18 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



While agreeing in essentials, there appears to have been 

 great variety in the details of these karakias, especially in the 

 invocations, every tohunga of standing having his own par- 

 ticular form of words, some of which were handed down from 

 immemorial antiquity. Many of the ceremonies were very 

 expressive, among which was one that used to be performed 

 on the Island of Mokoia, in Lake Eotorua. It was described 

 to me by Miss M. Bedggood, of Waimate North, who heard 

 of it from some of the old natives living on the spot. On the 

 day before the planting, when the seed kumaras were to be 

 consecrated, the tohunga brought a small quantity in a basket 

 made of dry raupo, shaped like a canoe, and presented it to 

 the matua atua (ancestral god), of whom a little stone image 

 ■stood in a wooden shrine on the island. Then, after the 

 ivaiata (song) had been chanted, the vessel was set adrift on 

 the lake, and was supposed to find its way to Haivaiki, 

 whence the image was said to have been brought, and which 

 was still the abode of the god. :|: By being thus made a 

 sharer in the plantation it was believed that the atua would 

 be reminded of the wants of his children and take the crop 

 under his protection. A somewhat similar ceremony is 

 related by Dr. Shortland in his " Maori Mythology " (p. 56). 



It was considered absolutely essential that the planting of 

 the entire plot, however large, should be completed in a single 

 day, and in order to accomplish this a plan was often 

 adopted similar to that of the Canadian " working-bee." In 

 a large hapu, or division of a tribe living together, every prin- 

 cipal man would have one or more plots of his own, and when 

 one of these was to be planted his neighbours would come to 

 assist at the work. 



The business commenced with the consecration of the 

 seed, which was done on the day previous to the planting, the 

 seed consisting of the tubers which were too small to be eaten. 

 If these were not sufficient, they were supplemented by the 

 heads — the end containing the eyes — of the larger ones 

 broken off for the purpose. 



Early in the morning the workers, men and women, as- 

 sembled. They were all of the rangatira class, no slave of 

 either sex being allowed on the ground. After partaking of 

 a plentiful meal provided by the owner they were made 

 tapu, and henceforth they could eat no food until the work 

 was completed, when the tapu was taken off. This, of course, 

 had the effect of stimulating their exertions. 



* Possibly this image may be identical with the matua tonga in the 

 Grey collection, Auckland, which is stated to have come to New Zealand 

 in the canoe " Arawa," and of which the later history does not appear to 

 be known. 



