Smith. — On the Tohunga-Maori. 269 



I have mentioned the tapairu, or eldest daughter, as 

 being in certain cases a priestess. There were other female 

 priestesses also, amongst whom the navahine is an example, 

 and she had certain special functions which could alone be 

 performed by her. But of the female priestesses and their 

 peculiar duties I must confess myself ignorant. 



Amongst the many powers ascrilDcd to the tohunga of old 

 is that of influencing the dead. The following is an example 

 of Maori belief in such matters, the story having been told to 

 me by one who says that he witnessed the occurrence. The 

 tribe had suffered defeat at the hands of their enemies at no 

 great distance from the tribal home, and one of their toas, or 

 braves, had been killed. The body was brought home, and 

 there, as was the custom, was laid out in state dressed in all 

 the finery of savagedom, in order that the relatives might wail 

 over him in due form. The tribe were exceedingly anxious to 

 ascertain by some omen connected with the dead warrior 

 whether they would be successful in their next encounter 

 with the enemy. The priest was communicated with, who^ 

 promised to procure the omen desired. As the people 

 squatted in a ring surrounding the corpse at some ten paces 

 distant, the priest advanced a few paces from the body of the 

 people, girded with a strip of green flax as his only clothing, 

 and then recited karakias, presumably of a very powerful 

 nature, with the intent to induce some movement in the 

 corpse. Nothing disturbed the current of his incantations 

 ■ but the low wailing of the immediate relatives of the deceased, 

 whilst all eyes were turned on the atamira, or bier, where the 

 subject lay. At a certain part of the karakia the corpse was 

 observed to kori, or move shghtly to one side, at which a 

 great cry arose from all present, and the deceased was adjured 

 to return to his loving relatives. But nothing more followed. 

 This movement was taken as a certain sign of future vic- 

 tory. 



Now, all present certainly believed they saw the move- 

 ment, which was nothing new to them, for the feat had often 

 been performed before by their priests. Is there any natural 

 explanation of this, or was it mere fancy and delusion ? I 

 will venture to suggest that it may be explained by the fact 

 of the subject being in a state of catalepsy, and not really 

 dead, and that the priest, by exerting his hypnotic power, 

 with the aid of telepathy had conveyed so powerful a " sug- 

 gestion " to the body that the cataleptic sleep was for the 

 moment broken, and hence the movement. Presumably, had 

 the efforts of the priest been continued the subject would 

 have returned to life. I did not witness this, and therefore 

 can only tell you the story as repeated to me. The one thing 

 certain about it is the entire belief of a large body of people in 



