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THE

HISTORY AND DOINGS

MAOEI8.

From the Year 1820 to the Signing of the Treaty
of Waitangi in 1840.

THOMAS WAYTH GUDGEON,
AUTHOR OF THE REMINISCENCES OF THE WAR IN NEW ZEALAND.'

Hucfclanb :
Printed by H. Brett, "Evening Star" Office, Shortland Street.
mdccclxxxv.

BY PERMISSION,

THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR

SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS, K.C.B.,

OOVEllNOR AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF NEW ZEALAND.

INTRODUCTION.

-The Maoris as a nation, although religiously particular in handing
down to posterity the genealogy of their ancestors, tracing their
descent from the very canoe they arrived in, yet had little or no idea
of time, ' one day being the same as another, — no day of rest, no
Sabbath, no recollection of dates, no knowledge of their age. A curious
instance of this occurred some years ago. I was in an auction room in
Wanganui, where the old and venerable chief Pehi was sitting. He had
isolated himself for years, as he could not brook the annoyance he ex
perienced at seeing his country peopled by another race. Few had ever
seen him, although he was the most powerful chief of Upper Wanganui.
What had induced him at last to come out of his shell no one ever knew.
But he had come down the river that day perhaps to judge for himself
whether there was any probability of his yet being able to drive the
pakeha into the sea. Be it as it may, there he sat, Maori fashion, on
his haunches, covered up in his mat and blankets ; and his venerable
and commanding appearance so struck me that I asked a Maori who
stood near him what age Pehi was. The Maori looked at the old
warrior, and suddenly replied, " Two hundred." " What nonsense !" I
said. " What age do you take me for?" He glanced at me up and
down for a minute, and said, " One hundred." I consequently gathered
that Pehi was twice my age. There was a calm nobility about
the old chief, seldom seen amongst Maoris, which would have been
instantly acknowledged at Home had he gone to England. Pehi's
real age must have been nearly ninety. He had lived in the early
times when the Maori race, prior to the introduction of Christianity
into New Zealand, was of so lawless and turbulent a character that no
tribe was safe from the depredations of his neighbour, although living
on supposed terms of friendship. For so great was their love of war,
their greed of country, and their intense jealousy of each other's Mana
(power), that their whole lives Were spent in circumventing or destroy
ing the tribe who had either accumulated land, or increased in number.
The Maori of the period I am now writing of must have existed in
constant dread of either losing his life or liberty, or of being despoiled
of his territory, his wives, and children ; for, if not killed in battle, he
and they probably became slaves, and were used by the conquering
party for tbe most degrading purposes.
However careful a tribe may have been not willingly to give offence
they were always subject to the lawless acts of any individual member,

6 INTRODUCTION.
as his deeds would be visited on the whole, no explanation being either
asked or received, as will be seen on perusal of the many instances I
relate, where a tribe living in fancied security have, suddenly found
themselves surrounded by an implacable. enemy, and called upon to
defend their lives and property, consequent on the act of an individual
who, falling out with some of his own people, had in revenge slaughtered
a man of a more powerful tribe, for the mere purpose of bringing down
vengeance on his own hapu, and who were oftentimes nearly destroyed
for an offence they as a body had nothing to do with, and, in some
instances, perfectly ignorant of the crime having been committed.
There is an old saying among us " That's all fair in love and war."
Whether the Maori adopts the former I cannot say, but evidently he
does the latter, as the following incident will show : — A merchant in
the City of Auckland had employed a Maori as storeman for sometime
prior to the war breaking out, and being an active and steady servant,
nothing occurred to mar the good feeling existing between master and
man. But Tamati's tribe having joined the malcontents, Tamati himself
disappeared one morning without any previous warning, to join in the
general melee. After the war was over, the merchant who had taken
an active part in putting down the rebellion, chanced to meet his old
servant while walking down Queen-street, and the following colloquy
took place;— '¦ Hullo Tomati, where have you been ; have you been
righting against us ?" " Yes," he answered, excitingly, while vigorously
shaking his master's hand. "I saw you at Rangiriri, and tried all I
could to shoot you. I had stolen up behind a flax bush within fifty yards
of you, and twice I pulled the trigger, but my gun (no good) would
not go off, and you walked away." He evidently had no ill feeling
against his master, quite the contrary, but thought it right not to
spare even him, in actual warfare, although he had received nothing
but the greatest kindness from him.
This state of things Christianity not only softened, but soon put a
stop to, by teaching them to hold each one answerable for his own
actions, a doctrine the Maori readily embraced ; and although they
have accused the Anglo-Saxon race of introducing amongst them many
things which, when abused, became hurtful to them as individuals,
let it also be remembered that they brought with them the blessings
of peace and protection to life and property, a blessing which as a
nation they had hitherto been perfect strangers to. In corroboration of
which the facts narrated in these pages will, I think, bear testimony.
January, 1885. T. W. G.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.
Introduction  ... 5
The Aborigines of New Zealand ... 9
Migration of the Maori Race ... 13
Traditions of the Maoris  16
Maori Superstitions .... 19
Noted Toas; or Great Maori Fighting Men ... 22
Makutu (Witchcraft)  25
Causes of War  28
The Tapu, and Warlike Character of the Maoris 31
Maori Mode of Warfare  33
Former Inhabitants of the Auckland Peninsula 36
A Fragment of Early Days of New Zealand, in manuscript . . 40
Destruction of Ngatiwhare  48
Raids of Ngapuhi under Hongi ...... 50
Raids of Waikato under Wherowhero ... 57
Raids of Ngatiawa under Rauparaha ... 60
Te Wherowhero's Attack on Pukerangiora . 63
Defence of Te Namo by Taranaki and Wi Kingi 68
Fight at Moturoa  73
Attack of Tangahoe and Ngaruahine by Waharoa 78
The Last of the Old Tribal Fights  81
The Chief Te Waharoa  84
Maori Customs and -Superstitions ...... 97

CHAPTER I.
THE ABORIGINES OF NEW ZEALAND.
The Maoris say that a chief named Turi was the first of their
race who landed in New Zealand ; that he came from Hawaike,
an island in the Pacific, in a canoe named Aotea, and he
it was who gave the names to the rivers and mountains in
this part of the country; that he landed in a bay situate
between Taranaki and Wanganui, named the Witikau ; that
soon after another or second canoe, named Tokomaru, arrived
from the same island, commanded by a chief named Manaia,
who had to fly his country on account of a murder he had
committed ; that they found New Zealand inhabited by a very
unwarlike race called Morions, whom they easily subdued, and
took possession of the islands. In all the great migrations
of races of which history informs us, the advancing race has
had to fight its way against those already in possession of the
land, whom we in our ignorance call aborigines, but who were
probably only invaders of a region inhabited before their arrival.
Of the movements of the first explorers we know literally
nothing. As who, for instance, was the great leader who pushed
out into what must then have seemed an infinite ocean, and
planted the Maori race in New Zealand, and whence did he
come 1 The vast continent of America, with its peculiar types
of mankind, how was it reached and settled*? By way of a
connection with Asia or by way of the sunken continent of the
Atlantic ? The groups of islands in the vast Pacific, scattered
widely and loosely over that boundless waste of waters, whence
do they derive the human inhabitants whom we found settled
there when our seamen made what we call voyages of dis
covery ? Is it not in reality re-discovery of which history tells B

10 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
us, as the beginnings are inevitably lost in the deep darkness
of the illimitable past t
Be it as it may, it would appear that some four hundred
years ago a considerable number of savages or barbarians
did find their way from the islands of Polynesia to the
shores of New Zealand ; that they arrived in canoes, the occu
pants of each canoe forming a numerous family with a common
name and ancestry; that on reaching these shores they took pos
session of the soil in the immediate vicinity of their landing,
driving the original inhabitants (the Morioris) into the interior
of the island. Each tribe or canoe was independent of and
often hostile towards each other, consequently the original tenure
of land was simply occupation, and could only be maintained by
a tribe so long as they were strong enough to prevent another
tribe from depriving them of it. Therefore the right of occu
pation was always liable to be superseded by force, and acquisi
tion of territory by conquest was recognised by all the tribes
as right. Consequently, in speaking of the right of any one
individual tribe to land, it simply meant their power of holding
possession. Chieftainship is merely a prestige accorded by a
tribe to individuals, which gave its possessors an influence or
control in proportion to the chicanery, gift of oratory, or respect
they could command. There never was a general government
or general intertribal polity among the Maori race. They had
no common head, no common tribunal, no common interest.
Such was the state of affairs in New Zealand when Her
Majesty took possession of these islands. The intertribal wars
had so decimated their numbers that they were glad to cede
the sovereignty to a power which could protect their imme
diate rights.
Thus Article 1 of the Treaty of Waitangi says, —
" That the chiefs of the tribes of New Zealand cede to
Her Majesty the Queen of England, absolute and without
reservation, all the rights and powers of sovereignty which they
possess, or may be supposed to exercise or possess over their
respective territories, as the sole sovereign thereof."
Article 2 says, —

THE ABORIGINES OF NEW ZEALAND. 11
" That Her Majesty the Queen of England guarantees to
the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand, and the respective
families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, and undis
turbed possession of their lands or properties so long as it is
their will or desire to retain the same."
Article 3 goes on to say, —
" That in consideration thereof, Her Majesty the Queen
of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand her Royal
protection, and imparts to them all the rights and privileges of
British subjects."
Now, by the first Article it is certain the chiefs gave up
such sovereign right as they did or were supposed to possess,
otherwise they ceded nothing. Consequently any Maori here
after assuming the title of King is a rebel against his lawful
sovereign, as are all those who support him in his presumption.
Article 2 clearly contemplates the possession of lands by
chiefs as chiefs, by tribes as tribes, by families as families, and
by individuals as individuals, and such possession it guarantees
and confirms. Article 3 is an express recognition of what was implied, by
the acceptance on the part of the. Crown of the ceded sove
reignty, the benefits of which were to the Natives, viz. : —
First. The general rights of British subjects ;
Secondly. An express British title to the possession of the
land as long as they chose to hold it.
These Articles were accepted in the following words, —
" Now, therefore, we, the chiefs of the confederation of
the united tribes of New Zealand, being assembled in congress
at Victoria, Waitangi, and we, the separate and independent
chiefs of New Zealand claiming authority over the tribes and
territories which are specified after our respective names, having
been made fully to understand the provisions of the foregoing
treaty, accept and enter into the same in the full meaning
thereof. In witness whereof we have attached our signatures
or marks at the places and dates respectively specified.
"Done at Waitangi, 6th February, 1840."
The Maoris being a very intelligent race were soon enabled

12 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
to exercise their rights as British* subjects, as also to acquire a
knowledge of the value of their waste lands, which they began to
dispose of. At first the more regular sales were effected by
their chiefs, who claimed a high commission on the proceeds of
any given sale. After a time each individual Maori did his own
business, the Government giving a Crown grant to the pur
chaser after a due and satisfactory examination of the trans
action.

CHAPTER II.
MIGRATIONS OF THE MAORI RACE.
Maori tradition in mentioning Hawaike as the place from
which they emigrated, further indicates that many other migra
tions took place, from other and further off Hawaikes, and it is
very possible that such may have been the case, inasmuch as
all the Polynesian Islands, from Easter Island, and Hawaii, in
the east, to far Ponape, in the west, name Hawaike as the place
from which their remote ancestors sailed ; and thus the name of
their much loved ancestral home has been preserved, in almost
all the islands of the Pacific, whether in the form of Hawaii,
Savii, Habau or Hapai, according to the dialects spoken.
Chapters have been written by able men to prove that the
stalwart Polynesian is a descendant of the morose and diminu
tive Malay of Sumatra, forgetting that the Polynesian may be
found living on a few islands of the Eastern Archipelago with
the Malay, but distinctly apart, as a race. Polynesians also
still occupy a large portion of New Guinea and Papua (or the
Land of Birds), which is known by tradition to the old Tohu-
ugas of the South Pacific as one of the islands at which in
their migrations they generally sojourned for a time, and from
which they again sailed, ever in search of new lands, until,
after centuries of sea-roving, they reached the ultima Thule of
the Maori race — New Zealand.
On the other hand, quite as many writers have proven to
their own satisfaction that the Maori is a descendant of the lost
Toltic tribe of Central America, a theory depending chiefly on
a certain resemblance between the Teocallis of Palenque, Copan,
and Uxjnal, and those of Polynesia ; and, above all, the fact that
on Easter Island, the land nearest America, may be found
gigantic stone idols, or memorial statues, some of which are

14 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
twenty-seven feet high, and which appear to be not altogether
unlike the more' finished idols of Central America. This,
however, may be a mere coincidence, as the American language
is totally unlike that of the Polynesian, and the people still more
so. That the Marae of the Pacific should resemble the Teocallis
of the Mexican is probably due to a similarity of religion, as a
certain vague resemblance does exist at Tongatapu and the other
'westerly islands, as, for instance, structures almost identical
with the Teocallis are to be found at Samoa, while remains of a
like nature occur at Opolu, such as Druidical circles, built of
black basalt, the stones at least twelve feet high ; and in the
Marian Group, in the far west of Polynesia, gigantic remains of
hewn stone may be seen. But it is at Ulan that these works of
antiquity attain their greatest perfection ; for here we have
quadrangular enclosures over one hundred feet square, the walls
from twenty to thirty feet high, built of hewn basalt, beautifully
finished. Thus we find that the architectural character of the
ancient and cyclopean remains of the South Seas does, in many
cases, closely resemble the more perfect and elaborate structures
of America, for the Teocalli of Pachacama, in Peru, is a duplicate
of that at Mikuhiya, in the Marquesas ; but the overwhelming. ,
evidence of language and race prevent our accepting the theory
that the two races were identical, or even remotely connected.
Equally may we dismiss the idea that the gigantic Polynesian,
tallest of all the races of men, could by any possible means have
descended from the morose and diminutive Malay. It would
seem rather more probable that they were a people peculiar to
the Eastern Archipelago, who had at one time occupied Java
and Sumatra, and who, driven out by the conquering Malay,.
emigrated in different directions, the majority sailing eastward
and occupying portions of New Guinea, whilst others sailed
westward, reaching Madagascar. If this hypothesis is untenable,.
then we must accept that of Judge Fernandez, who asserts that
the Polynesian is a branch of the great Indo-European family,
who, by successive migrations, have found their way from, or
even beyond, India, through the Eastern Archipelago, leaving
small colonies along their route, by which they may, to a certain

MIGRATIONS OF THE MAORI RACE. 15
extent, be traced even at the present day. Many reasons may
be found for these continual migrations of the Polynesians,
such as over-population, but the chief reason was undoubtedly
war. Mr. Gill, in his excellent work on " Savage Life in Polynesia,"
gives us undoubted proof of this in one of his traditions of
Mangaia, in which it is related that some 250 years ago the
sacred tribe of Ngariki, having quelled a rebellion of the Tonga
tribes, ordered two chiefs named Te Karaka and Tanai, with
their adherents, to leave the island ; that two double canoes
were made seaworthy and laden with provisions, and the party
put to sea in search of new lands. Nothing definite has ever
been heard of them, but they are supposed, not without reason,
to have reached New Zealand, for many of the names common
in Mangaia are to be found here, such as Mongonui, Waitotara,
Waikato. The same waiter also mentions that some fifty years
after this migration the Tonga tribe again rebelled, and the
chiefs Iro and Tuawera of that tribe, together with their
followers, were expelled, and succeeded in reaching Rarotonga,
where their descendants were found living some 150 years after
by members of the same tribe from Mangaia. There is also
another way by which the colonisation of these islands may
have been aided, viz., by castaways ; and of this we have many
instances on record, some of which have occurred in our own
days, and others are recorded by tradition. The inhabitants of
the Ellice Group have a tradition that they were wanderers from
Samoa, 600 miles distant, and Mr. Rankin, in his paper on
Mahori migrations, gives many interesting details of this event.
Capt. Beechy found a canoe, containing 26 men, 15 women,
and 10 children, who had sailed from Chain Island for Tahiti,
and who had been blown 600 miles east of their starting point.
Kolzebue found an errant canoe 1,500 miles from the point
from which it had started ; and Capt. Cook relates that at
Tongatapu he found people who had drifted from Tahiti. Thus
it is possible that some of the canoes mentioned in tradition
may have reached New Zealand accidentally, after months of
wandering. . But most of the Maori traditions point specially to
war as the cause of leaving Hawaike.

16 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER III.
TRADITIONS OF THE MAORIS.
Tradition would lead us to believe that the old Maori
Tohungas possessed knowledge which has never been transmitted
to their descendants, particularly in the matter of astronomy, and
there are some grounds for supposing that the proper course for
the return journey to Hawaike was not unknown or unpractised
by them in olden times, for to the north of Auckland, on the
East Coast, there is a small bay which is still spoken of as the
starting point for Hawaike ; and within the memory of Maoris
still living a small hapu did actually sail away for that island,
but with what result is not known.
Kupe is said to have been the first Maori who sighted New
Zealand, having come in search of his wife, Kura Marotini, who
had been carried off by his brother Hoturapa, while another
tradition asserts that he had killed his brother and carried off
his wife, and to escape the inevitable Polynesian vengeance had
sailed with his slaves to find a land of refuge. But Kupe could
have done little more than sailed round the coast, as he makes
no mention of inhabitants, who were found easily enough by the
next visitors, but, returning to Hawaike, reported his discovery
to his relations (who were as usual in a chronic state of war),
giving them full sailing directions. For shortly after a famous
chief named Turi, having had some relatives killed by a very
strong tribe with whom he was unable to contend,' fitted up his
canoe Aotea, and having placed sufficient food on board for his
small tribe, first murdered the son of his enemy, Henuka, and
set sail for Aotearoa. Tradition further states that en route he
touched at two small islands, named respectively Rongorupe
and Rangitahuahua. It is also related that when in mid-ocean
Turi's god (Rongomai) rose up out of the ocean and seized the

TRADITIONS OF THE MAORIS. 17
point of Tutangatakino's paddle, whereupon Turi cast a man
named Tapo overboard to appease the spirit ; and as Tapo fell
into the water, his god also rose and said, "When the bright
star of the morning appears you and I will have reached the
land." This speech so alarmed Turi that he immediately drew
Tapo on board again, and installed him in the office of, high
priest and prophet. At grey dawn, as prophesied, the headlands
of Kawhia were plainly visible, showing, beyond all argument,
that Tapo's god was a very truthful and strong god.
Turi eventually landed in the Bay of Aotea, from whence
he travelled down the coast to Patea, which place he selected as
his head-quarters, his people remaining there, while Turi himself
travelled on as far as the Wairarapa, naming all the rivers and
points of interest along the coast, as narrated in a song still sung
by his descendants.
The site of Turi's first plantation (Heke heke i papa), his,
house (Matangirei), and of Kupe's sacred post, Rangitawhi, can
still be pointed out by the Patea tribe. Even the stump is still
green of the karaka tree planted by Turi, the tree itself having
been destroyed by General Cameron's force in 1865.
The ancestors of the following tribes came in the canoe
Aotea, viz., Taranaki, Ngatiruanui, Ngarauru, Wanganui, and
Ngatiapa. This alone leaves little doubt that the Maoris
brought with them the warlike character of their ancestors, and
finding an aboriginal race in possession of the country, quickly
exterminated or enslaved them, for tradition says that Turi and
his people, finding the country occupied, slew the people. And
again, in the tradition of Manaia, chief of the Tokomaru canoe,
and of the ancestors of the present Atiawa tribe, it is stated that
at Waitara he found the people of the country living, many of
whom he killed, enslaving the remainder. We have also the
authority of Mr. John White that many of the Waikato tribes
claim to be descended from the ancient inhabitants of New
Zealand, whom they call Ngatimokotorea; and not only the
Maoris, but nearly all the Polynesian migrations would appear
to have had the same experience, for even the Samoan colonists
of Nivi Island assert that their ancestors found a black race in

18 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
possession, while the Caroline, Marian, and Pellew islanders show
the Papuan taint so strongly as to be called Micronesians. "
Perhaps the truest description of Maori character ever
written was given by Lieutenant Thomson, in his work on New
Zealand. He says : — " The New Zealanders have the minds of
children and the passions of men. They respect ancient laws
and customs, but are ready to embrace new opinions given out
by men of authority. So constituted are their minds that it is
impossible to decide how certain circumstances will affect them.
Futurity is seldom looked into, although like all mankind they
long for what is unknown and regret what is lost. Fondness
for novelty is a passion, but it is almost impossible to excite their
wonder. Vanity, arrogance, and independence are universal,
but they are more vain than proud. In all their actions they
are alive to their own interest, and in seeking this are not
overburdened with conscientiousness. A New Zealander could
not brook in word or deed an insult when witnessed by others.
Wounded vanity caused much strife and cruelty, and cannibal
ism were occasionally produced by a love of notoriety. They value
life, but die with indifference when death is inevitable. They
have little benevolence towards others, long-absent friends are
greeted with a profusion of tears, but as with children this
grief is destitute of impression. Gratitude is unknown, and no
word expressive of that feeling is found in their language.
Theft is rare amongst them. Revenge is their strongest
passion, and this feeling is kept alive for generations."

CHAPTER IV.
MAORI SUPERSTITIONS.
If Maori traditions may be relied on, the people of old New
Zealand had many serious dangers and difficulties to contend
against in the shape of supernatural monsters called Taniwhas,
which civilisation appears to have nearly driven from the colony,
for except in a few instances, and those in very out-of-the-way
places, they have seemingly ceased to exist. No longer as of
old do taniwhas of the Hotupuku and Pekehana type decimate
whole districts, although among the' wonders of Taupo, dark
tales are still told of the ferocity of the reptile taniwha, Horo-
matangi, and the cunning of his attendant spirit, the man taniwha,
Atiamuri. These two water demons confine their operations still
to Lake Taupo, the house of Horomatangi being described as near
to the centre of the lake,not far from the small island of Motutaiko.
Rarely, even at the present day, will a canoe cross the lake in a
direct line from Tapuaeharuru to Tokaanu, and wisely so, if the
testimony of men still living can be believed, who, taking
" advantage of the presence in their canoe of a great tohunga,
did actually make the attempt, but who received a lesson for
their temerity the tribe of Tuwharetoa will never again forget.
The account, as received from one of the adventurous band,
shall be given as narrated by him : — " When we started the
water was smooth and there was no wind, and we pulled swiftly
towards Tokaanu ; but our hearts were troubled, and as we
neared the place where the taniwha lived we quickened our
pace, and looked neither to the right or left, nor did any man
speak a word. Suddenly the canoe stopped, and then began to
whirl round and round, and a large rock appeared above the
water. This we knew was Horomatangi, for taniwhas can take
any shape they like. In another moment we should have, been

20 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
lost but for our> tohunga, who, taking a hair from his head, and
making a brief incantation over it, dropped it into the water.
In a moment the rock disappeared and the water became quiet,
which showed that our tohunga was stronger than the-taniwha.
But even then we went on our way in fear and trembling until
we got into shallow water, when we again felt safe." Qi late
years, since the pakeha has taken to cross the lake at all hours
and in all directions, the Maori also has crossed occasionally in
a straight line from point to point, but never without a pakeha
in the boat, for it has become a matter of creed amongst the
Maoris that taniwhas have no control over the white man, and
therefore Maoris in their company may take liberties they dare
not when alone.
Atiamuri does not appear to be personally dangerous to the
human race, his business being rather to decoy the unsuspecting
traveller within the clutches of Horomatangi ; consequently he
is especially to be feared in the dusk of the evening, when it is his
habit to paddle about in a canoe and visit the different kaingas
on the margin of the lake, approaching only sufficiently near for
the outline of his canoe to be .seen, and so deceive the people of
the village, who, hearing the measured stroke of a paddle,
would turn out to welcome their supposed visitors with loud
"haere mais," while the ghostly vision, disappearing in the
darkness, the astonished Maoris would hear nothing but the
stroke of his paddle dying away in the distance. Then it is
that the people of the village know that Atiamuri has been
trying to decoy strangers to certain death.
Connected with these two taniwhas, in some mysterious
manner, are the two stone dogs who live on the Karangahape
Cliffs, 500 feet above Lake Taupo. These dogs are never seen
at the present day, but may be heard barking on thick misty
mornings, and if a man sufficiently daring could he found to go
in search of them, he would probably only see two large stones
deeply imbedded in the earth, which the uninitiated would look
upon as other stones, but which the Maori learned in legendary
lore would know at once to be either taniwhas or tipuas, and
as firmly believes that any insult offered to these dogs would be

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 21
quickly revenged by Horomatangi ; as, for instance, to point
one's paddle at the cliff would be a dangerous insult, but to
call the dogs by name, thus, " Moi, Moi," would be simply the
act of a madman, unless the culprit took care never to trust
himself on the lake.
Never will the consternation, the terror depicted on the
faces of the Maori boatmen be forgotten by a party of Englishmen
who, in May, 1869, were being paddled across the lake, as, while
listening to the legend, one of the pakehas suddenly cried out
at the top of his voice, " Moi, Moi !" And although I have said
before there is no tikanga about a pakeha, yet no sooner had
the words been uttered than the wind rose furiously, which had
previously been a perfect calm. The Maoris, completely awed
at the sacrilege, gave themselves up as lost. They actually
turned white with fear, their teeth chattered, and some of them
began to cry, so truly terrified were they. But the boat managed
to reach Tokaanu after a very rough passage. On landing, the
Maoris held a meeting to discuss the impiety of the pakeha and
to account for their miraculous escape. Opinions were at first
somewhat divided, but it was finally decided that although
taniwhas might make things very unpleasant for the pakehas,
they had no power of life or death over them as with the
Maori.

22 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER V.
NOTED TOAS, OR GREAT MAORI FIGHTING MEN.
Next of importance to the chiefs, and in some cases of even
greater importance, were the Toas, or great fighting men,
Happy the tribe who could boast of one or two well-recognised
toas, for their mana was great, and the superstitious Maori was
ever ready to acknowledge the supernatural attributes. The
success of a toa in battle was attributed not so much to his
natural courage and skill as to the influence he had with his
particular deity. Thus they feared not only the man, but the
god he was supposed to propitiate by his secret incantations.
The same mana, or supernatural power, was also believed to
belong to certain weapons used by a toa, some of them, being
reported to have powers beyond those of human beings. This
was the case with Te Heuheu's beautiful mere, which Maoris
aver hid itself, and, when wanted, appeared at his call. It is also
said that this mere can render itself invisible to an enemy. The
taiaha of the great toa Hinatoka, who lived several generations
ago, is still preserved by his tribe, Ngatiporou. This weapon,
in the hands of Hinatoka, destroyed the ancient tribe of Te
Wahine Iti, and secured to Ngatiporou all the lands lying
between Waiapu and Tuparoa. A gap is still seen in the taiaha,
caused by the skull of some unusually hard-headed Maori of
that period. The possession of this weapon is not a source of
unmixed gratification to the Ngatiporou, inasmuch as it is
thickly covered by the strongest tapu, and woe to the man who
in eating should pass over it, for death, speedy and certain,
would be his reward. Its powers in the way of prophetic
augury are said to be great. In the hands of those capable of
performing the proper incantations the result of a battle could

NOTED TOAS, OR GREAT MAORI FIGHTING MEN. 23
easily be ascertained beforehand. The usual method adopted
was to lay the taiaha upon the ground before the war party,
while the chief priest performed the usual karakia ; then, if the
gods were propitious, the taiaha would turn itself slowly over
before the eyes of the assembled tribe and to the utter confusion
of the enemy. The lapse of so many generations has rendered
it slightly doubtful whether the taiaha, or Te Hinatoka, deserves
the greatest amount of credit for the deeds of- valour displayed,
but there can be no doubt that the chief was a mighty toa and
a most truculent man of war. Tradition describes him as usually
leading his war party half a mile in advance, so as to encourage
the enemy to an attack, all the time dancing his weapon up and
down in a jaunty, affectionate manner, very inviting to those who
did not know the man. After a time he became better known than
trusted, and was often heard reviling the cowardice of those men
who preferred to save their lives by running him off his legs.
Another really great toa of later days was the warrior
Rauparaha, of Ngatitama. After a life of daring deeds against
Waikato, he and ten men had a desperate encounter with over
one hundred Waikato men, of whom he killed twenty, and would
probably have killed the whole had he not attempted to carry
off one of the men he had struck down, for the man had been
only stunned, and seizing Rauparaha by the hair, he dragged
his head back until he was almost strangled, and to free
himself Rauparaha fell on his enemy, but before he could
regain his feet he was surrounded and killed. It is said
that as he lay dead his spine was so arched that no portion of
-his backbone touched the ground, a peculiarity of all great toas,
and which immediately confirmed the Waikatos in their belief
that they had killed the famous Rauparaha.
It would be impossible to name all the great toas, but
Turingitoto, of Taranaki, who was killed in single combat by
Puawato, of Ngaruahine, and Pomua, of the Wanganui tribe,
may be mentioned as good examples of the race. The latter
was famous for extreme coolness in danger. It is related on
¦ one occasion, while engaged in some private matters, his pa was
attacked by a very strong war party, and his people called

"24 ' HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
to him, "Pomua, Pomua, the pa will be taken." His reply
has passed into a proverb, " Waiko kei patu taua i roto a ka
patu taua i waho " (Let us kill within and then we will kill
without). In other words, " Let me finish the matter I have in
hand and I will attend to the enemy without,'' which he did
by beating them thoroughly

CHAPTER VI.
MAKUTU (WITCHCRAFT).
Another danger to which Maori flesh is heir to is that of
witchcraft, for in this a man has not only his own acts to guard
against, but also those of his relations, for the wizard might be
so deeply affronted as to curse the whole family for the act of
one individual. If a man had either deliberately or unintention
ally affronted another learned in the black art, his death was
certain, unless the offender could procure the services of another,
equally learned, to counteract the spells of the former. The
first act of a makutu man who intended mischief was to procure
a lock of hair, the paring of a finger nail, or even some of his
victim's clothing. If this could be accomplished his power as a
wizard was intensified, and the bewitched would surely die.
Whole families have died by the mere knowledge that they had
been cursed. Poharama's children at Taranaki died one after
the other, even to the baby at the breast, after a curse. A really
great makutu man like Te Uhi, of Ngatipukeko, was held in
great dread, and his life was very precarious, for all men's hands
were against him, and if it had not been for the influence of his
relatives, he would have been put out of the way long before.
Within the last fifteen years upwards of twenty Maoris
have been destroyed under the supposition that they had com
passed the death of others by witchcraft. A most remarkable
instance occurred about two years since among the Uriweras.
An old Maori who had a great reputation for makutu lived with
his sons near Waikari Moana. One of his sons had occasion to
go to some distant. village, and left his wife and child with his
grandfather, who was known to be very much attached to his
grandson. On the husband's return he found his wife crying,
and learned on inquiry that soon after he had set out on his

26 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
journey the grandfather took sole charge of the ehild, and when
the mother objected, threatened her with the power of his
makutu. She further informed her husband that the old man
had taken the child with him that morning, and was then digging
potatoes in an adjacent plantation. The husband at once had a
consultation with his brother, and they decided to put an end to
the state of fear in which they had lived so long. Accordingly the'
husband armed himself with gun and tomahawk, and crawled up
to the plantation, where,keeping carefully under cover,he saw the
old Maori working, and the child sitting on a mat close to him with
evident contentment. This sight might have touched the heart
of many, but not of a Maori half mad with fear of bewitchment,
and smarting under the loss of his child. So the son acted
under the circumstances as any other brave Maori would, and
stalking his father, as a dangerous enemy, shot him dead ; then
seizing the child, fled for his life, lest in dying the old man
should recognise his murderer, and curse him. Let no one ,
suppose that this deed of horror met with reprobation from the
tribe. No, it was quite clear to them that the son was the only
man entitled by Maori Tikanga to do the deed, and having
behaved with perfect propriety in consulting his brother, the
tribe looked upon the whole affair as painful, , but patriotic
and necessary. The kaanga, or curse, whether intentional or
otherwise, was also a most serious cause of war, and a thing to
be specially avoided, not only as dangerous to the speaker him
self, but as a probable cause of destruction to his tribe. In the
Ika a mani it is related that a young Maori seeing a chief at work,
and the perspiration running down his cheeks, said, thoughtlessly,
that the vapour rose from his head like steam from an oven.
This remark was considered by the tribe as a most horrible
curse, for to mention a chief's head in any way was bad enough,
but to liken a sacred head to an oven in which food was • cook
ing, made the whole tribe literally shudder ; the effect being that
the speaker's whole tribe was actually destroyed in revenge for
the curse. In like manner the Ngatihine tribe of Patea, while
cuttingdowna pine tree with stoneaxes for the purposeof building

MAKUTU (WITCHCRAFT). 27
a canoe, found it a very difficult job. They tied ropes to the
branches, and the tribe tugged and tugged in vain, until a chief,
losing his temper, said, " This tree is as tough as the head of
Turoa" (the great chief of Wanganui). The remark was over
heard by a boy of the Wanganui tribe, who happened to be
living amongst the Ngatihine. Luckily for him he at the
moment made no sign, but biding his time, escaped during the
night and fled to Wanganui, but not unpursued, for the Paka-
kohi tribe, knowing the danger such a speech placed them in,
had kept a half watch on the boy, but they failed in overtaking
him, and from that moment made the best of their time in
summoning their friends, the Ngatiruanui and Taranaki, to their
assistance. One thousand men soon mustered at Te Puia Pa,
inland of Patea, and there awaited the onset of Wanganui, who,
350 strong only, under Te Mawae and Tahana Turoa, attacked
them one morning at early dawn and defeated them, with the
loss of 100 men. The introduction of Christianity shortly after
put an end to this feud, which might otherwise have been pro
longed to this day.

28 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER VII.
CAUSES OF WAR.
It was a threat uttered by the chief Rerewaka that brought
destruction on the Ngaitahu tribe, who at the time held all the
land in the provinces of Otago and Canterbury. Rerewaka
said, "If Rauparaha dares to set his foot on my land, I will rip
him open with a fish's tooth." Rauparaha, hearing this threat,
bided his time, and then set foot on the land of Ngaitahu, and
killed hundreds of the inhabitants at Kaiapoi and other places,
but not without reverses, for that much-belauded chief suffered
severely by the hands of Tuhawaiki and his merry men on several
occasions, though his own historians always forget to mention
the fact. Women and land have also contributed their share
towards war. Women, because it frequently happened that girls
eloped with men of other tribes, and in -such cases blood
vengeance was almost certain to follow. Land in all countries
has been a bone of contention, and as each Maori tribe had the
most intimate acquaintance with the boundaries of its land, and
yearly exercised rights of ownership by cultivating small patches
at the uttermost corners, not so much for the sake of food, but
rather as a challenge, after the fashion- of the traditional Irishman,
who, dragging his coat through the Fair, exclaimed, " Deny my
right if you dare ! " ' The hunting and fishing grounds were also
rigidly preserved, and any intruder promptly punished, as the
following evidence, elicited in a land court, will more accurately
describe : — Counter-claimant : "• Did you ever hear of my tribe
having performed acts of ownership on this land ? " Claimant : -
" Yes, Ngarangikaputa came to Marekato in the days of Rangika-
-hia ; he came to mare birds." Counter-claimant, triumphantly :
" Well ? " Claimant : " Well, we killed him and eat him then
and there." Another peculiar custom, very instructive to Maori

CAUSES OF WAR. 29
character, has been a fruitful source of war, as, for instance,
should a man feel himself injured or aggrieved by his own tribe,
or even by any individual member thereof of so exalted a
position as to preclude the possibility of direct revenge, he would
revenge himself indirectly by killing some person belonging
to some powerful tribe, and thus draw down their wrath upon
his own people, who would then have to adopt his quarrel in
self-defence. Mr. J. A. Wilson tells us, in the "Life of Te
Waharoa," that this was done by the Arawa chief Huka, who
murdered a relative of Te Maharoa named Hunga, and thus
- caused the death of hundreds of his fellow clansmen at Maketu,
Tauranga, and Rotorua. Another instance is quoted by Mr. J.
White, in his lectures on native customs. In this case the
Ngatikahukaka tribe were commanded by two brothers,
Tamakae and Tamakou. These two chiefs quarrelled, and the
younger slew his brother, whereupon the followers of the elder
brother, being unable or unwilling to kill their remaining chief,
murdered a Waikato man, whose tribe, in their turn, extermi
nated Ngatikahukaka. It may truly be stated, that ordinary
killing was not considered by Maoris as murder ; in fact they
have no Maori equivalent for the word murder, but in all cases
use the word for treachery. No matter how inoffensive the
victim might have been, or how friendly with his assassins, it
was not murder in Maori eyes, unless some element of treachery
entered into the deed. Thus to meet some unoffending mem
ber of a friendly tribe away from his village, and kill him, was
an extremely praiseworthy act, provided the tribe had not too
much work on their hands just then, in which case the manslayer
might be censured for his pokanoa (interference); but if the
victim had been invited into a friendly village and killed while
in fancied security, it would be a kohuru of the worst type, and
an act that would produce undying hatred, and a blood-feud for
generations. The Maoris of Te Wairoa have not yet forgotten
the murder of Karaitiana and others by Te Waru, in 1868, and
never will, and if ever that chief visits Te Wairoa or Poverty
Bay he will probably never leave it alive. Again, the murder

30 , HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
of Mr. Chas. -Broughton, by the Patea natives in 1865, was a
more than usual aggravated case of kohuru, inasmuch as the
whole tribe took part in it, and deliberately invited their victim
to the pa, with the full intention of killing him ; and I am
positively certain that the subsequent imprisonment of the
Pakakohi tribe, at Dlmedin, and confiscation of their land, is
looked upon with complacency by all the tribes who know the
circumstances of his death, for the genuine Maori does not
admire treachery even against an enemy.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE TAPU AND WARLIKE CHARACTER OF THE MAORI.
From the day the Maori first landed in New Zealand, up to
within the last forty years, his history has been one long scene
of bloodshed, cruelty, and cannibalism. In fact, it may well be
said that the Maori of ancient days thought of nothing but war.
He was either attacking or being attacked. His weapons were
ever at hand, and in the language of one of their chiefs, not
for one moment were their hearts at rest. Tribe fought against
tribe, and the bravest or most skilful exterminated or absorbed
the vanquished. Consequently the influence of a tribe at the
present day depends solely on their being able to show that they
held their lands against all-comers. Many large tribes in the
general melee have entirely disappeared, such as Ngatimamoe,
Waitaha, Ngatiwhare, Ngatitamaohuroa, Ngaiwi, Wharuiwi,
Maruwahini, Whitikaupeka, Te Wahini Iti, Ngatiranginui,
and many others, while many existing tribes, such as Muaupoko,
&c, are only represented by a few. Yet perhaps no nation in
the world has a nicer sense of honour, in the old acceptation of
the term, than the Maori. The least insult or injury to him was
unbearable, and therefore quickly avenged, even when the
injured tribe was weak compared with the enemy. The cost of
any action was seldom considered. They dug up the hatchet
and thew the onus on their opponents by murdering one of
their tribe. When we consider the warlike character of the
Maoris, and the numerous pitfalls of prejudice and superstition
by which they were always surrounded, it is a matter of astonish
ment that any one of them should ever have lived to reach
middle age, for to touch the garments of a tohunga (high priest),
even unintentionally, or to eat any of the food he might have
lef from his meals, was death from the strength of the said

32 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
tohunga's tapu. The Uev. R. Taylor relates that the chief
Taonui lost his tinder-box, which was found by some common
men, several of whom lighted their pipes from it, and that these
men actually died from fright when they found to whom it
belonged. A kumara ground was most strictly tapu, as also
the haunts of the native rat and titi (mutton bird\ and any
trespasser might feel assured that if the tapu did not kill him the
owner of the land would on the first favourable opportunity.
Again, a chief might tapu any article for his own use, by simply
saying it was his head or his backbone, as was done at Rotorua
by Hongi Ika and other Ngapuhi chiefs, who thus anticipated
the fight by some days, and secured the Arawa canoes, against
all competitors ; for in this form of tapu any man sufficiently
daring to have seized one of the canoes would not have suffered
so much from the tapu as from the frightful insult offered to the
chief, by seizing upon his head, that the whole tribe must have
risen like one man and wiped out the stain in blood. Tapu was
almost equally dangerous to the possessor, for he dared not feed
himself or carry food on his back lest it should kill him, and
further could hardly touch anything lest it should kill others by
the strength of his tapu. In fact any Maoris holding the
strongest tapu, such as those connected with the ancient burial
rites, were literally outcasts. A Maori chief, describing his
education as a tohunga, said, " I was taught day after day the
genealogy of my tribe and the secrets of my religion, untill was
almost a grown man. By this time 1 was quite tapu, and could
do nothing for myself. I found it very irksome, and when the
missionaries came and preached I made up my mind to break
my tapu and accept their God, which I soon afterwards did by
carrying a kit of potatoes on my back, and although after this
I was ill for months, and forgot all the tohunga' had taught me,
I found the pakeha's God too strong for the tapu, and I did
not die." If any of my readers are still curious on the subject
of tapu, I would advise them to read that most interesting of
books, " Old New Zealand."

CHAPTER IX.
MAORI MODE OF WARFARE.
The warlike natives of New Zealand had many fixed mode
of fighting, and their general- orders in battle were thoroughly
understood and recognised, although liable to modification, in
order to suit the ground.or other particular circumstances, so as to
give scope to the strategic genius of their leaders. For notwith
standing the Maori love of precedent far exceeds thatofourmodem
lawyer, there never" was a people less conservative in matters of
warfare, being always ready to adopt new systems or modify old
ones. The modes in fashion at the present day are known as
the Kawaumaro, the Tokatumoana, the Ruahine, the Manuka-
whaki, the Ruatapuke, and the Pareranekeneke. Of these the two
former have fallen into disuse as too risky to employ against
modern warfare, and the third is seldom used for the same
reason ; but the others are admirably suited to the Maori when
fighting European troops. The Kawaumaro (flight of the shag),
was used only on desperate occasions, in fighting amongst them
selves. For instance : When a tribe was rendered furious by
losses or by the eloquence of their chiefs, they would solemnly
devote themselves to death or victory, and, forming themselves
into a solid wedge, would rush forward, coming at once into
contact with the enemy, in such a hand-to-hand combat that
one or other of the parties engaged must inevitably be destroyed.
The benefit of this mode of fighting is obvious, for if the assail
ants have only the courage to charge fearlessly, they would
almost invariably win, as few bodies could sustain such a charge,
while the least hesitation in the enemy's ranks would be fatal.
The Tokatumoana (rock in the sea) : In this case the parties
meet and engage at short range, but without coming to hand-
to-hand combat, the men taking cover and firing while the

34 history of the Maoris.
chiefs stood up fearlessly and directed the various movements, s
This mode was much in favour amongst the Maoris in their
old tribal quarrels. The Ruahine in some respects resembled
the Kawaumaro, but with this difference, that although the
combatants fight in solid masses they do not at once close or take
cover, but continue to fire on each other at short range, and
await signs of disorder in each other's ranks before rushing in
for the deadly struggle. The Manukawhaki and the Ruatapuke
are generally used against the pakeha. The strategy consist in
retiring gradually until it becomes a running fight, in which
every advantage is taken of the ground to lay ambuscades, from
which two or three volleys would be fired, to be followed by a
precipitate retreat to the next favourable spot, before the enemy
could recover from the confusion invariably attending volleys
fired from ambuscades. The Ruatapuke is conducted in much
the same manner, except that in the retreat the Maori scatters
right and left, and hiding in the scrub or fern manages to re
appear in rear of the pursuing force, and, continuing the fight,
give the enemy the impression that they are being surrounded.
The tide of the best arranged battles has often, when seemingly
won, been turned at the last moment by the desperate courage
of some chief or warrior who, collecting a few fugitives, would
place them so skilfully in ambush as to deceive the pursuers into
the belief that assistance had arrived. It was for this purpose that
the greatest chiefs were placed in the rear of the battle to urge on
the laggards, or rally the tribe when broken, for in suoh a case
only a great chief would be listened to. A mere fighting chief
would not command the same respect and obedience, because
it generally happens that he is not great by birth, and a Maori is a
true conservative. In the last extremity a chief has been known
to thrust his spear into the ground and declare his intention of
dying where he stood. This has never been done without good
effect, for a tribe may be destroyed, but would never leave their
chief to die alone. At the fight at Moutoa, when the
Wanganuis were apparently routed, Haimona declared he would
die on the ground, and thereby manifestly contributed to the

MAORI MODE OF WARFARE. 35
victory of his tribe. Again, during the Rotorua war, when
Ngatiwhakaane were flying panic-stricken from an ambush of
Ngatihaua into which they had fallen and lost 70 men, nothing
but Korokai's speech (" Let me die on my land ") prevented them
from deserting the Ohinemutu Pa and fleeing to Mokoia. As
it was, they were recalled to a sense of their duty, and rallied
and repulsed their foes. The power of a chief is greater during war
than it is in peace, and at such times he has a very remarkable
privilege, remarkable because it is on the side of mercy, a
leaning not often to" be found in Maori character. For instance,
should the tribes be engaged in deadly combat, the chief of the
victors might call any of the defeated party by name, and if
they at once responded and joined the victors they were per
fectly safe and regarded in the light of visitors, nor did they
even lose their chieftainship, which they undoubtedly would
had they been taken prisoners of war. We read in the life of
Te Waharoa, that when Ngatimaru attacked the Whakatohea
Pa (Te Papa), the chief Takahi escaped for a time and fled into
the bush, but hearing himself called by Te Rohu, returned, and
in all probability saved both his life and chieftainship. By •
means of this custom many chiefs of high rank and character
have been spared, and further, it has enabled chiefs to save
their relations, and thus strengthen the tribe by alliances.

36 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER X.
FORMER INHABITANTS OF THE AUCKLAND PENINSULA.
In the general struggle for existence, which would seem ,to
have been the normal condition of the Maori people for the
two hundred years prior to 1835, about which date Christianity
began to gain ground, many tribes went down before their more
numerous or warlike enemies, and, in some instances, their
very names are nearly forgotten. Probably this is the case
with numerous people who once covered the Auckland
peninsula with their forts and villages, and who bore the
name of Ngaiwi (The Tribes). The history of their destruction
has been told by witnesses in the Native Land Courts of the
colony, from the archives of which Maori history will have to be
culled. About 150 years ago, the powerful and warlike tribes
of. Ngaiwi occupied numerous large pas at One Tree Hill,
Mount Wellington, and a dozen other places in the same
neighbourhood. Their leading chief at this period was named
Kiwi, a man who had evidently a good opinion of his' own
power and importance, and a profound contempt for those of
his neighbour. This frame of mind, by no means uncommon
amongst natives, brought destruction on his tribe, for, fancying
himself strong enough to defy the revenge of his enemies, he
treacherously murdered about thirty of the Taou tribe of
Kaipara, and followed up the deed by killing a few of the
Ngatiwhatua and Ngatimaru tribes as well. This act was
looked upon as a kohuru (murder) of such a description that
it could not be allowed to rest unavenged. Consequently, the
warlike Taous, under their chief Wahaakaiki, took the field, not
openly, as Europeans, but secretly, and with a firm determina
tion to surprise and destroy some of Kiwi's pas before his tribe
were on their guard. The war party crossed the Manukau

FORMER INHABITANTS OE THE AUCKLAND PENINSULA. 37
Harbour at night on Mokihi (rafts made of rushes) and surprised
and stormed the Taratana Pa, killing all the people. After this
success, they attacked another pa on the same side of the
harbour known as Pukehorokatoa, but, being repulsed with
loss, at once recrossed the harbour. Both sides now prepared
for the final struggle. Te Taou received reinforcements, and
Kiwi collected the whole of his warriors at Paruroa, where he
was defeated with terrible loss, he himself being killed. The
fugitives fled to Mangare, determined to make another stand ;
and, to prevent surprise, spread shells all around the walls of
the pa so that the footsteps of the enemy might be heard
approaching ; but this clever device was rendered useless by the
cunning of Tuperiri, who led Te Taou's men up to the doomed
pa in the dark, and spread their dogskin mats over the shells,
and thus deadened the sound as the warriors passed over. The
ruse was successful, the pa was surprised, and only a few of
the defenders escaped. The troubles of this unfortunate tribe
did not end here, for, as I have already related, Ngatiwhatua
had also the death of these people to avenge, and, finding the
occasion favourable, sent a strong war party under Te Pahi and
Takaae, who sailed down the Waitemata and stormed their pas
at Kohimarama and Taurarua on the same day. Having thus
appeased the manes of their murdered friends, they returned to
Kaipara, leaving the conquered lands to be occupied by Te Taou.
From this time Ngaiwi ceased to exist as a tribe, but the descend
ants of the fugitives or slaves are known as Ngaoho; they, to
gether with their conquerors, were afterwards in their turn almost
destroyed by the Ngapuhis on the raids south. The Auckland
peninsula was, in those perilous times, an awkward place to
hold, being between Waikato and Ngapuhi ; in truth, very
little better than that of the traditional sailor between the devil
and the deep sea. Te Wahiniiti and Ngatiira once occupied
most of the fertile country lying between Poverty Bay and the
East Cape, and lived in friendship with the descendants of
Porourangi, now known as Ngatiporou ; but it was somewhat
of the friendship of the wolf and the lamb, for as the latter -

38 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
grew in strength they cast envious eyes upon the lands of
Ngatiira, and only awaited a favourable chance to dispossess
them. This opportunity occurred during the life of the great
Kahukuranui, son of Hauiti, who, being in want of seed
kumeras, sent his two wives, Tahipare and Rakau Manawahe,
to the Ngatiira to ask for a supply. The two women went to
Pakurangi Pa, but, instead of getting the kumeras, were
grossly insulted, and would probably have been killed had not
Hini Taupiri, a niece of Kahukuranui, who was then living
with Ngatiira, taken them under her protection and escorted
them back to Anaura. Here Kahukuranui was informed of the
insult offered to his wives, and, intent on revenge, asked his
niece how the pa could be taken. She replied, " By thirst ;
there is no water within the pa." The chief pondered over this
remark, and resolved, with more than Maori malice, to make
his enemies suffer ; and, to throw them off their guard, he made
them presents of some crayfish, which, after being steeped in
salt water for two days, were carefully dried, and sent to
Ngatiira with much ceremony. A present of fish to an inland
tribe was most acceptable, and the people of Pakurangi held
high revel, while the war party of Kahukuranui quietly
surrounded them and cut off the water from the pa. During
the siege, Ngatiira suffered agonies from thirst, which was
partially assuaged by the peculiar custom amongst Maoris in
like cases of allowing any of the enemy who had relatives
among the assailants to come out of the pa and visit their
friends ; and on this occasion the visitors took care to wear
their thick flax mats, so that on returning they waded through
the stream near at hand, and, hastening into the pa, the women
and children sucked the moisture from their mats. This
incident it was that gave the siege the name of Puarumaku (or
wet clothes fight) ; but, unfortunately for Ngatiira, the small
quantity of water obtained by these means lasted but a short
time, and the pa had to surrender. Some few of the garrison
escaped, the remainder were divided into two lots. Those
related to Hini Taupiri were spared, and allowed to live on the

FORMER INHABITANTS OF THE AUCKLAND PENINSULA. 39
land ; the others were killed and eaten. Of the fugitives, some
fled to Mangamatukutuku, and were attacked by Tutipuake and
driven to Huiarau ; while others fled to Kauaenui, where they
claimed the protection of another branch of Ngatiira ; but while
here they murdered a man of Ngatiporou named Tuteuruhina,
and, in return, brought down Te Atau upon them, who nearly
annihilated them. The few left fled to Opotiki, where their
descendants still live. The Whangara branch of Ngatiira now
took the field to revenge the fall of Pakurangi, but their efforts
were riot more successful than those of their friends, for they
were met at Uawa by Te Aotata and defeated with loss, the
chief Whakairi being killed. After this battle they fled to
Turanga, and, collecting another army, attacked Anaura, but
were again defeated, for Tautine, son of Kahukuranwi, not only
routed them, but captured their great chief, Ruataritari. It is
said 'that when Ngatiporou saw the captive they were struck by
the beauty of his tattooing, and wondered who he was. The
chief overhearing them, and willing his rank should be known,
replied, " I mate a Ruataritari i mate ki te haere,'' thus giving
his name and hinting that death would not be unwelcome.
After this defeat, the miserable remnant of Ngatiira did not
again try conclusions with Ngatiporou, but scattered over the
island, some settling down in the Wairarapa. While these
scenes were enacted, Pakanui had attacked Te Wahini Iti to
avenge the murder of Poromata by the Ruanuku tribe. After
many battles, in which Hinatoka and his enchanted club took a
leading part, Te Wahini Iti were almost destroyed. The
remnant under the chief Hori fled to Turanga, where their
descendants have been absorbed by other tribes, but the tribal
name no longer exists.
The Waitemata, so the old Maoris say, derived its name
from a great naval engagement that was fought in Auckland
Harbour between the Ngapuhis under Hongi, and the Thames
and Auckland natives. The battle^ was fought in their canoes,
and the natives, becoming red with the blood of the slain, it was
ever after called the Waitemata, or the Waters of Affliction.

40 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER XI.
A FRAGMENT OF THE EARLY DAYS OF NEW ZEALAND IN
MANUSCRIPT.*
This narrative begins by stating how a chief named
Ngainoni was accused of commiting a theft while on board
a French vessel, commanded by Captain De Seuville, who
in retaliation placed him in irons, burnt his village, and
afterwards set sail with the chief as prisoner. That
Ngainoni, eighty days after, died of a broken heart, pining for
his home, and that De Seuville did not long survive him, being
drowned eleven days after in the surf, when attempting to land
at Callao, in Peru. The natives in revenge, three years after
wards, killed Marion du Fresne and eleven of his men at the
Bay of Islands, but Crozet, the second in command of Marion's
party, burnt two villages and killed a great number of the
natives, and then sailed away, calling the place the Bay of
Treachery. After Marion's death another French vessel touched
at the Thames and loaded spars. When sailing away she fell
in with a fishing canoe with two natives on boards, which had
been driven out to sea. The captain took them on board and
' conveyed them to France ; the ship returned two years after and
brought the natives in her. The commander gave them pigs
and potatoes, and instructed them how to preserve the former
and cultivate the latter. _
Captain Cook visited New Zealand five times ; his last visit
was made in 1777, and after returning home he wrote an
account of his voyages. This work together with a narrative
written by Crozet occasioned a certain amount of interest to be
manifested about New Zealand ; still, in consequence of the long
* Purchased amongst a lot of old books at the Thames, New Zealand, the
first page having disappeared.

A FRAGMENT OF THE EARLY DAYS OF NEW ZEALAND. 41
and tedious war with the American settlements, no action was
taken by the English Government till 1780, when New Zealand
was proposed in the English House of Commons as an elegible
field for convicts, but the cannibal propensities of the natives was
urged in opposition and silenced every other argument, but in
virtue of the sovereignty established by Cook, New Zealand
was included as a part of the British dominions. In 1789 the
French Revolution opened out a long course of European
troubles, which were not finally adjusted until 1815, during
which time New Zealand was well-nigh forgotten ; yet in the
year 1793 several vessels visited New Zealand, but the terror
of cannibalism prevented intercourse with the natives. One of
these vessels was sent from Norfolk Island to cruise about the
New Zealand coast with the avowed purpose of kidnapping one
of the natives. The flax plant was the cause of this. The soft
silk-like softness of the flax-mat brought home by Cook made
merchants anxious to procure the plant producing this fabric.
When Norfolk Island was colonised the settlers found that it
grew there, but failed to manufacture as fine an article as the
New Zealand natives ; their desire to know the secret, caused
them to send the above mentioned vessel. When the ship reached
the Bay of Islands two men were enticed on board, and the
captain set sail for Norfolk Island. The men seized turned out
to be a chief and a priest ; neither of them would confess that
they knew anything about dressing flax, contemptuously term
ing it woman's work. They were detained six months at
Norfolk Island and then conveyed home by Captain King, who
compensated them for their detention by giving them twelve
pigs and some maize. After this several whalers touched at the
Island and a trade was then opened with the natives. The
Bay of Islands was the chief place resorted to by whalers. Several
of the natives now shipped themselves on board whalers and
visited New South Wales and other places ; a few Europeans
who were captivated by the dark-eyed wahinas, left their ships and
took up their residence among the natives. The first of this
class of settlers (and I might say the first settler) was a man of
D

42 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
the name George Bruce. He had shown kindness to a chief
called Te Pahi, who took sick on his way from Sydney to the
Bay of Islands. Te Pahi, in return for the kindness shown him,
offered Bruce his youngest.daughter (a noted beauty), and a large
tract of land, if he would settle at the Bay. Bruce complied, and
to gain his wife's affections submitted to be tattoed. The natives
liked and valued him on account of his usefulness as an in
terpreter between themselves and the whalers. Bruce had been
some time located at the Bay when an English vessel, the
General Wellesley, commanded by Captain Dalrymple, called
there, and fancying that there was gold to be found at the North
Cape, he requested Bruce to accompany him there, promising
to land him at the Bay again. Bruce distrusted Dalrymple's word
and would not go until he had the promise in writing. He ob
tained this, and they sailed for the North Cape accompanied by
Brace's wife. Dalrymple was disappointed in not finding gold,
broke his promise, and carried Bruce away to Malacca, where he
left Bruce ashore. He then sailed for Penang and there sold
Bruce's wife to the master of another ship. Bruce followed his
wife to this place, and with the Governor's aid got her back,
and obtained a passage for both to Calcutta, with the intention
of going to Sydney, but neither of them ever returned to the
Bay of Islands. An extensive trade was now going on between
Sydney and the Bay. Pork, kauri spars, and flax were our
exports at that time and were bartered by the natives for kaikai,
clothing, and ironmongery, &c. This trade was stopped for
some years through the dread caused by the massacre of the
Boyd's crew in 1809. This ship started from Sydney for Eng
land, with the intention of calling at Whangaroa for spars. She
had on board 70 white men and five natives who were working
their passages home. During the voyage Tarra, son of a Wha
ngaroa chief, refused to work, saying he was sick. The captain
stopped his food and flogged him twice. When the vessel arrived
at Whangaroa Tarra exhibited his smarting and scarified back
to his father's tribe, and they agreed to have revenge. They
accomplished this by treachery. They invited the captain and a

A FRAGMENT OF THE EARLY DAYS OF NEW ZEALAND. 43
number of the crew on shore, then murdered and eat them. They
then attacked the ship, and treated those on board the same
way, with the exception of one woman, two children, and a lad,
who had shown some trifling kindness to Tarra during his
sufferings. The woman and children saved themselves by conceal
ment. These Europeans were afterwards rescued by Te Pahi
and Mr. Berry, a gentleman belonging to a whaling ship then
at the Bay of Islands. Tarra, the native, was ever afterwards
hated by the natives, but his hatred to the Europeans never
abated, and on his death-bed he urged that his tribe should
drive the Wesleyan missionaries away from Whangaroa. The
only reason the natives had for this crime was, that they con
sidered (and it was one of their laws) that an injury committed
to a member was, an injury to the whole of the tribe. A few
years ago a part of this vessel could be seen at ebb tides, and it
is said that there are several boxes of gold and silver in the hull.
This massacre became known to the different whalers on the
coast, and they determined to be revenged. Five of them met at
the Bay of Islands and attacked Te Pahi, burnt his village and
killed all in it, with the exception of himself, to the number of
thirty, and destroyed all his crops. Te Pahi escaped wounded
and was killed soon afterwards by some of the Whangaroa tribe,
for having saved some of the Boyd's crew. Te Pahi was
innocent, and did all in his power to protect and save the
Europeans, and this was his return : his daughter was taken
away and died in some unknown land, his son was taken to
England and died of a disease contracted there, and his attempt
to save life brought ruin on himself and extinction of his tribe.
The Boyd massacre stopped to a great extent the intercourse of
the whites with the Maoris, and very few of the vessels which
touched at the Island departed without committing some act of
violence. Some of these acts are so atrocious as for human nature's
sake to excite a hope that they are not true. It is related that
a European gave a chief corrosive sublimate to poison his foes
at a feast held to commemorate peace, that a European enticed
natives on board his ship and landed them in the midst of their

44 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
enemies, and there is a man still living in the North who
glories in the remembrances of the days when he and his com
rades used to get the Maoris to grasp their cutlasses and then
see who could take off the greatest number of fingers by draw
ing them suddenly through their hands. Kidnapping was also
common. To try and put a stop to these outrages, the Govern
ment of New South Wales appointed, in 1814, Mr. Thomas
Kendall, and the chiefs Rutara, Hongi, and Koro, magistrates
for the Bay of Islands territory. This act was illegal and was not
confirmed by the Home Government, for New Zealand had
already been acknowledged an independent state. These
magistrates, however, did not do any good, for no less than one
hundred Maoris were killed in one way or another in three years
after their appointment. This year (1814) Mr. Marsden formed
the first Christian mission in New Zealand under the protection
and patronage of Hongi Hika, a chief of the Ngapuhi tribe.
This mission was not formed for the express purpose of teaching
the Gospel, but more for the purpose of enabling the Maoris to
gain a knowledge of the science of agriculture.
Hongi was born in 1777, near the Bay of Islands, and early in
life was renowned and respected for his deeds. He visited Sydney
together with another chief in 1 8 1 4, and while there lived with the
Rev. Mr. Marsden. He became a Christian and returned to New
Zealand the same year with that gentleman, and assisted him in
forming the mission. Hongi on his return commenced with the
Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Whangaroa, and Hokianga tribes, and
gained great successes ; he then grew restless, and had a great
desire to see King George, and visited England in 1820, accom
panied by another chief, Waikato, and Mr. Kendall, a missionary.
George the Fourth granted him an audience and presented him
with a suit of armour and other presents. The Quoen's trial
was the talk of the country when Hongi visited England,, and-
he expressed his surprise at King George's being unable to
manage one wife, when he himself had no difficulty in ruling
five. He stopped a month in England, and then returned to
Sydney, where he was informed of his son-in-law having fallen in

A FRAGMENT OF THE EARLY DAYS OF NEW ZEALAND. 45
battle. He immediately commenced collecting guns and powder.
He sold all his presents with the exception of his coat of mail,
and with the money purchased 3 00 stand of arms, and took the first
opportunity of going home and revenging his son-in-law's death.
On reaching the Bay of Islands he collected 1000 followers and
steered for the Thames. Here he fought a battle and killed 500
men. He then proceeded to the Tamaki and captured a pa whicli
stood in the centre of the present village of Panmure ; the
fugitives from the forts sought safety in a pa on the banks of
the Waipa in the Waikato. Here Hongi attacked them and slew
1400 out of a garrison of 4000. One portion of his army under
Thomas Walker advanced on Taranaki with equal success,
and Hongi returned home with plenty of slaves. It has been
stated that the true reason for this expedition was a desire to
obtain the sovereignty of the islands, but this he never obtained,
for he died in 1828, at the age of 55, from the effects of a wound
in the back from a bullet which pierced his lungs. This wound
never healed, but he recovered sufficiently to entertain his friends
by making the air whistle through the hole in his back. Hongi
being the first to introduce firearms among the natives, kept
them among his own tribe (the Ngapuhi), and the other tribes
saw plainly that unless they also procured firearms Hongi would
not be long in annihilating them, hence their craving after guns,
which has never been sated up to this time. A number of white
men had been living along with the natives, more as slaves than as
anything else, and were treated very contemptuously by them;
but now a pakeha Maori was looked upon as a prize, and every
tribe was anxious to have one attached to it. They treated
them as chiefs, alloted slaves to them, and paid them great
respect. In return for all this they were expected to barter pigs,
potatoes, and flax, for guns, blankets, tobacco, and other articles.
Some of these men did well, grew rich and were large land
owners; others, thinking only of the present, and reckless
of the future, spent their time in one continued round of dissi
pation and debauchery, and reduced themselves to a lower level
than the natives with whom they resided. The demand for

46 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
pakeha Maoris continued unabated till the year 1840, and those
tribes that had not one attached to it were stricken with poverty.
After the year 1840 the demand decreased, a circumstance which
was caused by the establishment of the various settlements of
Auckland, Wellington, and Taranaki. The natives finding that
they could now sell their produce as advantageously as their
pakeha Maori, declined their further services, and many of them
left their native habitations and took up their abode in the English
. settlements. One of these, who was tattooed, visited England,
and acted the part of a New Zealand savage in several theatres
with success.
The following return will show the number of pakeha Maoris
living with the natives in the different years, with their periods of
prosperity and decay: — Before 1814 there were in New Zealand
6 pakeha Maoris ; in 1827, 15 ; 1830, 50 ; 1835, 100 ; 1840, 150 ;
1845,50; 1850, 15; 1853, 10. These men have been denominated
by some as the devil's missionaries, and as having exerted an in
jurious influence on the natives. There is no doubt that some of
them were bad, but it must be remembered that the good they did '
far outbalanced their misdeeds. They taught the natives to
trust white men, encouraged industry, and promoted peace and
civilisation, by opening up a steady trade for flax, potatoes, and
other produce, and their intercourse with the native women
produced a healthier and more progressive race than the Maori.
I believe there is only one instance on record, up to 1853, of
the natives having killed any of these men. This man, whose
name was Cabbage, was killed in 1833, at Rotorua, by two
chiefs for the sake of the merchandise in his possession.
I have already stated that Mr. Marsden arrived in New Zea
land in 1814. He was accompanied by Messrs. Kendall, Hall, and
King, their wives, several mechanics, and the natives, Hongi and
Ruatara. They brought with them a few sheep and cattle. On
arriving at the Bay of Islands they purchased 200 acres of land*
for which they paid twelve axes. On this they erected a white
flag on which was painted a cross, a dove and olive branch,
and the word, " Rongopai" or " good tidings." They then

A FRAGMENT OF THE EARLY DAYS OF NEW ZEALAND. 47
commenced building houses, &c. When it became known in
England that these men had started in New Zealand, others
were sent out to them, and new settlements were established in
the country. In 1816 an American vessel, the Agnes, was
wrecked near Poverty Bay, and the whole of her crew, with
the exception of one man, were killed and eaten. This man lived
with the natives for twelve years and was tattooed. He went to
England in 1828, and narrated his experience of the habits and
costumes of the Maoris, and his narrative is reckoned to be the
best account in existence. His name was John Rutherford.

48 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER XII.

DESTRUCTION OF NGATIWHARE.

Two hundred years ago the boundary of Ngatiruanui
commenced at Kakaramea and stopped at Waiongongoro ; their
land did not then extend, as it does now, to the Wahamoko
Creek. In those days all Waimate, from Waiongongoro to Otakeo,
belonged to Ngatiwhare, and from Otakeo far beyond Te Namu
was in the occupation of Ngatitamaahuroa. Both of these tribes
have long ceased to exist, being exterminated by Ngatiruanui,
as the sequel will show. Ngatiruanui lived then at Rangatapu
and other villages, for at that time there was peace through all
the country, and Ngatiwhare roamed over the lands of other
tribes and visited other villages without fear of offence. Amongst
others who lived at Rangatapu was an old chieftainess named
Tamateamoiri and her sons. This woman was a sister of the
great chief Puawato, and much thought of by her people. One
day her sons went out in their canoes to fish, leaving their
mother at home pounding fern root for food ; and while she was
so engaged a party of Ngaitwhare passed by, and one of them
called out to the woman, saying, " Pound away at your fern root ;
it is a ' wharikiriki ' for yourself and children," meaning that it
was a covering for the bottom of the oven in which she should
be cooked. The old chieftainess made no reply, but carefully
treasured up the words, and when her sons returned informed
them of the kaanga, or curse, she had been subjected to in their
absence. The sons, after discovering the road taken by Ngati
whare, went inland, and informed the whole of the tribe of the
expressions used ; and so great was the indignation of Ngati- .
ruanui that they collected their forces and on the following day,
under their chief Paraha, destroyed all Ngatiwhare as far as the
Inaha stream. On the following day they followed up their

DESTRUCTION OF NGATIWHARE. 49
successes by destroying all who remained to fight, as far as
Otakeo, the boundary of their land. Here Paraha halted his
people, and calling out to Ngatitama-ahuroa, said, " Live in
peace ; we have no quarrel .with you." It would have been as
well had this tribe accepted the peace-offering ; but, influenced
by the fugitives from Ngatiwhare, they took up arms to avenge
them, and although assisted by Taranaki, it was to no purpose.
Ngatiruanui defeated them in every battle, and seized their
lands as far as Wahamoko. Paraha held fast to the conquered
country by building pas at Te Taheke, where the present Manaia
Redoubt now stands", at Motumate, at Te Kauae, and at Te
Auahi, at the mouth of the Waiokura, the following being the
generations from Paraha to the present day, viz. : Paraha,
Tamakiwi, Rongomaiora, Kohuora, Rongomaiora, Matini, Ngatai.
After the destruction of Ngatiwhare, their allies, although they
had lost their lands, were still strong enough in numbers to
have become a powerful tribe but for a murder they committed
x>n one of the Taranakis. Taranaki and Tama-ahuroa were
descended from the same ancestors, and had invariably fought
side by side. Amongst tribes so friendly there was much
visiting, and on this occasion, Taranaki having a splendid
wrestler had sent him down the coast to challenge the strong
men of Tama-ahuroa. Several of them had been overthrown
by the champion, until at last he met his match in a humpbacked
man of the latter tribe, who having after a severe struggle
thrown him, drew a small stone axe from his belt and despatched
him as he lay on the ground. Whether the deed was done in
the heat of the moment, or designedly, it mattered little to
Taranaki, who, collecting their forces, fell upon Ngatitama-ahuroa,
and killed them all but one small hapu, who were spared out of
friendship to their chief, the ancestor of the renowned warrior
Tautahi, the fighting chief of all the West Coast natives at the
present time. From this period the Maoris acquired a taste for
war and all its attendant horrors up to the arrival of the pakeha,
when it had reached a climax that a few years more would
have seen the depopulation of the island.

50 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER XIII.
RAIDS OF NGAPUHI UNDER HONGI.
As few are aware of the early history of the various tribes
I shall have to mention in this volume, it is necessary that I
should give a slight sketch of their doings from the year 1820
to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and this has been
more particularly forced upon me by seeing a paper published
on the East Coast gravely asserting that the West Coast tribes
are an inferior people whom Waikato holds in great contempt.
As this most erroneous impression might soon obtain general
belief amongst those who are not in a position to gain the
best information, I would remark that the opinion is not
justified by actual facts, as I shall endeavour to show by
chronicling certain passages in the past history of Ngatiawa>
Taranaki, and Ngatiruanui — three tribes who have preserved
their mana and rangatiratanga from their first landing in New
Zealand down almost to the present day.
Mana and rangatiratanga (prestige and chieftainship) are
the great boast of the native tribes who may possess those
desirable qualities, for they have a deep signification, inasmuch
as they show that, however often the tribe may have been
beaten in fair, stand-up, hand-to-hand fight, they never were
conquered, but always managed in their own peculiar and
truculent manner to square the death account.
Up to the year 1822, Ngatiawa and Ngatitawa had borne
the brunt of the Waikato attacks, and had almost invariably
held their own against superior numbers ; in fact, the latter tribe
had no equal in a hand-to-hand fight when armed with their
own native weapons, for the renowned Rauparaha and a mere
handful of men had kept a whole Waikato army at bay for
hours, and even in death had won the admiration of his foes,

RAIDS OF NGAPUHI UNDER HONGI. 51
for, although fatally wounded and lying on his back, his spine
disdained to touch the ground, and by its rigid arch when life
had fled showed even more plainly than his deeds while living
that he was indeed a toa (a brave) without peer.
But the time had now arrived when the weapons of the
pakeha were to alter the old systems and traditions ; when
the agile and dexterous warrior, who had passed half his
life in learning practically the cuts, thrusts, and guards of his
taiaha or tokotoko, found himself suddenly at the mercy of a
mere child if only armed with a gun. For by the year 1822
Ngapuhi had succeeded in obtaining the much-desired weapons
of the pakeha mainly by the aid of Hongi Ita, who had visited
London, and, having posed as a Maori prince anxious to become
a Christian, had induced King George IV. to make him presents,
not only of guns, but of a suit of armour. Other gifts were
also showered upon him, which he craftily exchanged for fire
arms. Returning to New Zealand by way of Sydney, he there
learned that a relative of his had been killed by the Thames
tribes ; and a chief of this tribe, named Hinaki, happening to
be in Sydney. Hongi met him, and advised him to return
quickly and warn his tribe to prepare, for he intended to take
vengeance. This was not long delayed, for Hongi, at the head
of 3,000 men, invaded Hinaki's country and killed the chief
and upwards of 1,000 of his men, as many as 300 being eaten.
Thirsting for blood, Hongi formed another party, and attacked
the Tamaki people at the Totara, and killed the chief Rauroka
and nearly 1,000 of his people.
Again another expedition was formed against the same
unfortunate tribes, and the two pas, Mokoia and Mauinene, were
taken and 1,500 killed. One man only of the Ngatipaoa
(Rangaiohenua) distinguished himself, and he, it is said, killed
thirty men. Hongi having now almost destroyed the great
tribe of Ngatimaru, who before their misfortunes brought into
the field 4,000 fighting men, turned his attention to the
Waikato, and suddenly appeared before Matakitaki. The
news of his astounding successes having preceded him, Waikato

52 history Of the Maoris.
fled at the first assault panic-stricken, and were hurled into
their own trenches, where hundreds were smothered, the
trenches being literally filled with the bodies of the slain. In
1823 Hongi started upon another expedition, this time against
the Bay of Plenty natives, and killed and carried away as
slaves nearly all the people in the Whakatohea Pa at Opotiki.
The taua (war party) then marched to Rotorua, where Hongi.
found the whole strength of the Arawa nation mustered on the
island of Mokoia, in Rotorua Lake. It is said some 5,000 were
there assembled, who, having collected all their canoes at
this island, thought themselves secure, and dashed daily across
the two miles of water to taunt Ngapuhi with their
inability to reach them;* but Hongi had foreseen this,
and one half of his men were at that very time busily
engaged in bringing their canoes overland, feeling assured that
if this great feat were once accomplished the fate of Arawa was
sealed. And so it was, for upwards of 700 warriors were slain,
and hundreds of women and children led away as slaves.
The bulk of the Arawa nation, as it now exists, are returned
slaves, for one half of the people on the island escaped
on seeing Ngapuhi in canoes, and left before the attack com
menced. This was the last expedition led by Hongi, who, in
1827, was "shot while attacking a kindred tribe of Ngapuhis.
This event, however, did not put a stop to the aggres
sions of his tribe, for he had many who came forward as
avengers of his death. Pomare was chosen as his successor,
and he, with Te Wera and Kawiti, in alliance with Te
Whatanui and Rawioha, of Ngatimaru, led an expedition against
the Hawke's Bay and other East Coast tribes, took the Takutae
Pa at Opotiki, and, proceeding on to Waipu, the Ngatiporou
lost hundreds of men. The same scenes took place at Poverty
Bay, and the first pa attacked in this district was the Te
Ihu-o-te-rei, and numerous as these people were, having no guns,
they were unable to cope with the Ngapuhis, who, meeting with
little resistance, killed the chief Te Aitu-o-te-rangi in cold blood,
* Vide " Old New Zealand."

RAIDS OF NGAPUHI UNDER HONGI. 53
and slaughtered and took prisoners thousands of his tribe (the
Ngatikahungunu). Another pa was taken on the following day,
and 400 men were killed, the butchery becoming so great that
even Ngapuhi felt they had done enough, and returned home
wards. En route they stopped at Tokamaru, where the truly
great Ngatiporou chieftainess, Hine Matiora, resided. At first
the confederates were inclined to attack her stronghold, but the
reputation for beauty and wisdom held by Hine overcame their
desires, and they finally requested her to show herself to them.
, This she did, after some hesitation, from the top of a cliff,
surrounded by hundreds of her people, to the great delight of
Ngapuhi, who greeted her after their own barbarous fashion,
and leaving valuable presents on the beach for the chieftainess,
got into their canoes, and left this branch of Ngatiporou in
peace. 4
Some time after, Pomare and Kawiti formed another
alliance with the Thames tribes, and attacked Ngaiterangi at
Tauranga. This very numerous and powerful tribe mustered at
their great hill fortress at Manganui, and were in a better
position to repel an attack than many other tribes, for by this
time traders and whalers had begun to visit the southern
harbours, and trade with the natives. Thus Ngaiterangi had
some guns, but the prestige of Ngapuhi was too strong. The pa
was taken, and some thousands of the defenders killed. Those
who escaped fled to the bush, and thus a remnant was pre
served. It may be that my readers will find it difficult to
understand why Ngatimaru, of the Thames, who had
suffered so from the repeated raids of Ngapuhi, should
on these two last occasions be found in alliance with
their deadly enemies. Yet the solution is simple, and may
be summed up in one word — Revenge, for on this subject a
Maori has peculiar, if not startling, ideas.
We will suppose that Brown kills Jones. Well, revenge
must follow, but it is by no means certain that Jones's relatives
will kill Brown's. In fact, there are many reasons why they

54 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
should not, at least just then, because it is only natural to
suppose that Brown is prepared for the consequences, and
therefore on his guard. Again, his tribe may be too strong to
be interfered with ; but as revenge must be had, Ngati Jones
attacks Ngati Smith, and the manes of the deceased Jones is
appeased until such time as Brown can safely be smitten.
There are many Europeans, with the prejudices of the old
world strong upon them, who will fail to see the beauty of this
system ; but it has at least extreme simplicity, and the sons of
Tumatauenga (the Maori god of men), wise in their generation,
acknowledge no law higher than that of expediency.
Up to this time Ngapuhi had been uniformly successful,
not because they were braver than other tribes, but because the
northern harbours were continually visited by traders, who
supplied them, with guns and ammunition. Previous to this,
Ngatimaru, of the Thames, had often devastated the Bay of
Islands, hence the revenge taken at Totara and other places
when Ngapuhi obtained guns. Now things were being equalised
by the traders selling guns to the Ngatimaru, Ngatirangi, and
Waikato, to the future discomfiture of Ngapuhi, who about this
period marched 500 strong, under Pomare, into Waikato, driving
the Waikato back, skirmishing as far as Kopua, where they
made a stand, and for the first time Ngapuhi felt they had a
well-armed and resolute foe before them, which it would not be
so easy to slaughter, and which caused them to think of retiring
before it was too late. But their movements had been closely
watched by the renowned Taraia, of Npvtimaru, who in the
night led his warlike tribes to the rear cl Ngapuhi's position and,
coolly waited for them at Te Rore. The consequence was
Ngapuhi fell into ambush. Pomare was killed by Nini,
and his men closely pursued and cut off in small parties
by their vengeful foes, even as far as Manukau. Not
more than thirty men, with the chiefs Moetara and
Mauparoa, returned to tell the tale. Thus ended the attempt
of Ngapuhi to penetrate into Waikato, a disaster closely followed
by others, as about the year 1831 two young girls bathing

RAIDS OF NGAPUHI UNDER HONGI. 55
together at the Bay of Islands happened to quarrel, and one in
her passion solemnly cursed the other's tribe, which would have
been a matter of small moment to any other people than
Ngapuhi. To them the consequences were most serious, and
both tribes prepared for war. A battle, desperate in character,
soon ensued, in which the attacking party were almost destroyed,
when they suddenly remembered their near relationships, and
so furious were they at the losses their mutual tribes had
suffered that revenge was absolutely necessary to sooth their
wounded feelings, and immediately both parties combined to
take it out of another tribe, and hastened to attack the Ma
nganui Pa at Tauranga, but were driven back with considerable
loss, and the expedition returned without result.
Nothing daunted, another taua was formed in 1832 of some
150 men, under the great tohunga Te Haramiti, .to attack the
people of Motiti. The first place reached was Mercury Island,
where they cooked, killed, and ate upwards of 100 Ngatimarus
who resided there. From thence they sailed for the island of
Tuhua, where they surprised and killed many of the inhabitants,
the majority escaping to an impregnable pa on the island, from
whence they managed to inform the people on the mainland of
the invasion. Ngapuhi was now anxious to return, but old
Haramiti, their chief, was not satisfied, and went on to Motiti,
which they found deserted, for Ngaterangi had fled. Meanwhile
Te Waharoa and Tupaea had organised an army, and were
closely following Ngapuhi, who, the next day, saw a fleet of
canoes coming from the direction of Tuhua, and Ngapuhi, sup
posing them to be their own reinforcements (their tohunga
having prophesied a few days before that aid was at hand)
shouted in welcome.
Too late they learned their fate was sealed, and bravely as
they resisted, they were all annihilated but two, who escaped.
Te Haramiti, it is stated, was beaten to death by the enemy's
fists, his blood being too sacred to be shed. Thus perished the
warlike hapu of Ngatikuri, who from that day ceased to exist.
The lesson these losses taught, together with the defeat of

56 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Tuwhare, who perished with all his people by the hands of '
Wanganui, was not lost on Ngapuhi, who seeing clearly that
henceforth they could not be so successful as heretofore, declined
further to molest the South.
The expedition of Tuwhare is little known, and it is difficult
to obtain correct information on the subject. Suffice it to say,
he marched from Kaipara with a taua of 200 men, well armed,
and scorfred the country along the whole of the West Coast as
far as Wanganui, killing hundreds of Ngatiawas, Taranakis, and
Ngatiruanuis, who, alarmed by his guns, were panic-stricken.
On reaching Wanganui a small pa was attacked, in which a
brother of the late Hori Te Anaua had about 50 men. This
chief refused to retire, and defended his pa most valiantly, until
he was killed, when about half the defenders succeeded in
breaking through their enemy, and the rest succumbed to their
fate. This, however, was Tuwhare's last success, for that chief,
pursuing the fugitives, advanced up the Wanganui river, over a
difficult and dangerous country, until he approached the Ngati-
pamoana Pa of Operiki. Here Wanganui awaited his onset,
and skilfully availing themselves of a deep narrow gorge, laid an
ambush for him. The Ngapuhi, as had been foreseen, descended
the gorge, and Wanganui allowed them to advance, until most
of the enemy were climbing the opposite side, when at a
signal given the ambush, armed only with their native weapons,
hurled Ngapuhi headlong down the steep sides into the gully,
where it was impossible they could use their guns, and destroyed
them to a man. Tuwhare was struck down by the Wanganui
chief Whakaahu, who was rebuked by his victim for not having
killed him at once, and told that he was only a " ringa ringa mahi
kai " (a man used to planting food). Be it as it may, Ngapuhi
never again entered the defiles of Wanganui, nor after the affair
of Te Haramiti did they again interfere with the destinies of the
West Coast natives.

CHAPTER XIV.
RAIDS OF WAIKATO UNDER TE WHEROWHERO.
After the defeat of Ngapuhi there appeared many aspirants
for fame, notably the Waikato chiefs Te Wherowhero, Te
Waharoa, and Rauparaha. There were also many other
renowned leaders of equal bravery and skill, such as Taraia,
Mamaku, Te Heuheu, and the Kaeaa, whose names will occa
sionally appear in this volume, but not having taken so leading
a part as the first three they will not receive such attention.
Waikato, after the defeat of Pomare, desired to emulate the
prowess of their foes, but not upon them, for in point of fact
Ngapuhi Kai Tangata, although fighting amongst themselves,
were still an object of terror to their neighbours. This, then,
was the dilemma of Waikato. They had plenty of guns, and
men prepared to use them, yet donbted their ability to cope
with Ngapuhi on their own ground. But revenge must be had,
and having such a nice lot of guns, it seemed a pity not to use
them. In fact, it was like flying in the face of Providence not
to kill somebody, and further, the atuas were propitious. In
the yery nick of time an embassy arrived from Ngatiawa, who
having had a serious quarrel with their ancient enemy, the
Taranakis, had been reduced to the last extremity by the great
chief Tamakaha, and now implored the assistance of Waikato.
This was promptly rendered, and Te Wherowhero and Pehi
Korehu (father of Rewi) led their tribes to the attack, and
Taranaki for the first time felt the full force of the pakehas'
weapons, as Tamakaha and all his leading warriors were soon
destroyed. From this time the fighting was all on one side ; pa
after pa was taken, and most of the tribes carried away into
slavery, only a few of the most active hiding themselves in the
fastnesses round the base of Mount Egmont or in the flax at
E

58 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Waiwiri. Hence the proverb, "E kore Taranaki e ngaro e
harakeke to ngai nui no roto no Waiwiri " (Taranaki cannot be
destroyed, flax is in its forests at Waiwiri). The fugitives lived
a wretched life for some years, until they were finally collected
by Hori Ngatairakaunui and Moki ( Wiremu Kingi) at Te Namu,
where they in their turn wiped out defeat. So far the con
federacy had been in perfect harmony ; but Waikato, confident
in their numbers and weapons, had taken the lion's share in
plunder and slaves, altogether disregarding the claims of their
Ngatiawa allies, whom they treated most cavalierly and as old
enemies. This treatment was carefully fostered by the Taranaki
slaves, who continually impressed upon their masters how easy
it would be to destroy the Ngatiawa, and so it undoubtedly
would have been had Waikato acted promptly in the matter,
which they did not do, but contented themselves with bouncing
Ngatitoa and their chief Rauparaha off their ancestral lands at
Kawhia. Up to this time Ngatitoa, although a small tribe, had
by dexterous alliances and their own prowess, managed to hold
their own, but the possession of guns had altered the position
of affairs, and Te Rauparaha, too sagacious not to perceive it,
saw it was no longer possible to hold his lands. Under such
circumstances, he made a merit of necessity and formally ceded
them over to Te Wherowhero, informing that chief that he
intended taking other lands in their place, both at Otaki and
Kapiti. This bold stroke of policy prevented Waikato from
interfering with him on his line of march, and enabled him to
reach the kindred tribes of Ngatitama and Ngatiawa, amongst
whom he sojourned a welcome guest for more than a year.
Welcome, because these tribes knew well enough that Waikato
intended mischief, and the presence of Rauparaha and his 170
braves, all well armed, would in itself secure success. "The '
intentions of Waikato were soon manifest, for thinking the
opportunity favourable, they collected a large body of warriors
under Te Wherowhero, Te Waharoa, Haikai, and Mama, and
marched to attack Rauparaha, who was only informed of the
movement by seeing his enemies close at hand. Fortunately for

RAIDS OF WAIKATO UNDER TE WHEROWHERO. 59
Waikato, Te Kaeaeaandhis Ngati tamas were absent, but Ngatitoa
and Ngatiawa were equal to the occasion. The two armies
met in fair fight, and after a most desperate struggle
Waikato was beaten and fled unpursued, leaving Haikai, Mama,
and 150 men dead. It is said that the night after the fight Te
Wherowhero approached the camp and called out to Rauparaha,
" How are my people to be saved 1 " "By instant flight," was
the reply, and we may presume the advice was taken, for the
next day, when the Ngatitama came up, Waikato was far
distant.

60 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER XV.
RAIDS OF NGATIAWA UNDER RAUPARAHA.
Shortly after the attack of Te Wherowhero Rauparaha and
his Ngatitoas, together with Te Rangitaki and his Ngatia
was, in all some five hundred fighting] men, marched south,
after vainly imploring Ngatitamas to do likewise, feeling
confident that Waikato would not long be denied. Nothing
of importance occurred until the party reached Ohau, where
they made a permanent settlement and soon became
acquainted with the chief of the Muanpoko (Toheriri),
who invited Rauparaha to visit him, which he foolishly con
sented to do, taking Rangihoungariri and several of his leading
chiefs with him ; for they were most of them treacherously
murdered the same evening. Rauparaha was the only chief
who escaped, his suspicions having been previously aroused.
This characteristic murder sealed the fate of Muanpoko, who were
from henceforth doomed to be ruthlessly destroyed, as Toheriri
with many of his people were soon after killed and eaten in re
venge for this outrage. Still the tribe of Muanpoko were a
strong warlike tribe, although badly armed, and would probably
have held their own but for Rauparaha's guns. As it was they
fought well, but were eventually conquered, suffering more from
cold-blooded murders than by loss in fair fight. The .chief
stronghold of Muanpoko at this time was the lake pas of
Horowhenua, a series of artificial islands built on the lake which
they inhabited. One of the smallest (Waipata) was surprised
by the Ngatitoas, who swam out to it during the night. The
defenders, jumping into their canoes, fled at the first alarm to
Waikiekie, the largest of their islands, where they were safe
for the time, as Ngatitoa, finding their force too weak to attack
so formidable a place, returned to Ohau for reinforcements, and

RAIDS OF NGATIAWA UNDER RAUPARAHA. 61
thus recruited, carried Waikiekie by storm, killing some 200
men, women, and children. The remainder escaped and fled to
Paikakariki. This pa was also attacked and taken, but while
the Ngatitoas remained feasting on the bodies of the slain they
were in their turn attacked by Rangitane and Muanpoko com
bined, and driven back to Waikanae with heavy loss. Rau
paraha now returned to Kapiti, an island in Cook's Straits, but
hearing that Rangitane and Ngatiapa were building a pa at
Manawatu, he marched for that place and sent a Ngatiapa
woman to tell Ngatiapa to retire, and Rangitane to send their
chiefs to him to sue for peace. These chiefs, foolishly trusting
to the good faith of Rauparaha, went to his camp, and were
murdered in cold blood, and their unsuspecting people, including
even Ngatiapa, fully believing in the truce, were also surprised
and butchered. Rauparaha then retired to Waikanae, little
dreaming that another party of Ngatiapas, under Te Hakeke,
were following him, who, coming up with them that night,
fell upon them furiously, killing more than sixty. Rauparaha
and the remainder of his people fled again to Kapiti, to await
reinforcements who were on their way from Taranaki and other
places ; but before these parties could arrive, Rauparaha was
again attacked at Kapiti by nearly 2000 men of various tribes,
collected hurriedly between Patea and Wellington, but being
badly armed, and having no confidence in one another, they
were easily beaten and soon fled in confusion.
The fame of this fight spread far and near, and hundreds
of men from Waikato, Taupo, and Taranaki hastened to join
him, viz. : — Ngatitiama, under Te Kaiaia ; Ngatiawa, under
Patu Kawenga; and Wharepouri and Ngatiraukawa, under
Te Ahu Karanui. With this assistance Rauparaha, feeling
himself strong enough to deal with Wanganui, soon made an
attack on Putiki, and after a siege of some months' duration,
starved the Wanganuis out, who, in despair, cut their way
through the enemy with some loss. But badly armed as they
were, they were far from disheartened, and soon raising a war
party, attacked Rauparaha in turn at the Kakutu pa, which they

62 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
carried by assault, inflicting heavy loss upoji the allies, who fled
to Waikanae. About this time Whatanui of Ngatiraukawa
had marched from Waikato, with the intention of joining
Rauparaha, but the Ngatikahungunu tribes drove him back with
great slaughter. Several other bodies of Raukawas had been
almost totally destroyed by Wanganui in their attempts to reach
Kapiti, and these reverses, combined with the terrible slaughter
of Ngatiamas by Waikato, so disheartened Rauparaha, that he
decided to retire to the south island and escape his foes. This
he was strong -enough to do, for by this time Taranaki, north
of the Stony River, was rendered a complete wilderness, the
natives having been either killed by Waikato or had fled to
Rauparaha.

CHAPTER XVI.
_TE WHEROWHERO'ti (SINCE KING POTATAU) ATTACK ON
PAKERANGIORA WITH 2,000 WAIKATOS.
Up to the year 1831 Rauparaha had induced only a portion
of the Ngatiawa tribe to join him in his southern raids, viz.,
only those hapus who claimed Puaha and Te Reretawhanga-
whanga as their chiefs, perhaps in all, 500 fighting men.
Ngatiawa had not as a tribe accepted the valuable advice given
them by Te Rauparaha, who had said : — " Leave your ancestral
lands where you will surely be attacked and destroyed by the
better armed and more numerous Waikato, and march with me
to Kapiti, where you will be in a position to trade direct with
the pakeha, and thus obtain the guns and produce of which we
are in such need." Only the two hapus above mentioned
threw in their lot with him ; the main body of the tribe decided
to await their fate, and die, if needs must, in defence of their
homes. Love of country was too strong, and prudence nowhere,
even with such an exceedingly restless tribe as Ngatiawa, who,
after living a few generations at Waitara, had wandered as far as
the North Cape, where, settling for a time, the spirit of unrest
again seized them. Many travelled south, and after marching
many weary days, they again split up, one branch going east
and settling at Whakatane, the other west, to their old houses
at Waitara. Here they formed a powerful and warlike tribe,
always at war with Waikato or Taranaki, and generally holding
their own ; useful as allies and dangerous as enemies ; while
those who remained at the North Cape formed the tribe now
known as the Aupouri. Rauparaha, in persuading them to
leave with him, although only partially successful on the first
occasion, did not despair; but in the early part of 1831, when
affairs were not going pleasantly with him, he again visited his

64 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
warlike friends and so impressed them with his great victory at
Kapiti, over the united tribes of the south, that he induced
another section of the tribe to share his fortunes under their
chiefs Patu Kawenga, Ngatata Piritaka, Poki and Pomare.
Kaiaia and Wharepouri also accompanied him, but returned
almost immediately.
This action on the part of Rauparaha played directly into
the hands of Waikato, who, when they heard of this second
migration, first sent a party of men to spy into the nakedness of
the land, in friendly guise, and having from their reports found
the good news to be true, promptly dug up the hatchet of war.
2000 men under the renowned chief Te Wherowhero, since known
as King Potatau, invaded Waitara. For some days the Taua con
tented themselves with cutting off stragglers as a prelude to
more serious matters, until Ngatiawa, too late alive to their
danger, mustered hastily in the Pukerangiora pa, so hastily in
deed that they were unable or neglected to provision it for a
siege. Waikato finding that Ngatiawa was on the alert now
crossed the Waitara River and attempted to storm the pa, but
although well led, they were most signally defeated and driven
back to their camp ; but the attempt was repeated by small
parties on the following day, until some forty men had been killed
and twice that number wounded. After this lesson in the art of
war the besiegers contented themselves by drawing their lines
of investment more closely around the doomed pa, and awaited
the effects of famine. This was soon made manifest ; for
Ngatiawa, rendered desperate with hunger and thirst, behaved
with astonishing boldness and broke through the lines in broad
daylight. Had the attempt been made under cover of night, it
would probably have been successful, as a large majority would
have escaped ; but as it was, the half starved but brave warriors
were unable to contend with their numerous foes. Many were
killed, but the greater number, including women and children,
were driven back into their own pa, to be massacred or tortured
at leisure. That day, Waikato contented themselves with a
great cannibal feast on the bodies of the slain ; but on, the mor-

TE WHEROWHERO'S ATTACK ON PAKERANGIORA. 65
row Te Wherowhero ordered the prisoners to be brought out,
and with his own hand struck down some 150 of them, while
others were killed by his followers, with every conceivable
species of torture possible. It is said that many of the Waikatos
died from the effects of their disgusting feast, but the native
accounts do not corroborate this. In all, some 200 prisoners
had been killed on the day after their capture, and this would
seem to have satisfied the Waikato chiefs, for the remainder
were led away as slaves, and had to carry the tattooed preserved
heads of their unfortunate relations to be hung up as trophies
of war in the Waikato villages. Comparatively few of the
Ngatiawas escaped slaughter or slavery, but of those who did,
some fled to the strong pa at Moturoa, where they were com
paratively safe, arid others to the mountain ranges, where they
were relentlessly pursued and destroyed by their enemies before
they could obtain shelter with the friendly tribes of Ngatiraunui.

66 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER XVII.
DEFENCE OF TE NAMO BY TARANAKI AND WI KINGI.
Things were now looking bad on the West Coast. The
terrible defeat of Ngatiawa at Pukerangiora had almost crushed
out the spirit of the tribes, but Wharepouri, Kaiaia, and other
chiefs, with their men, held on to their lands at Moturoa, while
Taranaki, who for some years had, as I have stated, almost
ceased to exist as a tribe, was represented by some eighty gallant
warriors, who disdaining to fly before Waikato and Manaipoto,
had mustered at Te Namo, under Ngatairakaunui and his brother
Moki, lately known as Wi Kingi, while the more faint
hearted of the warriors had followed the various migrations of
the Ngatiawa and Ngatiruanui, and had joined Te Rauparaha.
Ngaruahine, 200 strong, were living on the Kapuni, in a pa
called Rangituapeka, while Tangahoe, 150 strong, lived at Te
Ruaki pa, under Hanataua, afterwards killed by the Taranaki
settlers at Waireka. This was the situation of the West Coast
warriors as they waited the attack of many thousands of
Waikato, Ngatihaua, and Ngatimaniapoto, knowing full well
that to be defeated meant extermination, and further,
that each tribe would have to fight out its own salvation,
as their enemies could at pleasure take them in detail. Tribal
jealousy being sufficient to prevent them joining their forces
for mutual protection, the first blow fell on the eighty men
of Taranaki at Te Namo. Waikato, probably anxious to
complete their work thoroughly, supposed it would be an easy
matter, with the help of their Taranaki slaves, to force the
few remaining warriors at Te Namo to. surrender as slaves, and
thus obtain their assistance against the more numerous Ngatiawa.
Thus Waikato were very confident of success, and had every
reason to be so, for Taranaki had not probably more than a

DEFENCE OF TE NAMO BY TARANAKI AND WI KINGI. 67
dozen guns, against 500 well-armed Waikatos, under the re
nowned chiefs Te Waharoa, Pukepuke, Kiwi, Taupo, and Te
Kanawa. The war party marched from Kawhia by way of Waitara, and
passed the Ngatiawa at Moturoa, without molesting them, pro
bably because their pa was toostrongto deal with just then. When
within a few miles of Te Namo, the war party surprised a man
and woman, who were out gathering tutu berries. These un
fortunately fled for their lives, and the Waikatos, unwilling to
lose the Mataika (the first fish), shot the man. This circum
stances was most fortunate for the threatened tribe, as the
sound of the gun warned them of their impending danger, and
like brave men they prepared for the assault, and while the
main body of the men with the women and children crowded into
the pa, carrying food and water, Moki led out some scouts to the
top of a sandhill near the pa, from which they could see the Waikato
tohunga (or priest), tear out the dead man's heart and perform the
ceremony of whangai hau (feed the wind), amidst the yells and
frantic dances of the warriors, to whom it was a good omen. No
thing daunted by these to them familiar scenes, Moki and his ten
men posted themselves near the crossing of a small stream by
Te Namo, and prepared to dispute the passage. Hori Moki
killed a leading chief, amidst the exultant cries of " Mate rawa 1"
" Mate rawa 1" raised by his followers, who were immediately
forced back under the shelter of the pa by the now furious Wai
katos who surrounded it, despite the efforts of Taranaki, most of
whom rushed forward to support their chief Moki. A smart skir
mish afterwards took place, in which Taranaki lost a man, but in
return killed and carried off two of Waikato, after which they
retired to their pa. But small time was given them to breathe,
for Waikato, despising their handful of enemies and anxious to
get the fight over, dashed forward to storm the pa ; but in vain,
for Taranaki secure on their scarped hill-sides, and protected by
palisades, showered down stones, spears, and bullets on their
assailants, who were soon obliged to beat a retreat, carrying off
their numerous wounded, and leaving about twenty dead behind

68 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
them. The bodies nearest the scarp were dragged inside the pa,
" and Ngatairakaunui ordered his warriors to carry them to the
rear of the pa, on the cliff overlooking the sea, where he also
performed the ceremony of whangai hau, to appease the
numerous Maori gods whose aid had been solicited in favour of
the besieged. The triumphant yells of the actors in this scene
were well understood by Waikato, so much so that the chief
Taupo, enraged at his repulse, and believing the triumphant
Taranaki had left the front face of the pa unguarded, made a
sudden rush to effect an entrance ; but every movement had
been noticed by Moki, who having kept careful watch and ward,
allowed his foe to reach the foot of the scarp and then shot him
dead. This brought on another action, during which more W ai-
katos fell, making in all twenty-eight that day. This repulse so
effectually cooled the ardour of Waikato, that they resolved to
proceed more cautiously and starve out the besieged ; accordingly
that night they constructed three taumaihis (towers of earth)
to enable them to fire into the pa, and parties were told off
to steal up under cover of the darkness and undermine the
parapets. This, however, they soon found impossible from the
solid concrete of sandstone which defied the efforts of men
armed only with pointed sticks hardened in the fire. Conse
quently some were shot by the ubiquitous. Moki, while the rest
satisfied their chiefs that the scarp could not be levelled. Thus
the great Waikato war party's efforts were reduced to a simple
blockade. Hitherto things had gone well for Taranaki, yet
they had great cause for uneasiness, for in the hurry and con
fusion of the first attack they had forgotten to secure their only
reserve cask of powder, which was buried in the sand of an old
graveyard, not far from the pa, but close to the enemy, who
luckily knew nothing of the oversight. It being a matter of
life and death, for powder must be had, the gods were consulted,
and they did their duty nobly, by declaring through their deputy
Ngatairakaunui, that the cask would be brought successfully into
the pa. Encouraged by these utterances a band of daring men
sallied out in the dead of night, and, regardless alike of danger

DEFENCE OF TE NAMO BY TARANAKI AND WI KINGI. 69
either from man or whiro (devil), carried off the cask from under
the very nose of their foes. As Moki had been so successful in
shooting the foe he was now told off to answer the enemies' fire
for the future, which gained him the name he bore to his death,
Matakatea (clear eyed), so deadly was his aim. But let it not
be supposed that credit was given to Moki's skill, although the
enemy dared not leave the shelter of their rifle pits — no, not his
the skill that directed the bullets ; the credit was simply awarded
to the Karakia and Mana, incantations and powers of his wizard
brother, Ngatairakaunui, who sat alone throughout the siege,
surrounded by the implements of his craft, in communion with and
muttering incantations to the invisible gods of old New Zealand,
filling the hearts of his people with courage and his enemies
with dread.
Having received so rough a lesson in the first assault,
Waikato now contented themselves with drawing their lines
of investment closer around the pa, and awaiting the effects
of starvation, as they had done so successfully at Pukerangiora.
But in this case Taranaki were well supplied with fern root and
other Maori edibles, and did not suffer by any means to the
extent anticipated by their foes, so that more than a month
passed, each party watchful but inactive. But those inside the
pa had deep cause for anxiety lest their enemies should have
patience enough to wait till the growing crop of potatoes around
the pa became ripe. It was simply a matter of patience on the
part of Waikato, and the destruction of Taranaki would be
accomplished. But help came to them from a quarter least
expected. Among the Waikatos were many slaves whom they
had captured in their previous raids on Taranaki, and these men,
whose pleasing duty it would be to dress and cook their relations
if Waikato were successful, determined to assist the besieged by
destroying the potato crop, and so rapidly was this accomplished
that it was not discovered until the mischief was done. Up to
this time Waikato had borne with inferior food and. small
quantities, in the vain hope that the potato crop would not only
repay them for the hardships endured, but would enable them

70 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
to force the surrender of the pa, in which case they would not
only have their revenge, but also an abundance of fresh meat,
This hope could now no longer be entertained, and a meeting of
the principal chiefs was held, when it was determined to send an
envoy to the pa, stating their desire for peace, and asking per
mission, before they left, to enter the fortification and rub noses
with their foes. And although the Taranaki knew Waikato
would take advantage of their position if they were for one
moment thrown off their guard, strange to relate Taranaki
agreed to the proposal, fully understanding the intention of
their visitors. Ngatairakaunui and Moki had some trouble
with their young men, who were very desirous of slaying all
who could be entrapped, but the old men stood by their chiefs
and would allow no violence, and the meeting passed off quietly ;
and while the chiefs swore eternal friendships, their followers
stood, weapon in hand, ready for the least sign of treachery.
Among others who came into the pa were the Taranaki slaves
before mentioned, who again braved the anger of their masters
by leaving behind them, unknown to Waikato, whatever guns
and ammunition had been entrusted to them. The Waikato
now retired to their camp, after assuring Taranaki that the war
was over. These peaceful protestations were of course very grati
fying to the besieged, but let no one suppose for one mo
ment that they put the smallest trust in them, for in plain
Anglo-Saxon it meant, " Cease to fear us, and come outside and
mingle with our people, and exactly at the right time we will
turn upon and slay you all, in the manner prescribed by the
very best Maori authorities." Knowing this it is not to be
wondered at, that Taranaki kept still closer their watch and
ward, with the view of showing Waikato plainly that their game
was up, and that no other course was left them, but to find some
course for retiring gracefully, that it might not be said in after
years, that the terrible VVaharoa of Ngati tawa, who had stormed
Maketu, and destroyed the Arawa, sub-tribes of Tapuika, who
had inflicted terrible loss on the Arawa of Rotorua, and last, by

DEFENCE OF TE NAMO BY TARANAKI AND WI KINGI. 71
no means least, had fought the desperate battle of Taumata
Wiwi, with Ngatimaru of the Thames, had been obliged to re
tire before a handful of Taranakis. But Waikato was already
provided with a good and sufficient reason, for on the morning
after the meeting they formed up outside the pa unarmed, and
performed a Haka, expressive of their peaceful intentions. After
this performance was over, Te Maharoa came forward, asking if
there were any men of the Ngatikahukura hapu in the pa, and
the reply being that there was one man, Ngatihana, with a loud
tangi, bewailed their cruel behavour to this man, who in some
mysterious manner had descended from a common ancestor
through Kahakura with Ngatihana, and by way of amendment
promised to burn their whares and retire next day. This
speech must have thrown Taranaki slightly off their guard, for
on the morrow a warrior who went openly to fetch water from
the creek, was shot dead by Kiwi's people. Ngatihana were, or
pretended to be, very angry at this act, and one of their chiefs
came alone into the pa and rubbed noses with his relative, and
said, " We leave here to-morrow, but be careful how you wander
about after Waikato has left, for there may be ambushes."
At grey dawn on the following day the Ngatihana, true to pro
mise, broke camp and burnt the whares, and after shouting a hoarse
adieu, left on their return journey, closely followed by Waikato.
Not much glory had been obtained by the northern tribes in this
raid. Taranaki say only six of their men were killed, whilst their
enemy had the two chiefs, Taupo and Pukapuka, and over sixty
men killed, chiefly by the unerring aim of Moki. Yet although
victorious and justly elated at their success, Taranaki correctly
appreciated the difficulty of their position, and being the only
hapu of the once powerful Taranaki tribe, who were left to face
the Waikato confederacy, comprising the tribes Ngatiwhatua,
Ngatiraukawa, Ngatihana, Ngatimaniaopoto, Ngatituwaretoa,
who with Waikato proper could bring thousands of warriors into
the field, decided not to wait the next inevitable invasion, but
by the direction of their prophet (Ngatairakaunui), marched for
Kapiti, with the intention of joining the other portions of their

72 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
tribe, who had already enrolled themselves as followers of the
treacherous Te Rauparaha. They were not however fated to
carry out this intention, for on arriving at the Kaipuni stream,
on the Waimate Plains, they found Ngaruahine living in two
pas on either side of the creek, under several chiefs, of whom
Manaia is still living, and at the earnest entreaty of these people,
they determined to throw in their lot with them.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE FIGHT AT MOTUROA.
After the capture of Pukerangiora a portion of Waikato
returned with the slaves to their own country, while the others
remained at Waitera, feasting on the Ngatiawas' plantations
and hunting up stragglers until reinforcements should arrive,
and thus enable them to complete their savage work by destroying
the Ngatiawas' last stronghold at Moturoa. This pa was gar
risoned by some 350 brave warriors under the chiefs Kaiaia and
Wharepouri, the former a noted toa (the terror of Waikato), and
ten European whalers under Richard Barrett. The garrison
was also much better armed than usual, from the fact that
Barrett combined the business of whaler with that of general
trader, exchanging arms and aminunition for flax and pigs ;
consequently the garrison had no doubt of their ability to cope
with the Waikato, however numerous. This feeling wds pro
bably encouraged by the presence of the Europeans, who had
got some old carronades mounted in the pa and loaded to the
muzzle with stones, scrap iron, and anything else they could
find ; so that they cheerfully awaited the advance of their foe,
while at the same time they kept strict watch against surprise
or treachery. It was not until the early part of 1832 that the Moturoa
scouts reported the advance of Waikato, and no sooner had the
exciting cry of " Te whaka ariki, Te whaka ariki " (the war
party) been sounded than man, woman, and child were busy
victualling the pa for a siege by carrying in water and food in
abundance. Others added to their implements of warfare large
stones, to be used as missiles, while the chief and leading
warriors took a look at the ties of their palisades. At last the
taua appeared in sight, not marching with the regularity and

74 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
precision of Europeans, but straggling along the beach in appa
rent disorder, although in reality scouting the country along
their line of march and keeping a good look out for ambuscades
or other Maori devilry, the toas (or braves) well up, ready to
engage in single combat in front of both armies. When within
four or five hundred yards of the pa, Waikato, with the view to
gain time or information, sent one of their chiefs forward to
parley, who was duly met midway by a Ngatiawa chief, when
something like the following conversation took place : — Ngati
awa : " What have we done that you should come here with arms
in your hands, killing our people, and burning and destroying
our crops and houses ? " Waikato : " That is true ; we have
behaved badly, and I am pouri (dark) at heart, but we will
Teturn to our homes peaceably ; our only desire is that we may
enter your pa and weep over our friends." Ngatiawa : " My
people will not consent, for their hearts are also pouri about
your doings at Pukerangiora." Finishing by the treacherous
Waikato weeping over his enemy and returning to his tribe,
having gained nothing by his attempt to throw dust in the eyes
of his foes.
When a Maori is wound up to fighting pitch he seldom
allows the grass to grow under his feet. And such was the
case on this occasion, for Waikato was not only soon paraded in
front of the pa, but having first stimulated their courage by a
terrific war-dance, started forward to carry it by storm, altogether
ignoring the sharp lesson on storming parties given them at
Pukerangiora. This time it was fated to be more severe than
usual, for the carronades were fired into the charging mass with
terrific effect ; yet Waikato, undismayed by their losses, reached
the palisades, only to be met again with bullet, spear, and
tomahawk, which drove them back in confusion, so that only
the dead or wounded chiefs were carried off, the common men
being left to the tender mercies of the foe, who probably re
garded the whole affair from a strictly utilitarian point of view
as a timely supply of fresh meat. After this severe check
Waikato contented themselves by keeping up a heavy fire upon

THE FIGHT AT MOTUROA1. 75
the pa with little or no effect, which continued on the following
day, until a chief of Ngatiawa, seized with a fit of " whakamo-
more " (desperation), rushed out of the pa, and advancing close
up to the enemy fired off his gun. This done, he retired, but
was shot before he could reach shelter. This incident brought
on a very pretty engagement, as a party of Waikatos tried to
carry off the body, while a party of relatives rushed to the
rescue, the result being that Ngatiawa, although driven back by
weight of nulnbers, inflicted very severe losses on the enemy and
recovered the body of their friend. After this skirmish
Waikato resumed their aimless firing, but seeing they made
but little headway they now tried their hand at treachery,
and another meeting took place, at which Waikato again
expressed a wish to be reconciled to Ngatiawa, and pro
mised to return at once to their own country. Strange to re
late, several of the besieged seem to have believed in these
friendly professions, and would have allowed Waikato to
enter the pa had it not been for Wharepouri, who sternly re
fused any negotiation with his enemies, and called upon the
Europeans to support him, which they readily did, and by so
doing won the day, but not before some few of the Ngatiawas
had left the pa. More would probably have done so had not
one of the renegades, a woman, been cut to pieces before their
eyes. After this there could be no further question of surrender
or fraternity, so Waikato tried another assault and were again
well beaten. Then, for the first time, did this great war party
realise that their foes were not to be despised, and settled down
to their work in right earnest, a la Maori. A sap was now
started to undermifle the works, and earthen towers (Taumaihi)
were built, from which their best marksmen could fire into the
pa, and from under cover of which blazing firebrands and pine
splinters were hurled upon the thatched whares inside the pa.
But all to no purpose ; the sap was countermined and the work
men shot. The whares that did catch fire were quickly ex
tinguished by calabashes of water, but not without some loss,
for the fire from the Tamaihis proved fatal to mariy brave men.

76 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
While these scenes were in progress a vessel anchored
off the pa, and, notwithstanding the fighting, proceeded to
trade with both parties. Occasionally the dealing was diver
sified by a little hard fighting, in which the balance was
always against Waikato, owing to the cross fire from the pa.
During one of these close fights a carronade burst. This was
an ill omen of the worst description for the owners, and so
elated Waikato that they decided to storm the pa on the fol
lowing morning, or die in the attempt. This hazardous move
ment had become a necessity, inasmuch as they had eaten every
thing edible about the country, so that they must either take
the stronghold at once or, retire. Accordingly, at dawn the
following morning Waikato made their last attempt; the
Ngatiawas were fully prepared and met them at the palisades,
but not before one small party had cut their way in. Ngatiawa,
however, fought with the courage of despair and killed the
whole of them ; others fired on the surging mass outside, while
the carronades, worked by Barrett and his men, swept away
everything in their line of fire, and notwithstanding the
courageous attack of Waikato they could not again penetrate
inside the defences ; so, after suffering terrible loss, they fled in
confusion, leaving nearly 200 dead and wounded on the ground.
Hastily breaking up their camp, they marched away, and did
not halt until they had placed the river Waita,ra between them
and possible pursuit. Ngatiawas now felt that their time had
come, and they did not fail to make reprisals on the wounded
Waikatos in revenge for the injuries they had suffered. The
most horrible barbarities were perpetrated, some too fiendish to
relate, but with savages perhaps not altogether inexcusable
when we consider the sufferings and losses they had endured
at the hands of the Waikatos. Be this as it may, the lesson was
not lost upon that haughty and turbulent tribe, for, weakened
by the loss of 350 men while Ngatiawa had only lost 50, the
Waikatos confessed they were not invincible. And Ngatiawa,
although successful, were equally dejected ; the long siege and
heavy losses they had sustained at both at Pukerangiora and

THE FIGHT AT MOTUROA. 77
Ngamotu had rendered the tribe quite despondent as to their
future chances of success in case of a renewed attack, so they
quietly decided to leave their old home and march for the island
of Kapiti, where they would be safe with their relatives. This
migration was accomplished under the command of Kaiaia and
Wharepouri, yet they did not altogether give up their country,
as thirty or forty men of the tribe remained in the neighbourhood
of Moturoa, so that it might be said their fires never died out.*
* For some of the incidents I have related that took place during the fight
I am indebted to Mr. Wells' spirited aooount, in his "History of Taranaki,"
published some years ago.

78 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER XIX.
ATTACK OF TANGAHOE AND NGARUAHINE BY WAIKATO.
After the failure of the attack upon Te Namu, Waikato,
somewhat disheartened, returned to their own country. It is
scarcely possible to say how long they remained there, but
about the year 1834 Waikato again tried the fortunes of war,
and advanced with a strong party against the Tangahoe tribe,
who, under their chief Te Rei Hanataua, were then living at Te
Ruaki pa. The fortress was" vigorously assaulted by Waikato,
but having been beaten back with heavy loss, they converted
the attack into a simple blockade. Palisades were erected
around the pa, so as to enclose the besieged without hope of
escape, and nearly three months passed in this manner before
Tangahoe, who were at the verge of starvation, surrendered to
the enemy. Many of the able-bodied men were killed to
revenge the deaths of those who had fallen in the assault, but
most of the tribe, including Te Hanataua, were taken prisoners,
and so became slaves.
While these things were taking place, Taranaki and
Ngaruahine were living quietly at the mouth of the
Kapuni River, at the Orangituapeka and Waimate pas.
Knowing full well that their turn would come, although not
anxious as to the results, for in the former pa there were 80
Taranaki men under Ngatairaukanui and Moki, and 40 Ngarua-
hine's under Tihe. In the latter pa there were 200 men of
Titokowarus tribe under Pakeke, Tiako, and Te Awaroa. Wai
kato, prompt in their movements, made straight from Te Ruaki
in two parties, one of which camped at Te Matihe, the hill above
the Inaha Creek ; the other camped at Mangaporua, near the
old Kanae pa. On the following day the Matihe party attacked
Orangituapeka, but were met on the open and driven back,

ATTACK OF TANGAHOE AND NGARUAHINE. 79
leaving five of their number dead behind them ; the others they
carried off and burnt. The brunt of this fight fell on Taranaki,
who, highly delighted at their success, cut off the heads of the
slain and sent them over to their allies at Waimate to decorate
their palisades. On the following morning Waikato made
another combined attack. A party of 100 men were told off to
lay an ambush near the pa during the night, while at early
dawn the main body were to make a vigorous attack on Wai
mate, hoping in this manner to draw the garrison away from
their pa, and so give the ambush a chance ; and probably this
scheme might have succeeded had Waikato courage been
equal to Taranaki cunning, for no sooner did Waikato attack
in earnest than both Taranaki and Ngaruahine rushed over
to assist their friends, but before leaving made their women
and boys put on men's mats and go outside the pa, as though
ready to meet the enemy. This ruse succeeded admirably,
and the ambush, believing the occupants of Waimate pa were
' waiting for them to attack, remained hidden, while their
people, assaulted by the full strength of the allies, were
thoroughly beaten, and fled unpursued, Ngaruahine being
suspicious of ambuscades.
Thus ended the battle of Ngangutumaiore. Waikato lost
in all about 60 men, including the chiefs Merekaikaka and
Pungatara, chiefs of Ngatihinetu ; Te Kohuwai, a leading chief
of Ngatimaniapoto, Hiahia, Toarangatira, Tupekepeke, Te
Oitai, and Raitaha. The allies lost only one chief, Te Kamia,
and five men. That day it was ascertained that Waikato really
had retreated, and the same night they were followed by the
most able-bodied men of the allies, 250 strong, and found camped
at Otumatua. Ngaruahine hid themselves carefully, intending
to storm the camp at sundown ; but this plan was, however,
defeated by a few straggling Taranakis, who, for reasons best
known to themselves, gave warning to Waikato, who, taking
alarm, left everything and stole away, so that when the allies
rushed the camp the birds had flown. The hurry and confusion
of the retreat had, however, one good effect, and that was that

80 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Te Hanataua and most of his people succeeded in making their
escape, and took shelter with Ngaruahine at Waimate.
Waikato did not again show themselves within the bound
aries of Taranaki ; but about the same time they did make a most
desperate attack upon the Ngatiawa, who still held Ngamotu pa,
under the command of Wharepouri and Taringakuri. Taranaki
and Ngaruahine maintained themselves on their land against
all comers ; and three years after this fight, hearing that the
Ngatimaniapoto chief Pakura and his people had established
themselves at Waitara, they at once marched to attack him, but
again were betrayed by their own people, who gave Pakura
warning in time to escape, which he did by retreating hastily to
his own land.

CHAPTER XX.
THE LAST OF THE TRIBAL FIGHTS.
After the desperate engagement at Moturoa, Wharepouri and
his people decided to leave their country and follow the
fortunes of that portion of their tribe who had thrown in their
lot with Te Rauparaha, and the main body under Wharepouri
and Kaiaia marched down the coast en route for Kapiti. As
they passed the Waimate Plains they were joined by Hanataua
and his Tangahoas, who had escaped the attack of Te Ruaki. A
few stragglers from Ngaruahine and Taranaki also joined him,
but to the honour of these two tribes, be it said, the majority
held fast to their lands regardless of Waikato. Late in the year
1835 this taua reached Otaki, where they joined the former
migration of the tribe at Pakakutu pa. Much suffering had
not taught these turbulent newcomers wisdom, for their very
first act was to rob the potato pits of the powerful and warlike
Ngatiraukawa tribe, who, after many vicissitudes, had succeeded
in marching from Waikato to Kapiti under Te Whataroa, Te
Ahu Karamu, Taratoa te Puke, and other chiefs, who were now
sworn allies of their relative Te Rauparaha ; and, although they
had suffered terribly en route by the hands of Wanganui and
Ngatikahungunu, were still too strong and too proud to be
robbed with impunity. Consequently a fight was the immediate
result, in which Tawhaki, of Ngatiawa, was killed, with many
common men of the tribe. Ngatiraukawa had decidedly the
best of it. After this skirmishes were of daily occurrence, in
which loss of life took place. This so alarmed Te Rauparaha,
who needed all his strength to defend himself against Wanganui
and Ngatikahungunu, that he sent messengers to Te Heuheu of
Taupo and to the Ngatiraukawa, who still lived at Maunga-
tautari, to send reinforcements to crush the turbulent Taranakis

82 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
and Ngatiruanuis. This appeal resulted in Te Heuheu and
Mamuku, of Upper Wanganui, Tariki, and Taonui marching
with 700 men to assist Rauparaha. Strong as this reinforcement
was it was none too strong, for a series of combats occurred, in
one of which, fought at Haowhenua, Rauparaha's son Tipi was
killed. The crowning fight took place at Pakakutu. Here
Ngatiapa and Wanganui took part against Ngatiawa, Ngati
ruanui, and a section of Rauparaha's own tribe. The result was
a decided defeat of the latter tribes, as during the fight their pa
was taken ; Ngatiruanui lost their chiefs Takarangi and
Turaukawa; Ngatiawa lost Rangiwahia, Te Tupeotu, and Te
Aotero, besides a number of common warriors whose names are
not worthy of mention ; Ngatiraukawa lost their chief Papaku,
and many of the allies fell, but their losses were by no means
so heavy as in the case of their enemies. This fight settled the
war, and at the instigation of Te Heuheu peace was made,
Ngatiawa and Ngatiruanui retiring to Waikanae and Wellington,
while Ngatiraukawa occupied the land at Otaki lately in
possession of their enemies.
This position of affairs lasted until 1839, when at the burial
of Rangihaeata's mother (Waitohi) on the island of Mana the
old land dispute was again revived, and the long slumbering
wrath of Ngatiraukawa again broke forth. The three tribes of
Taranaki, Ngatiawa, and Ngatiruanui were at this time living
in fancied seclusion in two pas on either side of the Waikanae
River, the pa on the right bank being known as the Kaititanga.
This was the place selected for attack, and a few nights after
the pa was carefully surrounded, and the great Ngatiraukawas'
brave (Ngakuku) led his men inside the fortifications. Only
one old woman was moving about at the time, and she gave the
alarm, but was immediately struck down by Ngakuku. Her
people, not expecting an attack, seized their arms, but did not
attempt to sally forth, fearing that they would be struck down
as they came out of the doorway. An accident, however, saved
them, for one of the Ngatiawas from pure fright fired off his
gun from inside the whare, and Ngatiraukawa, mistaking this

THE LAST OF THE TRIBAL FIGHTS. 83
for a signal, and suspicious of the calmness with which their
enemies awaited attack, as also fearing a cross fire from the
whares, delayed the attack until it was too late ; for while this
play was being enacted at the Kaititanga the people of the
opposite pa, alarmed by the gun so fortunately fired, turned out
en masse to assist their friends, but before leaving one chief,
with great forethought, said, " Let us put feathers in our hair,
so that we may recognise one another." This was no sooner
done than each of the three tribes took their own paths, so that
Ngatiraukawa might be surrounded. Taranaki, 100 strong, under
a celebrated warrior named Waiana, managed to get into the pa
with Raubawa, who, taking Taranaki for some of his own people,
did not molest them. Here they remained quietly, each party
waiting for daylight. As dawn broke, Waiana, burning to
distinguish himself, recognised Ngakuku and shot him dead.
This was the signal for a regular onslaught, and Ngatiraukawa,
surprised and assailed on all sides by Taranaki and from the
natives who sallied from their whares in the pa, after a short
struggle broke and fled, only to find themselves attacked by
those who were lying in wait for them outside the pa. Here
a perfect massacre took place, and it is said that the survivors
were pursued as far as Kukutaiaki. About 100 of Ngatiraukawa
were killed, including the chiefs Ngakuku and Te Mateuruahu ;
the allies lost their chief Tukaru, of Ngatiawa, and sixteen men.
Rauparaha has always been accused of instigating Ngatirau
kawa to this attack ; and it is probable such was the case, for the
action was in perfect keeping with his treacherous character.
This fight was the last of a long series of pitched battles and
surprises, diversified by murders and every other possible horror
so dear at that time to Maori habit and character.

84 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.

CHAPTER XXI.
THE CHIEF TE WAHAROA.
Among other New Zealand celebrities appertaining to the.
period immediately preceding the arrival of the European colo
nists, the famous war chief of Ngatihana, Te Waharoa, stands
prominently forward, not only as a leader of his own particular
tribe, but as the most famous fighting chief of the great Wai
kato confederacy, second only in renown to the crafty and
treacherous Te Rauparaha. If the deeds of these two typical
savages be clearly examined, it will be seen that Te Waharoa
was in fact much the greater man of the two, inasmuch as he
had to deal with the numerous warlike and well-armed sons of
Marutuahu, while on the other hand the fame of Rauparaha
rests solely on his great fight with Waikato near the Waitara,
where Te Hiakai and Mama fell, for it cannot be said that his
victories over the unarmed Rangitane and Muanpoko of Mana-
watu, or Ngaitahu of the Middle Island, were creditable to his
fame as a warrior, even though they had not been disgraced as
they were by cold-blooded treachery.
Taiporutu, Te Waharoa's father, was the leading chief of
Ngatihaua, who, shortly before the birth of his son, was killed while
attacking a pa of the Ngatitama at Tongaporutu, and his body was
crucified over the entrance to the pa. This circumstance gave his
son the name of Te Waharoa (the gateway). In the days of
Taiporutu, Ngatihaua was by no means an influential tribe, not
mustering more than 400 warriors, and from their position were
especially open to the attacks of the powerful clans of Te Arawa,
Ngatiraukawa, and Ngatihaua. During the raid of the first-men
tioned tribe upon Mangakawa, Te Waharoa, then a mere child, was
captured and carried off as a slave to Rotoiua, and many of his
tribe killed. He remained in this state of servitude until he

THE CHIEF TE WAHAROA. 85
reached man's estate, when his captors, from some unexplained
reason, allowed him to return to his tribe, little dreaming that
they were liberating a foe who in a short period would bring
the great Arawa people to the verge of destruction. That Te
Waharoa was a man of singular address and daring may be
inferred from the fact that, notwithstanding the stigma of
slavery, which in itself would have been fatal to the future
influence of most chiefs, he had, within three years after his
liberation, attained the highest position in his tribe.
For some time Te Waharoa, encompassed by powerful foes,
who each numbered upwards of a thousand fighting men, could
hardly hold his own ; but by his great personal courage and skilful
diplomacy, he eventually laid the foundation of his future
power, so that all he lacked in numbers was made up in skill
and daring, until even Te Wherowhero held out the olive-branch
and formed an alliance offensive and defensive with hini. At
this period of Maori history the dread of Ngapuhi had caused
many tribes who otherwise would have been at deadly enmity
to muster together for mutual protection, as was the case with
Ngatimaru and Ngatihaua, who were living side by side on the
Waikato River jealous of each other, but who combined to drive
the powerful tribes of Ngatiraukawa, under Whatanui and Te
Ahukaramu, away from Maungatautari, and re-establish the
former tribes of Ngatikoroki and Ngatikauwhata, the former
owners of the country, on whom they could rely. Waikato and
Ngatimaniapoto were only too grateful for the assistance- Te
Waharoa lent them when Te Rauparaha was bounced out of
his ancestral lands at Kawhia and Ngatimaua and driven out of
Mokau, an operation of considerable advantage to them, inas
much as they gained a valuable strip of sea coast, and were
enable to trade direct with the pakeha. But all these manoeuvres
on the part of Te Waharoa were but the means to an end he
had ,long had in view, viz., the expulsion of Ngatimaru from
Waikato territory, a design he knew would tax the united
strength of the confederacy, for the warlike tribe of Ngatimaru
were the descendants of Marutuahu, whose father, Hotunui,

86 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
landed at Kawhia from Hawaike, having been one of the crew
of the canoe Tainui. While living at Kawhia Hotunui had;
"been unjustly accused of robbing the kumera pits of his fellow-
emigrants, and in a fit of rage abandoned his wife and friends*
crossed the island, and joined the Hauraki people. Shortly after
his departure his son was born, and, in memory of his father's
flight, was named Marutuahu. The boy lived at Kawhia
until he had reached manhood, when, becoming curious
as to the fate of his father, he questioned his mother,
and was told to inquire amongst the Hauraki tribes.
This he did, and found Hotunui living as a chief among the
people of that place. Marutuahu was received with great
rejoicing, and as a mark of respect ten dogs were killed (in place
of the fatted calf) and eaten at the feast given in his honour,
and he was finally adopted as a member of the tribe. He
afterwards married a daughter of the great chief Te Whatu, by
whom he had two sons, Tamatera and Tamatepo, from whom
are descended the tribes of Ngatitamatera and Ngatiwhanaunga;
who with Ngatipaoa now form the Ngatimaru tribe.
Ever since the days of Hotunui these people have occupied
the country lying between Cape Colville and Katikati, extending
inland to the Te Aroha mountains, and have held it against all
comers until Ngapuhi obtained fire-arms, when they suffered
terrible reverses, and had to retire inland for a season to recruit,
and, worse still, live peaceably. But on the defeat of Pomare,
in which affair they took an active part, and the prestige of
Ngapuhi was irretrievably gone, Ngatimaru again showed the
cloven foot, first by seizing on the land of Ngatiraukawa and
then extending themselves into the Horotiu country of Waikato,
covering the land with strong pas, and commencing an organised
systeln of plunder and ill-treatment with the view of provoking
retaliation or war, by means of which they hoped to obtain
permanent possession of this fertile country. Ngatiawa were
the chief sufferers, and it was at this crisis in his tribe's history
that Te Waharoa showed his ability to lead them. In 1824 the
war commenced in real earnest, with all its attendant horrors

THE CHIEF TE WAHAROA. 87
of surprises, murders, and general desolation of the country.
Ngatimaru defeated Te Waharoa at Haowhenua with the loss
of 30 men, and were in return beaten at Kaweitiki. In revenge
for this defeat Ngatimaru took a pa of Waikato, on the site of
the present town of Cambridge, killing and eating some thirty
more of their foes.
All this was but a forecast of what was to come ;
Te Waharoa, not wishing to risk the chances of a great
battle just then, preferred to keep his foes in such a state of
worry as eventually to drive them away. The main body of the
Ngatimaru lived in the neighbourhood of Haowhenua; another
branch of the tribe, 200 strong, under Takurua, lived at Kaipaka,
where they had maintained themselves against all Waikato;
but during the year 1825 Te Waharoa persuaded them to make
peace with him, by virtue of which both tribes were to live for
the future side by side in blissful security. This state of things
was maintained fairly enough on both sides until 1827, when,
the time being favourable, Ngatihaua, at the instigation of Te
Waharoa, rose suddenly and attacked the unsuspecting Ngati
maru. Taken completely by surprise, Takarua and all his men
were killed, and the women arid children became slaves to their
treacherous foes. The remainder of the tribe were furious at
this " kohuru " (murder), not so much on account of the loss
sustained as for the manner in which it had been accomplished,
treachery being specially abhorrent to the genuine Maori. The
effect was the war blazed out more fiercely (than ever, and
Ngatimaru, stimulated by their wrongs to greater exertions, had
by the end of the two following years obtained satisfactory utu
and fully squared the death account. This perpetual state of
warfare had, however, the worst possible effect on the com
batants, as cultivation of the soil under such circumstances was
almost an impossibility, and the two tribes, with their women
and children (who suffered most), felt it advisable to bring
matters to an end by a final engagement, which should decide
the question as to whom the rich lands of Maungatautari and
Horotui should belong, and at once put an end to the harassing

88 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
warfare which had existed for many years ; consequently during
the early part of 1830 Ngatimaru prepared for the struggle by
calling in all their struggling detachments and mustering them
in full force at Haowhenua. Taraia Ngakuti, that renowned but
erratic warrior, was at the time absent in the South with two
hundred picked men on a cannibal expedition of his own, and
Te Hira, with several hundred more, was at Ohinemuri cul
tivating his own land, and did not take part in the final battle.
Waikato were equally active ; Ngatiranga were summoned from
Tauranga, who, with Ngatimaniapoto and Waikato, mustered
900 fighting men.
When the news of this gathering reached Ngatimaru
they very wisely did not wait to be attacked in their pa, but
behaved as became a rangatira tribe by marching out to meet
their enemies, taking post on the hill known as Taumatawiri.
Here they fired a volley as a defiance, which Waharoa as readily
accepted, and the great Waikato taua advanced in battle order,
Ngatihaua taking the left, Ngatirangi the centre, and the
Waikato allies the right — the whole under the command of
Te Waharoa. The battle . commenced by an engagement of
skirmishers, as in European warfare, during which Waharoa's
party suffered so heavy a loss as to necessitate the main body
being brought up to their support, consequently both lines soon
came to close quarters ; but Ngatimaru, having the advantage of
position, used it to such effect as to kill three times the number
of their own losses, the principal casualties falling on the Nga
tihaua, who really bore the brunt of the battle - some of their
hapus being completely exterminated ; and nothing but the
bravery of their chiefs, Te Waharoa and Pohipohi, could have
sustained them under the heavy fire they were exposed to, and
Ngatimaru would unquestionably have won the day had not
their ammunition failed them. As it was, they fell back in good
order, literally disputing every inch of ground, to Haowhenuaj
where, obtaining a fresh supply, they again sallied out and drove
Waikato back some distance. By sunset the fight was over,
without any apparent decisive results on either side. Ngatimaru

THE CHIEF TE WAHAROA. 89
had killed the first and last man in action, and in the final
struggle had driven back their foes in confusion, while, on the
other hand, the confederates occupied the field of battle and had
the prestige arising from possession ; at the same time tlieir
losses had been unusually severe compared with their opponents,
so much so that the survivors were so seriously depressed that
Waharoa, fearing Ngatimaru might resume the offensive, ordered
all his dead to be burnt, in order to prevent them falling into the
hands of the enemy. Te Waharoa himself was badly wounded,
but his spirit was as unconquered as ever, and to him alone may
be attributed the issue of this really undecisive action. Te
Waharoa's first move was to assume the airs of a victor, request
ing a " kohero." Ngatimaru consented, and sent their two chiefs,
Taharoku and Tupua, to meet Waharoa, whose first words were,
"You must leave my country and return to Hauraki." Taharoku's
reply showed him to be equally shrewd, as he neither consented
nor refused, but simply said, " How am I to get away 1 " In
other words, how was he to leave, encumbered with women and
children and with his baggage, to march over 100 miles, unless
Te Waharoa would give positive assurance of his peaceful
intentions. Te Waharoa understood the reply, and said, " I will
lead you," meaning I will send men of rank with you, who will
be hostages for my good faith. These terms were accepted by
Ngatimaru, although he had not been unobservant of the burning
of their dead, while Te Tahua jokingly taunted Te Waharoa
with having overcooked his food, comprehending that although
Waikato put a good face on the matter they were alarmed at
their position ; but Ngatimaru were anxious to return to their
country, which was now safe from Ngapuhi raids and visited
by European trading vessels, from whom the much desired arms
and ammunition of the pakeha could be procured. Consequently
a few weeks after this great battle Ngatimaru were seen marching
in three divisions and arrived at their former home without
molestation, though not forgetting the fact that Ngatihaua were
their deadly enemy, whom it was their duty to attack and worry
on every possible occasion. G

90 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
For a period peace would be necessary in order to give
them time to erect their new pas and cultivate their land for
food; but no sooner was this done than a violent guerilla
warfare commenced, and was carried on successfully against
the Waikatos' outposts. Four times did war parties of Nga-
timarus, under Taraia and others, enter Waikato country and
fight pitched battles at Waiharakeke, Matamata, Kameheitike, and
Ongare, so that for some years Ngatihaua were unable to
occupy their settlements on the Ngatimaru border, so vigorous
were the attacks of Taraia, Te Taniwha, Te Rohu, and other
warrior chiefs of this tribe. For some years after these raids
Te Waharoa was lost sight of, and his name was not again
prominent in New Zealand affairs until 1836, when an event
occurred at Rotorua which involved him with the Arawa tribes
of the Bay of Plenty.
This was caused by the murder of Hunga, a cousin of Te
Waharoa, by Haerehuka — a murder committed with the deli
berate intention of drawing down the vengeance of Te Waharoa
upon his tribe, and in which he succeeded admirably. The
confederation of tribes, now known by the name of Te Arawa,
were then called by the general name of Ngatiwhakaane, but
included the tribes of Ngatipikiao, Ngatirangiwewehi, Ngati-
rangiteaorere, Tapuika, and Tuhorangi, as well as Ngatiwhakane.
All of these tribes were descended from the chiefs who came in
the Arawa canoe, viz., Tamati Kapua, Tia, and Ngatoro-i-rangi,
and bore then the character, which still clings to them, of being
turbulent and thievish.
The Arawa canoe landed at Maketu, and the crew took
possession of that place and extended inland almost to Lake
Taupo. These lands they held for many generations, up to the
time of the great Ngatiawa migration, a portion of whom are
now called Ngatirangi, who, under the chiefs Maruahaia and
Rangihouhiri, defeated the Arawa tribes in two great
battles and dispossessed them of the coast lands of Maketu.
Only one of the tribes, the Tapaika, would appear to have kept
their hold upon Maketu, and then only by arrangement with

THE CHIEF TE WAHAROA. 91
the conquerors. At the period of the murder of Hunga Nga-
tirangi they did not occupy Maketu ; their head-quarters were at
Tauranga, but they also held an important position not far from
Maketu called Te Tuniu, which was destined to play a leading
part in the coming war. The murder of Hunga roused all
Waikato into warlike activity. For some time previous they
had been rather unfortunate in their expeditions ; the tribes of
Ngatiawa, Taranaki, and Ngatiruanui had each in turn defeated
them, while Whanganui had almost annihilated a war party of
Ngatiraukawa. These defeats had to be avenged, so Te Waharoa
lost no time in mustering his allies of Waikato and Ngati-
maniapoto under Te Kanawa and Mokorau, and sent word to
Ngatirangi to commence operations. Within two months Te
Waharoa was at Tauranga with a thousand warriors. In March,
1836, the advanced guard captured fourteen men of the Tapuika
hapu, who on the arrival of Te Waharoa were killed and eaten.
Two days after the taua reached Maketu, and at once stormed
the pa, which was garrisoned only by Ngatepukenga, under
Nainai aud Te Haupapa, of Ngatiwhakane — in all less than
eighty men. These people were unable to resist the war party
and were destroyed in a few minutes, and the women who
escaped the massacre were carried off as slaves. This blow to
the Arawa power was considered sufficient punishment for the
time, and next day Te Waharoa drew off his people and returned
home the way he came, vid Tauranga, leaving the Arawa to
make the next move. This was not long delayed, as the Arawa
were as much incensed at their own foolishness in leaving
Maketu with so small a garrison as at the loss they had suffered,
and their whole attention was drawn in consequence to the
Tumu pa of Ngaiterangi, which was not in a much better position
than Maketu had been.
Twelve hundred warriors mustered at Rotorua and marched
for the Tumu, the people of which place seemed to be perfectly
aware of their danger ; but although barely 150 strong they did
not call the main body of the tribe to their assistance or take
any special precaution, but, with characteristic Maori indifference,

92 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
calmly awaited their fate, be it for weal or woe. All the great
chiefs of the Arawa were with the war party, including Te
Kahawai, Pukuatua, Korokai, Hikairo, and others. On the
other side there were only two chiefs of exalted rank, Kiharoa
and Tupaia. The attack, as usual, was made at grey dawn, and
although the very first volley killed Kiharoa, yet Ngaitirangi
repulsed the attack and killed Te Kahawai. A second attack
was met in the same resolute manner and driven back, but by
this time it was sufficiently light to show the weakness of the
besieged, and a third assault carried the defences. The survivors,
seeing that all was lost, made a desperate effort, and cutting
their way through the Arawas left 70 of their dead behind them,
while scarcely any of their women or children escaped the toma
hawks of their pursuers. This was by no means a bloodless
victory to the Arawa, as their loss was nearly as large as that of
Ngaitirangi in men, but they had the satisfaction of knowing
they had wiped out some of the defeats suffered four generations
before, when the Ngaitirangi drove them from this same place,
and had moreover regained this piece of country, if they could
only hold it.
With Te Waharoa himself the Arawa were not anxious
to meddle, except by sending out guerilla parties to waylay
stragglers and generally produce a feeling of insecurity among
Ngatihaua villages. The parties did not do a great deal-
of harm, but the fact of their entering his country was in itself
regarded as an insult by Te Waharoa, who again marched with
his followers, this time to attack the famous pa of Ohinemutu
at Rotorua. The pa in question was built on the very edge of
the lake, so that the war canoes could be drawn into the pa if
necessary, and was altogether a very uncanny place for strangers,
being surrounded by boiling springs and mud volcanoes,
dangerous even in daylight. For some days the taua remained
in the neighbourhood of the pa watching their opportunity, for
they found their fortifications too strong to be carried by a coup
de main, and for the reason already given a night surprise was
impossible ; it was garrisoned also by nearly twice the strength

THE CHIEF TE WAHAROA. 93
of Te Waharoa's party, who kept carefully within their entrench
ments. Te Waharoa, anxious that his raid should not be barren
of results, lest the Arawa should boast of having driven him
away, determined to try the effect of a false attack, m which his
men should retire in apparent confusion, by that means hoping
to draw them out of their pa into a carefully-laid ambush. The
ruse was successful, for the ever-boastful and vain-glorious
Arawas, elated by the retreat of Ngatihaua before their fire,
foolishly sallied out, as they thought, to finish the business. All
went well ; the assailants fled, and were pursued by the Arawas
to the very jaws of the ambush, when the aspect of affairs
changed. The flying Ngatihauas suddenly rallied, and on all
sides appeared men rushing to their assistance. Too late the
Arawas found themselves caught in a trap, but, as very frequently
happens in such cases, the Ngatihaua had overdone it, and were
unable to use their guns for fear of killing their own people.
Ngatiwhakaue were, however, driven headlong back to the pa,
leaving many of their bravest warriors dead on the ground. So
close was the pursuit that Ngatihaua would probably have
entered the pa on the heels of the flying Arawas, many of whom
were rushing to their canoes, when the voice of Korokoi was
heard declaring that he would die on his land. These few words,
uttered by a great chief, were sufficient to recal the courage of
the people ; they rallied, and Te Waharoa was repulsed; Te
Arawa lost about 70 men in the skirmish, and learnt a most
salutary lesson in the art of war — •" that things are seldom what
they seem." Te Waharoa was satisfied with the punishment
inflicted on his quondam masters, and only remained in the
vicinity of Ohinemutu long enough to devour the slain. This
done, he returned triumphantly to his own country, and did not
again trouble hostile tribes with his unwelcome presence. The
savage old warrior died about two years after this engagement,
and with him may be said to have also departed the old order
of things, the new generation growing up being not averse to
the peaceful teaching of the missionaries. Te Waharoa was
succeeded by his equally famous son, Tamehana Tarapipipi, the

94 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
man most responsible for the Maori National Movement, which
culminated in the election of Te Wherowhero as their king under
the name of "Potatau," a movement intended by them to
regenerate the Maori race, but which ended in their disorgani
sation. From this time the Maori tribes gradually became averse
to warring with each other — the unsuccessful tribes lest they
should be exterminated, the successful ones lest the tide of
war should turn against them. They were content to rest on
their laurels. The Arawa never succeeded in obtaining utu for
their losses, but the memory of Ohinemutu and Maketu was ever
fresh in their minds, and bore fruit in 1864, when Ngatiporou
and Te Whakatohea marched to join Waikato in the war against
the pakeha. Then the Arawa saw their chance, and, led by a
few Europeans, defeated Tamehana's friends with signal loss.*
* This history of Waharoa I was given to understand was wholly taken from
notes made at a sitting of the Land Court, but since then I have discovered I am
partly indebted to Mr. J. A. Wilson's history of this great chief, and as I should
oe sorry to do anyone an injustice I beg to acknowledge the assistance.

MAORI CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS.
Being the Subject of Two Lectures delivered at the Mechanics'
Institute, in Auckland, during the Year 1861,
BY JOHN WHITE, ESQ.,
Author of the Maori History, now being compiled under
direction oe the new zealand government.
Mt lpermiesion.

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS.
The origin of the New Zealanders is variously accounted for by
themselves. There is one tradition of their arriving from a
place called Hawaiki, having performed the journey in about ten
principal canoes, but of a different structure to those we now
see, and which were called Amatiatia, being similar to those
used in many islands of the South Seas, with an outrigger to
prevent them upsetting. The present canoe is called " Waka,"
the model of which is said to have been taken from the dry
seed-pod of the Rewarewa (New Zealand honeysuckle). Those
who may desire to see how minutely the model has been
followed, will, on comparing them, observe that even the figure
head and the projecting piece over the stern have been copied.
Our present design is to notice the religious faith (if
religious faith it may be called) and its foundation, which is
referred to in the title of our lecture, viz. — " Maori Superstitions
and Traditions,'' as superstitions and traditions will be seen to
be the basis of the entire fabric of the Maori faith. Should we
fail, through want of time, to show the partial connection of
these with the Christian faith, the minds of this audience will
readily supply the necessary contrasts and analogies.
The first tradition we notice is that which relates to the
creation of the world. They simply say, — The world was, but
it lay in darkness. It consisted of two parts, called Rangi and
Papa, these two parts being joined together in the form of a
globe, hidden in the centre whereof lay certain beings styled
gods, the principal of which were named Rongomatene, Tangaroa,
Haumia, Tumatauenga, Tanemahuta, and Tawhirimatea. These
gods conspired against the world, which they called their
parent. They held a council together, when Tumatauenga
proposed to destroy it; but Tanemahuta would not consent,

98 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
adding that he should think it better to separate the two parts : —
to put one above and one below, with the upper part of which
they were to have no connection ; but the lower part to be their
mother. The first five agreed to this, but Tawhirimatea
would not consent ; the rest stated to him that they proposed
this separation so that there might be light, and then man
could be created ; for as yet man had no existence. The five
who agreed to this each tried in turns to separate these two
parts ; but the first four having failed, Tanemahuta accomplished
it by standing on his head, and by a sudden stretch of his legs
upwards, he separated the heaven from the earth — that is Rangi
(heaven), and Papa (earth) : at the same time one of the inferior
gods, called Taupotiki, propped the heaven up with the clouds.
Tawhirimatea having witnessed the division of the world,
to his great disapprobation, bethought himself to punish his
brothers, and went up to heaven, where he found some of the
minor gods ; these Heaven consented should form a war party
to accompany Tawhirimatea to attack the other five. However,
whilst Tawhirimatea was consulting with Heaven, four of the
other five had assumed different natures, and become part of
the Earth. Tanemahuta had transformed himself into a tree,
and became the father or propagator of trees and birds; Tangaroa
had become a fish, and the god and propagator of fish ; Rongo-
matene a kumara (the sweet potato) ; and Haumia a fern-root.
But Tumatauenga still retained his divine nature. These were
the five. Four having thus been transformed, they were seen
only as trees, grass, shrubs, and fish. Tawhirimatea, however,
was determined to punish them, and accordingly sent his four
sons out to the four quarters of the world. They were named
Marangai (East), Auru (West), Tonga (South), and Raki (North);
and from them are derived the names of the four winds and of
the four cardinal points. He also sent others of his children to
other parts of the earth, as Tomairangi (dew), Haupapa (ice),
Hauhunga (cold). With these forces he attacked his brothers.
Te Apuhau, one of his children, and god of gales, attacked Tane,
the tree, who was killed — that is, he was split to pieces, and in

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 99
these pieces of wood were found other children of Tane ; these
were Huhu (a grub), and Pepe (a butterfly) ; hence the origin
of this tribe of insects.
Tangaroa, the fish, was next attacked ; he fled to the water,
being the god of fish ; but on the attack being made, his two
sons, Tutewanawana, the elder, and Ikatere, the younger,
consulted as to whether they should stay on land or go to the
water. In their consultation they quarrelled, when the elder
predicted that the younger should become fish ; and that if he
went to the water to escape from danger he should be brought
back to earth and be hung on a stick to be dried by the wind.
Hence the native practice of drying their fish.
The younger retaliated by saying, " You remain on shore,
and become a lizard, to be eaten with fern-root." Hence the
origin of fish and the larger species of lizards.*
At this time the fish were of one shape and colour. That
which gave rise to the many varieties now known, is believed by
the Maori to have been occasioned by a man who, on account
of continued provocations, left his wife and child. The wife
went to Tangaroa, the god of fish, and desired him to punish
her husband. Tangaroa collected his forces and made an attack
on the settlement in which the deserting husband resided. The
fish gained a victory over the men of the settlement, and, as
a recompense for their valour, Tangaroa granted the request
which any of the fish might make. The gurnet wished to be
red, and to be able to groan like a dying man ; hence the colour
of this fish, and the groan which it makes when caught. The
skate saw a boy's kite, and became, by request, like it. The
guardfish saw a spear, and asked for a spear to his nose. Each
fish, having been transformed by its own request, became the
propagator of the many varieties now known.
To return. Tawhirimatea next sought for Rongo and
Haumia, two others of the rebels, but these had been hidden by
* This reference to eating the lizard tribe would lead any one who is not
acquainted with the Maori habits to infer that the lizard is commonly eaten by
them ; such is not the case, except on extreme occasions, as in proclaiming
war. There is, however, a tribe in the Taranaki district who eat a lizard
called a kaweau, which is similar to the New Holland guano.

100 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
the earth, Rongo having been turned into the kumara, and
Haumia into fern-root, which occasioned Tawhiri to seek for
them in vain.
He then made an attack on Tumatauenga, who retained
his deity, from which circumstance he was enabled to elude him.
After this war was ended, Tumatauenga was continually
annoyed by the search for him ; his brothers having, as we related,
transformed themselves into trees, shrubs, birds, and fish, in
order to elude their pursuers. Tumatauenga thereupon deter
mined to be revenged on them. He therefore caught fish and
birds, dug up fern-root and kumaras (finding the latter by the
tops of the plant, which were supposed to be the hair from the
god's head). These he ate as he found or caught them, uttering
at the same time a different incantation over each one. Hence
the origin of the incantations and ceremonies repeated and
performed on all such occasions by the Maori. As he had thus
eaten his brothers, the natives have from this derived their
practice of cannibalism. He also composed a form of invocation
to heaven, asking for rain, sunshine, and wind ; and another
for himself, which was entirely designed to depreciate his
brothers and exalt himself. This is the origin of the Maketu or
witchcraft and the ceremonies of war.
Having shown the origin of the Maori faith relative to a
portion of the creation, to place it in order, we pause to notice
a tradition relative to the flood, which took place before the
creation of man, during the reign of these rival gods, which is
as follows: — •
Some time after the god Tumatauenga had eaten his
brothers, Tawhiri (the one who would not consent to divide the
earth and heaven) and Rangi called their sons together, named
Uanui, Uawhatu, Uanganga, which we call rain, sleet, and hail,
to make a final onslaught on the earth. These gods — Hail,
Rain, and Sleet — descended and drowned the world, save one
spot. Tumatauenga, who occupied this spot, fought vigorously
against, but could not fully overcome them, from which circum
stance the natives account for the continuance of rain, squalls,

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 101
gales, and hurricanes. But Tumatauenga gave himself the
names of Tukariri, Tu the fighter, Tukanguha, Tu the bruiser,
Tukaitaua, Tu the war eater, Tuwhakaheke tangata, Tu the
man-consumer, Tumatawhaiti, Tu of the small face. Having five
brothers, he gave himself these five additional names, in
opposition to theirs, as a proof that he concentrated in himself
a power even superior to their combined force. Hence the
frequent use of these names in war songs.
To resume. Their tradition of the creation of man forms a
striking analogy to that contained in the Bible. Soon after the
flood, Tiki, a son of Tu, made man, by kneading clay with his
own blood; and forming it after his own image, he danced
before it, then breathed on it, and it became a living being,
whose name was Kauika. After this men began to multiply ;
but the children of Kauika performed nothing worthy of note
in their different generations until the time of the four Maui,
his descendants. In their time the days were short. The sun
which ruled the day was the firstborn of heaven, and was
ordered to go round the world for the purpose of noticing the
actions of the rebellious five gods ; and the stars, the minor
sons of heaven, were to watch during the night.
Mauipotiki, the youngest of the Mauis, being desirous that
the days should be longer, suggested to a number of his
associates that they should go with him and try to stop the sun,
so that there might be more daylight. They proceeded in the
night and journeyed eastward, and after many nights and days
they came to a spot which was the brink of the world, where
the sun had to pass. Here they built a mound of earth, and
hung a noose over the brink of the world. " Now," said Maui,
to the men posted behind the mound, " when the sun gets into
the noose, I will tell you. Do not startle him." They caught
the sun, and Maui beat him severely with the jawbone of his
grandfather, Murirangiwhenua. The sun inquired, " Why do
you beat me ? I am the firstborn of Heaven ; my name is
Tama-nui-te-Ra, the great source of light and heat.'' However,
he was so belaboured that he went away quite a cripple, and

102 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
effectually prevented from ever travelling as fast as he had been
wont to do, for which reason the day became longer.
We now come to the tradition in which New Zealand is
spoken of as having been fished up out of the ocean. Soon after
the sun had been so severely beaten, Maui's brothers complained
that he, Maui Potiki, was very idle, that he would not go to
fish, the women and the old men joining in the complaint.
This caused Maui to make his grandfather's jawbone into a
fishhook, which he kept concealed in his garment. On going
out with his brothers to fish, they laughed at him, asking why-
he went with them, as he had no fishing tackle. He answered
by requesting them to go out further to sea, and still further, until
they lost sight of land ; his brothers murmured louder than
before against him for this daring act ; they sailed on, however,
and Maui let down his line and hook, which was ornamented
with pearl and carving; the hook caught the house of
Tonganui, the son of Tangaroa, the god of fish.
This house was built at the bottom of the ocean ; Maui
pulled, however, and the house, with all the earth around it,
coming up together, caused a great bubbling in the sea.
His brothers called out in great fear, " Maui, Maui, cease
your pulling," but Maui pulled on and uttered this incanta
tion : — " What dost thou intend, Tonganui,
That thou art sullenly biting below there ?
The power of Rangiwhenua's jawbone is seen on thee ;
Thou art coming ; thou art conquered ;
Thou art coming ; appear, appear,
Shake thyself, grandson of Tangaroa the little.''
At last up it came, and when visible it was found to be
part of the earth, which had not been reclaimed at the time of
the abatement of the flood ; and their canoe was left high and
dry upon it. The land thus reclaimed is New Zealand.
Maui left his brothers, commanding them not to eat or
cook food until he returned. He went to a distance to propitiate
Tangaroa, the god of fish, for catching one of his children, in
order that that god might grant success to fishers in future.

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 103
The brothers not heeding the injunctions of Maui, immediately
on his departure began to cut the fish, that is, to dig the
ground ; this enraged Tangaroa so much, as his son was thus
cut up before pardon had been obtained, that in revenge he
caused it to be convulsed, and by his writhings the mountains
and valleys were formed.
Other traditions say that the mountainous feature of the
land is derived from Mataao, and is spoken of as the turning of
Mataao, who was one of a race of giants living in the land.
During his life, Rua, a native from Hawaiki, came here in search
of his wife, who had been taken from him. Rua, having gone
to one of the inland districts, felt very cold, and called on his
god for fire to be brought to him from Hawaiki. His prayer
was granted, in the form of burning] mountains, the remains of
whicli are seen in Mount Eden and the surrounding extinct
volcanoes. Mataao, seeing this, was much exasperated, and,
being a giant, exhibited his rage by jumping all over the land,
and thus were valleys and mountains formed.
Soon after this Maui Potiki wished to discover where his
father and mother resided, for as yet he had never seen them.
Accordingly, on a certain night he went, by the direction of
Rangi, to a particular place, where a feast was to be given.
After the feast there was a native dance, on the conclusion of
which the hostess counted her sons, and, finding Maui Potiki
amongst them, she asked him where he came from. He replied,
" I was found on the sea shore by one of the gods. After my
birth, my mother wrapped me up in sea- weed and her head-dress,
and sent me afloat on the water. I was thus disowned, and the
god Rangi, who has nourished me up to" this time, sent me here,
telling me that the four men now before me are my brothers."
She acknowledged him to be her son, saying, " You are my last
born, and now I recognise you, and call you from this time,
'Maui Tikitiki o Taianga,'" meaning -Maui the head-dress of
Taranga — Taranga being the name of his mother.
On thus rcovering her lost son she naturally made much of
him, thus exciting the envy of the brothers, who called him a

104 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
slave, and wished to kill him. The eldest said, " If we kill him
we shall gain nothing by it ; we shall only do as the gods have
done who conspired against their parents, Heaven and Earth,
from which all evil has followed. Pray do not let us quarrel, as
we are brothers."
We would here observe that Maori history is a tangled
mass, and to unravel it and introduce anything like order and
arrangement would be only to destroy its distinguishing feature.
The story of Maui Potiki forms a most striking illustration of
this, for we thus have, in one of their traditions, a reference to
the narratives of Moses and Joseph, as contained in the Bible.
Maui was still ignorant as to where his parents resided,
although he had seen his mother, the place where the feast was
given being the residence of his brothers; he therefore continued
in search of them ; and having the power of transmutation, he
turned himself into a pigeon, and taking a long flight, in the
course of which he met with many adventures, he at last found
his parents. He remained with them some time. His father's
name was Makatutara, who, not having seen Maui before,
baptised him. His father, in baptising him, forgot a certain
portion of the ceremony. His forgetfulness was caused by the
gods, and was an indirect curse on Maui, as his immortality was
thus incomplete, and subsequently enabled Hinenuitepo to take
away his life.
His mother informed him that his grandmother lived near
the heavens, her name being Hinenuitepo, and he must visit
her. The servants of his parents were in the habit of going to
Hinenuitepo every morning to procure fire, but at length refused
to go any more. Maui went in their stead, and seeing the old
woman take fire from the ends of her fingers to supply hini, he
brought it a little distance, and, having extinquished it, returned
for more. Maui, being a funny fellow, wished to amuse himself at her
expense ; but the old woman, finding he was ridiculing her,
threw the fire after him, and as it kindled behind him he turned

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 105
himself into a pigeon, and flew on to a number of trees, called
pate, kaikomako, mahoe, totara, and pukatea, where the fire
followed him ; hence these trees, on being briskly rubbed by
the Maori, produce fire. He resumed his human form, and,
calling on the gods, Rain, Hail, and Sleet, to his aid, they came
and assisted him in putting out the fire.
Another tradition states that a man called Mahuika was
possessed of sacred fire, and, lest it should be lost, injected it
into these trees, so that by friction it could be reproduced.
Maui had been told by his father that he had had a fright
ful dream, in which he, Maui, was killed, and in his sleep his
father's left arm jerked outwards (a very evil omen in native
opinion), and therefore Maui must not annoy his grandmother.
Maui, not heeding this admonition, and wishing to amuse him
self still further at the old lady's expense, proposed to some
birds (the New Zealand robin, called toutouwai) to go and see
her. They accordingly went, and found her asleep, with her
mouth open. " Now," said Maui, " if you will not laugh, I will
take a somersault down her throat." They promised, and he
jumped. His heels kicked so, however, as he was going down,
that the birds burst out into a laugh, and thus awoke the old
lady. She naturally shut her mouth with a snap, and cut poor
Maui in two. This was the first death by disobedience — hence
death came on all men.
The natives have also an account which stands in connec
tion with the subject of immortality.
A man called Patito having died, left a son, who was a very
brave man ; and a report of his bravery having been carried
to the world of spirits by some of the departed, it roused the
martial ardour of the father, who, in his time, was considered
to be a most expert spearsman, and he therefore visited the
earth with the determination of testing the ability of his son by
a contest with him. During the engagement the son was
unable to ward off his father's thrusts, who, being satisfied in
having thus overcome his son, returned to the other world.

106 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
The natives believe that, had the son proved the better
spearsman, the father would have continued to dwell upon earth,
and that thus man would not have been subject to death.
There is another story concerning this old warrior, Patito,
to the following effect : — He had a granddaughter, who followed
him to the point whence the spirits take their exit from this
world, and, seeing the old man descend, called upon him to
return to earth. He looked round, and by this look turned her
into stone. — A reference unmistakably to Lot's wife.
We will now notice two or three out of the many traditions
concerning their migrating here.
It is reported by the natives generally that there were
many migrations to this land, the individuals composing which
arrived at different times, and at various places.
The canoe Mamari is spoken of by the Ngapuhi natives as
that in which their ancestors came from a distant country, the
name of which is not given by them. The canoe came, it is stated,
in search of a previous migration. A man called Tuputupuwhenua
had arrived at New Zealand, and a chief called Nukutawhiti.
came in the canoe Mamari in search of him.
After Nukutawhiti had reached the land, near the North,
Cape of New Zealand,- he fell in with Kupe. Kupe is spoken
of as the most energetic and enterprising of all the chiefs of the
different migrations from Hawaiki. He circumnavigated the
whole of the Northern Island, giving names to many places as
he sailed along its shores. There is an old song respecting him, of
which the following is a translation : —
I will sing, I will sing,
I will sing of Kupe,
The man who navigated the seas,
And divided the land
At a distance each stand ; Kapiti
And Mana ;* together with
Arapaoa ; separate thrown, — these are the places
Which remind me of my ancestor
Kupe ; who caused Titapua to sink in the sea,
The land I now take as my inheritance.
* Entry Island and the islands adjacent in Cook's Straits.

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 107
This Kupe then told Nukutawhiti that he, Tuputupu
whenua,* was on the West Coast. Having found him, Kupe
had returned from that part of the land, therefore
he had called the river Hokianga. The word " Hokianga"
means a returning, a going back, Kupe having returned from
that part of the coast where the Heads of Hokianga are situated,
— hence its name.
Nukutawhiti, with his brother-in-law Ruanui, who had come
with him, proceeded to Hokianga, and there remained. From
them the Ngapuhi people take their origin. This we may
observe is the account of, and is fully believed in, by the
Northern tribes ; and to support this they purport to show the
canoe itself, and many of the articles pertaining to the canoe,
which have become petrified in and near the Hokianga; for
instance, at the residence of the late Mr. G-. F. Russell, they
show a large stone, which they assert is the baler of the canoe ;
this is in the shape of a dust shovel : and at Onoke, on the
east side of the Whirinaka river, opposite the residence of Mr.
Manning, there is a stone somewhat in the shape of a dog.
This, they say, is the dog of Nukutawhiti. And on the West
Coast, to the north of Hokianga Heads, there are a number of
stones peaking up above the surrounding mass of rocks, which
are said to be men of the canoe Mamari, belonging to Nukuta
whiti, drawing a fishing net. Further to the north than these,
at Wharo, are shown in the rocks on the beach the footprints
of Nukutawhiti "and those of his dog. Also, near these are
shown rocks in the shape of a small basket, called " paro," in
which food is given at a feast. These are said to have been such,
and used at a feast given by Nukutawhiti, and in that part of
the river Hokianga called by the Europeans " the Narrows," is
shown a rock, said to be the buoy of the anchor belonging to the
canoe Mamari. A long stone, said to be the canoe itself, is in
the entrance of Waima river, one of the tributaries of the
* Tuputupuwhenua afterwards became an insect, called "Kui," which
burrows in the ground. Having thus been transformed, he burrowed under
ground from the West Coast, and eame out in a cave near the waterfall in
the Kerikeri river.

108 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Hokianga, presenting the appearance of a canoe turned keel
upwards. And further, to prove that they did not take their
origin from any other source, they show a stone, at the head of -
the Hokianga, near Tarawaua, which was brought there by their
ancestor Nukutawhiti, from one of his travels, as an evidence of
his great strength.
We may mention that no native, even to this day, ever
passes without paying reverence to it by breaking a raurekau
branch, which he carefully lays thereon, uttering these words,
which is called " Whakau : " —
" Ascend o'er the mountains,
Tangaengae,
To the breath of the gods—
The breath of life.
Embrace the parent Papa,
The giver of life to all."
They also esteem this stone so sacred as to prevent them
from either sitting or standing on it, or even stepping over it.
Also, on the road from Kerikeri to Kaitaia, at a place called
Taratarotorua, there are a number of perpendicular stones called
Nga-whakarara, or Te Hakari, like the Druidical remains of
Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. These, they say, were the
posts round which their ancestor built his pyramids of food at a
feast given by him at that place. As a proof of their being a
distinct migration, we may mention that it is a custom with the
New Zealanders in general to invest the receptacles for the dead
with something peculiarly sacred ; in fact, to intrude or pass
near one of them was visited on a person so doing with death ;
yet there are in Hokianga places where there are bones deposited
for which the natives evince no veneration, nor do they even
pay these remains of fellow mortals that common respect which
man in every state feels for the dead. We have seen these
bones laid out in lines, and a mock exhuming and weeping and
burial ceremonies repeated and sung over them, thus proving
that they are not the remains of their own ancestors.
There is also at Whangape (a small river to the north of
Hokianga, near which Her Majesty's sloop of war, the Osprey,

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 109
was wrecked) an old repository of bones, which it is said are
the remains of the Ngatiawa, a tribe who came from the South
to conquer the Ngapuhi people, and, after holding possession of
the district for some time, returned to the South by the West
Coast. Again, we may state that those who came in the canoe
Mamari were all of one family, consisting of father, mother, and
children, including a son-in-law and their dependants. After
the grandchildren born in this land had attained maturity, they
quarrelled with their uncles as to seniority in chieftainship.
It is allowed in the customs of New Zealanders that grand
children are the rightful heirs to the property of the grandfather
to the exclusion of their uncles. To prevent his grandsons
causing a family war, Nukutawhiti took his family to Ohaeawai,
near to the place where the pa was built in the attack of which
in the Heke rebellion Lieutenant Philpot fell, and there Nuku
tawhiti commanded his offspring to dig a trench east and west.
When it was accomplished, he called them together and said,
" My will is, that all the land to the north of this trench be as a
possession for my grandchildren, and to the south of it for my
sons." — This trench is said to be seen to this day.
In opposition to this tradition of the Ngapuhi natives, the
Rotorua and Maketu tribes ascribe to themselves the origin of
the present inhabitants of this land. More particularly, the
Ngapuhi are said by them to have derived their name " Puhi "
from the head of the canoe " Arawa," that part of a war canoe
being called Puhi. But the Ngapuhi tribes trace their genealogy
back to a chief of the name of Puhi-moana-ariki, whose name,
abbreviated, the Northern tribes are now known by.
They assert the canoe Arawa came from Hawaiki, bringing
Houmaitawhiti, Tamatekapua, Toi, Maka, Hei, Ihenga, Tauni-
nihi, Rongokako; and others ; and these are the men from whom
the New Zealanders descended.
They state the cause of the Arawa coming from Hawaiki is
as follows : — A priest in Hawaiki called Uenuku had some food
cooked called "popoa," which food had been, according to

110 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
custom, dressed as part of a ceremony over the dead ; this, like
the shewbread in the temple of Jerusalem, was for the priests
alone to eat. The food having been stolen caused Uenuku to be
exceedingly angry. The old priest Uenuku had been afflicted,
like Job of old, with boils, and like Job, too, had scraped himself
with shells. A dog belonging to Tamatekapua, called Potaka-
tawhiti, had made away with the contents of some of these
shells, for which unpardonable offence Uenuku had the dog
cooked and eaten. Whakaturia (Tamatekapua's younger brother)
having for some time sought in vain for this dog, at last went to
the pa of Toitehuatahi, where the dog had been eaten ; and
having called, the dog is supposed to have answered to its
master's call from the stomach of Toi. To punish Uenuku, as
he was the cause of the dog being killed, Tama and Whakaturia •
went in the night and ate of the fruit of a' poporo tree which
was growing at the end of Uenuku's house ; and he being a
priest, this tree was of course sacred. It being dangerous to go
openly to the poporo, Tama invented stilts for the occasion.
Uenuku finding his poporo decreasing in fruit, and not observing
any men's footprints in the vicinity (the prints of the stilts of
course did not attract attention as they were unknown up to
this time), the priest ordered a watch, and Whakaturia having
on one occasion joined with his brother Tama to eat of this poporo,
the watch caught him, but Tama made his escape. Toi's people
sewed the younger brother up in a mat, and hung him up in one
of their assembly houses so that he might die of starvation.. The
news of his brother still being alive having reached him, Tama
went, and in the dark made a hole in the roof of the house,
through which he inquired of his brother how the people amused
themselves every night. Having heard they sung songs, danced,
and kanikanied — (a singular and favourite amusement with the -
the New Zealanders ; it consists in making the most hideous
grimaces and contortions the human body is capable of, accom
panying this with a noise which is a compound of groans and
sneezes. The performers sit side by side, and he who can make
the most inhuman grimaces is the most admired and considered

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. Ill
the best performer) — Tama told him to say, if they would let
him down he would teach them a new way to kanikani, and
when they had done this he was to run from one end of the
house and out at the door, when he (Tama) would be there and
would bolt the door as soon as he was outside. This was done,
and he effected his escape.
On this Toi and Uenuku, the priest, attacked the pa of
Houmoitawhiti, the father of these young men, and not being
able to take it they returned to their own settlement. Hou (the
father) soon after this died, and on this account Tama and
Whakaturia determined to leave Hawaiki, as, their father being
dead, they would not be able to withstand the attack of Uenuku
if besieged again.
This then was the cause of the people who came in the
canoe Arawa migrating to New Zealand. They did not,
however, start in uncertainty as to whether they should
find any land, as tliere had been a former migration to this
country, the people of which had returned to Hawaiki.
This migration is said to have taken place as follows : —
Hinetuaohanga being jealous of a man called Ngahue, whose
god was a sea monster called Poutini (other traditions say its
name was Mata), Hine caused Ngahue to be driven from Hawaiki
riding on his god, and thus he discovered an island called Tuhua.
Hine followed him there in a canoe and drove him from this
land also. He again started, and discovered the island of
Aotearoa ; but, fearing he should be followed there also and
expelled, he left in search of some more distant country, and
arrived in New Zealand, taking up his abode at Arahura, or, as
another tradition states, at Arapawanui. During his residence
here he found a block of the green stone so much prized
by the Maoris, which he took back to Hawaiki. Out of this
stone the axes were made which were used in constructing the
canoes in which Tama and others shortly afterwards came to this
land. Our time being limited, we therefore can but briefly
mention a few of the other migrations.

112 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
The natives who in ancient times held the Auckland district,
and occupied Mount Eden as their principal fortification, say they
came in a canoe called Tainui, by which name the tribe is called
to this day, and the remnant of them reside at Whaingaroa.
The Tainui is said to have come in company with the canoe
Arawa. The people of the Arawa first discovered land. Tainui
then parted company for some time ; they, however, met again
at Whangaparoa, and having there quarrelled about a whale, the
Arawa went along the East Coast and Tainui went into the
Tamaki river, where they observed sea-birds coming from the
west. Suspecting that there must be a sea-coast near, they
went in search of it, and discovered the Manukau river. They
therefore dragged their canoe Tainui across the portage, passing
by the spot on which the residence of Mr. Edwin Fairburn is
now situated, and coming out into the Manukau waters by the
last bridge which is crossed in going to Otahu.hu from Auckland,
they proceeded out of the Manukau harbour and coasted along
to Kawhia. Here they landed, and part having settled there,
the other portion of the tribe returned to Mount Eden and took
possession of this district.
The Mokau, and two or three of the Waitara tribes, say
their ancestors came in a canoe called Aotea, commanded by
Turi. It is stated that this migration left Hawaiki on account
of a murder. Turi made land on the West Coast, near a river,
into which he went, and called it after his canoe. Hence the
name of the Aotea river.
The Ngatiawa tribe (the old occupants of the Taranaki
district) say the canoe known by the name of Tokomaru, and
commanded by Manaia, was that in which their ancestors came.
This migration left Hawaiki on account of Manaia having killed a
number of men who were working for him. Manaia made land
near the Bay of Islands, and, coasting along the West Coast,
doubled the North Cape, and stretched along the indent on the
West Coast, and eventually took up his abode on the Waitara.*
* Tradition states Manaia found the Waitara district occupied by a people
of whom he had not previously heard. They were not a warlike race, and

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 113
The old inhabitants of the Middle Island say their ancestors
came in a canoe called Takitumu, commanded by Tata. This
migration left Hawaiki on account of a quarrel about a plantation.
This is the only migration of which it is said they cast lots and ate
each other when their provisions failed. The survivors landed
at Tauranga ; part of the migration remained there, the other
portion proceeded on and crossed Cook's Straits, and there
settled somewhere about Nelson.
Each one of these migrations claims the honour of being
the parent family from which the whole of the New Zealand
tribes have descended ; enumerating, each against the other, the
genealogy of their own ancestors, naming the man from whom
the different tribes took their name and origin. In fact, some
few tribes in the Waikato district, rather than admit they are
the younger branch of any one of the migrations, assert that
their ancestress came over on the back of an albatross, quoting
an old song in proof thereof. Other tribes on the East Coast,
for the same reason, state they are the offspring of a man who
came under water from Hawaiki, quoting, as a proof, a proverb
to that effect.
I narrate these stories to show that there exist so many
contradictory statements, even amongst the natives themselves,
as to their origin, that it really becomes a matter of no little
difficulty to unravel them all so as to arrive at the real truth ;
thus proving that to come to any certainty, or even prevent their
various traditions from contradicting each other, the collector of
such must not confine himself to any one portion of New Zealand,
but must gather them from every tribe, and then out of the
whole set forth that which is received as the belief of the New
Zealanders as a collective people, and not as divided into tribes.
We may also be allowed to remark that those who have
had time and inclination for this, and who have confined them
selves to the traditions, superstitions, and ceremonies of one
district, will no doubt find many things in this lecture which
were easily overcome by Manaia and his followers. Manaia killed many of
them, others esoaped, and a portion became members of the Ngatiawa tribe.

114 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
they have not only never heard of before, but they may also
hear that which they consider their research will warrant them
in contradicting ; and we may conclude these observations by
saying that if anyone will take the trouble to investigate the
different accounts given by the natives generally, and not as
tribes, he will then be satisfied that what we have asserted and
shall assert are really the superstitions and traditions of this
people. Before we commence the religious ceremonies, it would be
better perhaps to give the names of the principal deities, so that
when they occur in connection with those ceremonies, their
relationship to them may be better understood.
It will be remembered that five out of the six gods conspired
to separate the heaven and the earth. Tumatauenga (he who
retained his divine form) is god of all men, and- god of war,.
being the father of Tiki, who created man. It is said by one
tradition that the first man was called Kauika, meaning heap,
and by another that his name was Onekura, meaning red earth ;
which of these names mean the same as that of Adam is obvious.
I have never heard it said how or when woman was created,
although Kauika, otherwise Onekura, had both sons and
daughters. The following gods are under the control of Tumataenga : —
Mokotiti, a god who lives on the lungs, and is therefore the god of
consumption ; Rehua, the god to whom they pray for the siek ;
Purakau, the god of bewitching; Tote, god of sudden death;
Whiro, god of theft* ; Ngeuku, the god invoked by an attacking
party to ensure success.
The gods under the control of Tawhirimatea, god of wind,
are — Aheahea, who is the rainbow and a sign of war; Awhiowhio,
god of the whirlwind ; Mararigai, god of the east ; Auru, god of
the west ; Tonga, of the south ; Raki, of the north. These, it
will be recollected, were sent out to collect forces when the earth
was invaded, by their father and ruler Tawhirimatea ; there are
* Whiro was originally only a man, but such a notorious thief that for his
adroitness he was deified.

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 115
also his other sons, who in obedience to the call, drowned the
world, as Uanui, Uanganga, and Uawhatu, hail, rain, and sleet.
The gods under the control of Tane, god of trees, are — Wawa,
father of the bird weka ; Kereru, father of the pigeon* ;
Pahiko, father of the cockatoo ; Parauri (meaning black), father
. of the tui ; Owa, father of the dog.
To digress again. It is said that the god Owa was once a man,
and was such a noisily-disposed fellow that the slightest occasion
was sufficient to awake his tongue. One day a priestess who had
given birth to a child was so offended with his rudeness in
making so much noise that she turned him into a dog, hence
dogs bark at anything, everything, and nothing. Another
tradition of the origin of the dog is as follows : — A man named
Rawaru had a son who was such a disobedient little fellow, and
never at home, that his father to punish him broke his back
across the root of a tree ; cursing him at the same time by say
ing that henceforth he should walk on four feet instead of two,
that he should also sleep by himself in the dust, and eat of what
men threw away, that he should not come near to man unless he
was called, and that call should be " Moi, moi," hence the call
used by the natives for their dogs to this day. To return again
to the sons of Tane. There were also Irawaru, father of rats ;
Mokoikuwaru of the lizard ; Otunairanga of the Nikau, the New
Zealand palm, and of the korari, flax. The next chief is Rongo,
the god of all the species of kumara : his> sons subject to him
were Rakiora, to whom. incantations are repeated to ensure a
good crop ; Pani, to whom the first fruits of the crop are given.
These are some of the principal deities held in estimation by the
natives. There existed at the south at the Whanganui district, a
species of idolatry not practised in the north. The principal god
was Maru, to whom a temple was erected in which they offered
worship ; this temple was called Wharekura, the high priest was
* Keruru, it is said, came from heaven in search of his sister Rupe ; on
finding her he remained on earth, and having fed on the fruit of a tree called
Tawa he became hoarse, and only able to say ku ku ; this is (the natives say)
the ause why the pigeon cannot make any other noise.

116 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
-designated Paraoa, the second priest was called Ariki, who was
to be the first-born of the family, the third grade of priesthood
was called Horomatua. In this temple was preserved the staff
of life (belonging to Rangitawhaki) called Tongitongi, where it
was kept sacred till the days of Kauika ; he broke it ; others
attribute this act to Tawhaki. Tawhaki is said to have been a
good man, he was grandson of Whatitiri. Whatitiri was blind,
and Tawhiki cured her of her blindness by spitting on the
ground and rubbing her eyes with the clay ; he is. reported to
have done no evil ; he worked miracles, cured the sick, and did
good all his days ; as he was washing near a stream, a reptile
killed him while combing his hair ; three days after his decease
his sister passing by where he was laid, bewailed his death with
loud lamentation, on which he arose and was taken up to heaven
alive ; thus affording in many particulars a striking resemblance
to our Saviour. He sometimes descends by a spider's thread ;
when he prays it thunders and lightens; the natives do not
exactly worship him, but they repeat certain incantations to him
and Rehua (the god of the sick) conjointly ; as a sacrifice they
offer to them ten baskets of food counted to them in a particular
manner. The temple at Whanganui (before alluded to) con
tained the images of gods, and was burnt by a man named
Whakatau, who lived in another land, and possessed a sea god. A
man named Kea, while out in a canoe, was blown off land, and
upset ; Whakatau's monster having swallowed him, carried him
to his own land and threw him out on the shore ; when Kea by
the heat of the sun had revived, he saw the monster in the
shape of a Kahawai, and feeling desirous of eating fish, he be
thought himself to get this Kahawai on shore by repeating the
following incantation, by the power of which he hoped that the
water would recede. " Dry up thou water,
Recede thou sacred tide
To Hawaiki."
On reciting this the tide left the fish dry on the shore ; he
cut it up, and all the people joined in eating it. Whakatau
having found his fish was killed by Kea came to the south of New

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 117
Zealand ; when he saw the people assembled in their temple, he
set it on fire, and caused to be consumed therein a thousand
worshippers. The natives relate a story of two men and a woman having
been taken up to heaven alive in a spider's web, in consequence
of their having pleased their gods with their virtuous actions.
The names of the men were Takitaki and Rokuariro, that of
the woman Rangiawatea.
The native ideas of the first Paradise are very obscure.
They believe there are three heavens : the first is where the gods
reside in which is a temple called Nahirangi. Men are created in
the second heaven, where they reside until they are of mature
age ; they then come down to the third heaven just above us,
which we denominate the sky, and being near the sun, is warm,
and abounds with beautiful lakes in which they amuse them
selves with bathing. When there is a windy day in this heaven,
the spray of the waves on the lakes breaks over the margin, and
descends to earth in the shape of rain ; man when he has spent
a certain time in this heaven is then born into the world ; and
at his death goes to the Reinga, or the future world, which is at
the north end of New Zealand. The Reinga is a low point
jutting out into the sea, with a sandy beach below ; on the
point stands a Pohutukawa tree, from which grew a root down
to the beach; by that the spirits were supposed to descend to
an opening below, which is the entrance to the Reinga. The
Reinga is like a house partitioned off into apartments ; the first
one is the entrance, the second one is called Aotea, where man
loses or retains the buoyancy of his spirits which he had in this
world. If his body has been hung' up in a tree, and no pressure
of earth has been on it, his spirit will be lively ; if, on the con
trary, his body has been buried, his spirit will be dull and
sluggish. Aotea is the west of the entrance. The next division
of the Reinga is Te-uranga-o-te-ra to the east of- the entrance.
Here riian becomes possessed of another but degenerate spirit.
The next compartment is Hikutoia, north of the entrance, where
man is put through another process, which gives him a still more

118 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
degenerate spirit. These three are, as it were, the first set of
rooms in the Reinga : man then descends to Pouturi, the next
lower apartment, where he becomes still weaker, and lastly he
descends to the final apartment called Toke (which name means
worm), where he becomes a worm that returns to earth, and
when a worm dies a man's being is ended.
In making houses or stages on which to keep kumaras,
fern-root, or fish, they are built north and south, lest spirits in
going to the Reinga should pass over them, which would cause
the food to decay. As the kumara and fish are the offspring of
the younger brothers of the gods by whom man was created, it
is thought that if a spirit, on his way to the Reinga, pass over
food thus stored, it would be rendered unfit for use ; and as
these spirits always pass from south to north, the store-house
and food are always ranged parallel to these points, to prevent
the possibility of such an accident occurring. Such accidents,
however, do sometimes take place ; and if this contact with
spirits has not caused the food to decay, it is supposed the evi
dence of their transit will be found by marks of red ochre with
which the garments of the spirits are dyed. Nothing thus
marked was eaten.
While we are speaking about the Reinga, we may as well
relate the supposed origin of the Moon. Two women, who were
desirous of looking into the abode of spirits, after preparing
themselves with dried kumaras, went to the point, and descended
by the root of the Pohutukawa tree. Entering the cave, they
journeyed for some distance in the dark; at length they perceived
the glimmering of light at a distance, and proceeding onwards,
saw in Aotea three old grey-headed spirits, sitting around a fire
composed of three pieces of wood. As this was spiritual fire,
they desired to obtain a piece of it ; so one of them took the
dried kumaras, and went up to the old souls, who were so much
astonished at the sight of a living female that she had sufficient
time to snatch one of the fire-brands and run off with it, in re
turn leaving her kumaras for them to taste once more the good
things of earth. Their astonishment was so great that they

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 119
could not follow the thief at once, so that she had time to get
near the entrance before they pursued her. The other woman
had made good her retreat, and the thief was taking her last
step out, when one of the old folk caught her by the heel. She,
not wishing to lose such a prize as the sacred fire she had ob
tained, collected all her strength and threw the brand whirling
up into the clouds ; it went up so high that it stuck in the sky,
and has remained there ever since as the moon.
The reason why the moon is not seen every night is this :
Maui, when he had made the sun go a little slower by his beat
ing him, being still unsatisfied, followed the sun one evening and
caught him, and tied him with a line to the moon, thus making
the moon go after the sun, and staying the sun somewhat more
in his progress. Soon after this, Maui quarrelled with his
kindred, and being desirous of revenge, he puts his hand before
the moon at times to keep them in darkness.
They account for the tides in the following manner : There
is, in the deepest part of the ocean, a god, son of Tangaroa, called
Parata, who is such a monster that he only breathes twice in the
twenty-four hours. When he inhales his breath it is ebb tide,
and when he exhales his breath it is flood tide.
We will now mention how certain ceremonies were per
formed. The New Zealanders had no marriage rite ; yet there was
a custom amongst some of them called Pa Kuha, which consisted
in giving a' woman to be the property of her suitor ; and -was
usually done when the people were assembled together, in a set
.speech, by the relatives of the female (especially her brothers
and uncles), the father and mother taking little or no part in
the proceeding. They had also ancient forms of baptism, the ceremonies of
which were these : Soon after the birth of a child, the priests made
a number of clay balls, setting them in a row on the ground, and
raising little mounds of earth near them ; these mounds were
named after the principal gods, and the clay balls were named

120 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
after the ancestors of the child. The priests then took a branch
of karamu, ake, or hutu ; one of them parted the branch, and
while tying one half round the child's waist, the other priest
repeated this incantation, called a tuapana (which is not the
baptism, but is intended to take the tapu from the mother and
the settlement, as well as to give the child strength). If a boy,
these words were used : -
There are the mounds risen up ;
They are on the water side,
And on the shore ;
They stand as from Hawaiki, —
As descended from the priests of Hawaiki.
There stands the mounds
As representatives of the priests,
As the spirit of Tu,
As the spirit of Tamatekapua,
As the spirit of Tawhaki,
Thus, then, thus [pointing to the mounds],
Here is the post standing •
[He then, sticking a twig of raurekau into the middle of
the brook, on the bank of which these ceremonies 'took place,
also a twig on each side of it, resumed]
At the water side,
And on the shore,
And in the depths,
And on the bank,
And on the coast of Hawaiki.
Thus, then, thus,
Draw the omens from the water —
Immerse ourselves ;
[He then sprinkled the mother and child with water with a
karamu branch.] Bring up the tapu of Euanuku,
Lay the emblems down,
The omens. are seen :
Take off the tapu from this son,
Let the tapu be taken into the water,
And cleansed off.
It falls ! It is going !
Take the tapu from him !

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 121
May Tu and Tane and Tama meet,
May the light come !
May the gods Tawhaki and Tama bring light !
Ball of light, come !
Come on to the Turuturu !
[Meaning the branch stuck in the middle of the brook.]
Dance there, as the messenger of Tama
Has brought thee from above ;
Rupe, come, and descend and ascend,
Come into my dwelling,
And lay on my place of birth.
Here is thy weapon,
Here is thy spear,
Here is thy mat.
Come, Rupe, come !
Here is thy path to the highest heaven,
Come, O Rupe ! Come to the mat prepared for thee.
We .will sleep on it.
The water will swell o'er me.
Descend, O Tutawake and Tama !
And Manumea, Toi, and Rauru.
He then plants the other half of the karamu branch, and
if it grows the child is to be a noted warrior. The tree growing
from a branch thus planted is called a " kawa."
The tree sprung froni the branch used in such a ceremony
over Tamati Waka Nene is shown near the Kerikeri, in the Bay
of -Islands. This part of the ceremony being concluded, the priests had
thre.e native ovens heated and cooked kumaras in them. These
ovens were called " takiura," and were kindled some distance
from the brook ; one was for the priest, and one for the mother,
and one for the gods. After the priest had taken a number of
pieces of pungapunga (pumice stonel, and placed them in a row,
he named them each after one of the dead ancestors of the child.
The food was then taken out of the oven intended for the gods
and presented to the pieces of pumice stone ; in offering which
the priest repeated this incantation : —
There is your food,
Eat it.
Eat it yourselves. I

122 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
You are satisfied.
It is sweet to you ;
It is the food of Kauika and Rangi.
There is your food,
The essence of it has gone
To the world of spirits,
Where you are.
At the conclusion of this the child was shown to the people ;
and the tapu being thus removed from the mother and child,
they were once more allowed to go amongst the tribe.
The next ceremony was the actual baptism of the child, at
which the father and mother and any of the heads of the tribe
-might be present, but no common person. They went to a
stream, and all being naked save a maro (that is an apron made
of the leaves of trees round their waists), the priest took the
child in his arms, and going into the water, he with a karamu
branch sprinkled the child, saying : —
Baptised in the water of Tu,
Be thou strong
By the strength of the heel of Tu,
To catch men
By the strength of Tu,
To climb mountains
By the strength of Tu ;.
May the power of Tu
Be given to this son.
Be thou strong,
That thou mayest overcome in the fight ;
Be thou strong
To enter the breach,
To kill the watchman,
To grapple with the foe.
Be thou stiong
By the power of Tu,
Be thou strong
To pass over the lofty mountains,
To ascend the lofty tree ;
Be thou strong
To brave the billows -of the sea,
To overcome its strength.
Be strong to cultivate food for thyself
To build great houses,
To make war canoes,

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 123
To welcome visitors,
To make fishing nets,
To catch fish,
To do all thy work.
There comes the strength from Kiharoa*
To take me to the sands of Rangaunu,t
To the place where spirits depart into night,
And what know I further ?
These were the ceremonies in removing the tapu and baptism
of a boy. For a girl they were somewhat different. A boy was
baptised to the god of war, Tu ; girls were baptised to Hine-te-
iwaiwa, who is goddess of all the necessaries of life. In taking
the tapu from a mother when a girl was born the same
ceremonies were used as for a boy, which we have just described.
The same things being done at the brook, the priest said : —
Here are the mounds
Now standing on the shore,
On the water,
In the depth,
On the brink,
They stand as from Hawaiki,
As in the stealing from Hawaiki.
We will here digress to explain a little. When one of the
canoes came from Hawaiki, called Te Arawa, navigated by
Tamatekapua, some time after she had left the people of Hawaiki
made an offering to the gods ; they erected altars, and cooked
food for them, to induce the gods to give a foul wind to send
the Arawa back, when they promised to cook the navigators for
the gods. While they were preparing the offering two women
called Hangaroa and Kuiwai (who were related to the navigator
of the Arawa), went to the principal temple called Rangiatea,
. and stole the principal gods Maru, Iho-o-te-rangi, Rongomai,
Itupawa, and Hangaroa, and came off with them to New Zealand;
hence the phrase —
As in the stealing from Hawaiki.
* Death is here represented under the name of kiharoa ; kiharoa
signifying the last breathing of dying mortals.
t The sands of Rangaunu, at the entrance of the Reinga.

124 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
[The priest continued his incantation,]
From the priesthood of Hawaiki,
There is the post standing,
[Putting a stick upright in the brook,]
It stands as an emblem
Of the taking off the tapu,
An emblem of making thee common,
An emblem of sprinkling thee.
[Sprinkling the girl at the same time,]
An emblem of Hine-angi-angi,
And Hine-kori-kori,
An emblem of woman.
Take the tapu off;
For there is the rod
Of Hine-te-iwa-iwa ;
It stands as from the stealing from Hawaiki ;
Attempt to catch the god
And put him into the water ;
Take off the tapu from this daughter,
Immerse us then ;
[Sprinkling the child with water,]
Take off the tapu from Ruanuku,
Take it into the water
And drown it.
The same ceremonies were used as in the case of the boy, in
giving food to the gods and the ancestors of the child ; the child
was then presented to the people, and taken to be baptised. This
rite was the same as the baptism of the boy, excepting the words,
which were these : —
Baptised in the water of Tu,
Be thou strong
By the strength of Tu,
To get food for thyself,
To make clothing,
To make Kaitaka mats,
To welcome strangers,
To carry firewood,
To gather shell fish.
May the strength of Tu
Be given to this daughter.

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 125
The power of Kiharoa is coming
To take me to the sands of Rangaunu,
Where the spirits descend to the night.
What know I beyond this 1
These karakias are given as a specimen of the many which
are used on such occasions ; in fact, each tribe has a somewhat
different form of incantation, but the substance is the same.
When a child sneezes, the mother says "Sneeze, living heart; "
if she were not to say so, she would suppose the child would be
ill after it.
To make the tooth of a child come, the mother says —
Growing kernel, grow,
Grow, that thou mayest arrive
To see the moon now full.
Come, thou kernel,
Let the tooth of man
Be given to the rat,
And the rat's tooth
To the man.
When a child's hair is long, and it requires to be cut for the
first time, the child's grandfather or a priest must cut it ; the
barber then, grandfather or priest, goes from the settlement the
day previous to that on which the child's hair is to be cut, to
one of their sacred places, and there sleeps that night. On his
leaving the settlement, the people abstain from food until the
ceremony is over ; in the morning the child goes to him, and
when the barber observes him coming, he says —
Come, my child,
And I will cut
Bach of thy hairs
To the honour of Tu.
The child's hair is cut with obsidian ; when done, the father of
the child takes a poporokai-whiria stick to the barber, who
makes a fire with it by friction, and burns the hair, repeating
this karakia : —
The honour thou didst seek, my son,
Has come and gone.
Thou wast sacred,
And art common ;

126 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Thou canst return.
Here I am, my son.
I have risen up,
I have received, •
I am satisfied.
The barber then roasts a piece of fern root, and with it touches
the boy's head and each shoulder, and eats it. The ceremony
being ended, the child may go to his playmates, and the people
at the settlement may cook food.
A boy will not let any person step over his legs when he is
in a sitting or reclining posture, especially not a woman or a
girl, as it is believed it would render him unable to overtake an
enemy when running ; nor will men let any one step over their
legs for the same reason. ,
When a young chief is thought ta be of such age that he
can -be initiated into the secrets of the Maori priesthood, his
grandfather, if alive, is the person who is to divulge those
secrets. All young chiefs are not entitled to this privilege, but
those only who are the first-born of the head chief of the family
in which a knowledge of witchcraft has been handed down from
generation to generation. The grandfather proclaims a fast, and
the people abstain from food, or even cooking anything, from
daylight of the day on which he is to teach his grandson until
the lessons have been taught ; at the same time he directs a shed
to be built some little distance from the settlement. The shed,
is to be made of nikau (New Zealand palm); it has to be con
structed with an equal number of sticks to each side ; and also
at each end there is not to be an odd stick in the shed, and
the makers of it are to be all chiefs. The grandfather sleeps
in it the first night, and the young man is sent to him at day-
dawn, unclothed. He is thus sent lest any food should be on or
have been near his clothing. Cooked food having been on the
young man's garments would render him unfit to be near a
priest, much more to be taught the sacred ceremonies. More
over, it would be supposed that if such an accident were to-
happen to a young chief going to be taught, he and the priest
would die.

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 127
The young chief is told to sleep as soon as he can, so that
his grandfather the priest may consult the omens. If the young
man's arm or leg jerk outwards, he could not learn, or if taught
he would not remember ; but if arm or leg jerk inwards, he will
be an efficient priest.
If the omens be good, the priest awakes the young man at
once, and repeats this karakia :—
From whence come all things ?
From above,
From beneath.
My ancestor Maputahanga,
Bring it from Hawaiki.
Come, Uenuku, sailing in the air,
O'er the boisterous dashing ocean,
And unravel all things.
[This is supposed to ensure the young man a retentive memory. J
The priest then teaches him the secrets ; and when he has heard
them all, he has to chew the lower end of a Toetoe-whatu-manu
stalk, in order to prevent him from divulging what he has been
taught. After this account of the manner in which the priestcraft is
handed down through successive generations, the question may
arise as to how their genealogies are kept, seeing they have no
written records. We may answer the question by stating that
it is a custom amongst them at a set time for the old men to
assemble in a house built for the occasion, then to invite all the
young chiefs of their tribe to listen to the recital of their genea
logy, which was done by one of the old men commencing as far
back as it had been taught ; and after he had recited as many
names and anecdotes of war, love, and murder, as he thought
proper, he allowed another of the old men to continue the ac
count. Thus each one took his part in relating their history.
In this way the young chiefs learnt their origin and the
causes of war and murder; also their relationship to other tribes.
Some of the tribes of the South had a genealogical stick, on
which they cut a mark for every generation. This, however, was
not generally practised.

128 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
There is no precise period in life when young men are to
be tattooed, and it is also optional on their part whether they
are tattooed or not. To be tattooed, however, the natives think
gives the face a finish, which it is deficient in without the marks
given by the Uhi of Mataora. There are also other reasons. It
is thought that the tattoo gives a determined look when in con
flict, and also the Maori females do not regard as much the
marks of respect paid to them by a Mokau as the attentions of
a person who is tattooed. The soot with which they are marked
is obtained by making a hole somewhat like a lime kiln, in which
kauri gum is burnt, or a wood called kapara ; on the top of the
kiln is placed a Maori basket, made of korari, besmeared with
fat, to which the soot adheres. The black thus obtained is sacred,
and is kept for generations, father and son being tattooed from
the black made at one burning. The soot is mixed with oil or
dog's fat. We may here observe that the tattooing now seen is
of a comparatively recent discovery : that in use in olden times
was called Moko Kuri, and consisted of straight lines up and down
the face, somewhat like the' tattooing in the Marquesas Islands.
This style is said to have been in use amongst the people who
discovered this country. The New Zealanders even in the time
of Captain Cook's visit here had this tattooing amongst them.
The fashion of the present day, it is said, was first used by
a man of the name of Mataora, a member of some one of the East
Coast tribes ; and the first man on whose face it was marked
was called Onetonga. There are three or four patterns ; so that
when a person is to be tattooed, the tohunga marks one of these
on his face with a little common soot mixed with the water
squeezed from the pulp of the Poroporo tree, and if, after look
ing into a pool of water (as this was the Maori looking-glass)
the person to be tattooed approves of the pattern, he reclines his
head on the tohunga's lap. The instrument used to make the
punctures is formed out of a piece of whalebone, according to
the design intended to be cut, and is bound to a piece of wood
in the shape of a carpenter's square ; this the tohunga holds in
his left hand, between his forefinger and thumb. In his right

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 129
hand, between his third and fourth finger, is held a piece of fern
stalk about eight inches long, the outer end of which is bound
with a little flax. Between the thumb and forefinger of the
same hand is held the black. When the tohunga has made an
incision with the uhi by striking it with the piece of fern stalk
held in his right hand, he again draws the uhi between the
finger and thumb which holds the black, and, in so doing, it
carries with it a portion for the next incision.
Men generally have their faces fully tattooed, but this is not
done at one time. It is said the only person known to have
been fully tattooed at one sitting died as the last lines were
finished. While a man is undergoing the operation, persons who may
be near, or the tohunga himself, will sing these words, to amuse
and inspire him with courage : —
In a group we sit
And eat together,
And we look at the marks
On the eyes and nose
Of Tutetawha,
Which turn here and there
Like the legs of a lizard.
Tattoo him with the chisel of Mataora.
Do not be so wistful
That the women should see thee,
They are getting the young leaf
From the wharawhara.*
I am the author
Of your beautiful marks.
The man with the payment,
Tattoo him nicely ;
The man with no payment,
Do not mark him well.
Strike the sounds,t
Tangaroa rise thou,
Lift up Tangaroa.
* Wharawhara leaves, with the silken part of which the Maori females
decorate their faces.
t Pakuru— A piece of wood (kaiwhiria) about twelve inches in length ;
one end of which is put into the mouth and the other end beaten with a stick,
each blow being accompanied by words emitted by the opening and com
pressing of the lips. These words were a set form, belonging to the ceremony,
and were also called pakuru.

130 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Females have only their lips, chin, and neck tattooed ; they
consider the climax of beauty consists in jet black lips. WheQ
such an one is undergoing the operation of being made a beauty,
to amuse her, and make her forget the pain she suffers for
beauty's sake, the tohunga and her friends sing the following
song : —
Recline, my daughter, to mark thee,
To tattoo thy chin ;
Lest when thou goest to a house of strangers
They say, Where has this ugly woman come from ?
Recline, my daughter, to maik thee,
To tattoo thy chin,
That thou mayest be comely ;
Lest when thou goest to a feast
They ask where this woman with ugly lips came from ?
To make thee beautiful,
Come and be tattooed,
Lest when thou goest into a party of dancers
They ask where this woman with ugly lips came from ?
To make thee beautiful,
Come and let thy lips be tattooed,
Lest thou go where slaves are,
And they ask where this red-chinned woman came from ?
We mark thee, we tattoo thee,
By the spirit of Hine-te-iwa-iwa ;
We tattoo thee, that the spirit of the shore
May be sent by Rangi
To the depths of the sea,
To the foaming wave.
Thy beauty is tied with love,
Thy beauty is as the heavens,
As the stars Tahatiti, Ruatapu, Rongonui, and Kahukura.
The forehead of the man is marked,
And his is dying fame ;
The sin of old was by man,*
That sin from above,
Even in the home of the sun ;
And the sin from beneath,
Where he goes to when he departs.
But thou art more beautiful
Than Uetonga and Tamarereti,
Or the sacred shadow of Reretoro.
The spirit of the shore shall be sent by Rangi
* Alluding to Maui having beaten the sun.

MAORI SUPERSTITIONS. 131
To the depths of the sea,
To the foaming wave.
Leave the flatterers and children,
Leave thy farewell with them,
And depart as the passing cloud
O'er Ruakawa mountains,
And let them weep in sorrow.
But as for me,
I am Rongo and Papa,
My work is done.
When a man or woman has been tattooed, the tohunga is
tapu, as is also the settlement, from the fact of blood having
been on the hands of the tohunga, and of his washing them in
the settlement. To take the tapu off each, there are three Maori
ovens (hangi) lighted, which are called " umu parapara." One
of these is for the tohunga, and one for the person tattooed and
the people generally, and one for the gods. To take the tapu
off the settlement and himself, the tohunga, after washing his
hands, takes a hot stone out of the oven intended for the gods,
and after throwing it to and fro. from one hand to the other, he
puts the stone again into the oven. The tapu is thus transferred
to the stone, and it being used to cook the food for the gods, the
food receives that tapu, and is thus given to the gods. When
the food in the oven for the gods is cooked it is put into a new
basket and hung up on a tree in a sacred place.
The superstitions connected with tattooing are these : —
The person being tattooed must not eat fish or shell fish without
first holding some of it up to each and every part of his face.
In doing this they reverence Tangaroa, by letting him see the
tattooing first ; whalebone being used as the principal agent in
marking the face, for the use of which, and also to be allowed
to eat fish of all kinds, they thus appease him. If they neglect
this, Tangaroa, the god of fish, will make the tattooing all out
of proportion. Another superstition is, that if children tattoo a
hue (calabash) it must not be eaten, as the hue is then as the
head of a man, and to eat it would be a curse on man.
The time allowed being past, I must conclude ; yet it ought
to be stated that what you have heard this evening is but the

132 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
preface to what might have been said. In fact, to relate the
superstitions which held the New Zealanders in servile bondage
would require the time allowed for three or four lectures. Could
we also have described the superstitions which relate to their
wars, sacrificial offerings, witchcraft, burying the dead and
exhuming them, building houses, making war canoes and fishing
nets, we should have been able to have shown the numerous
trials and difficulties our missionaries had to contend with, and
the lasting obligations we owe to them, under Divine Providence,
for suppressing them. But we have heard sufficient this evening
to prove that there is even in the Maori traditions a striking
similarity to the Jewish and Christian records, while their
abominations ought to inspire a heartfelt gratitude in the breast
of all that we have been born in a land where the pure and
unmutilated word of God is possessed.

PART II.
In the first part of this paper, on the superstitions of the
Maori race, we gave the principal details of their belief in the
creation and the flood ; then slightly noticed the different
migrations to this country ; and concluded by noticing certain
of their ancient ceremonies, to one of which we would particularly
recall attention, namely, the initiatory rites of priesthood, as
being immediately connected with the subject which is to engage
our attention this evening, viz., " Maori Priesthood, Witchcraft,
and War.'' Much that we shall relate of their ceremonies is
unavoidably absurd, and especially the incantations, the language
of which to a cultivated mind is extremely nonsensical. Yet
even these absurdities will no doubt cause a Christian heart to
feel regret that a people endowed with such minds as the New
Zealanders should have been held for so many generations in a
labyrinth of superstitions so servile in practice and so degrading
in their tendency. It may be said that the New Zealander of
the present day — Ire who walks our streets with the produce of
his own industry on his back, complying as far as possible with the

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 133
usages and language of the Europeans — does not resemble in
manner or appearance the people whose superstitions and customs
we shall give this evening. The savage who will pass in review
before us would not on any account go near our cook shops, nor
would he'come near a baker's cart, as the air passing such would
bear pollution with it, and such a feeling of horror as in many
cases to cause death. That the New Zealanders were bound by
a superstitious dread to observe omens we shall have ample
proof. It was not the chiefs and priests alone who were super
stitious : the whole Maori race, from the child of seven years of
age to the hoary head, were guided in all their actions by omens ;
nor was it the chiefs and priests alone who had a knowledge of
the incantations : the people in general were well acquainted
with some of them, which they used for certain purposes,
repeating them without the assistance of the priest. Of these
we shall proceed at once to give a few examples. For instance,
if, while men are on a voyage from settlement to settlement,
one of the party, in changing the paddle from side to side,
accidentally lets the outer end of it come into the canoe, it is an
omen of an abundance of food to be given to them on their
arriving at their destination. Again, in travelling, if the feet
get filled between the toes with fern this is also an omen of food
in abundance ; but on their arrival, to ensure this omen's
fulfilment, this incantation is repeated : " Omen of sweet food,
hold : go thou to the hangi (oven), that I may arrive ere it be
opened." But there are counter-omens to this. If anyone feels
hungry when food is cooking it is an omen that strangers are
on the road. Hence the proverbial warning repeated by such,
that the people of the settlement may partake at once of the
food by themselves : " Though partly raw, it is wholly our own ;
if fully cooked, we shall get but a part." Again, if a person's
chin itches, this implies that they are shortly to partake of
something oily, such as fat, eels, dog, rat, or whales' blubber.
Also, if a party travelling should hear, the bird called "tiraueke "
cry to their right hand, this tells something of feasting ; or if to
the left, of war or murder. Let it not be supposed that the

134 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
neglected, decrepit old female slaves were deficient of omens in
their unsophisticated art of cooking ; for if one of them wishes to
know to a minute when the hangi (oven) is done, at the same
time she covers it up she will tie a " taro " to a piece of flax
and bury the " taro" on the top of the oven ; she then sticks a
twig in the ground, and bending it towards the bit of flax, she
fastens it to the bent stick. When the food is cooked, the stick
will pull the " taro " up.
These may suffice as specimens of the general and ordinary
belief of the common people in omens. If any more remarkable
event took place, it was the business of the priest to expound
its import. He was the guide of the people in almost all their
concerns ; in his hands was the direction of the policy of the
tribe ; nothing, in fact, save the ordinary actions, could be done
without him. -His office was five-fold : he was seer, physician,
and general, also sorcerer, as well as priest. As priests, they
had to conduct all ceremonies ; as seers, by dreams and- divina
tions they foretold the issue of events, and held conversation
with the spiritual world, in songs taught them by spirits, sha
dowing forth the future. Songs thus taught were called " mata
kite " (second sight). As wizards, by their incantations they be
witched those who might have given them or others offence ; as
physicians, they cured the sick by incantations ; as generals,
they led and determined the movements of war. The priests
as such are sacred, and everything they use or touch — in fact,
the merest trifles in all their movements — are sacred. Also
the priest drinks out of the palm of his hand, and the water is
poured into it from a calabash, for the calabash is not allowed
to come near his lips, lest it may have been in a cook-house, or
near cooked food, to touch which would be an insult to his gods,
who would therefore cause his death. The place where he thus
drinks is sacred because a portion of the water falls necessarily
on the ground ; but this must be prevented as much as possible,
often to the great personal inconvenience of the priest, for on
the amount of water spilled depends the duration of the sacred-
ness on the ground. A slave may thus often revenge himself

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 135
upon a tyrannical or cruel master, for the latter cannot speak to
bid his slave desist from pouring out the water, but make signs
to him by elevating his eyebrows ; as soon, therefore, as the
slave expects the sign he is all at once attracted to look another
way, while his priestly master, for fear of allowing too much
water to run from his sacred hand upon the 'ground, is forced
to continue drinking until his slave shall condescend to attend
to his signal, and cease from pouring out from the calabash.
-The place where he sits is sacred, so also is his house and
his fire. He will not eat food cooked in a large oven, nor
will he light his own fire from a large one, as anything large is
supposed to be common ; nor will he take anything from the
hand of another person, for fear of his hand coming in contact
with a hand which has taken food out of an o\en, which would
enrage the gods, and cause his death. Anything given must be
laid before him. In travelling, the spot and shed where a priest
stops is holy, yet travellers passing that way may use the sticks
which compose the shed for fuel, if they first take one of them
from the top and burn it in a fire, which must be made from the
firebrands left there by the priest. This fire, being sacred, will
take the tapu from the wood composing the shed, and the
power it might have to bewitch is thus removed. A priest must
not carry cooked food when on a journey, except in a certain
- way; he must only eat in a certain attitude. When travelling
on a war party, he will carry cooked food for himself in a basket
in his hand ; but when he eats he must unloose his belt, lest if
his "mere" be in the belt or in his breast, as he lifts up the food
to his mouth, and it go over his belt or " mere," it would be
called an "aitua" (an evil omen), and cause the person and
weapon to be powerless when in conflict. Again, a priest will
not allow another person (layman or priest) to eat of what he
has carried. This is the origin of the proverb, "Haere ana
Rangipo, haere ana Raeroa" (Rangipo went, and also Raeroa).
These were priests of Waikato^ who were on a journey together.
Rangipo took food, and Raeroa did not, but asked his more
thoughtful companion to give him to eat, which being refused,

136 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Raeroa died. The cooked food carried by a. chief will not, in like
manner, be given to a priest. And the women observe the same
rule ; for a chieftainess and a priestess were journeying from
Hokianga to Takahue (now-called Victoria Valley), having been
betrothed respectively to two young chiefs of that district. The
chieftainess had taken cooked food, of which the priestess desired
to partake, for it was a two-days' journey; yet she was not
allowed to eat of it, for fear, as her companion said, that she
might repeat her incantations over it, and she (the chieftainess)
thereby lose the affection of her intended hnsband. The secret
incantations of the priest were endued with deadly efficacy;
therefore priests were not allowed, as priest to priest, to curse
or even insult each other. They are supposed to be protected
by the gods, and at the same time thoy have gods at their com
mand, who execute their will ; yet, if the priests insult each
other, these very gods are said to visit them with punishment.
We will relate two anecdotes to illustrate these assertions.
There lived in the Tamaki district two priests whose names
were Koroti (which means to chirrup), and Nuku (distance), who
were on a journey from Tamaki to Waikato, accompanied by a
dog, on a road by which they had not before travelled. They
did not know the distance to Waikato, and while going through
the forest in the Wairoa, on a place called Te Hunua, Distance
asked Chirrup how far it might be yet, both being equally igno
rant of the road. The folly of this question made Chirrup pun
on the name of his companion by saying, " It is such a distance,
it will be night ere we get there." But so to use the name of
any man was a curse of the kind called "tapatapa." This roused
his indignation, and they went on in silence, till Chirrup, feeling
fatigued, and having forgotten his joke, as thoughtlessly asked
Distance when they should get to their destination. Distance
pleased with an opportunity of retaliation, answered, " When the
birds chirrup in tho morning, then we shall arrive." Chirrup
was so enraged that they openly cursed each other. Being
priests, they ought to have had recourse to their gods for re
venge, and not to have taken the law into their own hands ; but

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 137
their intemperate anger caused the gods to transform them into
trees, the one into a " rimu,'' and the other into a " matai ;" and
their dog, having lain down where the quarrel took place, was
turned into a large mound of earth, which to this day keeps the
appearance of a dog lying down. There is one peculiarity about
this mound : I found a peculiar species of fern growing on it,
which I have not seen in any other part of New Zealand. To
show the extent of the insult implied in thus using the name of
a person as a word in any sentence in conversation, I would
remark, that it is a custom with the Maoris, if a chief take for
his name any word, or name of animal, weapon, or other object,
his tribe at once must substitute some other word or name for
that so taken by their chief ; hence the origin of many of the
provincialisms we meet with among the different tribes. For
instance, a chief called himself " Tai " (the tide) ; at once the
tide was called " ngaehe " (ripple). Another called himself
" Mangumangu " (black) ; at once they called black " parauri "
(dark). Again, another called himself " Poaka " (pig) ; a pig
was thenceforward called "kuhukuhu" (grunter). Another
called himself "Ahi " (fire) ; fire was then called " ngiha" (burn
ing or blaze). One more example may suffice. Throughout
New Zealand generally the Maori may fish for " hapuku '' (cod
fish), but not so at Hawke's Bay ; there he must call his fish a
"kauwaeroa" (long jaw), or else incur the penalties of "tapa
tapa," for profaning the name of the great chief who bears the
former appellation. Should any one apply to the original object
a name which has been thus taken by a chief, in his presence, it
is considered an insult to him, and, as such, payment is demanded.
This absurdity is carried so far, that if a rat gnaws unseen a
fishing net or a garment, the person whose property is thus eaten
will not say, " My net or mat has been eaten by a ' kiore,' " for
fear the rat should hear his name used, and thereby be provoked
to commit further depredations ; but he would say, " My net
has been eaten by the ' keroke ' " (the fellow), a word used in
this instance with no signification of reproach. Maori legends
will furnish us here with an example of the danger that lay in

138 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
even the hasty and inconsiderate insult of a priest, In ancient
times tliere lived in the district of Whangarei a priest of the
name of Manaia, whose wife, Maungakiekie, was also of priestly
rank. Their family consisted of two daughters, with a slave,
called Paeko. The whole account of them is voluminous ; there
fore, passing over the major part of the doings and sayings of
this family, I would only notice their final fate. It should be
said, by the way, that the elder daughter, having a taste for
architecture, occupied a considerable portion of her time in con
structing a wharf from which she could fish with a rod and line ;
but after she had laboured at it all the day, in the night the gods
of her father replaced the stones in their original position, till,
finding her work thwarted in this way every night, she gave it
up in despair. Afterwards the whole family took a journey from
Whangarei to the Bay of Islands, namely, Manaia, his wife, their
two daughters, and the slave Paeko, who was carrying a calabash
in each hand, and was accompanied by their dog. Before they
started on this journey, Manaia and his wife had disagreed on
some little matter of domestic life, and were in a very bad tem
per. They had crossed the river of Whangarei, and ascended a
rugged mountain on the north side, where they all sat down
fatigued with the ascent. Here the dispute between Manaia'and
his wife was renewed, till, very unlike a chief, he kicked her.
The slave interceded for her ; Manaia kicked him also down the
hill, calabashes in hand. The dog shared the same treatment,
till the gods, who had amused themselves by destroying the
young woman's wharf, and by witnessing this scene, to end all "
family discord, and to be certain of punishing the offender, turned .
them all (the dog included) into huge blocks of stone. In sailing
down the coast, four projecting rocks are to be seen to this day
near the North Head of the Whangarei river, on the summit of
a hill. These are Manaia, his wife, and his two daughters. On
the southern declivity of this mountain is also seen a rock lying
up and down the slope of the hill, near which there are two
round boulders, and another of an oblong shape. These are the
slave Paeko, the two calabashes, and his dog. A legend which

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 139
will carry a moral for all heads of families who are litigiously
inclined. The eldest son is heir to the knowledge of priesthood and
sorcery, yet there are exceptions to this custom. Priests in
general will not teach those of another tribe their own incanta
tions ; yet this knowledge is sometimes imparted, provided the
family whose eldest son is taught (and he alone) enter into a
contract that in all succeeding generations the descendants of the
disciple shall pay a yearly tribute to those of the preceptor; this
tribute consists of all sacred food, which, when thus set apart, is
called "kai popoa." So also at baptisms, at funerals, and at
exhuming, at the cutting of the hair, at the planting of the
kumara, and at others of the more solemn ceremonies, a portion
is set apart for the gods, as the supreme rulers ; this is also
" kai popoa " (the food of propitiation), and when rendered to a
chief, is given as an acknowledgment of such supremacy, and is
by him received as the representative of the indwelling gods.
A further tribute also of all firstfruits is exacted, the first of the
kumara crop, the first fish caught in a new net, the first birds
speared, the first rats caught, and the first of all sharks caught
in the season, — in fact, the first and the choice of all the produce
of the district where a family so adopted into the priesthood
reside. Such districts have, not unfrequently, in time been
claimed as the joint property of two tribes and the novice,
from which arise many of the conflicting claims between the
native tribes at the present day. Another may be adopted into
the knowledge of the priestly office, so the eldest son may
sometimes be excluded, although he has the prior right to its
inheritance. I will relate two or three anecdotes to illustrate
on what trifling ground he may be excluded from this portion
of his birthright. A priest, on leaving his own for another set
tlement, showed to his wife two bundles of fern root, which he
hung separately up in a certain part of the enclosure of the
village, requesting that she would give one to his brothers (who
were expected to arrive in his absence), and the other to their
dog. On his return he learnt that his wife, by forgetting, had

140 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
given to the dog the bundle intended for his brothers ; and for
this trifling mistake he left his wife, who shortly afterwards had
a son, whom his mother called " Uenuku," but, having no one to
teach him the mysteries, he was the son of a priest without the
knowledge to which he was by birth entitled. To this day, any
chief who is deficient in the knowledge of the priesthood is called
" Uenuku kuware " (Uenuku the untaught). When a priest
teaches the ceremonies and incantations, he fasts all the day, and
at night he teaches, repeating each " karakia " once only. The
same person is not taught a second time, as it is asserted by the
priests that if he forgets any of the incantations taught him, he
has only to request the gods, and they will reveal them in a
vision. The gods will not divulge anything but to those who
have been a disciple of a priest ; but should the priest himself
forget a word in the incantations which he is teaching, it is a
fatal omen, and tells of his own death : this is called the "pepa."
The ceremonies observed before and after these lessons are in my
former lecture, and therefore need not be repeated here ; but I
may observe that the priests, while teaching, stand in great awe
lest the revealing of the sacred mysteries should cause their gods
or their ancestors to kill them. One of the principal tutors was
so terrified at the idea of having divulged so much to me (though
the man was professedly a Christian), that he dreamt the spirits
of his ancestors met him, each with an adze in his hand, and,
passing him, each struck his adze into the ground; at each
stroke, rats issued forth from the holes. This he interpreted, that
for his divulging Maori secrets he was to be eaten alive by rats.
After this dream, I could not get the old priest, for any consi
deration, to proceed with his teaching. Governor Sir George
Grey, after much persuasion, got from Te Taniwha, one of the
few natives in this province who recollected having seen Captain
Cook, and was commonly known by the name of " Hooknose,"
two or three of his incantations. Shortly after, Government
House was burnt. " Hooknose " firmly believed that the fire
was caused by his gods, in vengeance for Sir George Grey having
made him divulge his incantations.

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 141
We proceed now to speak of the prophetic office of the
priests. As seers, future events are within their knowledge ; for
it is supposed that one of the principal gods resides within a
seer, and that there are many others who attend him in all his
movements. Any insect that may light upon the garments of a
seer is supposed to be one of his gods; and once myself, in com
pany with a priest, I noticed a spider crawling up his arm on to
his head, and when I called his attention to it, the man replied
that it was one of his gods. The chief Kiwi, whose tribe occu
pied Mount Eden, was slain in a pitched battle at the Whau by
the Ngatiwhatua, and on his own head being cut off, it is reported
that a small lizard was found on the back of his neck, which
was said to have been the god " Rehua," who resided there as
the protector of the tribe Tainui, of which Kiwi was chief.
Other priests and seers have a god in their breasts in the form
, of a pebble (called " whatu"), which at their death is taken by
the next of kin, and is so handed down through generations.
They have not any set rules by which to interpret dreams ; but
according to the expedition on which they are engaged, the object
of it will give a clue to divine the meaning. An evil dream is
called a "kotiri;'' to dream of death or wounds, of weeping, or
eating disagreeable food, means death. For example, a short time
before the Heke war broke out, Tamati Waka dreamt that he
was walking near the seaside, when a lobster leapt out on to his
hand ; he bit off one of its claws, and let it go. This was omi
nous of war. Again, a Ngapuhi seer named Hemi Mete (James
Smith), immediately before the same war, dreamt that he was
fishing on a hill called Te Ahuahu, near to the pa which was
afterwards attacked by the troops : he fished not in the water,
but on shore, and the fish he caught was a European female.
This he spoke of as an omen of strife between the Natives and
Europeans. The seers not only foretell coming events, but have
visions of incidents transpiring in distant places at the time of
the vision. One anecdote will suffice for this. An7 old man
(seer), of the name of Nakahi, residing in Hokianga, dreamt that
he saw on the WestCoast two canoes and the god Te-ata-o-te-rangi,

142 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
and that he saw the wreck of them. In one was Mohi Tawhai,
the well-known chief of Waima, in Hokianga, in imminent dan
ger of drowning; and but for the intervention of Nahaki and of
his god, Tawhai himself would have shared the -fate of the others
on board, and would have perished. It appeared afterwards in
reality, that on the night of this dream a gentleman in company
with Mohi Tawhai was coming from Auckland to the Bay of
Islands, and was caught in a heavy gale, which that gentleman
said he did not expect the vessel would have been able to outlive.
About dawn the gale subsided, and they arrived in the Bay. Is
it any wonder that the natives are so superstitious when an old
man accidentally dreams of things so strikingly corresponding to
what is then actually taking place ; and not only of the circum
stances, but also the name of the person so positively stated 1 A
subject closely allied to the foregoing is that of the " Matakite "
(a second sight), analogous in some respects to the Scotch High
landers', but differing in this important point, that the Maori
priest voluntarily courts the prophetic trance. We will give but
two instances. A priest named Kaiteke was leading a war party
in their canoes from the Bay of Islands to attack the Kaipara
natives, unaware that the natives of that district were awaiting
him with the intention of fighting at Mangawhai. Encamping
for the night on shore, he invoked the gods to reveal to him his
success by " matakite," using the same ceremonies to himself
which were described in our former Lecture as being observed
when the priest watches over the sleep of his disciple to see if
he will become adept in the mysteries he is about to learn. In
the trance Kaiteke saw a company of spirits dancing before him
and singing — _ The gods of night are saying
At Mangawhai I shall be slain :
No! On the mountain's side shall I ?
No! When I view the wave of the western sea,
And gaze on the river's rippling tide,
My grasp shall hold, my power release,
And woman's laugh shall say,

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 143
'Tis Tu, 'tis Tu o'ercome! o'eroome!
The land breeze blows another way, ,
Trees are seen in the blood-red clouds
Of the western sky, 'tis Tu! 'tis Tu!
Wander, ye desolate, roam o'er earth,
And act ye like gods, for the small
Summer birds are assembled in flocks,
All numberless, numberless.
This he explained to his men on rising from his trance. The
line, "Trees are seen in the blood-red clouds," were the enemy
waiting for the battle ; the " small summer birds " were the
enemy in their flight after the defeat. The two parties met as thus
foretold, a battle was fought at Mangawhai, where many of both
sides fell; the Kaipara tribes were forced to fly into the Waikato
district, the invaders being conquerors. Our second specimen is
the one which prophesied the capture of the famous Waikato
pa, Matakitaki, by the Ngapuhi under the great Hongi Hika : —
Stay thou, O Muri, guard thy fishing bank at Ahuriri,
And make thee a resting-place ;
But let that part on which thou dost rest be soft.
Rest not sitting ; listen to the distant noise
Made by those erecting sleeping-places on the cave of Koroki,
Bring ye the food now sought by the dogs.
The boom of the ocean's swell^is heard dashing in Reinga's cave.
In the last two lines the local allusion to the cave of Reinga
maiks at once the interpretation of the otherwise ambiguous
oracle, and prophesies the victory of the Ngapuhi (the Northern
tribe). The gods even inspire animals with the power of knowing
future events. Before the battle at Rotoiti, between the tribes
of Heke and Waka, a chief called Te Kahakaha was sitting with
Heke in a hut, when a dog came and barked at him. This was
thought to be a warning of his death : he fell the next day, and
it was said the god Te Nganahau (the god of death and evil)
inspired the dog, thus telling Te Kahakaha of his doom. When
going into battle, if men feel a creeping of the flesh in any part
of the body, they are to be wounded in those parts ; if they feel
a warm air pass over them, which causes them to perspire, they
are to die. Such omens to men are called " aitua," and to ani-

144 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
mals " pawera." Lest animals intended to be hunted should feel
the "pawera," the natives in olden times never determined to
hunt before the day on which they started for the chase. Three
young chiefs, whose mother was a priestess, in defiance of this
rule, determined in the night to go to a certain place to hunt.
The old lady overheard them agreeing to start the next day, and
told them that as they had determined beforehand, the pigs.
would certainly be " pawera," and so go from the place. They,
however, went, and failed to catch one. A few days afterwards
the priestess told them to go to the same place and they would
catch a pig. They went, and did so. Now in this case the
mother was so feeble by age, that she could not have gone to
the place where the pigs were ; therefore it was believed her
gods had enabled her to give such positive information. A
European, who was in the camp at the time the troops were
mustering to march against Heke's pa at Okaihau, states that
when the native allies saw the litters brought, and that too to
accompany a body of living men to battle, that one and all said
" great would be the mischief which would follow on such an
evil ' aitua.' " That evening he (the European) again passed
through the camp where the dying and wounded were. The
natives observed what a number of men were wounded, but
added, " These men have brought this upon themselves ; they
consigned their bodies to death while they were alive by taking
those litters with them."
All that a seer has is sacred, and partakes of the influence
of his gods, and any violation of his property is therefore visited
with their vengeance. For example, there lived in Waikato a
seer, whose wife also was a prophetess ; these, after having been
married for many years, at last quarrelled, and the wife took her
dog with her, and left Waikato, and went down near Kawbia,
and along the West Coast, passing through Taranaki, till she
arrived at a settlement of the Ngatiruanui, and there she became
the wife of a chief, whose name was Porou. For some reason
(now forgotten) the Ngatiruanui killed and ate her dog; but for
this sin (for it was a prophetess' dog) the gods laid upon the

, PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 145
tongues of all the people this curse : " That, whenever they spoke
they should bark like the dog they had killed." To this day this
branch of the Ngatiruanui retain the curious provincialism of com
mencing every address, every question, and every answer, with
the syllable "ou, ou," and they are hence, in allusion to the legend,
distinguished by the name of " Ngatikuri," " Sons of the dog."
We will conclude this portion of our subject with a few
anecdotes from the history of the Northern war. While our
troops and those of our allies were lying before the pa of
Ohaeawai, an old seer within the pa, who could not speak one
word of English, announced that he was attended by the Euro
pean gods, so that he could foretell the fate of the English forces,
as well as of his own people. His prophecy was, of course, deli
vered in a kind of gibberish, which was interpreted by Pene
Taui, the chief of Ohaeawai, who understood English, as follows :
" The gods spoke by the seer, and said, ' No one must smoke a
pipe while standing, and two shillings and sixpence will be
killed.' " Now it did so happen that, on the same day when this
prophecy was delivered, a cannon shot entered the pa, killed a
woman and her child, and, continuing its course, took off the leg
of a man, who died in the course of the day. These two adults
and child were the two shillings and sixpence in the oracle.
How far either the priest or his interpreter (Pene Taui) believed
themselves is very questionable, but they required the people to
believe implicitly; and if they reposed any faith in their own
prophecy, it is only one of many instances where the extent to
which a man practised in deceiving others may end in imposing
upon himself. Again, on the morning when the tioops were
preparing for the attack upon Ohaeawai, this same Pene Taui
took a leaf of an English Bible, and loading his gun with it, fired
it up to heaven at the moment of the assault ; " For," said he,
"the God in heaven was the author of the Bible, and was the
defender of the Europeans," and the best way to obtain His
protection for themselves instead was to send a leaf of His own
book to implore His aid. One morning at daybreak Mohi Tawhai
(one of the bravest of our allies) went out of the camp, and in-

146 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
advertently got within fifty yards of an ambush party of ten men
sent out of the pa to reconnoitre. Mohi was next in rank and
command to Tomati Waka, and his death would have given no
small credit to the man who might kill him ; but not one of the
ten could pull the trigger of his gun at him; they all lay on the
ground, looking at one atiother, wondering what spell restrained
them, and Mohi returned unmolested to the camp. The men
themselves told me this afterwards, and accounted for it on the
ground that as Mohi was a firm believer in the Christian God,
and every Sabbath taught his people out of the Word of God,
the God in whom he so believed had held their hands from
pulling the triggers at him, His worshipper.
Residing within the pa at this time was a priest from Hawaii,
who assumed to himself the power of charming the life of any
person from cannon shot and musket balls by chewing a piece of
stick and rubbing it over the man. Absurd as this may appear
to a European, many of the natives in the pa believed in him,
and through faith in his charms exposed themselves fearlessly to
the firing of our troops ; nor was it until they had fallen that .
the rest awoke to the murderous imposition practised on them.
Another impostor, named Papahurihia, promised by the aid of
his gods and the power of his incantations to protect from the
power of cannon shot a house built by his command in the pa of
Ohaeawai, as a council chamber for the chiefs. The house was
built, and eight chiefs were sitting in it when a cannon ball
passed directly through it, shattering the muskets which were
piled within. The seer said that some one had smoked a pipe
inside, and his gods were angry. Another house was built with
the same promise of protection ; this was struck -by a shell, and
unroofed, and Papahurihia now attributed his failure to cooked
food having been taken in the house, not perhaps in the hand
but in the mouth, which would have the same effect in pollut
ing the place. This second failure, however, was a death-blow to
his pretensions, and the council house was not re-built.
We will now speak of the sorcerer and his witchcraft. The
power possessed by the sorcerer of inflicting death upon such as

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 147
had either insulted him or others, no doubt gave him great influ
ence with the people, and few or no insults were offered to him ;
still it must be admitted that his life was only held on a preca
rious tenure ; for it has frequently occurred that his nearest
relation, even his own son or grandson (to say nothing of mem
bers of another tribe), would murder a man accused of bewitching
one of their relations. We will give one or two anecdotes on
this head, and then give one incantation from one of each of the
different modes of divination ; for the ceremonies differ according
to the circumstances of the case.
In November last, while engaged in the Kaipara district, we
came to a native settlement where, three days previous to our
arrival, a young chief had died of consumption, of which disease
his brother and sister were also dying. The natives of this
district had for more than fifteen years observed all the outward
forms of Christianity, yet on retiring to our tent we overheard
them relating to the chiefs who accompanied us the cause of the
young man's death, which of course was the result of witchcraft ;
the proof of this was, that about three months previous to his
death the young man and an elderly chief were jointly cultivating
a piece of ground, when they had some trifling dispute respecting
it. The younger asserted that the crop of wheat would not grow
for want of drainage, and that it would be washed away ; to
which the elder replied, "You will never see it." Shortly after
wards the young man, on an excursion with his brother and
sister, got very wet with rain, and being of consumptive tendency,
all three took colds, the cause of death to him, and most likely
to prove fatal to the other two. When the young chief died,
the words uttered by the old man were remembered, and were
considered an indisputable proof that he had bewitched the
whole family on account of the words the one had uttered to
him in conversation in the plantation. Formerly the sorcerer
might not have escaped so well; for in the year 1844 a slave
and his wife were killed in Hokianga for the supposed crime of
witchcraft. These two poor beings had been taken from the
Rotorua tribes, in the wars of the noted cannibal Hongi Hika,

148 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
and as the Rotorua people are noted for their knowledge of
sorcery, these two slaves of course must share such know
ledge. Most of the principal chiefs of the Hokianga district
having died in the space of five years, these slaves were charged
with having bewitched them, and on the mere supposition they
were put to death. Even in these days of comparative civiliza
tion of the Maori, the lives of the nearest relatives are sometimes
sacrificed to the still strong belief in these Satanic rites, and for
the supposed crime of witchcraft murder is still perpetrated.
Since November last there have been no less than four such
murders, one of which took place within a few days' journey
from this city. In that month a man named Hakaraha was
killed at Rotorua by a person of the name of Hura, who sup
posed the other had bewitched his wife Roka. It appears that
Hakaraha and Roka had not been on friendly terms, and that he
had said, "May earth be laid on Roka ;" shortly after which the
woman died. Hakaraha's wish was sufficient evidence to warrant
his seizure and execution, which took place accordingly. At
Whaingaroa, in September last, an old man and his wife were
strangled for the imputed death of a chief's son, one of the exe
cutioners having been baptized, as also the victims. The old
man and his wife had been taken slaves by the Ngatihourua
tribes from the Ngatikahungunu in Hawke's Bay ; and chiefs
having died in the tribe of their masters, these two were accused
of sorcery, and sold to the Ngatimahanga for a gun. Whilst
among them, a son of the chief William Naylor having quarrelled
with his own wife, had thoughtlessly kicked her arm, which the
two slaves bathed with warm water : while doing so it is sup
posed they uttered the incantations of witchcraft against the
husband. Shortly afterwards he died, when the slaves were
summoned to appear before a superstitious semi-cannibal assem
bly of men, women, and children, who constituted themselves
judges, jury, and witnesses — judges without the knowledge of
the rights of man, jury reckless and utterly incapable of estimat
ing the value of human life, and witnesses devoid of any evidence
but the mere presumptions of superstition. The prejudged vie-

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 149
tims, being by these questioned as to their knowledge of witch
craft, repeated the incantations for a curse. This was sufficient.
They were ordered to forget such knowledge, which they could
not promise. They were then told " they were given up to the
evil world, the dark world, and to wickedness." This was
understood by the young men ; and accordingly, a few days
afterwards, while the poor old man and his wife were cooking
their evening meal, unconscious of their fate, two men, named
Wapu and Hakopa, entered the hut and strangled them. Shortly
after this, and even nearer to Auckland, an old man named
Ruharuha was murdered at Waiuku by his own grandson, Pita
Te Whareraukura. Pita's wife had died, and a short time pre
vious to her death he (Pita) had quarrelled with the old man
about the land, and therefore he threw the blame of her death
upon his grandfather's incantations, and on this supposition he
shot him.
¦ All these cases were spoken of by the majority of the Maori
people as just, and as such the murderers were not thought the
less of by their own tribes. I will make but little comment
upon these facts. They speak for themselves, and call upon us,
by those feelings of pity and national benevolence for which
England's sons in every land have been so noted, to assist in
enlightening the ignorance and alleviating the consequent misery
of so many of our fellow-mortals. Surely, being sons of such
ancestors as ours were, we love to worship that God whom they
served, and to reverence His name. Can we not devise some
plan to assist the ministers, and help them on in the work of our
Lord, so that these Satanic customs and superstitions may cease
for ever, and such acts may not again be perpetrated in the very
precincts of our city, endangering the whole community 1 Even
if we take the lowest ground (the eternal danger of the actors in
such scenes being left out), many men, who look upon the present
moral condition of the Maori race, and see how strong a hold
their heathenish and barbarous customs yet retain upon them,
are tempted to conclude that the efforts of our missionaries for
forty years have been of little avail in christianizing the people.

150 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
But the Maori is an observant race, and they will compare prac
tice with precept. When the European inhabitants of New
Zealand were only scattered individuals, then missionary teach
ing, supported by example, had its full effect. The sin or the
profanity of an individual produced but little impression on the
Maori mind, for they knew that amongst themselves also there
were evil men as well as good ; but it is to the wickedness of our
community that we must attribute the revival of heathenism.
They have been taught to keep the Sabbath day holy, and they
come into our streets and see it constantly profaned by drunken
ness and other evils, and they turn and say to us, " England sent
first her missionaries ; they showed us the wickedness of our old
evil ways; we believed them, and we put away the evil from us.
But now England sends her people, and we see more sin amongst
them than was ever in the midst of- us. We had no marriage
rite, yet were more faithful and moral than you who are bound
with a vow in God's presence. It is your example, as a nation,
that has taught us to revert to our old customs." Christian
nations have amongst themselves a standard by which they are
judged and weighed; a Christian people in the presence of a
heathen race are watched more closely still, and their example is
of still greater influence. It is by our example as a people that
we can the most surely help forward the work of the Almighty;
and certainly He will not fail to visit us accordingly; for " right
eousness exalteth a nation, but sin is the destruction of many
people." We will now give the ceremonies and incantations of witch
craft. As we have before stated, there are many degrees of a
Maori curse, and this being mostly the cause of a person being
bewitched, a few specimens of them will not be out of place.
There are three principal degrees ; viz., the " kanga," the super
lative curse, as " Upoko kohua " (skull to cook in) or " Upoko
taona " (cooked head) ; the " apiti," as " To upoko ko taku ipu
wai " (your head is the calabash from which I drink) ; " Ko taku
tirou kai o wheua " (my fork is your bones). The distinction
between these two degrees may not be at first glance visible -to

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 151
many present. The "kanga" is an actual wish that the devoted
man may be eaten ; the " apiti " (or literal comparison) is only
likening of the bones to a fork, arid the skull to a calabash.
There is also the lower degree, " tapatapa," which is by calling
the name of any animal or thing after a person ; for instance,
prompted by feelings of loyalty, we call our ships after our be
loved Queen, which is to a Maori a " tapatapa," which blood
alone could atone for ; and what to him is still worse is that the
very sixpence which we give for a loaf of bread bears on it the
likeness of our Queen. This is utterly unintelligible to his
superstitious mind, that we who are so wise should sell the like
ness of our Queen for cooked food, a curse upon her sufficient to
require the lives of a nation to atone. The curse of tapatapa is
very frequently taken advantage of by a covetous chief to seize
on anything belonging to a slave, such as a canoe, a spear, or
mat, a fine dog, or a fat pig. All that was required to deprive
the slave of his property was, any chief should call it after him
self or any of his limbs, when the owner must surrender it.
We have said before that it was not sufficient to avenge the
insult of a curse ; its effects also must be expiated. The cere
monies used for this purpose by the natives differed according to
the several degrees we have defined above, of kanga, apiti, and
tapatapa. If the malediction were by kanga, then the priest
would go with the man who had been thus cursed (each unclad)
to a running stream, and making mounds of earth beside it, the
priest sticks a twig of tangeo into the bank ; then they immerse
themselves in the water, the priest repeating this incantation,
while the gods are supposed to come and rest upon the mounds,
and dance upon the twig thus set up : —
Now are the mounds made,
On the side of the dark stream,
By the place of thy wanderings, and of thy curse.
It is made this evening
By the darkness of this hill,
By the shade of these gods.
Now stands the twig by the mound,
By the place of theft, by the wanderings,
By the incantations from Hawaiki.

152 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
It is the twig of revenge,
To hurry onward my power,
The impetuous power of these sons,
Emblem of the gods and their power.
Now is the power of this incantation,
Of these sons and of these emblems ;
The water is flowing to this place of sorcery,
It flows on to this sacred spot.
To the head of strength, to the root,
On the surface and to the gods of theft,
Thou son of evil words and this curse,
Thou who didst defy the priests with a curse,
By these gods and sons, also these emblems
Which are now seen with impetuosity
Sowing death, seeking revenge for these sons,
By these emblems, fall thou, die thou,
On these mounds, beneath these twigs,
With suddenness be thy death :
Die quickly for thy curse and evil word.
This done in the water, they return now to the settlement, and
some little distance from it they sweep a place clear of grass or
weeds, as an arena upon which the gods and spirits may alight.
While sweeping, this incantation, which is called the " Tahinga,"
is used : —
Sweep, sweep, an open space,
On this sacred morning of Tu,
For the gods of power sweep this place
On which to sow death, to revenge these sons.
Tu the powerful, and Rongo,
Itupaoa, and Ihungaru, come,
Even to this sacred spot come,
Sow death for this word and curse,
Darkness come from the world below,
From the gods below,
From the worm below, and smite these sons.
Within the open space the priest digs a hole about two feet longj
which is intended for a grave for the spirits of those who cursed,
and while digging it this incantation is repeated : —
Now is the pit dug down to the depth of Nuku,
To the limits of the earth, to the depths of Papa,—
To the calm of darkness below, to the long night,
To the utmost darkness, to the power of these priests,
To the darkness of the gods of these sons and emblems.

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFI AND WAR. 153
This done, and the grave finished, they put a twig of karamu on
each side, and seat themselves on its brink, and take a shell of
a freshwater mussel with which to scrape into the pit the spirits
of those who uttered the curse, which have been already brought
to the pit's edge. While doing this, again the priest begins : —
Now is the mussel shut to Rehua above,
And to the stars ;
Atutahi, Matariki and Tawera :
To the sun and moon above,
To all things and the darkness above,
To the root of all things and the priests,
That they may hearken to this incantation,
Look at these emblems and strong desires,
Which call for revenge and death.
Let the revenge of Tu consume these sons,
Their priests, their gods, their power and incantations.
May the power of their priests be confounded,
Let their wizard god be made dumb !
A narrow mound is then made all along the side of the pit, upon
which the priest places stones named after those who used the
curse, one for each, and says : —
To sweep in, to cover up, kill and bury them ;
For thy power in war, thy strength and anger,
And for thy prowess and also thy words :
By thy thrill of fear in the battle front,
Thou art struck down to the depths of Nuku,
Even to the root of the world thou art sent,
As food for the hosts there ; thy powerless incantation also,
Thy ancestors and their power is gone with thee :
They are now weak and cannot kill.
We sweep them and thee into this pit,
And hide you altogether with this shell, —
The shell of these sons and emblems.
This is repeated over every stone, and each time he comes to the
name " Nuku " he strikes into the pit each, stone to which it is
addressed. The twigs are now thrown likewise into the grave ;
then he covers it in, and pats down the hillock with his hands.
The next day they come there again, and weaving a basket
which is of very small size, which is called " Paro taniwha "
(god's basket), the priest again repeats : —
Weave my basket for my sons to sleep in :
My basket is for my dead sons and enemies to sleep in.

154 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
To whom does the basket belong 1
To the gods and priests and ancestors,
To the sacred powers and female ancestors,
To the gods of theft. Fill up, fill up, my basket !
It is to put you, your priests, gods and ancients in,
Your power and incantations.
To whom does the basket belong ?
To the female ancestors and you all,
Even the stay of all power and the gods of theft.
The bodies of their enemies were buried in the twigs ; the
stones represented their hearts, cold and dead as they. Now their
spirits are imprisoned in ths basket, and being hung up on a
stick above the grave, and squeezed by the hands of the priest,
are thus offered to the gods, and chiefly to the goddess Rauka-
taura, who is especially addressed to enlist the spirits of the
female line of priesthood on their own side while weaving ; also
one of the party waves a mussel shell above her work to effect
the same. On the third day, at a little distance from this pit,
they build a hut, and make a mat, and lay it on the pit. They
then make an effigy of Raupo, putting within it a stone to repre
sent the heart, and laying it on the mat. This is called Whiro.
They then address the figure : —
Sleep, oh son, sleep !
Sleep thou on the pit of these sons of evil.
They are gone to the long night,
The night of manifold darkness ;
They are gone to the end,
To the thousands below.
The mat and the effigy are lastly taken up and deposited in the
hut, and the priest, standing at a little distance, asks, "Are you
asleep, Whiro ? Awake ! awake ! Are you awake, Whiro ? "
The priest, answering for Whiro, says, " Oh yes, I am awake."
He again asks, "Are you in your own house ? " Again answer
ing, he says, " Yes." " No, you are not. O Whiro, you are in
the world. It is not your place of abode. Arise ! arise ! go thou
to the gods in the depth of Nuku, to the worm, to the depths,
to the dark world, to the evil, to the gods of power, to the end
of evil." This concluding ceremony is called "Whakaoho," and
the curse is finally removed from them, and transferred to him

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 155
or them who uttered it. Yet all this is not enough if the original
imprecation have derived additional power from having been
uttered by a priest. In such a case the ceremonies above related
are followed till the " marae," or consecrated area, has been
swept ; but then the priest makes a little mat, and while work
ing it he says : — Weave, weave, my mat,
A mat for the gods to sleep on :
Weave, weave my mat for this evil,
For this darkness, for this curse !
Weave to the boisterous sea,
Tc the dark sea,
To the sacred sea of Tu,
Of Te Nganahau, and Te Whiro,
And to the heavens above,
And the many above, and to death.
This, resembling in all but size a common sleeping mat, is laid
upon the ground, and upon it is placed a piece of stick with
leaves tied round it for head, arms, and clothing. This stick
stands for the representative of Raukataura. Then again he

Here is thy apron of war,
Even the apron of Tu.
Then he builds over it, as it thus lies, a small house, and adds : —
Sleep, Ruakataura, sleep, —
Sleepest thou ?
The priest answers for the goddess, as though she were speak
ing :— No! Go then to the depths below,
To the thousands below.
Here he listens, as though expecting an answer. There being
no answer, he says : —
Will you not go ? No.
Do you wish for companions ? Yes.
Will you take them with you ? Yes.
Then take with you these persons.
He then mentions the name of each one whom he intends
should die by his witchcraft. Then taking in his hands a stick,

156 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
he sets another against the end of the house to represent the
aoor, and touching it with the one he holds in his hand, he
proceeds : — Shut in, shut in !
Art thou shut in ? (Answer) No.
Then striking it a second time, he says : —
Shut to the door !
Shut it to.
Go ye to the gods below,
And to the thousands below.
And if they ask thee —
Again addressing the goddess Raukataura —
Who are in the world above ?
Tell them these.
And here he repeats by name the principal relations of those
whom he is bewitching : —
And if they ask thee
Who are thy companions ?
Tell them these.
Repeating here the names of the men themselves against whom
his sorceries are directed. This done, he turns the little effigy
on its face, and says : —
Sleep on, my son, sleep on,
Look to the world below,
To the darkness below,
To thy power below.
Look not to the first heaven,
Nor to the second heaven,
Nor to the tenth heaven.
Tawhaki (the thunder god) is above,
And the world of light also,
The thundering world — the splitting world,
The shining world of power.
All this is done to transfer the curse not only to the priest who
uttered it, but also to his tribe ; then all is left as it lies until
there is a rumour of approaching war, and in the meantime, for
the space of a whole year, the tribe will not cultivate the ground,
but are supplied by their kindred tribes.

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 157
The curse of the second degree, or " apiti," does not neces
sarily require the death of the offender for its extirpation ; a less
punishment may often satisfy the offended party. In any case
the person aggrieved goes to the priest and repeats the curse ;
the priest then takes as many sticks as there are words contained
in it, and makes an effigy of raupo ; into this he puts these sticks,
and for the heart he puts into it a sacred stone, called " okaka"
(parrot food). This stone is said to be found by the " kaka " in
the heavens, and when possessed by a flock of them, is carried
by one bird for the rest to whet their beaks. This effigy is
placed on one side of a running stream, and beside it the priest
takes up his station ; on the other side stands the sufferer, with
a branch of koromiko stuck in the ground beside him. When
all is ready, the priest bids the man spit into the stream, and
catch the spittle in his right hand ; he strikes it upon his own
right cheek ; upon this the spirit of the enemy is seen standing
at the priest's left hand. He then bids the man assume a certain
posture, varying according to circumstances. If cursed by a
relative, and if death is exacted as the penalty, he reclines on
his right side, and draws up both legs ; if he will be satisfied
with the infliction of pain, the right leg only is thus drawn up.
If his enemy be no relation, yet one whom he does not wish to
kill, he lies outstretched upon his back, and folds his hands
across his breast ; but for the doom of death he assumes the
posture of a corpse, with his arms laid straight beside him.
Then the priest repeats this incantation (while the spirit leaves
his side, and takes its station on a stick pitched in the middle of
the stream) : — Blow on us, thou gentle breeze,
Perchance it is I whom they are cursing,
As recompense for evil.
Perchance the treacherous one
In his canoe of leaves will not hearken.
Come, assemble in the house.
The birds nestle, the soul shrinks,
My parent is slain by me,
But thou stranger will be given to death
For thy evil deeds, fall thou into the water.

158 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
The priest now strikes the spirit down the stick with his hand
into the water, and continues : —
Let the stone of deceit be given,
Quiet be thy feet.
I will lay down in this house ;
Stretch out thine arm as a leg ;
And thy leg as an arm :
Thus by the fish of the earth,
Looking upwards to heaven, panting for breath, " O woe is me!"
Then the man leaves the stream, and roasting a fern root in a
fire kindled by the priest, he touches the priest on the head and
shoulders, and then gives it to him to eat. The tapu is thus
broken, and both are polluted and unfit for further rites of sor
cery. This is done lest any others should be bewitched by their
encounter, and lest the secrets of the craft should be diyulged.
Another karakia accompanies the resumption of their gar
ments; for had they touched cooked food without this precaution,
the incantations of the priest would return upon his own head.
So ends the ceremony, which must be concluded before day
dawns or closes upon it. For three days afterwards they must
both eat only the pohue (the root of the wild convolvulus) to
ensure its complete success. Nor is this success in the least
doubtful if they be left to their uninterrupted operations ; yet
if the offended man relent, and would avert the death thus
menaced, it is still in the power of the priest to undo his work,
and to effect a cure on the bewitched man by this karakia
repeated over him : —
As the sounds of music from the Koanau,
Such shall be thy returning soul
To this world of health —
To this world of light.
So saying, he spits on the sick man's forehead, and laying his
hand upon him, says : — i
Evil man, great sinner,
Thou art of Maui.
These words complete the cure. To understand them we must
refer to the legend mentioned in a former lecture of the sin of

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 159
Maui in catching and beating the sun, and in his insult offered
to Hinenuitepo, which occasioned his own death. If a curse
were uttered against a priest, he would not speak at the time,
but silently repeat the following incantation : —
Tu baptize the night
Tu baptize the day,
Go thou beneath, I go above,
Send thy power below
To the night below, to the worm below,
To the evil one below, go to death,
And thy spirit for ever to darkness.
Then returning home, he fasts three days, in order to ensure
that the offender shall have eaten food, which will enhance the
effect of his incantation. When he is certain of this, he has
food cooked for himself, and taking part of it, he wraps it in a
nikau leaf (New Zealand palm), with some hairs from his own
forehead, and taking it to a running stream, he throws it in,
saying :— My fire is burning
To the big sea, to the long sea,
To the boisterous sea.
Then he returns, and while eating, lest he who cursed him
should have bewitched his food, he repeats silently : —
Stand erect before the world of spirits
That the soul of food may be eaten,
And the essence of food — the food of the gods.
This completes the charm against the offender. He is now
doomed to certain death ; and that the cause of it may be
known, the spirit of the sorcerer will appear bodily at his
funeral. The relatives then seeing and recognising it will go to
a running stream, and, sitting on its brink, repeat this incanta
tion : — Our protector will destroy his power
He will protect from death,
Go thou evil one, to the heaven above,
Go thou to the earth beneath.
This charm precludes any future sorcery being exercised against
the remainder of the family. Occasionally, however, instead of

160 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
all these ceremonies, the priest, when cursed, will lay his left
hand on the right side of his breast, and with the right hand
catch the curse, saying aloud, "Aue taku upoko ! " (Oh, my
head !) for on the head dwell the principal gods, and they are
thus called to punish the offender with death.
Before we give any specimens of the native doctor's craft
we may be allowed to remark that he has more to encounter
than falls to the share of any European physician. He not only
requires a larger amount of faith in the efficacy of his own incan
tations, but he has to contend in every instance with that which
a European doctor would pronounce not only the cause of sick
ness, but sure to result in death. A New Zealand patient will
, not remain in a house in the settlement ; he will reside in a shed
by himself in the scrub, a shed that cannot shelter him from the
evening breeze, much less keep out the dew of night or the rain.
He will also (if he eats at all, which is not often the case) have
whatever he may wish ; in fact, he is led by his appetite alone.
If he has a fever, he will go and bathe ; if he is consumptive, he
will do the same. In many cases the Maori doctor had recourse
to certain leaves and the bark of trees to assist his incantations.
For a burn he used the inner bark of the rimu bruised into a
pulp, or the ashes of the tussac grass sprinkled on the burn ; for
dysentery the kawakawa root was chewed. About six years ago,
when the influenza was very rife in the North, one of the Maori
doctors gave out that he had found a cure for the head-splitting
disease, as it was called. It was a compound of roots, bark, and
leaves of trees, with certain shrubs burnt together, the ashes of
which were kneaded into a paste with hogs' lard. This he sold
to his countrymen in balls the size of a common marble, charging
£1 10s. for each. They were bought with avidity by timid
persons, who, when they felt the least pain, in whatever part of
the body it might be, made an incision in that part, and rubbed
a portion of the compound into it. It was astonishing to see
how many cures were effected by it amongst those in whose
imagination alone the disease had existed. After a Maori doctor
has made himself acquainted with the coniplaint of his patient,

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 161
he decides as to the remedy. If he is suffering from the effects
of witchcraft, he takes him to a stream, and sprinkles his naked
body with water, repeating the following incantation over him : —
Rise all ye powers of this earth,
And let me see the gods,
Now I am roaming o'er the earth,
May the gods be prevented
From cutting and maiming this man ;
O thou god of the wizard,
When thou descendest to the world below,
To thy many, to thy thousands,
And they ask who required thee there,
Say Whiro the thief ; come back then,
And we shall find thee — we shall see thee
When thou goest inland.
Or to the ocean, or above ;
And the thousands there ask thee
Tell them the same.
Go thou even at day dawn
When the night's last darkness is
Hide thyself in it, and go,
Go thou, but the skull of the wizard shall be mine
To cut and to tear it,
To destroy its power and its sacredness
Cut off the head of the god !
They then return to the settlement. The patient, now being
more sacred than ever, is not to eat for three days, at the expi
ration of which he is supposed to be cured.
The following is to give sight to the blind. The priestly
physician ties around his own waist the twigs of 'the kawakawa
and karamu as an apron, and standing in front of his patient,
who is sitting up, he waves a branch of one or other of the same
shrubs before the man's face, saying : —
Thou sun now coming
Red in thy coming — give light here,
Thou moon, now coming
In thy flight look on his man,
Now dimly seeing the gods are moving
Welcome come ye forth,
From thy eye- balls the red waters come,
Give light, give strength ;
Give life— life now come.

162 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
The following is to cure any casual disease. If the priest
has satisfied himself, after looking at the patient, that his sick
ness is not attributable to the influence of Makutu, he merely
repeats this incantation, with certain contortions of his body,
clawing the air with his hands over the patient, sometimes
standing, sometimes sitting ; but no certain rules can be given,.
for the ceremonies in this case are quite arbitrary on the part
of the priest. Some of them never come near the patient,
merely repeating the incantation while they are standing on the
top of their own house, which is as follows : —
Breathe thou, breathe thy breath, O Rangi,
And thou Tu, give thy living spirit,
To create life that the body and soul may live in this world,
Beat with life thou heart ;
The tree falleth, the tree of Atutahi,
Here the blow was given, the wind blew there,
There is the tree of enchantment.
While repeating this he sticks a twig of karamu in the ground
before the sick man, which he had previously held in his hand,
and continues : —
It is welcome, it is good,
The land, the sea, the day, the night,
All are good.
Be propitious, 0 ye gods !
The following is to cure a burn or scald. When the priest
is putting on the pulp made as before mentioned he says :—
Return, O ye gods of the land,
And ye gods of the sea,
Come and save, that this man
May work for us, 0 Tiki !
For you and me.
Heal him, oh, heal !
If it had been fire kindled by me on Hawaiki,
It might have been extinguished.
O thou skin, be not diseased by this evil,
Cease thou heat, be cured thou burn,
Be thou extinguished, thou fire
Of the god of Hawaiki ;
Ye lakes in the heavens give coolness to his skin,
Thou rain, thou hail, come to this skin :
Ye shells and cool stones, come to this skin,

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 163
Ye springs of Hawaiki, Rarotonga, and Aotea,
Come to this skin and cause it to be damp ;
Be healed thou skin, be healed.
When a limb is broken, as in war, the priestly doctor makes
splints, and, while binding them on the broken limb, he says : —
O thou Tiki, give me thy girdle,
As a bandage for this limb !
Come thou, bind it up,
Tie around it thy cords and make it right.
O thou flesh, be thou straight ;
And yfe sinews, be ye right,
And ye bones join ye, join ye.
Maori doctors do not exactly profess to be able to raise the
dead, but they do profess to restore to life those who may be in
the last agony ; but then many concurrent omens and propitious
circumstances must occur all at the same time ere such a miracle
can be wrought. It must take place near dawn ; the dying man
must have a shivering fit ; also, Matariki (the Pleiades) must be
high in the heavens, a power from which stars is supposed to
cause the fit ; also, the Toutouwai (the New Zealand robin)
must sing for the first time, at one and the same time that Ta-
wera (the Morning Star) is seen ; then the priestly doctor will
engage to revive him who is in his last moments by saying : —
Spread thy breath, O Rangi !
Stay, thou breath, oh stay,
Be full of breath, be full ;
Ere this my son fall silently away ;
Dive to the depths of ocean darkness,
And dive in the ocean light and rest in the heavens,
Let life be given to thee,
Eat thou of life in the heavens,
Let life revive thee,
On thy sacred garments is thy sin,
Thy food was mixed and eaten,
The food which is in thee ;
Light of the heavens rise
That Wiro may at a distance stand,
That death may flee and life be given to thee.
I will not weary you by detailing the incantations used by
the priests for the cure of headache, stomach-ache, for the relief

164 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
of choking, and a hundred other evils, for the detection of a
thief, and for the blinding of a pursuer after battle; for there
were forms appropriate to every accident of life, and the power
of the Tohunga was based ripon his ready and extensive know
ledge of them. I will conclude this portion of my subject with
two anecdotes of the self-desecration and voluntary surrender of
their powers by two Maori priests. A Maori priest (yet living)
had made up his mind to abandon his heathen ceremonies, and
to embrace the religion of the Europeans. He summoned there
fore three others to his settlement, and having had a quantity of
kumaras cooked, and put into three baskets, he bade them place
these upon the most hallowed part of his person — the shoulders
and the head — while the three ate from them. My readers
will remember thatthe hair of the head beyond all things is the
ch osen seat of the gods of a Maori priest, and that cooked food
is the abominable thing that defiles and pollutes beyond all
others." This, to the Maori, was the utmost and most daring
profanation. This, therefore, he did, not only to defy the gods,
and drive them from him, but to testify to all others that he had
done so, and that they had no power to avenge upon him the
insult he had offered. Soon afterwards he was baptized by the
Christian name of Zaccheus. , We doubt not that many here
present have often heard of the great Ngapuhi Chief Mohi Ta
whai, the friend and ally of our forces in the North, and whom
we have already more than once mentioned. A similar act of
self-desecration may be recorded of him. Doubting the power
of his gods, he resolved to test it ; and knowing that it was not
lawful for cooked food to be near his head, and that he must
not sit within a cooking-house, or even enter into it, he notwith
standing bade one of his slaves take a pot and cook food in it,
and eat from it ; then filling the pot with water he washed his
head with it, and sitting down he waited the result. He has
said since that he actually perspired with deadly fear, watching .
the sun go down, for if the sun set upon him, and he living, that
was the appointed sign, viz., that the gods of the Maori were
but false ones, and that their power over him was gone, while

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 165
the God of the Christian was the true God, and thenceforward
he would be His disciple.
To a certain extent we may even consider the priest as hold
ing the position and discharging the duties of a General. The
Maori Tohunga not only predicted the events of battle, but he
directed the movements of the tribe and often led them to the
attack ; and this leads us to the third main division of our lec
ture — the ceremonies and incantations used in war, and the
omens and superstitions therewith connected. But before we
proceed further, we must request you to bear in mind one great
difference between Maori wars and those of civilized nations.
To commence, therefore, with such omens as portend the likeli
hood of war. It is customary with the New Zealanders to ful
fil to the utmost extent any request made by a dying chief.
Such a request is called " Poroaki," and its meaning is confined
solely to this custom. Any offence given or murder committed,
for which satisfaction has not been obtained, the dying chief
will remind his relatives of the fact, and nominate some par
ticular person of a future generation, the whole aim of whose
life shall be to take vengeance. Although it is not necessary
that the family of the party who committed the injury should
be the victims to propitiate the wrong committed, for vengeance
may be obtained from any other tribe, yet the family or tribe of
the injuring party are looked upon by the family of the mur
dered man as their " uto," or object of vengeance. No tribe,
therefore, in New Zealand, however apparently at peace with
all its neighbours, could at any moment tell whether the storm
of war was not just ready to burst upon it. I know of two such
cases or Poroakis, in one of which the nominated person is the
grandson, in the other the great-grandson of the dying chief.
Happily, however, Christianity will prevent these and other
Satanic injunctions of a similar kind from ever being carried into
effect. Birds, of course, as they have done in every country, afford
a fertile source of omens. If the cry of the Pie is heard from
the landward of a traveller, it is counted a sign of a war party

166 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
coming from the same direction ; if a settlement is to be at
tacked, a god comes in the night time in the likeness of a bird,
and warns them with the cry of " Ka toto, ka toto " (there will
be blood, there will be blood) ; there is also a night bird called
Hokio, which on the eve of war is heard continually to repeat
" Kakao, kakao," which cry is caused by the choking of the
bird with the hair of the heads of those warriors who are doomed
to fall in the battle.
There are signs also in the sky which the priest can read.
Those fragments of the rainbow known as weather-galls, and
the broad summer lightning unaccompanied with thunder, both
these speak to him of war, and hostile tribes hovering in the
same quarter as that where they appear. A solitary star seen
near the moon is also a sign that the conflict is at hand, but on
the night before the enemy arrive, the chill and piercing Tokihi
Kiwi, the starting of the cold wind of battle, is felt throughout
the menaced settlement. Other signs are : — the noise of a
species of rat called Hamua ; the singing of the ear, the tossing
of the arms, and the gurgling in the throat in sleep. The cry
of the Hamua is " Kato, kato," and this must be distinguished
from the rat which is eaten by the natives, the Kiore, whose cry
is " Tititi." When the ear of a person sings it asks, " Is it war ?
is it murder ? is it good news ? is it evil tidings 1 " and such like
questions ; and the ceasing of noise is held as an answer to the
last question asked. When both arms are thrown by the
sleeper across his breast, or when he makes a gurgling sound in
his throat, this is a certain sign, not so much of war as of private
murder. Amongst the Maories, dreams have held invariably a pro
minent position. We may adduce one or two facts to illustrate
this position in addition to what we have already related. A
night or two before the news was receiv ed of the murder of the
Europeans at Wairau near Cook's Straits, Tamati Waka Nene
dreamed that a fowl came to the door of a hut where he was
lying, and sung to him a war song ; this, Waka said, when he
awoke, was a sign that there had been some Europeans mur-

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 167
dered. Again, just before the breaking out of the Northern
war, the same chief dreamed that the bed on which he was
sleeping changed into a canoe, and the floor of the hut into the
sea, and that he was fishing there for sharks, the ends also of
"the firewood turned into sharks, and he caught many of them.
This he spoke of in the morning as an omen of a coming war.
Again, a short distance from where I lived in Hokianga, there
resided a chief with his wife Ramari, and a family of five chil
dren ; one night Ramari in her sleep made the gurgling noise in
her throat to which we have before alluded ; this was so loud as
to wake up the whole family, and being accounted a certain sign
of murder, they all left the hut in terror, and each hid himself
separately in the scrub, and so passed the remainder of the night.
Next day about 300 yards from their hut, a man and his child
were found to have been murdered. Old Ramari certainly be
lieved that had they not taken timely warning, and obeyed the
omen given to them, they would all have been murdered also.
Such are the scenes that foretell the breaking out of war ; the
principal causes that produce it are quarrels about land,
women, murders committed, and curses uttered by men of one
tribe against those belonging to another. A woman may often
cause a war byabandoning her own tribe to follow that of her
beloved ; for her friends will not unfrequently consider them
selves bound in honour to reclaim her by force of arms, if no
other way remains. On the subject of cursing we have already
spoken at some length : but although the ceremonies we have
related are all that are requisite for the expiation of the curse,
still satisfaction has yet to be exacted from the offenders if of a
different tribe. In the case of a murder, the perpetrator of
which is unknown, the tribe will declare war, and send out a
party to avenge it upon the first they meet. They go no further
than will allow of their return before the sunset of the same day,
and slay the first who may fall in their way, without regard to
tribe, age, or sex. If these should be too strong for them, or
they should in any way escape, they return at once ; or if they
meet no one in that day's march, they will not go out again for

168 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
this object; but while returning to their village they catch a few
of the small swamp birds, called matata, and tearing them to
pieces, each ties a limb upon the two fern stalks which he holds
in his hands, and when they come in sight of the settlement they
seat themselves in a line, and holding up their sticks they sing
in chorus : — Maru, heal, oh heal the wound
Of him who was broken and bruised.
I invoke thy power to strike
The back of the head of him
Who caused life's streams to flow ;
And thou Tu strike, oh strike as he flies !
In other instances, where a priest has accompanied the
party, he runs along a line, exclaiming, " Hiki, Hiki, Hikitia,
Tangaroa ha, hapainga ha, kia iri ha." Each time that he utters
the syllable "ha," they all lift up their fern sticks at once : should
any one fail to be exactly even with the rest, as the priest glances
along the rank, that man will certainly fall in the first war in
which he is engaged. Having returned thus unsuccessfully, they
do not eat until midnight. This ceremony is called " Pihe hiku
toto " (the avenger of blood), a dirge for the dead.
Supposing the tribe to have now resolved on war, a day is
set apart for the cutting of the hair of the warriors. As the
cutting is a religious rite, it is of course performed by the priests,
who go with the assembled warriors to a little distance from the
pa ; here, the latter seat themselves in a line, the priest senior in
rank casting the lots by the ceremony Niu, which in this case
bears the distinctive name of " Tuaumu," there being a stick for
each hapu or family of their own tribe, and one for each hapu
of the tribe to be attacked. This done, the officiating priests
each chew a stalk of grass, called " Toetoe whatu manu," and
then cut the hair of the warriors, which is accomplished with
the tuhua (obsidian). They then repeat over each man these
words : — Here is the power, the power now given ;
It rests on these, my sons,
It rests on these omens.

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 169
The senior priest, while repeating these words, rests on each
man's head a twig of karamu, which he had previously slung at
his girdle ; then he proceeds : —
This is the power, the power from above,
The power of heaven and all the gods —
Repeating here the names of all the gods of the elements, of
their ancestry, reciting their genealogies from the earliest names
recollected in Hawaiki, each tribe following their own line of
ancestry. Food is then cooked in two ovens, one small, from
which the priests alone eat, one large, intended for all the
people. When all the people have finished eating, the priest
lays his hand on the head of each man, saying : —
Here is the girdle,
The girdle of the priests,
And of these my sons, and of these omens,
And of the gods above —
Adding here again a list of names of places in Hawaiki, and once
more repeating the genealogy of their own migration, following
the eldest son of the direct line, the ceremony is ended, and
they return to the settlement, all this occupying a considerable
time, commencing early in the morning, and if the tribe be
strong, lasting the whole day.
When war has been at last for any cause resolved, the busi
ness >of the priest is to divine of its success. His first plan is by
his motions in his sleep ; if he tosses his right arm towards his
breast, it is a favourable omen, but unfortunate if the arm be
thrown from him. Next he tries the niu (divination) by the
fern stalks ; this is to determine who shall fall and who survive.
Of this ceremony, already mentioned, we shall give a full descrip
tion. Before dawn — the usual time for all the most solemn rites
— the priest issues a strict order that no food be cooked through
out the pa until he gives his permission ; then spreading a mat
on the ground before him, he takes fern stalks, one for each
chief who is to go upon the war party, and one for each who is
known upon the opposite side ; he then holds each piece, one by
one, giving it some chief's name ; as he does so, tying around it
M

170 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
in a particular knot a strip of flax. Thus named and tied, the
fern stalks are called " kaupapa." He then prepares a second
set, named like the first, but without the tie, and lays each
couple that bears the same name together on the mat before -
him ; then taking in his hand the piece around which the flax
is wound, he sticks the others upright in the mat, and makes
first a feigned throw with the one he holds, but before the second '
or real cast he holds it up in the air, exclaiming —
It is the heaven, but like the earth.
Then saying — Go thou, O such an one, to the battle,
He flings it at the upright stick, first naming the hostile chief
tains, and then those of his own tribe. If it drop upon the left
of the upright stick, he whose name it bears will fall ; if upon
the right, he will survive ; if the knot turn downwards, it is a
presage of defeat. The lot being thus cast for each of the chiefs
who are to be engaged, the priest takes once more the fern
stalks, and calling the standing ones now by the names of the
women and children who are to remain at home, he flings at
them the other sticks, as enemies who may attack the settlement
in the absence of its warriors. This second divination is called
"Tuaumu wahine." Then raising each stick, he says, as if
addressing the assailant in it, " This omen is for thee, 0 thou
unknown. Look to thine home, and to those behind thee, and
ask of the speaking omens." Then adding, " What art thou, O
woman 1 what canst thou do in the evil day ? " he flings the
fern stalks as before ; if it fall upon the right, the party named
is doomed to die ; but if to the left, she will escape ; the rule
observed in the former instance being in this reversed. This
divination being now complete, the priest draws a line upon the
ground between himself and the mat, then spits upon the mat,
and so removes the tapu from the settlement. By this time the
day has broken, and the people may venture to cook their food.
After they have eaten they gather round the priest, who now
explains openly to them the omens we have described ; for all

V

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 171
the previous divination has been in secret. An additional omen
is drawn from the cooking of the breakfast on this day ; for if
the food in any one of the hangis or ovens be imperfectly baked,
this is also a sign of defeat, called " mangungu " (broken or
bruised). We must digress a little here. Some of the canoes in which
the Maories came from Hawaiki brought with them orie or more
gods ; the famous ones were five, brought by Kuiwai and Han
garoa, two of which, called Ihungaru and Itwpaoa, remained to
very modern times. The Ihungaru, formed of a lock of human
hair twisted with a rope of " aute '' (paper mulberry bark), was
kept in a house made of wood from Hawaiki, and thatched with
mangemange. This fell into the hands of Hongi and the Ngapuhi
tribes at the storming of the Mokoia pa in Rotorua, in the year
1823, where it was preserved, and being carried from the little
islet where the fortress stood to the mainland, was brought to an
eminence overlooking the lake, and there cut to pieces with the
tomahawks of the victors. Of the Itupaoa we have no descrip
tion ; it was kept with the former, but was secreted by the
priests, and hidden in the fastnesses of the Horohore range,
where its place of concealment is now forgotten. To revert :
when news of war reaches a settlement, if it were still in posses
sion of one of these gods, the priest went to its house, and taking
out the god, he laid it on a mat upon the ground, asking : —
What are the omens ?
What is the work of the world below ?
Of the thousands below ?
Does thy right side quiver ?
Does thy left side quiver ?
What are thy omens 1
The god then would move a certain space : if it were about two
inches, it was a good omen ; if four, it told of a great victory ;
but if six, on reaching that distance it would immediately con
tract — a sign of a defeat and of a devastated settlement. Ihun-
gura was the god thus consulted on the occasion of Hongi's
invasion, as above referred to, which gave this evil omen. In
settlements which could not thus boast the possession of a god,

172 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
the incantations alone were repeated. When war is at last
declared, and the enemy known to be on the march, the priests
again consult the gods Whiro and Rakataura, by going with a
stick to the place where the ceremonies and incantations were
performed, which we gave in the former part of this lecture, in
the witchcraft for a kanga, or curse ; and then again, making a
little effigy, and a house to contain it, they shut the door as for
merly, and one of them strikes upon the door with a stick, and
says, "Rakataura, come out;" then answering himself, "No, but
you come in." Then follows a considerable altercation, which
ends at last in Rakataura agreeing to come out. The priest then
seats himself towards the west, and with clasped hands, and
pressed upon the ground, and eyes bent down, he says : —
O Rakataura, are you looking to all things ? Yes.
Are you looking at the hosts below ? Yes.
He then, representing the god, turns his head first on one side,
and then on the other, as though listening, still repeating the
incantation : —
There is evil coming, 0 Whiro !
Arise, and let thy sacred power be given to this son.
Tu, where art thou ? come thou to this son.
Then rising with a bound, and facing eastward, with extended
arms, he says : —
Give me my war girdle,
To tie around me ;
Give me my shield of cloth —
A token of war and power —
'Tis a garment of revenge,
The maro of Tu,
Tu of the battle front,
Tu of the hard face,
Lord of the ocean powers.
My maro is the maro of Tu.
He now takes the stick with which he had struck the door, and
sometimes the effigy also in his left hand, and his spear in his
right, and leads his tribe to battle.
Mention has been made of Rakataura. She is in New Zea
land a goddess of "the powers of the air," and to her all sudden.

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 173
and unintelligible noises are attributed. She is also the goddess
of music, and used formerly as her flute the tough leathery cocoon
of a kind of caterpillar, which may not unfrequently be found
upon the manuka and other trees ; but subsequently she took
up her abode in this cocoon, and having thus lost her flute, she
confines herself to these aerial noises.
We may now suppose the warriors ready to start upon this
expedition ; but before they march each recites a " reo " over his
weapon. One of these, as a specimen, may suffice. The warrior
holds his weapon in his right hand, and standing in an attitude
of defence, he addresses an imaginary enemy : —
Descend, O descend !
Stretch forth thine arm, stretch forth !
This is the mantle of night now coming,
This is the garb of day now coming,
With its god-like yet withering soul.
Thy strength is failing,
Oh ! angry Heaven, by the strength of Tu,
Mete out the stars, mete out the moon.
Thou shalt be smitten.
The allusion to the single star seen close beside the moon we
have already explained as a presage of certain victory. For
young men entering battle for the first time, a slightly different
reo is used. When all are ready they go to a running stream,
and, while they sit in a line side by side, the priest takes a
branch of Karamu, and dipping it in the water, sprinkles their
naked bodies, repeating over each " Their mocking is at a dis
tance, but the ominous wind of Uenuku is blowing. Thou art
baptised, my son, to conflict and to war ; thou, my son, then
wield the weapon of Tu in the tide of war ; fight in the tide of
Tu, ward off the blow in the tide of Tu, my son." Should a
part of the branch break off over any man, it is a presage of his
death. This ceremony is called " Tohi Tauwa " (the baptism of
war), and is held particularly sacred ; no woman or boy is there
fore allowed to be present at it.
We now pass on to the ceremonies of asking and con
cluding an alliance. They who ask for the assistance of another

174 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
tribe make no formal statement of the cause of the quarrel, or
even the names of their enemies, but send a messenger with a
token, which is called a " Ngakau " (heart), varying according
to the object in view. If it is a secret expedition of murder
that is meant, this token is the kumara, either raw or rotten, or,
if cooked, cold and Uneatable. If it is to be open war the mes
senger wears a mat with holes burnt in it. He gives no explan
ation of his mission, save that he sings some old songs suitable
for the occasion. They ask no questions, but accept the token
and invitation together, or else, first dismissing the envoy, re
turn his present by one of their own men upon the same day.
In either case, the cause and nature of the quarrel are never
asked. But the tribe assailed will also have their allies, and, if
they know of the invasion, they light up their beacon fires upon
certain well-known mountains, as a summons to their friends to
hasten to the rescue. In the wars of the noted Hongi, the
mountains of Waikato were lighted up this way night after
night to mark to the natives inland the route of their dreaded
foe. Should the allies not answer the summons, and there be
yet time left, the chief will go himself to try and enlist their
sympathies. On his arrival, he sits some time in silence, then
asks for water. A chief always drinks from the palm of his
joined hands, into which the water is poured from the calabash
by a slave. On this occasion, the calabash used is a very large
one, held sacred, and reserved in time of war for this special
purpose, being covered with the dried skin of a tattooed chief
killed in some former war. This calabash he must drain to the
bottom, for upon this his success may depend. Next, he says
he is hungry. A young chief now rises, and takes a basket of
taro (a small round yam)— no other fruit would suit, for the
kumara is sacred to the gods of peace — and washing part of the
earth from them, he lights a native oven, which must never
have been used before, and the stones of which must also be
new ; the whole basket, half baked, is then set before the guest,
and if he proves his prowess by devouring all thus offered to
him, those whose help he asks will join him in the war. When

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 175
he has done, all required of him is to present a lizard, brought
with him for the purpose, to the chief whose aid he seeks. The
lizard is held in great dread by the Maoris ; but now, to show
that they will aid each other in spite of any previously dreaded
thing, he who receives the lizard eats it raw. The resolution
for war, or the approach of an enemy, is communicated to the
people at large by a trumpet called a putara, or by a kind of
gong formed out of a piece of matai wood, hung bygone end and
struck with a stone at the other. When the resolution for
war proceeds from the chief alone, he will make an effigy, and
calling over it, in the sight of all the people, the name of him
whom he intends to attack, he cleaves the head with his axe.
Thus, before the Northern war, Heke gave a great feast at his
village, Kaikohe ; poles were as usual set up round which the
food was piled in pyramids ; but on the top of one of them was
made the figure of a man, and as the pole was lifted up into its
place by the people Heke split the head of it with an adze, saying,
"I split thy head, O Governor" : thus both his own people and his
visitors knew that he had resolved to fight the Europeans, and
that they were invited to join him in the war. The incidents
of the march afford fresh omens. A blow-fly crossing the road
is a sign of defeat ; if the party arrive unobserved within a
short, distance of the pa, the priest makes a kite of toetoe whatu
manu, and flies it into the air ; if the kite proves one-sided it is
an evil omen, but if it should fly right, the priest holds the line
in his right hand (for if he should by accident hold it in the
left it would be a fatal omen), and letting it out he says : —
Beautiful art thou, my bird,
Thou hoverest well, seest thou the stream
Of Atutahi and Rehua ?
Doth it flow with a gurgle ?
Thou dost behold,
Thou dost enchant with dread.
Thou art as the albatross in the rain,
Fluttering over the ocean,
Thou art son of the severer,
Whose power cannot be stopped,
Thy parent is a god.

176 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
The head of the heavens <¦
Thou'lt pierce with the death of Rangi
By a blast of chilling wind.
Still holding the kite he sends up a messenger upon the string :
when it is half-way up he let goes the line, taking care to have
such advantage of the wind as that the kite will fly across the
pa ; if the kite catch on the palisade, it is thought that the in
cantation (repeated by the priest while flying the kite) will pro
duce such an overwhelming dread in the inhabitants that they
will be easily conquered. This ceremony, like that of Niu,
described before, must be commenced before daybreak, and before
any food is allowed to be cookedor eaten. A cloudy misty day
is favourable to an assault, for the mist is the brains of the
slaughtered enemies. Such was the day on which the troops
attacked Heke's pa at Mawhe, a circumstance which highly
encouraged Tamati Waka's natives, as giving them a presage of
victory. Before they attack a pa, and while yet on the march,
the priestly leader performs another rite called " Tuahu " (the
hill-making). He makes a number of long narrow mounds, one
for each of the tribes engaged, and at the end of each he plants
a stick and names it by the name of its tribe ; this stick is
called "mauri" (the life or seat of life), and upon each hillock
is laid another stick which is called "tahuhu" (ridge-pole),
bearing also the name of its own tribe ; he then repeats this
incantation, turning his back to the mounds and his face to the
east : — Shake thou, rend thou, beating breast,
That thou, weak heart, may be held in the world,
The world of light.
The darkness has heard, and the light
Has been told by Peketua and Pekearo,
Heave now, O breast of Pe, and come forth.
While the priest is repeating this incantation the gods come and
scratch the mounds to pieces, and move the stick that lies upon
the mound up to the Mauri. The omens thus yielded do not, as
in the Niu, tell of the fate of the battle and point out the con
querors and the vanquished, but they decide the tribe which is

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 177
to win the prize of valour. The actual assault must be deferred
until the inhabitants of the padiscovertheir assailants, who on their
side use divination. For example, a chief at Hokianga, whose pa
was thus beset, took his son (an only child) killed him and burnt his
heart in a fire kindled outside the pa ; if the smoke came across the
pa it would be captured, if not it would resist the assault.
The cannibal rites of a Maori battle-field I will pass un
noticed, as any description of them would disgust you. I would,
however, notice the name given to the first man killed in battle,
" Te Ika a Tiki " (the fish of Tiki), which is the corpse of war
riors slain in battle ; and Mataika or Matangohi, the first of such
trophies, is the name applied to the body of a man carried off
by some noted champion who rushes in and slays and bears
away his man before the ranks join in fight. The accomplish
ment of this feat is considered highly honourable, but it is an
essential condition to its success that the warrior who performs
it should effect his retreat without receiving a wound from any
other hand but that of the antagonist whom he slays. If a
chief is slain in the melee of the battle, his slayer claims at once
his prize by pulling out a lock of hair wherewith to identify the
body after victory ; should the honour, however, be afterwards
disputed, it is referred to the judgment of the priest, who de
cides it by an ordeal called Whangai hau. The " hau '' is any
part of a corpse which may be taken by the priest over which to
repeat incantations ; it is therefore an offering to the gods who
reside in the wind (" Hau " meaning wind). The want of time
precludes us from giving more than the conclusion of this cere
mony. When several incantations have been repeated oyer the
disputants as they sit beside a stream with whose water they
have been sprinkled, they return to the army, and there the
priest pitches in the ground a forked stick three paces from the
disputants, who stand side by side and hold each two fern
stalks, to which are tied locks of the dead man's hair. The priest
then, pointing with his forefinger to their foreheads, says : —
There is the plume now stuck in thy head,
The plume of the gods above and below.

178 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
That thy sacred power Tu may be known,
Hearken ye powers above and below,
Hearken ye sides of heaven, breath of heaven blow,
Ha ! ha ! give thy power to the just.
He then casts the fern stalks toward the fork of the upright
stake, and the gods will cause the sticks of him whose claim is
purest to hang upon the fork as he thus flings it. The warrior
who thus fell into the enemy's hands was of course eaten, nor
was the priest exempt from this doom ; the god who resided in
him departed with his breath, as the proverb on such occasion
means " The god is gone, and Hapopo (the body so called in
time of war) may be eaten." If the captive be a chief he must
not in honour ask his life, but smile at him who gives him the
death-blow. If a chief fall or die in any way on the victorious
side, the body is burnt and the head preserved, those in whose
charge it remains being for such time tapu. If the avenging of
a murder be the origin of the war, and the murderer or any, of
his descendants be among the prisoners, the fate reserved for
them was attended with circumstances of peculiar horror.
Every portion of the body was devoted to some particular use.
For the skull was reserved the greatest indignity, to carry water
for the native ovens ; from the arm bones were made pins to
eat periwinkles ; from the small bones of the legs the heads of
bird spears and the barbs of fish hooks ; tame parrots were fed
from the collar bone ; from the thigh bones were cut rings for
the decoy birds, and the remainder were fashioned into flutes.
It is said that the rank of the deceased could always be known
by the colour of the bones ; for those of a chief were red ; those
of one of inferior rank were of a light colour ; sometimes even
the character of the men could be guessed from signs afforded
by the use of these. If the bird, for instance, when
struck with a spear, did not die at once, but fluttered and
screamed in falling, the man whose bone it was must have been a
nonsensical, talkative fellow. The teeth were made into a neck
lace and given to the relatives of the murdered ; so also were the
eyes, which were always eaten ; the other bones were made into
needles, and the dog-skin mat was sewed with them, which was

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 179
always greatly prized on that account. The idea that the eyes
were eaten to prevent them from becoming stars is, however, I
believe, a mere European fancy : I have never heard it so stated
by a Maori. This fate was inflicted by the noted Hongi upon
the whole of Paraoarahi's family and their relations, in vengeance
for the murder of Koperu, the murder for which he commenced
his war on the Waikato, Thames, and East coast tribes. Some
times the head was preserved entire, that the young men might
set it before them, and make their first attempt at eloquence in
recounting the cause of the chief's death, and by whom he fell ;
or the old woman would set it before her upon the " Turuturu,"
or corner stick, used for holding the web while making a mat,
and taunt and revile it.
The women are invariably left behind when blood vengeance
is the object of the "taua;" they are not thought sufficiently
sacred to cook food in such cases. They have also their signs,
for which they watch anxiously, to guess the fate of the warriors.
If the clouds are red at sunset, a battle has been fought
that day ; if an owl cry in the daytime, and especially seven
times, if a tame tui talk at night, these are evil omens. The
men must, in this case, cook for themselves ; but cooked
food, being considered polluted, must not come near the
weapon. It must not pass before a warrior, it must not be
eaten standing, it must not be carried in the right hand or
on the back, but either slung on the left side or carried in the
left hand. We will now suppose the victorious war party on the return
to their own home, bearing with them the preserved heads of
¦ the great chiefs whom they have killed. Just on the border of
their own territory they dig a small hole for each ; then all the
people turn round towards the country from which they come,
and the priests, taking each a head, repeat a song, to which all
the warriors dance, and every time they leap from the ground
the priests lift up the heads. This ceremony is called " Whaka-
tahurihuri " (a turning round, a causing to look backwards), and
is, as it were, a farewell from the heads to their own land, and a

180 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
challenge to the defeated tribe to follow them. The words of
the song are these : —
Turn thou, look back, look back !
And with a farewell glance
Look on the road thou wast brought
From all that once was thine.
Turn thou, look back, look back !
These holes are also t© perpetuate the memory of the battle, and
of those who fell in it ; and the ceremony is repeated at eveiry
subsequent halting-place.
On the south side of the Manukau Heads is a spot called
Te Kauri, which forms a prominent point as seen in going up
the harbour to the Waiuku. Here the first "Whakatahurihuri"
was performed with the heads of the Waikato chiefs who fell
in Hongi's invasion. To this day the Waikato tribes never use
the spot as a resting-place when they travel from Waikato to
Auckland; for were they to stay there to sleep or cook, the
spirits of their slaughtered friends would be sure to visit their
impiety with death.
When the war party arrives at home, the priestesses go
forth to meet them, headed by the eldest, and make the most
hideous contortions and grimaces that they can, which are called
" whakatama." Then with a loud voice they ask them : —
" Whence have ye come, great travellers of Tu ? "
The warriors halt and answer with one voice : —
' ' We have come from the land,
We have come from the sea,
An assembly of the god Tu,
We have dealt out our vengeance,
We have found satisfaction,
An assembly of Tu."
The priestesses ask again : —
" Is Tu appeased ? Has Tu been great!
Has Tu received ? Is Tu enriched ? "
The warriors answer : —

" Tu is great as heaven above ;
He is appeased, he rests in joy."

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 181
The priestesses rejoin : —
" May ye rest in peace
When quiet is gained,
Ye assembly of Tu."
The whole of the people of the settlement then make their
appearance, and wave their garments in the air, while each tries
to let his voice be heard above all the others, some calling one
thing, some another, women and children all joining in the
clamour. The general import of the noise is, " Welcome ! re
turn, return ! " The warriors are sacred ; they therefore go
first to the stream of water, with all they have brought with
them, and sit in lines facing the water. One of the priests,
taking a round pebble, goes to the other side of the stream, and
flinging off all his clothing, offers the stone with a piece of fern
root and of human flesh (all of which he holds in his right hand)
in sacrifice to Tika, the creator of mankind, who must yet be
appeased for the slaughter of those whom he has formed. To
Tika the kumara is sacred ; so also is the right foot, and espe
cially the great toe of it, because with this foot only the Maori
digs in setting the kumara. To this therefore, as the god, the
stone, the fern root, and the human flesh are now offered, and
the following incantation is repeated : —
Thou canst now eat and consume,
Thou canst now eat in a house,
Thou canst now eat with the priests,
Thou canst now eat with the gods.
Now the thundering of the heaven
And of the earth is over.
The fact of shedding blood renders the Maori tapu, and until
the tapu is removed by this ceremony the warriors cannot mix
with the others. Before, however, they enter the village, one of
the elder chiefs takes up the war-song, all the men repeating it
and dancing, weapon in hand, with a slow and measured step,
till they have sung about half of it ; then a kind of fantastic
excitement seems to come over them, and they dance furiously,
and with almost demoniac attitudes and gestures, still keeping

182 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
perfect time with each other. The words of the song are
these : — Yes, yes, it must be,
It is Tiki-Rau-knra,
Whose left eye we know
It is now glaring at all of us ;
Yes, yes ! at all of us.
How red he has turned,
By the heat of the sun !
Yes, yes, the sun
Of the hot summer day.
We come lastly to the reception of the warriors at home.
The dance concluded, they march in silence to the village, where
those who remained behind are gathered to receive them, the
old warriors standing, the rest sitting, and the younger people
only having their heads covered. Some must have fallen;
therefore the reception is with a " tangi," or general chorus of
wailing, while the elder women at the same time are clawing the
air as a welcome to the gods who reside in it ; the warriors from
battle in the meantime stand leaning upon their spears, and all
join the tangi for the space of about an hour ; then all rising up,
they rub noses, and the slaves begin to cook ; yet not a word
has been spoken of the success of the expedition, and above -all,
not a question has been asked ; for such inquisitiveness would
be punished with certain death by the war god Tu. After the
meal is ended, the best orator who has been in the party rises,
unasked, and gives an account of the whole proceedings in the
war ; and as the cause and manner of the death of each of their
own friends or relatives is told, the women recommence the low
mournful wailing of the tangi, cutting their hair short off, and
cutting and gashing themselves with pieces of obsidian. The
recital over, each chief who has been in the war takes a piece of
human flesh, and gives it to his firstborn son, as an offering to
Tu ; this is to ensure success in after expeditions. The rewards
of honour are now given to those whose bravery has been noticed
in the fight. The fattest dogs in the village are killed and cooked
with fern-root cakes and taro ; for the kumara being sacred to
Tiki and the gods of peace alone, these are distributed in small

PRIESTHOOD, WITCHCRAFT AND WAR. 183
baskets, and presented separately to each one of those whose
actions have entitled them to such honour, the warrior's name
being pronounced over the basket as it is given. To touch this
uninvited is the grossest of insults, as it is a mark of the highest
favour for him who receives it to ask another to partake of it
with him.
Thus we have opened another page from the yet unexhausted
volume of Maori superstitions ; but as our time is more than
gone, we must thus abruptly conclude.

LECTURE II.— PART I.
MAORI LAND TENURE.
There is no point on which a New Zealander's indignation can
be more effectually roused than by disputing his title to land.
This love for his land is not, as many would suppose, the love
of a child for his toys ; the title of a New Zealander to his land
is connected with many and powerful associations in his mind.
He is not, of course, what we call a civilised man ; but in deal
ing with him we deal with a man of powerful intellect, whose
mind can think and reason as logically on any subject with
which he is acquainted as his more favoured European brethren,
and whose love for the homes of his fathers is associated with
the deeds of their bravery, with the feats of his boyhood, and
the long race of his ancestors for generations. The New
Zealander is not accustomed to law and parchment, or to wills
and bequests, in gaining knowledge of or receiving a title to the
land of his fathers ; nor would he quietly allow any stranger
to teach him what lands are his, or what lands were not, what
were the names of the boundaries, the creeks, mountains, and
rivers in his own district. The thousand names within the
limits of his hereditary lands were his daily lesson from child
hood. The son of a chief invariably attended his father or
grandfather in all his fishing, trapping, or spearing excursions,
and it was by these that he learnt by ocular demonstration the

184 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
exact boundaries of his lands, and repeatedly heard their various
names. It was the custom of the Maoris in ancient times to eat
the rat, — a rat indigenous to this country, and caught in traps
set on the top of the mountain ranges. This was a source of
part of their daily food, and it was, therefore, with them a point
of great importance to occupy every available portion of their
lands with these traps, and as most of the tribal boundaries are
along the range of the highest hills or mountains, and as these
are the common resort of the rat, every New Zealand chief soon
naturally became acquainted with the exact boundary of his
land claims. He did not, however, limit these claims to the dry
land, they extended to the shellfish, and even out to sea where he
could fish for cod and shark, or throw his net for mackerel ; nor
did he go inadvertently to these places, and trust to chance for
finding his fishing grounds — he had landmarks, and each fishing
ground or landmark had its own peculiar name ; these to him
were more than household words ; his fathers had fished there,
and he himself and his tribe alone knew those names and land
marks. Where a creek was the dividing boundary of his lands,
this was occupied by eel dams. These dams were not of wicker-
work that might be carried away by a flood ; labour and art
were bestowed on their construction, so that generations might
pass, all of whom in turn might put their eel basket down by
the carved and red-ochred Totara post which their great grand
fathers had placed there. Where the dividing boundaries
between two tribes ran along a valley-, landmarks were put up.
These consisted generally of a pile of stones or a hole dug in
the ground, to which a name was given significant of the cause
which gave rise to such boundary being agreed to ; such, for
instance, as Te Taupaki, the name given to the dividing boundary
on the West Coast between the Ngatiwhatua and Tainui tribes,
which means the year of peace or the peaceful way in which a
dispute is adjusted. This boundary had its origin from a chief
of the Ngatiwhatua, called Poutapuaka, going from Kaipara to
take possession of land with his paraoa or bone spear; his
intention was to go along the coast as far as the quantity of

MAORI LAND TENURE. 185
food which he carried would enable him to travel, and return
from the point at which his food was expended. He had suc
ceeded in taking possession of the whole of the sandy line of
coast called Rangatira, and on arriving at the top of the hill
now known as Te Taupiki, he met the Tainui chief Haowhenua.
They both halted, sticking their spears in the ground, and
inquiring of each other the object of their being there. They
found that they were both on the same errand, and at once
agreed that this meeting point should be the boundary dividing
the lands of the tribes whereof each was the representative.
The Ngatiwhatua chief at once dug a hole with his bone spear,
and the boundary so established has remained to this day.
I may state, without fear of contradiction, that there is not
one inch of land in the New Zealand Islands which is not
. claimed by the Maoris ; and I may also state that there is not a
hill, or valley, stream, river, or forest, which has not a name,
the index of some point of the Maori history. As has been
stated above, the New Zealander knows with as much certainty
the exact boundary of his own land as we could do from the
distances and bearings given by a surveyor. But these boun
daries are liable to be altered at times ; for instance, when lands
are taken by a conquering tribe, or are given by a chief for
assistance rendered to him by another tribe in time of war, or
when land given to the female branch of a family again becomes,
after a certain time, the property of the male branch of the
family. In certain cases, also, lands are ceded to a tribe for a
specific purpose, with certain restrictions, and a tenure con
ditional on certain terms being complied with. In order to be
better understood before I speak of the laws relating to these
claims, I will give a hasty glance at the manner in which the
first Maori emigrants took possession of and portioned out the
newly-discovered country.
It is generally admitted among the Natives that the chief
Kupe, who came in .the canoe Matahourua, was the first who
took possession of New Zealand. This he did by naming all the
rivers and mountains from Whanganui to Patea. Turi is the
N

186 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
chief mentioned as having next arrived in the canoe Aotea,
and he gave names to all the rivers and mountains from
Patea to Aotea. Next in point of time were the canoes Te
Arawa and Tainui. The former was commanded by Tamate
Kapua and other chiefs, and first touched land at Whangaparoa,
a headland near the East Cape ; it then coasted along, touching
at various points where the chiefs gave names to the prominent
landmarks, their principal object in doing so being to take posses
sion of the land, which they did as far as Cape Colville, where
Tama Te Kapua died and was buried ; his people then placed
themselves under the guidance of Ngatoroirangi and returned to
Maketu. In the meantime the chiefs Ruauru and Toroa, in the
canoe Matatua, had landed at Whatatane, and therefore part of
Te Arawa district was taken by them from Te Ara-o-te-taua to
Whangaparoa. Shortly after which, the father-in-law of Nga
toroirangi discovered the Rotorua lakes ; and to his surprise
he found people there whose right he disputed, after
a great deal of argument he succeeded in taking posses
sion of the lakes and the surrounding country. The Tainui,
oommanded by Hoturoa, came along from Whangaparoa to
Cape Colville, and came up the Tamaki river, taking possession
of the distiict from Cape Colville to Mangawai on the east, and
on the west from Manukau to Whaingaroa. The next canoes
of the migration were the Ngapuhi canoes Mamari, Riukakara,
and Mahuhu. The former of these went into the Hokianga
river, and the people in it took possession of the land as far
south of that river as Maunganui, and to the north as far as
Ahipara ; the Riukakara migration went into Whangaroa, and
took possession of the land as far north as Mangonui, and as far
south as the Bay of Islands ; Mahuhu, the Ngatiwhatua canoe,
touched at the North Cape and took possession of the land not
taken by the two former migrations, viz., from Mangonui along
the east coast to the North Cape, and on the west coast to
Ahipara; this migration left a number of their party at the
North Cape, and the remainder came on to Kaipara and took
possession of the land from Kaipara to Maunganui, on the north,

MAORI LAND TENURE. 187
and on the south to Te Taupaki. There" was also, as before
stated, another migration of natives who landed at Te Waka
Tuwhenua (Cape Rodney), a little to the south of Whangarei,
and took possession of the land between Whangaparoa and the
Bay of Islands. The canoe contained a person who had the
leprosy, from whom the major part of the migration caught the
disease. Leprosy is called by the Maoris tuwhenua, hence the
name of the canoe •'' Waka Tuwhenua " (the canoe of the leper),
and also the point at which the party landed. Being thus
afflicted, they fell into disorganisation, and those who were not
cut off by the leprosy became amalgamated with the adjoining
tribes or migrations, and part of their land was taken by the
Tainui people as far as Whangarei ; the Mamari (Ngapuhi
people), took the residue from the Bay of Islands to Whangarei.
The chief Manaia in the canoe Tokomaru, took possession of the
Taranaki district, which had been claimed by Turi, as I have
before mentioned. The ancestor of the Ngatiawa tribe, the
most unsettled of all the migrations (as I shall presently show)
arrived in New Zealand in the Tokomaru. The canoe Kura-
haupo, commanded by Ruatea, landed near the East Cape, taking
possession of the land from the point already taken by the
Arowa, round to Port Nicholson. The canoe Takitumu (or as
it is sometimes called for its fast sailing "Horauta,") commanded
by Tata, first landed at Turanga, but proceeding southward it
crossed Cook's Straits, and the crew took possession of the whole
of the Middle Island. There are many other canoes with each of
which are connected distinct migrations to New Zealand, but as
these migrations will have to be mentioned when I speak of the
customs or laws relative to the ownership of land, I would only
here remark that those which I have already named show that
all the land in the North and Middle Islands was taken posses
sion of immediately on the arrival of the canoes. It was not
in these Islands that the Maori became aware of the value of
land, or that he first became an owner of landed pro
perty, as the tradition of the occurrences which caused the
migrations shows. The Takitumu people, for instance, left

188 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Hawaike on account of a quarrel about land. The boundaries of
the districts claimed by right of discovery, as mentioned in the
hasty sketch above given, did not long remain in that condition.
Some time after the Arawa and Tainui iriigrations had settled
in their own districts, a chief named Raumati, of the Tainui
people, went overland to the Bay of Plenty and burnt the canoe
Te Arawa. This was the cause of the first Maori war in New
Zealand, which war resulted in the Arawa people gaining part
of the Tainui lands.
I will now proceed to give the customs or laws by which a
New Zealander held his land by right of birth. A Maori
invariably grounded his claim on the right of his grandfather or
grandmother, and not of his father, mother, brother, or any
other immediate kindred. Although he had no written records
to guide him in his knowledge of his ancestors and their claims,
he was, nevertheless, carefully taught by his father or grand
father the history of his progenitors, and, as I have before
stated, was often taken to the boundaries of his hereditary
claims ; so that, with a memory singularly retentive, he can not
only recount the traditions of his ancestors for ten or twelve
generations, but even of each branch of every family or offshoot.
It is mainly on his knowledge of these that a Maori depends for
proving his title, so that in an assembly of chiefs discussing a
disputed question about land, the wars that may have occurred
ill the tribes, their origin, and the names of the chief men who
took part in them for hundreds of years, are narrated in support
of either side of the argument.
As a rule, a Maori chief does not make a will, yet there
have been instances in which a chief on his death-bed has por
tioned out his land to each of his children. The sons' claims in
all instances are derived from their grandfather : the eldest son
of the senior branch in the male line is chief of the tribe, and
exercises sole authority over the land as guardian for his people
against the encroachments of other tribes ; yet all the descend
ants from the male branch of the family have an equal right in
the lands of their progenitors, no matter how distant the relation-

MAORI LAND TENURE. 189
ship. They all, so long as they can trace their origin up to the
same progenitor (provided a family war has not intervened, and
thereby divided the tribe) claim equal right to the lands owned
by that progenitor. This custom is a law amongst the natives ;
but the title in the female line does not expand to such an ex
tent. The granddaughter of a chief has an equal claim in the
lands of her grandfather, with that of her male cousins, and the
claim continues good to her grandchild ; but on the death of that
grandchild the land reverts to the male line of the second gene
ration, from the male ancestor from whom they claim. This
custom holds good for the following reason, wliich is assigned as
its origin ; namely, that, were it not upheld, the intermarriage
of daughters of chiefs with members of other tribes would soon
so complicate and curtail the tribal claims, that a degrading
influence on the honour of the tribe would ensue, and thus an
invitation would be held out to adjoining tribes (members of
which are related by marriage) to attempt by conquest to despoil
them of their territory. If a family war should occur, in which
a tribe becomes divided (which has frequently occurred), a divi
sion of the tribal lands takes place ; but before I show how this
division is adjusted, I will allude to the mode in which a tribe
asserts and maintains its rights over a large district. It was a
custom to go at certain times to the utmost limit of the land
claimed, and partially clear and cultivate a portion here and
there. This was called "uru uru whenua," and the duty devolved
on the chiefs, a certain number only of whom went each time
the ceremony recurred, so that when a tribal division took place,
that portion of the tribe which joined the chiefs who had last
been engaged in the ceremony of "uru uru whenua" claimed
the particular land where the ceremony had taken place, and the
division line was made to come as near as possible to that part,
situate in the centre of the whole tribal claim on which the
fathers or grandfathers of each portion of the now divided tribe
had last caught rats, as before alluded to. The lands of a tribe
were portioned out according to the number of families of which
it consisted, and were claimed by each family as its own ; nor

190 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
did any one meddle with or occupy the land of another family,
unless by express permission of the family claiming. Still these
portions were not the exclusive property of each family so
claiming them. But this only applied to the lands originally
settled by the first migrations, not to lands which have been
acquired by conquest, gift, or "utu," for curses or other injuries.
Land is claimed by families, and the object of the chiefs in por
tioning ,them out was to prevent tribal disputes, and to allow
each part of the tribe to have a portion of land over which it
could exercise the exclusive right of cultivation, fishing, snaring
birds, catching rats, or obtaining fern root, which is one of the
staple articles of food, and required a certain amount of care,
though growing spontaneously, to bring it to the state required
for food. Moreover, this portioning out of the tribal lands
caused emulation in the different families, as to the produce
gained by each for the use of the tribe. The individual claim
to land, therefore, did not exist amongst the New Zealanders
according to our acceptation of that term.
The customs or laws relative to land taken in war are more
complicated. A tribe in going to war had three objects in view :
1st, to take revenge for some real or supposed injury; 2nd, to
obtain as many slaves as possible ; 3rd, to extend its territory.
A tribe seldom became extinct in consequence of war ; but when
this resulted, the conquering tribe took all their lands ; and from
the slaves taken in war the conquerors learnt the boundaries of
the land thus taken. But if a portion of the tribe escaped, their
claim held good to as great an extent of land as they had the
courage to occupy. If, however, they could manage to keep
within their own tribal boundary, and elude their enemy, their
right to the whole of the land held good ; hence the meaning of
a sentence so often used by old chiefs in their land disputes —
" I ka tonu taku ahi i runga i taku whenua " (My fire has been
kept burning on my land) ; meaning that other tribes in war had
never been able to drive them entirely off their ancestral claims.
The right to lands taken by conquest rests solely on the con
quering party actually occupying the taken district, to the utter

MAORI LAND TENURE. 191
exclusion of its original owners or other tribes. Thus, in a war
of the celebrated Hongi, he drove all the tribes out of the Auck
land district into Waikato, and even as far as Taranaki ; but
though the whole district thereby became his, yet, as he did not
occupy it, the conquered tribes, on his return to the North, came
back to their own lands, and we found them in occupation when
Auckland was established as an English settlement. Again, in
the case of a tribe which had been conquered, and had become
extinct, with the exception of those who had been made slaves
by the conquering party, these slaves could by purchase recover
the ownership of their tribal rights to land, or they could be
liberated and return to their own lands on a promise of allegiance
to the conquerors ; rendering them any assistance if required in
times of war, and supplying them for the first few years after
their return with a certain amount of rats, fish, and fern root ;
and eventually, on presenting the conquerors with a green-stone
battleaxe (the mere pounamu), they were again allowed to be
called a tribe, and claim the lands of their fathers, as though
they had never been conquered.
The claims in connection with lands given to a tribe for
assistance rendered in war are more complicated than any other.
Although the land was given to the leader of the tribe rendering
such assistance, it did not thereby become vested in that indivi
dual leader, inasmuch as the assisting tribe were seldom alone,
but had brought their allies ; and if these allies had lost any
of their chiefs in battle, each relative of the deceased chiefs had
a claim in the land thus given, and each relative of any chief
who had been killed of the tribe to whose leader the land was
given had also a claim. But the complication of land claims
. does not end even here. It was necessary that the land given
should be occupied, so that possession of it be retained ; and as
the assisted and assisting tribes became related by intermarriage,
the tribal lands of the assisted tribe were claimed by the issue
of these marriages, according to the laws of which I have already
spoken, so that after a few generations their respective claims
not unfrequently became the cause of another war. An instance

192 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
of this happened about four generations ago. One of the North
ern tribes rendered assistance in time of war to a Southern tribe,
now residing not far from Auckland, and a portion of land was
given to the northern tribe. Shortly afterwards the daughter of
the southern chief was taken in marriage by one of the chiefs of
the northern tribe ; the two sisters of this woman were married
to chiefs of the southern tribe, and thereupon their children's
claims held good ; but when the time came for the offspring of
the sister who had married the northern chief to give up their
land, the colonization of New Zealand had commenced, and
land becoming a marketable commodity, they retained their -
claims against all right and argument, and to this day there is a
rankling feeling between the tribes concerned ; and if in this
disputed land incautious dealing by Europeans took place, it
would probably result in a Maori war. The war in the Bay of
Plenty, which has been continued to the present day between
certain chiefs, also originated in a like cause : the contending
parties are all of one tribe, and spring from one ancestor, but by
intermarriage some have a more direct claim than others. The
descendants who by intermarriage are related to other tribes
have made an equal claim to the land over which they have but
a partial claim, and resistance to this has been the cause of the
war. Disputes of this kind are not easily unravelled. I believe
that were it possible to teach the Maoris the English language,
and then bring them into some court, allowing each contending
party to plead his cause in such a dispute as I have mentioned,
not according to English law, but according to Maori custdm,
both sides would, according to native genealogy and laws, make
out their respective cases so clearly, that it would take a judge
and jury possessed of more than human attainments to decide
the ownership of the land.
While speaking about lands claimed by conquest, I will give
a few instances of land claimed by the offspring of those male or
female chiefs who have been made slaves in war. It would not
generally be supposed that lands disposed of at the southern end
of this island would affect any native at the northern end of it ;

MAORI LAND TENURE. 193
yet such is the case. A chieftainess, who was taken slave from
the South by the Ngapuhi and other Northern tribes, became
the wife of a Ngapuhi chief. Her claim stood in the way of
completing a sale of the land, and it was not until the consent
of her son by the Ngapuhi chief was gained that the land could
be disposed of by the natives residing on it ; and to him, in due
course of time, a portion of the payment was transmitted.
Again, a chief who was taken slave from the Bay of Plenty by
the Northern tribes, having taken a Northern woman to wife, and
having a family, his relatives from the Bay of Plenty made pre
sents to the chiefs by whom he was taken, and procured his
return home ; but he was obliged, according to Maori laws of
title to land, to leave his wife and daughters with the Ngapuhi
people ; for if he had taken them with him, they would have
lost their claim to land at Ngapuhi, and would not be allowed
any claim to land in the Bay of Plenty ; while his son, whom he
took back with him, now claims, by right of his grandfather, an
equal right to the lands of the Bay of Plenty tribe. Again, one
of the northern chiefs having taken to wife a woman whom he
had made slave from Taranaki, and having a son by her, this son
returned to the " tribe of his mother, and claimed as his right,
derived from his grandfather, a share in their land, which was
not disputed, because, as I have before stated, the great-grand
child in the female line has a claim to land. I remember another
instance of this. A certain block of land was sold by a tribe near
Auckland ; and when the purchase-money was portioned out
amongst the claimants, a northern chief rose up and rehearsed
his genealogy, by which he proved that he was the great-grand
child (in the female line) of one of the claimants of the block
sold. He thereupon, as a matter of course, received a part of
the purchase-money. He was a northern chief, and had only
been known to the sellers by name.
There are also other grounds on which claims are made to
land. Should a chief of one tribe be killed by another tribe,
the tribe of the murdered man claims the land in the vicinity
where the murder took place ; for instance, a chief who had lost

194 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
his canoe by drifting to sea, went along the coast to the settle
ment of a tribe who had been at variance with his tribe for many
years, and found his canoe there, but was murdered by them.
His tribe collected a war party, proceeded to the settlement, and
brought away the body of the deceased chief, and in the follow
ing year went and cultivated the land. The block whereof this
cultivation formed part was afterwards sold by the original
owners, and the relatives of the murdered chief received payment
for the portion they had cultivated. Also, if a chief is drowned,
his surviving relatives demand from the owners of that part of
the river or coast where his body may be found, that for a cer
tain period no fish or shellfish shall be collected from it. This
proceeding is called a "rahui," and continues until the next
shark-fishing season. The owners of the shark fisheries then
collect all the sharks taken at that season, and dry them, when
the tribe of the drowned chief are sent for and entertained at a
feast, at which the sharks are all given to them. By this act
the rahui is taken off, and the fish or shellfish can thereupon
be again taken from any part of the river or coast. Should the
rahui be broken by the resident tribes, the relatives of the
drowned chief then claim an equal right to the land. In one
case a chief was drowned, and the owners of the land were called
on to rahui the river ; but they neglected to do so ; where
upon the drowned man's relatives went and cultivated the land,
and have held it ever since. In another a chief was taken in
war not far from Auckland, and his bones were made into fishing
hooks, and used in fishing for sharks. The relatives went and
took the land near the place where the bones of the chief were
thus used. A third instance took place not far south of Auck
land. In a war of invasion, one of the invaded chiefs was taken
with his son, who was then an infant, and the bones of the father,
who was killed and eaten, were used by the conquerors to catch
1 sharks. As the son was a slave, when he was old enough he
was taken out to fish ; and one day, while out fishing, there
happened to be a scarcity of shark, and he heard an old chief
repeat a fishing ceremony with the addition of a name, and this

MAORI LAND TENURE. 195
being repeated many times, the boy learnt the name. On arriv
ing on shore, he inquired of a fellow-slave if she knew any one
of that name, and was told it was the name of his own father.
His ire was roused on learning that his father had riot only been
eaten, but that his bones were thus insulted. Though it is not
considered an insult to eat those killed in battle, it is an unpar
donable offence to use the bones as I have described. On this
account the lad brooded over the discovery he had made, and
eventually escaped from his masters, and got back to his home.
The tale he told soon collected a force of men, who avenged
the insult by coming and taking possession of the district, which
their tribe owns and occupies to this day. Again, if a chief, when
on a journey in inclement weather, should require a temporary
hut to be erected, the fact of his sleeping in the hut made it sacred.
It was allowed, to drop to pieces ; but if the owners of the district
on which it was erected made use of any part of it, the chief for
whose use it was erected claimed a right in the district. If a chief
should have occasion to wash his head or comb his hair while on
a journey, he claims a right in the district which this operation
has made sacred. But it was not permitted to a chief to do this
upon land belonging to other tribes on an insufficient pretence.
The sickness or sudden death of a relative while on a journey is
allowed to be a sufficient cause, but not the mere whim of a
chief to beautify himself by washing or combing while on a
friendly visit to another tribe. If a child be born in the course
of a journey, the child has a claim to the district. This claim is
derived from what is called the " kawa " of the child ; that is,
at the birth of a child, a branch of certain trees, the " ake,"
" karamu," or " hatu " is taken, part of which is tied to the
child and part set in the ground. This ceremony is called " te
arawa ; " if the portion planted grows it is said the child will be
a warrior. There are also other grounds by which claims to
land are allowed. If a chief be killed by a tribe on the lands of
another tribe, and if the murderers are not owners of the land
on which they killed the chief, the relatives of the killed chief
claim the land on which the deed took place. For instance, the

196 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
Ngatimaru killed a Ngatiwhatua chief on the lands of the Nga-
titeata tribe ; the Ngatiwhatu therefore claim a right to the dis
trict, arid to this day their claim has stood in the way of the
district being sold. Again, there are certain things which if
done or happening to a chief when on the lands of another tribe
will, unless the tribe at once object or disallow the act or occur
rence, establish a claim on the land. An instance of this occurred
when a chief called Papaka (in Waikato about three generations
ago), while on a visit to the Ngatihape tribe, by. whom he was
entertained as a guest, made a present of his ear ornament to
the Ngatihape chief. Now anything worn on the person of a
chief is sacred, and the presentation by a chief of an ear or head
ornament, is a mark of the greatest respect that can be shown
from one Maori to another. Papaka was accustomed to wear
attached to his ear the tail of a Maori dog called a " waro,"
which he gave to the Ngatihape chief, and it was accepted. Soon
: afterwards Papaka returned and assumed the leadership of the
Ngatihape tribe, and consequently a right to all their lands, which
claim has continued good to his descendants to the present time.
The Maori is said by many to be the child of impulse.
Such an opinion is not just ; for it will appear to those who can
enter into close conversation with him that he does not ask a
question merely to spend his time or to amuse those to whom
he is speaking. There is no such thing as an idle question from
a Maori. Those who have observed him will agree with me
that when he asks a question he does it in such a way as often
to render it impossible to imagine the object for which it was
asked ; also, if he has to answer a question the object whereof
is not clearly understood by him, he will give such an answer
as will not put him in the power of the interrogator. Similarly
a Maori does not give or take a present except for some pre
determined reason ; thus the Ngatihape tribe in receiving the
present from Papaka virtually bound themselves to give whatever
he might demand in return. I will instance another mode of
allowing a claim to be made for land. While the chief Rauka-
taura, on a visit from Waikato to the Thames, was passing

MAORI IAND TENURE. 197
through the forest, one of his feathers (a kura) was torn from
his head by the scrub in the road ; he at once sat down, and
breaking a number of sticks, made a small enclosure round the
feather ; and as it is customary among the natives for visitors from
a distance to be attended by people of the district visited, and as
these owners of the land witnessed the act and did not forthwith
object to it, they virtually acquiesced in the claim which Rauka-
taura thereby set up to the land, and to this day his descendants
claim part of the district accordingly. Another instance of this
custom may be given. One of the Waikato tribe, whose district
was famed for the eels it produced, invited a chief of another tribe
on an eel-catching expedition. During the sport the invited chief
was so pleased with the quantity of eels taken that he took a
bunch of albatross feathers, called " pohoi," from his ear and
cast it into the stream. As the owners of the fishery did not
immediately object to this, his descendants are now allowed a
claim not only to the land but to the eels taken there. Another
instance of the custom occurred not many miles from Auckland.
There stands in the Waitemata river a rock, used as a mark in
getting the exact position of a bank where shark is taken more
plentifully than in any other parts of the river. A few years
previous to the arrival of Governor Hobson an adjoining tribe
was allowed to fish for sharks on the bank by the owners of the
fishery, and the tribe to whom permission was given were so
pleased with the quantity of fish taken that they were induced
to attempt to found a claim there, which they did by cutting a
mark on the top of the rock. This having transpired, the
owners of the district at once proceeded to the rock and
obliterated the mark, thereby disallowing their claim, which has
^ot again been made. Another ground on which claims to land
are founded is the " kanga," or curse. To " kanga '' or " apiti "
a Maori chief is an offence of the greatest magnitude, or to
compare a man to anything eatable, or to call a dog or a canoe
or anything after his name. An offender in this respect is
visited by a war party, and if he is of another tribe, and leaves
the settlement on the arrival of the war party, it is optional for

198 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
such party at once to occupy the land and become the owners of
that portion of the district. Not far from Auckland such an
offence was given by the Ngatimaru tribe to the Ngatipaoa ; the
Ngatipaoa visited the offenders on the Waiheke Island, but not
having been able to meet the Ngatimaru there, the Ngatipaoa
took part of the island and hold the ownership of it to this day.
There are also, as I have before stated, lands which are
ceded to a tribe for a specific purpose with certain restrictions,
and the tenure of such land depends on the conditions being
fulfilled. I mentioned that in certain cases in war, an assisting
tribe was in return for their help presented with a block of land
which became the property of all those who had relatives killed
in the war for which it was given. In some instances, however,
the land was not fully given to the assisting tribes ; sometimes
only the right of fishing or hunting was granted, and in order
that the owners of the district might keep the " mana " or right
to the land, the tribe who had received permission to fish or
hunt had to render the proceeds of their first day's sport to the
owners of the land. Nor was the time for this acknowledgment
optional with the giver ; for on the morning of the day after
the first fishing or hunting excursion, certain men of the tribe
wefe obliged to take the fish or game to the owners of the land,
and the rest of the tribe were not to fish or hunt again until the
present so sent was acknowledged by the return of the mes
sengers. There are lands held on these conditions to tiris day.
Sometimes, also, a permission was given to cultivate in con
sideration of a few of the best kumaras or taros being sent im
mediately on the crops being gathered. Lands have been used
in this way by father and son for many generations. As a
general law it was not allowed to bury the dead of the occupying
tribe on land held by such a tenure, indeed only one instance of
this law being broken has passed under my notice. In the case
I allude to the burial having taken place with the consent or
tacit admission of the owners of the land, a claim was in course
of time raised upon this pretext, and the claimants even sold
portions of the land to Europeans, nor was the unsold portion

MAORI LAND TENURE. 199
regained by the proper owners until after a war in which the
offending tribe were driven off by force of arms.
I mentioned the Ngatiawa tribe as being one of the most
restless in former days, and tradition speaks of them as the most
powerful in respect of numbers. A reference to the names of
the different tribes now occupying New Zealand would show
that the Ngatiawa are located in the North end of this Island,
in the Bay of Plenty, at Taranaki, and on both sides of Cook's
Straits. As these places now occupied by them were not
taken by right of discovery or by force of arms alone, there re
mains to be shown another custom relating to claims of land by
means of which they became the owners of those districts. The
progenitors of this tribe came, as I have stated, in the canoe
Tokomaru, and landed near Taranaki ; but being of a restless dis
position, they shortly afterwards migrated to the Bay of Plenty,
and then after a brief stay came down the East Coast to the
Thames and ultimately went on as far as the North Cape. In
the course of their wanderings they (being the most powerful in
respect of numbers) drove the other tribes out of each district
where they visited ; they overran all the Ngapuhi land in the
North, and were the cause of that portion of the Ngatiwhatu
who were located at the North Cape coming South and joining
the main body at Kaipara. Having by force of numbers taken
all on the West coast to the North of Kaipara and all on the
East coast to the North of Whangarei, they claimed it as their
rightful property, not only by the law of might but because of
having buried their dead in the sacred places of the tribes of the
land ; for they had, according to Native law, proved the power
of their own heathen customs relative to the dead to be superior
to that of the tribes into whose district they had come. I may
mention that the laws relative to the burial of the dead are
strict. It is supposed that to bury the dead of an inferior tribe
in the same place where superior chiefs are interred, without the
consent of the relatives of the superior chiefs, would cause the
gods of the superior chiefs to destroy the tribe of the relatives
of the inferior chief so buried ; hence the circumstance of the

200 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS. „
Ngatiawa having buried their dead in utter disregard of such
consent proved an undisputed right to the district, not only by
the law of force but by that of superior rank. At the time of
which I speak, the Northern people did not dispute the title of
- the Ngatiawa to portions of the land to which I have referred
nevertheless. Their restless disposition again led them to mi
grate South, and in this migration the tribe divided, part going
by the West coast and part by the, East. The chief of the West
coast party took with him a tame lizard (kaweau), and being
now lessened in number, this party had to travel more circum
spectly, being in the midst of their enemies. The New Zea-
lariders are not more in fear of any known thing in the world
than of the lizard, and this tame one effectually became the
passport of the West coast party from the Hokianga district to
Taranaki. The East coast party went by water, and landed in
the Bay of Plenty, where they, by the same means as above
described in the case of the Ngapuhi, took possession of a dis
trict which they still retain ; while of the party which returned
to Taranaki, some remained there, and some crossed Cook's
Straits and took possession of portions of the South Island. In
fact, there is not another tribe in New Zealand which is more
separated, and by which more land is claimed. According to
the laws of tapu, the Ngatiawa hold to this day undisputed
possession of each district in which any portion of their tribe is
located. Had any of them remained at Ngapuhi, that portion
of the district which they might have thought fit to occupy in
accordance with the mode in which the whole tribe originally
asserted their right to the entire district, would have remained
in their undisputed possession to this day.
I have now given, as far as my time will allow, a sketch of
the laws and customs of the Maoris in -respect to their claims
to land ; but it must be borne in mind that I have spoken of
the Maoris of the past. The present Maoris have almost be
come another race in this respect. Had the rules of their anr
cestors been kept in every instance where claims to land
were in question, I can confidently say there would have been

* MAORI LAND TENURE. 201
very few disputes, such as have taken place since land has be
come known as a commodity by which the Maori can obtain
money. In ancient times, the boundaries of each tribal claim
were so definitely marked out by the traps made to take the rat,
that a dispute about a boundary very rarely took place ; indeed I
may say never except in the portioning out of a conquered dis
trict ; but since the Maori has not to wander through the forest in
search of his daily food, since the old men who were accuBtomed
to take the rat on their own boundary line have passed away,
and since land has become an article saleable at the option of
the owners, not only a deficient knowledge of the exact boun
dary but also the desire of each claimant to get the greatest
portion of the proceeds of the sale causes disputes. Moreover,
the claims of the more distant relatives have come to be en
tirely disputed, and not only the claims but even their right of
relationship to the ancient owners. It will be seen, therefore,
that the acquisition of a perfect knowledge of the existing tribal
claims is not an easy matter, where there is not the slightest
help derivable from documents, where the evidence given is all
oral, where the ancient traditions are less and less committed
to memory, and where even the memory is frequently misled by
the love of gain and more particularly by the feeling of ancestral
pride- and the desire to be regarded as important proprietors,
feelings which predominate to a greater extent than those of a
pecuniary nature.
Upon the whole, if tribal jealousies, emanating from a con
tinual fear of ultimate oppression by foreigners, and a desire to
retain nationality, are considered, there is no question sur
rounded with more complications than that of acquiring land from
the natives, and none so likely to involve serious difficulties
between the two races which inhabit these Islands; while it is
not less certain that no question exists in this country more
involved in obscurity, none where more patience and prudence
are required, and none where a false step involves more distrust
than any interference with the laws and usages of the New
Zealanders on the subject of title to land.

202 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
PART II.
IN a former Lecture on the tenure of Maori land, I intimated
that I would continue the subject on the " mana " of a New
Zealand chief and tribal rights, this evening.
I must, therefore, revert to the past ages of Maori history,
so as to define what is the influence or " mana " of a chief or
priest, and from what derived, and to what extent it is exercised
oyer the people.
The history of the Maoris, prior to their migration to New
Zealand, speaks of their being associated as one people ; and
certain men [oi the tribe occupied a portion of their time in
rehearsing their history in a temple which they called " whare
kura." This temple was filled by their most learned men, of which
there were two parties, each being a check on the other in pre
venting a perverted account of their past history being handed
down to their children. And each party had an historical staff
on which was kept their genealogy, and as they occupied each a
different side of the temple they were called a " kahui," or flock.
The most learned man in each kahui was the leader or
chairman, who was umpire of all disputed points of history that
might occur. When any set debate was to take place, the
people were arranged in order by the leaders of these two
kahuis ; each in the kahui had his place assigned to him
according to the amount of knowledge he possessed ; and this
place was given to him by the leader of the kahui of which
he was a member. This act of the leader was called "ranga "
or putting in order. The people, as they came to the temple in
a body, were called " tira," or company ; and as the leader had
to assign or "ranga" a place to each of his "tira," he was
called the " rangatira," from which we derive our word in Maori
for chief, " rangatira."
In course of time a quarrel in whare kura caused the
people to disperse, and each family became independent of the"
other under the leadership of an " ariki," whojj^in Sail instances

MAORI LAND TENURE. 203
was the first born of that family, the father of which had en
joyed the privilege of being a priest in whare kura. The
knowledge handed down by the father to the son gave that son
a certain power over the junior branches of the family ; hence
he was termed an " ariki," from the fact of his superior know
ledge ; he could ("a") lead or drive by that knowledge the junior
or " riki " branches of the family, he therefore was an " a-riki,"
a leader of the juniors.
Shortly after the dispersion of the people from whare kura,
each family, under their new leadership, erected temples of similar
form and structure, in which they rehearsed their own genealogy
or such portion of the whole of that recounted in the old
whare kura as related to themselves and those who now took
part in the rehearsal of this to them formerly sacred lore.
They required a teacher or " kai tohu tohu " or " tohunga," and
as in the former whare kura the most learned man in these
matters took the precedence, so also in this the most learned
took the leadership ; and as he had to "tohu" (to point out or
instruct), he acquired the name of tohunga, which is now
applied to a priest or any educated person. The word " tohu "
has also another meaning, which is to keep or take care of. The
whare kura of these separate families had the images of
their gods in them, and these were in charge of the person whose
knowledge in ancient lore entitled him to the office. From this
it was said that he " tohu " or kept them, and hence the name
tohunga. As this was his duty, he was not required to
work ; and being also the keeper or tohunga of the gods he was
sacred and could not be called on to perform any menial duty.
Being the keeper of the gods and having a superior knowledge
of past history and events, he was better enabled to form a correct
judgment in respect of anything that was for the welfare of
the families whose tohunga he was ; hence also, in the event
of war and in all matters relative to agriculture or fishing, the
people gave precedence to the opinion of the tohunga. This
leads me to the next point, viz., " Mana." As I have shown
the origin of the names "rangatira," "ariki," and "tohunga,"

204 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
I will now show what is the " mana " relative to the peculiar
duties of those persons who assume these names.
The past history of the Maori informs us that they date their .
origin from their gods, and that their superstitions are all founded
on the co-assistance of these gods with their tohunga or
priest. Hence the tapu of the priest ; and as all matters of
importance are directed by the gods through the priest, orders
or decisions must be implicitly obeyed, or "whakamana," so that
the mana of a priest existed not on account of any natural
power of his own, but of the gods. Again, in reference to the
ariki, as it was the sole privilege of the first born to be
taught by the father or grandfather, all the knowledge and ex
perience they had acquired must as a natural consequence
make him wiser than his juniors. His opinion when given
accordingly carries a weight with it or mana, — hence there
fore the mana of an ariki. Again, as the ariki guides
by his superior knowledge, and as the tohunga guides by his
intimacy with the gods, so there is a proper province for
the rangatira. When any meeting takes place of the people,
when a war dance is to be enacted, or any minor point or
dispute arises in the tribe, the matter is arranged by the rangatira,
so far as to see that order is kept ; as, for instance, that the men
in the war dance are all "kapa tonu," or in regular lines,
and that in a dispute a fair hearing is given to each party.
To show what tribal rights are, we must still have recourse
to the past history of the Maori prior to his migrating to these
islands. The Maoris who came, although related, were not of
one hapu or family, but were even some time previous to
leaving Hawaike members of different hapus, quarrels between
which were the cause of their migrating. But in Hawaike each
tribe or hapu was called kahui, and not, as in the present
day, by the name of the chief who was the leader of a family
when it separated from the main tribe or iwi.
As each " waka " canoe, or the people who came together,
for some time after they landed maintained their unity as a
people, they were called an "iwi." The term iwi, therefore,

MAORI LAND TENURE. 205
means the descendants of those men who came over in one
canoe, and in many cases the name of the iwi has merged
in the name of the canoe in which their ancestors came ; as, for
instance, the Rotorua tribes are called "Arawa," the Ngapuhi
" Mamari," and so on. In my former lecture I stated the boun
daries of the lands taken and claimed by each one of the
migrations which came to these islands, and I also gave many
of their customs relative to their numerous claims to land. It
therefore now remains to show the origin of the iwi being
sub-divided into hapus. In order to be enabled to point out
clearly tribal right and mana of chiefs I must again revert to
the land taken by the Maori on his first arriving here, and as
an illustration I will take two districts, Arawa and Tainui.
The Arawa district remains, as a whole, in the hands of
the offspring of the same men who came in the Arawa canoe.
The migration, very shortly after they arrived, dispersed over
their large territory and divided into separate hapus (or families,
as the word implies), and in course of time each of these hapus
have taken the rank of iwi, and act independently of any other,
as though it had been of a distinct migration. Each of these is
again sub-divided into many hapus, the aggregate body still
keeping the whole of the district formerly taken by the Arawa.
But not so the Tainui district. As I have spoken of the Arawa
as an unbroken district, I will for contrast take the other
extreme, that of the Tainui, which district, originally of large
extent, is now so curtailed that the only portion left to the
iwi of Tainui is a small portion of it at Whaingaroa.
As I shall have to speak of all the migrations, I will at
once give a general outline of the different migrations or iwis,
in reference to their present tribal rights or mana over that
district which their respective migrations took on their arrival
here. The Ngapuhi have now more land as an iwi than the
district taken by the migration of Mamari. So have the adjoin
ing iwi, the Ngatiwhatua. The Tainui have lost all their
territory save a small portion. The migration by the Aotea
have but a small portion of their ancient district. The adjoin-

206 - HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
ing migration of Tokomaru have lost a portion of their ancient
district. The old occupants of the south island have become a
mere name on the land of their fathers. The Takitumu still
hold all their land. The Matatua, who took part of the Arawa
district, have but part of the land first taken by them. The
Ruikakara and Wakatuwhenua have lost their name as a
migration in the Ngapuhi iwi, and the Mahuhu have lost their
claim to the land at the North Cape.
Intermarriage has caused the loss of land to the original
owners more than conquest. As more disputes on this point .
are caused than any other, I will at once enter on the tribal
rights which arise from it. I stated in my former lecture that
it was thought a point of material importance that females
given in marriage ought, if possible, to induce the husband to
join1 her tribe so as to add to the force of her people ; hence
portions of land are claimed by certain tribes who reside in and"
claim part of a migration district, but who do not own any
right of mana to be exercised by the offspring of the original
migrators in whose district they are thus located. I will instance
some of these claims in each migration, and, for the sake of
clearness, I will take the migrations consecutively, from the
North Cape along the west coast and round by the east coast.
There is not an instance of this sort in the Mamari migration,
but there are other claims (dissimilar in origin, though in effect
the same) which I will presently refer to ; and similar claims
also exist in the next migration district, that of Mahuhu. In
the adjoining migration of Tainui, there are many of the class of
which I first spoke. In the Kawerau, for instance, which tribe
had their origin from a chief of the Aotea and Ngatiawa migra
tion of the name of Maki marrying a Tainui woman, he became,
the avenger of the Tainui wrongs, and after some time the head
of a hapu which now forms a distinct people, acting without
any reference to the chiefs of hapus in the Tainui or Mahuhu
migrations by which they are surrounded. The tribal rights of
this little hapu, which does not number.in all 50 men, women,
and children, are not few or of minor importance to them. In

MAORI LAND TENURE. 207
the produce of the land and sea they do not pay tribute to any
chief, nor could they be commanded by any adjoining tribe or
hapu to assist in any act whatever, nor could a chief go to any
of their fishing grounds without their express perfnission. In the
wars of past times they bore the brunt of battle by themselves.
In an attack made on them about 45 years since by a Ngapuhi
chief named Te Kahakaha, they did not ask the aid of any
other tribe, and, although they were beaten, they neither fled
from their own land, nor did they ask revenge to be taken for
them by the powerful tribes of Waikato. Again, in a war
anterior to the one I have just mentioned, they were so deter
mined to hold the land of their fathers, that although few in
number and unable to meet their enemy (Ngapuhi) in open fight,
they built a pa on long posts in the midst of a deep swamp, and
there defied the attacks of their more numerous foes. This was
not done so much to baffle their enemy as to keep the mana of
their land, as, being few in number, they could have escaped in
the forest and mountains of their own district. I will give an
instance of the extent to which this little tribe could carry their
mana, or tibal right, where they permitted an infringement of
the customs relative to the dead. It is a custom amongst the
hapus of one iwi to bury their dead in the same burial place,
and therefore each has a claim to the "wahi tapu;" so that any
one who may visit or pass near the wahi tapu has, by so doing,
incurred the displeasure of all the hapus. No one but a priest
of the first rank (an ariki) could go into a wahi tapu, and (at a
funeral) those who might be deputed by the ariki to accompany
him to convey the corpse. But on one occasion, when I was
travelling over the land of the Kawerau in company with thirteen
chiefs of Waikato and three of Kawerau, we came to a wahi tapu
where the bones of the Kawerau ancestors have been deposited
for many generations. By permission of the Kawerau chief I
went alone into the cave, in the midst of which there was built
a small house of the swamp reed ornamented with flax of varie
gated colours, in which were the bones of arikis of the tribe.
At the doorway of the house, which measured altogether not

208 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
more than about five by three feet, were the bones of a child,
and near them a small canoe. The bones were no doubt those of
an ariki . child, and the canoe, his plaything, had been taken
with him to his long rest. This house contained mats of
different degrees of preservation, which I did not touch, and
near to a large skull was an ancient Maori shark hook. On
my return to our camp I requested to be allowed to take the
canoe and fishing hook, which the ariki of the Kawerau permit
ted ; the only condition imposed on me being that in our future
progress during the journey I should be the last man in the line
of march, and should carry the two curiosities myself. This
was insisted on, lest the gods of the Kawerau should kill the
Waikato chiefs if they followed after me with these things.
Again, in the same journey we caught an uncommonly large
eel, measuring six feet nine inches long ; and as we were stran
gers on the Kawerau territory, I waited till the eel was cooked
to see if my friends the Waikato chiefs would render the tribute
of mana of the land to the Kawerau chief. This in time was
done by them. It is an invariable custom amongst the hapus of
tribes, when they are on an eel-fishing excursion, to give any eel
of uncommon size to the principal owner of the land, and the
heads of all the eels eaten while the party is out are laid before
the owners of the land on which the eels are caught. This is
their mana of the land, and in this instance, when the eel was
cooked, the head was first taken off and laid before the Kawerau
chief by one of the Waikato chiefs.
The next hapu or minor iwi in the Tainui district is the
Ngatiteata, a hapu of recent date, who have usurped the lands of
an old Tainui hapu called Ngatikahukoka. Kahukoka, a Tainui
chief, the leader of the Ngatikahukoka, and his people, occupied
all the land from the south head of Manukau to the Waikato
river: they were a numerous people till the time of Tamakae arid
Tamakou, who were brothers ; the younger brother killed the
elder, and the men of the elder murdered a Waikato boy for
revenge, whereupon a party of Waikato chiefs came and took
their pa, killing all in it save their own relations who were of

MAORI LAND TENURE. 209
the Ngatikahukoka tribe. Those saved, as payment for their
rescue, gave a large block of land on the east bank of the Waiuku
to their deliverers, the progenitors of the Ngatiteata tribe. The
receiving party, the Waikato, took possession of the given dis
trict, and in course of time the present Ngatiteata have taken
by force the adjoining lands of the Kahukoka tribe. Although
the Ngatiteata tribe have their origin from the Waikato Ariki
Tapaue, yet the Waikato chiefs have no right of mana over the
Ngatiteata tribe or land, as in the invasion of Hongi against the
Waikato the Ngatiteata joined him in the attack on Matakitaki,
the AVaikato stronghold ; and at the present time the only claim
the Waikatos make to the lands taken by the Ngatiteata from
the Ngatikahukoka is in a Wahi tapu near the Manukau Heads,
where some of the Waikato chiefs are buried ; yet out of one of
the land sales of the Ngatiteata the Waikato chief received a
payment; but this was a tribal right arising from an act of
the Ngapuhi in the war by Hongi. The chiefs taken at Waikato
were killed, and their heads were brought to a spot called Te
Kauri, on the south bank of the Manukau, and there whakatahu-
rihuri (a superstitious Maori rite in war) ; and on these grounds
the Waikato people had a claim of tapu, which was paid to
them when the land was sold. Save these two claims, the Wai
katos do not claim any tribal right over the Ngatiteata land.
Again, in the Tainui district on the Wairoa river there has
been located for a long time a little tribe called Ngatitai, who
migrated here from their iwi, the Ngatitai, in the Bay of Plenty.
This little hapu is related by marriage to the Ngatipaoa, Te
Akitai, and Ngatimaru, which are adjoining hapus and iwi ; but
still they exercise the sole mana over the land they claim, nor
do they pay tribute for their land to any chief, nor in all the
land they have disposed of, which they claimed by conquest, have
they given any portion to other chiefs. In the war on Mauineina,
by the Ngapuhi, the Ngatitai still remained on their own land,
and although many of them wer3 killed there by Hongi, yet,
when the Ngatipaoa fled to Waikato, they maintained their
position on the Wairoa. One instance of the mana of their land

210 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
having been attempted to be infringed was repudiated by them
in a manner that nearly led to a Maori quarrel. A canoe of the
Ngatimaru having upset in passing in front of the Ngatitai settle
ment, and one chief being drowned, the Ngatimaru chief called
on the Ngatitai to "rahui " the fishery grounds until he saw fit
to take the tapu off. As the shark fishing season was then
begun, the Ngatitai sent a message " that they would not catch
or allow to be caught, or eat or allow to be eaten, any of the
fellows with many teeth (shark) for that season ; " but they
would not abstain from eating all other kind of fish longer than
one month. But there was a principle at stake : the Ngatimaru
had made a claim to some land over which one of their dead
ancestors had been carried (after a battle with the Ngatipaoa),
and as this land was shortly to be paid for, the Ngatitai would
not admit any claim by the Ngatimaru. If the rahui of all the
fish imposed by Ngatimaru had been allowed by the Ngatitai
without restricting it as they did, a money payment would have
been exacted for the two claims the Ngatimaru had made when
the shark rahui was taken off.
Again, in reference to the tribe which now reside at Orakei,
called the Ngatiwhatua (which is a hapu of the great Kaipara
tribe, the Roroa), this hapu does not admit any tribal right to
be exercised over it by the Waikato, Tainui, or Ngatipaoa tribes.
This hapu took possession of their district by force of arms from
the Tainui and Ngatipaoa tribes. All the fishing grounds on
the Waitemata river belong to them, and none of the surround
ing tribes would attempt to fish on them unless permission were
granted by the Ngatiwhatua, nor do they pay any tribute pf fish
or other thing to the original owners of the district. Although
connected by marriage to the Waikato chiefs, they still keep a
separate and independent control of all their land, and in their
numerous sales of land they gave no portion of the payment to
the other tribes. This was not merely the case with regard to
the original owners of the soil, but they do not even allow the
parent tribe at Kaipara to exercise any control over them in
reference to the land they claim here. And although, as a por- '

MAORI I AND TENURE. 211
tion of the parent tribe, thej7 claim an equal right with the rest
of the iwi to the land of the iwi Te Roroa at Kaipara, yet, as the
descendants of these men who conquered the Auckland district,
they alone claim it, to the exclusion of the rest of the Roroa.
The time allotted for a lecture precludes me from noticing
each Waikato tribe separately. Although they now occupy what
is called the Tainui district, they are not all of Tainui origin, as
some of them date their descent from the original people of New
Zealand, who were called by the Maori people Ngatimokotorea.
Reserving a further reference to some of them when I shall speak
on the mana, I will pass on to the Aotea district (in which the
claims of the original owners have been as much curtailed by
migratory movements of chiefs from other parts of New Zealand
as by conquest), and to the next district of Tokomaru, or the
New Plymouth natives, whose family wars have been carried on
with bitter hatred, on account of their numerous lines of descent
from other migrations. The adjoining migrations of Matahourua,
or the Taranaki and Ngatiruanui, have kept more aloof from the
rest of the tribes ; they are of a more savage disposition than
the other people, and may be termed the only New Zealand
savages- of the present day ; they have a slight mixture of the
Rangitane people of the South Island, who are more of the
Malay than any other, and this may account for their being a
savage, yet cowardly, people. Their district has been overrun
by many war parties, but (save a portion of the south end) they
have kept their original dominion ; there are therefore very few
hapus among them who act independently of the iwi. But in
the next migration of Takitumu there are tribes who act
without any reference to the Ngatikahuhunu on the east, as
they do of the Ngatiruanui on the west. There is in the Port
Nicholson district a portion of a Waikato tribe, now called Nga
tiraukawa. A quarrel of two brothers near Maungatautari, in
Waikato, was the cause of the tribe coming to open combat, and
the beaten portion migrated South, and eventually located in
their present home. Having driven off the portion of the Ngati
kahuhunu, they exercise the sole right as a tribe over their own

212 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
district, nor do they allow any tribal right to be exercised over
them by any of the Waikato chiefs to whom they are so nearly
related. Again, there is the Ngatitoa in the Port Nicholson
district, who were originally the owners of Kawhia, but migrated
south, and took all the Ngatiranui country, and then resigned
the greater portion back to the old owners, but demanded a tri
bute of tribal right or mana of the land to be given to them by
the Ngatiruanui, such as kumara and fish, which was invariably
done by them to Rauparaha. The Ngatitoa, though of Kawhia,
do not allow any right of the iwi at Kawhia to be exercised over
them, but are in the Port Nicholson district as independent as it
is possible to be ; on the other hand, they not only exercised the
tribal right over part of Port Nicholson district, but they invaded
the South Island, and brought under tribute the then owners of
that island up to the time it was sold by them. I shall have
again to refer to the Ngatitoa on the mana : I will meanwhile
pass on to the Horouta or Hawke's Bay people, who, though
one iwi, yet are divided into many hapus acting quite independ
ently of the chiefs of other hapus or iwi. This remark will also
apply to the Ngaiporou district or the East Cape natives, and
may perhaps also extend to the Bay of Plenty natives ; yet there
is a shade of difference in some of their hapus, for they are de
scendants of women who came from the Hawke's Bay and East
Cape natives, and on that account repudiate any claim of tribal
mana being exercised over them by the iwi in whose district
they reside, and of which they claim part. Passing on, we come
to the Thames tribes, in speaking of whom I shall have to revert
to the past, in order to clear up an apparent contradiction. Pre
vious to the arrival of Te Arawa and Tainui in New Zealand, a
chief named Ruaeo followed Te Arawa, when his wife, who had
been taken by the Arawa navigator, Ruaeo, landed at Maketu,
and having met the Arawa there, after a war between Ruaeo
and Te Arawa navigators, Ruaeo and his party crossed inland to
Matamata, and came down the Thames, taking all the land as
far as Cape Colville. The Ngatiawa migration followed, and
drove the Natihuarere or the Ruaeo people from the district, and

MAORI LAND TENURE. 213
on the departure of the Ngatiawa northward Paeko and his fol
lowers from Ohiwa took the district. This people also were
driven off by the descendants of a woman called Upokotioa,
from Tauranga, and who divided into the hapus of Te Tuhuke,
Ngatihako, Ngatimarama, and Ngatikatarake, the iwi being the
Upokatioa. Hotunui of Kawhia was the ancestor of Paoa, who
migrated back to the Thames, and founded the Ngatipaoa tribe.
Marutuahu, the son of Hotunui, was the founder of the Ngatimaru,
of which the Ngatitamatera and Ngatiwhanaunga are subdivi
sions. The Ngatipaoa exercise the sole tribal right over their
own land in the Thames, without reference to the Waikato or
any other tribe ; so also the subdivisions Ngatitamatera and
Ngatiwhanaunga are each as independent in tribal rights of
their own land from each other as they are of the Ngatipaoa.
A.s I have given the tribal rights of each iwi, I will now
show the tribal rights of the people in respect of individual
claims to land, and as a matter of course enter on those of the
head chiefs first, and again take the same line of route in each
iwi as I did in the tribal rights of the iwi, and commence therefore
with Ngapuhi, going round by the West Coast. The Ngapuhi, or
the natives of the north end of this island, are, from their
longer intercourse with Europeans, said; to be the least like
their own countrymen in reference to tribal rights of great or
minor chiefs ; but the very fact of their having sold more land
(so far as the number of claims are concerned, these claims' being
so isolated and sold by so many different hapus), is the best
test we can have of the seignorial rights of first rank chiefs
over the whole tribe or even over a section of a tribe or hapu.
The natives at the north Cape, or the Rarawa and Aupouri
tribes, are a branch of the Mamari or Ngapuhi people, and are
guided by the old chief Morenga ; yet in all land sales this old
chief has not participated in the slightest degree, but a chief of
minor importance in the same tribe (Panakareao) sold largely,
even when the old chief Te Morenga was in full power. This,
however, only applies to the Rarawa at Kataia, as there was
another section of this tribe at Whangape, led by Te Pukeroa

214- HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
and Papahia, the former of whom did not sell an inch of land,
and Papahia only participated in two sales out of many which
his tribe made. Again, in Hokianga there is another section of
this tribe, of which Moetara was the chief ; he sold two blocks
though not as chief of the tribe, as he was but a claimant of a
small portion of each of the pieces sold. These chiefs (although
of the same tribe or iwi) did not exercise any right over each
other's land, for the land in the district in which each lived was
under their own control. On the sale of a certain piece of land
at Kataia, in which Papahia of Hokianga was a claimant, he re
ceived a small portion of the payment, yet the other chiefs of
this tribe at Hokianga did not. Again, in the sales by Moetara,.
Papahia and the others did not receive any payment, but in one
of the sales by Papahia, Moetara as a claimant received a pay
ment. The Hikutu tribe is also a hapu of the Ngapuhi, whose
ariki is Moehau. Out of all the sales of land by this hapu, Moe-
hau received part payment for only one, while in some of the
sales minor chiefs of the Rarawa were claimants and received
part of the payment. Again, the Ngaitupoto (the ariki of which
was Whatiia) sold land in which Tawhai, the chief of Te Ma-
hurehure had a claim, and received a portion of the payment,
yet the ariki of Te Mahurehure (Moka) did not participate.
Again, a number of Mahurehure (of which Tawhai is chief) had
claims not only in the district in which they lived but in other
districts (to the exclusion of their leader, Tawhai, and many of
the other chiefs), who sold these claims and received the whole
of the price themselves. But in one of the land sales by the
Rarawa (or that portion -or hapu of it called Te Patu), when
they sold a piece of land at Monganui, the chief Tawhai of
Hokianga being a claimant received part of the payment. Again,
the Hapu Te Urekapana sold a piece of land in their own dis
trict, and a minor chief of the Mahurehure, called Tiro, being a
claimant, received part of the price, yet not any of the chiefs or
ariki of Te Mahurehure received any payment. Again, the
Ngaitupoto sold some land in their own district, and a chief in
the Popoto tribe, Tahua, received part of the price as claimant

MAORI LAND TENURE. 215
but not as ariki. Again, in the Waimate district, the Nga-
titautahi sold land, and a minor chief of the Ngatikaihoro, a
hapu of the Mahurehure, called Netana, received as claimant a
portion of the price ; and also when the Ngatimatakiri in the
Waimate district sold land, the ariki of the Popoto as claim
ant received a portion of the price, but not any other of the
tribe. Again, the Tahawai of Whaingaroa sold a piece of land,
and the ariki of the Hikutu at the Bay of Islands, being a
olaimant, received part of the price. Again, the Ngatiuru of
Whaingaroa sold land, and chiefs of the Ngatirehia and Hikutu
of the Bay as claimants received part of the price, but not the
arikis of those hapus. Again, the Ngaitawake sold land in
the Bay, and Wi Hau, of the Ngatiwhiu (at Waimate) as claim
ant received a part of the payment. Again, the Hikutu at
Ngunguru sold land, and chiefs of the Ngatihau in Hokianga as
claimants received a portion of the price. Again, the Uriko-
pura hapu live in their own district on the borders of the Patu
district, yet five of the minor chiefs of the Urikopura sold a
block of land which was situated in the middle of the district of
the Mahurehure, and not the slightest part of the payment was
given to the ariki of their own tribe, or to the Mahurehure
ariki or people. These will suffice as examples out of the
Ngapuhi iwi, to show that the head chief or ariki of the Nga
puhi does not possess any manorial right over the land of
the iwi. It will be apparent to all, that not only the ariki of
the Ngapuhi iwi has no veto on the disposal of land, but even
the ariki of any of the hapus do not possess that right ; for in
the examples I have given there is proof enough to show that
the members of a hapu dispose of land without the slightest
reference to other members of their hapu, and that members of
different hapus join and dispose of land as though they were of
the same hapu. And not only so, but it will further be seen
that in many instances minor chiefs have received a portion of
the payment for land disposed of by members of another hapu
when the ariki of the hapu of the receiver has not, and also
that the minor chiefs of a distant hapu have the power to dis-

216 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
pose of land belonging to them which is situated in the midst
of land belonging to another hapu, without any permission on
the part of their own ariki or the ariki of the hapu in
whose district the land is situate. But I will pass on to the
Kaipara district (the Mahuhu migration), in which until of late
years there has been very little land disposed of to Europeans.
I would here remark, that it is believed by many that Maori
intercourse with Europeans has materially altered their manners
and customs, and especially so in reference to the power of
chiefs and the customs relative to land ; but how such an idea
should have taken possession of the public mind is a matter of
wonder if we look into the history of the people, and their wars,
which related so often to only one point, namely, the right to
land. The history of their claims, and their daily occupation
causing them to roam over their whole territory ; their having
no written records ; their minds being imbued with the feats of
their fathers in protecting their lands, made it impossible for
any communication with Europeans, before 1840, to cause any
alteration in their customs relative to their ancient tenure of
land. I have, therefore, selected all my examples from sales by
natives before the Government took possession of New Zealand,
so that it will be seen the idea to which I have referred cannot
be fairly deduced from the cases given. The chief Paikea is
the ariki of the Roroa or Uriohau tribe, in the Kaipara district,
yet he is a witness (not a principal) in the sale of a piece of
land by Ngaukora, a minor chief of the tribe. Again, in the
district over which Paikea is ariki, and even within four miles
of his principal residence, Parore and other minor chiefs of a
distant tribe (the Ngaitawake) sold a piece of land, in the pay
ment for which Paikea and tribe did not participate ; and not
only so, but Tirarau, the ariki of the Ngaitawake hapu, at Kai
para, was witness to the sale, the sellers being minor chiefs of
his tribe. In another instance, the two arikis, Paikea and Ti
rarau, were the sole sellers of a piece of land. Again, in another
instance, Paikea sold a piece of land when Tirarau was witness
to the sale.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHIEFS. 217
I will now pass on to the next subject, viz., Mana. But
before I speak on this it will be as well to define the meaning
of this word by examples of its use. Mana has many and various
meanings ; for instance, it means fulfil, as in this sentence :
" Ka mana taku kupu i au " (I will fulfil my word) ; and it
means potent, as " He karakia mana " (a potent charm) ; and it
also means effective, as " He kupu mana tana kupu " (his word
is effective) ; it also means granted, as "Ekore to tono e whaka
mana " (your request will not be granted) ; it also means support,
as " Mawai e mana ai tau kupu " (who will support you that
your word may be effective). There is also another form which
the word " mana " takes when it is joined by the preposition
" ki " (to) forming the word" manaki." I will give the meaning
of this word, with examples of its use. For instance, it means
acceptable, as "E kori ahau e manakitia mai e ratou" (I shall
not be acceptable to them) ; and it means like, as " Ekore aia e
manaki mai ki au '' (he will not like me). Again, the word
" mana" takes another form if the preposition " ko " (to) is joined
to it as an affix, when it means desire, as " Kahore aku manako
atu" (I have no desire) ; and again, if the word " tunga" (which
means of itself a secret gift, the purport of which or for which
it was given is only known to the receiver), be made as an affix
to the word "mana," we have " manatunga" or keepsake ; then
again, if the noun of space be added to it as an affix, that is
" wa," we have " manawa " or breath ; and again, when the ad
jective "nui" (large) is added it becomes "manawanui" or
bravery ; and if we add the verb " popore " to the Maori word
for breath, we have "manawa-popore," which is greediness,
desire, regret, or anxiety. It will be seen, therefore, that mana
expresses in its many shades of meaning nothing more or less
than the unseen determination of that uncontrolled something
— the human mind. I will now refer to the mana of a chief or
priest. The mana of a Maori priest is circumscribed, and only ex
tends to those matters in which the interference of the gods may
be recognised, as in the many internal arrangements of the tribe,

218 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
in times of war, or in specific acts in agriculture. In war (when
the tribe has determined for hostilities) the mana of the priest
is seen in every movement of the tribe being guided by him ;
this does not only include his own tribe or hapu, of which he
may be a member, but includes all men of other tribes who may
join them ; but his mandates are only obeyed while the war lasts.
I will give an instance or two. In the wars of Hongi, whenever
Hongi wished his army to halt, he signified such wish to the old
priest of his expedition, Te Kemara, who thereupon sent a man
forward to a certain point where he was to deposit the priest's
garment, as the signal to halt, arid in no instance was the signal
disobeyed. In the wars of Te Waka Nene an old priest, Te
Ngau, guided all their movements. [In one instance Waka's
people were short of food, when it was determined to send out
a foraging party to obtain some from the enemy. In such
an expedition deeds of valour could be shown in taking the food
from the enemy, out of or near their camp. On this account all
the people longed to join in the party ; but the old priest having
retired into the scrub near the pa for a short time to consult the
omens by the Niu, he returned and named those who should go.
This command was obeyed, and although dissatisfaction appeared
in the countenances of those who were prohibited, yet the priest's
word was mana, and no murmur was expressed. I have said
the priest's word was mana where that to which it referred
would allow the influence of the gods to be inferred, but the op
posite applied if the express wish of the priest, and not an omen
of the gods, was given in his command. An instance will show
this. The ariki and priest of Ngatiawa at Taranaki, on the eve
of a battle between that tribe and the Taranaki tribe, uttered a
contemptuous expression against a hapu of his own people, which
was, " Who ever thought that men who fish with a rod could
be brave in battle ? " (This priest, Te Rakino, uttered it to the
hapu of which Korotiwha was chief.) When the battle did take
place and was raging, in the height of the battle, Korotiwha
held up his spear and called out to his hapu, " My sons, the sign
of blood," at which signal they all withdrew from the combat,

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHIEFS. 219
and the Rakino and his party were routed by the Taranaki,
when Korotiwha turned the fortune of the day by attacking
again and gaining a victory. This will show that the mana of a
priest is only so far as he is the medium of communication be
tween the gods and the tribe. This has reference to his mana
in times of war ; but as the priest is also ariki by birth, he
-exercises certain mana as before stated in particular times. In
agricultural pursuits, for instance, it is his prerogative to say at
what time the tapu shall commence (when the crops are to be
put into the ground), and when it shall be taken off; when no
canoe is allowed to pass up or down the river, in the vicinity of
which the tribe are cultivating, and how long this prohi
bition shall last ; it is also at his intercession that the gods allow
the tapu to be taken off any person who may have touched a
corpse. His food, raiment, house, and all belonging to him are
sacred, or tapu, and his mana is inherent in them ; that is, if
touched by any common person, that mana or influence of the
gods (as expressed in the word mana as applied to them), will
cause death to that person. It is therefore the influence of the
gods, or the superstitious dread in which they were held by the
people, and not human influence, that gave the mana to a priest :
which I will further illustrate by following on to the mana
of the ariki or chief, in the concerns of everyday life.
1st. Hereditary mana, its extent, and by what curtailed.
2nd. The dictatorship of a tribe, assumed by a minor chief
of the tribe or even a member of another tribe ; by what means
gained, and to what extent allowed by the tribe. The mana of an
ariki or chief was not in any instance disputed by his own
people or adjoining tribes, when exercised for particular pur
poses. It was in his power as ariki to say when the prohibition
for fishing for shark should be taken off. He was also allowed
to decide when the rat-snaring season should commence. He
had also power to decide when and where a corpse should be
buried, when that corpse should be exhumed and exhibited to
the people previous to its final interment; and also where it
should have its final resting place. As there is a great deal of

220 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
labour connected with the ceremonies over the dead, such as
providing food for those tribes invited to the Hahunga, it may
be supposed that the ariki is supreme ruler of the people, and
his word is law for the ceremonies of the dead. As the gods
are in more immediate connection with the dead and the cere
monies over them it is supposed that if the superstitious rites
of the Maori are not fully carried out according to ancient
custom, the gods will curse the tribe, so that the ariki is not
obeyed on account of his own influence. An ariki also may
covet any article belonging to another person, and upon his
calling it by the name of any part of his own body the owner
is forced to make him a present of such thing ; still, this is not
done in honour of his own rank, but on account of his connection
with the gods, as the naming of that article after part of his
body (his body being the abode of the gods) prevents the owner
from keeping it for fear of them, since no one but the ariki thus
naming it could by any possible means use or cause to be used
the article without incurring the displeasure of the gods. Not
that such an act ends as a gift ; if the ariki does not repay to
the owner, or his offspring after him, a twofold price, he is
looked on with disgust by the people, and thereby loses any
personal influence which he may have. This leads me to the
next point, namely, to show by what means a chief may lose
his personal power. The foregoing will show that covetousness
will militate against him, so will neglect to entertain visitors or
an over austere manner to his slaves, or a bad memory in re
spect of past history and mythology ; but that which inevitably
excludes an ariki from any power over his people is want of
intellect. If a chief or ariki should be loquacious or bombastic,
he is thought little of by his people ; hence a studied silence is
the rule of a chief. In no instance will a tribe be led or listen
to the counsel of an ariki of the ablest mind if he takes that
which is not his own ; but still his mana on other points holds
good against all these obstructions ; for instance, in a case
where war exists between two tribes with which such an ariki
may be related by his intercession with each he can bring about

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHIEFS. 221
a peace. Still it is not personal mana that does this, his being
related to them is the introduction to pave the way for peace,
and as an ariki he carries the influence of the gods with him.
This, of course, is not the only ingredient in the matter ; but as
the Maori people do not delight in war (though when once in it
they are so proud that they cannot think of wishing or offering
terms of peace) an ariki related to each of the contending parties
may offer terms of peace to each without insulting their Maori
honour ; thus, therefore, is the mana of an ariki admitted, but
still not on personal power and influence.
It will appear, then, that any influence that may be exercised
by an ariki or chief is allowed by the people and not assumed by
right of birth. This I will illustrate by a few examples. I must,
however, state that in times of peace an ariki does not appear
to be anything more in the tribe than the minor chiefs, save
that he eats alone and the house in which he sleeps must not be
polluted by food being taken into it nor the fire at which he sits
be used for cooking, for fear of the gods. He cultivates with
his people, if he is so inclined ; but as a general rule he is
merely the overseer of the work, receiving at the harvest a por
tion of the crop. This last remark must not lead any to suppose
that the crops of a minor tribe or hapu are not common pro
perty, for the produce of a hapu is stored altogether, and the
food cooked at a settlement is a common meal at which all the
hapu partake ; then as such, the ariki receives his portion when
cooked. But in cases of dispute in the tribe, a minor chief may
set at defiance the opinion of an ariki, and act as seems to him
good. An instance of this occurred where a minor chief had a
dispute with another member of the tribe, belonging to Waka
Nene. The minor chief, Ngahu, having taken a horse from his
opponent, Waka interfered, and sent a man to bring the horse
back ; but the messenger was insulted by being asked what
Waka had to do in the matter. Waka knew that he could not
use force, and therefore as ariki he sent his own horse to Ngahu,
saying that if it was really a desire on the part of Ngahu to
have a horse and that he had merely taken the opportunity in

222 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
that dispute to obtain one, he wished him to send the man's horse
back, and take his. This could not be done by Ngahu, as the
message implied insult ; and Ngahu's pride being hurt, he sent,
the two horses back. In order to show that the ariki or chief
does not possess an imperative power over his tribe, I will
illustrate it by an ancient custom. In olden times, in times of
war, when an attack was expected by any section of a tribe and
the aid of other portions of the tribe was needed, the ariki did
not send a command, but conveyed his wish by a token called
Ngakau, which token varied according to the danger then im
pending ; also, if a hapu or section of a tribe intended to take
vengeance for an old insult, a token was sent to gain the assis
tance of other sections of the tribe. It was not a command.
The token was sent without a message, and it was received with
out a question being put by the chief to whom it was sent : it
was therefore optional on the part of the receiver to attend to
the summons thus implied or not. An instance occurred about
the year 1838 when a Maori war was raging in the Bay of
Islands, in which Kawiti, ariki of Ngatihine, took part. He sent
a Ngakau to Mate, a chief of the same tribe then residing at
Kaipara, but the request was not complied with. If it had been
(as some suppose) that a chief is supreme in his tribe, such a cus
tom as I have given could never have been practised for genera
tions. The custom itself is a sufficient refutation of the assumption
that the chief has a manorial right over his tribe. But it may be
said that this is an isolated case; I will, therefore, give another,
where not only the hapus of a tribe were concerned, but where
the whole tribe and all the chiefs of the tribe were concerned in
the refusal to accede to the request of the ariki. I have before
said that an ariki of a tribe (being priest) is supreme ruler in
times of war, when his orders are admitted by the people to
carry an appearance of an order from the gods ; but in the
attack on the stronghold of the Thames tribe (Ngatipaoa), about
the year 1822, by the whole of the Ngapuhi Iwi led by Hongi,
there arose a dispute as to how the pa was to be attacked, which
eventually caused a separation of the Ngapuhi. Four or five of

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHIEFS. 223
the hapus retired, and would not join in the attack on this place,
but joined after the battle, and assisted in all the further
attacks made on the Waikato.
I have said that the dictatorship of a tribe may be assumed
by a minor chief of a tribe, or even by a member of another
tribe. Although the natives allow a great influence, and even
pay a great respect to the offspring of their aristocracy, yet if
this power is unaccompanied by intellect and bravery, the ariki
of a tribe or chief of a hapu may be supplanted by an inferior
chief, as in the case of the ariki of the Ngatiraukawa, who was
succeeded by Te Rauparaha. Te Rauparaha was not a chief of
rank ; that is, he was the offspring of a junior branch of the
ariki family of Tainui, and by intermarriage of his progenitors
with minor chiefs and women of other tribes, he held no influence
by birth ; but when the principal chief of Ngatiraukawa (Hape
ki Tuarangi) was on his death-bed and the whole tribe were
assembled, the old chief (who had been a noted warrior in his
day) asked if his successor could tread in his steps and lead his
people on to victory, and so keep up the honour of the tribe.
This question was put to all his sons, but no reply was given ;
when Te Rauparaha got up from 'the midst of the minor chiefs
and people who were sitting at a distance from the sick chief
and the chiefs of high rank, and said, " I am able to tread in
your steps, and even do that which you could not do." As he
was the only speaker in answer to Hape's question, the whole.
tribe acknowledged him as their leader. Hence his influence to
his dying day. Te Paraha was a man of superior powers of
mind as a native, and as a. leader of a war part}' was not even
surpassed by the noted Hongi ; but let it not be supposed that
by gaining a certain influence or mana by his superior powers of
mind, he had the power tomake anything tapu ; his mana only
went so far as his protecting power and counsel were required ;
the Ngatiraukawa ariki and the Ngatitoa ariki still retained the
power of making or taking the tapu off anything, as I will again
instance in an ariki of an hapu of Ngapuhi, whose name was
Manu. He was ariki of the Ngatikaihoro, but being a thief he

224 HISTORY OF THE MAORIS.
lost all influence over his people except that of tapu; his
nephew (his sister's son) took the leadership of the hapu, but it
so occurred that a certain piece of land was required by the hapu
on which to cultivate. A decision was given by the then
leader ; but he could not go beyond his wish, and it could not
be occupied till it had been made noa or the tapu taken off by
an ariki. Manu being the ariki objected, but at the combined
request of -his hapu, he removed the tapu by incantations, and
the land was occupied by the people. This example speaks for
itself in a twofold way. Not only can the people transfer their
allegiance to a person not an ariki by birth, but they can compel
by united request, their own ariki to do that to which he is
opposed. The word "chief," as understood by Europeans, leads'
to false conclusions in reference to the application of that name
to a New Zealander, or (to put it in another way) Europeans
expect more to be done by chiefs of Maori tribes than even
these admit themselves to possess. I may confidently say there
never was, or is now, a chief in New Zealand who can order
any one of his tribe (slaves excepted). The members of a tribe
do resist the orders of a chief with impunity. I may say,
further, there is not any chief or ariki of a tribe, or even all the
chiefs and arikis of any iwi together, who can collectively give a
guarantee that they will make iwi, or any hapu in it, act up to
any terms they (the chiefs) may agree to. I do not wish to
tamper with the rank or influence of a Maori chief, but let facts
speak for themselves. When Heke had, for the first time, cut the
flagstaff down at Kororareka, and troops (though a few) were
sent from Sydney, and when the Governor had gone to the North
to within seven miles of Heke's home, the arikis of the Ngapuhi
hapus laid a number of guns at the feet of His Excellency as
tokens, and entered into a contract that Heke should not cause any
more disturbance. Although these chiefs were the greatest men of
Ngapuhi — Waka, Rewa, Tareha, and others, and Heke was only
a minor chief, yet he in defiance of them all cut the flagstaff
down again, and burnt the town of Kororareka. A Maori chief
when he promises anything in the name of his tribe, invariably

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHIEFS. 225
implies the proviso that he promises for as many only of his
tribe as will listen to him. And when he promises anything for
his individual self, he has a proviso in his own mind (when he is
reminded of his contract) which he makes known in this way,
" Oh, my love to my relatives, who condemned me for my act,
made me think as they do." And if reprimanded for not con
veying the news of his change of mind at a sooner date, his
answer is,., " I thought it would be the same if you did not know
of it." I said that a member of another tribe may assume the
dictatorship of a hapu of an iwi not his own. As my time is
limited one example must suffice. In the war of Hongi with
the Rotorua he took many slaves, and at a recent time a young
man named Pirihongo (of no note even amongst his own people
as a chief of birth) paid a visit to some of his relatives who
were taken slaves by Hongi, Being of an intelligent mind he
eventually became, and is now, the leader of one of the Ngapuhi
hapus at the Waimate, to whom many of the arikis and chiefs
of Ngapuhi apply when they want the advice and assistance of
the hapu of which he is now the leader.

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