186 Transactions. 



alfavoured and also practically a sacred colour among the 

 Natives. The pokd'poka method was often employed whereby 

 to mark places where men had fallen on a battlefield. Relatives 

 of the dead person would make the pit or hole. Te Pokapoka 

 o Taua-ahi-kawai is a place-name at Tara-pounamu. It is 

 where the pokapoka for one Taua-ahi-kawai, of Ngati-Pukeko, 

 was dug. But, observe, Te Pokapoka a Te Umu-tiri-rau, near 

 Karioi, is a very different thing, for it is simply a hole dug as a 

 landmark by Te Umu — hence the active " a." It is well to be 

 cautious when dealing^ with the Maori tongue. 



The pokapoka for the dead are respected by all members 

 of the tribe. Some tribes term these pits " whaJcaumu." The 

 battle-ground of Puke-kai-kaahu, at Rere-whakaitu, had nume- 

 rous pits on it to mark places where the dead fell during that 

 Homeric combat. 



A saying of old, " E kore e pai Ida tuwhera te pokapoka ki 

 tahaki, engari me tuwhera tonu hi te papa o te huarahi," was 

 often heard formerly when the war-trumpets boomed forth their 

 doleful sound. It would be made by warriors in the course of 

 their speeches before going to battle. Its meaning is, " It is 

 not well that the pokapoka should be made in a non-conspicu- 

 ous place, but let it be dug on a path " ; by which the speaker 

 implies that if he fall in the fray he wishes the sign to be made 

 in a conspicuous place. The pit for a plebeian would be dug 

 anywhere. These holes were about 1 ft. deep by 2 ft. in dia- ' 

 meter. 



I will now illustrate another custom of old. When a Maori 

 is taken ill away from his permanent home and ancestral lands, 

 should it be thought that his end is near he will be borne on a 

 litter (amo) back to his home, in order that he may die among 

 his own people and on his own land. In the rugged wilds of 

 Tuhoeland I have known most arduous journeys of this nature 

 made by Natives bearing upon their shoulders a litter or 

 stretcher on which lay a dying person. Over rough country, 

 up and down steep rough ranges, by narrow forest-tracks, and 

 following up or down the beds of swift rivers, the bearers plod 

 on for days, until their destination be reached. Te Puehu, of 

 Tuhoe. lay sick unto death at Te Umu-roa. Then the thought 

 came that he should be carried to Matatua, there to take leave 

 of his people and lift the trail of death. So the bearers of the 

 old chief bore their burden down the terrace lands above the 

 rushing waters of Wai-hui, until they came to the steep descent 

 to the Ruatahuna Creek. Here they rested awhile, setting 

 down their burden by the wayside. In like manner when they 

 had ascended the opposite side of the gully they again set down 



