Transactions. — Miscellaneoiis. 



" company of gods," and it is used in this sense in some of 

 the islands. I think it not improbable that Mr. Lamont has, 

 from his imperfect knowledge of the language, misunderstood 

 this \Yord, and used it instead of tapu, when it really has the 

 meaning I give above. 



At parting they used the words " E hana, e noho," exactly 

 as the Maoris do ; the hana in this case being the Taranaki 

 v'hano, to go, which in other parts of New Zealand would be 

 It acre. 



According to the Eev. W. W. Gill (" Jottings from the 

 Pacific," p. 147), the sacred fish of these islanders in olden 

 time were the robber-crab, a species of land-crab called tupa, 

 the octopus, and the conger-eel. Turtles — called onu — and 

 porpoises were eaten only by the men ; and the killing of the 

 former, as in so many of the islands, was accompanied with 

 many ceremonies, which Lamont describes. The priest re- 

 peated an incantation or prayer over it, apparently to drive 

 out some evil spirit. It was then taken to the marae, where 

 further ceremonies were performed, and there beheaded and 

 disembow^elled. A fire was then lit, the turtle cooked, and 

 offered on a rude altar to the gods. It was then taken outside 

 the marae and eaten by the men, the women showing the 

 greatest horror when part was offered by the Europeans to 

 them. One or more of all fish caught was similarly first 

 offered to the gods before being eaten. 



The Tongarewans do not appear to have differed from the 

 Maori or eastern Polynesians in their love of fighting. In 

 this little group of fourteen islets, many only separated from 

 one another by the shallow waters of the reef, it was certain 

 death for the inhabitants of one to trespass on the shores of 

 another, unless in the few cases where they were allied for 

 mutual protection. Each little islet had its iriki (Maori, 

 ariki), who ruled his tribe and led it in war. Their arms 

 consisted of long, light spears, called tao — the same weapon 

 and with the same name as that of the Maori — laboriously 

 split out from cocoanut wood with their shell toki or adzes. 

 These were from 12ft. to 14ft. long, and sometimes tipped with 

 fish-bone. They were highly polished with a rasp of fish- 

 skin called a poirari. The koirari, or club, is made of the 

 same wood, but is stronger, and in shape like a paddle ; it 

 was generally ornamented with carving on the blade part. 

 These clubs were frequently used by the women in battle to 

 break the spears of the enemy. It was rare that the women 

 so engaged were hurt by the men of the opposing party. Such 

 was the constant state of dread the people lived in, that they 

 never moved about far from their homes without arms in their 

 hands. Much of the fighting was done in canoes on the 

 smooth w^aters of the lagoon. The women were sent with 



