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Inasmuch as the Polynesian was remarkable for his mental powers it follows that his conceptions of the spiritual potentials of man are of much interest. As in the cases of many other races of a secondary culture stage, we note no lack of ability in these barbaric folk in the matter of conceiving the spiritual part of man's nature, for they erred on the side of generosity in assigning such qualities to mankind. The average person among ourselves recognises the existence of the spirit or soul, a few claim to believe in spirit and soul, but barbaric man gives freer play to his fancy and often credits himself with the possession of three or more spiritual qualities. Thus the Jews of olden times possessed two terms to denote the soul, and one each to define the vital spirit, vital power, and consciousness. Certain tribes of Borneo claim five souls or spiritual qualities for man, while the Malays page 32speak of seven such qualities. The Chinese appear to believe in three souls, while the ancient Egyptians were represented by three qualities, the soul, the double, and the shad9e.

Certain natives of New Guinea describe two qualities as pertaining to man. One of these is the soul that leaves the body at death, the equivalent of the wairua of the Maori. The second is said to be a spiritual essence that pervades the whole body, and a portion of which is imparted to any object with which a person comes in contact. This latter equals the hau of Maori belief, but the term soul is not a fitting one to apply to it. I am much inclined to believe that we often credit native races with beliefs that they do not really hold. Some of these numerous souls would, on close and careful enquiry, probably prove to be mental activities, or qualities to which the term soul is not applicable. It needs close and prolonged study to enable us to understand the spiritual and mental concepts of barbaric man. In this matter I can speak from experience, having spent many years in studying those of our Maori folk, and I know full well how difficult it is to become acquainted with the Maori point of view.

Of the various expressions employed by the Maori to denote these subtle qualities two only can, I believe, be rendered as "soul", and these are both applied to the same conception, the spirit that leaves the body at death and proceeds to the spirit world. This spirit has two different phases, and these phases bear different names, as will be explained. Other expressions used are merely synonyms or denote the apparitional aspect of the wairua. It does not appear to be correct to assign the meaning of soul to either of the Maori terms mauri and hau. The former ceases to exist at the death of the body, while the latter is a sort of personal aura, often described as an external quality rather than an indwelling one.

This Maori term of wairua has the meaning of shadow in ordinary vernacular speech; any unsubstantial image may be termed a wairua. This is the word selected by the Maori to denote the immortal element in man. The terms ata and ata-a-rangi have the same double meaning of "shadow" and "soul" or "spirit". Many peoples have utilised a word meaning "breath" to denote the soul, but the Maori speaks of the "breath of life" as being quite distinct from the wairua. A paper written by C. O. Davis, a Maori linguist, on this term wairua, contains no reference whatever to its ordinary meaning of "shadow".

Many races have viewed the soul as being material, even some peoples far advanced on the road to civilisation, and we shall see page 33that this appears to have been a Maori belief. We even hear of the wairua being slain.

Lubbock denies that any people achieved the concept of the soul by observation of shadows, but maintains that it was merely likened to a shadow on account of its being tenuous. He writes: "The savage does not realise the idea of a spirit as we do. It is always more or less material." (Marriage, Totemism and Religion p. 149). There is truth is this statement, but then we ourselves believe in, or at least teach belief in the resurrection of the body. This latter belief shows how we ourselves cling to a material aspect, and, moreover, it does not seem to be any way superior or more advanced than the beliefs of many barbaric peoples. Certainly we have borrowed the belief in post-mortem rewards and punishments, but that belief, as taught, is certainly crude, inasmuch as the material aspect enters into existence in both spirit worlds, and material bodies become indestructible.

Many things may have served to convince early man of the existence of the soul, though conjecture at this time is futile. Shadows, reflections and echoes may well have formed part of the origin of the concept.

The wairua of Maori belief is a sentient, volatile spirit, one that can, however, be seen by persons who possess the power of second sight. In other cases it is invisible. It leaves the body permanently at the death of that physical basis, but can also leave it during its life, as in the case of dreams. Its duties are to note any danger threatening its physical basis and to warn it of such danger.

Another interesting word to be discussed is ata. In vernacular Maori speech this term denotes "form, semblance, shadow, reflected image", and the last two meanings are also those of the term wairua, hence we need not wonder that the Maori sometimes used ata to denote the spirit or soul of man. The lengthened form ata-a-rangi was also employed in the same way, while ata-a-wai denotes a reflection in water. Ata has the same meanings of "shadow" and "spirit" at Samoa, where it is also used to indicate the material form of incarnation of an atua, for which the Maori employs the term aria. As meaning shadow ata is found in many Polynesian dialects. At Taumako Isle, north of the New Hebrides, ata denotes "soul" and mauli means "alive". At Uvea, Loyalty Isles, ata means "soul" or "spirit". Generally then ata implies the essence or semblance of a thing as opposed to its real form, at the same time the ahua, ata, aria or mawe of a thing may be something material that represents the immaterial. page 34Further than this the Maori has conceived the idea of the shadowy semblance of a spirit, or spirit god, that is the aria, ahua or ata of a wairua. At the same time in order to possess a material symbol of an immaterial essence or spirit he would often utilise some object connected with the same in some way. At p. 60 of vol. 8 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society we see that a lock of hair was taken from the head of a dead person in order to represent his wairua; this hair was the aria of the wairua, the material symbol representing his departed spirit. In former times meteors were often looked upon as representing, or being, the spirits of persons who had just passed away, and in all cases such visible souls were said to be those of persons of some fairly high social standing. Apparently spirits of commoners never assumed this luminous form.

We have one illustration of the use of the word ata, as denoting spirit, astral form or shadowy form, that is of much interest, inasmuch as it is employed in connection with the mighty Io, the Supreme Being. When the offspring of the primal parents, that is of the Sky Parent and the Earth Mother, were discussing the question of separating their parents, so as to introduce space and light, Io is said to have descended from his realm in the uppermost of the twelve heavens in order to descend to the underworld. He said to his attendant Rehua "Let us descend to Rarohenga" and they came down. After the twain had proceeded some distance Io noticed that his ata was accompanying them, he distinctly saw Rehua, himself and his own ata. He then asked Rehua: "Who is our companion who accompanies us?" Rehua replied: "I know not." So they fared on, and when they reached the horizon of Rangi-tikitiki the ata of Io proceeded direct to Rarohenga below Tiritiri-o-matangi. Io called to Rehua: "Follow our companion and send him back to the entrance to the uppermost heaven." Even so Rehua-nui-atau followed the ata of Io the Parent that he might overtake it. On arriving at Tahekeroa (the descent to the underworld) the ata at once descended, and so the path of the ata of Io was lost by Rehua. Then Rehua commenced the recital of a form of charm known as mātāpou, in order to arrest the advance of the ata of Io, so that he might have speech with that ata of Io the Parent.

The highly singular recital in which occur the above remarks concerning the ata of the Supreme Being drifts into other subjects, and no further reference is made to the above episode. This is about the most peculiar and interesting myth that I have encountered in the extensive range of Maori mythology, but I was page 35a generation too late to obtain any explanation thereof. Evidently this ata was what may be termed the double or astral body of Io. It was visible, and so, from our point of view, would be termed material, but to this the Maori would not agree. It was certainly visible to both Io and Rehua, but both of those exalted beings were of a supernatural nature, they were atua, and so would assuredly possess spiritual vision, the power to see all spirit manifestations. Be it observed that Io himself asked Rehua who the third form represented, and Rehua replied that he did not know.

Now this strange myth had its meaning to the wise men of yore, or it would never have been evolved and incorporated with their most revered lore, but to the dull-eyed gaze of civilized man it is a mystery. Why should Io the Parent, he who dwells in the uppermost of the twelve heavens, resolve to visit the underworld, and why should his double accompany him, and later, precede him in entering Rarohenga, the subterranean spirit world? Unfortunately, no attempt was made by the native scribe to obtain an explanation from the reciter or to bring him back to the subject when he strayed down a bypath after the manner Maori.

The recital is given in full in the original inasmuch as it contains some new data, also some unrecorded versions of divers myths. Moreover, the desire is to record the speech of the Maori unsullied by modern slovenliness. Some of these recitals are couched in extremely archaic language, difficult to translate but highly interesting. The matter we are discussing was recited by Te Matorohanga in 1864.

The recital commences with the Po periods of Maori cosmogonic myths and explains the original positions of the primal parents Rangi and Papa, Sky and Earth, also the coming of light. We are then told that the twelve Po periods were the origin of the well-known penchant of the Polynesian folk for the number twelve. The moon was appointed as conserver of the number twelve, hence we have the twelve lunar months of the Maori year. The offspring of Rangi and Papa then appointed Rona as controller of the moon, hence Rona regulates the twelve months and the twelve Po periods. The latter are still in evidence in this world in connection with birth. Another reason why the moon and Rona were conveyed to the breast of Rangi was that light was provided for those who studied the seasons and their signs.

When the offspring had appointed their young relative Rona as conserver of the number twelve, they also selected the child of page 36Punaweko, the koko (the tui or parson bird, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) of the forest as a preserver of that number, hence that tally of twelve was affixed to the neck of that bird in the form of the twelve white feathers of its "choker". Also they called upon Huru-te-arangi to put the sign of the twelve Po on the huia (a forest bird, Heteralocha acutirostris), and so we see the twelve prized white-tipped feathers in the tail of that bird. There are three conservers of this number in this world, the moon, the koko and the huia, but there are also others in the ocean. The narrator here remarked: "you now clearly understand that this was the beginning of numeration among the offspring of Rangi and Papa, commencing with one and terminating with twelve."

We are then told that the glow-worm and phosphorescence were under the care of Parawhenuamea, who represents water, and that they were given the power of emitting light so that she might not lose them.

The narrator then discusses the separation of Rangi and Papa, and Io enquires of his attendant Rehua as to what are the intentions of the seventy offspring towards their parents. Rehua replies that he will visit them and ascertain those intentions. He does so and is said to have put his query to fifty-seven of the seventy offspring. Here are given the names of the fifty-seven, all of which commence with that of Tane. This is new to us, the names differing from those usually given. Rehua is told that no decision had been arrived at, and he advises the separation of their parents. He then returned with his report to Io, whereupon Io said: "Let us proceed to Rarohenga" and here comes in the incident related above.

Now Tane chanced to hear the voice of Rehua chanting his matapou charm, so he came forth and greeted him, and Rehua told Tane to follow him to the entrance to the uppermost of the twelve heavens, and to the presence of Io. (Possibly there is a connection between this and the behest of Io that his ata should be sent back to the entrance to the twelfth heaven.) Tane asked how he was to succeed in ascending thereto, and was told how to proceed. When he reached the entrance of Rangi-tikitiki or Tikitiki-o-rangi, the uppermost heaven, he doffed his garments and repeated a charm in order to open the entrance way. Passing within he encountered Io and Rehua who told him to follow them, he did so and they led him to the sacred place near unto the stream Puwhakaae, the pebbles in the bed of which were red and white in colour. At that stream the pure rite was performed over Tane by Io and Rehua. At this juncture we are told Tane page 37acquired the mana of the twelve heavens and some additional names, of which he had many, some of which were given him when he generated the living representative of mortal life. In this connection we are told that the terms tiki nui, tiki roa, tiki makiki, etc. are not personal names and so should not appear in any line of descent, but were expressions employed by Tane when uttering a charm over his ure in order to render it virile and effective (see vol. 32 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, p. 54).

Now when Io and Rehua had performed the pure rite over Tane and he had acquired the mana of the twelve heavens and of the spirit world, he, Tane returned to his brethren. Io farewelled him and bestowed another name or two on him, then instructed him to set the heavens in order. The name of Taururangi now assigned to Tane was included in a formula recited by Io at the time when to Tane was assigned the mana of important functions connected with the twelve heavens, with Papa-matua, the Earth, and with Moana nui a Tamaku (Great Ocean of Tamaku). The ocean, usually known as the Moana nui a Kiwa, is really a sister of Rangi-nui-a-Tamaku (the first of the heavens, counting upward). It is alluded to as the great ocean of Kiwa because the atua Kiwa-parauri controlled it and kept it within bounds, while Kiwa-mata-papango protected Papa, the earth, and her offspring from the encroachments of the ocean. These two beings named Kiwa were brothers of Rangi-nui-a-Tamaku, and they were appointed as guardians of their sister Hinemoana (personified form of the ocean) and her progeny. So it is that people are in the habit of erring by terming the ocean the Moana nui a Kiwa.

So Tane had now acquired the power to perform great deeds, and he and his brothers set about separating and arranging the various heavens.

First heaven. This was conveyed by Tane to Tangotangouri; the support arranged for it was named Hokairangi.

Second heaven. This was conveyed to Tiritiri-o-matarangi; its support was Hokainuku, a term occurring in a formula employed by Tane and Paia when moving the various heavens.

Third heaven. This was named Rangi-tawhangawhanga, from the place whereat it was located; its support was called Ihorangi, so named after Tane-te-ihorangi.

Fourth heaven. Tane conveyed the fourth heaven to Naonao-ariki, and there set it up; to it was assigned the name of Rangi-naonao-ariki, while its support was Hokairangi-tahatiti.

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Fifth heaven. This was Rangiawhea; its support was Hokai-taketake.

Sixth heaven. The sixth heaven was Rangi-tangotangouri; its support was Hokai-aroaro-nui-a-rangi.

Seventh heaven. The seventh heaven was named Rangi-namunamu-ki-taiao; its supporting brace was Hokai-maireku-ra.

Eighth heaven. The eighth heaven was Rangi-matapupuni, its support being Hokai-tataurangi.

Ninth heaven. The ninth heaven was Te Ahorangi; its prop or support was Tara-tahi-o-rangi.

Tenth heaven. The tenth heaven was Rangitaratahi according to some authorities but others say that it was Rangitahanui; its support was Puke-ki-taiari.

Eleventh heaven. The eleventh heaven was Rangi-tauhuru, its support being Tawhana.

Twelfth heaven. The twelfth heaven was Rangitamaku, and this was provided with four supports; that supporting the head of the Sky Parent was Toko-hurunuku; that supporting the right shoulder was Toko-hururangi; that of the left shoulder was Toko-huriuatea, while that supporting the legs was Huru-kaupeka. The head of the Sky Parent was elevated first, but difficulty was experienced in raising the body, for the supporting props bent under the great weight. Thus it came about that other supporting props had to be obtained, and so we have two sets of names of such props. The new names were Rakau-whakawhana, that of the head: Rakau-tuke and Rakau-koki, those of the shoulders while that supporting the legs was Rakau-hape. These toko, props or supports, were obtained from Tahanui, under whose care they were, and it was these same toko that broughtq tribulation to Tane. The adze named in the cutting of these props was named Te Awhiorangi, of which the lashing guard was named Pare-te-umaura, and the helve was Whakawhana-i-te-rangi; the lashing material was called Pipirangi and consisted of the entrails of one Punahere. Now the true explanation of these toko or supports is that they were the four winds. The toko supporting the head was the north wind, that of the left shoulder was the west wind, that of the right shoulder the east wind and that of the legs the south wind. Those winds are our salvation, were it not for them we should have no air, the breath of life would be lacking.

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When the various heavens had been separated and fixed then were divided the offspring of Rangi and Papa among those heavens as supernormal denizens of the same. The five generating sticks of Rangi were taken by Paia as they were suspended from the neck of Rangi, the hollow in whose breast had been caused by them. Had they not been so taken by Paia then all the offspring would have been sorely distressed by the tapu fire.

Paia recited a formula to enable him to acquire the great powers of the tapu of the gods. Thus it was that he acquired the mana of Io, of Rehua and of Tane. He then recited a long formula whereby to gain power to separate the heavens from Papa the earth mother.

The list of the twelve heavens given above commences with the uppermost one, and the names given differ from those already recorded in Part I, 1976 reprint, p. 73. This recital forms a good illustration of the discrepancies noted in different versions of Maori lore, even in high class matter given by first-grade experts, when such experts had been taught in different schools of learning. The above recital has been included in this section in order to illustrate this fact, albeit differing names cause it to clash with certain data inserted in Part I. In another version the toko or supports of the sky are said to have been rays of the sun, or rays of light, and in yet another one we are told that it was Watea (personified form of space) who separated sky and earth. In vernacular speech toko means pole or rod, also "ray of light" and, as a verb, to prop up or support.

To return from a long digression we now come to a most intersting phase of our subject, viz., the Maori belief that all things possess an indwelling spirit, something intangible that is necessary to all entities, and without which nothing could exist. Thus such things as we deem inanimate were not so to the Maori; they possessed an indwelling spirit, but not an apparitional spirit as in the case of man. Moreover, it is assumed that this belief was a common heritage among Polynesians, even early voyagers noted it in long past years. Thus, in Captain Cook's account of the Tahitians (see A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean) he remarks as follows: "… they maintain that not only all other animals, but trees, fruit and even stones, have souls." (p. 165). Further on he writes: "And as they believe that the animating and powerful influence of the divine spirit is everywhere diffused it is no wonder that they join to this many superstitious opinions about its operations." (pp. 165-166). And again: "They believe the soul page 40to be both immaterial and immortal." (p. 163). He also tells us that the gods to whom human sacrifices were offered merely consumed the soul of such offerings, in native belief, leaving the material part intact. Cook must have possessed remarkable faculties to detect such conceptions as the above, after so short an intercourse with the natives, though the remarks quoted are from the account of his third voyage.

The Maori clearly expresses his faith in animism—"Nga mea katoa … he wairua o ratau e rite ana ki te ahua o nga mea katoa, tona wairua, tona wairua." Also: "Te wairua he whore tona i roto i nga mea katoa, kaore he mea i kore ai te wairua i tona ahua ano". And again: "He wairua to nga mea katoa i tona ahua, i tona ahua, o ia mea, o ia mea".

In the account of Beechey's voyage (Huish, Voyages and Travels of Captain Beechey) we are again told that Polynesians believed that even flowers and plants were organised beings possessing souls. Ellis, in his Polynesian Researches, vol 1, p. 331, makes the same statement. We find firm Maori evidence that this possession of a soul was also extended to immaterial things, such as wind, and to the heavenly bodies. All things on and off the earth emanated from Io the Supreme Being, and the wairua of all came from the same source. Hence we may say that these people believed in the universal soul in nature. We find that a similar belief exists throughout Indonesia. These beliefs are quite distinct from those of faith in transmigration and the incarnate forms of gods.

The belief that rice is possessed of a soul is very marked in Indonesia, and the Maori had an equally firm faith in the mauri or life principle of his principal cultivated food product, the kumara, or sweet potato.

In the story of Hape the Wanderer we are told that, after his death, a lock of his hair was taken by his son Tomarau, the Flying Man, as the aria of his wairua, that is as representing his soul.

With regard to tapu places, especially such as are connected with a defunct person, there is ever a half belief in the native mind that the spirit of the dead person is hovering about. Natives do not like passing graves at night, or travelling at night, on account of the likelihood of encountering ghosts, spirits of the dead. When natives do travel at night they often indulge in singing in a loud tone, in order to frighten the spirits. We say that natives do not like living alone, because it is too lonely for them, whereas the fact is that it is much too lively for them; a person so situated believes himself to be surrounded by invisible beings.

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When discussing the matter of the universal wairua with an old native, he remarked that it is quite clear that a stream possesses life, and so necessarily a vital spirit because it is heard to sing, an allusion to the babbling of the hill streams he knew so well. These spirit voices heard in murmuring waters, in forest solitudes, and during the hours of darkness, are termed puwawau, punawaru, irewaru, arawaru, and orowaru. They seem to be distinct from the murmuring and chattering of turehu in the native mind, and also from sounds caused or made by parangeki, spirits of the dead.

The Maori concept of the wairua of man is such as is commonly held by barbaric folk, that is to say, this soul is spoken of in some cases as being material. Some natives tell us that such spirits can be seen only by persons who are matakite or seers. In certain accounts of the subterranean spirit world we are told that the souls of the dead in that realm live much as they did when in the flesh in the upper world. Thus their food supplies are mentioned, and, in the story of Mataora, they are said to tattoo themselves. Surely these activities demand material bodies. The Maori professes no faith in the resurrection of the body, yet he has this material view of the souls in spiritland. Man has, however, always had much difficulty in retaining purely spiritual concepts, and is always prone to revert to material views. The lessons that are instilled into us in youth betoken a marked material conception of life in heaven, and we have adopted in the faith in resurrection what looks like a retrogressive belief.

The belief that the wairua of the dead possesses power to injure, or at least harass, the living was the origin of the peculiar rite called tuku wairua. This ceremony was perfomed over a person as the breath of life left his body, or soon after, its object being to cause the flitting spirit to proceed direct to the spirit world. The charm recited in order to despatch the soul is called both tuku and wehe.

There were many charms and rites by means of which the wairua of man might be affected to a greater or less extent. Thus an expert could cause the spirit of a thief or wizard to appear before him, and would then recognise the offending individual. This would mean that the wairua of a person resembled his bodily form in appearance. We even hear of the wairua of persons being destroyed by means of magic arts. In these matters native belief seems to be somewhat vague, but, so far as I could gather, the effect of such procedure seemed to be, in Maori belief, that the original, the physical basis of the spirit was injuriously affected. In some cases men underwent a certain ceremony that preserved page 42them from all harmful magic arts. It has been shown that, in Malay belief, the vital principle of natural objects can be affected by magic arts as that of man is. The Maori must have held a similar belief, as we can see in the legend of Hape the Wanderer, wherein the vital principle of the sweet potato is seen to have been affected by magic.

Our theosophists will recognise in the Maori wairua their own concept of astral body or etheric double. It is this quality or spirit, we are told, that is visible to the clairvoyant, which agrees with our Maori description; it is the "vehicle of the life principle." Both Maori and theosophist agree that it is dangerous to make any noise near a person whose wairua is at the time absent from the body. The other aspect of the "etheric double" of the theosophist, that is the wraith or apparitional spirit seen after the death of the body, is the kehua of the Maori. This kehua or whakahaehae is an apparitional wairua of a dead person. These are believed to haunt the former homes of their physical bases in this world, though this belief clashes with the other that such spirits proceed to the spirit world. All kehua may, of course, be alluded to as atua, and their presence is sometimes manifested by uncanny whistling sounds; such beliefs were the cause of the Maori dislike for whistling.

Many natives have explained that kehua are wairua or spirits of the dead. Colenso in his well-known and excellent essay on the Maori people, has a passage that seems to show that he viewed the kehua and wairua as being two different spirits, but further enquiry disproves that assumption. The passage is as follows: "Ghosts, too, were commonly believed in, and greatly dreaded; but this haunting spirit or phantom (kehua) which haunted its former place of residence when in the body, and also the repositories of the dead, differed widely from the sensible intellectual spirit (wairua) which had departed to the Reinga, and which was not feared." (Colenso, On the Maori Races of New Zealand, p. 384.)

It should have been added that it was not feared unless it returned as a kehua or apparitional spirit. When a Maori dreams of seeing the form of a dead person he does not term the wraith a kehua, but alludes to it as a wairua. On being asked what kehua and atua whakahaehae are, an old native replied: "Demons which roam about in space, spirits of the dead that return as ghosts." When, travelling at night, a native encounters a warm current of air, he believes that it betokens the presence of kehua. They seem to be extremely active during hours of darkness, in page 43Maori belief but appear to become quiescent in daytime. A precautionary measure sometimes adopted by night travellers was the carrying of a small portion of cooked food, a substance much dreaded by kehua; evidently such spirits were deemed tapu. I am informed by grey old men, wise with the wisdom born of ages of affliction, that a cooked potato is an excellent thing to carry with one when moving abroad at night.

The spirits of persons who have died violent deaths are the most active. In some such cases a portion of the blood of the defunct one would be obtained, and over this would be recited a formula to lay the spirit, either to confine it to its burial place or to despatch it to the spirit world. Spirits of the dead are said by some to have remained in the vicinity of their former homes until such time as the karakia wehe had been repeated over the dead, when they fared forth on their way to the spirit world.

Wairua atua has been collected as a Maori name for butterflies. Spirits of the dead could return hither from the spirit world for a period, as when they wished to warn living relatives of coming misfortunes, or to warn such relatives that the time had come for them to hie to the spirit world. Spirits of dead forbears were appealed to for help in connection with many things. Some natives assert that an echo is produced by wairua. In treating of magic we shall see that the Maori believes that the wairua of living persons can be destroyed by magic arts, or that the physical basis of a wairua can be slain or seriously affected through the medium of the spirit. The wairua is implanted in a child prior to birth in Maori belief. Apa and apa hau are terms applied to spirits of the dead; koromatua is an old term for ancestral spirits, and tira maka denotes a company of wairua, said to have been occasionally seen by seers as it passed through space. Parangeki are also said to be wairua, and strange noises, heard especially at night, are attributed to them.

We have seen that spirits of the dead are often termed atua, but that term was applied to anything supernormal or abnormal, as well as to spirits and what we term gods. Brown states that "their atua are all evil disposed." This gives the reader a wrong impression. I believe that the god Whiro was about the only atua who was consistently "evil", that is if the slaying of mankind be an evil activity. The great majority of atua and spirits of the dead were benefactors of mankind, so long as they were not offended, and this is about all we can say for the gods of civilised peoples. Observe the threats hurled at "unbelievers" in the Bible, rich page 44promises of the "lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." (See Brown, New Zealand and Its Aborigines, p. 81).

Spirits of the dead were believed to be extremely helpful; a Maori called upon the spirits of his forbears to protect and assist him in all crises, and some persons became recognised practising mediums of such atua, as already explained. Moreover, one's own wairua does much to protect its physical basis. This is essentially a native belief; during the sleeping hours of the body the spirit goes forth and roams far and wide. Should it see any danger threatening its physical basis it returns and warns it; such is a Maori explanation of dreams. Hence you will understand the reason why it is inadvisable to suddenly awaken a sleeping person; his spirit may chance to be absent at the time. One's roving spirit is said to be specially useful in warning one of the activities of warlocks, fellows of the baser sort who are trying to destroy life by the arts of black magic.

A sleeping person sees things through the eyes of his wairua, as when he dreams, and so the wairua is spoken of as a sentient being endowed with the power of sight. All know that the eyes of a dreaming person are closed, hence it is clear that the double possesses visual powers. This form of sight, or second-sight, is described by the peculiar term rata, and so our European doctors came to be called rata by the Maori. In an old recital we find the statement that the wairua of man is the conserver of this bodily welfare (te kaipupuri o te or a ko te wairua).

An old sage of the east coast of the North Island was responsible for the following peroration during an explanation of old beliefs—The patupaiarehe, turehu and parangēki are all spirits of the dead. Prior to a fight the spirits of those foredoomed to death are seen as patupaiarehe, vague forms seen on hills and sea coast, ere long news of the fight will arrive. As for the parangēki, when these are seen it is known that the fight has taken place; these spirits are seen, and heard as they roam about weeping and singing sad laments. Hence when persons saw these beings they knew that a fight had occurred and that men had been slain, and so these wandering spirits had no physical bases to return to. As for turehu, these spirit beings occupy a different status, they are not disembodied spirits that will shortly retire to the underworld, but spirits that permanently occupy certain areas, such as forest ranges. When they show themselves at such places, they are observed to be talking, dancing, singing, laughing, and of a joyous demeanour. When so seen or heard then it is known that page 45dire misfortune is at hand, even to the extent of disaster and stricken homes.

The origin of the wairua or spiritual part of man in Maori belief is, in the higher teachings, traced to Io the Supreme Being, he who is spoken of as Io the Parent. The spiritual nature and welfare of all living beings and all things emanate from that source. As an old sage put it—Io is the origin of all things, his the soul of all things, his the welfare of all things. (Ko Io te putake o nga mea katoa, nana te wairua o nga mea katoa, nana te ora o nga mea katoa).

From Io came the spirit, the breath of life and the power of thought that animated the mother of mankind, the first of mortal women, Hine-ahuone the Earth Formed Maid. In the following recital delivered some fifty years ago by one of the Kahungunu elders these beliefs are expressed, also some extremely interesting remarks occur on the subject of the divine element in man and its origin: It was Io-te-waiora who endowed the body of Hine-ahuone with life, such was the origin of the spirit [wairua] and the breath that issues from nose and mouth. When Io-te-waiora so endowed Hine-ahuone with life and breath then Hine sneezed, she breathed, her eyes opened, again she sneezed, her life principle manifested itself, such is the meaning of the expression "tihe mauri ora". It was arranged by the offspring of Rangi and Papa that Tane-nui-a-Rangi should take Hine-ahuone to wife. She was conducted to the water side where the pure rite was performed over her, and she was baptised in the name of Hine-hauone, her former name of Hine-ahuone being discarded. Those female beings who were taken to wife by the elder brothers of Tane belonged to the bespaced heavens; they were members of the companies of females of the eleven heavens; such were the companies to which belonged the wives of the elder brothers of Tane-nui-a-Rangi. He alone was selected as a mate for Hine-hauone, so that he might acquire the earthly or mortal aspect [qualities] of Papa the earth to be absorbed by the beings sprung from the supernatural offspring of the elder brothers, so that the descendants of Hine-hauone might be endowed with the divine spirit. The aspect of those beings at this stage is now clear to us, and that is why the gods heed us when we appeal to them. If those beings had not taken supernatural females to wife then we would never have acquired the utterances of the gods, they would never have communicated with us or listened to us.

In the above recital we see the two-fold origin of the divine element in man. The spirit and breath of life that animate man page 46emanated from Io, while man is also descended from Tane, offspring of the primal parents Rangi and Papa or Sky and Earth; all those offspring are atua, supernatural beings. From the Earth Mother, from whose body she was formed, Hine-ahuone acquired the mortal qualities that she transmitted to mankind, while she also possessed spiritual qualities emanating from Io.

Among the Moriori folk of the Chatham Islands the belief in demons and apparitional spirits of the dead sometimes caused much inconvenience, as when people felt compelled to desert a hamlet and seek a new home, owing to the presence of many ghostly visitors. In such cases the flitting folk were wont to prevent the spirits following them to their new home by means of tying obstructions across the path or paths leading thereto, surely a brilliant and efficient scheme for befooling demons, malevolent spirits.