of Te Anau. One of these lakeside villages in later years was the pa
of Tu-te-makohu, a chief of Waitaha. A memory of the sailor-
chieftain of " Takitimu " is preserved in a present-day proverbial
expression — ** Te whakatakanga o te karehu a Tamatea " (in allusion
to the tattooing of Tamatea), used by the Ngai-Tahu in reference to
the Murihiku people. Tamatea and his followers, while here, dis-
covered soot obtained from the bark of certain trees made an excel-

196 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

lent indelible bine dye or pigment {karehu : North Island, ngarehu),
for tattooing. The pit or hole made for burning the bark, eto., was
caUed *' Te rua o te moko " (the pit of the tattoo). This, aay the
Maoris, was the origin of the phrase " Te Bua-o-te-Moko," used as
in reference to the country round Te Anau, and now often ajyplied
by the Southland natives to the region extending from the lakes to
the west coast. Tamatea's tattooing was, no doubt, very different
to that seen on the faces of old men of the present day, and was
probably identical with the Tahitian and Marquesan patterns of
rectilinear devices, as described by Herman Melville in " Typee,"
and observed half a century later by Eobert Louis Stevenson, whose
two-line picture of a Marquesan chief in one of his South Sea ballads
might well apply to Tamatea :

" Round all his martial body and in bands aoross his face,
The marks of the tattooer proclaim his lofty place."

In the South Island are still to be seen some of the elders of Ngai-
Tahu — notably two old men at Moeraki — tattooed in parallel
straight lines across their cheeks, a fashion unknown in the North.
Though they have forgotten its origin, this is the old, old moko
{7 moko'kuri) the last relic of their Eastern Pacific fatherland.

The shores of Te Anau, Manapouri, the Mavora Lakes, and the
country round the bases of the Takitimu Mountains, were the last
inland retreats of Ngati-Mamoe. After these defeats at Te Ihoka,
Clifden, and elsewhere, a considerable body of them fled np the
Waiau, and rested awhile at Te Anau. Here they were building
rafts of korari (flax -stems), and raupOy in order to oross the lake,
when their relentless pursuers suddenly came upon them. A number
of the Ngati-Mamoc succeeded in crossing to the northern side of
South Fiord, and oscai)od into the forests ; but the majority of the
fugitives were delayed by the construction of a large inokihi, which
was not finished when Ngai-Tahu attacked them. The final en-
counter took place on the western side of the lake, near the southern
point of the entrance to the South Fiord. Hero most of the Ngati-
Mamoe were killed, amongst them their chief, Pukutahi. The
leader of the Ngai-Tahu expedition was Te Hau-tapa-nui-o-Tu.
The survivors disai)i>eared into the gloomy forests, and never a^n
man's eye beheld them. It is supposed that they made their way
on their rafts up the lake lo the Middle and North Fiords, and thenoe
worked across to the \Vest Cinist Sounds — Caswell. George and
Bligh Sounds, and possibly Milford.

About the time that those events were ])roceeding in the Lake
Country, and i>orhaps shortly afterwards, the coast-dwelling remnant

THE LAST OF THE N6ATI-MAM0E 197

of Ngati-Mamoe were defeated and dispersed on the shores of
Preservation Inlet. One of the last Ngati-Mamoe pas was that
which stood on Matauira Island ; this pa was taken, and nearly all
its inhabitants slain. Another spot where the unfortunate tribe were
slaughtered was on the beach of the Inlet, near the present township
of Oneroa. On the invader's side, one of the most- redoubtable of
the Ngai-Tahu warriors, a Samson-Uke chief named Tarewai, was
killed. He was of great stature and herculean strength, and his
favourite weapon was a club made from the jaw-bone of a sperm-
whale. A curious stratagem, often employed in Maori warfare, was
successfully practised on the Ngati-Mamoe on the shores of the
Inlet. A Ngati-Kuri chief named Maru, dressed in a rough pokekat
or cloak, of ^ot-leaves, acted the part of a seal gambolling on the
beach, in the early morning, and succeeded in decoying the Ngati-
Mamoe down on the sands, armed only with their cutting-knives of
obsidian. Their concealed enemies suddenly rushed upon them,
cut them off from their fort, and slew nearly all. The few survivors
fled in the direction of Dusky Sound. Some of the Ngati-Kuri
pursued them even there. On the western side of Eesolution
Island (Tau-moana), they captured and killed a Ngati-Mamoe
woman named Taki-te-kura.

These events apparently occurred shortly before the visit of
Captain Cook to Dusky Sound, in the Eesolution in 1773, when the
navigator spent six weeks in the fiord, repairing his ship and refresh-
ing his crew. According to Hone Te Paina and Kupa Haereroa,
the chief Maru, who had so successfully played the seal on the
beach at Preservation, pursued the Ngati-Mamoe remnants in his
canoe, and was living in Dusky Sound when Cook arrived. The
natives who boarded the Besolution in Pickersgill Harbour, as
related by Cook, are considered by Te Paina to have been Ngati-
Kuri, with perhaps Ngati-Mamoe wives. Maru, Te Ao-jiaraki, and
a woman named Ki-mai-waho, are stated on the same authority to
have been the principal inhabitants of Dusky Sound at that time ;
it may have been Maru who went on board the Besolution^ after
performing an incantation at the ship's side C' the chief took a
small green branch in his hand and struck the ship's side several
times, repeating a speech or prayer ; when this was over he threw
the branch into the main chains, and came on board," Cook's
Voyages). It was the same chief who presented Cook with a green-
stone axe. When Vancouver visited Dusky in 1791 no natives
were seen.

From 1773 to about 1842 there is no reUable record of native
occupation in these West Coast Sounds. In, or about, the latter

198 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

year a sealing schooner, commanded by Captain Howell, sailed into
Bligb Sound one night and dropped anchor. To the surprise of the
crew fires were seen ashore. Early in the morning a boat's crew
landed to make investigations. A Maori dwelling was found, and in
it some mats, a whalebone club, and other articles, but the occupants
of the lone hatha had fled to the depths of the forest. The tracks
of the Maoris were followed for a short distance into the bush ; but
Howell's native sailors did not venture far, fearing to fall into an
ambuscade, and contented themselves with taking away the paiu-
paraoa and a mat as relics of the phantom tribe.

The shores of Lake Ada, in the Arthur Valley, some miles above
the head of Milford Sound, were probably the last habitat of the lost
Ngati-Mamoe. Traces of these fugitive children of the mist were
found here as lately as 1872. In that year Kupa Haereroa, and a
number of other Maoris from Colac Bay, sailed round to Milford on
one of their sealing expeditions. Leaving their long sealing-boat
at the bead of the Sound, Kupa and his companions explored the
Valley of the Arthur, and went eel-fishing on this lonely lake. They
swam the (then unnamed) Arthur Eiver, and would have been the dis-
coverers of the Sutherland Falls but that the bulk of Mount Pillans
shut it off from their view. At first they imagined they were the
first to break into this great wilderness, but soon after leaving the
mouth of the Arthur they were astonished to discover three prints of
naked feet in the mud beneath a cliff. They inspected these
mysterious impressions with much the same emotions as Bobinson
Crusoe did the footprint on the sand, and on their way up the defile
they kept a careful watch for any other trace that would put them
on the trail of the supposed Ngati-Mamoe. On the shores of Lake
Ada they found in several places indications that primitive man had
had his habitation there. Under overhanging rocks they came upon
deserted sleep! nf:{-places surrounded by rows of stones, and ashes of
long-cold cooking firos. At one of these camps there was a separate
and smaller sloopiiij^^-placo, iiulicatnd by stones arninged in an oblong
shape, son 10 what apart fn)in tho ollu>r ipiaiiiers. Kupa remarked to
his coinpaiiioiis " That must have boon the l)ed of the chief." But
this was all, and with the oxcoi)tion of a numl)or of battered axe-
heads of no) >h rite, that Donald Sutherland discovered some years ago
when clearing tho site for his house at the head of the Sound, no
trace has since boon found of tho vanished tribe.

Tho Wostland section of the Ngati-Mamoe were probably almost
exterminated about the same time as the Waiau branch were being
dispersed at To Anau. It is said that a few of the West Coast tribe
succeeded in escaping southwards in the direction of Jackson's Bay,

THE LAST OF THE NGATI-MAMOE 199

Big Bay, and Milford Sound. Until a few years ago it was thought
possible that some members of this Ishmaelite tribe might yet be
found living in the remoter recesses of Fiordl^nd, still wrapped in
the darkness of the stone age. This romantic hope has now, how-
ever, been completely dispelled. But sometimes a Southern native
will be heard expressing a fanciful belief that the Ngati-Mamoe still
haunt the great forests of the West. Says a Ngai-Tahu Maori:
''A remnant of that people may be living to this day in the
mountains of Te Eua-o-te-Moko, in the regions of the frost. Who
knows? They were an nvi-kohuru — a treacherous tribe — and given
to ambuscades. And when pursued their wise men would repeat
karakias, and invoke the gods of the air, and dense fogs and mists
would then descend and hid them from their pursuers, and they
would escape into the depths of the forest. The mists were their
salvation {na te kohu i whakaora). This is the reason that they are
not now seen."

TE KORERO MO NGARARA-HUARAU.

Na Major H. P. Tu-nui-a-rangi.

KO te kainga i noho ai tenei taniwha, kei Wai-marama, kei Heze-
taunga. Ka noho nei, a, ka roa, ka puta te aroha ki tona taahine,
ki a Pari-kawhiti. Ko te kainga o te tuahine kei Wai-rarapa. Eaore
a Ngarara- hilar ail i mohio, kei hea tona tuahine e noho ana, engari
katahi ka pihongia ki nga hau. Ka pau nga hau te pihongi, ka tae
ki to hau tonga ka rangona e ia te kakara o tona tuahine. Katahi ka
haere mai ma te moana, me te pihongi haere tonu mai ; tae rawa ki te
ngutu-awa o Pahawa, kua tuku atu te kakara o tona tuahine i te
hauauru. Ka haere atu a Ngarara-huarau ma roto i te awa o Pahawa.
Ano ka tae ki te ngutu-awa o tetehi awa, ka kite ia i te rere ; he noi te
tiketike. Ka oho tona mauri, e kore ia e eke ki runga. Ka huaina te
ingoa taua awa ko Mauri-oho-o-Ngarara-huarau, i taua ra i karanga-
tia ai taua ingoa tae noa mai ki tenei ra.

Ileoi, ka rerc te taniwha nei, kia eke ia ki runga. Kihai i eke. Ka
tu ona wacwae ki waenganui o te pari, ka tupeke ake nga waewae o
muri, ka tu ki te tunga o iv^a pcke ; katahi ka rcre, ka eke ki runga.
Ka haere i roto i taua awa oko noa ki te upurangitanga ki roto o tetahi
hiwi, ko Maunga-rake te ingoa. Ka eke ia ki runga, ka rongo i te
ngenge, ka whakatuapuku i tona tuara. He mea mohio e nga tangata
ki te openga o nga peke i te whenua, ka tapaia te ingoa o taua wahi ko
Hau-tuapuku-o-Ngarara-huarau.

Ka haere ia, ka tao ki tetahi awa, ko Koura-rau te ingoa, 10 waero
pea te matara mai i te wahi i noho ai tona tuahine. Ka noho i roto o
Koura-rau. Ko te tikimga o tonei ingoa, he nui no te koura-wai o roto
i taua awa. Ileoi, ka noho nei te taniwha, ko tanamahi, he patn inga
tira haere ; ara, he kai i nga tangata, horopuku tonu, ahakoa he
kawonga ta te tangata, ka horomia pukutia e taua taniwha — ahakoa he
tamaiti i runga i te hakui o waha ana, ka hekc tahi raua ki roto i te kopu
te tnniwha nei — ahnkoa nga tokotoko me nga taiaha, ka pau katoa te
horo.

TE KORERO MO NGARARA-HUARAU 201

Ka mahara mai nga iwi o te taha moana, ki nga tira o reira, kei nga
kainga o uta e noho ana. Ka pera hoki te mahara o nga iwi o uta nei
ki o ratoa tira i ahu atu ra ki te taha moana, kei reira e araitia ana e te
tupuhi te moana te tae ki te mahi kai moana hei maunga mai ma
ratou ki o raton kainga i uta nei. Eaore! kua pau i a Ngarara-
huarau.

No muri mai ka kitea e etahi tangata, kua noho he taniwha ki roto
o Koura-rau. Ea haere te rongo o te matenga o nga tangata o Wai-
rarapa ki te tai-rawhiti, katahi ka mohiotia e nga iwi o reira, kua ahu
mai a Ngarara-huarau ki te upoko o te motu nei. Ko tana mahi ano
tenei i Wai-marama, he huna i nga tangata o reira. No te haerenga
atu nei o Ngarara-huarau i Wai-marama, ka ora nga tangata o reira.
Ka mauria atu te rongo e nga tira haere, ka rongo nga tangata o Here-
taunga kua mate nga tangata o Wai-rarapa, ka mauria mai hoki te
rongo nga mahi a Ngarara-huarau i Wai-marama, ka rongo nga iwi
o Wai-rarapa nei.

Heoi, ka rapua e nga iwi o Wai-rarapa nei he ritenga e mate ai a
Ngarara-huarau, a, ka kitea, koia tenei : Me mounu kia puta ki waho
i tona rua i noho ai, a, me taki haere kia uru ki roto ki tetahi nga-
herehere. Ko taua ngahere me tapahi he umu mo ia rakau, mo ia
rakau, ko tetahi taha me waiho kia mau ana. Ko nga rakau e tu ana
i te taha o te huanui ma te auta haeretanga a te taniwha e turaki nga
rakau, a, ma te hinganga o tetahi rakau ki runga i tetahi rakau ka
turaki, a, ka tamia, ka kore e tino kaha ; hei reira ka werowero ai ki te
tokotoko, ki te huata, me te whiu ki nga patu me nga pou-whenua, a ka
mate ia. Heoi nga whakamaramatanga mo te ritenga e mate ai ; me
nga karakia ki to ratou atua.

Heoi, ka whakaetia e te iwi enei ritenga katoa. Katahi ka whiria
he taura. Ka oti, ka tapahia haeretia nga rakau o te taha o te huanui
hei haerenga mo Ngarara-huarau. Ka oti, ka patu te kuri ; ka mutu
ka kowhiria nga toa tokorua, ka whakapatia o raua waewae ki te atua
kia tere ai te oma, ka whakaponotia te hau o nga tangata nei me ta
raua kuri-mate, me te taura hei tukutuku i te kuri ki te waha o te rua
te taniwha. Ka tae raua ki runga o te rua ka tukutuku i runga i te
taura. Kaore ano kia tae ki waenganui o te pari ko te tiaho o nga
whatu kua puta ki waho o te rua ; no muri i puta ai te upoko. Te
putanga mai, ka haere nga tangata nei — te haere a te taniwha te haere
a nga tangata. E haere ana nga tangata nei ano ko tiurangi ! ara, ko
to manu e kiia nei he kahu. Na te mea ano ka ngaro nga tangata nei
i roto i te ngahere ka tomo tahi hoki te taniwha. No te oinga o te hiku
ka pa ki te rakau kua oti te tapahi ra, ka hinga ki raro — ko te oinga o
te upoko, ka hinga nga rakau, ka auru nga peka ki tetahi rakau, ka
hinga, katahi ka hingahinga nga rakau, ka tamia a Ngarara-huarau ki
te whenua. Nawai ra i kaha; kua kore e kaha; e werohia ana ki

200 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

nga tokotoko, e patua ana ki nga poa-whenna, a, ka mate a Ngttrara-
hiiarau.

Eatahi ka haea te puku. Anana ! e whakapapa ana te tangata, ie
wabine, te tamariki i roto i te puku. Heoi, ka tannmia nga tangata,
ka hoatu ma Mahuika e kai a Ngarara-huaraa. Ko te upoko ka
tapahia ka whakamaroketia, a, \?hakakohatu tonu iho. Ko te karakia
nana i tiki i taki a Ngarara-hnarau, ara, ko te tapuae, ko "Pa-
whakaoho,*' ko ** Tu-mania," ko " Tu-paheke."

Ea rautu nga koreo o tenei taniwha ; i kite au i te upoko kohata me
te Mema nei, nie Piukenana — kei te taha tonu o tona whare e tu :
nei ano.

'translation.]
THE STORY OF NGARARA-HUARAU.

(Translated by S. Percy Smith.)

The orii^iniil home of this taniwha was Wai-marama (about
twenty miles south of Napier\ in the Here-taunga district. He
dwelt here for a long time, and then felt a longing to see his sister.
Pari -ka whit i. who Hved in Wai-rarapa. Ngarani-huarau did not
know where his sister lived, hut uo lind out) be proceeded to sniff
the various winds. After trying them all, when he came to the
south wind, he exi>erienced the sweet scent from his sister. So he
started on hi-^ way to tind her. coming by the sea, sniffing as he came,
till he reached Pa-luiw;i iPahaoa. about twenty miles north of Cape
PalliserK where the ^eent of his sister came from the west, so he
directeil his course up the river. When he arrived at the mouth of a
certain stream, he found a waterfall which was very high. His heart
was startled, for lie thought he would not iv able to ascend it. This
l^lace is calleil to this day '* The startled heart of Ngarara-huarau.*'

But the ^/«^^/^( made a jump at the fall, but faileil to get up it.
Then he placed his legs in the middle of the clitT and drew up his
hind legs so that they were at the s;\me place as his fore legs; then
be sprang up and reached the top. After this be followeil up the
stivam to its s^nuve in a oertain bill luuued Man nga -rake. When he
got on top he loll very tirotl. and sv^ be stivtohed or roundeil bis back,
a fact which men arrivevl at by seeing places dug out by bis fore legs.
and hence lia*; this piaco alway*i Invn calliHl " llau-tuapuku-o-Ngarara-
haurau."

After this he went on to a liver named Koura-rau. which was
about ten miles distant from the place where bis sisior dwelt, and at

TE KORERO MO NGARARA-HUARAU 203

Koura-rau he remained. The name of this place is derived from the
plenty of koura (fresh water cray-fish) found there. And so the
taniwha remained there. His occupation was to kill the travelling
parties passing that way — that is, he used to swallow them all, even
if they had loads on their backs : mothers carrying children on their
backs, men with spears or taiahas, all went down his capacious
throat.

The people who dwelt at the sea-side imagined that the travelling
parties from there were remaining at the inland settlements. It was
the same with the inland people, who thought that their travelling
parties who had gone to the coast to bring back fish, <&c., were
detained by bad weather at the coast. But not so ; they had been
consumed by Ngarara-huarau.

Some time after some people discovered that a taniwha had taken
up his abode at Koura- wai. When the news of the deaths of these
people of Wai-rarapa reached Wai-marama, then it was known by the
latter people that Ngarara-huarau had come towards the head of the
island. His occupation at Wai-marama had been of the same kind —
viz., the consuming of man. But when the news reached them of
Ngarara-huarau, then they felt safe ; and when the news of the
deaths at Wai-rarapa reached the people of Here-taunga, then the
latter people sent word of Ngarara-huarau's doings to Wai-rarapa.

So now, then, the people of Wai-rarapa sought means by which
they might compass the death of Ngarara-huarau, and after a time
decided on measures as follows : To entice him out of his lair by a
bait, and lure him along to enter a certain forest. In the forest the
trees were to have a umu or scarf cut in each tree, leaving part uncut,
so that the writhing of the tamiuha should cause them to fall on
the others and bring them down on top of him, and thus press on him
and prevent him using his strength ; then could he be si)eared, and the
weapons be used to slay him. This was the explanation of the
proposal, besides invocations to their god.

All these arrangements were consented to by the people. Then
was a rope made, and the trees scarfed along the road which
Ngarara-huarau was to follow. Then a dog was killed, and two
brave fellows selected, their legs being touched with the god to make
them swift to run, whilst the haii, or spirit of the men, their dog,
and the rope, were subjected to invocations to make them sure.
When the men got to a place above the cave, they let down the dog
by the rope, and before the bait had reached mid-cliff, the flaming
rays of the eyes of the monster were seen coming forth, followed by
his head. On his coming forth the men fled, followed by the taniwha;
the men fled hke the flight of the hawk. When they reached the

204 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

forest the taniwha entered with them, and as his tail lashed the trees
that had l>een pai*tly cut through, they began to fall ; and as his great
head moved from side to side, the trees fell on the others, and all
came down, pressing Ngarara-huarau to the earth. He struggled and
struggled till he was exhausted, and then was he speared, and the
clubs did their work, and thus died Ngarara-huarau.

His body was then cut open. Behold 1 there were layers of men,
women, and children inside him ! After that the men were buried,
and Ngarara-huarau was given to Mahuika (father of fire, i.e., he was
burnt). The head was cut off and dried, and it turned into stone.
The karakiaSy or incantations used to draw forth Ngarara-huarau,
wore those known as the Tapuae, " Pa-whakaoho," "Tu-naania,"
and ** Tu-paheke."

Here ends the story of this celebrated taniwha. I have seen the
stone head, and so has Mr. W. C. Buchanan, for it stands near his
home.

THE LORE OF THE WHABE-KOHANGA.

NOTES ON PROCREATION AMONG THE MAORI
PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND.

WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS CUSTOMS, RITES, AND

SUPERSTITIONS PERTAINING TO MENSTRUATION,

PREGNANCY, LABOUR, &C.

By Elsdon Best.

Part I.

HAVING resolved to put together such notes concerning
Maori sociology, and more especially those i)ertaining to
family life, as I have collected from the Tuhoe tribe, I begin
with those treating on birth, in order to give some idea of Maori
customs, rites, beliefs, and general ideas connected with generation.

The native system of genesiology we shall never know in its
entirety, but enough has been preserved to show that the natives of
this land treated generation as a most tapu matter, and that they
possess a complete ritual in connection with conception, pregnancy,
parturition, and care of the young. It will also be seen that the
Maori held some very peculiar views and ideas anent these matters ;
ideas that are by no means restricted to these people, inasmuch as
many similar items have been placed on record as connected with
divers barbarous races in various parts of the world.

The main part of this paper will be divided into four parts, treat-
ing on Menstruation, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Labour, while
following the latter will be given an account of the treatment
accorded to mother and child after they have left the tvhare-kohanga,
or " nest house." Preceding the main part of the paper will be
given a few notes concerning sex in Nature, and the tendency of the

206 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

Maori mind to ijersonify natural phenomena, &c., and view such as

heing represented hy, or having originated with, anthropomorphic

beings.

Animism.

There appears to have ever obtained among the neolithic Maori
an universal vivification of nature : a peraonification of, and applica-
tion of sex to natural phenomena and inanimate objects. The term
used here, i.e., ijersonifications, has been objected to, it being said
that allegory would be a more correct expression. I would submit,
however, that such allegories imply personifications, and that such
are often the i)ersonified forms of abstract ideas, or continued
metaphors. This process of primitive thought was even applied to
the period when man had not yet api)eared on earth. For strange
mythical beings, probably personified forms of cosmic forces, or
of unknown tieons, preceded Bangi and Papa (the Sky Parent and
the Eai*th Mother), and these are alluded to in Maori mythology as
though anthropomorphous beings ; they cohabited and produced
young.

The physiogony of Maori myth is both singular and interesting.
Their system of anthropogeny resembles those of many other primi-
tive peoples, in that it derives man from the union of earth and sky,
which were looked upon as being the origin of all things.

The primitive Maori traced the origin of man, birds, fish, insects,
trees, plants, <&c., btvck to Eangi and Papa. But long ages before
that there were a series of gods, or allegorised ei*as, or forces ; and
tliose personifications were also endowed with sex and produced
young. From them eventually sprang the earth and sky. The
remote i)rimal pair who existed before light, sound, the elements, &c.,
were To Rangi-matinitini and Te Ao-matinitini, who are said to have
been atua (gods, demons, sui)ernatural beings, or forces). The two
produced Te Pu and Te More, who are described as really one being,
but possessed of a hi -sexual nature and a double name, the upper
part being To Pu and the lower part Te More. Such was the origin
of sex in ^hiori myth. After these beings came Te Weu, Te Aka,
Te Rea, Te Wao-nui, Te Kune, Te Whe, Te Po, and then came Bangi
and Pupa, tlio heavens and the earth. The above names are singular
ones, tliose from number three to number eight inclusive l)eiug terms
ai)i)lied to trees, their growtli, parts, i^c. Then come conception,
sound, nothingness or chaos, and darkness or gloom.

The above allegory accounts for the origin of sex according to
Maori myth. From Kangi and Papa sprang certain l>eings possessed
of supernatunil i)owers, though not termed gods, i.e., aiua. These
were the origin and i)ersonification of war, ixjaco, winds, trees, birds.

THE LORE OF THE WHARE-KOHANGA 207

<fec., &c. Among these offspring was one Tane-nui-a-rangi — he who
searched long for woman ere he found her. His first acts were to
produce the various forest trees, by means of cohabiting with certain
beings, who are looked upon as the origin and personified forms of
such trees. Then he foimd woman. Her name was Kurawaka, and
she was a daughter of Tiki and Ea. By her Tane had Hine-titama,
whom he also married, and this was the origin of incest. Ea was
the first woman of this world, the world of light and being. She
was taken to wife by Tiki, who was of the Po^ or world of darkness.

These myths differ somewhat among the various tribes, but the
above will give a general idea of their nature and of the Maori idea
of the origin of man and of sex. I have never been able to obtain
from reliable native sources any corroboration of an unfortunate
account of the origin of man which has appeared in print, and which
is undoubtedly the result of missionary teaching.

According to the myths of the Matatua tribes, the sun {Ba) was
a male descendant of Eangi and Papa, and who mated with two
females, one being the personification of summer, the other that of
winter. For a lengthy account of such personifications and anthro-
pomorphic agents in Maori mythology, see the JOURNAL OF THE
Polynesian Society, Vol. viii., p. 94.

When Tane desired and sought woman, he hied him to Eangi, the
sky parent, and asked : " O Eangi ! Where is the uha / " (female
or female principle). And Eangi said : " The whare o aitua ia below ;
above is the whare o te ora.'* The first of these terms may be trans-
lated as " the abode or origin of trouble, death, misfortune.^' It is
here applied to the female organ or principle, and apparently so for
two reasons : in the first place, man is bom of woman to encounter
many troubles in this world, and finally death ; again, the female
organ (or principle) was the origin of death. In this wise, when
Maui of old sought to gain eternal life for man, he proceeded to enter
the organ of Hine-nui-te-Po, Goddess of Death and Queen of Hades,
that he might obtain the Hfe principle, or breath of life, from her
sacred body, and so conquer death. For the seed of man is implanted
in that organ and is endowed therein with the breath of life, or life
principle. But it was not to be, and Maui perished in the organ of
the Goddess of Hades — that is to say, in the whare o aitua. Hence
death ever assails man in this world. The term whare o aitiui might
also be applied to Papa, the earth mother, for she is the personifica-
tion of the female principle. Her descendants who dwell on her
broad bosom, t.e., man, birds, trees,. <&c., all perish and are received
back into the earth mother. For Papa said to Eangi: "Our offspring
shall return to me in death, and I will conceal them. They shall be
o\ir legion of the dead.''

208 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

The expression whare o te ora is applied to the heavens and the
denizens thereof who have grasped eternal life. For those of the
offspring of Eangi and Papa who remained on high, i.e., the sun,
moon, and stars, know not death.

Ever among the Maori people the organs of generation were
deeply imbued with tapu (sacredness, sometimes " uncleanness ")
and vbdna (influence, prestige, supernatural power), both of an active
and of a passive nature. This may have sprung from an observance
of the mystery of sex, and the application thereof to all departments
of nature, as also such items as those above given. When a person
repeated a magic spell — say, to ward off the witchcraft of others, and
cause their death — he would place his hand on his genital organs in
order to give force, sui)ernatural power (m&na) to his incantation.
This is quite Oriental. Observe sundry passages in the Bible, where
a man, when making a solemn promise, is said to have placed his
hand " in the hollow of his thigh."

The ancient sacerdotal term for the organs of generation is
tawhito. This was only used in invocations, &c. ; other expressions
obtained for ordinary use. An old native said to me : "As for the
tawhito of Hine-nui-te-Po, that was the atti<i which destroyed man **
(see ante). And again : " Friend ! the salvation of my ancestors was
the ure, the tawhito. By its aid were the shafts of magic warded oflF
and life retained."

Ur« is the ordinary term for the membrnvi virile, the expression
in common use. The word tawhito may be rendered as ** ancient,'*
or ** the ancient one," but I am inclined to believe that another
meaning of the word, as retained by the natives of Futuna (who are
Polynesians and allied to the Maori), is the correct one in this case.
The Futuna word tayito signifies " cause, source, principle, origin.'*
In one sense, however, all these meanings are allied. The
Esthonians term their deity " the aged one."

Another term, presumably a mystical or sacerdotal expression,
applied i)y the old-time Maori to the male organ, was tangata matua^
which would ai)i)ear to have much the same meaning as tawhito.

In time of war the warriors would, i)rior to sotting forth on a
fomy, pass lienoath tlie tawhito, in order that the jmhm of that organ
might prevent them from being alHicted by atna (malignant demons,
gods), and so be assailed by indecision, faint-hoartedness, &c., in
battle. This singular rite, termed a hirihiri tana, was effected by
means of the men i)assing Iwtween the extended legs of the priest.
In like manner, when a warrior has been affected by such afflictions
as the above, he will hie him to a tii*stl)orn female of a family of rank
and get her to cure him. She does so by stopping across his body as
he lies on the ground.

THE LORE OF THE WHARE-KOHANQA 209

The quaint old myth of how the mountains grouped around Lake
Taupo quarrelled, separated and went away to other places, is an
exami)le of animism, the vivification of nature. Those mountains
are endowed with sex, the powers of speech, and locomotion. They
married and produced young in the form of hail, snow, and sleet.
Such items are illustrations of the ancient hypothesis of the anima
muruliy which appears to have obtained among all primitive peoples.
Maunga-i)ohatu, a mountain of Tuhoeland, is spoken of by the Tama-
Kai-moana sub- tribe as their mother, that people having dwelt
beneath it for centuries.

After Kongo- maui had visited Whanui (the star Vega) and
obtained from him the germs of the kumara, or sweet potato, he
returned to this lower world and caused his wife, Pani-tinaku, to
give birth to the sweet potato, which was thus acquired by the
ancestors of the Maori.

Several cases of human beings having been bom in an extra-
ordinary or supernatural manner are recorded in native myths and
traditions. Thus Rawaho, a son of Hape of the " Rangi-matoru "
canoe (which made the land at Ohiwa), was bom from the armpit ; also
one Tama-mutu, an ancestor of the Tuhoe tribe, entered this world
in the same manner. Potiki the first, origin of Nga-Potiki, the
ancient people of Tuhoeland, was not the offspring ot human parents,
but was the result of the union of Hine-pukohu-rangi (personification
of mist) and Te Maunga (the mountain). For the Maid of the Mist
lured to her arms the mountain, who descended from his high places
to Onini at Rua-tahuna, in the Ure-wera Ooimty, where originated
the ancient tribe of Nga-Potiki, the Children, or Children of the
Mist.

The above Hine was the personified form of the white mists, as
seen among these forest ranges. And when dawn breaks across the
vale of Rua-tahuna, you may oft times see the white form of the
Mist Maiden as she reclines upon the broad breast of her old-time
lover. But when the sunlight gleams down from rugged Huiarau,
then is it that Hine fades away and disappears.

Cases of miraculous or extraordinary conception are not absent
from Maori tradition and mythology. For example, one Kura-nui-a-
monoa, wife of Toi the Wood Eater, of immortal fame, is said to have
been visited by one Tama-i-waho (also known as Puhaorangi), who
descended from the heavens and is looked upon as a god, and she
bore to him the child Oho-matua-rau. Similar cases are those of
Uenuku and Tairi-a-kohu, Te Maimga, and Hine-pukohu-rangi.
Such myths are of world-wide distribution; many of them are
allegories based upon natural phenomena, as are the last two aboye

210 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

mentioned. The Aztecan myth of Coatlicue and the humming bird,
with its Greek ooimterparts, illustrate another common form of
miraculous conceptions as preserved in many lands.

Enough has been said to show the supernatural power which the
generative organs were supposed to possess by the Maori of old, as
also concerning that form of animism which endowed with sex the
forces of nature, the heavenly bodies, and other items of the inani-
mate world. My notes on the evidences of animism and of
phallicism to be found in Maori myth and ritual are somewhat
numerous, and must be reserved for a separate paper.

The word ai signifies to '* procreate, beget," while hika means
" to generate," and is applied to the generation of fire by the nibbing
process, as well as to the generating or begetting of children. This
term hika is also used in connection with certain rites, as hika
inoana, a rite and invocation to calm the ocean.

We will now commence the main imrt of our subject, dealing
with the various divisions in the order given above.

Menstruation {Paheke),

The native terms for menstruation are paheke and mate marama^
The former term is applied to the menses, and is also used as a veib
(compare heke, ** to descend, to drip.") The expression tmUe marama
means literally '' monthly sickness," viarania meaning the moon uid
the lunar month. The term atua is also sometimes applied to the
menses. This word is generally translated as '' god," it is applied to
demons, evil spirits, spirits of deified ancestors, to oaco-doemons, also
to diseases (thought to be caused by malignant demons), to persons
of evil or quarrelsome nature, (fcc, also to various phenomena not
understood, as menstruation, for example. When the Mat&tua oanoe
an'ivod from far Hawaiki and was coasting along the shores of the
Bay of Plenty, near Matata, one of the crew said to Wairaka, the
princiiMxl woman on board : — " Ha ! He atua kai raro i ou waewae^**
i.e., '* There is an atua l^eneath your limbs," alluding to her pakekB^
which ho had obseiTed. Hence the name of Te Awa-a-te-atua ait
that place, meaning, " The Kiverof the Atua," or menses. The term
fKirapum is also applied to the menstrual discharge, likewise to thttt
of birth. (Comimre iktra, ** refuse, sediment, impurity, dross, etc.")

In regard to the name niate ffMratna, the '* monthly " or *' moon '*
sickness, I quote from native authorities : — ** The retison of this siek-
noss lx>ing known as mate marama is l)ecauso it affects women when
the moon api)ears. It never aifects them when the moon is lost to
view, that is during the dark nights (hinaitotin) of the moon. Some
women ai*e atTected when the moon is just seen, and others at various

THE LORE OF THE WHARE-KOHANGA 211

stages of its growth, some when the Turn moon appears (i.e., the
17th night of the moon). A woman is always affected at the same
stage of each moon, the time of her affliction does not vary.'* Another
native, an old woman, said to me : — *' Women always paheke at the
same time, at the same stage of each moon. Hence, when it com-
mences, they always know what night of the moon it is. (Natives
reckoned time by the nights of the moon, and the lunar month.)
Women do not paheke during the dark nights of the moon, nor yet
while suckling a child, although the child may suckle its mother for
a long time. When the moon appears the skin of women who have
a bad time during menstruation becomes affected. '' Ka hinawanawa
kotoa te kiri o te wahine mate kinOf e ka puta mat te m/xram>a" i.e., the
skin becomes rough, like unto what we term '* gooseflesh," in cases
of dysmenorrhoea. When the moon appears, then women say : —
" The tane (husband) of all women in the world has appeared."

Another native, an old man, said : — " The moon is the permanent
husband (or true husband) of all women, because women paheke
when the moon appears. According to the knowledge of our ances-
tors and elders, the marriage of man and wife is a matter of no
moment, the moon is the real husband."

The above is a very singular belief, the supposed connection
between the moon and women, but it does not seem unnatural
to the Maori mind, deeply inbued as it is with the spirit of animism
common to primitive peoples. For his strange mentality had vivified
the moon and endowed it with sex and human passions. Moreover,
the heavenly bodies and man were equally descendants of primal
chaos, through Bangi and Papa, were derived from the same proto-
type, an anthropomorphic personification of the origin, or beginning,
of all things — the Void whence were evolved Light, Sound, Water,
Fire, and matter organic and inorganic. In a sense, therefore, the
Maori looked upon the moon as a relative and ancestor of his own ;
and the Maori ever turned to the spirits of his ancestors to save him
from evil. The moon is said to have had two wives, Bona and
Tangaroa-a-roto, both daughters of Tangaroa, who was originally a
a land deity.

There was, and still is, a certain amount of tapu connected with
the menstrual discharge, though that tapu scarcely seems to apply to
the woman herself, except in the sense of *' uncleanliness." The
discharge is viewed as a sort of human embryo, an immature or
undeveloped human being, hence the tapu. *' E ahua tangata ana te
paheke o te wahine. He whakatipu tangata taua mea.** (The paheke
of a wcMuan is a sort of human being, it is a person in embryo.)
Another aged authority states : — '' The menses is a kind of human

212 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

being, because if the discharge ceases, then it grows into a person,
that is when the paheke ceases to come away, then it assumes human
form, and grows into a man."

In native legends there are several instances of the development
of the menstrual discharge into a human being. Such were generally
developed after having been cast away by the woman, by means of
the care and nurture bestowed upon them by supernatural beings, as
in the cases of Maui-potiki and Whakatau, famous heroes of Maori
tradition. It would also api)ear, according to some of these old-time
folk tales, that the menstrual discharge sometimes developed into a
caco-doemon, a malignant spirit which afflicted man grievously, and
was termed an atua hahu or kahukahu, a name also bestowed upon
the malignant spirit of a stillborn child. However, my chief authority
among the Tuhoe tribe states that these ahm kahu were the spirits of
stillborn children only, whereas the paheke possessed no wainin*
(spirit) ; that is to say, the menstrual discharge is not endowed with
the spirit of life, the spirit which animates man, leaves his body at
death and descends to Hades. But a stillborn child does possess
this spirit, and it is liable to resolve itself into a most mischievous
demon, as we shall see anon.

On account of the above-described feeling in regard to the paheket
or menses, the sleeping places, (fee, of women were looked uix)n as
being unclean and hence dangerous to man, who is tapu. Such
places are to be avoided by all men of standing, although they might
not be harmful to a common, ^^;;?^-less person, such as a slave.
Should a man sit down, or recline on a place were women sleep, or
rest, or should he utilise an article of female wearing apparel as a
pillow, he will be i)olluted thereby, his tapu, the sacred spiritual and
intellectual ichor which pervades, vivifies, and preserves him, will be
contaminated by contact with " uncleanness." and hence his spiritual,
physical, and intellectual well-being will he seriously atTocted and
endangered. He would become kahupotia. The terms kahujx) and
hinapo signify *' dim-sighted." Not that his ordinary sight will be
affected, that kind of dim-sightedness is termed viiitHpo, but his
spiritual sight will suffer, that is to say, he will lose his iK)wer of
second sight, a most serious affliction to the Maori, and one which
would have seriously endangered his life in pre-l^iuroiwan days. In
this state he would no longer be able to observe the numerous signs,
tokens, by which ancestml gods warn their living descendants of
impending troubles and dangers. An old warlock of Ngati-.\wa said
. ^^ . ** Son ! Never recline on the resting places of woman, such

• See Journal of tbo Polynesian Society, Vol. 9, p. 177, for an account of the
wairua of man.

THE LORE OF THE WHARE-KOHANGA 213

places are unclean. The blood (i.e., paheke) of woman is there.
They are the undoing of man. But should you happen to do so,
then be sure that you conciliate your ancestors, that they may restore
your sight, and continue to guard and preserve you from evil."

A man would perform the whakaepa rite in order to free himself
from the polluting effects of the moenga toto, or unclean sleeping place.

Regarding unnatural discharges, a peculiar case was mentioned to
me by the Bua-tahuna natives. A woman of the Hamua clan has a
discharge of blood from the nose at each appearance (kohititanga) of
the new moon. This is termed her menses by the natives, inasmuch
as the ordinary discharge is invariably absent.

The material used here, in Tuhoeland, from time immemorial, as
a menstruating cloth, is a variety of moss (generic term rtmurimu)
known as angiangi. It is probably Hypnum clandestinus. It is a
light coloured, fine, very soft moss, found growing on logs in the
forest. As used for the above purpose, it is termed a hope. It is
not prepared in any way, but simply crumpled up and thrust into the
vagina. After the discharge has ceased, the woman will go off into
the forest and there bury the hope, each woman has a secret place
where she does so. It would be a serious matter for her were her
hope to be seen by anyone. For they would probably make a great
joke of it, and she would feel terribly humiliated, so much so, indeed,
that she might commit suicide.

In cases of difficult, or painful menstruation, the woman was
usually isolated in former times. In native opinion it is the moon
that is affecting a woman in this plight. A stoppage of the menses,
which does not seem to often occur among Maoris, though perhaps it
it is more frequent among half-breeds, is spoken of as ** he mate kino
na te inarama,'* an evil complaint caused by the moon. Such an
illness may continue for a week, during which time the woman will
take but little food. At such a time women have a great desire to
drink cold water, but are not allowed to take much, lest it should
aggravate the trouble. Those who are not ill during menstruation
are allowed to eat any kind of food, there is no restriction whatever.
They also bath in cold water at such times, should they desire to do
so. It does not appear that woman herself is looked upon as being
" unclean " during the period of menstruation, although the discharge
is so viewed, indeed the latter is very polluting in its action, as we
have seen. Women perform their ordinary duties at such times,
as cooking food, etc.

There is no recognised rule or custom regarding copulation during
the period of menstruation. The women seem to please themselves
in the matter, some indulge while others do not.

214 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

Now, the term paheke has, strictly speaking, throe applications.
It is the name of the discharge, it is the verb " to menstruate," and
it is also applied to the period of menstruation or, more properly
speaking, to the first day thereof. The term koero is applied to the
second and third day of such period. When a woman does not
desire to conceive, she will not copulate during menstruation or,
rather, during the koerotanga (koero stage) of such period, for such a
connection, she believes, would surely be fruitful. But she will
abstain until three days after menstruation has ceased. Thns,
according to native ideas, it is during the koero stage (and immedi-
ately after it) that the sexual act is fruitful. '' He eke koero tena, ka
tiqm tonu atu he kingata " — that is, a koero copulation, it will surely
be fruitful — said my informant. If a woman does not desire to
conceive, and her husband wishes to have connection with her during
the koero stage of menstruation, she will say : " Kaore au e pai kia
mahia koerotia ahan e koe, he hoha noku ki te whanau tamariki " — I
am not willing that you should have a koero connection with me ; it
is so tiresome to me to bear children.

Copulation is desired mostly by women just prior to menstmation.
It is said by natives that a girl ^^'ill not conceive at her first, nor yet
her second, menstruating period, but that she will at the third.

The natives of the Tuhoe tn\ye state that their women have more
trouble in menstruation of late years than they had formerly.
Difficult or painful menstruation was very rare in former times ; it is
much more common now. Possibly this may be connected with the
increasing lack of fecundity so noticeable among these tribes.
Native women are generally affected by a slight headache a day or
so before menstruation commences. (These notes have been
collected from the Tuhoo or Urewera tri]>e only : hence there is
necessarily much Maori birth lore, &c., not included in them. Cus-
toms, rites, &c., differ to a certain extent among the various native
tribes of New Zealand.)

The stoppage of the menses is termed papuni. To cure this a
woman will, at dawn of day, go and bathe in a stream, and then on
her return she takes a dose of a decoction made as follows : Four
pieces of flax root [i.e., the native ilax, phonnimn tenax, the harakeke
of the Maori) and four ))icces of the branchlets of a forest climbing
plant known as aka taravioa are cut up into small pieces and boiled
in a vessel until the liquid is considerably reduced in quantity. This
delightful beverage is said to bo effective in cases of difficult mens-
tmation. When obtaining these roots and twigs for the above
medicine, they nmst be taken from the east side of the flax clump
and creeper, as the mdna, or vii-tue, of them is on that side only as

THE LORE OF THE WHARE-KOHANGA 215

regards their use as medicine for menstruating women. This
singular superstition may be connected with the rising of the moon
in the east. For when the same materials are being procured for
the purpose of making a medicine for diarrhoea or constipation, it
does not matter from which side they are taken.

Another decoction used as a medicine in cases of difficult mens-
truation is made in a similar manner from the bark and berries of
the rohutu tree {myrtus pedunculata).

It is, however, very improbable that these " medicines " were
used in olden times, but have only come into use since the advent of
Europeans. The natives do not appear to have used internal
medicines in ancient times, or certainly but to a very limited extent.

Some singular beliefs obtain among the natives in regard to
menstruation. If a menstruating woman goes on to a sea beach
where the pipi shellfish (cockles) are found, all those shellfish will
desert that beach and migrate to pastures new. Or if such woman
essays to cook the kernels of the berries of the tawa tree {nesodaphne
tawa) in a boiling spring, they will never be cooked, but remain quite
hard, although those of other women not so afflicted will be quite
cooked.

Or if a menstruating woman goes to an ahi titi (a fire made to
attract the titij or mutton birds, and at which they were formerly
taken in great numbers), no birds will be caught. For the birds will
persistently avoid the fire, and will be heard crying out and screech-
ing. Then the fowlers will know that a menstruating woman is
among them. They will know it from the actions and cries of the
birds.

In former times women were not allowed to take part in the
cultivation of the hice (gourd plant), because it was believed that if a
menstruating woman went among the plants, they would surely die.

As few natives know their ages, it is not easy to say at what age
menstruation commences, but, so far as I can judge, probably at about
the fourteenth year — perhaps the fifteenth in some cases. It may,
however, occur earlier.

(To be continued.)

THE HUNAKEHA TEEE.

By W. T. Morpeth.

THE following was communicated to the writer by Poanaki, of
Opatu, Upper Whanganui River, N.Z. Does anybody know
the tree, or know of it ?

The Hiumkcha tree was first discovered by a woman called
Pare-koritawa. Out of curiosity, and knowing no evil, Pare one day
cut the bark, and the red juice of the tree ran out on her hands,
staining them as with human blood. Overcome with superstitious
fear the poor woman quickly cleansed her hands and hastened home,
where she related her experience to her friends. Soon afterwards
she sickened and died, and by this it was known that hunakeha was
a sacred tree. Now this was in times long gone by. (7 mua, % mua
noa atu)

Some few years ago, however, a tragic event occurred which
clearly showed that the hunakclm still flounshes " like a green bay
tree," and that its baleful mdna has not declined with the years. At
Tawata, a lonely pa on the Upper Whanganui, an aged chief lay
dying. Four friends from Pari-nui, named respectively Pateriki, Te
Piwhara, Riwai, and Te Ikahaehae, made an excursion into the
forest and returned with some branches and twigs of the hunakeha^
in the hope that its magic properties might be invoked and directed
against the Pale Spectre tliat hovered over the little iclunre of raupo
tliatch, over against the bush where the sick man lay. And the
prophets and tohumjas, naked of body, and with many strange rites
and bodily contortions, recited all thir most potent karakia, and
prayed to the gods witli savage vehemence and passionate eloquence.
But they strove in vain, for Te Kore died and was gathered to his
fathers, and the people came from far and near to celebrate his
obsequies. When the tangi was over the visitors returned to their
homes, and directly afterwards the four men from Parinui, who had
so lightly plucked the boughs from the still green tree, one by one
fell sick and died. Whether from ignorance or whether with a
reckless disregard of the consequences, it may not lie known, but by
their action tlioy had slighted and grossly insulted the deity which
has its abode in the hunakeha, and, like Pare-koritawa of old, paid
the penalty with their lives.

THE ORIGIN OF THE TA-TATAU OR HERALDIC
MAEKS AT AITUTAKI ISLAND.

By Lieut.-Col. Gudgeon, C.M.G.

IT Ir claimed that each canoe that arrived at Aitutaki from Hawaiki
was carved on the how in a more or less distinct pattern, pre-
sumably with the heraldic bearings of the chief of the canoe,
and that this carving was adopted by those who came in the canoe
as the ta-tatau which should for all time distinguish them from other
tribes.

So far as can now be ascertained, the first of these canoes in
point of time was the Te Uatoaua, under the chief Te Muna-korero,
a Tongan. This canoe entered by the Avaroa passage, and the crew
landed in the tapere, or district now called Waiau. They adopted
the carving of the canoe as the tribal ta-tatau, and it was tattooed on
their bodies, and occasionally on the neck, wrist, or legs, but never
on the face. The same mark was placed on the garments and tribal
ornaments, and any appropriations of this special mark by another
tribe resulted in bloodshed, for the object of the mark was to preserv^e
the descent of each family by giving each member thereof the proof of
his descent on his own person.

It was Te Muna-korero who gave the name to the small reef
island of Maina, by throwing himself down in the coral sand to enjoy
the heat of the sun, jnainaimi ra. His ta-tatau was

and this mark is called pa-niaunga, or range of mountains, in memory
of a range in far ofif Hawaiki.

Katopa-enua was the next canoe to arrive, under the chief Kaki.
It entered by the Vaimotu passage and landed at Taravao. Their
ta-tatau is called ptcapuu-iimTiay and the mark was as follows :

218 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

Irakau, the canoe of Ui-tario, came at the same time as Eaki,
and entered by the Taketake passage. Their ta-tatau was called
koviua, or the forward thrust of a spear, viz.,

After the foregoing came the Ariki Te-Erui-o-te-Rangi in his
double canoe, one side of which was called " Te Rangi-matoe," and
the other ** Te Toenga-rangi." This canoe entered by the Ava-tapu,
and tlieir ta-tatau is called paeko :

The last of these ancestral canoes was Tue-moanai with the chief
Ruatapu, who entered by the Ava-kopuanua, and asserted his fndna
over all the tribes of tlie island. His ta-tatau is known as punarua,
viz..

tXXl

Compare the aims of the Montacutes with those of To Munu-
korero, and the same idea will be seen.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

[182] Ngati-Hau of Whanganui.

I just send you a line as to the origin of the names of Ngati-Hau, referred to
on page 182 of this volume, as derived from Haupipi. This was not the origin I
heard of 40 years ago, which was Ngati-Hau-a-Paparangi, a name which the
natives themselves did not know the origin of, nor did I until recently, when I was
talking with a Tahitian member of the Makea family, of Rarotonga, concerning my
old tribe of Ngati-Hau, and gave them their old name in full. When he heard
this he said, "My old tribe, Hau-a-Papara'i, the only people who never bowed
down before the Pomares, who were toas (braves) wherever they went." I take it
that the tribe brought their own name with them from Hawaiki.

W. E. Gudgeon, Rarotonga.

[We are very glad indeed to accept Col. Gudgeon's version of the origin of
this name, the more so as it is additional testimony that the Maoris came here
from Tahiti, which is the theory formed by the writer of the above articl<^ after
visiting Rarotonga and Tahiti in 1897. See " Hawaiki, the former home of the
Maori." There is an old saying about this man which implies that he lived in
Hawaiki : " T« urio Hau^nui-a-Paparangi, nana % taotao ts nuku roa i Hawaiki,**
The descendants of Hau-nui-a-Paparangi, who suppressed the land (?) people of
Hawaiki.— ED.]

[183] A taiaha "whai-mana."

(See Col. Gudgeon's paper on ** Mana Tangata," etc.. Journal Vol. XIV., No. 2.)
A remarkable, and, I think, hitherto unrecorded instance of the strange mana-
tapu sometimes attaching to a war-chief's weapon is that of Titoko-waru's sacred
taiaha " Te Porohanga," carried by that warrior throughout the later campaigns
in Taranaki, 1868-69. " Te Porohanga" is an historic weapon dating back to the
old days of inter- tribal warfare. It belonged to a chief of Nga-ruahine as far back
as the " thirties" of last century. When a war- party of Taupo men raided Wai-
totara on one occasion they were defeated and many prisoners taken by the
tangata -whenua. The chief Wai-o-nui (grandfather of the present Tutange-
Waionui, of Pariroa, Patoa) wished to save them, but the Nga-ruahine chief, who
had this taiaha in his hand, brought it down with a sufficient gesture, saying as
he did so, "Cut them down." So the captives were slaughtered, and went into
the oven. The taiaha received its name, " To Porohanga,'* in commemoration of
this incident. In after years, when Titoko-waru became the war-priest and leader
of the Hauhaus, this weapon was the medium of his battle-god Uenuku, and was
used in a singular manner in the selection of the men who formed his war-parties.
Titoko-waru's band of warriors chosen for special expeditions and sorties was
called " Tekau-ma-rua " (" The Twelve ") — though it generally consisted of sixty
men. An eye-witness has described to me this ceremony, a notable instance of
which was the " seleotion-by-Zaia/ta " of the war-party which assaulted the
Tunituru-mokai redoubt, near Hawera, in 1868. The people would all assemble
in the meeting-house (in this particular case it was the sacred praying-hoose

220 JOURNAL OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

"Wharokura" in the Ngutu-o-te-Manu pa). Titoko-wani. standing facing the
assemblage, would balance his rod-plumed taiaha in a horizontal position on his
thumb and forefinger. The Kpirit of his war-god Uenuku entered into him, by
virtue of his karakias, and the weaix)n would turn itself without any effort on his
part. It was the visible manifestation of t\ic three cumulative niana — if one may
be allowed the expression — (1) matui-atua (the breath of the gods), (2) mana-
tangata (Titokowaru's personal prestige), and (3) the inherent mana-tapu of the
weapon. The taiaha would move, as Titoko stood facing his people, and its
tongue would point towards a particular man. Titoko would question the man
thus indicated, and, if his answer were satisfactory, he would order him to stand
aside as one of the taua ; and so on until the tally of the ** Tekau-ma-rua " was
complete. My informant adds : " Titoko- warn would not select the over-confident
men." The repeated success of the Hauhau war-parties in the bush-fighting of 1868
no doubt considerably enhanced the mana-tapu of ' Te Porohanga.* It is still
in the possession of Titoko-waru*s people.

J. COWAN.
[184] Rakataura. (See J.P.S. Vol. XIV., p. 96.)

The following short account of Rakataura was given me many years ago by a

member of the Ngati-matakore tribe (of " King " country), a descendant of Raka: —

'* Ko Rakataura anake te tupuna i haere mai no Hawaiki i runga i te tuara o

te ika nui whakaharahara, ko Panciraira te ingoa. I haere tahi mai

raua ko tana tjimaiti ko Hape-ki-tuarangi, engari ko ia (ko te tamaiti) i

, tika mai, ara i waha mai e te hau rauwhakarewarewa [a whirlwind], ko

' Te Apurangi ' te ingoa. I u tahi mai raua ki Wai-te-mata. To take i

haere mai ai a Raka i runga i te ika, na te mea i kawhakina tana wahine

ki runga i a Taiuui. He mea whakarere marire atu hoki a Raka ko tana

tamaiti."

THE Tainui Immigrants.— Hone Kaora (John Cowell), of Kawhia, wlian

giving evidence before the Native Land Court at Otorohanga in 1886 (after detailing

certain Tainui history), gave the following list of the people (evidently Raka's

followers) who left the ' * Tainui ' ' at Tamaki : —

" After Tainui arrived at Otahuhu the persons who carried the mauri-tfianu
travelled overland. There were ten of them, viz., Hia-ora, Mate-ora, ^lani-kopiri,
Taranga. Tane-whakatea, Tama-ki-to-marangai, Hinc-puanga-nui-a-rangi, Waihare,
Rotu, and Puaki-o-te-raugi."

JAB. COWAN.

INDEX TO VOL. XIV.

Abscess, nuiido, makimaki, tapoa, 13
Abyssinian parallel to a Maori rite, 6
Ahi mate (dead fire)— the "cold heurtb-

stone." 18
Aitutaki. Heraldic marks (Ui-Uitau), at, 217
Annual Meeting of Society, Minutes of .

xiii
Annual Hei)ort of the Council, xiii
Awhiorangi, The finding of, .'>5

Balance-sheet of the Society, xv

Battle of Waipuna, 151 : of Operiki, 155

Bk8t. Elsdon. Maori Medical Lore, 1.
The lore of the whari'-kohanya : Notes
on procreation among the Maori
l)eople of New Zealand (Part i.). 205

Bible coBmo){ony and history said to be
familiar to the ancient Maori, 116

Boils (u'hewhef, 13

Breath of life. Charm to retain or restore, 4

Bums, Charm for the cure of, 9

Canoe of Maui, The. J. Cowan, 161

Charcoal fumes. Suffocation by, attributed
to an invisible demon, 144

Choking, Charms to relieve, 6

CHriu'HiLL. William, B.A. Principles of
Sanioan word-compoRition. 24

Cold water, indiscriminate immersion of
the sick, 18, 19

Coming of Tainui, The. (Translation).
Rihare Tauwhare, 96

Compound Words in Samoan, 24

Constipation caused by fern-root diet, 10

Constitution of Society, v

Cowan, .Tamkh. Some Middle Island place-
names, 4.'). 163. Honorific terms used
in the Middle Island (note), 45. Hawa-
iki (note), 46. The canoe of Maui, 161.
Maori names of lakes (note), 163. On
the word tnoa (note). 164. The last of
the Ngati-Mamoe, 193. A taiaha "whai-
//tarn/" (note). 219. Bakataura (note). 920

Creation of Man, 125

Death of Takarangi, 155
Delirium, kuawa and kutukutu ahi, 19
Deluge, Maori tradition of, 117
DiaiThtpa, Native remedies for, 10
Diseases, Maori treatment of. 1
Divination. Weapons used in, 55
Drowning— treatment of the apparently
drowned, 17

Elephantiasis. 11
Epidemic. The rewharewha, 1.51
Epidemics among the Maori. 18
Etiquette, punctiliousness of Maori

chiefs. B5
Exchanges, List of, xi
Eyes, Maori treatment of affections of

the, 15

Familiar spirit. Story of a, 50

Female complaints, Native remedies for,
15. IH

Fern-root diet, a cause of severe con-
stipation. 10

Finding of Awhiorangi, The, 55

Fish-diet, supposed cause of leprous
affections, 11

Foot, human, the sacred power of, 9: the
left foot tapu, 9

Genealogies—
Oho-mai-rangi— Maaka, 121
Ru-makina— Rereahu, 89
Ru-makina— Taki-hiku, 74. 89
Tamatea— Pango-te-Whare-Auahi, 80
Tamatea— Te Purupuru, 90
Tu-rere-ao— Te Korenga Tu-Whawhakia,

157
Tu-whakaturi— Rangi-huru-mann. 138
God Mara. 145
Goitre {tenga), 13
Graham, Georoe. Ngutu-au. an ancient t

people who visited New Zealand, 159
Gudokon, Lieut.-Col. Mana tangata, 49.
Maori Religion. 107. Maori Superstition.
167. Origin of the ta-tatau or heraldic
marks at Aitutaki Island, 217. Ngati-
hau of Whanganui (note), 219

Hakihaki, or harehare, itch, 14

Hapuku Kai-aho, The great, 150

Hau, its twofold meaning— wind, and in-
tellectual principle. 127

Hauhau or ftai-fnarire superstition. The,
171

Hawaiki (note). 47

Haiootiiwaui, skin disease affecting chil-
dren, 17

HekengaaKahu-hunu. Te Pango-te-Whare- '
Auahi, 67

Heraldic marks at Aitutaki Island, 217

Herbal remedies little used before arrival
of Europeans, 10

Hoipu, watery blister, 13

Honey, poisonous, of the wnoriki and
tvharaiwi shrubs, 19

Honorific terms used in the Middle Island
(note). 45

Huahtta, pimple or rash, 13, 17

Hunakeha tree. The. W. T. Morpeth, 216 :
a tree supposed to be foand on the
Upper Whanganui, the handling of
which is fatal, 216

Hum, a disfiguring disease of the glands
of the neck, 10, 18

lo, the supreme deity of the Maori, 81, 108:
not to be named save in the open air.
52. 100 ; Maori reticence concerning, 109 :
genealogical table showing descent of
the gods from, facing 210
Iro and ngaio, intestinal worms, 17
Iri karakia. The, (translation). Major H.
P. Tu-nui-a-Rangi. 100

Kahu-hunu, Legends concerning, 82

Kai ure, curious rite accompanying the

recitation of a charm. 3
Kehua (familiar spirit). Story of a. 50
Kiritona, stye on the eyelid, 15
Kooti. Te, Character of. 176
Kopito, pains in the stomach, 17
Korere, diarrhoea, 10
Korero mo Ngarara-hoaraa. Major Tu-

noi-a-Rangi. 200
Kotureture, a scrofulous disease, causing

white blotches, 14
Kuawa, or kutukutu ahi, delirium, 19

Lament of Nuku, 156

Last of the Ngati-Mamoe, 193

Latrines, sacredness and mana of, 1

VOL. XIV.

tVUVLISIIKP OlUHtTJili

THE JOURNAL

or TUB

POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

CQNJAmtHQ THE IBAHSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINQS
OF THE SOCIETY,

Publialiod imdor the Astlbority nf ttii; Ootuioi], and Edited by tha

Hoiu Socrotariei.

No. 58. IMAllCH. llMJo.

Vol XIV.

NO. 2

THE JOURNAL

ty) "I I a

POLYNESIAN SOCIETY

aOftimiHG THE XRAH&AOJION^ AND PROCEEDiNCS
OF THE SOatETf,

FQbUatMd nnder tie Antlinrlty of ihn roimoil, and HiM by the

HoiL SJeorataziaB.

v., ', t .fF'Vl |*tn".

M,\:iA i\\:>MA4.\ Vt L'
TlIK nil. KAIIAM

^oUUiuati^:

Til

^'■'

POLYNESUN «OCmTY.

Vrt^lUvnt ;

H. frmn Suim, FJka^.

CouuHl I

M ■

AK,

¥. i'.

Vs .:

... nn.

SV H 1

iltiiHtriktioith iH

'Hi*? U-.-
M»-Unn!tla. •:

:^3u.i,

i^iion or « uiMsUfr ul fins Stotm^f and a mmiiiW; ol Ui» (iMiittilli uiitl
rni ut the Cotuit'tl.

■--Inl tr trnt'

J f out pt>'

Mch jTflir, or an iiliifstinQ.

Tliif nniif» III till*

Tlwpv

Vr.!K 1, :

iiTiH :^ uri'

I liruMiii fti .TOW I^Y^iOOIIL »« »mUmCi,
•* 111* Jo<Drt>«l, 10 la^tebom. ii* S» Qd
.if irtoL

Members and exchanges arc requested In note the
chtini^e in the Society's Office from WelJington to New
Plymouth, to which uti cutnmunicaitons* bool
Ac* should be }b<n\, addrct^sed to the Hon. Sc

It. \i.}U,'i»n,^'>,, Kih.n.

:ilir}t',tH«rMit|t v^^f^

fHpii# fviM Im^ »^**i»»««|

Mcdtbcrd untl cxc)tiin|;cs are requested io iiuLr Uir

chaitKe in the Society's Office from We)^»' " ^^'^•^

Plymouth, lo which uU communicationB.. bt-

Ac should be Bcnt, addrcBacd to the Hon. Sccfci6ii4tft.

Vol XIV.

THE JOURNAL

No. 4

Qi Till:

POLYHESIAH SOCIETY

CON J At mm 7H£ TBANSACnONS AND PBOCEEDtNGS
OF THE SOGIETY.

Publislied imder the Authority of the Comidl, ud EditGd by tho

Ion, Seoratarios.

No. 56 DECEMBER, 1905

Tf: KuK^lUl till KaJlltAIU.lJUAJ^^ '

THE ^ruBY OF MfAHAUA-HOABAL ifu>*i_irri. .^ :• v\^s ^u.

ritK i.au[i ou TUK triiAsaiKimASUA. iUttt t lit UtsMmn ii».

IKBET-OEKBALUOICAIi UVE ntOM lU.
TI1U HtSAKtJU TiXBlL iiv W. T. Vomc^u

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