Best. — Maori Eschatology. 165 



bv entering the body of man is forced by priestly arts to leave 

 the sufferer's body and take itself off. The hirihiri of which 

 we now speak is a rite the performance of which assists the soul 

 of a dying person to quit his body and wend its way to the land 

 of spirits. One of the objects of this ceremony is that the de- 

 parting spirit may be induced to pass straight to spirit-land, and 

 not remain in the vicinity of its former physical basis to afflict 

 the living. 



In the performance of this peculiar ceremony the priest sus- 

 pended over the mouth of the dying subject a piece of the hara- 

 keke leaf (Phormium tenax), or a blade of some sedge-like grass, 

 or of tutumako. This was the ara atua, described by me in 

 Dr. Goldie's paper. By it the passing soul was supposed to leave 

 the body, and was assisted to do so by means of an invocation 

 recited by the attendant priest, and termed a " hirihiri." 



So soon as the breath of life has left the sufferer's body the 

 wailing for the dead is commenced by surrounding relatives. 

 Since the introduction of firearms a custom has obtained of 

 firing guns when a person dies, and also during the mourning 

 ceremonies which follow. This is termed a " maimai aroha " 

 (token of affection). 



The eyes of the defunct are closed by a relative. 



When the sound of gun-firing is heard at a place where it is 

 known a person has been lying ill, then it is understood that he 

 is no more, and people may be seen wending their way from 

 adjacent settlements to that place, in order to join in the wailing 

 (tangihanga) for the dead. Sometimes guns are fired just prior 

 to death, when it is evident to the attendants that he is passing 



away. 



In former times it often occurred that on a man's death 

 his widow or widows would commit suicide — usually, perhaps, 

 by hanging themselves, or by throwing themselves over a cliff ; 

 but in later times, often by means of firearms. 



So soon as the death of a man occurred his body was 

 " trussed " for burial — i.e., before it became cold ; albeit it would 

 not be buried for some days. This " trussing " process, styled 

 " rukuruku " and " korukuruku" consisted in crossing the arms 

 on the breast and drawing the legs up until the knees rested 

 on them, under the chin. A cloak was wrapped round the body, 

 and the limbs retained in the above-described position by means 

 of a cord lashed round the body. The bodies of women were 

 also manipulated in this manner. 



Mortuary Sacrifice. 

 No description of Maori eschatology would be in any way 

 complete without some reference to the custom of human sacri- 



