186 Transactions. 



great forest of Tane), or te wao tapu nui a Tane (the great sacred 

 forest of Tane). A single tree or bird is often spoken of as 

 though it itself was Tane. In speaking of one of the prized 

 timber trees, such as totara, a Native would often say, " That 

 is your ancestor, Tane." A canoe made of such trees was often 

 termed te riu tapu nui o Tane. It was doubtless this feeling 

 of Tane being incarnated in the forms of trees and birds that 

 induced the Maori to perform some very peculiar rites prior 

 to felling a tree, as also on the opening of the bird-taking season. 

 When engaged in the task of felling some rimu trees which 

 overhung my camp, passing Natives would call out to me, " Kai 

 te raweke koe i to tipuna, i a Tane " (You are meddling with 

 your ancestor Tane) ; or, on the fall of a tree, " E ! kua hinga 

 a Tane " (0 ! Tane has fallen). 



This singular phase of primitive mentality is noted in all 

 Maori myths — viz., the belief in an anthropomorphic origin 

 and personification of all things, such things being looked upon 

 as the descendants of such mythical being, and also as being 

 imbued with a certain amount of his personality. Thus the origin 

 of the gourd-plant (hue) in Maori myth is one Putehue, a descend- 

 ant of Rangi and Papa (Sky and Earth). The saying of Putehue 

 was, " Ko nga kakano o roto i a au hei utu wai mo aku mokopuna. 

 Ko tetehi o nga kakano he tane, tena e kore ia e whai uri." (The 

 seeds within me shall become water-vessels for my descendants. 

 But some of them are male seeds which will not have offspring.) 

 In this ancient myth we note an early proof of Maori recognition 

 of sex in plants. 



The following mythical genealogy is of a cosmogonic nature, 

 needing explanation. 



Maori Cosmogony : The Cosmogonal Tree in Maori Myth, 

 and the Descent op Tane from the Same, through the 

 Sky and Earth Parents. (From Ngati-Awa of Whakatane.) 



Te Pu (root, origin). 



Te More (tap root). 



'LV Weu (rootlets). 



Te Aka (creeper, vine). 



Te Rea (growth). 



Te Wao-nui (great wood). 



Te Knne (conception, form). 



Te Whe (sound). 



Te Kore (chaos, void). 



Te Po (darkness, &c). 



Rangi = Papa 



I I I 



Tane-nui-a-rangi Tangotango Wai-nui 



