Best. — Maori Forest Lore. 191 



people do, or do not, believe. I certainly would not say that 

 the Maori was a tree-worshipper. 



Tipua. 



The trees termed tipua are supposed to be endowed with 

 certain supernatural powers. The term tipua is often translated 

 as meaning " demon," and it is applied to anything possessing 

 weird, supernatural power, in Maori belief. There are many 

 trees, stones, &c, in Tuhoeland so gifted, say my Native friends. 

 The small pond called Rongo-te-mauriuri, on the summit of 

 Maunga-pohatu, is a tipua. Our term " enchanted," as used in 

 fairy tales, comes near to the meaning of tipua in the present 

 case. At the mouth of the Manga-o-hou tributary of the 

 Whakatane River stands a rock known as Te Komata-o-te- 

 rangi, said to have been located there by Tane-atua. Its in- 

 herent power is that, should a stranger to the place pass near it, 

 then heavy rain will at once come on, making travelling un- 

 pleasant for that stranger. 



A rock at Titi-o-kura, known as the Canoe of Taurua-ngare- 

 ngare, is a tipua. 



A log of totara timber, which is known as Tangi-auraki, lying 

 in the Rangi-taiki River at Nga-huinga, is a tipua. It has, or 

 had, the power of preventing eels from travelling any further up- 

 stream. 



Te Toka a Houmea, a rock situated in a paddock on Sec- 

 tion 261 at Whakatane, was a tipua until the godless pakeha 

 destroyed its magic powers. 



When a stranger approaches a tipua tree, stone, &c, a heavy 

 fog, or mists, often descend upon the land. A stranger in 

 ascending the enchanted hill Maunga-pohatu is said to be so 

 greeted. The sun is spoken of in old tales as a tipua. 



Te Kuri-a-Tarawhata is a tipua rock in the Whakatane River, 

 near Pu-kareao. Tarawhata was an immigrant from Hawaiki. 



Te Puku-o-Kirihika is a stone tipua at Pu-kareao, and is 

 gifted with powers of locomotion. If any person moves that 

 stone it will, ere long, return to its former resting-place. 



Some of the tipua rocks at Wai-kare Moana will, if touched 

 or interfered with, cause the wind to change, or a gale to rise. 



Te Tapuwae a Eke-nui (the footprint of Eke-nui), a mark on 

 a rock at Maunga-pohatu, is a tipua. 



A small totara tree growing on a tawai tree on the old trail 

 over Huia-rau Range is a tipua. It is at a place called Te 

 Pakura, and was an uruuru whenua. Marae-roa, a taiva tree at 

 Maunga-pohatu, was another such. 



There are said to be two ruru birds (owls), named Kahu and 

 Kau, which frequent the forest at Te Purenga, Rua-toki. Both 



