Best. — Food Products of Tuhoeland. 47 



posed a great many songs, but I think that means that he 

 was a very lazy man." 



Times of scarcity of food were by no means rare. These 

 would usually occur before the bird- taking season in the 

 interior of the island, and often on the coast when the sea was 

 too rough to permit of fishing-canoes going forth. At such a 

 time natives would exert themselves as little as possible, and 

 would spend most of their time in lying down. They would 

 rise late, take an enormous drink of water, and then lie down 

 again. Some time after they would partake of the one scanty 

 meal of the day, after which they would again lie down. 

 They drank great quantities of water at such times. 



Usually the old-time Maori would have two meals a day. 

 They would rise early and proceed to the work of the day, in 

 the cultivations or elsewhere. Having worked several hours, 

 they would partake of the first meal, prepared by the women, 

 at nine or ten o'clock. They would then recommence work 

 and proceed until quitting-time, which was usually early. 

 After this the second meal was eaten. In returning to the 

 protecting fort for the night the women would bear on therr 

 backs great bundles of firewood or of food. 



When the Eev. Mr. Colenso visited Waikare-moana in De- 

 cember, 1841, he found the natives of that place had scarcely 

 any food at the time, and were living upon roots and herbs 

 and a few potatoes which they had left from the previous 

 year. 



The Maori is ever closely in touch with nature, owing not 

 only to their ever searching for the products of forest, plain, 

 and waters, but also to the fact of their genius for personifica- 

 tion and the belief that the human race, animals, fish, birds, 

 trees, &c, are all sprung from a common source, are all de- 

 scendants of the Sky Father and the Earth Mother. We shall 

 note some singular results of this belief in the present and 

 also in future papers. 



The Maori larder was sadly deficient in flesh foods, and 

 this may possibly have had something to do with their can- 

 nibalism, for they were undoubtedly fond of human flesh as 

 a food, with the exception of those who were koto — i.e., 

 who had a feeling of repugnance towards that unnatural 

 diet. 



The domestic dog (kuri) was not numerous enough to 

 form an important item in the native bill-of-fare, but its 

 flesh was highly esteemed. This dish, however, only ap- 

 peared on important occasions, as at a feast, or when pre- 

 pared for a distinguished visitor. The hindquarters of the 

 kuri are said to have been the best eating. Its flesh was 

 sometimes used as an o matenga, or food for the death 

 journey, on account of its delicacy from a Maori point of 



