466 Transactions. 



to the stake behind. The simplest secure lashing would be a figure-of- 

 eight turn round the rod and stake, and then tied. As the usual thing is 

 to conceal knots, both from an artistic sense and to prevent their being 

 rubbed loose, the knot in this case would be tied behind the stake and 

 would result in the crossing of the figure-of-eight being in front of the rod. 

 This is the origin of the cross-stitch in Maori panel-decoration. The cross- 

 stitch — or, rather, the figure-of-eight lashing — is used by many people. 

 The fishermen of the Murray Islands, in the Torres Straits, use it to lash 

 the horizontal strips of cane and palm-leaf midribs to the cane rings in 

 their were, or scoops used in tap fishing. A good illustration of this is seen 

 in the Report of the Cambridge Expedition to the Torres Straits, vol. iv, 

 fig. 170. The modern medical man uses a continuous overlapping form of 

 this lashing to bandage a dressing to an arm or leg. The single stitch was 

 also used as a lashing, and, whilst not so secure as the cross-lashing, when 

 restricted to crossing one rod it served its purpose. A better class of rod 

 was desired for the more elaborate houses, and the wood of the rimu and 

 totara were split into laths, delicately adzed to even shape, these sup- 

 planting the more humble fern-stalk. The painting of these rods with 

 the favourite red haematite of the Maori followed as a matter of course, 

 and the artistic desire for contrast and variety demanded that others 

 should be blackened. The law of even numbers that applies to rods and 

 stitches in some districts may have followed from one of their systems of 

 counting — the counting by twos. The value of the single and cross lashings 

 of flax as a decoration did not long elude the keen eye of the old-time 

 builder. In the many hours spent in the meeting-houses, with no books 

 or other civilized methods of filling up the leisure hours, he had ample 

 opportunity for studying the house-panels. Even whilst listening to 

 speech, gossip, song, or story, his eyes could dwell on the stitches lashing 

 the rods to the stakes. Irregular or sparsely scattered stitches offended 

 his sense of symmetry and awoke the idea of more orderly arrangement. 

 The surface of the rods became covered with ornamental stitches in 

 addition to those necessary for binding. Lines, chevrons, and lozenges, 

 that developed incidentally, were seized upon as motives and developed 

 into definite patterns. These were named and handed on by the crafts- 

 man to his pupils. 



The strip of flax, which at first was an ordinary binding, for decorative 

 purposes was specially prepared to give it a whiter appearance. The 

 kiekie, which is whiter than flax, was introduced. The contrast between 

 the white stitched portions of the field and the darker unstitched portions 

 in the open patterns suggested the possibilities of colour arrangement. 

 Strips were dyed black, and the yellow of the pingao added to the 

 scheme. 



There must always have been some slight difficulty in keeping the cross- 

 rods in position. The stakes at the back, in the course of time, are liable 

 to slip down, perhaps at one side, and the rods become tilted. This is 

 frequently seen in old houses. This led to the introduction of the vertical 

 stake down the middle of the panel, and the overlapping wrapped stitch. 

 In its useful stage the stake was braced against the upper and lower cross- 

 boards, and, according to the Whanganui, entirely supported the rods. 

 The stakes (kakaho), they held, were then of no functional use in supporting 

 the rods, but were included in the decorative stitches to keep the lines of 

 the patterns straight. This was followed by a stage where other arrange- 

 ments, such as nailing, were made for fixing the panel ; and the stake 



