CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER III.RELIGIOUS RITES OF THE MAORI.Ἀλλ᾿ ἄγε δή τινα μάντιν ἐρείομεν.—Hom. Il. 1-62.The religious rites and ceremonies of theMaoriwere strange and complex, and must have been a severe burden, as will be understood from the translations ofMaorinarratives 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 thingstapu, or things sacred and prohibited, the breach of which laws by anyone is a crime displeasing to theAtuaof his family. Anythingtapumust 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, becometapu, and only a few very sacred persons, themselvestapu, dare to touch these things.The idea in which this law originated appears to have been that a portion of the sacred essence of anAtua, 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 anAtuashould be madetaputo protect it from being polluted by the [pg 26] contact of fooddesigned to be eaten; for the act of eating food which had touched anythingtapu, involved the necessity of eating the sacredness of theAtua, 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 classtapuwas callednoa, meaning free or common. Things and personstapucould, however, be madenoaby means of certain ceremonies, the object of which was to extract thetapuessence, and restore it to the source whence it originally came. It has been already stated that every tribe and every family has its own especialAtua. TheAriki, 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 theirAtua.17They form, as [pg 27] it were, the connecting links between the living and the spirits of the dead; and the ceremonies required for releasing anything from thetapustate cannot be perfected without their intervention.On arriving one evening at aMaorisettlement, 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 thePa. I was curious to see in what way the land required would be madenoa. 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 onlykumara, 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 hiskumara, and the place was declared to benoa. 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 thetapuground, equally incurred the risk of offending theAtuaof the family, which risk was believed to be removed by the Christiankarakia.By neglecting the laws oftapu,Ariki, chiefs, and [pg 28] other sacred persons are especially liable to the displeasure of theirAtua, 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 termkarakiais applicable to all forms of prayer to theAtua: but there are a variety of names or titles to denotekarakiahaving special objects. The translations of those now presented to the reader will, it is believed, speak for themselves as to the nature ofMaoriworship, 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 akarakiais 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, etManumeainundabuntur:Lectus meus, et mei fetûs inundabitur:[pg 29]Inundabor aquâ, inundabor;Maritus meus inundabitur.18Now I step upon (the mat).TheMatitikura19to Rupe above,***Toroa****Takapu****to cause to be born,My child now one with myself.Stand firmturuturu20of Hine-rauwharangi,****Hine-teiwaiwa,Stand by yourtia,21Ihuwareware,Stand by yourkona,21Ihuatamai,Chide me not in my trouble,Me Hine-teiwaiwa, O Rupe.22Release from above your hair,23Your head, your shoulders,Your breast, your liver,Your knees, your feet,Let them come forth.The old lady24with night-dark visage,She will make you stretch,She will make you rise up.Let goewe,25let gotake,25Let goparapara.25Come forth.*[pg 30] Thiskarakiais 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 thetapu, which is to be discovered by thematakite(=seer). The father of the child then plunges in the river, while thekarakiais being repeated, and the child will generally be born ere ever he returns.The following form ofkarakiais 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.26After which thetohungaaddressing the unborn child says, “Come forth. The fault rests with me. Come forth.” Thetohungacontinues thus—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.[pg 31]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 thingstapuis 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 oftapu, either wilful, or accidental, or even brought about by the act of another person, causes the anger of theAtuaof 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 thetapu, he has to consult amatakite(seer) and atohungato discover the crime, and use the proper ceremonies to appease theAtua; for there is in practice a method of making a person offend against the laws oftapuwithout his being aware of it. This method is a secret one calledmakutu. 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 familyAtua. 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 [pg 32] confined to thekarakiaof atohungaor 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 theMaori.When anyone becomesporangior insane, as not unfrequently happens, he is taken to atohunga, who first makes an examination as to the cause of the disease. He and the sick man then go to the water-side, and thetohunga, 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 thetohunga, while in his right hand he holds a common stone, which is also raised aloft, while the followingkarakiais being repeated by him.Tu, divide, Tu, split,This is thewaiapuflint,Now about to cry aloudTo the Moon of ill-omen.Then thetohungabreathes on the flint, and smashes it with the stone held in his right hand. After this he selects a shoot of the planttoetoe, and pulls it up, and then fastens to it both the locks of hair. Then diving in the river, he lets go thetoetoeand locks of hair, and when they float on the surface of the water, he commences his greatkarakiathus—This is theTiriof Tu-i-rawea,This is theTiriof Uenuku.[pg 33]Where lies your fault?Was eating akutuyour fault?Was sitting ontapuground your fault?Unravel the tangle,Unravel, untie.Take away the fault from the headOf theAtuawho afflicts this man.Take away the disease,And themanaof the curser.Turn yourmanaagainst yourtohunga,And yourwhaiwhaia.27Give me the curseTo make as cooked food.YourAtuadesecrated,Yourtapu, your curse,Your sacred-place-dwellingAtua,Your house-dwellingAtua,Give me to cook for food.Yourtapuis desecrated by me.The rays of the sun,The brave of the world,Themana, give me.Let yourAtua, and yourtapuBe food for me to eat.Let the head of the curserBe baked in the oven,Served up for food for meDead, and gone to Night.The latter part of thiskarakiais a curse directed against sometohungasupposed to have caused the disease by his art ofmakutu.Makutuwas 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 [pg 34] society where no law but that of force generally prevailed, as a check to theft and unjust dealing generally; for there is among theMaoria 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 atohunga, in order to discover the thief. Whether the flax has been stolen from her house or from the water, the woman’s house must betapu. No one must be allowed to enter it. This is necessary, that themakutumay take effect, and the person who stole the flax be discovered. So when the woman comes to thetohungahe first asks her “Has any one entered your house?” She replies “No.” Then thetohungabids her return home, saying “I will come to you at night.” The woman returns home, and at night thetohungacomes 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. Thetohungathus 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 snatchAt the rays of the Sun.Let your hands snatch at Whiro,Whiro in vast heaven,[pg 35]Whiro born of Papa.Snatch, snatch at your own head,Perishing in the Night of Darkness,In the Night of Death—Death.WhakahokituIs the name given to forms ofmakutuemployed to counteract the curse of some othertohunga, or wise-man; for whoever practisesmakutu, even though he be skilled in the art, may have to yield to themanaof some other wise-man who can command the assistance of a more powerfulAtua. The following is a specimen of this kind ofmakutu—Great curse, long curse,Great curse, binding curse,Binding your sacrednessTo the tide of destruction.Come hither, sacred spell,To be looked on by me.Cause the curser to lie lowIn gloomy Night, in dark Night,In the Night of ill-omen.Great wind, lasting wind,Changing wind ofRangiabove.He falls. He perishes.Cause to waste away the cursertohunga.Let him bite the oven-stones.Be food for me,Thetapuand themana,Of yourAtua,Of yourkarakia,Of yourtohunga.Among theAtuamuch held in awe by theMaoriwere theAtua noho-whare, or house-dwelling gods—spirits of the germs of unborn infants. They are also known by [pg 36] the namekahukahu, the meaning of which word was explained in a former publication.TheMaorihas 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 theAtua.There is a class of dreams calledmoe-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 amoe-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 calledtakiri, some of which are lucky, and some unlucky, each kind being distinguished by a special name.The luckytakiriare—Thehokai, or starting of the leg or foot in a forward direction. It denotes the repulse of the enemy.Thetauaro, or starting of the arm towards the body.Thewhakaara, when in sleep the head starts upwards. It signifies that ere long theArikior his father will arrive.Thekapo, a very lucky sign. While a man sleeps with [pg 37] 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 unluckytakiriare—Thekohera, a starting of the arm and leg of one side of the body in an outward direction.Thepeke, a starting of the arm outwards from the body.Thewhawhati, 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 formertakirido not necessarily denote evil to the individual sleeper, but to any of his companions.[pg 38]

CHAPTER III.RELIGIOUS RITES OF THE MAORI.Ἀλλ᾿ ἄγε δή τινα μάντιν ἐρείομεν.—Hom. Il. 1-62.The religious rites and ceremonies of theMaoriwere strange and complex, and must have been a severe burden, as will be understood from the translations ofMaorinarratives 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 thingstapu, or things sacred and prohibited, the breach of which laws by anyone is a crime displeasing to theAtuaof his family. Anythingtapumust 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, becometapu, and only a few very sacred persons, themselvestapu, dare to touch these things.The idea in which this law originated appears to have been that a portion of the sacred essence of anAtua, 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 anAtuashould be madetaputo protect it from being polluted by the [pg 26] contact of fooddesigned to be eaten; for the act of eating food which had touched anythingtapu, involved the necessity of eating the sacredness of theAtua, 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 classtapuwas callednoa, meaning free or common. Things and personstapucould, however, be madenoaby means of certain ceremonies, the object of which was to extract thetapuessence, and restore it to the source whence it originally came. It has been already stated that every tribe and every family has its own especialAtua. TheAriki, 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 theirAtua.17They form, as [pg 27] it were, the connecting links between the living and the spirits of the dead; and the ceremonies required for releasing anything from thetapustate cannot be perfected without their intervention.On arriving one evening at aMaorisettlement, 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 thePa. I was curious to see in what way the land required would be madenoa. 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 onlykumara, 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 hiskumara, and the place was declared to benoa. 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 thetapuground, equally incurred the risk of offending theAtuaof the family, which risk was believed to be removed by the Christiankarakia.By neglecting the laws oftapu,Ariki, chiefs, and [pg 28] other sacred persons are especially liable to the displeasure of theirAtua, 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 termkarakiais applicable to all forms of prayer to theAtua: but there are a variety of names or titles to denotekarakiahaving special objects. The translations of those now presented to the reader will, it is believed, speak for themselves as to the nature ofMaoriworship, 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 akarakiais 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, etManumeainundabuntur:Lectus meus, et mei fetûs inundabitur:[pg 29]Inundabor aquâ, inundabor;Maritus meus inundabitur.18Now I step upon (the mat).TheMatitikura19to Rupe above,***Toroa****Takapu****to cause to be born,My child now one with myself.Stand firmturuturu20of Hine-rauwharangi,****Hine-teiwaiwa,Stand by yourtia,21Ihuwareware,Stand by yourkona,21Ihuatamai,Chide me not in my trouble,Me Hine-teiwaiwa, O Rupe.22Release from above your hair,23Your head, your shoulders,Your breast, your liver,Your knees, your feet,Let them come forth.The old lady24with night-dark visage,She will make you stretch,She will make you rise up.Let goewe,25let gotake,25Let goparapara.25Come forth.*[pg 30] Thiskarakiais 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 thetapu, which is to be discovered by thematakite(=seer). The father of the child then plunges in the river, while thekarakiais being repeated, and the child will generally be born ere ever he returns.The following form ofkarakiais 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.26After which thetohungaaddressing the unborn child says, “Come forth. The fault rests with me. Come forth.” Thetohungacontinues thus—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.[pg 31]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 thingstapuis 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 oftapu, either wilful, or accidental, or even brought about by the act of another person, causes the anger of theAtuaof 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 thetapu, he has to consult amatakite(seer) and atohungato discover the crime, and use the proper ceremonies to appease theAtua; for there is in practice a method of making a person offend against the laws oftapuwithout his being aware of it. This method is a secret one calledmakutu. 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 familyAtua. 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 [pg 32] confined to thekarakiaof atohungaor 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 theMaori.When anyone becomesporangior insane, as not unfrequently happens, he is taken to atohunga, who first makes an examination as to the cause of the disease. He and the sick man then go to the water-side, and thetohunga, 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 thetohunga, while in his right hand he holds a common stone, which is also raised aloft, while the followingkarakiais being repeated by him.Tu, divide, Tu, split,This is thewaiapuflint,Now about to cry aloudTo the Moon of ill-omen.Then thetohungabreathes on the flint, and smashes it with the stone held in his right hand. After this he selects a shoot of the planttoetoe, and pulls it up, and then fastens to it both the locks of hair. Then diving in the river, he lets go thetoetoeand locks of hair, and when they float on the surface of the water, he commences his greatkarakiathus—This is theTiriof Tu-i-rawea,This is theTiriof Uenuku.[pg 33]Where lies your fault?Was eating akutuyour fault?Was sitting ontapuground your fault?Unravel the tangle,Unravel, untie.Take away the fault from the headOf theAtuawho afflicts this man.Take away the disease,And themanaof the curser.Turn yourmanaagainst yourtohunga,And yourwhaiwhaia.27Give me the curseTo make as cooked food.YourAtuadesecrated,Yourtapu, your curse,Your sacred-place-dwellingAtua,Your house-dwellingAtua,Give me to cook for food.Yourtapuis desecrated by me.The rays of the sun,The brave of the world,Themana, give me.Let yourAtua, and yourtapuBe food for me to eat.Let the head of the curserBe baked in the oven,Served up for food for meDead, and gone to Night.The latter part of thiskarakiais a curse directed against sometohungasupposed to have caused the disease by his art ofmakutu.Makutuwas 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 [pg 34] society where no law but that of force generally prevailed, as a check to theft and unjust dealing generally; for there is among theMaoria 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 atohunga, in order to discover the thief. Whether the flax has been stolen from her house or from the water, the woman’s house must betapu. No one must be allowed to enter it. This is necessary, that themakutumay take effect, and the person who stole the flax be discovered. So when the woman comes to thetohungahe first asks her “Has any one entered your house?” She replies “No.” Then thetohungabids her return home, saying “I will come to you at night.” The woman returns home, and at night thetohungacomes 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. Thetohungathus 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 snatchAt the rays of the Sun.Let your hands snatch at Whiro,Whiro in vast heaven,[pg 35]Whiro born of Papa.Snatch, snatch at your own head,Perishing in the Night of Darkness,In the Night of Death—Death.WhakahokituIs the name given to forms ofmakutuemployed to counteract the curse of some othertohunga, or wise-man; for whoever practisesmakutu, even though he be skilled in the art, may have to yield to themanaof some other wise-man who can command the assistance of a more powerfulAtua. The following is a specimen of this kind ofmakutu—Great curse, long curse,Great curse, binding curse,Binding your sacrednessTo the tide of destruction.Come hither, sacred spell,To be looked on by me.Cause the curser to lie lowIn gloomy Night, in dark Night,In the Night of ill-omen.Great wind, lasting wind,Changing wind ofRangiabove.He falls. He perishes.Cause to waste away the cursertohunga.Let him bite the oven-stones.Be food for me,Thetapuand themana,Of yourAtua,Of yourkarakia,Of yourtohunga.Among theAtuamuch held in awe by theMaoriwere theAtua noho-whare, or house-dwelling gods—spirits of the germs of unborn infants. They are also known by [pg 36] the namekahukahu, the meaning of which word was explained in a former publication.TheMaorihas 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 theAtua.There is a class of dreams calledmoe-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 amoe-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 calledtakiri, some of which are lucky, and some unlucky, each kind being distinguished by a special name.The luckytakiriare—Thehokai, or starting of the leg or foot in a forward direction. It denotes the repulse of the enemy.Thetauaro, or starting of the arm towards the body.Thewhakaara, when in sleep the head starts upwards. It signifies that ere long theArikior his father will arrive.Thekapo, a very lucky sign. While a man sleeps with [pg 37] 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 unluckytakiriare—Thekohera, a starting of the arm and leg of one side of the body in an outward direction.Thepeke, a starting of the arm outwards from the body.Thewhawhati, 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 formertakirido not necessarily denote evil to the individual sleeper, but to any of his companions.[pg 38]

RELIGIOUS RITES OF THE MAORI.Ἀλλ᾿ ἄγε δή τινα μάντιν ἐρείομεν.—Hom. Il. 1-62.The religious rites and ceremonies of theMaoriwere strange and complex, and must have been a severe burden, as will be understood from the translations ofMaorinarratives 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 thingstapu, or things sacred and prohibited, the breach of which laws by anyone is a crime displeasing to theAtuaof his family. Anythingtapumust 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, becometapu, and only a few very sacred persons, themselvestapu, dare to touch these things.The idea in which this law originated appears to have been that a portion of the sacred essence of anAtua, 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 anAtuashould be madetaputo protect it from being polluted by the [pg 26] contact of fooddesigned to be eaten; for the act of eating food which had touched anythingtapu, involved the necessity of eating the sacredness of theAtua, 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 classtapuwas callednoa, meaning free or common. Things and personstapucould, however, be madenoaby means of certain ceremonies, the object of which was to extract thetapuessence, and restore it to the source whence it originally came. It has been already stated that every tribe and every family has its own especialAtua. TheAriki, 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 theirAtua.17They form, as [pg 27] it were, the connecting links between the living and the spirits of the dead; and the ceremonies required for releasing anything from thetapustate cannot be perfected without their intervention.On arriving one evening at aMaorisettlement, 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 thePa. I was curious to see in what way the land required would be madenoa. 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 onlykumara, 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 hiskumara, and the place was declared to benoa. 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 thetapuground, equally incurred the risk of offending theAtuaof the family, which risk was believed to be removed by the Christiankarakia.By neglecting the laws oftapu,Ariki, chiefs, and [pg 28] other sacred persons are especially liable to the displeasure of theirAtua, 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 termkarakiais applicable to all forms of prayer to theAtua: but there are a variety of names or titles to denotekarakiahaving special objects. The translations of those now presented to the reader will, it is believed, speak for themselves as to the nature ofMaoriworship, 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 akarakiais 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.

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

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

The religious rites and ceremonies of theMaoriwere strange and complex, and must have been a severe burden, as will be understood from the translations ofMaorinarratives 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 thingstapu, or things sacred and prohibited, the breach of which laws by anyone is a crime displeasing to theAtuaof his family. Anythingtapumust 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, becometapu, and only a few very sacred persons, themselvestapu, dare to touch these things.

The idea in which this law originated appears to have been that a portion of the sacred essence of anAtua, 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 anAtuashould be madetaputo protect it from being polluted by the [pg 26] contact of fooddesigned to be eaten; for the act of eating food which had touched anythingtapu, involved the necessity of eating the sacredness of theAtua, 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 classtapuwas callednoa, meaning free or common. Things and personstapucould, however, be madenoaby means of certain ceremonies, the object of which was to extract thetapuessence, and restore it to the source whence it originally came. It has been already stated that every tribe and every family has its own especialAtua. TheAriki, 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 theirAtua.17They form, as [pg 27] it were, the connecting links between the living and the spirits of the dead; and the ceremonies required for releasing anything from thetapustate cannot be perfected without their intervention.

On arriving one evening at aMaorisettlement, 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 thePa. I was curious to see in what way the land required would be madenoa. 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 onlykumara, 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 hiskumara, and the place was declared to benoa. 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 thetapuground, equally incurred the risk of offending theAtuaof the family, which risk was believed to be removed by the Christiankarakia.

By neglecting the laws oftapu,Ariki, chiefs, and [pg 28] other sacred persons are especially liable to the displeasure of theirAtua, 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 termkarakiais applicable to all forms of prayer to theAtua: but there are a variety of names or titles to denotekarakiahaving special objects. The translations of those now presented to the reader will, it is believed, speak for themselves as to the nature ofMaoriworship, 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 akarakiais 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, etManumeainundabuntur:Lectus meus, et mei fetûs inundabitur:[pg 29]Inundabor aquâ, inundabor;Maritus meus inundabitur.18Now I step upon (the mat).TheMatitikura19to Rupe above,***Toroa****Takapu****to cause to be born,My child now one with myself.Stand firmturuturu20of Hine-rauwharangi,****Hine-teiwaiwa,Stand by yourtia,21Ihuwareware,Stand by yourkona,21Ihuatamai,Chide me not in my trouble,Me Hine-teiwaiwa, O Rupe.22Release from above your hair,23Your head, your shoulders,Your breast, your liver,Your knees, your feet,Let them come forth.The old lady24with night-dark visage,She will make you stretch,She will make you rise up.Let goewe,25let gotake,25Let goparapara.25Come forth.*[pg 30] Thiskarakiais 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 thetapu, which is to be discovered by thematakite(=seer). The father of the child then plunges in the river, while thekarakiais being repeated, and the child will generally be born ere ever he returns.The following form ofkarakiais 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.26After which thetohungaaddressing the unborn child says, “Come forth. The fault rests with me. Come forth.” Thetohungacontinues thus—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.[pg 31]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 thingstapuis 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 oftapu, either wilful, or accidental, or even brought about by the act of another person, causes the anger of theAtuaof 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 thetapu, he has to consult amatakite(seer) and atohungato discover the crime, and use the proper ceremonies to appease theAtua; for there is in practice a method of making a person offend against the laws oftapuwithout his being aware of it. This method is a secret one calledmakutu. 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 familyAtua. 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 [pg 32] confined to thekarakiaof atohungaor 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 theMaori.When anyone becomesporangior insane, as not unfrequently happens, he is taken to atohunga, who first makes an examination as to the cause of the disease. He and the sick man then go to the water-side, and thetohunga, 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 thetohunga, while in his right hand he holds a common stone, which is also raised aloft, while the followingkarakiais being repeated by him.Tu, divide, Tu, split,This is thewaiapuflint,Now about to cry aloudTo the Moon of ill-omen.Then thetohungabreathes on the flint, and smashes it with the stone held in his right hand. After this he selects a shoot of the planttoetoe, and pulls it up, and then fastens to it both the locks of hair. Then diving in the river, he lets go thetoetoeand locks of hair, and when they float on the surface of the water, he commences his greatkarakiathus—This is theTiriof Tu-i-rawea,This is theTiriof Uenuku.[pg 33]Where lies your fault?Was eating akutuyour fault?Was sitting ontapuground your fault?Unravel the tangle,Unravel, untie.Take away the fault from the headOf theAtuawho afflicts this man.Take away the disease,And themanaof the curser.Turn yourmanaagainst yourtohunga,And yourwhaiwhaia.27Give me the curseTo make as cooked food.YourAtuadesecrated,Yourtapu, your curse,Your sacred-place-dwellingAtua,Your house-dwellingAtua,Give me to cook for food.Yourtapuis desecrated by me.The rays of the sun,The brave of the world,Themana, give me.Let yourAtua, and yourtapuBe food for me to eat.Let the head of the curserBe baked in the oven,Served up for food for meDead, and gone to Night.The latter part of thiskarakiais a curse directed against sometohungasupposed to have caused the disease by his art ofmakutu.Makutuwas 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 [pg 34] society where no law but that of force generally prevailed, as a check to theft and unjust dealing generally; for there is among theMaoria 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 atohunga, in order to discover the thief. Whether the flax has been stolen from her house or from the water, the woman’s house must betapu. No one must be allowed to enter it. This is necessary, that themakutumay take effect, and the person who stole the flax be discovered. So when the woman comes to thetohungahe first asks her “Has any one entered your house?” She replies “No.” Then thetohungabids her return home, saying “I will come to you at night.” The woman returns home, and at night thetohungacomes 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. Thetohungathus 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 snatchAt the rays of the Sun.Let your hands snatch at Whiro,Whiro in vast heaven,[pg 35]Whiro born of Papa.Snatch, snatch at your own head,Perishing in the Night of Darkness,In the Night of Death—Death.

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, etManumeainundabuntur:Lectus meus, et mei fetûs inundabitur:[pg 29]Inundabor aquâ, inundabor;Maritus meus inundabitur.18Now I step upon (the mat).TheMatitikura19to Rupe above,***Toroa****Takapu****to cause to be born,My child now one with myself.Stand firmturuturu20of Hine-rauwharangi,****Hine-teiwaiwa,Stand by yourtia,21Ihuwareware,Stand by yourkona,21Ihuatamai,Chide me not in my trouble,Me Hine-teiwaiwa, O Rupe.22Release from above your hair,23Your head, your shoulders,Your breast, your liver,Your knees, your feet,Let them come forth.The old lady24with night-dark visage,She will make you stretch,She will make you rise up.Let goewe,25let gotake,25Let goparapara.25Come forth.*

Weave, weave the mat,Couch for my unborn child,Qui lectus aquâ inundabitur:Rupe, etManumeainundabuntur:Lectus meus, et mei fetûs inundabitur:[pg 29]Inundabor aquâ, inundabor;Maritus meus inundabitur.18Now I step upon (the mat).TheMatitikura19to Rupe above,***Toroa****Takapu****to cause to be born,My child now one with myself.Stand firmturuturu20of Hine-rauwharangi,****Hine-teiwaiwa,Stand by yourtia,21Ihuwareware,Stand by yourkona,21Ihuatamai,Chide me not in my trouble,Me Hine-teiwaiwa, O Rupe.22Release from above your hair,23Your head, your shoulders,Your breast, your liver,Your knees, your feet,Let them come forth.The old lady24with night-dark visage,She will make you stretch,She will make you rise up.Let goewe,25let gotake,25Let goparapara.25Come forth.*

Weave, weave the mat,

Couch for my unborn child,

Qui lectus aquâ inundabitur:

Rupe, etManumeainundabuntur:

Lectus meus, et mei fetûs inundabitur:

[pg 29]

Inundabor aquâ, inundabor;

Maritus meus inundabitur.18

Now I step upon (the mat).

TheMatitikura19to Rupe above,

***Toroa*

***Takapu*

***to cause to be born,

My child now one with myself.

Stand firmturuturu20of Hine-rauwharangi,

****Hine-teiwaiwa,

Stand by yourtia,21Ihuwareware,

Stand by yourkona,21Ihuatamai,

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 lady24with night-dark visage,

She will make you stretch,

She will make you rise up.

Let goewe,25let gotake,25

Let goparapara.25Come forth.*

[pg 30] Thiskarakiais 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 thetapu, which is to be discovered by thematakite(=seer). The father of the child then plunges in the river, while thekarakiais being repeated, and the child will generally be born ere ever he returns.

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

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

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

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.26After which thetohungaaddressing the unborn child says, “Come forth. The fault rests with me. Come forth.” Thetohungacontinues thus—

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.

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

Tiki of the heap of earth,

Tiki scraped together,

When hands and feet were formed,

First produced at Hawaiki.

[pg 31]

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 thingstapuis 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 oftapu, either wilful, or accidental, or even brought about by the act of another person, causes the anger of theAtuaof 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 thetapu, he has to consult amatakite(seer) and atohungato discover the crime, and use the proper ceremonies to appease theAtua; for there is in practice a method of making a person offend against the laws oftapuwithout his being aware of it. This method is a secret one calledmakutu. 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 familyAtua. 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 [pg 32] confined to thekarakiaof atohungaor 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 theMaori.

When anyone becomesporangior insane, as not unfrequently happens, he is taken to atohunga, who first makes an examination as to the cause of the disease. He and the sick man then go to the water-side, and thetohunga, 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 thetohunga, while in his right hand he holds a common stone, which is also raised aloft, while the followingkarakiais being repeated by him.

Tu, divide, Tu, split,This is thewaiapuflint,Now about to cry aloudTo the Moon of ill-omen.

Tu, divide, Tu, split,This is thewaiapuflint,Now about to cry aloudTo the Moon of ill-omen.

Tu, divide, Tu, split,

This is thewaiapuflint,

Now about to cry aloud

To the Moon of ill-omen.

Then thetohungabreathes on the flint, and smashes it with the stone held in his right hand. After this he selects a shoot of the planttoetoe, and pulls it up, and then fastens to it both the locks of hair. Then diving in the river, he lets go thetoetoeand locks of hair, and when they float on the surface of the water, he commences his greatkarakiathus—

This is theTiriof Tu-i-rawea,This is theTiriof Uenuku.[pg 33]Where lies your fault?Was eating akutuyour fault?Was sitting ontapuground your fault?Unravel the tangle,Unravel, untie.Take away the fault from the headOf theAtuawho afflicts this man.Take away the disease,And themanaof the curser.Turn yourmanaagainst yourtohunga,And yourwhaiwhaia.27Give me the curseTo make as cooked food.YourAtuadesecrated,Yourtapu, your curse,Your sacred-place-dwellingAtua,Your house-dwellingAtua,Give me to cook for food.Yourtapuis desecrated by me.The rays of the sun,The brave of the world,Themana, give me.Let yourAtua, and yourtapuBe food for me to eat.Let the head of the curserBe baked in the oven,Served up for food for meDead, and gone to Night.

This is theTiriof Tu-i-rawea,This is theTiriof Uenuku.[pg 33]Where lies your fault?Was eating akutuyour fault?Was sitting ontapuground your fault?Unravel the tangle,Unravel, untie.Take away the fault from the headOf theAtuawho afflicts this man.Take away the disease,And themanaof the curser.Turn yourmanaagainst yourtohunga,And yourwhaiwhaia.27Give me the curseTo make as cooked food.YourAtuadesecrated,Yourtapu, your curse,Your sacred-place-dwellingAtua,Your house-dwellingAtua,Give me to cook for food.Yourtapuis desecrated by me.The rays of the sun,The brave of the world,Themana, give me.Let yourAtua, and yourtapuBe food for me to eat.Let the head of the curserBe baked in the oven,Served up for food for meDead, and gone to Night.

This is theTiriof Tu-i-rawea,

This is theTiriof Uenuku.

[pg 33]

Where lies your fault?

Was eating akutuyour fault?

Was sitting ontapuground your fault?

Unravel the tangle,

Unravel, untie.

Take away the fault from the head

Of theAtuawho afflicts this man.

Take away the disease,

And themanaof the curser.

Turn yourmanaagainst yourtohunga,

And yourwhaiwhaia.27

Give me the curse

To make as cooked food.

YourAtuadesecrated,

Yourtapu, your curse,

Your sacred-place-dwellingAtua,

Your house-dwellingAtua,

Give me to cook for food.

Yourtapuis desecrated by me.

The rays of the sun,

The brave of the world,

Themana, give me.

Let yourAtua, and yourtapu

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.

The latter part of thiskarakiais a curse directed against sometohungasupposed to have caused the disease by his art ofmakutu.

Makutuwas 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 [pg 34] society where no law but that of force generally prevailed, as a check to theft and unjust dealing generally; for there is among theMaoria 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 atohunga, in order to discover the thief. Whether the flax has been stolen from her house or from the water, the woman’s house must betapu. No one must be allowed to enter it. This is necessary, that themakutumay take effect, and the person who stole the flax be discovered. So when the woman comes to thetohungahe first asks her “Has any one entered your house?” She replies “No.” Then thetohungabids her return home, saying “I will come to you at night.” The woman returns home, and at night thetohungacomes 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. Thetohungathus 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 snatchAt the rays of the Sun.Let your hands snatch at Whiro,Whiro in vast heaven,[pg 35]Whiro born of Papa.Snatch, snatch at your own head,Perishing in the Night of Darkness,In the Night of Death—Death.

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 snatchAt the rays of the Sun.Let your hands snatch at Whiro,Whiro in vast heaven,[pg 35]Whiro born of Papa.Snatch, snatch at your own head,Perishing in the Night of Darkness,In the Night of Death—Death.

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,

[pg 35]

Whiro born of Papa.

Snatch, snatch at your own head,

Perishing in the Night of Darkness,

In the Night of Death—Death.

WhakahokituIs the name given to forms ofmakutuemployed to counteract the curse of some othertohunga, or wise-man; for whoever practisesmakutu, even though he be skilled in the art, may have to yield to themanaof some other wise-man who can command the assistance of a more powerfulAtua. The following is a specimen of this kind ofmakutu—Great curse, long curse,Great curse, binding curse,Binding your sacrednessTo the tide of destruction.Come hither, sacred spell,To be looked on by me.Cause the curser to lie lowIn gloomy Night, in dark Night,In the Night of ill-omen.Great wind, lasting wind,Changing wind ofRangiabove.He falls. He perishes.Cause to waste away the cursertohunga.Let him bite the oven-stones.Be food for me,Thetapuand themana,Of yourAtua,Of yourkarakia,Of yourtohunga.Among theAtuamuch held in awe by theMaoriwere theAtua noho-whare, or house-dwelling gods—spirits of the germs of unborn infants. They are also known by [pg 36] the namekahukahu, the meaning of which word was explained in a former publication.TheMaorihas 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 theAtua.There is a class of dreams calledmoe-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 amoe-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 calledtakiri, some of which are lucky, and some unlucky, each kind being distinguished by a special name.The luckytakiriare—Thehokai, or starting of the leg or foot in a forward direction. It denotes the repulse of the enemy.Thetauaro, or starting of the arm towards the body.Thewhakaara, when in sleep the head starts upwards. It signifies that ere long theArikior his father will arrive.Thekapo, a very lucky sign. While a man sleeps with [pg 37] 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 unluckytakiriare—Thekohera, a starting of the arm and leg of one side of the body in an outward direction.Thepeke, a starting of the arm outwards from the body.Thewhawhati, 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 formertakirido not necessarily denote evil to the individual sleeper, but to any of his companions.[pg 38]

Is the name given to forms ofmakutuemployed to counteract the curse of some othertohunga, or wise-man; for whoever practisesmakutu, even though he be skilled in the art, may have to yield to themanaof some other wise-man who can command the assistance of a more powerfulAtua. The following is a specimen of this kind ofmakutu—

Great curse, long curse,Great curse, binding curse,Binding your sacrednessTo the tide of destruction.Come hither, sacred spell,To be looked on by me.Cause the curser to lie lowIn gloomy Night, in dark Night,In the Night of ill-omen.Great wind, lasting wind,Changing wind ofRangiabove.He falls. He perishes.Cause to waste away the cursertohunga.Let him bite the oven-stones.Be food for me,Thetapuand themana,Of yourAtua,Of yourkarakia,Of yourtohunga.

Great curse, long curse,Great curse, binding curse,Binding your sacrednessTo the tide of destruction.Come hither, sacred spell,To be looked on by me.Cause the curser to lie lowIn gloomy Night, in dark Night,In the Night of ill-omen.Great wind, lasting wind,Changing wind ofRangiabove.He falls. He perishes.Cause to waste away the cursertohunga.Let him bite the oven-stones.Be food for me,Thetapuand themana,Of yourAtua,Of yourkarakia,Of yourtohunga.

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 ofRangiabove.

He falls. He perishes.

Cause to waste away the cursertohunga.

Let him bite the oven-stones.

Be food for me,

Thetapuand themana,

Of yourAtua,

Of yourkarakia,

Of yourtohunga.

Among theAtuamuch held in awe by theMaoriwere theAtua noho-whare, or house-dwelling gods—spirits of the germs of unborn infants. They are also known by [pg 36] the namekahukahu, the meaning of which word was explained in a former publication.

TheMaorihas 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 theAtua.

There is a class of dreams calledmoe-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 amoe-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 calledtakiri, some of which are lucky, and some unlucky, each kind being distinguished by a special name.

The luckytakiriare—

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

Thetauaro, or starting of the arm towards the body.

Thewhakaara, when in sleep the head starts upwards. It signifies that ere long theArikior his father will arrive.

Thekapo, a very lucky sign. While a man sleeps with [pg 37] 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 unluckytakiriare—

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

Thepeke, a starting of the arm outwards from the body.

Thewhawhati, 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 formertakirido not necessarily denote evil to the individual sleeper, but to any of his companions.

[pg 38]


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