Best.— On Maori Magic. 73 



fled to Taupo, to Taranaki ; hence the people of those parts 

 are versed in the arts of magic. 



In the above account are used some most singular expres- . 

 sions, which, when inquired into, lead us into various interest- 

 ing channels of research. My aged informant said, " Te 

 Mahoi-o-te-rangi, te tangata tena nana te makutu. He tama- 

 tane tena main a te hoi Maori, e kore ia e kaha i te tama- 

 wahine" (Te Mahoi-o-te-rangi was he who practised magic. 

 That practice of the Maori people was a tama-tane — male 

 child, or son ; but it cannot contend against the tama-wahine 

 — female child, or daughter). Here " tama-tane " seems to be 

 a term applied to witchcraft, active magic, while the expression 

 " tama-wahine" denotes defensive magic. I have nearly one 

 hundred notes collected on these two expressions, and they 

 appear to be applied to everything in the heavens, on earth, 

 and the waters under the earth. It would take up too much 

 space to go fully into the matter here. Tama-wahine is ap- 

 plied to the west, sometimes to the north, and to the ruahine 

 who performs the closing act of all sacred rites — that is to say, 

 the lifting of the tapu or sacredness — also to descent from 

 Papa, the Earth Mother (the female line of descent), and to 

 numberless other things 



Here is another remark of my venerable authority. In 

 speaking of Te Mahoihoi's encounter with Waitaha he con- 

 tinues : " Ko tauaioaha a Te Mahoihoi, he ivaha rawhiti. Ma 

 te tawhito anake a Waitaha e kore ia e ora, ahakoa loaha 

 rawhiti, waha hauraro, tama-wahine. Ka hu i te tama-tane, 

 ka ora te rangi, ka ora te iwi" (That voice of Te Mahoihoi 

 was an eastern one. The tawhito alone could not have saved 

 Waitaha, albeit an eastern or northern voice, or the tama- 

 wahine — (?)west. When the thunder resounds in the tama- 

 tane — east — then the sky clears and man is safe). Here are 

 more side issues. The latter part of the remark refers to 

 oho rangi, a rite performed by the priests (tohunga Maori) in 

 reference to certain sacred matters, in order to cause thunder 

 to resound. The term " iowhito " is practically the same as 

 "ure" (membrum virile). The latter is the ordinary term, 

 while the former is the sacred or sacerdotal term, and which 

 may be translated as the " Ancient One." It was used when 

 referring to the organ as being used in various rites, as to 

 ward off evil, especially magic spells. "The tawhito," said 

 one of my aged teachers, "is the salvation of man." But 

 more of this anon. 



After a perusal of countless notes I have evolved the 

 following. 1 fear it is not a clear formula, but appears 

 mixed and vague ; but there is something of great interest 

 behind these ancient, dim, and metaphysical abstrac- 

 tions : — 



