236 Transactions. 



have seen that there are ten divisions of the reinga, or underworld, 

 and in like manner there are ten different heavens. 



" Paerau " is yet another name that is applied apparent ly 

 to the spirit-world. It may be one of the divisions of the under- 

 world, or perhaps the name of some land where the ancestors 

 of the Maori dwelt in the days of the long-ago, and is now con- 

 fused, as is Hawaiki, with the spirit- world. We have seen that 

 "Go to Paerau ! " "Go to Hawaiki ! " are expressions often 

 used towards the dead in funeral speeches. 



That species of lizard known as a kaweau (probably the same 

 as the hueo) is a creature of evil omen. Should you see fresh 

 signs of it in your house, or on a path you are travelling over, 

 you may prepare to start for the underworld without delay. 

 For that reptile was sent by your dead-and-gone relatives as a 

 sign for you to join them in the reinga or spirit-land. 



We were camped at Te Whaiti-nui-a-Toi. Our cook, a 

 Native woman, got up one morning and proceeded to the mess- 

 tent to prepare breakfast. There she saw fresh signs of the 

 dreaded kaweau. She was taken ill and went to Kotorua, where 

 she was treated by various Natives, ringa-tu ruffians of the 

 shamanistic type. She said, " Cease your efforts, for I am going 

 to die. You cannot cure me." And they could not ; but a white 

 doctor could, and did, to the old lady's great amazement. 



The same old lady once said to me, " I am inclined to believe 

 that old persons who die regain their youth in the reinga. Be- 

 cause I went to the reinga last night {i.e., she had a dream] and 

 I saw Kiriwera [an old woman recently dead], and she appeared 

 cjuite young and nice-looking." 



When a Native says that he was at the reinga he means that 

 he has been dreaming. An old man said to me, " I was at the 

 reinga last night and saw my old friend - — , who has long 



been dead. I could tell from his appearance and actions that 

 it will be a fine day to-morrow." 



Again, " Kai te reinga koe e whakarongo ake ana ; na, ka 

 whakaororua mai tetahi mea e haruru ana, a ka oho ake koe i 

 fe moeP ("You are at the reinga listening. You hear a 

 distant noise resounding, then you wake up.") 



The expression " awhi-reinga " means " to embrace in the 

 spirit-world," as when a man dreams of meeting his dead wife. 

 The term " mariko " or " po-mariko " appears to have some 

 similar meaning, but it is not clear to me. 



When a defeated war-party returned home there was a 

 tangihanga on the village plaza, weeping and lamentation for the 

 dead. After which, a party of the village people of both sexes, 

 dressed in their oldest and most repulsive garments, would appear 

 before the defeated warriors and perform that sort of haka (pos- 



