Best. — On Maori Magic. 93 



this wise : Eangi had paddled merrily forth from Te Awa-a-te- 

 atua to take the offspring of Tangaroa, who swarm in the Sea 

 of Toi. A storm arose, the canoe was swamped, and Eangi, 

 the fisherman, perished. His body drifted ashore at Wai- 

 rakei, where it was found by the Tauranga people, who 

 promptly cooked and ate it. Te Hahae, a noted warlock of 

 Ngati-awa, heard of this occurrence, and inquired concerning 

 the appearance of the drowned person. The answer was, 

 ' He was a light-haired man, and had the puhoro pattern of 

 tattooing on his left arm.' Te Hahae cried, ' Alas ! He 

 was my grandson, Te Eangi-kaku.' He at once despatched 

 his daughter, Te Eere-wairua, to Puketapu (at Te Teko), to 

 her brothers, Ouenuku, Eehe, and Tikitu, saying, ' Should 

 your brothers consent to my proposition, let there be seventy 

 separate ichaivharua (holes in which taro are planted), and 

 onlv one taro in each, which must be cultivated so as to 

 grow to a large size.' So she went, and arrived, and said, 

 ' Te Eangi-kaku is dead and has been eaten. Te Hahae 

 spoke in this manner : That taro be cultivated, that eels be 

 caught (and cured).' These labours were commenced. The 

 woman returned. Te Hahae asked of his daughter, ' How 

 did your brothers receive the message which you took ? 

 She "replied, 'The taro are being cultivated.' Autumn 

 arrived. The Tauranga people came to get the taro and 

 eels. The dawn of the morrow came. The old warlock 

 cried to Nga-maihi, ' Arise ! Collect fuel and stones and 

 covering (for the steam-ovens).' These things were col- 

 lected. The old man said, ' The sacred oven, I will attend 

 to that.' The people cooked their food, and Te Hahae pre- 

 pared his sacred umu (oven). As he dug the hole he repeated 

 a charm. As he placed the fuel therein he repeated a charm. 

 As he placed the stones on the fuel he repeated a charm. 

 When the stones were red with heat Te Hahae, clad merely 

 in a girdle of green twigs and leaves, entered the oven and 

 stood upon the red-hot stones thereof. There he stood and 

 repeated his magic spells, yet was he not injured by heat, nor 

 was his girdle affected in any way by flame or heat. Then he 

 stepped out and proceeded to put the taro in the oven. Then 

 he covered the taro with green branches and fern-fronds, and 

 covered the oven with earth, repeating a charm as he per- 

 formed each act. When the food was cooked he uncovered 

 the oven and put the food in baskets, and placed these in a 

 row, and presented the food to the people of Ngati-pukenga 

 and Ngai-te-rangi. And each of these acts was accompanied 

 by further spells of magic. Then those people thought as to 

 what return they could make for this present of food. And it 

 was said, ' We will go to the fishing-grounds.' Then those 

 people paddled out upon the ocean. Te Hahae said to Nga- 



