160 COOK AND cook: the maho or mahagua • 



POLYNESIAN COGNATES RELATING TO FIBERS 



That a root word associated with the idea of ying or binding 

 may be very proHfic in derived forms and meanings is appar- 

 ent from such a series as our Enghsh band, bend, bind, bond, 

 bound, boundary, bundle, etc. A more recently developed 

 analogy is that of our word wire, now used not only as the name 

 of fibers or cords made of metal, but also to designate the many 

 different uses to which such material can be put, from fastening 

 things together to sending telegrams. Corresponding series of 

 words appear to have developed in«the Pacific archipelagoes 

 from such an original as maho or mahagua, in connection with 

 each of the principal uses and activities connected with this tree. 



In Hawaii rnahui means to join, unite, adhere to, or imitate; 

 hoo-mau is to tie on, or to fit, as sandals or shoes; maunu, any- 

 thing that affords a hold on a person for purposes of witchcraft ; 

 haim and kauhau, to strike, to whip, chastise, or apply stripes; 

 auau, a snare for catching and killing birds; kau, to catch, hang 

 up, suspend; kauo, to drag or haul; kaula, a rope or strong cord, 

 a tendon or bowstring. In Easter Island mahetu means twisted, 

 like bark for rope; mahani, a habit, custom, or practice; and 

 hakamahani, to tame, or keep tied, haka being a causative pre- 

 fix; hai is to tie up; hahai, a package or bundle; hahie, firewood; 

 magoe and hahamageo, to splice or tie together; and hakamaga, 

 a roof, which primitive builders usually tie on with strips of 

 bark. In Samoa fau is not only the name for the maho shrub 

 and of string or bark used in tying, but is also -the verb to tie, 

 or to build by tying the timbers of a house together; afauto is 

 the rope along the top of a fishing net ;fa,fau is to lash on, to fasten 

 with sinnet, as an adz to its handle, or an outrigger to a canoe; 

 faufau, to fasten on, to tie together; afaga, the bandage put on 

 the feet when climbing the coconut tree; faufili, a cord used by 

 women to fasten on their burdens; and many other compounds 

 given by Pratt. 



Easter Island shares with Tonga and New Zealand such words 

 as mahaga, mehaga, and mahanga, relating to nooses in ropes, 

 snares, baits, or allurements for taking game or fish. A Samoan 



