Best. — Maori Marriage Customs. 59 



beach and called out, " Eeturn to me and to our children." 

 Tihori replied, "Farewell! He tamariki tome kei te mata- 

 mata o taku ure " — a similar reply to that made by the revolt- 

 ing Egyptian troops when asked to return during their march 

 south, as described by Herodotus. 



When a married couple among the natives quarrel they do 

 so in a remarkably noisy manner, as is usual in all Maori 

 squabbles and quarrellings. They shout at each other and 

 gesticulate, and indulge in all kinds of defiant language and 

 gestures. They have no compunction whatever as to washing 

 their soiled linen in public. Also ivhakamomori, or acts of 

 desperation, are sometimes committed. An Arawa woman 

 whose husband had been unfaithful to her threw herself into 

 a boiling spring — a fearful death. In another casein this dis- 

 trict a woman left her husband on account of a quarrel, and, 

 on his pursuing her in order to bring her back, she jumped 

 over a high cliff. Wives often leave their husbands in this 

 manner in this district, but they usually come together again 

 ere long. 



Polygamous wives sometimes quarrelled among themselves, 

 as when Uenuku-koihu's two wives, Maru-hangaroa and Kahu- 

 kura-kotare, fell out, and the former made away with the 

 latter by means of the magic rite known as urmi pururangi. 



In the days of yore native children were usually naked, 

 though girls often wore a rude maro, such as a bunch of tow 

 fastened on with a string — hai huna i te aroaro. That was in 

 childhood ; but women never went naked, although men some- 

 times did. A woman would not be seen without her maro, a 

 kind of apron or kilt. Note the term maro-mci, used to denote 

 a married woman, and which signifies " big apron." This is 

 significant of a change in their clothing made at marriage or 

 at puberty. 



There dwelt in former times at 0-potiki a married woman 

 named Mahuru, who for some reason left her husband and 

 came to Eua-toki, where she married one Takarehe. And it 

 fell upon a certain fine day that the fair one prepared some 

 fern-root for her better-half's dinner. However, she neglected 

 to remove the fibres from the meal, whereupon Taka aiose 

 in his wrath and struck the erring one upon the head with 

 his weapon as a token of his disapproval of her indolence. 

 Mahuru said, " You may now marry your weapon as a wife 

 for you," and fled to her father, Tamahape, who was peace- 

 fully weeding his ku7nara-ga.rden. As she came to him Tama 

 saw the blood flowing from her wound, and said, " You are a 

 survivor." Mahuru said, " It was my husband; he is follow- 

 ing me." " Eemain here by my side," replied Tama. When 

 Taka arrived he attacked Tama, who parried his blow and 

 slew Taka, whom he and his daughter cooked and ate. Thus 



