Best. — Maori Eschatology. 179 



taua, mourning). The word "potae" means, as a noun, a hat, or 

 any covering for the head ; as a verb, " to put over or on the head." 



The term " whare potae," which is the form used by the Tuhoe 

 Tribe, is derived from the potae taua, or mourning-cap (perhaps 

 more correctly a fillet or chaplet, inasmuch a;i it possessed no 

 crown). This was an article of mourning attire, a token of 

 mourning for the dead. It was worn in former times by a 

 near relative of the deceased, as a widow, during the period of 

 mourning. It is composed of a band or fillet woven from 

 some fibre usually, and which is put round the head and tied at 

 the back. It has no crown whatever. Attached to this band 

 would be a quantity of black, dried seaweed, or the epidermis of 

 a water plant or rush known as " kutakuta" prepared as for a 

 maro kata* and dyed black and brown, or left its natural colour 

 of white and pale-yellow. These were attached by one end to 

 the band and hung down, thus concealing the face and head of 

 the wearer. Sometimes the tail-feathers (with skin attached) of 

 the native pigeon, and those of the koko bird, were used to 

 attach to the band. They swayed about when the wearer 

 walked, or when affected by the wind. Chaplets of leaves of 

 the parapara tree (syn., puahou and houhou — Panax arboreum) 

 were also sometimes worn by relatives of the dead while in the 

 whare potae — that is to say, during the period of mourning. 

 The potae taua, with a crown, and no pendant strips, fibre, 

 weed, or feathers, as figured on page 329 of Hamilton's " Maori 

 Art," is an unknown article to the Tuhoe peoples. 



The expression "house of mourning" must not be taken 

 too literally, like unto many other expressions of the Maori. 

 Albeit a Native will ever say, speaking of relatives of a person 

 recently dead, " They are within the whare potae," yet he means 

 that they are mourning for the dead. Although such mourners 

 may be travelling, they are still spoken of as being within the 

 whare potae. The term must be taken as implying the state 

 or period of mourning. ' 



Widows mourned their husbands for perhaps a year before 

 marrying again. (Ka tae pea hi te tau e whare taua ana te 

 pouaru.) 



Bereaved persons, as a husband who has lost his wife, some- 

 times travel about for some time in order to forget their troubles. 

 Thus a man may go and dwell among distant tribes for a year, 

 or several years. 



While mourners are within the whare potae — i.e., during the 

 period of mourning, which may continue perhaps for a week 

 or longer — these dwellers within the house of mourning are very 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xxxi, p. 647. 



