Newman. — On an Image of a Maori Eel-god. 131 



and in its style and character is striking proof of the excellent 

 work done by the prehistoric Maori carver. The body of the 

 eel is carved with great skill, and is exceedingly lifelike. It is 

 carved on a board belonging to an ancient wharepimi, or temple. 



Maori mythology has many references to eels and eel-gods, 

 and, as will be shown presently, the capture of eels was always 

 celebrated with religious rites and ceremonies by the prehistoric 

 Maori — both before he went eel-catching and after his return. 



Tangaroa in New Zealand and throughout Polynesia was the 

 god of fishes. He was one of the greatest of all gods, and so 

 sacred throughout Polynesia that his image was never carved. 

 Tuna was one of the lesser Maori deities, the son of Manga-wai- 

 roa. Legend says there was a drought in heaven, and naturally 

 the eel-god came away in search of water, and came to earth. 

 One legend says he killed two of the great god Maui's children, 

 and the latter in revenge slew him. Another legend says that 

 in Maui's absence Tuna came up out of the water and ravished 

 Maui's wife. Hearing this, Maui told his wife to go to the whare 

 by the river, and he laid logs between the hut and the river 

 and there lay in ambush. Tuna came gliding gaily over the 

 logs to see the lady, and Maui slew him. One legend says that 

 Tuna's tail became the fresh-water eels' progenitor, and his head 

 produced salt-water eels. The next story reverses the order, 

 but confirms the fact that he begat both sorts. John White 

 says some Maori tribes worshipped Ruahine as the god of eels, 

 and performed religious rites to him. His worship, however, 

 was strictly limited, as there is no other reference to him in 

 Maori legends. 



Religious Rites of Eel-fishing. 



When a young man first went eeling the tohunga performed 

 many rites over him, and recited appropriate karakia, invoking 

 the gods to make him a successful fisher. Eldon Best, in our 

 Transactions of 1902, gives a special karakia addressed to Tanga- 

 roa used at this ceremony, which caused a great haul of eels. 

 When a young man made his first catch he gave to his priest 

 an offering of the daintiest — a sign that the Maori tohunga knew 

 how to look after his own interests. 



Maoris in olden days when building eel pas or weirs put at 

 each end of the weir a carved post, which, like all other Maori 

 carvings, had a religious character, and thereby invoked the 

 eel-deities to make it a success after their labours. 



Eel-fisheries were as valuable to the ancient Maoris as gold- 

 mines are to Europeans. The failure of the eel-catch was often 

 a great disaster. In the earlier days when Europeans first came 

 to New Zealand, cuttings from swamp to swamp abounded • 



