164 Transactions. 



stream which flows into the river at the Reinga Falls. Te Mai- 

 taranui remarked, " He manu hou ahau, he kohanga ha rerea " 

 ("I am but a fledgeling bird, a nest just forsaken"). This was 

 in allusion to his youth, which did not, however, save him. 



The origin of the name " Tane-pi " is not clear. Another 

 form is wai o Tane-here-pi, which may be the same thing, or con- 

 nected with it. When the Ngati-Tai people attacked the Pane- 

 nehu at Wai-kurapa they slew the two children of Tu-namu — 

 Tai-auhi-kura and Tu-auhi-kura. When their father heard of 

 the death of the children he exclaimed, "' Having fed you on 

 the wai o Tane-here-pi, I thought you would have been strong 

 enough to take care of yourselves." 



The term " whakamaui " implies the rallying and recovery 

 of a person apparently dying — " Mana ano e whakamaui ake " 

 (" He may possibly rally round "). The origin of this expression 

 is a feat performed by the old-time hero Maui. At one time 

 during his adventurous career he was captured and slain, some 

 say by Hine-nui-te-Po. But the slayers of Maui reckoned 

 without their host, for the spirit of Maui entered into his body 

 again, and he came back to life. 



Manawa kiore : This expression implies the faint breathing 

 of a dying person who is past speech. 



Of a person in extremis a Native will say, '"' Kai te ihu o te 

 tupapaku te manawa e nga ana, kua kore kai raro," or " Te mana- 

 wa o te tupapaku kei te ihu tonu e kapo ana " — meaning that the 

 faint breathing is only noticeable by a slight fluttering or move- 

 ment of the nostrils ; the heart pulsates only at the nose. 



The final expulsion of breath by a dying person is termed 

 the " puhanga ake o te manawa" (" There is one final expulsion of 

 breath, the eyes stare wildly, it is death"). 



Hirihiri ; Ara Atua. 

 Of the many rites performed over a sick person by the to- 

 hunga, or priest, I shall not here speak, inasmuch as I have 

 already put them into the form of a paper which was forwarded 

 to the late Dr. Goldie, and which will appear in the forthcoming 

 volume of the society's Transactions, together with many other 

 items concerning Native treatment of disease, &c. There is, 

 however, one rite, as performed by priests over dying persons, 

 which has a place here, and that is the assisting of the soul 

 or spirit of man to leave his dying body. This rite comes under 

 the term of " hirihiri" which expression needs a few words of 

 explanation, inasmuch as it has several bearings. The hirihiri 

 taua is a ceremony performed over warriors about to lift the war 

 trail, and has been described in a former paper. Another hiri- 

 hiri is that peculiar rite by which a demon which causes disease 



