216 Transactions. 



an alias of Puhi, the eel-god of Maori myth. It has been borne 

 in upon me that this same Puhi was originally a snake-god in 

 some distant land, at an early period in Maori history — say, 

 aboiit the time when Tangaroa was a land deity, as I am in- 

 formed he used to be. 



The kutakuta, said to be also known as paopao and kuwawa, 

 was formerly used in the manufacture of aprons and mourning- 

 fillets, as we have recorded elsewhere. 



The small tuberous roots of the maikaika are eaten by Native 

 children, either raw or roasted. , 



Both white and black maire are found in the Eua-tahuna 

 district. The black or narrow-leaved maire is sometimes seen 

 of a great size. This wood was used in former days for the 

 manufacture of implements, such as ko (a planting-spade or 

 dibble) and spades (rapa maire) ; also certain weapons, as the 

 wahaika, which was fashioned from the roots of the tree. 



The maire, sayeth the Tuhoean bushman, is one of the trees 

 of which we recognise the two sexes. The female tree is termed 

 maire-rau-ririki, and the male is maire-rau-nui. The maire tree 

 is the offspring of Te Pu-whakahara and Hine-pipi. The former 

 was a son of Tane, and appears to be a star-name, or connected 

 in some way with a star. An old saying applied to the hard- 

 wooded maire is, " E kore e ngawhere, he maire tx woo, ma te 

 toki e tua " ; meaning, " It will not break (or work) easily, it is 

 a forest-standing maire, the axe alone can fell it."" This saying 

 is also applied to persons. This timber is a favourite fuel for 

 use in meeting-houses, as it gives out but little smoke and a 

 good light; but if seeds are kept in a house in which maire is 

 used as fuel, then such seeds will not germinate when planted. 

 In former times, when forest-birds were numerous, the kereru 

 (pigeon) and the koko (or tui) were wont to frequent in greal 

 numbers the maire-rau-nui trees to feed on the berries thereof, 

 when great numbers would be snared, although they did QOl 

 fatten on that diet. The koko also feeds on the berries of the 

 other maire (maire roro), but the kereru never does so. 



The mahitihiti (mahiti = to .spring, leap) is so named because 

 its seeds are distributed in the same manner as are those of 

 furze (whin). 



The manono or raurekau tree is common on the high-lyinjg 

 lands of Rua-tahnna. Its range is apparently about equal to 

 that of the papawna, possibly somewhat more extended. The 

 manono tree, or Coprosma (/raixlifolia, is also known as raurekau, 

 but I am informed that the latter name really applies to the 

 leaves only, while the trunk, or tree, is manono, and the fruit 

 is termed kueo. The koko bird feeds upon the berries, while 

 the leaf is used by fowlers as a pepe or call leaf, with which they 



