48 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



view. When a person was near unto death a special food 

 would be prepared as a last meal for the dying person. 

 Earthworms (Joke) were a favourite article for this purpose, 

 and it is said that the sweet flavour (tawara) of that prized 

 food would be detected on the palate of the eater for two 

 days after the meal. 



Apparently the Jcuri, or at least one breed thereof, that 

 known as ruarangi, was possessed by the first Maori in- 

 habitants of this land. Judging from the way in which this 

 animal is spoken of in the local traditions, it appears pro- 

 bable that there were two breeds or varieties of the domes- 

 ticated dog here in former times. 



The flesh of the kiore, or native rat, was highly prized by 

 the Maori, and formed one of the principal food-supplies of 

 Tuhoeland. This little creature was very numerous in this 

 district formerly, more especially on the high-lying ranges, 

 where it fed on the beech mast, and was trapped in great 

 numbers. It disappeared about the early " fifties." The 

 expression " tau niho roa" was applied to a season when the 

 kiore were particularly numerous, and hence bold in stealing 

 from the food-stores of the natives. The flesh of the rat was 

 preserved for future use in the same manner that birds were — 

 viz., by taking out the bones and placing the flesh in a vessel, 

 which was then filled up with melted fat, which preserved the 

 contents. Eats and birds preserved in this manner are 

 termed huahua. Old natives say that the bones of the rat 

 were pulled out quite easily, that the flesh did not appear to 

 adhere to them. When cooked for immediate consiimption 

 the rat was wrapped in leaves of the fern termed petipeti and 

 placed in the hapi, or steam-oven. Such a wrapper or en- 

 velope for birds or fish is termed kopaki or poutaka. The rat 

 was cooked without being skinned. They were caught in 

 traps and pits, which we will describe later on. It is said 

 that two kinds of rats obtained here, the matapo, a black 

 variety, and the tokoroa, a grey one. 



An old myth of the Bay of Plenty tribes tells us that Pani 

 was the (mythical) mother of the kumara, and that one Hine- 

 mataiti, a younger sister of Pani, was the origin of the rat. 



Regarding the cannibalism of the Maori, human flesh 

 was not only eaten after a battle, but also it was preserved for 

 future use as huahua, in the manner described above. When 

 rations fell short or some special food was required for a feast 

 or to place before a guest a slave would be very likely knocked 

 on the head, and his body consigned to the oven. Again, 

 special raids were often made for the purpose of procuring 

 human flesh or to capture a person to be slain, cooked, and 

 eaten, in order to give prestige to certain rites of old, such 

 as the opening of a new house, the tattooing of a chief's 



