The Arts of the Fowler

The bird-taking season, the busy time among fowlers, was the next important activity after the lifting and storing of the cultivated crops; we may fix the time as the month of May, though there was no fixed date for the ripening of wild fruits in the scheme of Nature, As early as March, however, keen-eyed old bushmen were ranging the forest and examining the bird-food supply; should it be seen that a bounteous crop was to be, then it was also known that birds would be numerous and in good condition, a good fowling-season was at hand. This fact would be made known to the people, and they would set to work and prepare all the necessary paraphernalia for taking birds. The season about to open may be called the principal fowling-season, but certain species were also taken at other times, as, for instance, the pigeon when feeding on the ripe berries of the tawa in summer, also the kaka and the tui when rallying to the honey-feast on the rata in December and January.

Such a year of plenty as we have alluded to would be a termed tau kai, tau ruru, or tau hawere, and experts would continue to visit, examine and report on the condition of the forest fruits. At such a time a certain amount of restriction existed, as in connection with the whenua pua or fruitful lands, and the bulk of the people were not allowed to roam about such lands as they listed, only responsible and capable men would range the forest.

The Rongowhakaata folk of Turanga-nui-a-Ruamatua State that the white pine wood called by us the Makauri Bush, that formerly page 128existed inland of Gisborne, was so named after a single pine tree that bore that name. This was a noted tree in Maori myth, and also in ordinary life, for it is said to have always foretold the prospects of the Coming season, hence it was carefully examined each year, as soon as its fruit had set. Should the greater part of the fruit of the tree be on its seaward side then the Coming season would be an excellent one for fishermen; fish would assuredly be most plentiful, but birds would be in short supply. If, however, the landward side bore the most fruit, the position would be reversed, birds would be plentiful in the forests, but the sea would provide no bountiful harvest. Ever the Maori placed great reliance on omens, signs, etc., in trying to peer into the future; in such endeavours he invaded every department of Nature; he based his foresight on sound observation, on absurd beliefs and puerile fancies. He spent long hours in studying the stars on high, that he might know when to plant his crops, or how to prepare for the fowling-season; he endured with indomitable patience most irksome restrictions, lest he offend mythical beings, atua and tutelary guardians born of his imagination, and so fail to obtain a necessary supply of food. He knew that Tane, overlord of the forest, its products and denizens, must be ever in his thoughts, ever placated and respected: he knew that certain inferior guardians and caretakers of the forest, of birds and their welfare, were ever aware of his every action, that such beings as Punaweko, Parauri and Tiwhaia, held the welfare of birds, and the success or failure of his activities, in the hollow of their hands. He knew that apparently trivial acts, the dropping of a few feathers in the forest, the carrying of a portion of cooked food for a quick lunch in a tree-top, yea even the uttering of a forbidden word might cause all game-birds to leave the forest, to migrate to distant places, places that held death swift and certain to unauthorized intruders.

The Maori fowler had a busy time during May, June and July; after the bird and rat-trapping tasks were over he would begin to prepare land for crops, the planting and care of which would occupy much of his time before the summer fowling and other tasks commenced. The Maori had two ways of ascertaining the proper time to commence taking any species of bird; in the first place he would note the ripening of certain berries, the fall of leaves of deciduous plants, the dying away of annuals, or the blossoming of certain plants. When such signs told him that a certain species of bird was ready for the pot, our Maori proceeded to make the second test, he went and snared some of those birds, so as to make quite sure. Many of the months of the Maori year were marked by the appearance of certain flowers and fruits, also the ripening of fruits, hence page 129in Maori song we encounter the expression, Te karaka whakaura i te waru, that is, The karaka [berry] reddening in the eighth [month].

To the Maori of pre-European times game-taking rights were of exceeding importance, hence they were jealously guarded, and any encroachment on such rights was resented in the most vigorous manner; such a trespass has often resulted in fight. When Te Karaha crossed the tribal boundary near Tara-pounamu to take birds one fair morn seven generations ago, he imagined a vain thing, and so, in place of winning a meal, he provided one for his neighbours. This story is true, inasmuch as the rata tree to which he was tied up while the oven was being prepared, still Stands to prove it; and the name of that tree is Te Hereherenga; it bears westward from the storm-lashed peak of Tara-pounamu.

Fowling rights among our Maori folk were in many cases, from our point of view, somewhat involved. At one time I was asked by one of our museums to procure a red-feather cloak of the old style. This meant the slaying of many kaka parrots, the bird that provides the feathers for such garments, and so over 400 of the offspring of Tumataika perished, and ovens steamed gaily at Heipipi. My worthy fowler found few such parrots on the land over which he had the right to take birds, but noticed that they were much more numerous on certain lands in which he himself held no interest, though his nephew did. An arrangement was soon made, and the fowler brought in some weighty bags; having procured sufficient for his purposes he then handed over his fowling-piece to his nephew, as some return for the favour received, or, as he put it, as a token of recognition of his nephew's right to, and mana over, that kaka- infested land.

If a person had, in his childhood and youth, lived alternately with the relatives of both his parents, had as it were been brought up by both parties, had been recognized and accepted by both as a child of theirs, then such person would be able to take game on the lands of both such groups, his father's and his mother's people. Had such a person not so kept both his fires burning, had he lived with the folk of one parent only, then his game-taking rights would be confined to the lands of the one group. Any person having no interest in an area of forest could not take any game therein, unless permission to do so had been given him by the owners. During the bird-taking season no trespasser, be he never so harmless, was welcome in the area being worked. Not only was the forest under tapu at such a time, and so a chance wayfarer might inadvertently vitiate such condition and cause birds to abandon that area, but there might be some ill-disposed person who was striving to attract page 130such birds to the forest-lands of his own people. Again, no Maori Community liked to have outside folk overlooking their preserves and food-collecting activities. The general feeling on these matters was decidedly a strong one, and this fact was the origin of a peculiar usage. When we visit a person's house and find no one at home, we are apt to leave a card to notify that person of the fact that we have called; now the Maori carried no card-case, but he did what he could to show the land-owner that he was moving abroad with no unworthy object. In this wise: when a Maori was passing over the lands of another clan than his own, or of any persons not closely connected with his family, and chanced upon a place where snares were set, possibly snared birds in some of them, he would pluck a branch and place it in a conspicuous place near such snares. This was to notify the owner of the snares of the fact that a person had passed by, a person innocent of any evil intention, one who did not wish to conceal the fact that he had found himself in this delicate situation. Our forest-stroller had then done all he could do at the time.

When Tawhaki left Kawerau to visit the wild forest-lands of Parahaki he went up the Whakatane Valley and the Manga-o-hou tributary of that river. At Kaitawa he found some pigeons ensnared on a taromiro tree, hence he left his cape there, a topuni cape of dogskin, as a tapui sign, i.e., to bespeak the birds for his own use; and so that tree has since been known as Tapui-kakahu. See No. 19 of the Addenda for this story in the original. He was on a visit to relatives in those wild forest-lands.

Should a person have permission to take game on lands in which he held no interest, he would take a portion of his catch to the principal individual among the owners. This voluntary tribute might, or might not, be accepted, but even if returned to him, he would repeat the offer, under similar circumstances, at any time in the future. In some cases at least, when such tribute was accepted, the privileged fowler received the further concession of being allowed to repeat his activities at a future time. In like manner a number of persons, such as a family-group, might be accorded such a privilege without them being allowed any claim to, or mana over, the land itself. The next step would be the giving of a home to a party of outside-folk, land to dwell on and use, with fishing and fowling-rights. Even this was merely a right to use the land, etc.; if extratribal folk, the privilege did not make them members of the local tribe.

A man would have the right of taking birds, rats, and fish at certain places, the right to set snares on certain well-known snaring-page 131trees, for flightless birds at certain places, to spear birds on certain trees, to set snares for water-birds at certain parts of certain streams orlakes, and to take fish at certain parts of streams. When accumulating years' rendered hüls steeper, and trees more difficult to climb, then our fowler would bethink him of handing over to his son or sons that province of his activities, and so his share of rat-runs, bird-snaring trees and troughs, bird-spearing trees, and stream Privileges would be apportioned among such sons. Such apportionment was not always equalized, as among his different sons, for one might be an enthusiastic deep-sea fisher, yet take little interest in the fowlers' art, another might prefer the task of cultivating crops, and so on.

When a father was conducting his young son over and around the lands he held an interest in, he would point out to the lad the various streams or parts of streams, the snaring-trees and troughs, the rat-runs, etc., that the lad would be called upon to work in a few years. In this manner: "Now these snaring-troughs you see belong to the descendants of …., who will work them; you have no right to do so, and so must avoid them. This stream is called …., it is a tributary of the ….; as we cross it you step on land over which you have mana, with fowling, fishing, berry-collecting and timber-working rights that have come down from your ancestor …. You can set snares at this stream from …. to its junction with the …., and your women-folk will work the same part of it for its fish. Yon white pine is a taumatua, its name is Te Rua-o-Tane, and your family holds the right to snare birds thereon; you must carefully renovate the ladders each season, and pay close attention to relashing them. Ever bear in mind a saying of your ancestors: He toa piki rakau he kai na te pakiaka (A daring tree climber shall be food for roots). Also, know this, there are two baskets of food provided by this tree, its birds and its berries. This other tree is a tutu, and is much frequented by kaka parrots, its name is …. On this tree you will take many parrots by the mutu method, after which the spear will be effective; you already know that fixed tahei snares, and trough-set snares must not be employed to take the kaka, but only the portable mutu, that must be closely watched and quickly manipulated, lest the ensnared parrot free itself. You know the various wai tahei, where you may set snares for birds, and there are also two wai tuhi whereat you hold the same privilege. One of these is in a hollow on the top of the big rock known as …., while the other is in a hole on the upper surface of a log at …. That log is all that remains of a famed kaihua tree, a rata named …. that was worked page 132by your ancestors for many generations. Of course these wai tuhi may dry completely up during a dry season, if so it will be advisable to carry water from the nearest stream and fill them up again; this because birds have been accustomed to visiting those drinking-places for many years past. Now by yonder stream, known as…. you see an uru manuka, a grove of straight-barrelled trees of white manuka, called kopuka and mārū; these trees are of much value to us, for they provide us with spear-shafts and many other implements, also with bark wherewith to cover our huts: these trees must be carefully conserved; any attempt made by other clans to interfere with them must be resisted, even to fighting. Another thing to be guarded is the tutu grove at …., also the ochre-yielding spring at …., that has been resorted to by your ancestors since the days of…. You must always be ready to resent and resist the irresponsible and dishonest acts of kaihaumi [poachers] and kaipaoe [irresponsible Wanderers]." Even so would the old man of yore ramble on, and explain to sons or grandsons all useful information concerning woodcraft and forest-lore generally, the arts of the fowler and fisherman, tribal lore and land tenure, and divers other matters, the knowledge of which had been so handed down for centuries.

The institution of tapu, so often condemned and derided by us as being both useless and harmful, was often of great Service to the Maori folk, who were naturally a self-willed, 'touchy' people. Thus it was relied on in many cases to enforce certain regulations designed to enhance the public weal, and one of these was connected with the protection of game during the breeding-season, and at any other time when such a course was considered necessary, or advisable. The usage termed rahui was but a form of tapu, and the term was used to denote a prohibitory enactment or pronouncement concerning food-supplies, the fruits of the earth, products of land and water. The term is employed both as noun and verb. If the use of a certain path was forbidden, or canoes not allowed to pass over a certain area of water, it was usual to use the term tapu when alluding to such prohibitions. As applied to protecting bird-life during the breeding-season the rahui was the most effective and beneficial.

Now when a forest, or stream, or a grove, or a Single tree, or anything eise was rahuitia or protected in such manner, no guardians or watchmen were stationed thereat in order to enforce the prohibition, inasmuch as it was quite unnecessary; seldom was such a promulgation disregarded. Neither was any trouble taken to set up a number of warning signs; in some cases a post, termed a pou rahui, was set up, sometimes an old garment, or a part of one, or a lock of page 133human hair, or a mere bunch offern, was tied to a stake, to mark the establishment of a rahui, but in other cases there was nought but a verbal declaration from an influential chief that a certain place was rahuitia, whereupon all persons knew that it was tapu or forbidden. Such a pronouncement as this would very soon be known far and wide, and, as observed, it would be respected. As to the cause of this universal obedience to such a dictum, it may be referred to the same origin as that which made the tapu of death, burial-places, etc., so very effective, viz., fear of the gods. In the first place the Maori was a strange mixture of aristocrat and democrat, ever he respected rank if worthily upheld, hence he was usually prepared to respect and comply with any wish, correction, or interdiction emanating from a respected chief. We must also consider the respect paid by the Maori to any form of tapu, because the vivifying power of tapu, the force that rendered it effective, came from the gods, and when a law or prohibition is empowered by powerful beings who punish offenders in this world, promptly, and not in a vague spirit-world after death, then barbaric man considers it a wise action to obey those gods. There is also a third factor to consider, and that is the waro rahui; this expression denotes the arts of black magic as employed whereby to cause a rahui to be respected, the use of man-destroying spells destined to slay any person who disregarded the prohibition, who vitiated the whatu or kapu of the pou rahui ceremonial, who was guilty of the grave offence of kairāmua. There was no doubt in the Maori mind as to the stark reality of this danger should a person disregard a rahui so protected; this must be understood ere we proceed to give some details concerning the custom.

The term kairāmua denotes the disregarding of a rahui, the meddling with, catching or taking, any products so protected, be they birds, fish, berries, timber-trees, flax (Phormium), bark, or anything eise that might be so preserved. In urgent cases a request might be made that the embargo be lifted for a space, and the forbidden land, or spot, or tree, made noa or common, so that the product, whatever it might be, could be utilized.

Should any person commit an act ofkai-haumi or kai-rā-mua, i.e., the taking of such protected things, without permission, then trouble would ensue when the meddler was detected, the act being a takahi mana, a disregarding of the authority of the person who had imposed the restriction; this was a graver offence than the mere taking of the protected food supply, or whatever it was. When Tamataha stole a kiwi that he found caught in a tawhita trap belonging to others, he took a grave risk; one Ruaporoaki then caught another kiwi and page 134fixed it in the same trap, but took the precaution to repeat over it a deadly hoa charm. Again Tama came along and lifted a fine and highly desirable bird, and so went down to Hades. Ngai Tuhoe rose to avenge his death, and slew four of the offspring of Karetehe; many men perished to avenge the lifted kiwi, or rather the injured dignity of its rightful owner.

This custom was a wide-spread one in Polynesia, as also is its name of rahui, this form appears in the Society and Tuamotu groups, lahui at the Hawaiian Isles, ahm at the Marquesas, raui at Mangaia, and it is also known at other isles.

There are, of course, different phases of tapu, different degrees of severity thereof, and the generally accepted meaning of the rahui phase is the protection, the conservation of products of the earth, timber, berries, birds, fish, etc. If the use of a path was prohibited, then it was usual to say that such path was tapu, not under a rahui, or not rahuitia. A river might be under strict tapu, so that no canoe could be used on it, or it might be that the fish of the river were protected by a rahui, but at the same time people might traverse the stream in canoes, or bathe in it, and drink of its waters. We will see anon that the material token or sign of a rahui served in some cases, as a mauri or talismanic object, already explained in this paper, and so a rahui might really be a combination of ban, protective prohibition, and talismanic preserver of fruitfulness and welfare.

We must also bear in mind that when food products were taken from land under tapu for other reasons than that of conservation of its products, the offence was often a more serious one than is the ordinary kai-haumi. Thus, when Mahia was slain at Te Papuni, the lands thereat were made tapu at once, he being a prominent man of the district. Some of the people of the district violated the condition of tapu by procuring and consuming certain food-supplies of the land, an offence known as kai-parapara. This enraged the widow of Mahia, who raised a party of her relatives at Maungapohatu, and descended upon Te Papuni like a wolf on the fold; when the raiders marched homeward they left the offenders past all need of future food-supplies.

A rahui was often marked by the exposure of some object; the post or pou rahui already mentioned was often painted red. Colenso, who saw much of old Maori custom s, speaks of a pole being stuck up with fragments of wearing apparel, or a bunch of fiax, fern, grass, or such like, tied around it; this would be a pou rahui. Polack was warned off a field of maize by a person who "pointed to a small bunch of human hair made fast to a ti or cabbage-palm tree." When page 135Wanikau proclaimed a rahui of the birds and fish of the Roto-a-Tara and Poukawa lakes about 1820, he set up some poles or posts on the shores of the lakes and painted them with red ochre. Then one Mautaki, who objected to being warned off fat eels and toothsome water-birds, refused to recognize the ban, and so, with malice aforethought, he destroyed those posts by fire. This act called for some reproof; hence Wanikau applied to three other clans for assistance, when much fighting ensued and red war desolated the land of Heretaunga. When Koroua was slain at Otaketake, his slayers cut off his head and stuck it up on a pou rahui. Some time later a humorous member of Ngati Whaoa took the skull away and planted a taro in it to serve as food for his child, and so that child received the name of Taro. 'Tis thus that feuds were kept alive.

Some form of tapu was employed in cases where a crop was attacked by caterpillar pests. Presumably this ban would continue while the tohunga experts were endeavouring to destroy the pests by means of pungent smoke and still more pungent charms, but one would scarcely expect the word rahui to be employed in this case (Ka rahuitia nga māra ina kainga nga kumara e te anuhe me te tupeke, ma te tohunga anake e whakanoa) Te Manihera explained later that the cultivation was put under rahui in connection with the destruction of pests; that if any man disregarded the prohibition he would be slain; evidently trespassers were not desired. Another peculiar usage in connection with this word rahui is illustrated in the following sentence: I tukuna e au a Mea whenuaki a Mea tangata hei rahui, ara hei whenua mona. (I handed over a certain piece of land to a certain person as a rahui, that is as land for him). The word rahui is employed as both noun and verb, used as a verb the suffix tia represents the passive form. The native who gave me this note explained that the piece of land was so handed over in order that the recipient might make use of it, not necessarily as a permanent grant. He also told me that a forest, or portion of a forest, or a Single tree might be rahuitia; in the first two cases the prohibition would apply to food-products, birds, berries, etc., while in the case of a single tree or a grove the ban might be in connection with berries, bark, birds, or the trunks of trees reserved for canoe-making. When a tree was so reserved to supply a canoe-hull in the future, possibly for a future generation, a symbol of the rahui act might be a stone concealed at the base of such tree. A charm might or might not be repeated over the stone to add emphasis to the prohibition, to convert it into a waro rahui or pit of destruction.

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As to this curious phrase, waro denotes a pit, hole, abyss, and the meaning was explained to me by an old warrior who took part in the three days' foodless fighting against Imperial troops at Orakau. A pit was dug, and any person who disregarded the prohibition was consigned to that pit of death, not by man, be it understood, but by the gods who live for ever, for the waro rahui is truly the pit of death. But no real pit was made, for we have here merely a figurative expression, such as the Maori loved to employ; the black-magic spells of the warlock, empowered by atua or gods represented the pit, so that the waro might be a stone, or just nothing at all. The word rua, meaning hole, or pit, was used in a similar manner, as shown in No. 11 of this Bulletin series. I remember a heavy boulder lying in the bed of the Ruatahuna tributary of the Whakatane river that long served as a waro rahui; it was named Tumatawhero, after a tribal ancestor. This boulder symbolized a ban at one time placed on the surrounding lands.

In the time of Te Rehunga certain troubles over land arose in the Tamaki-nui-a-Rua district. The Rangitane folk ascertained that Te Rehunga and his people were endeavouring to seize certain lands at Tamaki, hence they set up a rahui at Tuhimata in order to render such lands tapu, and the pou rahui was named Puakiteao. The people of Te Rehunga heard of this and promptly destroyed the offensive post, but Rangitane re-erected it, or set up another; then war broke out, as between the two peoples, and many tribulations followed. This pou rahui seems to have simply represented a claim to certain lands; its purport was more to prevent outside folk seizing the land than merely to conserve the products of that land. Another story teils us that Te Rehunga, Te Manawakawa, and Te Rangi-koianake went out and erected a pou rahui at the mouth of the Marukaretu stream, and named that post Numia. This was simply an attempt to seize land to which those persons had no right. They set up another such post at Whakatau, and named it Kauteawha, and eventually obtained lands about Takapau and Te Kopua. Not only was a post set up for such a purpose called a pou rahui, or pou rahui whenua, but the term was sometimes applied to a boundary-mark, such as a post, pole, or stone set up to mark a tribal or clan boundary.

Occasionally the locating of a boundary-line necessitated a meeting of the parties concerned, and a good deal of talking; of a verity, your true Maori enjoyeth such meetings, with the inevitable speech-making. A certain amount of ceremonial might enter into the agreement made to respect the boundary; in this wise, the principal person of each of the parties would take their stand beside a pou rahui page 137set up on the line. Each man would place his left hand on the post, and then an expert or tohunga would recite the following formula:—

• "Tenei au te whakatokeke nei he tokeke nui
• Turuki au i taku pou, ko te pou a Tane i te wao nui, i te wao roa
• Tenei ka hotua e au ki te hotu nui, ki te hotu roa
• Ki te kore he take, tamaua take ki enei ariki
• He rahui nau, E Rangi E!"

This declaration in the open under Rangi the parent denoted sincerity, firmness of purpose to respect the boundary laid down.

I was once told that occasionally a post was set up to commemorate a ceremonial feast and meeting of people held at the time of some important function, such as the marriage of persons of rank, the ceremonial pertaining to the birth of a first-born son to such folk, or a similar meeting held to mark the close of a session of the whare wananga or superior school of learning. Such a post is said to have been a hewn one, and it would probably have some design carved on it. I obtained no corroboration of this statement, but it is quite possible that such a thing was occasionally done; it is paralleled by similar usages. The post served to aggrandize the function, and the prestige of the leading persons connected with it, as well as to commemorate it. What interested me was the fact that the narrator used the term rahui hakari when describing the usage.

As already observed a material token of a rahui was not always in evidence; in some cases the edict was spread by word of mouth, and it was backed up only by mana tangata, the authority, prestige, of the chief who had promulgated it. Should, however, any daring person venture to disregard the ban, then more severe measures would be taken.

As to a rahui connected with a stream, the object was to warn off poachers, or to prevent the fish therein being taken out of season, or to preserve them for some important feast to be held in the near future, or for the benefit of a few persons only. The last of these causes was probably of rare occurrence. When certain sons of Matiu of Ngati Whare left this world, a part of the Okahu valley and stream were rahuitia for a time on account of Matiu being a leading man of his tribe, for such act would tend to aggrandize the fame of the dead and of the functions pertaining thereto; as the Maori puts it the action was he mea whakanui i te tangata—or honouring of the (dead) person. In this case no symbolic sign was exposed, but word went forth that the vale of Okahu, within certain bounds, was under tapu, and that all food-products of that part were rahuitia. page 138This prohibition was abolished soon after the arrival of Rev. Preece in 1847.

I have been told that rahui restrictions imposed on fish were, in many cases, not marked by any post or other visible symbol, but the word went forth, Kua turahuitia te wai, i.e., such and such a stream is under rahui, the limits of the interdict being also made known.

In another case a water-spring was put under rahui to prevent any person polluting it, and a stone was deposited thereat as a token of the interdiction.

In different districts one finds that there were differences in many Maori processes, methods, details of ceremonial, etc., and so we find a certain Variation in the establishment of a rahui. The account of this function given by the Tuhoe folk of the Matatua district is about the best given, and this was narrated by the late Tutakangahau of Maungapohatu, a man who possessed a remarkable knowledge of the old pre-European customs and lore of that district. When a man of position resolved to institute a rahui he would, ere erecting a pole or post, recite the following formula: He rokiroki, he penapena, he rakaiwhenua, these words denoting conservation, preservation. Having set his pou rahui firmly in the earth our conserver would procure a branchlet or a few fern-fronds and attach the same to the pole; which herbage would then be known as a maro, the maro of the pou rahui. If the arts of black-magic were to be relied on to enforce the rahui, i.e., to protect the food supplies or what not, then the expert would recite a karakia makutu or deadly spell, such as the following: Tangaroa iputia; Tangaroa i haea; Tangaroa i kungia; kia koi o niho; to kairakau kia pai, kia koi. Muimui te ngaro, totoro te iro. As he recited these words our worthy warlock would make a quick pass with his hand as though he were marking or scoring the earth, and indeed my informant so described the act (katahi ia ka hahae i te kahu o te whenua). This act was a symbolic one; combined with the incantation it was supposed to open the pit of death and destruction, in fact the waro rahui, wherein would perish those who disregarded the rahui and committed the pernicious act of kairamua. The spell or charm would 'sharpen the teeth of the rahui that it might destroy man,' that is the light-fingered trespasser, the poacher.

Another highly important act was the protection of the rahui from molestation by evil-doers, attempts made by dishonest folk to nullify the powers of the rahui, and so favour their own base purposes; the symbol of protection had itself to be protected. The expert would remove the maro or herbage from the pole, and, as he did so, his hand would pluck at the tauru or head of the post or pole, as though page 139he were picking something off it; it was, however, merely a motion, nothing material was removed. To the perishable maro a stone would be added, in order to have something durable to represent the powers of the rahui, and these two items were taken away and carefully concealed. They would be referred to jointly as the kapu of the pou rahui, and might also be described as its whatu. Tutaka, learned in all the arts of the warlock, explained to me that the kapu is the material representation of the (imaginary powers of the) tauru or upper part of the post. Tenei mea te kapu, ko te aria o te tauru o te pou rahui.

If the kapu were deposited at the post it might be found by some would-be poacher, and he would proceed to annul the offensive powers of the rahui by means of counter-spells. It is true that a maro would be found on the post by prowlers, but that was merely a blind, a deception to mislead purloiners; it had not been hoaina (charmed), and so, as my informant put it, 'it had no teeth.' Now should it come to the knowledge of the controller of the rahui that some person has flouted the interdiction—and survived, he knows full well that the kapu has 'gone to sleep,' or become powerless, whereupon he would proceed to turuki the somnolent smiter of peccant ones, even that it might do its duty. The term turuki in this connection means a supplementing of the powers of the magic stone, and would mean that another incantation would be recited over it. Of course all these smiting powers really emanate from the gods, the kapu merely acts as a medium. The Maori was much given to the use of material Symbols of immaterial beings, forces, qualities; he would also take an immaterial representation or symbol of an immaterial quality, as when our experts hand-plucked away the mana or power of the pou rahui.

Should the owners of a protected forest note that something was amiss, that the trees in such forest were not fruiting well, that birds or rats were not plentiful, then the custodian of the rahui, that is of the kapu, would proceed to whakaoho or rouse that kapu, which evidently had become negligent, dilatory, and so force it to get busy and restore the fruitfulness of the forest. This shows clearly that a pou rahui, or at least the stone symbol of its powers, was utilized as a mauri. When a warlock essayed to 'rouse up' an indolent kapu, it meant that he was prodding the gods into activity, for, as every one knows full well, such matters can be effected only by the gods. Tutaka explained that, when it was seen that a forest, its trees, birds, or fish, were not in a good way, then the kapu of the rahui and the mauri might be procured, and over them the taitai rite page 140would be performed at a tapu, ceremonial, specially-generated fire known as the ahi taitai.

Should any meddler wish to discover the kapu in order that he might annul its powers, he would prowl about repeating a charm that commences: Whakaarahia ki te papa tuatahi, he kari maranga hake, etc., and so on, the above words being repeated save for the advance in the digits up to tuangahuru, ten. He then chants: "Arouse ye, arouse ye, Rua; arouse ye, Pu; arouse ye, More; arouse ye, Take, etc.!" All this is to arouse the kapu and cause it to make itself known to the seeker, just as he who seeks the bones of a dead person repeats a certain charm that causes them to emit a sound that may be heard by the seeker (ka hu mai aua wheua).

In some cases a chief who possessed sufficient mana to institute a rahui would have a permanent pou rahui standing near a stream, or a grove of trees, or other place whereat he wished to preserve periodically fish, berries, birds, or some other product. The commencement of a close season would be marked by the chief suspending one of his garments, probably an old cape, on the post or pole, and it would be left there until the ban was lifted. I saw one such post still standing at Te Rautawhiri, on the bank of the Rangitaiki river as late as the 90's; it was erected long before by Tukuha of Ngati Apa in order periodically to preserve the eels of that river.

The same man erected a rahui post at the Wheao stream, which he named after his own daughter, Te Kiritapoa.

Many different things may be rahuitia (preserved, or reserved), as shell-fish on a certain area of beach, or a sandbank. Polack mentions seeing pou rahui, adorned with carved designs and red paint, erected for this purpose on or near the sea beach, but such an interdiction would probably not be a permanent one. A place at Pokohu, whereat the Ngati Pou folk obtained red-ochre for their prized paint, was protected by a rahui. In some places a special seasonal rahui preserved the prized product of the kiekie until all could enjoy a feast. Drift logs stranded on a sea-beach or river-bank were claimed by the finder, who would place his mark thereon.

It is of course possible that the institution of an important rahui was sometimes marked by human sacrifice in olden times, but I page 141have never gained any evidence in support of such a theory, and must therefore decline to consider it probable. The statement made in paragraph 2, p. 55 of vol. 28 of the Transactions of the N.Z. Institute is an unfortunate one; there is no evidence to support the human sacrifice theory, and the writer of the article in the Transactions admits cheerfully that he worked out a theory of his own, and "saw no reason to doubt" some wild speculations made by him. However he makes some extremely interesting remarks on pp. 56-57 to explain to us the true meaning of such place-names as Puketitiri and Waititirau. These remarks are highly entertaining.

In the published account of Sir G. Grey's walking tour to Taupo in 1849-50 occurs a reference to the close season, i.e., the breeding season, when birds were not taken by fowlers. The following extract refers to a rahui at Rotomahana, where they found breeding-ducks protected by that effective form of interdiction: "This being the breeding season of the ducks and other wild fowl with which the waters of Rotomahana swarm, they are preserved by a most rigid tapu until the young are quite fledged, when such of the tribes in the neighbourhood as have an acknowledged proprietory right in Rotomahana, assemble at Piripai for the purpose of having a feast, when the number of young ducks, pukeko, and other birds killed is described as being enormous. The natives, by way of being very civil, told the Governor that we might, as a matter of great favour, shoot the birds, but they particularly wished it to be understood that our case was not to be made a precedent for future travellers." The Governor wisely decided not to accept the offer, but to leave the rahui intact.

In other places it has been shown that the Maori had a number of institutions and observances whereby he conserved the welfare, vitality, vigour, productiveness of man, land, village, forests, waters, birds, etc., and that all such practices were based on erroneous beliefs and superstition; none the less some at least were useful as disciplinary agents, and all were allied in purport to the institution of rahui. Protection and conservation were ever aimed at, even the arts of life were so guarded and preserved; thus, when a party of experts had built a superior house, some object, termed a maro, was placed under the ridge-pole at the front wall in order to guard and preserve the knowledge and ability of the craftsmen.

One of the most important matters ever present in the mind of the Maori fowler was the avoidance of unlucky acts, remarks, and thoughts; one of his greatest anxieties was the probability that others would seriously affect his success as a fowler by making unlucky remarks or by encouraging unlucky thoughts and desires. A peculiar page 142feature of this deep-seated belief in aitua or omens was that, among fowlers and rat-trappers, during the seasons certain words of ordinary speech were banned. It has been shown that, when a Maori was seeking the plant termed perei (Gastrodia Cunninghamii), he refrained from uttering its name, because he believed that, should he be so thoughtless as to do so, then the plants would conceal themselves and he would be unable to find one; at such a time the plant was called maukuuku. In like manner our Maori fowler had to walk warily through the byways of his native tongue, and be extremely careful as to how he spoke of his snaring activities, and to rigidly refrain from speaking of what game he expected to take. Certain words he might not utter, one of which was the ordinary word meaning 'to look at, to examine' (titiro); this word was dropped out of his vocabulary during the fowling-season, so far as using it in referring to the examining of his snares was concerned; in its place he employed the term matai. Probably different words were so banned, in different tribal areas, but such restrictions were imposed in all districts. In the Matatua district no fowler would formerly have used the word wewete in any of its forms to describe taking captured birds from snares; it would be a puhore (unlucky act) to do so. He used in its place the word wherawhera, a plural form of whera (to open, to release birds from snares); it carries a similar meaning, and he retained his birds, not to mention his chance of taking more on the morrow. If certain things were done or said then birds would leave the place; they must not be allowed to know that any steps are being taken to capture them.

There are innumerable unlucky signs that were noted and heeded by fowlers, rat-trappers and fishermen in days of old, many of which seem extremely trivial to us. These signs were called puhore, and they seem to have been very much more numerous than lucky signs, or at least we hear much more about them. Many come under the heading of takiri, a word that describes any kind of convulsive start made by a person who is resting or sleeping. Such puerile beliefs were quite important matters to the Maori, and were allowed to influence important undertakings; we can hardly imagine a raiding party returning home prematurely because some man's nose has twitched, or a rainbow has appeared before the party. One wise man teils us that, should both arms of a sleeper or person resting jerk outwards, such a movement is called a hohera and it is apuhore, and that person will assuredly be unlucky in any quest or other undertaking of his in the immediate future. Another was equally certain that, if the right arm only so moves, the sign is a lucky one, that is a waimarie. I was never able to fix any definite period during which such puhore o page 143aituā (omen) was effective, my informants appeared hazy as to the duration of these restrictions, omens, etc.

If a sleeping dog Starts, or barks, or whines when asleep, this act is a takiari, that dog is catching a pig or kiwi, a lucky sign, by all means take that dog and go a-hunting, success is assured. If, in your walks abroad, you hear the fern bird cry: Kore ti! Kore ti!, then you know that failure dogs your steps, kaore e whiwhi you will acquire nothing; but should that bird cry out Toroki! Toroki! Kuri! Kuri! then proceed with your quest, it is a waimarie, a lucky sign. To stumble when walking is a tutuki tamaki, and a puhore; to dream that you see a fence in front of you is equally unlucky, and it augurs failure when you encounter many cobwebs across a track, or hear the cry of a robin, or that of a saddle-back to your left, or dream that you secure but little game, or that you see spirits, or if your dog halts on the left side of a track; such are the puhore or kuarapa, unlucky signs, that plagued the Maori of old.

It should here by explained that all animals, from man downward, are believed to be subject to premonitions of danger; when threatened by some unseen danger they become pawera, i.e., anxious, apprehensive, and so cautious, wary, and hence will probably take some steps to avoid misfortune; in the case of birds these will probably leave their feeding-ground and seek another far off. This is why such pains had to be taken, so much caution displayed, lest game should be warned of danger by this strange sensation, and so escape. Pahunu and mahunu are other terms employed to describe this peculiar mental state. Long years ago a friend of mine accompanied some natives on a pig-hunting trip, and, knowing that they usually made a meal off the liver of the first pig slain, he put a small packet of salt in his pocket. This foolish action was strongly condemned by his native companions, and one remarked: "Ere a pig has been killed you have eaten it." (Kaore ano kia mate mai he poaka kua kainga e koe). Their view was that the act of carrying condiments was an aitua or puhore, an unlucky act; it betokened confidence that a pig would be slain, and assuredly the pigs would become pawera, and so would like wise pigs absent themselves. It is foolish to count your chickens too soon, and, according to Maori belief, nothing is easier than to bring trouble on yourself. On a fair evening long years agoner as I was erecting a tent on the shores of Waikaremoana, a Maori sat watching me with marked disapproval; at last he remarked: "O friend! To erect a tent in fine weather is to ask for rain!"

This pernicious act of speaking of game, etc., as already taken at a time when it is yet alive and so able to escape, is termed toitoiokewa and toitoiakewa by natives of the Matatua district. page 144This malignant rebound of desire is apparently not confined to acts and speech, but extends even to thought, and this latter proclivity is also productive of the pawera or pahunu condition in game, and so of non-success, an empty or ill-filled bag. This ill-omened or unfortunate habit of indulging in thoughts of enjoying game not yet captured or slain, is described by the term tuhira, which signifies the attitude of a person who has not joined a fowling or fishing, or rat-trapping party, but at the same time dwells on the enjoyment of the fruits of such activities. It will thus be seen that desire alone may be productive of unpleasant results, of the toitoiokewa attitude and the pawera condition. Tumanako is a word that is allied to tuhira in meaning—'to desire some absent object,' hence it is often coupled with tuhira. I am informed on high authority that it is not unlucky to so think of inanimate objects, it is quite safe to anticipate the comfort of a warm fire, the fuel for which has not yet been procured, because that fuel has no powers of locomotion, and so cannot escape. This statement seemed to me clash somewhat with the belief that the perei plant will disappear if one mentions its name when looking for it, as already described; however I did not mention my misgivings to my native friends.

There is no bane without its antidote, and so our Maori predecessor cast about for something to counteract the effect of these noxious influences, and found it in the tuāpā or luckpost, in the symbolic mauri, and in divers charms of marvellous efficacy. The Tuāpā was an exceedingly useful institution, and is described by the Maori as he mea arai puhore, a means of warding off ill-luck; it consists of a simple ceremony performed at a certain place, and this was supposed to be most effective in abolishing all unpleasant consequences pertaining to toitoiokewa, tuhira, and tumanako. A post, usually a hewn one, was set in the ground, and in some cases at least was painted red, the word tuāpā was used as a name for such posts. This was not a tapu object, as the mauri was, any person, even women, might approach it, and I could not ascertain that it was used as a shrine for spirit-gods, or the powers of such, as the mauri was. If it had been looked on in that way then it would have been concealed, and few men would know its hiding-place, but a tuāpā might be situated quite near the village home, and not improbably near a public path. The word tuāpā means 'to obstruct, to prevent.'

It is possible that, at the erection or institution of a tuāpā, the post was endowed with a certain amount of indwelling mana by means of the repetition of some form of charm over it, but I have page 145no evidence to support that idea. So far as I could gather, my informant seemed to believe that the fact of persons making a simple offering at the luck-post, and repeating thereat a simple charm, would not only ward off ill-luck from the performers, but also endow the post with a certain aspect of mana; I must, however, still leave this question in some doubt.

When fowlers or fishermen were about to set forth to pursue their avocations they would first hie them to the tuāpā post, should there be one at or near the village. Each person would provide himself with some object to serve as a medium or connecting link between his implements and the luck-post. Thus a fowler would probably procure a small branchlet, and the fisher of eels or kokopu might pluck a piece of the material of his torch; the latter fish were often taken by women during the hours of darkness. The fowler, on arriving at the tuāpā, would touch his bird-spear or basket in which he carried his snares with the branchlet, and then cast that branchlet down at the base of the luck-post. The fisher of fish would apply his fragment of torch-material or what not to his net, trap, bobbing-line or fish bag, and then dispose of it in a similar manner. As the mediumistic objects were cast down against the base of the post, the fowler or fisherman repeated the following formula:—

• "Nga puhore nei, nga tumanako nei, nga tuhira nei
• Ki konei koutou putu ai, arai puhore
• Whakawhiwhi ki te tama-a-roa."

• (Ye luckless omens, desires and covetousness, lie ye heaped here and keep off ill-luck; cause man to acquire.)

This simple ceremony, we are told, was highly efficacious, it banished harmful influences, it rendered harmless the covetous thoughts of idle, greedy or feckless persons; briefly, it caused man to acquire; the pernicious effects of tuhira and toitoi-o-kewa would be nullified, as also those of the pawera or pahunu condition.

The tuāpā device for forestalling possible afflictions and warding them off was also utilized in connection with birth and death. The Matatua folk say that a similar hewn post or slab was inserted in the earth like a fence-post when an infant was born, and that this post served as a mauri for that child. This, be it observed, was not a universal custom, it was an occasional usage; there were other ways of protecting the life-principle. Such a post would be termed a tuapa tamariki. The object of the setting up of such a post was to prevent the child being assailed by any affliction of whatsoever nature, and also to serve as a tohi ora or tira ora to preserve the page 146health, strength, and prestige of the child. These desirable conditions were produced by means of repeating certain formulae, and those charms could only be effective when empowered by the gods. Should the child die then the post would be taken down, and when, in after days, the child's bones were exhumed for final disposal, then the post was set up again. This strange procedure was explained as follows: As a tira ora or emblem of life and welfare, the post had to be thrown down, but then the same post re-erected to serve as a tira mate, or emblem of death. Again, occasionally such a tuapa post was erected when a person died; it seems to have represented the wairua or spirit of the deceased person, and a form of charm or incantation was repeated thereat in order to prevent the spirit of the dead returning to molest the living.

We have seen that energetic food-seekers might suffer from the remarks, and even from the unexpressed thoughts of stay-at-homes, be the latter inactive through indolence, or some more worthy cause. Now, on the other hand, those who remained inactive at the village home might grow uneasy when they thought of their friends so busily engaged, for, on their return home with supplies of birds or fish, they might jeer at the home-stayers, and so bring confusion upon them. The act of so remarking on the lack of energy of certain persons at such a time is described by the term peha-pehatu.