Maori Religion and Mythology

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Title: Maori Religion and Mythology
Author: Shortland, Edward
Language: English
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MAORI RELIGION
AND
MYTHOLOGY.

WILLIAM ATKIN, GENERAL PRINTER,
HIGH STREET, AUCKLAND, N.Z.

_Maori Religion_

_and_

_Mythology._

ILLUSTRATED BY TRANSLATIONS OF TRADITIONS,
_KARAKIA_, &c.

TO WHICH ARE ADDED

NOTES ON _MAORI_ TENURE OF LAND.

BY
EDWARD SHORTLAND, M.A., M.R.C.P.,
LATE NATIVE SECRETARY, NEW ZEALAND,
AUTHOR OF
“TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE NEW ZEALANDERS.”

LONDON:
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1882.
_All rights reserved._

TO THE MEMORY
OF
SIR WILLIAM MARTIN

THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED,

THE AFFECTIONATE TRIBUTE
OF
A FRIENDSHIP OF MANY YEARS.

PREFACE.

The Maori MSS. of which translations are now published were collected by
the author many years ago. The persons through whom the MSS. were
obtained are now, with one exception, no longer living. They were all of
them men of good birth, and competent authorities. One who could write
sent me, from time to time, in MS. such information as he himself
possessed, or he could obtain from the _tohunga_, or wise men of his
family. Chapters iii. and iv. contain selections from information
derived from this source.

The others not being sufficiently skilled in writing, it was necessary
to take down their information from dictation. In doing this I
particularly instructed my informant to tell his tale as if he were
relating it to his own people, and to use the same words that he would
use if he were recounting similar tales to them when assembled in a
sacred house. This they are, or perhaps I should rather say were, in the
habit of doing at times of great weather disturbance accompanied with
storm of wind and rain, believing an effect to be thereby produced
quieting the spirits of the sky.

As the dictation went on I was careful never to ask any question, or
otherwise interrupt the thread of the being guided by the sound in
writing any new and strange words. When some time had thus passed, I
stopt him at some suitable part of his tale: then read over to him what
I had written, and made the necessary corrections—taking notes also of
the meanings of words which were new to me. Chapters v. and vi. are with
some omissions translations of a _Maori_ MS. written in this way.

Chapter ii. contains a tradition as to _Maori_ Cosmogony more particular
in some details than I have ever met with elsewhere. My informant had
been educated to become a _tohunga_; but had afterwards become a
professing Christian. The narrative took place at night unknown to any
of his people, and under promise that I would not read what I wrote to
any of his people. When after some years I re-visited New Zealand, I
learnt that he had died soon after I left, and that his death was
attributed to the anger of the _Atua_ of his family due to his having,
as they expressed it, trampled on the _tapu_ by making _noa_ or public
things sacred—he having himself confessed what he no doubt believed to
be the cause of his illness.

In Appendix will be found a list of _Maori_ words expressing
relationship. It will be observed that where we employ definite words
for ‘father’ and ‘brother’ the _Maori_ use words having a more
comprehensive meaning, like our word ‘cousin’: hence when either of the
words _matua_, &c., are used, to ascertain the actual degree of
relationship some additional explanatory words must be added, as would
be necessary when we use the general term cousin.

A short vocabulary of _Maori_ words unavoidably introduced in the
following pages, which require explanation not to be found in any
published dictionary, are also printed in the Appendix,—as well as a few
selected _karakia_ in the original _Maori_, with reference to pages
where their translations appear, as a matter of interest to some
persons.

_Auckland, January, 1882._

CONTENTS.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
PAGE
_Chap. i._—Primitive Religion and Mythology. Aryans and 1
Polynesians
_Chap. ii._—Maori Cosmogony and Mythology 10
_Chap. iii._—Religious Rites of the Maori 25
_Chap. iv._ „ „ „ 38
_Chap. v._—The Maori Chief of Olden Time 51
_Chap. vi._—Claiming and Naming Land 68
_Chap. vii._—The Maori Land Tenure 88
—————
APPENDIX.
Terms of _Maori_ Relationship 106
Explanation of some _Maori_ words occurring in 107
following pages
Karakia Maori 109
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

ERRATA

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
p. 8 for “Pendora” read “Pandora.”
p. 21 „ “Herekeke” „ “Harakeke.”
p. 11 „ “Whananga” „ “Wananga.”
p. 24 „ „ „ „
p. 28 „ “manumea” „ “Manumea.”
p. 90 „ “and” „ “land.”
p. 96 „ “conquerers” „ “conquerors.”
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

PRIMITIVE RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY.

CHAPTER I.

ARYANS AND POLYNESIANS.

Νόμιζε σαυτῷ τοὺς γονεῖς εἶναι Θεούς.

The religious feeling may be traced to the natural veneration of the
child for the parent, joined to an innate belief in the immortality of
the soul. What we know of the primitive religion of Aryans and
Polynesians points to this source. They both venerated the spirits of
deceased ancestors, believing that these spirits took an interest in
their living descendants: moreover, they feared them, and were careful
to observe the precepts handed down by tradition, as having been
delivered by them while alive.

The souls of men deified by death were by the Latins called “Lares” or
“Mânes,” by the Greeks “Demons” or “Heroes.” Their tombs were the
temples of these divinities, and bore the inscription “Dîs manibus,”
“Θεοῖς χθονίοις;” and before the tomb was an altar for sacrifice. The
term used by the Greeks and Romans to signify the worship of the dead is
significant. The former used the word “πατριάζειν,” the latter
“parentare,” showing that the prayers were addressed to forefathers. “I
prevail over my enemies,” says the Brahmin, “by the incantations which
my ancestors and my father have handed down to me.”¹

¹ La Cité Antique par De Coulange.

Similar to this was the common belief of the _Maori_ of Polynesia, and
still exists. A _Maori_ of New Zealand writes thus: “The origin of
knowledge of our native customs was from Tiki (the progenitor of the
human race). Tiki taught laws to regulate work, slaying, man-eating:
from him men first learnt to observe laws for this thing, and for that
thing, the rites to be used for the dead, the invocation for the
new-born child, for battle in the field, for the assault of fortified
places, and other invocations very numerous. Tiki was the first
instructor, and from him descended his instructions to our forefathers,
and have abided to the present time. For this reason they have power.
Thus says the song:—

_E tama, tapu-nui, tapu-whakaharahara,_
_He mauri wehewehe na o tupuna,_
_Na Tiki, na Rangi, na Papa._

O child, very sacred—very, very sacred,
Shrine set apart by your ancestors,
By Tiki, by Rangi, by Papa.”

The researches of philologists tend to show that all known languages are
derived from one original parent source. The parent language from which
the Aryan and Polynesian languages are derived must have been spoken at
a very remote time; for no two forms of language are now more diverse
than these two are. In the Polynesian there is but the slightest trace
of inflexion of words which is a general character of Aryan languages.
The Polynesian language seems to have retained a very primitive form,
remaining fixed and stationary; and this is confirmed by the fact that
the forms of Polynesian language, whether spoken in the Sandwich Islands
or in New Zealand, though their remoteness from each other indicates a
very early separation, differ to so small a degree that they may be
regarded as only different dialects of the same language. The _Maori_
language is essentially conservative, containing no principle in its
structure facilitating change. The component parts or roots of words are
always apparent.

When we consider the great remoteness of time at which it is possible
that a connection between Aryans and Polynesians could have existed, we
are carried back to the contemplation of a very primitive condition of
the human race. In the Polynesian family we can still discover traces of
this primitive condition. We can also observe a similarity between the
more antient form of religious belief and mythological tradition of the
Aryans and that still existing among Polynesians; for which reason we
think it allowable to apply to the interpretation of old Aryan myths the
principle we discover to guide us as to the signification of Polynesian
Mythology.

It was a favourite opinion with Christian apologists, Eusebius and
others, that the Pagan deities represented deified men. Others consider
them to signify the powers of external nature personified. For others
they are, in many cases, impersonations of human passions and
propensities reflected back from the mind of man. A fourth mode of
interpretation would treat them as copies distorted and depraved of a
primitive system of religion given by God to man.²

² Juventus mundi, p. 203.

The writer does not give any opinion as to which of these theories he
would give a preference. If, however, we look at the mythology of Greek
and Latin Aryans from the _Maori_ point of view the explanation of their
myths is simple.

This mythology personified and deified the Powers of Nature, and
represented them as the ancestors of all mankind; so these personified
Powers of Nature were worshipped as deified ancestors. There is no
authority for any other supposition. With regard to the two latter
theories above referred to it may be remarked that fiction is always
liable to be interpreted in a manner conformable to the ideas prevailing
at any particular time, so that there would be a natural tendency, in
modern times, to apply meanings never originally thought of to the
interpretation of mythology. Man in early days, ignorant of the causes
of natural phenomena, yet having a mind curious to inquire and trace
observed effects to some cause, formulated his conceptions on imaginary
grounds, which, although now manifestly false and absurd, yet were
probably sufficiently credible in the infancy of knowledge.

There is a notable mental condition of the Polynesian to which we desire
to direct attention. The _Maori_ has a very limited notion of the
abstract. All his ideas take naturally a concrete form. This inaptitude
to conceive any abstract notions was, it is believed, the early mental
condition of man. Hence the Powers of Nature were regarded by him as
concrete objects, and were consequently designated as persons. And this
opinion is confirmed by the fact that the researches of comparative
philologists give proof that all words are, in their origin or roots,
expressive of visible and sensuous phenomena,³ and consequently that all
abstract words are derivable from such roots. The absence, too, of all
abstract and metaphysical ideas from Homer has been noticed by Mr
Gladstone as very remarkable.

³ Max Müller, “Science of Language.” Farrar, “Chapters on Language,”
p. 6.

I have seen it stated in print that the New Zealander has no sentiment
of gratitude; in proof of which it was mentioned that he has no word in
his language to express gratitude. This is true; but the reason is that
gratitude is an abstract word, and that _Maori_ is deficient in abstract
terms. It is an error to infer that he is ignorant of the sentiment of
gratitude, or that he is unable to express that sentiment in appropriate
and intelligible words.

ARYAN MYTHOLOGY.

The Aryans do not appear to have had any tradition of a Creation. They
seem to have conceived of the Powers of Nature very much in the same way
as the _Maori_ did,—namely, that the mysterious power of Generation was
the operative cause of all things.

Hesiod in his Theogony relates that the first parent of all was Chaos.

From Chaos sprang Gaia (=Earth), Tartarus, Eros (=Love), Erebus, a dark
son, Night, a dark daughter, and lastly, Day.

From Gaia alone sprung Ouranos (=Heaven), Hills, Groves, and Thalassa
(=Sea).

From Heaven and Earth sprung Okeanos (=Ocean), Japetus, Kronos
(=Saturn), Titans.

Hesiod also relates how Heaven confined his children in the dark caverns
of Earth, and how Kronos avenged himself.

In the “Works and Days” Hesiod gives an account of the formation of the
first human female out of Earth, from the union of whom, with
Epimetheus, son of the Titan Japetus, sprung the human race.

So far Hesiod’s account may be derived from Aryan myths. The latter and
greater part, however, of Hesiod’s Theogony cannot be accepted as a
purely Aryan tradition; for colonists from Egypt and Phœnicia had
settled in Greece, at an early period, and had brought with them alien
mythical fables which were adopted in a modified form, in addition to
the antient family religion of worship of ancestors.

Herodotus asserts that Homer and Hesiod made the Theogony of the Greeks;
and to a certain extent this may be true, for the bard was then invested
with a kind of sacredness, and what he sung was held to be the effect of
an inspiration. When he invoked the Muses his invocation was not a mere
formal set of words introduced for the sake of ornament, but an act of
homage due to the Divinities addressed, whose aid he solicited.⁴

⁴ Hom. Il., 2-484. Invocat. to Muses:—

Tell me now, O Muses, ye who dwell in Olympus;
For ye are goddesses, and are present, and know all things,
But we hear only rumour, and know not anything.

The traditions prevalent in Bœotia would naturally be strongly imbued
with fables of foreign origin; and Hesiod, who was a Bœotian by birth,
by collecting these local traditions and presenting them to the public
in an attractive form, no doubt contributed, as well as Homer, to
establish a national form of religion, made up of old Aryan tradition
and what had been imported by Phœnician and Egyptian colonists.

Thus Zeus and the other Olympian deities formed the centre of a national
religious system; but at the same time the old Aryan religion of worship
of ancestors maintained a paramount influence, and every tribe and every
family had its separate form of worship of its own ancestors. The prayer
of the son of Achilles, when in the act of sacrificing Polyxena to the
manes of his father, is a striking instance of the prevalent belief that
the deified spirits of ancestors had power to influence the destinies of
the living.

“O son of Peleus, my father, receive from me this libation, appeasing,
alluring, the dead. Come now, that you may drink the black pure blood of
a virgin, which we give to thee—both I and the army. And be kindly
disposed to us, and grant us to loose the sterns of our ships, and the
cables fastening to the shore, and all to reach home favoured with a
prosperous return from Ilium.”⁵

⁵ Hecuba, l. 533-9.

Euripides would not have put these words into the mouth of the son of
Achilles had they not been in accord with the sympathies of an Athenian
audience.

Comparing the Greek mythological traditions, such as they have come down
to us, with those of the _Maori_, some striking resemblance is to be
observed. First, there is the fact that both treat the elements of
nature, and abstract notions as persons capable of propagating from each
other by generation. In both Light springs out of Darkness. The sons of
Heaven and Earth in both accounts conspire against their father for the
same reason—that their father had confined them in darkness. And lastly
the first human female, in both, is said to have been formed out of
earth. The first woman, in the _Maori_ Mythology, drags down her
offspring to Po (=Night), meaning to death. And the first woman of the
Greek Mythology, Pandora, introduces all kinds of afflictions as an
heritage for hers.

It is also to be noticed that just as Zeus and the Olympian Gods were
national deities for Greeks, so their old mythical deities—Po, Rangi,
Papa, Tiki, &c., were invoked alike by the whole _Maori_ race,
especially in the ceremonies required to free a person from the sacred
restrictions comprised under the term _tapu_. They were the _Maori_
national Gods, for they were their common ancestors. But at the same
time every _Maori_ tribe and family invoked independently each its own
tribal and family ancestors, just as was the practice of the Greeks and
Latins.

CHAPTER II.

MAORI COSMOGONY AND MYTHOLOGY.

An quoquam genitos nisi Cœlo credere fas est
Esse homines.—_Manilius._

The _Maori_ had no tradition of the Creation. The great mysterious Cause
of all things existing in the Cosmos was, as he conceived it, the
generative Power. Commencing with a primitive state of Darkness, he
conceived Po (=Night) as a person capable of begetting a race of beings
resembling itself. After a succession of several generations of the race
of Po, Te Ata (=Morn) was given birth to. Then followed certain beings
existing when Cosmos was without form, and void. Afterwards came Rangi
(=Heaven), Papa (=Earth), the Winds, and other Sky-powers, as are
recorded in the genealogical traditions preserved to the present time.

We have reason to consider the mythological traditions of the _Maori_ as
dating from a very antient period. They are held to be very sacred, and
not to be repeated except in places set apart as sacred.

The Genealogies recorded hereafter are divisible into three distinct
epochs:—

1. That comprising the personified Powers of Nature preceding the
existence of man, which Powers are regarded by the _Maori_ as their own
primitive ancestors, and are invoked in their _karakia_ by all the
_Maori_ race; for we find the names of Rangi, Rongo, Tangaroa, &c.,
mentioned as _Atua_ or Gods of the _Maori_ of the Sandwich Islands and
other Islands of the Pacific inhabited by the same race. The common
worship of these primitive _Atua_ constituted the National religion of
the Maori.

2. In addition to this the _Maori_ had a religious worship peculiar to
each tribe and to each family, in forms of _karakia_ or invocation
addressed to the spirits of dead ancestors of their own proper line of
descent.

Ancestral spirits who had lived in the flesh before the migration to New
Zealand would be invoked by all the tribes in New Zealand, so far as
their names had been preserved, in their traditional records as mighty
spirits.

3. From the time of the migration to New Zealand each tribe and each
family would in addition address their invocations to their own proper
line of ancestors,—thus giving rise to a family religious worship in
addition to the national religion.

The cause of the preservation of their Genealogies becomes intelligible
when we consider that they often formed the ground-work of their
religious formulas, and that to make an error or even hesitation in
repeating a _karakia_ was deemed fatal to its efficacy.

In the forms of _karakia_ addressed to the spirits of ancestors, the
concluding words are generally a petition to the _Atua_ invoked to give
force or effect to the _karakia_ as being derived through the _Tipua_,
the _Pukenga_, and the _Wananga_, and so descending to the living
_Tauira_.

MAORI COSMOGONY.

Powers | Te Ata (=The Morn).
of | Te Ao−tu−roa (=The abiding Day).
Light. | Te Ao−marama (=bright Day).
| Whaitua (=space).

From the union of Te Mangu with Mahorahora-nui-a-Rangi (=The great
expanse of Rangi) came four children:—

1. Toko-mua (=elder prop).
2. Toko-roto (=middle prop).
3. Toko-pa (=last prop).
4. Rangi-potiki (=child Rangi).

GENEALOGICAL DESCENT FROM TOKO-MUA.

⁶ Whose wife was Hine-titamauri de quâ infra.

⁷ Whose wife was Puhaorangi de quâ infra.

⁸ Tamatea was settled at Muriwhenua, and his son Kahuhunu was born
there. The latter went on a journey to Nukutauraua near the Mahia,
and there married Rongomai-wahine, having got rid of her husband
Tamatakutai by craft. Tamatea went to bring him home, but on their
return their canoe was upset in a rapid, near where the river
Waikato flows out of the lake Taupo, and Tamatea was drowned.

GENEALOGICAL DESCENT FROM TOKO-ROTO.

After the birth of Rauru, the son of Toi-te-huatahi and Kuraemonoa,
while Toi was absent from home fishing, Puhaorangi came down from
Heaven, and carried off Kuraemonoa to be his own wife. She bore four
children from this union:—

1. Ohomairangi.
2. Tawhirioho.
3. Ohotaretare.
4. Oho-mata-kamokamo.

From Ohomairangi descended:—

GENEALOGICAL DESCENT FROM TOKO-PA.

Kohu (=Mist) was the child of Tokopa.

Kohu married Te Ika-roa (=The Milky-way), and gave birth to Nga Whetu
(=The Stars).

GENEALOGICAL DESCENT FROM RANGI-POTIKI.

Rangi-potiki had three wives, the first of which was Hine-ahu-papa; from
her descended:—

| Tu−nuku.
Sky | Tu−rangi.
Powers. | Tama−i−koropao.
| Haronga.

Haronga took to wife Tongo-tongo. Their children were a son and
daughter, Te Ra (=The Sun) and Marama (=The Moon). Haronga perceiving
that there was no light for his daughter Marama, gave Te Kohu in
marriage to Te Ikaroa, and the Stars were born to give light for the
sister of Te Ra, for the child of Tongo-tongo. “_Nga tokorua a
Tongo-tongo_” (=the two children of Tongotongo) is a proverbial term for
the Sun and Moon at the present day.

Rangi-potiki’s second wife was Papatuanuku. She gave birth to the
following children:—

Rehua (a star).
Rongo.
Tangaroa.
Tahu.
Punga and Here, twins.
Hua and Ari, do.
Nukumera } twins.
Rango−maraeroa }

Marere−o−tonga } do.
Takataka−putea }

Tu−matauenga } do.
Tu−potiki }

_Rongo_ was _atua_ of the _kumara_.

_Tangaroa_ was ancestor of Fish and the _Pounamu_, which is classed with
fish by the _Maori_. Tangaroa took to wife Te Anu-matao (=the chilly
cold): from which union descended.

All | Te Whata−uira−a−tangaroa.
of the | Te Whatukura.
Fish | Poutini.
Class. | Te Pounamu.

_Tahu_ was _atua_ presiding over peace and feasts.

_Punga_ was ancestor of the lizard, shark, and ill-favoured creatures:
hence the proverb “_aitanga-a-Punga_” (=child of Punga) to denote an
ugly fellow.

_Tu-matauenga_ was the _Maori_ war God.

Rangi-potiki’s third wife was Papa (=Earth). Tangaroa was accused of
having committed adultery with Papa, and Rangipotiki, armed with his
spear, went to obtain satisfaction. He found Tangaroa seated by the door
of his house, who, when he saw Rangi thus coming towards him, began the
following _karakia_, at the same time striking his right shoulder with
his left hand:—

Tangaroa, Tangaroa,
Tangaroa, unravel;
Unravel the tangle,
Unravel, untwist.
Though Rangi is distant,
He is to be reached.
Some darkness for above,
Some light for below
Freely give
For bright Day⁹

⁹ This _karakia_ is the most antient example of the kind. It is now
applied as suggestive of a peaceable settlement of a quarrel.

This invocation of Tangaroa was scarce ended when Rangi made a thrust at
him. Tangaroa warded it off, and it missed him. Then Tangaroa made a
thrust at Rangi, and pierced him quite through the thigh, and he fell.

While Rangi lay wounded he begat his child Kueo (=Moist). The cause of
this name was Rangi’s wetting his couch while he lay ill of his wound.
After Kueo, he begat Mimi-ahi, so-called from his making water by the
fireside. Next he begat Tane-tuturi (=straight-leg-Tane), so-called
because Rangi could now stretch his legs. Afterwards he begat
Tane-pepeki (=bent-leg-Tane), so-called because Rangi could sit with his
knees bent. The next child was Tane-ua-tika (=straight-neck-Tane), for
Rangi’s neck was now straight, and he could hold up his head. The next
child born was called Tane-ua-ha¹⁰ (=strong-neck-Tane), for Rangi’s neck
was strong. Then was born Tane-te-waiora (=lively Tane), so called
because Rangi was quite recovered. Then was born Tane-nui-a-Rangi (=Tane
great son of Rangi). And last of all was born Paea, a daughter. She was
the last of Rangi’s children. With Paea they came to an end, so she was
named Paea, which signifies ‘closed.’

¹⁰ Ha=kaha.

Some time after the birth of these children the thought came to
Tane-nui-a-Rangi to separate their father from them. Tane had seen the
light of the Sun shining under the armpit of Rangi; so he consulted with
his elder brothers what they should do. They all said, “Let us kill our
father, because he has shut us up in darkness, and let us leave our
mother for our parent.” But Tane advised, “Do not let us kill our
father, but rather let us raise him up above, so that there may be
light.” To this they consented; so they prepared ropes, and when Rangi
was sound asleep they rolled him over on the ropes, and Paea took him on
her back. Two props were also placed under Rangi. The names of the props
were Tokohurunuku, and Tokohururangi. Then lifting him with the aid of
these two props, they shoved him upwards. Then Papa thus uttered her
farewell to Rangi.

“_Haera ra, e Rangi, ē! ko te wehenga taua i a Rangi._”
“Go, O Rangi, alas! for my separation from Rangi.”

And Rangi answered from above:

“_Heikona ra, e Papa, ē! ko te wehenga taua i a Papa._”
“Remain there, O Papa. Alas! for my separation from Papa.”

So Rangi dwelt above, and Tane and his brothers dwelt below with their
mother, Papa.

Some time after this Tane desired to have his mother Papa for his wife.
But Papa said, “Do not turn your inclination towards me, for evil will
come to you. Go to your ancestor Mumuhango.” So Tane took Mumuhango to
wife, who brought forth the _totara_ tree. Tane returned to his mother
dissatisfied, and his mother said, “Go to your ancestor Hine-tu-a-maunga
(=the mountain maid).” So Tane took Hine-tu-a-maunga to wife, who
conceived, but did not bring forth a child. Her offspring was the rusty
water of mountains, and the monster reptiles common to mountains. Tane
was displeased, and returned to his mother. Papa said to him “Go to your
ancestor Rangahore.” So Tane went, and took that female for a wife, who
brought forth stone. This greatly displeased Tane, who again went back
to Papa. Then Papa said “Go to your ancestor Ngaore (=the tender one).”
Tane took Ngaore to wife. And Ngaore gave birth to the _toetoe_ (a
species of rush-like grass). Tane returned to his mother in displeasure.
She next advised him, “Go to your ancestor Pakoti.” Tane did as he was
bid, but Pakoti only brought forth _harakeke_ (=phormium tenax). Tane
had a great many other wives at his mother’s bidding, but none of them
pleased him, and his heart was greatly troubled, because no child was
born to give birth to Man; so he thus addressed his mother—“Old lady,
there will never be any progeny for me.” Thereupon Papa said, “Go to
your ancestor, Ocean, who is grumbling there in the distance. When you
reach the beach at Kura-waka, gather up the earth in the form of man.”
So Tane went and scraped up the earth at Kura-waka. He gathered up the
earth, the body was formed, and then the head, and the arms; then he
joined on the legs, and patted down the surface of the belly, so as to
give the form of man; and when he had done this, he returned to his
mother and said, “The whole body of the man is finished.” Thereupon his
mother said, “Go to your ancestor Mauhi, she will give the _raho_.¹¹ Go
to your ancestor Whete, she will give the _timutimu_.¹¹ Go to your
ancestor Taua-ki-te-marangai, she will give the _paraheka_.¹¹ Go to your
ancestor Pungaheko, she has the _huruhuru_.” So Tane went to these
female ancestors, who gave him the things asked for. He then went to
Kura-waka. Katahi ka whakanoho ia i nga raho ki roto i nga kuwha o te
wahine i hanga ki te one: Ka mau era. Muri atu ka whakanoho ia ko te
timutimu na Whete i homai ki waenga i nga raho; muri atu ko te paraheka
na Taua-ki-te-marangai i homai ka whakanoho ki te take o te timutimu:
muri iho ko te huruhuru na Pungaheko i homai ka whakanoho ki runga i te
puke. Ka oti, katahi ka tapa ko Hineahuone. Then he named this female
form Hine-ahu-one (=The earth formed maid).

¹¹ Quaedam partes corporis genitales.

Tane took Hine-ahu-one to wife. She first gave birth to Tiki-tohua—the
egg of a bird from which have sprung all the birds of the air. After
that, Tiki-kapakapa was born—a female. Then first was born for Tane a
human child. Tane took great care of Tiki-kapakapa, and when she grew up
he gave her a new name, Hine-a-tauira (=the pattern maid). Then he took
her to wife, and she bore a female child who was named Hine-titamauri.

One day Hine-a-tauira said to Tane, “Who is my father?” Tane laughed. A
second time Hine-a-tauira asked the same question. Then Tane made a
sign:¹² and the woman understood, and her heart was dark, and she gave
herself up to mourning, and fled away to Rikiriki, and to Naonao, to
Rekoreko, to Waewae-te-Po, and to Po.¹³ The woman fled away, hanging
down her head.¹⁴ Then she took the name of Hine-nui-te-Po (=great woman
of Night). Her farewell words to Tane were—“Remain, O Tane, to pull up
our offspring to Day; while I go below to drag down our offspring to
Night.”¹⁵

¹² _Katahi ka tohungia e Tane ki tona ure._

¹³ These were all ancestors of the race of Powers of Night.

¹⁴ _He oti, ka rere te wahine: ka anga ko te pane ki raro, tuwhera
tonu nga kuwha, hamama tonu te puapua._

¹⁵ “_Heikona, e Tane, hei kukume ake i a taua hua ki te Ao; kia haere
au ki raro hei kukume iho i a taua hua ki te Po._”

Tane sorrowed for his daughter-wife, and cherished his daughter
Hinetitamauri; and when she grew up he gave her to Tiki to be his wife,
and their first-born child was Tiki-te-pou-mua.¹⁶

¹⁶ Vid. Genealogical Table.

The following narrative is a continuation of the history of Hinenuitepo
from another source:—

After Hinenuitepo fled away to her ancestors in the realms of Night, she
gave birth to Te Po-uriuri (=The Dark one), and to Te Po-tangotango
(=The very dark), and afterwards to Pare-koritawa, who married Tawaki,
one of the race of Rangi. Hence the proverb when the sky is seen covered
with small clouds “_Parekoritawa is tilling her garden._” When Tawaki
climbed to Heaven with Parekoritawa, he repeated this _karakia_:—

Ascend, O Tawaki, by the narrow path,
By which the path of Rangi was followed;
The path of Tu-kai-te-uru.
The narrow path is climbed,
The broad path is climbed,
The path by which was followed
Your ancestors, Te Aonui,
Te Ao-roa,
Te Ao-whititera.
Now you mount up
To your _Ihi_,
To your _Mana_,
To the Thousands above,
To your _Ariki_,
To your _Tapairu_,
To your _Pukenga_,
To your _Wananga_,
To your _Tauira_.

When Tawaki and Parekoritawa mounted to the Sky, they left behind them a
token—a black moth—a token of the mortal body.

Pare gave birth to Uenuku (=Rainbow). Afterwards she brought forth
Whatitiri (=Thunder). Hence the rainbow in the sky, and the
thunder-clap.

CHAPTER III.

RELIGIOUS RITES OF THE MAORI.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἄγε δή τινα μάντιν ἐρείομεν.—Hom. Il. 1-62.

The religious rites and ceremonies of the _Maori_ were strange and
complex, and must have been a severe burden, as will be understood from
the translations of _Maori_ narratives relating to such matters
contained in these pages. To make these translations more intelligible
to the reader, a brief review of the subject is now given in
explanation.

The religious rites under consideration are immediately connected with
certain laws relating to things _tapu_, or things sacred and prohibited,
the breach of which laws by anyone is a crime displeasing to the _Atua_
of his family. Anything _tapu_ must not be allowed to come in contact
with any vessel or place where food is kept. This law is absolute.
Should such contact take place, the food, the vessel, or place, become
_tapu_, and only a few very sacred persons, themselves _tapu_, dare to
touch these things.

The idea in which this law originated appears to have been that a
portion of the sacred essence of an _Atua_, or of a sacred person, was
directly communicable to objects which they touched, and also that the
sacredness so communicated to any object could afterwards be more or
less retransmitted to anything else brought into contact with it. It was
therefore necessary that anything containing the sacred essence of an
_Atua_ should be made _tapu_ to protect it from being polluted by the
contact of food designed to be eaten; for the act of eating food which
had touched anything _tapu_, involved the necessity of eating the
sacredness of the _Atua_, from whom it derived its sacredness.

It seems that the practice of cannibalism must have had a close
connexion with such a system of belief. To eat an enemy was the greatest
degradation to which he could be subjected, and so it must have been
regarded as akin to blasphemy to eat anything containing a particle of
divine essence.

Everything not included under the class _tapu_ was called _noa_, meaning
free or common. Things and persons _tapu_ could, however, be made _noa_
by means of certain ceremonies, the object of which was to extract the
_tapu_ essence, and restore it to the source whence it originally came.
It has been already stated that every tribe and every family has its own
especial _Atua_. The _Ariki_, or head of a family, in both male and
female lines, are regarded by their own family with a veneration almost
equal to that of their _Atua_.¹⁷ They form, as it were, the connecting
links between the living and the spirits of the dead; and the ceremonies
required for releasing anything from the _tapu_ state cannot be
perfected without their intervention.

¹⁷ It is observable that Homer attributes special honor to a few of
his heroes, who appear to have been the male representatives of
their race,—as to Agamemnon of the race of Pelops, and to Aeneas
of the race of Assaracus. With respect to each of them, it is
mentioned that he was honored as a God by his people. “Θεὸς δ’ ὣς
τίετο δήμῳ.” Among the Maori these chiefs would have been
distinguished by the title of _Ariki_. Homer gives them the title
“ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν,” the old meaning of which words has been a matter of
much inquiry. Mr Gladstone (Homer and Homeric Age, vol. I. p. 456)
says, “It seems to me that this restraint in the use of the name
‘ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν’ was not unconnected with a sense of reverence
towards it;” and he suggests the word chieftain as its fit
representative. Might not its original meaning have been similar
to that of _Ariki_?

On arriving one evening at a _Maori_ settlement, I found that a
ceremony, in which everyone appeared to take deep interest, was to take
place in the morning. The inhabitants were mostly professing Christians,
and the old sacred place of the settlement was, from the increase of
their numbers, inconveniently near their houses; a part of it was,
therefore, required to be added to the _Pa_. I was curious to see in
what way the land required would be made _noa_. In the morning when I
went to the place I found a numerous assembly, while in the centre of
the space was a large native oven, from which women were removing the
earth and mat-coverings. When opened it was seen to contain only
_kumara_, or sweet potato. One of these was offered to each person
present, which was held in the hand while the usual morning service was
read, concluding with a short prayer that God’s blessing might rest on
the place. After this each person ate his _kumara_, and the place was
declared to be _noa_. I could not but think that the native teacher had
done wisely in thus adopting so much of old ceremonial as to satisfy the
scruples of those of little faith. In this case, every one present, by
eating food cooked on the _tapu_ ground, equally incurred the risk of
offending the _Atua_ of the family, which risk was believed to be
removed by the Christian _karakia_.

By neglecting the laws of _tapu_, _Ariki_, chiefs, and other sacred
persons are especially liable to the displeasure of their _Atua_, and
are therefore afraid to do a great many ordinary acts necessary in
private life. For this reason a person of the sacred class was obliged
to eat his meals in the open air, at a little distance from his sacred
dwelling, and from the place which he and his friends usually occupied;
and if he could not eat all that had been placed before him he kept the
remainder for his own sole use, in a sacred place appropriated for that
purpose: for no one dared to eat what so sacred a person had touched.

The term _karakia_ is applicable to all forms of prayer to the _Atua_:
but there are a variety of names or titles to denote _karakia_ having
special objects. The translations of those now presented to the reader
will, it is believed, speak for themselves as to the nature of _Maori_
worship, and carry with them a more clear and full conviction as to what
it really was than any mere statements however faithful. It will be seen
that a _karakia_ is in some cases very like a prayer,—in other cases for
the most part an invocation of spirits of ancestors in genealogical
order,—in other cases a combination of prayer and invocation.

_The Karakia of Hineteiwaiwa_.

Said to have been used at the birth of her son Tuhuruhuru. It is of
great antiquity, dating from a time long anterior to the migration to
New Zealand.

Weave, weave the mat,
Couch for my unborn child,
Qui lectus aquâ inundabitur:
Rupe, et Manumea inundabuntur:
Lectus meus, et mei fetûs inundabitur:
Inundabor aquâ, inundabor;
Maritus meus inundabitur.¹⁸
Now I step upon (the mat).
The _Matitikura_¹⁹ to Rupe above,
* * * Toroa *
* * * Takapu *
* * * to cause to be born,
My child now one with myself.
Stand firm _turuturu_²⁰ of Hine-rauwharangi,
* * * * Hine-teiwaiwa,
Stand by your _tia_,²¹ Ihuwareware,
Stand by your _kona_,²¹ Ihuatamai,
Chide me not in my trouble,
Me Hine-teiwaiwa, O Rupe.²²
Release from above your hair,²³
Your head, your shoulders,
Your breast, your liver,
Your knees, your feet,
Let them come forth.
The old lady²⁴ with night-dark visage,
She will make you stretch,
She will make you rise up.
Let go _ewe_,²⁵ let go _take_,²⁵
Let go _parapara_.²⁵ Come forth.*

¹⁸ Hæc ad effusionem aquarum sub tempus partûs spectant.

¹⁹ The name of a powerful _karakia_.

²⁰ _Turuturu_, a sharp pointed prop, two of which are fixed in the
floor to serve as a frame for weaving mats—also used by women in
child-birth to hold by.

²¹ Names of lower parts of abdomen.

²² Rupe or Maui-mua, brother-in-law of Hine-teiwaiwa.

²³ Addressed to the unborn child.

²⁴ The old lady referred to was Hine-nui-te-po, the mother of the
female ancestress of mankind.

²⁵ Names of different parts of the decidua.

[*] For tradition as to Tuhuruhuru and other names here mentioned vid.
Sir Geo. Grey’s “Mythology and Traditions of New Zealand,” p. 39
et seq.

This _karakia_ is still in use with the Arawa tribe in cases of
difficult parturition. When such cases occur, it is concluded that the
woman has committed some fault—some breach of the _tapu_, which is to be
discovered by the _matakite_ (=seer). The father of the child then
plunges in the river, while the _karakia_ is being repeated, and the
child will generally be born ere ever he returns.

The following form of _karakia_ is also used by members of the same
tribe in similar cases:—

O! Hine-teiwaiwa, release Tuhuruhuru,
O! Rupe, release your nephew.

The ancestors of the father of the child are then invoked by name. First
the elder male line of ancestors, commencing with an ancestor who lived
in Hawaiki and terminating with the living representative of that line.
Then follows a repetition of the ancestral line next in succession, and
the third in succession, if the child be not born.²⁶ After which the
_tohunga_ addressing the unborn child says, “Come forth. The fault rests
with me. Come forth.” The _tohunga_ continues thus—

²⁶ In the _Maori_ MS., of which the above is a translation, the names
of the ancestors of the chief of the tribe referred to are given
in genealogical order, but are omitted here.

Unravel the tangle, unravel the crime,
Untie _manuka_, let it be loosed.
Distant though Rangi,
He is reached.

If the child be not now born, Tiki is invoked thus—

Tiki of the heap of earth,
Tiki scraped together,
When hands and feet were formed,
First produced at Hawaiki.

If the child be a male, it will be born—if a female, the mother’s line
of ancestors must be invoked.

Intimately connected with the superstition respecting things _tapu_ is
the belief as to the cause of disease, namely, that a spirit has taken
possession of the body of the sufferer. The belief is that any neglect
of the law of _tapu_, either wilful, or accidental, or even brought
about by the act of another person, causes the anger of the _Atua_ of
the family who punishes the offender by sending some infant spirit to
feed on a part of his body—infant spirits being generally selected for
this office on account of their love of mischief, and because not having
lived long enough on earth to form attachments to their living
relatives, they are less likely to show them mercy. When, therefore, a
person falls sick, and cannot remember that he has himself broken any
law of the _tapu_, he has to consult a _matakite_ (seer) and a _tohunga_
to discover the crime, and use the proper ceremonies to appease the
_Atua_; for there is in practice a method of making a person offend
against the laws of _tapu_ without his being aware of it. This method is
a secret one called _makutu_. It is sufficient for a person who knows
this art, if he can obtain a portion of the spittle of his enemy, or
some leavings from his food, in order that he may treat it in a manner
sure to bring down the resentment of his family _Atua_. For this reason
a person would not dare to spit when in the presence of anyone he feared
might be disposed to injure him, if he had a reputation for skill in
this evil art.

With such a belief as to the cause of all disease it will not be
wondered at that the treatment of it was confined to the _karakia_ of a
_tohunga_ or wise man. One or two examples of such cases will be
sufficient to explain this as well as to show the in-rooted superstition
of the _Maori_.

When anyone becomes _porangi_ or insane, as not unfrequently happens, he
is taken to a _tohunga_, who first makes an examination as to the cause
of the disease. He and the sick man then go to the water-side, and the
_tohunga_, stripping off his own clothes, takes in his hand an obsidian
flint. First he cuts a lock of hair from the left side of the sick man’s
head, and afterwards a lock of hair from the top of his head. The
obsidian flint is then placed on the ground, and upon it the lock of
hair which had been cut from the left side of the head. The lock of hair
cut from the top of the head is held aloft in the left hand of the
_tohunga_, while in his right hand he holds a common stone, which is
also raised aloft, while the following _karakia_ is being repeated by
him.

Tu, divide, Tu, split,
This is the _waiapu_ flint,
Now about to cry aloud
To the Moon of ill-omen.

Then the _tohunga_ breathes on the flint, and smashes it with the stone
held in his right hand. After this he selects a shoot of the plant
_toetoe_, and pulls it up, and then fastens to it both the locks of
hair. Then diving in the river, he lets go the _toetoe_ and locks of
hair, and when they float on the surface of the water, he commences his
great _karakia_ thus—

This is the _Tiri_ of Tu-i-rawea,
This is the _Tiri_ of Uenuku.
Where lies your fault?
Was eating a _kutu_ your fault?
Was sitting on _tapu_ ground your fault?
Unravel the tangle,
Unravel, untie.
Take away the fault from the head
Of the _Atua_ who afflicts this man.
Take away the disease,
And the _mana_ of the curser.
Turn your _mana_ against your _tohunga_,
And your _whaiwhaia_.²⁷
Give me the curse
To make as cooked food.
Your _Atua_ desecrated,
Your _tapu_, your curse,
Your sacred-place-dwelling _Atua_,
Your house-dwelling _Atua_,
Give me to cook for food.
Your _tapu_ is desecrated by me.
The rays of the sun,
The brave of the world,
The _mana_, give me.
Let your _Atua_, and your _tapu_
Be food for me to eat.
Let the head of the curser
Be baked in the oven,
Served up for food for me
Dead, and gone to Night.

²⁷ A _karakia_ so called.

The latter part of this _karakia_ is a curse directed against some
_tohunga_ supposed to have caused the disease by his art of _makutu_.

_Makutu_ was the weapon of the weak, who had no other mode of obtaining
redress. There is no doubt but that it exercised a restraining
influence, in a society where no law but that of force generally
prevailed, as a check to theft and unjust dealing generally; for there
is among the _Maori_ a firm belief in and dread of its power. This is
very evident from the following account given by one of themselves of
the mode employed to detect and punish a petty theft.

A woman is much vexed when any of the flax scraped by her is stolen, and
she consults a _tohunga_, in order to discover the thief. Whether the
flax has been stolen from her house or from the water, the woman’s house
must be _tapu_. No one must be allowed to enter it. This is necessary,
that the _makutu_ may take effect, and the person who stole the flax be
discovered. So when the woman comes to the _tohunga_ he first asks her
“Has any one entered your house?” She replies “No.” Then the _tohunga_
bids her return home, saying “I will come to you at night.” The woman
returns home, and at night the _tohunga_ comes to her. He bids her point
out her house, and then goes with her to the water side. Having taken
off his clothes, he strikes the water with a stick or wand, brought with
him for that purpose, and immediately the form of the thief stands
before them. The _tohunga_ thus curses it—

May your eyes look at the moon—
Eyes of flax be yours,
Hands of flax be yours,
Feet of flax be yours.
Let your hands snatch
At the rays of the Sun.
Let your hands snatch at Whiro,
Whiro in vast heaven,
Whiro born of Papa.
Snatch, snatch at your own head,
Perishing in the Night of Darkness,
In the Night of Death—Death.

_Whakahokitu_

Is the name given to forms of _makutu_ employed to counteract the curse
of some other _tohunga_, or wise-man; for whoever practises _makutu_,
even though he be skilled in the art, may have to yield to the _mana_ of
some other wise-man who can command the assistance of a more powerful
_Atua_. The following is a specimen of this kind of _makutu_—

Great curse, long curse,
Great curse, binding curse,
Binding your sacredness
To the tide of destruction.
Come hither, sacred spell,
To be looked on by me.
Cause the curser to lie low
In gloomy Night, in dark Night,
In the Night of ill-omen.
Great wind, lasting wind,
Changing wind of _Rangi_ above.
He falls. He perishes.
Cause to waste away the curser _tohunga_.
Let him bite the oven-stones.
Be food for me,
The _tapu_ and the _mana_,
Of your _Atua_,
Of your _karakia_,
Of your _tohunga_.

Among the _Atua_ much held in awe by the _Maori_ were the _Atua
noho-whare_, or house-dwelling gods—spirits of the germs of unborn
infants. They are also known by the name _kahukahu_, the meaning of
which word was explained in a former publication.

The _Maori_ has also a firm belief in omens derived from dreams, and
from any sudden movements of the body or limbs during sleep, all which
signs are believed to be warnings from the _Atua_.

There is a class of dreams called _moe-papa_, which are very unlucky:
and if any one has one of these dreams, he will avoid going on a
projected journey; for it is firmly believed that should he persist in
going he will fall into an enemy’s ambush, or meet with some other
misfortune. Hence the proverbial remark, if a person has neglected such
a warning, and has fallen in with a war-party, “He was warned by a
_moe-papa_, and yet went.” The kind of sleep denoted by this word is
described to be the climbing a precipice, the wandering astray in a
forest, entering a house, climbing a tree. Such dreams are death
warnings. They appear to be such as we term night-mare.

The startings of the limbs or body during sleep are called _takiri_,
some of which are lucky, and some unlucky, each kind being distinguished
by a special name.

The lucky _takiri_ are—

The _hokai_, or starting of the leg or foot in a forward direction. It
denotes the repulse of the enemy.

The _tauaro_, or starting of the arm towards the body.

The _whakaara_, when in sleep the head starts upwards. It signifies that
ere long the _Ariki_ or his father will arrive.

The _kapo_, a very lucky sign. While a man sleeps with his right arm for
a pillow, if the arm starts so as to strike his head, on awaking he will
not mention it to his companions; for he knows by this omen that in the
next battle which takes place it will be his good fortune to kill the
first man of the enemy.

The unlucky _takiri_ are—

The _kohera_, a starting of the arm and leg of one side of the body in
an outward direction.

The _peke_, a starting of the arm outwards from the body.

The _whawhati_, a sleep in which the legs, the neck, and the head are
bent doubled up towards the belly. This is very unlucky. The evil will
not come to another person, but attends the man himself.

The former _takiri_ do not necessarily denote evil to the individual
sleeper, but to any of his companions.

CHAPTER IV.

RELIGIOUS RITES OF THE MAORI.

Tantum Relligio potuit suadere.—_Lucretius_.

You ask me about the customs of _Maori_ men, and their origin, how men
came to learn them. This is the source whence men learnt them. Their
knowledge is not from modern times. Papa, Rangi, Tiki were the first to
give rules to men for work of all kinds, for killing, for man-eating,
for _karakia_. In former days the knowledge of the _Maori_ was great, in
all matters, from this teaching, and so men learnt how to set rules for
this thing and for that thing. Hence came the ceremony of _Pure_ for the
dead, the _karakia_ for the new-born infant, for grown men, for battle,
for storming a _Pa_, for eels, for birds, for _makutu_, and a multitude
of other _karakia_. Tiki was the source from which they came down to the
_tupua_, the _pukenga_, the _wananga_, and the _tauira_. The men of
antient days are a source of invocation for the _tauira_. Hence the
_karakia_ had its power, and came down from one generation to another
ever having power. Formerly their _karakia_ gave men power. From the
time when the _Rongo-pai_ (=Gospel) arrived here, and men were no longer
_tapu_, disease commenced. The man of former days was not afflicted by
disease. He died only when bent by age. He died when he came to the
natural end of life.

My writing to you begins with the _karakia_ for a mother when her
breasts give no milk. After a child is born, if the mother’s breasts
have no milk, her husband goes for the _tohunga_. When the _tohunga_
arrives the mother and child are carried to the water-side, and the
_tohunga_ dipping a handful of weed in the water, sprinkles it on the
mother. The child is taken away from the mother by the _tohunga_, who
then repeats this _karakia_:—

Water-springs from above give me,
To pour on the breast of this woman.
Dew of Heaven give me,
To cause to trickle the breast of this woman;
At the points of the breast of this woman;
Breasts flowing with milk,
Flowing to the points of the breast of this woman,
Milk in plenty yielding.
For now the infant cries and moans,
In the great night, in the long night.
Tu the benefactor,
Tu the giver,
Tu the bountiful,
Come to me, to this _tauira_.

After this the child is dipped in the water, and the mother and child
are kept apart. One whole night they are kept apart, in order that the
_karakia_ may take effect. The mother remains alone in her house, while
the _tohunga_ seated outside it repeats his _karakia_. The _tohunga_
also instructs the woman thus—“If the points of your breasts begin to
itch, lay open your clothes, and lie naked.” Some time after her breasts
begin to itch, and the woman knows that the _karakia_ is taking effect.
Afterwards her breasts become painful, and she calls out to the
_tohunga_ “my breasts itch and are painful, they are full of milk.” Then
the child is brought to the mother. See what power the _karakia_ of the
_Maori_ possessed.

This is a word, a thought of mine. There has not been any remarkable
sign of late years, from the time of the arrival of the Rongo-pai
(=Gospel), like the signs seen in this island when men were _tapu_, when
_karakia_ had power. One sign seen in this island was the Ra-kutia (=the
closed sun). At mid-day there was darkness, and the stars were seen.
After two hours perhaps of darkness, daylight returned. Our fathers saw
this sign: but there are now no signs like those of former days.

CEREMONY OF TUA.

When a male child is born to a Chief, all his tribe rejoice. The mother
is separated from the inhabitants of the settlement, to prevent her
coming in contact with persons engaged in cultivating the _kumara_, lest
anything belonging to the mother should be accidentally touched by them,
lest the _kumara_ should be affected by her state of _tapu_; for the
sacredness of any _rehu-wahine_ is greatly feared.

When the child is about a month old, and strives with its hands to reach
its mother’s breast, the ceremony of _Tūa_ takes place. Two fires are
kindled; one fire for the _Ariki_, one fire for the _Atua_. The food to
be cooked on the fire is fern-root. Then the _tohunga_ takes the child
in his arms, and repeats this _karakia_:—

Breathe quick thy lung,
A healthy lung.
Breathe strong thy lung,
A firm lung,
A brave lung.
Severing²⁸ for your bravery,
* * tilling food,
Severing for wielding the weapon,
* * warding off,
* * seizing the first man,
* * storming the _Pa_.
&c. &c.
&c. &c.
The boy infant is stept²⁹ over,
* * * * climbed²⁹ over,
* * * * lifted in the arms,
The boy infant is free from _tapu_,
He runs freely where food is cooked.
Cause this _karakia_ to flow gently,
To the _Pukenga_,
To the _Wananga_,
To the _Tauira_.

²⁸ The severing of umbilical cord is here referred to.

²⁹ The female _Ariki_ at these words steps over the child, and then
takes it in her arms.

When this _karakia_ ends the ceremony of _Poipoi_ (=waving) follows. The
_tohunga_ takes up the fern-root cooked for the _Atua_, and waving it
over the child repeats these words:—“This is for the _Tipua_, for the
_Pukenga_, for the _Wananga_. Eat it. It is the food cooked for you to
eat.” The cooked fern-root is then deposited on the sacred place.
Afterwards the child is taken in the arms of the female _Ariki_, who
waves over it the fern-root cooked on her fire, and touches with it
different parts of the child’s body. The _Ariki_ is said then to eat
this fern-root, but does not do so in fact. She only spits on it, and
throws it on the sacred place.

If there are several female _Ariki_ of the same family of whom one is
absent, a figure is made with weeds to represent her. Then part of the
fern-root is offered to the figure and is stuck in it. All these
ceremonies take place on sacred ground. The part of the ceremony—that of
touching the body of the child with the food to be eat by the _Ariki_—is
named _kai-katoa_. After this the child is free from _tapu_, so that
persons of the family may take it in their arms.

No further ceremony takes place till the child arrives at youth, when
his hair is cut, and the young person is released from _tapu_. The hair
must be cut in the morning in order to insure a strict observance of
_tapu_; for it is not only the _tohunga_ who must be _tapu_ on this
occasion, but also the whole tribe. This _tapu_ commences in the
morning, and no one must eat food while it lasts. Should any one eat
during that time it will be discovered; for if the skin of the child’s
head be cut while cutting the hair, it is known at once that some one
has eat food. This is a sure sign. After the hair is cut the ceremony of
_Poipoi_ is again observed, and the _tohunga_ then raising up his hands
repeats this _karakia_, and the young person is free—

These hands of mine are raised up,
And this sacredness here.
Tu-i-whiwhia, Tu-i-rawea,
Your freedom from _tapu_
Make sure the obtaining.
Make sure the freedom.
Make it sure to Papa.
Give me my _tu_:
Lift up the sacredness:
Lift it up: it prevails.
My hands here are raised³⁰ up,
To Tiki there these hands of mine,
To Hine-nui-te-po these hands of mine,
These now free from _tapu_.
Freedom. They are free.

³⁰ As to the custom of raising aloft the hands while praying to the
Gods, compare Hom: Il. Lib. 3 273, and other numerous examples.

CEREMONIES FOR THE DEAD.

When a man dies his body is placed in a sitting posture, and is bound to
a stake to keep it in a good position. It is seated with its face
towards the sun as it rises from its cave. Then every one comes near to
lament. The women in front, the men behind them. Their clothes are
girded about their loins. In their hands they hold green leaves and
boughs, then the song called _keka_ commences thus:—

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
_Tohunga_ chants It is not a man,
All „ { It is Rangi now consigned to earth,
{ Alas! my friend.
_Tohunga_ „ My evil omen,
All „ { The lightning glancing on the mountain
peak
{ Te Waharoa doomed to death.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

After the _keka_, the _uhunga_ or lament commences. The clothes in which
the corpse should be dressed are the _kahuwaero_, the _huru_, the
_topuni_, and the _tatata_. The lament ended, presents are spread to
view, greenstone ornaments, and other offerings for the dead chief. A
carved chest, ornamented with feathers, is also made, and a carved
canoe, a small one resembling a large canoe, which is painted with
_kokowai_ (=red-ochre); also a stick bent at the top is set up by the
way-side, in order that persons passing by may see it, and know that a
chief has died. This is called a _hara_. The carved chest is called a
_whare-rangi_. The corpse only is buried, the clothes are placed in the
carved chest which is preserved by the family and descendants as a
sacred relic.

On the morning following the burial, some men go to kill a small bird of
the swamps called _kokata_, and to pluck up some reeds of _wiwi_. They
return and come near the grave. The _tohunga_ then asks “Whence come
you?” The men reply, “From the seeking, from the searching.” The
_tohunga_ again asks “Ah! what have you got? ah! what have you gained?”
Thereon the men throw on the ground the _kotata_ and the _wiwi_. Then
the _tohunga_ selects a stalk of _toetoe_ or _rarauhe_, and places it
near the grave in a direction pointing towards Hawaiki to be a pathway
for the spirit, that it may go in the straight path to those who died
before him. This is named a _Tiri_, and is also placed near where he
died, in order that his spirit may return as an _Atua_ for his living
relations. The person to whom this _Atua_ appears is called the
_kaupapa_ or _waka-atua_. Whenever the spirit appears to the _kaupapa_
the men of the family assemble to hear its words. Hear the _karakia_ of
the _kaupapa_ to prevail on the spirit to climb the path of the _Tiri_.

This is your path, the path of Tawaki;
By it he climbed up to Rangi,
By it he mounted to your many,
To your Thousands;
By it you approached,
By it you clung,
By it your spirit arrived safely
To your ancestors.
I now am here sighing,
Lamenting for your departed spirit.
Come, come to me in form of a moth,
Come to me your _kaupapa_,
Whom you loved,
For whom you lamented.
Here is the _Tiri_ for you,
The _Tiri_ of your ancestors,
The _Tiri_ of your _Pukenga_,
Of your _Wananga_,
Of me this _Tauira_.

THE REINGA OR HADES.

When the spirit leaves the body it goes on its way northward, till it
arrives at two hills. The first of these hills is a place on which to
lament with wailings and cuttings. There also the spirit strips off its
clothes.³¹ The name of this hill is Wai-hokimai. The name of the other
hill is Wai-otioti: there the spirit turns its back on the land of life,
and goes on to the Rerenga-wairua (Spirit’s-leap). There are two long
straight roots, the lower extremities of which are concealed in the sea,
while the upper ends cling to a _pohutukawa_ tree. The spirit stands by
the upper end of these roots, awaiting an opening in the sea weed
floating on the water. The moment an opening is seen, it flies down to
the Reinga. Reaching the Reinga, there is a river and a sandy beach. The
spirit crosses the river. The name of the new comer is shouted out. He
is welcomed, and food is set before him. If he eats the food he can
never return to life.³²

³¹ Spirits on their way to the N. Cape are said to be clothed in the
leaves of the _wharangi_, _makuku_, and _oropito_.

³² Vid. similar account. “Traditions and Superstitions of the New
Zealanders,” p. 150, et seq.

TALE OF TE ATARAHI.

There was a man named Te Atarahi, who remained five nights and five days
in the Reinga, and then returned to life. On the fifth day after this
man died, two women went out to cut flax leaves. While so employed they
observed the flower stalks of the flax springing up every now and then,
at a little distance from them. Then one of the women remarked to her
companion—“There is some one sucking the juice of the _korari_ flowers.”
By degrees this person came nearer, and was seen by the woman, who said
“the man is like Te Atarahi, why, it surely is Te Atarahi.” Her
companion replied—“It cannot be Te Atarahi, he is dead.” Then they both
looked carefully, and saw that the skin of the man was wrinkled and
hanging loose about his back and shoulders, and that the hair of his
head was all gone.

So the women returned to the _Pa_, and told how they had seen Te
Atarahi. “Are you quite sure it was Te Atarahi?” said the men of the
_Pa_. And the women answered, “His appearance was like Te Atarahi, but
the hair of his head was all gone, and his skin hung loose in folds
about his back.” Then one was sent to look at the grave where Te Atarahi
had been buried. He found the grave undisturbed, so he returned and said
“Sirs, the body is well buried, it has not been disturbed.” Then the men
went, and examined the place carefully on every side, and found an
opening on one side, a little way off. Then they went to the place where
Te Atarahi had been seen by the women, and there found the man seated on
a _ti_ tree. They at once knew him to be Te Atarahi; so they sent for
the _tohunga_. The _tohunga_, came and repeated a _karakia_, after
which, the man was removed to the sacred place, and the _tohunga_
remained with him constantly repeating _karakia_, while the people of
the _Pa_ stood without looking on. There the man remained many days,
food being brought for him. Time passed, and he began to have again the
appearance of a _Maori_ man. At length he recovered and got quite well.
Then he told how he had been in the Reigna, how his relations came about
him, and bid him not to touch the food, and sent him back to the land of
Light. He spoke also of the excellence of the state in which the people
of the Reigna dwelt, of their food, of their choice delicacy the
_ngaro_, of the numbers of their _Pa_, and the multitude of the dwellers
there, all which agreed with what the _Atua_ have said, when they visit
men on earth.

NGA PATUPAIAREHE OR FAIRIES.

One day while Ruarangi was absent from his house a Patupaiarehe or Fairy
came to it, and finding only the wife of Ruarangi within, carried her
off to the hills. When the husband returned home his wife could not be
found. He, however, traced footsteps to the hills where the Fairies
dwelt, but saw nothing of his wife. Then he felt sure she had been
carried off by the Fairies, and returned sorrowing and thinking of some
plan to recover her. At length, having thought of a plan, he summoned
the _tohunga_ of the tribe—those skilled in bringing back love—those
skilled in _makutu_—in short all the _tohunga_. When these all assembled
before him, he said to them “The cause of my calling you is this. My
wife has disappeared.” The _tohunga_ replied “When it is night, all of
you leave your houses.” So when night came every one came forth from his
house as the _tohunga_ had ordered. Then the _tohunga_ skilled in
restoring love stood up, and after some while discovered that the lost
woman was with the Fairies. So he commenced a _karakia_ to make her love
for her _Maori_ husband return.

What wind is this blowing softly to your skin:
Will you not incline towards your companion,
To whom you clung when sleeping together,
Whom you clasped in your arms,
Who shared your griefs.
When the wind bears to you this my love,
Incline hither thy love,
Sighing for the couch where both slept.
Let your love burst forth,
As the water-spring from its source.

When the _tohunga_ had ended this _karakia_ he said to the husband “Go,
fetch your wife. When she meets you, be quick to rub her all over with
_kokowai_ (red-ochre).” So the man went, and when night came he lay down
to sleep by the way side. While he slept he saw his wife coming to meet
him. With this he awoke knowing well that the _tohunga_ had spoken
truly. At day-light he went on his way, and after some time came in
sight of the _Pa_ of the Fairies. No one was within the _Pa_. All had
gone forth to look at the _Maori_ woman. Now a great desire towards her
_Maori_ husband had come to the woman borne to her by the _karakia_ of
the _tohunga_, so the woman said to her Fairy husband “Let me go and
visit my new brothers-in-law.” This she said deceitfully; for when her
Fairy husband consented, she went straight away to meet her _Maori_
husband, who, as soon as she came near, rubbed her all over with
_kokowai_, and hastened home with her.

Meanwhile the Fairy husband awaited her return. He waited a long while,
and at last went to look for her: at length he discovered footsteps of a
man and woman, then he knew she had gone off with her husband. So the
war-party of the Fairies assembled, and went to attack the _Maori Pa_.
But they found the posts of the _Pa_ daubed over with _kokowai_, and the
leaves used in the ovens for cooking, thrown on the roofs of the houses:
the _Pa_ too was full of the steam of cooked food. As for the woman, she
was placed for concealment in an oven. So the Fairies feared to come
near; for how could they enter the _Pa_ in their dread of the _kokowai_,
and the steam of the ovens which filled the court-yard. So great is
their dread of cooked food.

Then the _tohunga Maori_ all standing up sung a _karakia_ to put to
sleep the Fairies.

Thrust aside, thrust afar,
Thrust aside your sacredness,
Thrust aside your _tohunga_:
Let me, let me mark³³ you,
Let me mark your brow,
Give me thereupon your sacredness,
You _mana_, your _tohunga_,
Your _karakia_ give me,
To place beside the oven-stones,
To place beside the cinders,
To place beside the _kokowai_.
Now these rest on your head,
On your sacred places,
On your female _Ariki_.
Your sacredness is undone.

³³ With _kokowai_, or red-ochre.

By the time this _karakia_ came to an end, all the Fairies were seated
on the ground. Their chief then stood up, and sung thus:—

Alas! for this day
Which now oppresses me.
I stretched out my hand
To the mate of Tirini.
Followed were my footsteps,
And charmed was returning love,
At Pirongia there.
This the dreaded tribe is undone,
Tiki³⁴ and Nukupouri³⁴
And Whanawhana³⁴
And I Rangi-pouri:³⁴
I carried off the woman,
I the first aggressor:
I went to enter the house of Ruarangi,
To stretch out my hand,
To touch the _Maori_ skin.
The boundary is oven-marked,
To prevent its being moved aside,
To guard the wife in safety.

³⁴ Names of the Fairy chiefs.

He thought the power of his _karakia_ would appear; but it could not
conquer the devices of the _Maori tohunga_; for how could it prevail
against the cooked food, and the oven-stoves, and the _kokowai_, and the
many other devices of the _tohunga_. Hence it was seen that the power of
_karakia_ was not possessed by the Fairies. The only power given to them
was to smother men.

CHAPTER V.

THE MAORI CHIEF OF OLDEN TIME.

Θεὸς δ’ ὣς τίετο δήμῳ.—_Homer._

The Chiefs who came from Hawaiki to Aotea-roa in the canoe Arawa were
the following:—Tia, Maka, Oro, Ngatoroirangi, Maru-punganui, Ika, Whaoa,
Hei, and Tama-te-kapua. After their canoe was hauled ashore at Maketu,
these chiefs set out to explore the country, in order to take possession
of land each for himself and his family.

Tia and Maka went to Titiraupenga, at Taupo, and there remained.

Oro went to Taupo, and thence to Wanganui.

Ngatoroirangi went to Taupo, and died at Ruapehu.

Marupunga went to Rotorua, and died there.

Ika went to Wanganui, and died there.

Whaoa went to Paeroa.

Hei went to Whitianga (Mercury Bay). He was buried at O-a-Hei, on the
extremity of the promontory.

Tama-te-kapua went to Moehau (Cape Colville).

Waitaha, son of Hei, and Tapuika, son of Tia, and Tangihia, son of
Ngatoro-i-rangi, remained at Maketu. Tuhoro, and his younger brother,
Kahumata-momoe, sons of Tama-te-kapua, also remained at Maketu. Their
_Pa_ was named Te Koari, and is still a sacred place. Their house was
named Whitingakongako. Kahu had a cultivation named Parawai, which his
mother gave him.

While he was at work one day in his garden, Tuhoro struck him, and they
strove together. The elder brother fell, and being beneath his younger
brother was held down by him on the ground. Then their children and the
whole tribe cried out, “Let your elder brother rise up.” So he let him
go; but their quarrel continued with angry words. “Some day I will be
the death of you,” said Kahu, “and no one shall save you.” Tuhoro,
enraged, again struck Kahu; but he was thrown to the ground a second
time by Kahu. Then Tuhoro seized hold of Kahu’s ear, and tore from it a
green-stone; the name of this stone was _kaukaumatua_. Tuhoro kept it,
and some time afterwards buried it in the ground, at the foot of the
post by the window of their father’s house.

After this Tuhoro resolved to follow his father, Tama-te-kapua. So he
went, he and all his children. He left none behind. He went to Moehau,
and there he and his father both died.

When Tama-te-kapua was on the point of dying, he said to his son,
Tuhoro, “You must remain sacred for three years, and dwell apart from
the tribe. Let there be three gardens by the sides of your house, set
apart as sacred, in which you are to cultivate food for the _Atua_. On
the fourth year awaken me from sleep; for my hands will be ever
gathering up the earth, and my mouth will be ever eating worms, and
grubs, and excrement, the only food below in the _Reinga_ (abode of
spirits). When my _tuuta_³⁵ drops down, and my head falls down on my
body, and my hands drop down, and the fourth year arrives, turn my face
to the light of day, and disinter my _papa-toiake_.³⁶ When I arise you
will be _noa_ (free from _tapu_.)

³⁵ Point of junction of the spine and skull.

³⁶ Lower extremity of the spine.

If clubs threaten to strike,
You will see to it—Yes, yes.
If a war party is abroad,
You shall strike—Yes, yes.”

Having thus said, Tama-te-kapua died, and was buried by his son on the
summit of Moehau.

The three years enjoined by Tama were not ended, when Tuhoro commenced
cultivating food as formerly; so the sacred remains of his father turned
against him, and he died.

A short time before his death, his sons, Taramainuku, Warenga, and
Huarere, assembled in his presence. Whereupon Tuhoro said, “Your younger
brother must bury me.” So the younger son was called. Ihenga came and
sat beside his father in his sacred house, who thus instructed him:
“When I am dead, carry me out of the house, and lay me out naked to be
your _Ika-hurihuri_³⁷ (twisting fish). First bite with your teeth my
forehead, next bite with your teeth my _tahito_³⁸ (perineum). Then carry
me to the grave of your grandfather. When I am buried, go to Maketu.”

“Why must I go to Maketu?”

“That your uncle may perform the ceremonies to remove your sacredness.”

³⁷ Omens were gathered from the movement of the dead body. The word
fish or canoe is often used symbolically for a man.

³⁸ The perineum and head are considered the most sacred parts of the
human body.

“But how shall I know him?”

Then the father said, “He will not be unknown to you.”

“Ho! some one will kill me on the way.”

“Not so. You will go in safety along the sea-shore.”

“But I shall never find him.”

“You cannot mistake him. Look at his right ear for a part hanging down.
He is a big, short man, with a sleepy eye. When you approach your uncle,
in order that he may know you, go at once and seat yourself on his
pillow. When you are both freed from sacredness, search for the ear-drop
of your uncle under the window-post.”

“But how shall I find it?”

“You will find it. Dig for it. It is buried there wrapt in a piece of
cloth with _manuka_ bark outside it.”

So, when the father died, his naked body was brought out of the house,
and laid on the ground. The younger son bit with his teeth the forehead,
and then bit with his teeth the _tahito_ of his father, saying at the
same time, “Teach me when I sleep.”

The reason why he bit the forehead and the _tahito_ was that the _mana_,
or sacred power of his father, might inspire him, so that he might
become his _tauira_, _i.e._, the living representative of his _mana_ and
_karakia_. Then the young man thus addressed the corpse: “If an enemy
attack us hereafter, show me whether death or safety will be ours. If
this land be abandoned, you and your father will be abandoned, and your
offspring will perish.”

Then the corpse moved, and inclined towards the right side. Afterwards
it inclined towards the left side. A second time it inclined to the
right, and afterwards to the left side. After that the moving of the
body ceased. Therefore it was seen that it was an ill-omen, and that the
land would be deserted.

After this laying out of the corpse, its legs were bent, so that the
knees touched the neck, and then it was bound in this position with a
plaited girdle. Afterwards two cloaks, made of _kahakaha_, were wrapt
around the corpse, over which were placed two cloaks such as old men
wear, and then a dog-skin cloak. Feathers of the albatross, the _huia_,
and the _kotuku_ (white crane), were stuck in the hair of the head, and
the down breasts of the albatross were fastened to the ears. Then
commenced the _tangi_ (dirge, or lament). Then the last farewell words
were spoken, and the chiefs made speeches. The lament of Rikiriki, and
the lament of Raukatauri for Tuhuruhuru was chanted; and the corpse was
buried on the ridge of Moehau.

Now, when the young man slept, the spirit of his father said to him,
“When you are hungry, do not allow your mouth to ask for food; but
strike with a stick the food-basket. If you are thirsty, strike the
gourd.” Every night the spirit of the father taught the young man his
_karakia_, till he had learnt them all; after which he said to his son,
“Now we two will go, and also some one to carry food.”

So they went both of them, the father’s spirit leading the way. Starting
from Moehau they passed by Heretaonga, Whangapoua, Tairua, Whangamata,
Katikati, and Matakana. There they rested. After that they went on to
Rangiwaea, where Ihenga embarked in a small sacred canoe, while his
travelling companion went on board a large canoe. Then they crossed over
to Waikoriri. Here Waitara wished to detain him, but he would not stay.
He went straight onwards to Wairakei, and the Houhou. He met a man, and
enquired where Kahu dwelt. The man said, “At the great house you see
yonder.” So Ihenga went on, and having reached the place where the Arawa
was hauled ashore, he looked about him, and then went on to the sacred
place, the Koari, and there left his father’s _ueta_³⁹. He then ascended
the cliff to the Teko, and climbing over Kahu’s doorway, went straight
on to the sacred part of the courtyard, and seated himself on Kahu’s
pillow.

³⁹ The _ueta_ is a whisp of weeds or grass used to wipe the anus of
the corpse. It is afterwards bound to a stick, and is carried as a
talisman.

Meanwhile Kahu was on the beach, where guests were usually entertained,
busied about sending off a canoe with food for the _Atua_ at Hawaiki,
and for Houmaitahiti, food both cooked and uncooked. This canoe was made
of _raupo_ (a species of bulrush). There was no one in the canoe, only
stones to represent men. There Kahu was busied sending off his canoe,
when his wife, Kuiwai, shouted to him, “Kahu, Kahu, there is a man on
your resting place.” Then Kahu cried out, “Take him; shove him down
here.” The woman replied, “Who will dare to approach your pillow; the
man is _tapu_.” Then Kahu shouted, “Is he seated on my pillow?” “Yes.”
“I am mad with anger,” said Kahu; “his head shall pay for it.”

Ihenga was dressed in two dog-skin cloaks, under which were two
_kahakaha_ cloaks. As Kahu went up towards the _Pa_ he asked, “Which way
did the man come.” The woman replied, “He climbed over your gate.”

By this time Kahu had reached the fence, and caught sight of the young
man.

He no sooner saw him than he recognised his likeness to his brother,
Tuhoro, and straightway welcomed him—“Oh! It is my nephew. Welcome, my
child, welcome.” He then began lamenting, and murmuring words of
affection over him; so the tribe knew that it was the young son of
Tuhoro.

After the lament, Kahu made inquiry for his brother, and the young man
said, “My father is dead. I buried him. I have come to you to perform
the ceremonies of the _pure_ and the _horohoro_, to remove my
sacredness.” Immediately Kahu shouted to the tribe, “The _marae_
(courtyard) is _tapu_,” and led the young man to the sacred house of the
priests. He then ordered food to be prepared—a dog of the breed of
Irawaru—and while it was being cooked, went with the young man to dip
themselves in the river. His companion, a son of his brother, Warenga,
remained with the rest of the tribe. When they had dipped in the river,
Kahu commenced cutting the young man’s hair, which is a part of the
ceremony of _Pure_. In the evening, the hair being cut, the _mauri_,⁴⁰
or sacredness of the hair, was fastened to a stone.

⁴⁰ The hair of the head, in this ceremony, was made fast to a stone,
and the sacredness of the hair was supposed to be transferred to
this stone, which represented some ancestor. The stone and hair
were then carried to the sacred place belonging to the _Pa_.

Then Kahu went with Ihenga to the Koari, where the _ueta_ of the corpse
had been left, and there chanted a _karakia_. They then rested for the
night.

The next morning the ceremony of the _Pure_ was finished, and the
following _karakia_ was chanted by Kahu:—

Complete the rite of Pure,
By which you will be free from
The evil influence of Po,
The bewitching power of Po.
Free the canoe from sacredness, O Rangi;
The canoe of stumbling unawares, O Rangi;
The canoe of death unawares, O Rangi.
Darkness for the Tipua, darkness.
Darkness for the Antient-one, darkness.
Some light above,
Some light below.
Light for the Tipua, light.
Light for the Antient-one, light.
The _uwha_⁴¹ is held aloft.
A squeeze, a squeeze.
Protection from Tu.

⁴¹ _Uwha_, the bivalve shell used for cutting the hair.

After this they went to partake of food; and the oven of the
_kohukohu_⁴² was opened. While the oven was being uncovered by
Hine-te-kakara (the fragrant damsel), she took care to turn aside her
face, lest the savour of the _kumara_ and the steam of the sacred oven
should come near her mouth, lest evil should come to her. She did not
even swallow her spittle, but constantly kept spitting it forth.

⁴² _Kohukohu_, the plant chick-weed, in the leaves of which the
sacred _kumara_ was wrapped.

When the food was set before Kahu and Ihenga, Ihenga took up some of the
_kohukohu_ in which were wrapt two _kumara_, and held it in his hand,
while Kahu chanted the following _karakia_:—

Rangi, great Rangi,
Long Rangi, dark Rangi,
Darkling Rangi, white-star Rangi,
Rangi shrouded in night.
Tane the first, Tane the second,
Tane the third, &c.
(Repeated to Tane the tenth).
Tiki, Tiki of the mound of earth,
Tiki gathered in the hands,
To form hands and legs,
And the fashion of a man,
Whence came living men.
Toi,
Rauru,
Whetima,
Whetango,
Te Atua-hae,
Toi-te-huatahi,
Tuamatua,
Houmaitahiti,
Ngatoroirangi,
And your first born male
Now living in the light of day.

While Kahu chanted thus, the _kohukohu_ was held in the hand of Ihenga.
Kahu then proceeded with the direct male line—

Tangihia,
Tangimoana,
Tumakoka,
Tukahukura,
Tuhoto,
Tarawhai.

There ended the recitation of Kahu, and he went on to his own proper
line—

Houmaitahiti,
Tama,
Tuhoro,
And to your offspring born to life,
And to the light of day.
This is your _kohukohu_ of the _horohoronga_,
To make light the weight of _tapu_.
He is free, he is released from _tapu_.
He goes safely where food is cooked,
To the evil mighty spirits of Night,
To the kind mighty spirits of Night,
To the evil mighty spirits of Light,
To the kind mighty spirits of Light.

Then the _kohukohu_ was offered as food to the stone images, and was
divided for Houmaitahiti, for Ngatoroirangi, for Tama-te-kapua, and for
Tuhoro, and was pressed into their mouths⁴³. This being done Ihenga took
up another _kohukohu_, and held it in his hand raising it aloft, while
Kahu chanted the following _karakia_:—

⁴³ Hence the term _horohoronga_ (=swallowing) given to the ceremony.
It is to be remarked that the distinguishing name given to various
ceremonies was taken from some striking circumstances connected
with it,—thus, a sacred oven is named _kohukohu_ from the leaves
of the plant in which the _kumara_ was wrapt: &c.

For Hine-nui-te-po,
For Whati-uri-mata-kaka,
For the evil old women of Night,
For the kind old women of Night,
For the evil old women of Day,
For the kind old women of Day,
For Kearoa,
Whose offspring is born to life,
And to the bright light of day,
This _kohukohu_ is offered for you,
The _kohukoku_ of the _Ruahine_.
He is free, he is no longer _tapu_.

The female _Atua_ were then fed with the _kohukohu_ as in the former
case. Then part of the _kohukohu_ was offered for the mother,
Whaka-oti-rangi.⁴⁴

⁴⁴ Kearoa and Whaka-oti-rangi being both sacred female
ancestors—wives of Ngatoro and Tama, represented the _Ruahine_,
the swallowing of this food by whom was requisite in removing the
_tapu_. The _tapu_, or sacredness of Kahu, was supposed to be
transferred to the _kohukohu_, and when this was eat by the
ancestral spirits, the _tapu_ was deposited with them.

Turn away Night,
Come Day.
This is the _kohukohu_ of freedom,
And deliverance from _tapu_.

This done, Ihenga took up another _kohukohu_, and held it aloft in his
hand, while Kahu chanted thus:—

Close up Night, close up Day,
Close up Night as the soft south wind.
The _tapu_ of the food
And the _mana_ of the food,
The food with which you are fed,
The food of Kutikuti,
The food of Pekapeka,
The food of Haua-te-rangi.
I eat, Uenuku eats.
I eat, Kahukura eats.
I eat, Rongomai eats.
I eat, Ihungaro eats.
I eat, Itupaoa eats.
I eat, Hangaroa eats.
I eat, Ngatoro-irangi eats.
I eat, Tama eats.

This ended, Kahu proceeded thus:

If I fall from the precipice,
Let me not be harmed.
If I fall on the _taramoa_,
Let me not be scratched.
If I eat of the _maihi_⁴⁵ of _tohunga’s_ house,
Let me not be harmed.
Be thou undermost,
While I am uppermost.
Give me your _mana_ to strike down.
Close tight your spirit-devouring teeth.
Close tight your man-devouring teeth.

⁴⁵ _Maihi_ are the two boards placed at an angle at front gable of a
house. If the wood of a sacred house were to be accidentally used
as firewood for cooking purposes, anyone who ate the food thus
cooked would be guilty of a crime, to be punished by the _Atua_
with disease or death.

Then Kahu spat on the _kohukohu_, breathed on it, and offered it to
Tama, that is to say, to the image of Tama-te-kapua. Kahu and Ihenga
then ate the food cooked for them in the sacred oven. Ihenga ate with a
fork, while at the same time he fed Kahu with his left hand.

The same ceremonies were observed at the evening meal.

Eight days after the ceremony of _Pure_, the heart of Ihenga conceived a
desire. He was taken with the fair face of Hinetekakara; so he asked
Kahu, “When shall we two be free from _tapu_?” Kahu replied “We two will
not soon be free.” “Oh! be quick,” said Ihenga, “that I may return to my
elder brothers, to my mother, and to my sisters.” Kahu said, “You will
not be dismissed soon—not until the _tapu_ is completely removed from
you.” “How many nights, then, after this?”

Kahu answered, “Twenty nights.”

“Ho! what a very long time,” said Ihenga, “for our _tapu_.”

The remonstrance of the young man here ended; but not long afterwards he
persisted in the same manner. Thereupon Kahu began to consider—“Ha! what
is it my nephew persists about?” So he asked, “Why are you in so great a
hurry to be free from _tapu_?” Then the young man spoke out, “Whose
daughter is the maiden who cooks our food?”

“Mine,” replied Kahu.

“My fear,” said Ihenga, “lest some one may have her.”

“I thought there must be something.”

“Do not let some other man have her.”

“Your cousin shall be your wife,” said Kahu, calling the damsel: “Come
here, girl, near the door.”

The girl came laughing, for she knew she was to be given to Ihenga.

Then said Kahu: “Your cousin has a longing for you.”

“It is well,” replied the damsel.

“Oh! my children,” murmured Kahu. He then cautioned his daughter not to
enter the house where young people resort for amusement.

“I never go to the play-house,” replied Hinetekakara, “I always sleep
with my mother in our own house.”

“You do well,” said Kahu; “in twenty days we shall both be free from our
_tapu_.”

So they both continued to dwell in their sacred house by themselves, and
the damsel always cooked food for them; and when the day fixed by Kahu
came he sent Ihenga in a canoe to catch fish to complete the ceremony of
removing the _tapu_. The fish were caught, and two ovens were prepared
to cook them—a sacred oven for the _tohunga_, or seers skilled in sacred
lore—and a free oven for the _tauira_, or those being instructed in
sacred lore. And when the food was cooked they assembled to eat it: the
_tohunga_ on the right hand fed each other by hand, and the _tauira_ on
the left ate freely their unsacred food. This was done to lighten the
weight of the _tapu_, in order that they might be free. When all this
was done, and they were no longer _tapu_, Hinetekakara became the wife
of Ihenga.

The following morning Ihenga searched for the greenstone _kaukaumatua_,
and found it in the place where Tuhoro had buried it. He then fastened
it to the ear of Hinetekakara, bidding her go and show the treasure to
her father. When Kahu beheld his lost treasure hanging from his
daughter’s ear he gave utterance to his feelings with tears and words of
affection for his dead brother, and when the _tangi_ or lament was
ended, bid her keep the treasure for herself, and for her cousin.

Some time afterwards Hinetekakara conceived, and Ihenga went to catch
_kiwi_ for her _turakanga_.⁴⁶ He took with him his dog Potakatahiti, one
of the same breed as the dog of the same name which was devoured by Toi
and Uenuku.⁴⁷ Crossing the swamp Kawa, he went to Papanui, and arriving
at the cross-road at Waipumuka ascended the hill Paretawa. Thence he
went on to Hakomiti, and Pukerangiora, and began to hunt _kiwi_. The dog
feeling the heat, and becoming thirsty, went off in search of water, at
the same time hunting _kiwi_. When he caught a _kiwi_ he left it on the
ground. At last a _kiwi_ ran a long way, and tried to escape by running
into a lake where the dog caught it. The dog then began to catch in its
mouth the small fish called _inanga_; and having filled its belly
returned by the way it had come, always picking up the _kiwi_, which it
had left on the ground, and carrying them in his mouth, till he reached
his master, laid them on the ground before him. Seeing the dog dripping
with water, Ihenga said to his companions, “Ho! the dog has found water.
There is a lake below, perhaps.” However they did not then go to look
for it, for they were busied about cooking food. Meanwhile the dog began
to roll on the ground in front of Ihenga, belly upwards. It then lay
down, but not long after began to vomit, and the _inanga_ were seen
lying on the ground. Then they went to look for the water, and the dog
ran before them barking every now and then to let his master know which
way he was going. In this way they soon came to the lake. Shoals of
_inanga_ were leaping on the water; so they made a net with branches of
fern, and having caught a great many, cooked some for food; after which
they returned to Maketu, carrying with them basketsful of _inanga_ to
show to Kahu, that he might know how the lake abounded with food. Ihenga
named the lake Te Roto-iti-kite-a-Ihenga (=the small lake discovered by
Ihenga), thus claiming it as a possession for his children.

⁴⁶ _Turakanga_ (=throwing down) was a ceremony in which a stick set
up to represent the path of death was thrown down. A form of
_karakia_ was, at the same time, used.

⁴⁷ Vid. Sir G. Grey’s “Mythology and Traditions,” p. 63.

When they reached Maketu Ihenga told Kahu about the lake he had
discovered.

“Where is it?” inquired Kahu.

“Beyond the hills.”

“Is it a long way off?”

“Yes,” said Ihenga.

“Beyond the first range of hills?” inquired Kahu.

“At the sixth range of hills,” said Ihenga.

“Oh! it is near,” said Kahu.

Then Ihenga bid his companions show Kahu the food they had brought.

But Kahu said, “No; leave it alone till to-morrow.”

The next morning the oven was made ready for the ceremony of
_Turakanga_. Hinetekakara dipped in the river, and two mounds of earth
were made—one for a male child, and one for a female child. The path of
death was thrown down, and the path of life set up. Then the woman
trampled on the mound for the male child with one foot, and with the
other foot she trampled on the mound for the female child. Then she ran
and plunged in the river, and when she rose to the surface she swam
ashore, put on her _tawaru_, and returned to her house.

When the food was cooked all the men assembled to eat it—the men of the
race of Houmaitahiti. There were six hundred _kiwi_, and two baskets of
_inanga_. And as he was eating Kahu murmured, “Ho! ho! what prime food
for my grandchild.”

After some time a child was born and was named Tama-ihu-toroa, and when
it grew strong in limb, so that it could turn about from one side to the
other, Kahu said to Ihenga, “Go, seek lands for your child.”

CHAPTER VI.

CLAIMING AND NAMING LAND.

No place in the world ever received a name which could not be
accounted for, though there are hundreds of such names of which
we can now give no explanation.—_Farrar on Language_, p. 22.

Ihenga set out with four companions. He went in a different direction to
that of his former journey. He now went by way of Mataparu, Te Hiapo, Te
Whare-pakau-awe. When on the summit of the ridge he looked back towards
Maketu, and greeted his home there. Then turning round he saw the steam
of the hot springs at Ruahine. Believing it to be smoke from a fire, he
said to his companions, “Ha! that land has been taken possession of by
some one. Let us go on.” They entered the forest, and having passed
through it, came to a waterfall. Afterwards they came to a lake in which
was a large island. Proceeding along the shore of the lake Ihenga gave
names to various places. On arriving at a point of land jutting out into
the lake, which he named Tuara-hiwi-roa, they halted; for they saw a
flock of shags perched on the stumps of some trees in the lake. They
made snares and fastened them to a pole to catch the shags, and placed
the pole on the stumps of the trees. Presently the shags perched on the
pole, and were caught in the snares, some by the legs and some by the
neck. But the shags flew off with the snares, pole and all. The young
men thought they would alight in the lake, but Ihenga said, “No, they
are flying on; they will alight on Te Motu-tapu-a-Tinirau.” Ihenga had
given this name to the island, which was afterwards named Mokoia by
Uenuku-kopako.

Then Ihenga went alone in pursuit of his birds along the borders of the
lake. He passed by Ohinemutu, where he found the hot springs, and the
steam which he had supposed to be the smoke of a fire. When he reached
the hill at Kawaha, looking down he saw the smoke of a fire burning
below at Waiohiro; so he thought with himself, “Shall I go on, or no?”
He decided on the no; for he saw a net hanging near a stage, on which
there was food, so he went to look for the _tuahu_ or sacred place for
the net. When he had found it he forthwith set to work to carry off the
earth, and the posts, and the old decaying _inanga_, in order to make a
_tuahu_ for himself by the face of the cliff at Kawaha. Then he brought
fresh earth and new posts to the _tuahu_ of the man of the place, and
carried away some posts partly burnt by fire. He also stript off the
bark from branches of _koromuka_ and _angiangi_, and fastened them
together with flax, and set them up in the inclosure of the _tuahu_
belonging to the man of the place. When Ihenga had done all this
secretly, he named his own _tuahu_ Te Pera-o-tangaroa, and went on to
the place where the fire was burning.

As soon as he was seen, the people of the place waved their cloaks, and
shouted cries of welcome. And when the ceremony of _uhunga_ was ended,
the chief, whose name was Tu-o-rotorua, inquired when Ihenga had come to
the lake.

“Ho! this is my own land,” said Ihenga.

“Where is your land?” asked Tu.

“Why, this very land,” replied Ihenga. “I ought rather to ask you how
long you have been here?”

“Why, I have been here this long time.”

“No, no! I was here first.”

“No,” said Tu, “I and your uncle were first here.”

Ihenga, however, persisted. “Ho! surely you came last. The land belongs
to me.”

“What sign have you,” said Tu, “to shew that the land is yours?”

“What is your sign?” replied Ihenga.

“A _tuahu_,” said Tu.

“Come on,” said Ihenga, “let me see your _tuahu_. If your _tuahu_ is
older than mine, you truly came first, and the land is yours.”

Tu consented, and led the way to his _tuahu_. When they arrived there,
it had the appearance of having been newly made.

Then said Ihenga, “Now come and look at my _tuahu_, and my _ngakoa_.”⁴⁸
So they went together to the Pera-o-tangaroa, where they found a heap of
decaying and dried old _inanga_ which Ihenga had brought there from the
_tuahu_ of Tu-o-rotorua. So when Tu beheld them, and the old burnt posts
which Ihenga had stolen, he was so puzzled that he was almost persuaded
that Ihenga must have been the first to occupy the land. However, he
said, “let me see your net.”

⁴⁸ _Ngakoa_ were offerings to the _Atua_ of fish and other kinds of
food.

“Come up higher,” said Ihenga, “and I will shew you my net.” And he then
pointed to a mark on a distant cliff, caused by a landslip.

“Why, that is a landslip,” said Tu.

“No,” said Ihenga, “it is a net quite new. Look at that other net which
is hanging up, and looks black; that is the old net.”

Tu thought it must be as Ihenga said, so he agreed to leave the land,
asking at the same time who lived on the island.

“The name of the island,” said Ihenga, “is Motu-tapu-a-Tinirau. I named
it.”

Then said Tu, “Will you not consent to my living there?”

“Yes,” said Ihenga, “you may go to the island.” Thus the main land came
to the possession of Ihenga.

Then Ihenga borrowed a small canoe belonging to Tu, and went on in
search of his flock of shags. He found them hanging in a _kahikatea_
tree near Waikuta. He called the stream by that name because of the
plant _kuta_, which grew abundantly there. He named the land Ra-roa,
because of the length of the day occupied in his canoe. He climbed the
tree and threw down the birds, and placed them in the canoe. Then he
went on and came to a river which he afterwards named Ngongotaha. There
was a hill hard by to which he gave the same name. The hill belonged to
the Patupaiarehe or Fairies. They had a _Pa_ on the hill named
Tuahu-o-te-atua. He heard them playing on the _putorino_,⁴⁹ the
_koauau_,⁴⁹ and the _putara_;⁴⁹ so he thought men must be living there.
He climbed the hill, and when he got near, he heard the sounds of the
_haka_ and _waiata_:—

⁴⁹ Different kinds of wind instruments resembling the flute, only
varying in their length.

A canoe, a canoe,
A canoe of flax, a canoe.
Grow _kawa_,
Blaze _kawa_.
Tie up carefully
With leaf of flax,
Blazing _kawa_.

Whakatauihi made this _haka_. His was also the proverb, “_ko te ure
tonu; ko te raho tonu_.” He it was who avenged the death of
Tuhuruhuru.⁵⁰

⁵⁰ Vide “Traditions and Superstitions,” p. 68.

When Ihenga got nearer he perceived that they were not men, but _Atua_.
There was a fire burning on a tree. So he stopt suddenly to look at
them, while they looked at him. “A _nanakia_,” shouted one of them,
running forward to catch him. But Ihenga fled, and, as he was running,
set fire to the dry fern with a lighted brand he had in his hand. The
whole fern was ablaze, and the tribe of Fairies fled to the forest and
the hills. Then Ihenga went back to look at their _Pa_ which had been
burnt by the fire. There he found the _kauae_ or jaw-bone of a _moa_, so
he named the place Kauae. He then returned to the shore of the lake, and
went on in his canoe. He named the hill Ngongotaha, because of the
flight of the Fairies.

Ihenga paddled along the shores of the lake giving names to many places
as he went—Weriweri, Kopu, Te Awahou, Puhirua—which last he so named
because the bunch of feathers fastened to his _paiaka_ fell off. At
another place the _inanga_ leaped out of the water, and some fell into
his canoe, so he named it Tane-whiti. Another place he named from a
boastful thought in his mind, Tu-pakaria-a-Ihenga (Ihenga’s boasting).
He passed by the river Ohau. He had named this river before, when he
first came to the lake, from the name of his dog. As the dog was
swimming across it was drawn in by a whirlpool, and so was drowned. Next
he came to the land-slip on the mountain which he had made Tu believe to
be a net. He named it Te Tawa, because he left there a pole used for
pushing the canoe, which was made of the wood _tawa_. The pole stuck so
fast in the ground that he could not pull it out, so he left it there.
After passing the point Tuara-hiwi-roa he came in sight of his
companions. The shout resounds, “Oh! it is Ihenga. Come here, come here,
sir—paddle hither.” His wife ran down to the water side as the canoe
touched the beach.

“See what food you have lying there,” said Ihenga. Hine-te-kakara caught
up a bundle of rats, and when she saw their teeth she exclaimed “ē, ē,
_he niho kiore_” (eh! eh! a rat’s tooth). So the place was named Te
Niho-o-te-kiore. Again she made an exclamation of admiration at the heap
of birds, “In truth, in truth, a wonderful heap. Come, sirs, come and
look at it.” So that place was also named “Kahui-kawau,” or Flock of
Shags. Then the birds were cooked, and the next day they all departed to
return to Maketu. They went to fetch Kahu. The food, the shags, the
bundle of rats, the gourd of _inanga_, and the gourd of _porohi_⁵¹—a
tempting bait to make Kahu come.

⁵¹ _Porohi_, a small fish of the lake.

They reached the Hiapo, and rested there the night. Kuiwai and Haungaroa
gave that name, because they left their brother Hiapo there, and he died
there. Hiapo saw the _koko_ hopping about the trees, and remained behind
while his sisters went on to Maketu to carry messages from Hawaiki to
Ngatoroirangi.

The next day they went on, and when they reached Totara-keria they were
seen from the _Pa_ by Tawaki. Then came shouts from the _Pa_, “Come,
heaven-sent guest, brought hither by my child from beyond the sky. Come,
come.” They arrive—the _tangi_ commences—then speeches are made.
Meanwhile food is being prepared. When they had done eating the food,
Tawaki said to Ihenga, “Tell us about your travels. Whence come you,
lost one?”

“I have seen a sea,” said Ihenga, “I found a man there.”

“Who is the man?” asked Tawaki.

“Marupunga-nui, and his son.”

They all knew that the son was Tu-o-rotorua. So Kahu inquired “Where is
your uncle and his father?”

“They remain there,” said Ihenga, “I have made them go to the island.”

“Well done, son-in-law,” said Kahu.

Then the food brought by the men was laid in a pile before Tawaki in the
courtyard of Whitingakongako. And Tawaki said to his sister “Give some
for me and your father.” So she gave the bundle of rats, and the shags,
and the gourd of _inanga_, and the other fish. And Tawaki and his father
sent them to their own dwelling-place.

As he was eating the food Kahu exclaimed “Ha! ha! food sent from the
sky, food of Aotea-roa. Why that land of yours is Hawaiki. Food falling
into your mouth.”

“Yes, yes,” said Ihenga, “first kindle the oven. When it is heated you
fetch the food from that sea in baskets full.”

Then said Kahu “Ah! that land is a land for you, and for your wife, and
for your offspring.”

“Let us all go there,” said Ihenga. To which Kahu consented.

Then Ihenga said, “Let the _mana_ of that land go to you. You are the
_Ariki_ of that land—you and your offspring.”

“Yes,” replied Kahu. “Since you, my _Ariki_, are so great a gentleman as
to bid the younger brother’s son dwell on that land of yours. Yes—I
consent that we all go.”

Then the food brought by Hinetekakara was portioned among the whole
tribe.

Ten days afterwards they left Maketu, twenty in number, ten of the rank
of chiefs, and ten men to carry food. When they reached the small lake,
discovered by Ihenga, he said to Kahu “You are the _Ariki_ of this
lake.” Hence the song of Taipari—

By Hakomiti was your path hither
To Pariparitetai, and to that Rotoiti of yours,
Sea discovered by Ihenga,
Thereof Kahu was _Ariki_.

Thence they went on to Ohou-kaka, so named by Kahu from a parrot-feather
_hou-kaka_, which he took from the hair of his head, and stuck in the
ground to become a _taniwha_ or spirit monster for that place. When they
reached the place where their canoes had been left they launched two, a
small sacred canoe for Kahu, and a large canoe for the others. Then they
embarked, and as they paddled along coming near a certain beach, Kahu
threw off his clothes, and leaped ashore, naked. His two grandsons,
Tama-ihu-toroa and Uenuku, laughed and shouted “Ho! ho! see, there go
Kahu’s legs.” So the place was named Kuwha-rua-o-Kahu. In this way they
proceeded, giving names to places not before named, till they reached
Lake Rotorua. They landed at Tuara-hiwi-roa, and remained there several
nights, and built a _whata_, or food-store raised on posts; so that
place was named Te Whata.

Then going on by way of the Hot Springs, they arrived at Te
Pera-o-tangaroa, and Wai-o-hiro, the stream where Tu-o-rotorua formerly
dwelt. Next they came to Ngongotaha, which Kahu named Parawai, after his
garden at Maketu.

After they had dwelt two whole years at Parawai Kahu determined to visit
his nephew Taramainuku. Taramainuku and Warenga, the elder brothers of
Ihenga, had abandoned the land at Moehau. The former had gone to the
Wairoa at Kaipara, and the latter to the Kawakawa at the Bay of Islands,
and had settled there. So Kahu set out with his son-in-law Ihenga, and
his son Tawaki, and some travelling companions. He left behind at
Parawai his daughter Hine-te-kakara, and her son Tama-ihu-toroa. He also
left Uenuku, the son of Tawaki, and his wife, Waka-oti-rangi, to keep
possession of Parawai as a permanent abode for them.

Arriving at the hills they rested, and Kahu sought a shelter under a
_rata_ tree, which he named Te Whaka-marumaru-o-Kahu (Kahu’s shelter).
Thereupon Ihenga perceiving that Kahu was giving his own name to the
land, pointed to a _matai_ tree; for he saw a root jutting out from the
trunk of the tree resembling a man’s thigh; he therefore named it Te
Ure-o-Tuhoro. He named it after his father’s _ure_ to weigh down the
name of Kahu, his father-in-law, so that the place might go to his own
descendants. And it went to his descendants, and is now in possession of
Ngatitama. As they went on Kahu’s dog caught a _kakapo_, so he named the
place Te Kakapo. A little further on they came to a part of the hill
where a stone projected from the face of the cliff. Then Kahu chanted a
_karakia_ called _Uru-uru-whenua_:—

I come to Matanuku,
I come to Matarangi,
I come to your land,
A stranger.
Feed thou on the heart of the stranger.
Put to sleep mighty spirits,
Put to sleep ancient spirits,
Feed thou on the heart of the stranger.

So he named the place Matanuku, which name remains to this day.

Arriving on the banks of the river Waikato he crossed over and rested
while food was being cooked. The young men were very dilatory, and Kahu
was angry at their laziness; so he named the place Mangare. Afterwards
they came to the river Waipa, crossing which they passed over Pirongia
to Waingaroa, and thence along the sea beach to the mouth of the river
Waikato. Here they fell in with Ohomairangi. He came in Tainui. He was
the brother of Tuikakapa, a wife of Houmaitahiti, and mother of
Tama-te-kapua and Whakaturia.

From Waikato they proceeded along the sea beach to Manuka, so named by
Kahu who set up a _manuka_ post there as a _rahui_ or sacred mark. Here
Kahu’s companions embarked in a canoe, while he prevailed on a _taniwha_
or sea monster of that place, named Paikea, to carry him on his back. At
length they drew near to Kaipara, and falling in with some of the men of
Taramainuku were conveyed by them in their canoes to Pouto, where Tara
was residing on the banks of the river Wairoa.

The _tangi_ resounded, and speeches of welcome followed—“Come here, come
here, my father. Come to visit us, and to look on us. I have deserted
your elder brother and your father” (meaning their bodies left buried at
Moehau).

Then Kahu spoke—“Welcome us, welcome us, my _Ariki_. Behold us here. I
the suffering one come to you. I thought that you, my _Ariki_, would
seek me. But it is well, for I now behold you face to face, and you also
behold me. I and your younger brother will return to our own place, that
I may die on the land which your grandfather⁵² in his farewell words to
me and my elder brother named as a land for you. I was deserted by my
elder brother on account of our strife about the garden. But that land
is not for the younger brother only—no, it is for all of you alike. But
I will not part with your younger brother, and for this reason I gave
him your cousin for wife.”

⁵² Tama-te-kapua.

“It is well,” said Taramainuku; “has not your son, Tawaki, a child?”

“Yes, Uenuku.”

“Then carry home with you his cousin to be his wife.”

To this Kahu consented. So Taramainuku’s daughter, Hine-tu-te-rauniao,
was given to Kahu to return with him to Rotorua. The son of Uenuku and
Hine was Rangitiki.

Then Taramainuku’s wife placed food before the guests, _toheroa_⁵³,
eels, _hinau_⁵⁴, _kumara_, _hue_⁵⁵, and a basket of _para_.⁵⁶

⁵³ _Toheroa_, a species of bivalve.

⁵⁴ _Hinau_, berry of Elœocarpus dentatus.

⁵⁵ _Hue_, a small gourd.

⁵⁶ _Para_, a species of fern having a tuberous root.

When Kahu saw the _para_, he asked, “What food is this?”

“It is _para_,” replied his nephew.

“And where does it grow?” asked Kahu.

“It grows in the woods.”

“Ho!” said Kahu, “this is the food your ancestor ate. It is the _raho_
of your ancestor, Tangaroa. This is the first time I have tasted _para_.
You must call this place Kaipara.”

Kahu returned homewards from Kaipara, but Ihenga stayed with his elder
brother. Kahu returned by way of Waitemata, embarking in a canoe at
Takapunga. He passed by Motu-ihe, and Paritu on the north of Waiheke,
and crossed over to Moehau. There he found Huarere and his family. The
_tangi_ being ended, speeches were made. Meanwhile food was prepared;
and when they had finished eating the food, Huarere said, “Your _papa_
(uncle) has been here.”

“Who?” inquired Kahu.

“Ngatoro-i-rangi.”

“Ho! where is he?”

“He has gone away,” replied Huarere. “He came in search of you. He set
up a stone for a token for you.”

“ē, ē, my _papa_, ē, ē,” murmured Kahu.

Huarere continued: “After the arrival of your _papa_ he went directly to
disinter the bones of Tama and Tuhoro.”

“That is well,” said Kahu.

Having remained three nights Kahu and his companions, with Huarere,
climbed to the summit of the mountain where Tama-te-kapua had been laid
to sleep. Therefore the mountain was named Moe-hau-o-Tama, or Sleeping
Sacredness of Tama. After three nights Kahu went on to the forest, and
set up a _Ri_, or sacred mark, as a warning to prevent anyone from
passing further that way. It remains there to this day. Then descending
to the beach he turned his face towards the mountain, and chanted a
lament to the resting place of his elder brother; so that place was
named Tangi-aro-o-Kahu. He then went to see the stone which Ngatoro had
set up as a token for him. That place is named Te
Kohatu-whakairi-a-Ngatoro, and the stone remains there to this day. Then
he climbed another hill, and placed a stone on its summit. The stone was
named Tokatea. Thence they travelled along the ridge of the hills till
they reached a lofty peak. They ascended it, and remained seated there,
while Kahu looked about on every side. “Ho! ho!” said Kahu, “this is an
island,” and turning to Huarere, “your land, my child.”

They went along the ridge of the hills that they might see the goodness
of the land. The goodness of the land was seen, and Kahu said to his
nephew, “The goodness of the land is this; there are two flood tides.
The east tide flows while the west tide is ebbing.” Then they descended
to the water side, where they saw fish called _aua_,⁵⁷ so they named the
water Wai-aua.

⁵⁷ _Aua_, a fish resembling the herring.

Kahu and Huarere then parted. The descendants of Huarere grew and
multiplied there, and all those lands became filled with them.

Kahu went on his way to Rotorua, and after several days reached the
place where the river Waihou divides into two branches. There he rested,
and when he felt the soft sea-breeze over the rippling tide, words of
affection came from his lips; so the place was named Muri-aroha-o-Kahu
(the regret of Kahu). On they went, and climbing a lofty mountain Kahu
looked towards the sea, and thus gave vent to his affection: “Ah! my
love to Moehau, alas for the land of my father, and of my elder brother,
far away over the sea.” So that mountain was named Aroha-tai-o-Kahu.
Then Kahu turned his face landward, and murmured words of affection
toward the land at Titiraupenga, to Tia and Maka. Hence the name of the
other mountain, Aroha-o-uta-o-Kahu. They then travelled along the
mountain ridge which he named Tau-o-hanga. This name belongs to the
whole mountain ridge from Moehau as far as the Wairoa.

At length they entered the forest which extends towards Rotorua. Rain
fell, and they were drenched with water dripping from the trees. Then
Kahu chanted an invocation to Rangi, and the rain ceased. Kahu named the
place Patere-o-Kahu, from their having been drenched with the rain. At
the birth of the son of Hopo, the child was named Patetere.

At length they passed through the forest, and arrived at Parawai. Their
journey was ended, for they had reached the dwelling place of his
daughter, and of his daughter-in-law, and of the two children, Uenuku
and Tama-ihu-toroa.

The following day Hinetekakara said to Kahu, “Sir, Marupunganui has
crossed over to the main land.”

“Where?” inquired Kahu.

“To the Ngae.”

Then said Kahu, “To-morrow we will go to Motu-tapu.”

So when daylight came they set out, and found Tu-o-rotorua dwelling on
the island; but his father was not there. Tu welcomed Kahu in these
words: “Come my _teina_ to your island to be its _Ariki_.”

“Yes,” replied Kahu, “this sacred island is mine; but do you, my
_Ariki_, continue to dwell on it.”

Thus the island was given up to Tu-o-rotorua. But the _mana_ of the land
was Kahu’s. Hence the song of Taipari before mentioned⁵⁸; for Taipari
sprang from the race of Tama-ihu-toroa. Tama’s son was Tuara, and Tuara
was an ancestor of Taipari.

⁵⁸ P. 75.

As they paddled away from Motu-tapu Kahu bid farewell to
Tu-o-rotorua—“Abide there, my child, you and your father. Alas! that I
have not seen your father.”

“Go, sir, go,” were the parting words of Tu. “Go to guard your ancestor;
go to the Arawa.”

Leaving their canoes at the Toanga they went on towards Maketu. On the
way Kahu’s grandchild became thirsty, and cried for water. Kahu had
compassion for the child, and chanted a _karakia_, and when the
_karakia_ was ended he stamped on the ground, and water came forth.
Hence that place was named Te Wai-takahi-a-kahu (the water of Kahu’s
stamping).

Kahu afterwards remained at Maketu, and died, and was buried there. When
he died the _mana_ of Maketu went to his son Tawaki-moe-tahanga. When
Tawaki died, the _mana-rahi_ of Maketu went to Uenuku, who also died at
Maketu when an old man. Then his son Rangitihi abandoned Maketu, and
went to Rotorua, and settled at Matapara with all his family.

When Kahu left Ihenga at Kaipara at the dwelling place of his elder
brother Taramainuku, he thus bid him farewell—“Sir, be quick to return
to your child, my grandchild, Tama-ihu-toroa. Do not delay.” So Ihenga
remained at Kaipara for a short time. Then travelling northwards he came
to Ripiro. The food of that place was _toheroa_. Kupe placed it there
for food for his daughter, Tai-tu-auru-o-te-marowhara. The great rolling
waves on that coast have been named after her. So says the proverb,
“_Tai-hau-auru i whakaturia e Kupe ki te Maro-whara._” Going on they
arrived at a certain place where Ihenga ate all their _toheroa_
privately in the absence of his companions.

“Who has eat our food?” inquired his companions.

“How should I know?” said Ihenga.

“Why, there was no one but you. You alone remained here.”

So they named the place Kai-hu-a-Ihenga. As they were travelling they
came to a hill. No water could be found, and they were parched with
thirst; so Ihenga repeated a _karakia_, and then stamping on the ground
a spring of water flowed. Down flew pigeons in flocks to drink the
water. So the place was named Waikereru (wood-pigeon water). Afterwards
they came to a swamp and a small river. A tree had fallen across the
stream by means of which they crossed. But the dog Potakatahiti was
killed by the tree rolling on it. Then Ihenga repeated a _karakia_,
saying to the tree—“O tree lying there, raise your head, raise your
head.”⁵⁹ And the tree raised its head. Afterwards when he reached the
higher ground Ihenga saw a tree standing by itself in the centre of the
swamp. It was a _totara_ tree. Then by the power of his _karakia_ he
made a path for his dog that it might go within the tree, and remain
there for ever. And he said to the spirit of the dog, “If I cry ‘_moi,
moi_,’ you must answer ‘au.’ If I cry, ‘_ō, ō_,’ you must answer ‘ō, ō.’
If I say, ‘Come, we two must go on,’ you are to answer, ‘Go, you, I
cannot come.’ If a party of travellers come this way hereafter, and rest
on this hill, when you hear them speaking, you must speak to them. If
the travellers say, ‘Let us go,’ you are to say ‘Go.’ ” So the spirit of
the dog was left to dwell within that tree; and ever since it mocks
living men of the generations after Ihenga, even to our time.

⁵⁹ “_Te rakau e takoto nei, tungou, tungou_” are the _Maori_ words.
_Tungou_=ἀνανεύω—a sign of dissent with the Greeks, but the common
sign of assent with the _Maori_.

At length Ihenga reached Mataewaka at the Kawakawa, where his elder
brother Warenga dwelt. He remained there one month, and when the new
moon appeared he and his brother Warenga went to the lake Te Tiringa to
fish. There _inanga_ were caught, some of which Ihenga preserved in a
gourd filled with water, in order that he might carry them alive to
Rotorua. He also caught some _koura_, or small cray fish, which he
preserved alive in the same manner. This done, the brothers parted.

Ihenga travelled by way of Waiomio, giving names to places as he went.
Te Ruapekapeka was named from the thousands of bats found there in the
hollows of the trees. Also Tapuae-haruru, from the noise made by his
footsteps. The sons of his brother Warenga were his companions. They
made known the names given by Ihenga. Maiao was one of these sons. The
son of Maiao was Te Kapotai, who was an ancestor of Tamati Waka Nene.

The hill Motatau was so called from Ihenga talking to himself. Going on
they came to a river where Ihenga saw his own image in the still water,
so the river was named Te Wai-whakaata-a-Ihenga (Ihenga’s
looking-glass). They came to another river, and dug up some worms to
throw into the water. The fish would not come to the bait. Then Ihenga
threw into the water some of his _inanga_. Then he called the eels, but
they did not come. He called the _inanga_, and they came. He called the
worms, and they came. Then he called on Tangaroa, and Tangaroa sent the
eels. The mode of calling was a _karakia_. Going on he ascended a
mountain. There he called on Thunder. He commenced his _karakia_, and as
soon as it was finished thunder was sent, and lightning struck the top
of the mountain, which is still named Whatitiri, or Thunder.

When they arrived at Whangarei they collected some muscles from a shoal,
and roasted them on the fire, and that place is still called “Te
Ahi-pupu-a-Ihenga” (Ihenga’s muscle fire).

The chief of that place was Tahu-whakatiki, the eldest son of Hei. When
the Arawa reached Wangaparoa Tahu and his younger brother Waitaha
quarrelled. So Tahu and his family remained behind, while Waitaha and
his father went on in the Arawa. Then Ihenga embarked in a canoe
belonging to Te Whanau-a-Tahu. Two of the sons of Tahu—Te Whara and his
younger brother Hikurangi—went with him in the canoe. They touched at
Taranga,⁶⁰ and sailing by Hauturu⁶¹ they reached Moehau.

⁶⁰ The islands Hen and Chickens.

⁶¹ The Little Barrier island.

During one month Ihenga remained with his brother Huarere, and then went
to Maketu. There he found his father-in-law, and his wife Hinetekakara,
and his son Tama-ihu-toroa. So he remained a short time at Maketu, and
then returned with his wife and son to Rotorua.

The _inanga_ which he had brought with him from the Kawakawa he placed
in the stream Waitepuia at Maketu. Before going to Rotorua he again
caught them, and carried them with him in a gourd of water, and placed
them in the lake; but the _koura_ he placed in the water at Parawai.

CHAPTER VII.

Sunt autem privata nulla naturâ, sed aut vetere occupatione, ut
qui quondam in vacua venerunt; aut victoriâ ut qui bello potiti
sunt; aut lege, pactione, conditione, sorte.—Cicero de Off.,
Lib. _I_ , ch. vii.

If you were to make inquiry from a New Zealander as to his land-title,
it would be difficult to obtain from him reliable information as to any
general rules of proceeding; for he would at once consider some
particular case in which he was himself personally interested, and would
give an answer corresponding with his interest therein. This may be due
partly to the inaptitude of the Maori to take an abstract view of
anything, which has been already noticed⁶². But it is doubtless from
this cause that persons having competent knowledge of their language
have expressed different opinions on this subject, founded on
information thus obtained.

⁶² P. 5.

There are three reliable sources, however, from which such information
can be obtained.

1. From _Maori_ narratives, wherein matters relating to their
land-titles are incidentally mentioned.

2. From Proverbs relating to the disposition of land among themselves.

3. From investigations of titles to land offered for sale, or when in
dispute among themselves.

In the early days of the colony disputes about land were of frequent
occurrence, and the Government was often appealed to by one or other of
the disputants.

From the foregoing _Maori_ narrative⁶³ we learn that, after the canoe
Arawa reached this island, the crew did not form a united and compact
settlement at one place, as might have been expected. The names of nine
chiefs are recorded who dispersed themselves north and south of the
place where the canoe was dragged on shore, each going off in search of
lands for himself and his own family.

⁶³ Vid. ch. v.

Of these chiefs three went to Taupo, two to Wanganui, one to Rotorua,
one to Mercury Bay, and one to Cape Colville; at the same time leaving
behind at Maketu some members of their families. In the third generation
two divisions of the family who had been settled about Cape Colville
migrated, the one to the Bay of Islands, and the other to Kaipara.

From the narrative above referred to it also appears that the lands thus
taken possession of were considered as rightfully belonging to the first
occupier and his descendants, and that names were forthwith given to a
great many places within the boundaries claimed, these names being
frequently such as would make them sacred to the family, from being
derived from names of persons or things to which some family sacredness
was attached.

MANA.

The chief of any family who discovered and took possession of any
unoccupied land obtained what was called the _mana_ of the land. This
word _mana_, in its ordinary use, signifies power, but in its
application to land corresponds somewhat with the power of a Trustee.
Thus _mana_ gave a power to appropriate the land among his own tribe
according to a well recognized rule which was considered _tika_ or
straight. Such appropriation, however, once made, remained in force, and
gave a good title to the children and descendants of the person to whom
it had been thus appropriated. The _mana_ of the acknowledged
representative of the tribe had then only power over the lands remaining
unappropriated, which power was more especially termed the _mana rahi_
or great _mana_—the _mana_ over appropriated land being with the head of
the family in rightful possession. In course of time quarrels and wars
arose between different tribes, so that tribes nearly allied to each
other united for mutual defence and protection; and all the _Maori_ of
New Zealand came to be divided, for this purpose, into a few large
tribes, each representing generally the crew of one of the various
canoes composing the migration from Hawaiki. These being frequently at
war with each other, it came to pass that every man who did not belong
to a particular tribe was considered in respect to it as a _tangata ke_
or stranger.

It has been affirmed by many on presumed good authority that no member
of a tribe has an individual right in any portion of the land included
within the boundaries of his tribe. Such, however, is not the case, for
individuals do sometimes possess exclusive rights to land, though more
generally members of families, more or less numerous, have rights in
common to the exclusion of the rest of the tribe over those portions of
land which have been appropriated to their ancestors. Their proverbs
touching those who wrongfully remove boundary-marks show this, if other
evidence were wanting.

The lands of a tribe, in respect to the title by which they are held,
may be conveniently distinguished under two comprehensive divisions.

1. Those portions which have been appropriated, from time to time, to
individuals and families.

2. The tribal land remaining unappropriated.

Whenever land is appropriated formally by native usage, it descends in
the family of its first owners according to well recognized rules, and
the _mana_ of the representative of the tribe ceases to have any control
over it. Their laws as to succession naturally tended to render the
greater part of such lands the property of several of the same family as
tenants in common; but an individual might and did frequently become a
sole owner.

The tribal lands never specially appropriated belonged to all under the
_mana_⁶⁴ or trusteeship of the tribal representative.

⁶⁴ Latterly a practice has been adopted of handing over the _mana_ of
their land to Matutaera, the Maori king, or to some influential
chief in whom they have trust, the object being to protect it from
clandestine sales, which have become frequent through the action
of speculators in land. The agents who act for men of capital who
enter into such speculations are always ready to offer an advance
of money as a deposit on land, and when a _Maori_, especially a
careless young man, visits our towns he is too often unable to
resist the temptation of gold to be had for the mere signature of
his name. When, however, such a transaction becomes known to the
tribe it gives rise to much heart burning and trouble; but the
thin end of the wedge being thus introduced ere long others follow
the example, till at length a sort of forced consent is obtained
to pass the land, to use the common phrase, through the Government
Land Court. It is therefore not to be wondered at that this Court
is not in good repute among them, more especially since they have
discovered that a large share of the purchase money is swallowed
up by costs for survey, costs of the Court, and lawyers’ fees.

Long before our colonists came to New Zealand land was of great value in
_Maori_ estimation, and was given and received as a suitable equivalent
or compensation in certain cases.

Thus when a peace was concluded between two tribes land was sometimes
given up as a sort of peace offering, but in a remarkably equitable
spirit, it was always the tribe that had suffered least who, in such
cases, gave some land to compensate the greater losses in war of the
other party.

Such a mode of making peace seems to have been adopted in case of civil
war between divisions of the same tribe, especially when waged with no
prospect of either party completely mastering the other, and with the
consideration of preventing both suffering such serious loss as would
render them unable to cope with a common foe.

Also, in cases of adultery a piece of land would be demanded by the
injured person; and his demand would be respected, for such was the
proper compensation for the injury—land for the woman. But then a
stratagem was sometimes employed, for when the injured man went to take
profession, he might find his right opposed by some of the owners of the
land who had purposely absented themselves from the conference whereat
it was given up. And this unfair practice has sometimes been seized on
as a precedent in their dealings with the _Pakeha_; for they have too
often shown a readiness to sell lands to which they had only a joint
right with many others, knowing well that those others would repudiate
their act.

_Descent of Land._

1. Male children succeed to their father’s land, female children to
their mother’s land.

So says the proverb—“_Nga tamariki tane ka whai ki te ure tu, nga
tamariki wahine ka whai ki te u-kai-po._” “Male children follow after
the male, female children follow after the breast fed on at night.”

2. If a female marries a man of another tribe—_he tangata ke_—she
forfeits all right to land in her mother’s tribe.

So says the proverb—“_Haere atu te wahine, haere marokore._” “The woman
goes, and goes without her smock.”

3. The children of a female married to a man of a stranger tribe have no
right of succession to land in their mother’s tribe.

So says the proverb—“_He iramutu tu ke mai i tarawahi awa_⁶⁵”—“A nephew
or niece standing apart on the other side of the river.”

⁶⁵ This proverb was also applied in case of a war as a sufficient
reason for not sparing such relation.

But there is a provision which can be applied to modify this last rule.
If the brothers of the woman ask for one or more of the children—their
_iramutu_—to be given up to their care, and they are thus, as it were,
adopted by their uncles, they become reinstated in the tribal rights
which their mother had forfeited.

A NEW ZEALANDER’S WILL.

Under this title in a former publication⁶⁶ I gave a literal translation
of a written communication which I received from the celebrated Wi
Tamihana Tarapipipi of Matamata, as follows:—

⁶⁶ Traditions and Superstitions of the New Zealanders. Edit. 2, p.
271.

“A certain man had a male child born to him, then another male child,
and then another male child. He also had daughters. At last the father
of this family being at the point of death, the sons and daughters and
all the relations assembled to hear his last words, and to see him die.
And the sons said to their father: ‘Let thy mouth speak, O father, that
we may hear your will; for you have not long to live.’ Then the old man
turned towards his younger brothers, and spoke thus:—

‘Hereafter, O my brothers, be kind to my children. My cultivations are
for my sons. Such and such a piece of land is for such and such a
nephew. My eel-weirs, my potato gardens, my potatoes, my pigs, my male
slaves, and my female slaves are for my sons only. My wives are for my
younger brother.’

Such is the disposition of a man’s property; it relates only to his male
children.”

From this it appears that the head of a family had a recognized right to
dispose of his property among his male offspring and kinsmen, and that
his will expressed shortly before his death in the presence of his
family assembled for that purpose possessed all the solemnity of a legal
document.

RAHI.

is the term applied to a tribe reduced to a dependant condition by a
conquering tribe. The same authority says, “Hear the custom in regard to
lands which are held by right of conquest, that is lands fallen to the
brave (_kua riro i te toa_). Suppose some large tribe is defeated.
Suppose that tribe is defeated a second and a third time, till at last
the tribe becomes small, and is reduced to a mean condition. It is then
made to do the work of dependants—to cultivate the land for food, to
catch eels, and to carry wood. In short, its men are treated as slaves.
In such a case their land passes into the possession of the tribe whose
valour conquered them. They will not think of striving against their
masters; because their power to fight has gone from them. They were not
brave enough to hold possession of their land, and although they may
grow numerous afterwards, they will not seek for a payment for their
former losses; for they are fearful, and say among themselves, ‘Don’t
let us strive with this tribe, lest we perish altogether, for it is a
brave tribe.’ ”

William Thompson belonged to a victorious tribe; his sentiments
therefore have a natural bias in favour of the sole right to the lands
of the conquered tribe being with their conquerors. If, however, a
member of the conquered tribe were to be consulted on this point, we
should learn that he had not abandoned all idea of a right in the lands
he had been allowed to retain, and was then occupying. Instances could
be referred to where the conquered remnant of a tribe had regained power
enough to re-possess themselves of the lands formerly their own; and in
all cases where the conquerors have sold the lands of their tributaries
the latter have resisted the right of the sellers to dispose thereof
irrespectively of their own interests therein.

NGATI-HANUI.

One day a chief named Hanui and his travelling companion Heketewananga
fell in with the old chief Korako seated in the hollow trunk of a tree,
which he had converted into a temporary abode. Then said Hanui’s
companion, “I will make water on the old man’s head, to degrade him
(lit., that his growth may be stunted).” Hanui was displeased; for the
old man was his cousin, being the son of the younger brother of his
father Maramatutahi, that was the cause of his displeasure at the words
of his companion. But that fellow Heketewananga persisted. He would not
listen to the anger of Hanui, but climbed the tree in order to make
water on the head of the old man. And when he had done so, he jeered at
the old man. “Ho! ho! now then your growth is stunted because of my
water; for your head has been made water on.”

With this Hanui and his companion went on their way. When they were gone
Korako also went to seek his son. When he reached the bank of the river
Waikato he saw some boys on the other side of the river at play near
their _Pa_, and called to them, “Go and tell Wainganui to bring a canoe
for me.” “We will bring a canoe,” said the boys. But the old man said
“No. I don’t wish you to bring the canoe. Go and call Wainganui. He
himself must bring the canoe.” So the boys went and told Wainganui,
“Your father is calling you to go to him with a canoe.” “Why did not you
go?” said Wainganui. “We offered to take the canoe to him,” said the
boys, “but he was not willing. He said that you must take the canoe to
him.” So Wainganui went in a canoe, and when he reached the other side
of the river he called to his father to come down to him. But his father
said, “Do you come up here to my side.” So Wainganui left the canoe and
went to his father; for he knew that he had something important to say
to him. Then seating himself by his father’s side he said “What means
this that you have done?” The father said, “My son, I have been wronged
by your uncle Hanui and by Heketewananga.” “What sort of wrong?”
inquired the son. “My wrong,” said the old man—“my wrong. Heketewananga
climbed on top of my house, and made water on my head—at the same time
he jeered me, ‘Ho! ho! now then your growth is stunted.’ ” Then the son
said to his father, “Ha! you were all but murdered by those men. Their
act shall be avenged. Their heads shall soon be struck by my weapon.”
Then turning in anger he went back to his canoe, and returned to the
_Pa_.

Without delay he called together the whole tribe, and made known to them
all that his father had told him. After the tribe had heard the wrong
done to their old chief, they assembled at night to deliberate, and
determined to go the next morning to kill those men. Then they retired
to rest. At daybreak they arose and armed themselves, in number three
hundred and forty, and set out for the _Pa_ at Hanui.

The men within that _Pa_ were more than six hundred. So when they saw
the armed party coming to attack the _Pa_, the six hundred rushed out to
fight, and a battle took place outside. The men of the _Pa_ were driven
back, and the conquerors entered it with them. Then while the men of the
_Pa_ were being struck down Wainganui shouted to Hanui, “Be quick,
Hanui, climb on top of your house, you and your children and your
wives.” So Hanui and his children and his wives climbed on the roof of
their house. But most of the men of his tribe were killed, some only
being left to be a _Rahi_, in which condition they now remain.

TAPUIKA.

It may happen that a tribe is driven off its lands by a conquering
tribe, who may hold possession of the conquered lands for many years,
but be, in their turn, driven off by the assistance of tribes allied to
the original possessors of the land. It then becomes a question what
right the allied tribes acquire in the recovered lands. A case of this
sort came under my notice thus: I was instructed to purchase for the
Government a piece of land of moderate size at Maketu to be occupied as
a Mission station. As I had built a house on this land on a title of
mere right of occupation, or as expressed in Maori, “_Noho noa iho_,”
and had resided there for some time, I thought, naturally, that the
persons, at whose invitation my house had been placed there, were the
persons to whom the land belonged. An arrangement was therefore made
with them for the purchase of the land required, and a price agreed on.
One night shortly after I was awoke from sleep by a knocking at the door
of my house. My visitors were a deputation from some of the tribe
Tapuika who had a small _Pa_ below my house by the river side, at some
distance from the large _Pa_ by the mouth of the river. Their business
was to warn me not to complete the purchase of the land, the persons
with whom I had contracted being, as they affirmed, only occupiers and
not owners thereof; whereas their tribe Tapuika were the owners, and the
_mana_ of the land belonged to their chief Te Koata. They came by night
because they did not wish their interference to be known publicly, as it
would cause disputes. And it did cause dispute when their nocturnal
visit and its object was made public the next morning. However a good
result came of it, for it was agreed that the question of title should
be referred to the decision of the chiefs of the whole Arawa tribes.

A general assembly of the tribes consequently met at Rotorua, when it
was shown that the land I proposed to purchase came within the old
boundaries of Tapuika. But several generations before the present the
_Pa_ at Maketu had been taken by the hostile tribe Ngatiawa, and the
Arawa tribes, including Tapuika, had been driven from the sea-coast to
Rotorua and elsewhere. When the flax trade with Sydney was in vigour,
many of the Arawa natives had been permitted to return to scrape flax
for sale to a trader named Tapsell who was stationed at Maketu; and at
length the combined Arawa tribes expelled Ngatiawa, and recovered the
lands of their forefathers. They then established themselves in force at
Maketu, and some of them marked out by boundaries, and took possession
of land originally belonging to Tapuika, for their own use. Tapuika did
not offer any objection to this, but now said that the land so taken was
merely given up for their occupation, and that the _mana_ of their chief
Te Koata over the land had never been given up.

The decision of the chiefs of the Arawa, to which Te Koata, who was
present, assented, was that as Tapuika could not have recovered their
lands if unassisted by other Arawa tribes, the land of Tapuika which had
been taken possession of by the fighting men of the combined tribes now
belonged to those men, or expressed in their own words, “_kua riro i te
toa_,” had gone to the brave.

This decision was important, as it established a precedent of value in
dealing with any lands similarly circumstanced elsewhere in New
Zealand—a precedent being always a powerful argument with the _Maori_.

THE EARLY SETTLERS.

When foreigners, called by the natives _Pakeha_, first came to New
Zealand, they were admitted readily by the _Maori_ to dwell among them.
They were allowed to acquire land by purchase, and to form alliances
with their families; and the children of such connections were
considered as belonging to the tribe of their mother. They were never
treated as belonging to a stranger tribe—as _tangata ke_. _Tăku pakeha,
toku matua_, my own _pakeha_, my father, were the common terms used to
denote their sentiment of relationship.

It is not to be wondered at that every tribe in these islands was at
first anxious to have _Pakeha_ settlers dwelling with them, and was
ready to admit them to the privileges of tribesmen, for through them
they could obtain what they most valued of the world’s goods. But when
dissensions arose between the two races, notably about land, and issued
in war, the feelings of those who took up arms became modified, and
their old friends, the _Pakeha_, were no longer looked on as _matua_ or
fathers, but rather as _tangata ke_, or strangers.

THE WAITARA DISPUTE.

It is a recognised mode of action among the _Maori_, if a chief has been
treated with indignity by others of his own tribe, and no ready means of
redress can be obtained, for the former to do some act which will bring
trouble on the whole tribe. This mode of obtaining redress is termed
“_whakahe_,” and means putting the other in the wrong. Strange to say,
this very dangerous principle of action, by whatever great evils it may
be followed, obtains the respect and not the censure of the whole tribe
for the person who adopts it.

Being in the neighbourhood of Matamata some years ago, not long before
the war broke out in Waikato, I heard in conversation with a chief⁶⁷ of
Ngatihaua, who had taken part in the war at Taranaki, that the reason
why Teira proposed to sell Waitara was to obtain satisfaction for a
slight put upon him by Wi Kingi in connection with a private quarrel.⁶⁸
I never had an opportunity to verify the facts narrated, but there was
in them nothing improbable, and according to _Maori_ usage they
accounted for Teira having acted as he did.

⁶⁷ Paora Te Ahuru.

⁶⁸ “_Hei whakahe mo Wiremu Kingi_” was the expression used.

The land thus offered for sale was estimated to contain about six
hundred acres, the whole of which had, in former years, been thickly
inhabited, and apportioned among a great many individuals and families.
It was therefore of the character comprised under our division No. 1.
Teira and those more nearly allied to him offered to sell the whole six
hundred acres, in opposition to the wish of Wi Kingi and others who
claimed rights in the land.

That Kingi and his party had substantial claims to portions of this
land, and that such was the original ground of his opposition to the
sale appears from several letters written by natives at the time as a
kind of protest, particularly from one written by Riwai Te Ahu in which
he says: “The reason why Wiremu Kingi and his party made so much
objection, when Teira proposed that the place should be sold to the
Governor, was the fear lest their land and ours should be all taken as
belonging to Teira.”

A chief of great influence well supported has no doubt frequently acted
as if he could dispose of large tracts of land without consulting others
who had rights included therein. But he never thought of asserting a
right to ignore _in toto_ the rights of others not parties to the sale.
On the contrary, the chief and they who had shared the purchase money
would say to other claimants who had not received any part of the
payment, either that they should be satisfied out of a future payment
(for it was a general, though an impolitic and bad custom, to pay by
instalments in such transactions), or that they might themselves apply
to the purchaser for payment of their interests, or that they might hold
fast to their own.

If before paying any part of the purchase money to Teira, he had been
required to mark out the boundaries of those portions of the six hundred
acres which he and his party claimed, the _onus probandi_ would have
been placed on the right man. It would then have been discovered that
those portions were detached and of various shapes and sizes, and in
some cases only to be approached by narrow paths, and that some of his
boundaries were disputed. For all which reasons what he could have
rightfully sold would have been of little value for the occupation of
our colonists.

But in addition to any claim of Wi Kingi and others whom he represented
to the ownership of portions of the six hundred acres offered for sale
by Teira, they had a further right not to be disturbed in their
holdings, which does not appear to have been considered at the time.

When the Te Ati-awa tribes determined to abandon Cook’s Straits and
return to the lands of their ancestors about Taranaki, they were still
in dread of their old enemies the Ngatimaniapoto. It was therefore
arranged among them, for their better security, that they should form
one united settlement on the south bank of the Waitara—thus placing the
river between themselves and the common enemy. Supposing, therefore,
that Wi Kingi and his division of the tribe had no land actually their
own by ancient right at the place thus occupied, they had acquired a
right by virtue of the arrangement made, a right recognised by old
native custom, on the faith of which they had expended their labour in
building houses, as well as in fencing and cultivating the land, to
disturb which, in a summary manner, could only be looked on as an
offensive act. We have seen also how in relation to the dispute between
Tapuika and the Arawa tribes it was adjudged by general consent that the
latter had acquired a permanent right to the lands which they had
occupied under somewhat similar circumstances.

There appears little reason to doubt that Teira’s proposal to sell
Waitara was prompted by a vindictive feeling towards Wi Kingi; for he
knew well that by such mode of proceeding he would embroil those who
would not consent with their European neighbours. At the same time it is
a rather mortifying reflection that the astute policy of a _Maori_ chief
should have prevailed to drag the Colony and Her Majesty’s Government
into a long and expensive war to avenge his own private quarrel.

APPENDIX.

MAORI TERMS OF RELATIONSHIP.

_Tupuna._
_An ancestor—male or female._

_Matua._
_A father, or uncle either patruus or avunculus._

_Papa._
_The same._

_Whaea._
_A mother, or aunt on either side._

_Tama._
_Eldest nephew._

_Tamahine._
_Eldest niece; also used more generally._

_Tamaiti._
_Son, or nephew._

_Tamaroa._
_The same._

_Tuakana._
_Elder brother of males, elder sister of females; also elder
brother’s children in reference to younger brother’s children,
elder sister’s children in reference to younger sister’s
children._

_Teina._
_The younger brother of males, the younger sister of females;
also the younger brother’s children in reference to elder
brother’s children, the younger sister’s children in reference to
elder sister’s children._

_Tungane._
_A sister’s brother._

_Tuahine._
_A brother’s sister._

_Iramutu._
_A nephew, or niece._

_Hungawai._
_A father-in-law, or mother-in-law._

_Hunaonga._
_A son-in-law, or daughter-in-law._

_Taokete._
_A man’s brother-in-law, or sister’s sister-in-law._

_Autane._
_A woman’s brother-in-law._

_Auwahine._
_A man’s sister-in-law._

_Potiki._
_A brother’s children, or sister’s children; also the youngest
child of a family._

_Mokopuna._
_A grand-child, or child of a nephew or niece._

_Huanga._
_A relation in general._

_Whanaunga-tutu._
_A blood relation._

_Ariki._
_The first born male or female._

_Waewae._
_A man’s younger brother: literally the foot._

_Hamua._
_Syn. tuakana._

_Maronui._
_A married man or woman._

_Takakau._
_A single man or woman._

_Pouaru._
_A widow._

_Puhi._
_A betrothed female, also a female of rank restricted from
marriage._

_He wahine taumaro._
_A betrothed female._ N.B.—There is a distinction between a
_Puhi_ and a _wahine taumaro_. The betrothed female is a _Puhi_
in reference to her father’s act of consent, and a _wahine
taumaro_ in reference to her future father-in-law’s act of
consent to the arrangement.

――――

VOCABULARY

OF SOME MAORI WORDS REQUIRING EXPLANATION.

_Ihi_ has the sense of _tapu_ when occurring in _karakia_, or
invocations of spirits.

_Kahukahu_, the spirit of the germ of a human being: also called _Atua
noho-whare_, or house-dwelling _Atua_. Verbi _kahukahu_ significatio
simplex est panniculus; et panniculus quo utitur femina menstrualis
nomine _kahukahu_ dicitur κατ’ ἐξοχὴν. Apud populum Novæ Zelandæ
creditur sanguinem utero sub tempus menstruale effusum continere germina
hominis; et secundùm præcepta veteris superstitionis panniculus sanguine
menstruali imbutus habebatur sacer (_tapu_), haud aliter quàm si formam
humanam accepisset: mulierum autem mos est hos panniculos intra juncos
parietum abdere; et hâc de causâ paries est domûs pars adeo sacra ut
nemo illi innixus sedere audeat.

_Karakia._ This word generally rendered by ‘charm,’ does not signify
what the word charm would mean, in its popular sense. The word
‘invocation’ conveys more correctly its meaning; for it is a prayer
addressed to spirits of deceased ancestors, in form somewhat like a
litany.

_Kaupapa_, one whom the spirit of an ancestor visits, and who is its
medium of communication with the living.

_Pukenga_, a spirit, the author or first teacher of any _karakia_.

_Tapairu_, any very sacred ancestral Spirit: also sometimes applied to
the female _Ariki_.

_Tauira_, a person who is being instructed by a _tohunga_, or by the
spirit of a parent or ancestor. He had to submit to a strict fast of
several days before he was taught any important _karakia_.

_Tipua_, or _Tupua_, the spirit of one who when living was noted for
powerful _karakia_.

_Tiri_, a strip of flax leaf or _toetoe_ so placed as to serve as an
imaginary pathway for an _Atua_. In sickness a _tiri_ is suspended above
the head of the sick person to facilitate the departure of the _Atua_
who causes the disease. A _tiri_ is also suspended near the _kaupapa_,
when he desires his _Atua_ to visit him. It is also applied to signify
the _karakia_ used on such occasions.

_Tohunga_, a person skilled in _karakia_, also one skilled in any craft.

_Tuahu_, a sacred place where offerings of food—first fruits—for the
_Atua_ were deposited.

_Wananga_, the Spirit of anyone who when living had learned the
_karakia_ of his ancestors: thus when a _tauira_ died he became a
_wananga_.

TE KARAKIA

Mo te pikinga o Tawhaki ki te Rangi.—_vid._ p. 23.

Piki ake Tawhaki i te ara kuiti
I whakatauria ai te ara o Rangi,
Te ara o Tu-kaiteuru.
Ka kakea te ara wha-iti,
Ka kakea te ara wha-rahi,
Ko te ara i whakatauria ai
To tupuna a Te Ao-nunui,
A Te Ao-roroa,
A Te Ao-whititera.
Tena ka eke
Kei to Ihi,
Kei to Mana,
Kei nga mano o runga,
Kei o Ariki,
Kei o Tapairu,
Kei o Pukenga,
Kei o Wananga,
Kei o Tauira.

TE TUKU O HINE-TE-IWAIWA.—_vid._ p. 28.

Raranga, raranga tăku takapau,
Ka pukea e te wai,
Hei moenga mo aku rei.
Ko Rupe, ko Manumea,
Ka pukea: ē! ē!
Mo aku rei tokorua ka pukea.
Ka pukea au e te wai,
Ka pukea, ē! ē!
Ko koro taku tane ka pukea.
Piki ake hoki au ki runga nei:
Te Matitikura, ē! ē!
Ki a Toroa irunga,
Te Matitikura, ē! ē!
Kia whakawhanaua aku tama
Ko au anake ra.
Tu te turuturu no Hine-rauwharangi;
Tu te turuturu no Hine-te-iwaiwa.
Tu i tou tia me ko Ihuwareware;
Tu i tou kona me ko Ihuatamai.
Kaua rangia au e Rupe.
Kei tauatia, ko au te inati,
Ko Hine-te-iwaiwa.
Tuku iho irunga i ton huru,
I tou upoko,
I ou tara-pakihiwi,
I tou uma,
I to ate,
I ou turipona,
I ou waewae.
E tuku ra ki waho.
Tuku ewe,
Tuku take,
Tuku parapara.
Naumai ki waho.

KARAKIA

Mo te wahine i pākia nga u i te whanautanga o te tamaiti.—_vid._ p. 39.

Nga puna irunga te homai,
Te ringia ki te matamata
O nga u o tenei wahine;
Te kopata i te rangi te homai
Hei whakato mo nga u
O tenei wahine:
Ki te matamata o nga u
O tenei wahine:
Nga u atarere reremai
Ki te matamata o nga u
O tenei wahine:
Nga u atarere tukua mai.
Tenei hoki te tamaiti te tangi nei,
Te aue nei i te po nui,
I te po roa.
Ko Tu-te-awhiawhi,
Ko Tu-te-pupuke,
Naumai ki ahau,
Ki tenei tauira.

KARAKIA

Mo te whakapikinga o te ara o te tupapaku ana ka mate, kia tika ai te
haere ki nga mea kua mate atu imua.—_vid._ p. 44.

Tena te ara, ko te ara o Tawhaki,
I piki ai ki te rangi,
I kake ai ki tou tini,
Ki tou mano:
I whano ai koe,
I taemai ai to wairua ora
Ki tou kaupapa.
Tenei hoki ahau
Te mihi atu nei,
Te tangi atu nei
Ki to wairua mate.
Puta purehurehu mai
To putanga mai ki ahau,
Ki to kaupapa,
I piri mai ai koe,
I tangi mai ai koe.
Tena te tiri,
Ko te tiri a o tupuna,
Ko te tiri a nga Pukenga,
A nga Wananga,
Aku, a tenei tauira.

HE WHAKAMURI-AROHA.—_vid._ p. 47-8.

Aha te hau e maene ki to kiri?
E kore pea koe e ingo mai ki to hoa,
I piri ai korua i to korua moenga,
I awhi ai korua,
I tangi ai korua.
Tena taku aroha
Ma te hau e kawe ki a koe,
Huri mai to aroha,
Tangi mai ki to moenga,
I moe ai korua.
Kia pupuke—a—wai to aroha.

TE POROPORO-AKI A TAMA-TE-KAPUA.—_vid._ p. 53.

E papa nga rakau i runga i a koe,
Mau ake te Whakāro ake. Ae, Ae.
E haere nga taua i te ao nei,
Mau e patu. Ae, Ae.

Transcription note

The following typographical errors (or presumed such) have been
corrected:

- *p. 2, l. -7:* By Tiki, by Rangi, by Papa. ——> By Tiki, by Rangi, by
Papa.”
- *p. 12, l. 6:* Hine-ruakimoe ——> Hine-ruakimoe.
- *p. 19, l. 17:* =straight-neck Tane ——> =straight-neck-Tane
- *p. 21, l. 13:* (=the tender one). ——> (=the tender one).”
- *p. 26, l. 1:* designed to be eat ——> designed to be eaten
- *p. 29, l. -3-1:* _the paragraph_ “For tradition as to
Tuhuruhuru...” _has been treated as an additional footnote._
- *p. 29, l. -2:* vid Sir Geo. Grey’s ——> vid. Sir Geo. Grey’s
- *p. 40, l. -6:* Breathe strong thy long, ——> Breathe strong thy
lung,
- *p. 45, l. -2:* Traditions and Supersitions ——> Traditions and
Superstitions
- *p. 61, l. 3:* The _kohukoku_ ——> The _kohukohu_
- *p. 63, l. -5:* in our own house, ——> in our own house.
- *p. 63, l. -4:* said Kahu”; ——> said Kahu;
- *p. 64, l. -1:* Vid: Sir G. Grey’s ——> Vid. Sir G. Grey’s
- *p. 65, l. -3:* named the lake “Te Roto-iti-kite-a-Ihenga ——> named
the lake Te Roto-iti-kite-a-Ihenga
- *p. 70, l. 19:* and my _ngakoa_. ——> and my _ngakoa_.”
- *p. 71, l. 10:* “The name of the island, said Ihenga ——> “The name
of the island,” said Ihenga
- *p. 88, footnote:* p. 5 ——> P. 5.
- *p. 89, l. -1* (note⁶³): _footnote marker missing_
- *p. 93, l. 21:* mother’s tribe.” ——> mother’s tribe.
- *p. 97, l. -12-11:* returned to the Pa. ——> returned to the _Pa_.

The Errata of the book has been transcribed faithfully, and its
corrections have been carried into the text. However, on p. 21, the word
to be corrected is apparently _harekeke_ and not Herekeke. The entry is
even misplaced in the list, which is sorted in order of appearance.

Diacritics of Greek have been normalized:

- Νόμιζε σαυτῷ τοῦς γονεῖς ἔιναι Θεούς ——> Νόμιζε σαυτῷ τοὺς γονεῖς
εἶναι Θεούς
- Θεοὶς χθόνιοις ——> Θεοῖς χθονίοις
- Αλλ᾿ ἄγε δὴ τινα μάντιν ἐρείομεν ——> Ἀλλ᾿ ἄγε δή τινα μάντιν
ἐρείομεν

In the second part of the Karakia of Hineteiwaiwa, on page 29, all
letters _i_ are dotless [_ı_]. The same also for the second part of the
Karakia on page 33, and most of the _i_ in the lines of text immediately
below. All those have been restored as normal _i_’s.

In doubt, all hyphenized and non-hyphenized versions of the names and
compound words have been retained as printed. Thus e.g.: Rangi-potiki as
well as Rangipotiki, _Ngatoro-i-rangi_ / _Ngatoro-irangi_ /
_Ngatoroirangi_, Te Ika-roa / Te Ikaroa, Rerenga-wairua, Te
Whare-pakau-awe, _water side_ / _water-side_.

Antiquate spellings like _antient_, _muscle_ [for mussel] have also been
preserved.

Footnotes have been renumbered progressively throughout the book.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Maori Religion and Mythology" ***

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