52 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



the wife's relatives. They march to the erring husband's 

 abode and demand satisfaction for the injury done to them 

 and to his wife. Such satisfaction is often in the form of 

 greenstone ornaments, the jewels of Maoridom ; also other 

 kinds of portable property, and latterly horses. The wife's 

 relatives would receive such goods, not herself. Such pay- 

 ment in goods is never returned. 



If a low-born person or a slave committed adultery with 

 a woman of rank in former days he would probably be slain 

 and, if a slave, certainly eaten.''' If a man of rank committed 

 adultery with a slave woman that was thought nothing of. 



Both adultery and the abduction of another man's wife 

 were punished by a taua, as above described. 



In some cases a piece of land is given in payment for 

 adultery, as satisfaction for the mjured party. But in after- 

 years such land might be redeemed by the adulterer and his 

 friends handing over an amount of goods (me unu ki te taonga) 

 for the same. When Pihi, of Ngai-Te-Au, committed adultery 

 here her people made over to Ngati-Rongo, her husband's 

 hapic. a piece of land at Okerekere. 



It sometimes happened that a man, for committing adul- 

 tery with a married woman of rank, had to migrate and live 

 elsewhere. This would depend a good deal upon his own 

 standing in the tribe. 



The tMca which is organized in order to obtain satis- 

 faction for adultery would often, in former times, proceed 

 to murti, or plunder, the adulterer's home. In this case 

 a mob of excited natives would I'ush the place and seize 

 all portable property and carry it off, and would often burn 

 the house down as well. An old saying in connection with 

 adultery is, " Ko te wahine ma tetehi, ko te whare ma teteki " 

 (" The woman for one, the house for the other"). It was bad 

 policy to get in the way of such a party. A rough-and-tumble 

 scrimmage often occurred, in which blood would flow, and 

 sometimes, but perhaps not often, fatal wounds would be 

 inflicted. An aggrieved husband would sometimes tight a 

 duel with the man who interfered with his wife, but it was 

 not a duel to the death. He would be satisfied usually if he 

 mflicted a wound upon his adversary. 



The term kai taonga is applied to the action taken by 

 parties who ask payment for an injury and such is given 

 without any fuss or violence. It is not applied to mum, or 

 violent plundering, as described above. 



When a party went to the adulterer's home to demand utu 

 (payment, &c.) for his act many speeches would be made, 



• As my informant put it, " Knore i inoua to viua tangaCa" (" Men 

 (slain) were not wasted in former times "). He was killed for committing 

 a crime, then, of course, he would be oaten. Why waste him ? 



