Chapman. — On the Working of Greenstone. 513 



used for rubbing down and polishing. [See references to Brunner and 

 Heaphy's Journal.] 



(e) Mdtu. — Obsidian for pointing the drill, or pirori. [I have many of 

 these in flint and quartzite, commonly but erroneously called chert : they 

 are in every stage of wear.— F. R. C] 



Having procured a suitable-sized piece of stone for the article to be 

 made, the workman placed it either on the ground or on a slab of wood 

 cut to fit it. The surface was then rubbed down with a hoangu, the 

 greenstone being kept constantly moistened with water. The only tools 

 emjDloyed in forming the hei-tiki were those above mentioned. 



3. They are portraits of ancestors, and were highly valued. ["Me- 

 mentoes of ancestors," used later by Mr. Stack, is abetter term.— F. R. C] 

 It was the custom to bury them with the wearer after death, and then to 

 remove them when the bones were taken up for final sepulture. The 

 nearest of kin employed in the rites connected with the removal of the 

 bones to their final resting-place became the possessor. 



4 and 5. The custom of wearing the hei-tiki was probably imported 

 from Hawaiki. During a visit to the Thames about twelve years ago, 

 Paraone, a chief residing in Grahamstown, showed me a small ill- 

 formed hei-tiki which, he said, had once belonged to Marutuahu, son of 

 Hotunui {vide " Poljmesian Mythology," by Sir G. Grey, p. 246), one of 

 the original immigrants from Hawaiki. One branch of the family 

 resided near Taranaki ; one at the Thames. This hei-tiki had passed 

 backwards and forwards from one branch to the other during successive 

 generations, the relatives who performed the ceremony of huhnnga 

 taking possession of it each time. If this particular hei-tiki was a fair 

 specimen of the workmanship of the original settlers, the Maoris in 

 later years had improved in the art of making them. Both the know- 

 ledge of carving wood and working in stone must have been imported 

 by the original immigrants from Hawaiki. Most of the hei-tiki in exist- 

 ence were made before the beginning of this century, and are of 

 comparatively modern workmanship. As far as I can recollect, the 

 best specimens I have seen were those said to be about a hundred 

 or a hundred and fifty years old. 



6. No. Since intercourse with Europeans became constant (say, 

 1820), the Maoris have ceased to make hei-tiki. They were difficult to 

 make, only the most skilful tohungas, such as could carve and tattoo, 

 undertaking the manufacture, ilfcres, axes, pendants, &c., required little 

 skill, and their manufacture was the favourite occupation of elderly 

 gentlemen. 



7. They are very highly prized as heirlooms for having been actually 

 in contact with the sacred bodies of their revered and noted ancestors. 



8. Axes, chisels, adzes, meres, ear-pendants, as well as hei-tiki. 



9. Seven diiierent varieties : — 



(a) JjiOTigra.— A whitish stone, not much prized, rather opaque. [I 

 cannot quite assent to the expression " not much prized," as I have been 

 informed by many good authorities that it comes next to kahurangi, 

 which is the rarest stone. — F. R. C] 



(b) Kdhotea. — A dark-green with spots of black through it, rather 

 more opaque than the other varieties. [I presume the expression " spots ' 

 of black " would include patches and streaks. A large number of chisels, 

 &c., of this description have been found at Murdering Beach. Vide post. 

 Dr. Shortland's answers, tuapaka. — F. R. C] 



(c) Kuivukuwci.—A very bright green; semi-transparent. [This is 

 the beautiful greenstone of commerce, much used by lapidaries. — 

 F. R.G.J 



(d) Auhungd. — Pale-green, between inanga and kaiuakawa. Not so 

 transparent as the latter. 



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