90 Trail sac tio ns . — Mi sec llaneo ?/..s- . 



islands, but is most commonly believed to have been Savaii. in 

 Samoa. I have come to the conclusion that the Maori has 

 since his arrival here given to this word a much more general 

 meaning, and that it is used l)y him as a comprehensive name 

 for the islands generally. A study of their traditions, ancient 

 ]ioems, and /ivira^ias, or incantations, will show that they were 

 acquainted with the following islands for certain, and also 

 with others whose identification is at present uncertain : viz., 

 Savaii, Upolu, Tutuila, Apolima, iManono, Nukutere, and pos- 

 sibly Olosenga, in the Samoa group ; Tonga, Vavau, and Tofua, 

 in the Tonga group ; Fiji ; Tahiti, Raiatea, Moorea, in the Tahiti 

 group; Rarotonga and Auau (the ancient name for Mangaia), 

 in the Hervey group ; Rurutu, in the Austral group ; and not 

 improbably with Raparmi, or Easter Island.''' It is also pro- 

 bable that in ancient times the race had a knowledge of the 

 coast of South America. Hiku's voyage, therefore, from Raro- 

 tonga to Manihiki, with the favouring South Sea trades, would 

 present no difficulties nor be considered a very serious under- 

 taking for these old sea-rovers, or, as a friend of mine terms 

 them, the " Vikings of the Pacific." 



The names of the fourteen islets which constitute 

 Tongarewa are as follows, acccn-ding to Mr. Lamont : 

 Mangarongaro, Hakahuha, Sararaka (or Hararaka), Tahiti, 

 Motukohiti, Omuka, Te Puka, Matunga, Motumuno, Hangari, 

 Tokerau (at the north-east end. Tokerau in Maori means the 

 east coast), Ruahara, Tautua, Etukaha (?), and a smaller one 

 called Tamata. It is noticeable tliat one of the islets is called 

 Tahiti, showing probably a knowledge of that island. This is 

 only natural, however, for the Rarotonga people, from whom 

 the Tongarewans sprang, trace their origin to Tahiti and 

 to Samoa. 



Lamont was wrecked on Tongarewa in 1853, and he men- 

 tions that the ordy white man, according to the natives' 

 account, who ever landed there before him was so alarmed at 

 the attitude of the people that he attempted to swim oft" to the 

 vessel from which he had run away, but was speared and 

 killed by the savages. Lamont therefore saw the people before 

 their habits and customs had been altered by contact with 

 Europeans. Sonre of these customs I have endeavoured to 

 describe below, and to show their similarity with those of the 

 Maori. 



• A gentleman whose opinion is entitled to great weight doubts 

 if the IMaori ever had such an extensive knowledge of the islands of the 

 I'acific as is here mentioned ; but every one of the names given can be 

 found in Sir f'reorge Grey's " Ancient Poetry of the New Zealanders " 

 (with slight alterations sometimes, it is true), and most of them in Mr. 

 J. White's " Ancient History of the Maori," the authenticity of either of 

 which cannot be questioned. 



