458 Transactions. 



an old design, named howhiti by the Whanganui. This is their name for 

 the cross-stitch ; but as applied to the design it conveys the idea of having 

 crossed or leaped over spaces or squares. It is the commonest design in 

 the meeting-houses of the Whanganui River. The Arawa have a more 

 fanciful name — roimata (tears). In the example fig. 2, Plate LXVI, it will 

 be seen that the general effect is a series of lozenges, but the lozenge name 

 was never applied to it. 



(3.) Another simple effect is vertical lines of ones or twos separated by 

 blank spaces of a like number. The latter is seen in fig. 3, Plate LXVI. 

 A variation of this is shown in fig. 4, Plate LXVI, where the lines, after 

 crossing twelve rods, are continued down another twelve in the line of 

 the blanks and then back to the original lines. These are Arawa designs, 

 and are known by the poetic name roimata toroa (albatross-tears). The 

 Whanganui have a similar design, which they call tuturu (leaking water). 



(4.) The lowering or raising of the alternate vertical lines of " albatross- 

 tears " and the introduction of short horizontal lines to connect the vertical 

 ones led to an alteration of the pattern and resulted in the step-like design 

 shown in fig. 1, Plate LXVII. This is a widely-distributed design, known 

 as poutama both in the east and west. Of the meaning of the word I can 

 get no satisfactory explanation. It is a very common pattern plaited 

 in baskets and floor-mats, and also figures in the decorative borders of 

 Rarotongan floor-mats (moenga). The motive was obtained from plaiting. 

 In the example figured the design is closed by coloured stitches between the 

 white, but in many cases the designs are left open. Pukehika, of Whanganui, 

 maintained that it was not old as applied to panels. 



(5.) From vertical and horizontal lines we pass to diagonal lines pro- 

 ducing a continuous chevron or zigzag effect. The design might be closed 

 or open, and the line of chevrons might run horizontally or vertically. In 

 either case the design was called kaokao (side of the thorax) by the Arawa 

 and East Coast people. The idea is derived from the bend of the ribs at 

 the side. Fig. 2, Plate LXVII, shows a closed horizontal design, and fig. 3, 

 Plate LXVII, an open vertical one. With reference to fig. 3, Plate LXVII, 

 viewed from either side, it will be seen that it is a continuous line of 

 chevrons running vertically and enchanced on either side by repetition of its 

 generating-lines. 



(6.) Reference to fig. 3, Plate LXVII, shows that the chevrons are 

 enchanced on either side. The elimination of the enchancement on one side 

 would result in the effect being a series of continuous triangles although the 

 motive is chevron. Fig. 4, Plate LXVII, shows a horizontal series of con- 

 tinuous chevrons, the generating-lines of which are composed of lines of two 

 white cross-stitches and enhanced on the lower side by lines of two coloured 

 stitches. The height of the chevron permits of only one white cross-stitch 

 to represent the second line of enhancement. The effect, as stated above, is 

 a continuous series of triangles, but the motive is chevron. This design is 

 named niho taniwlia by the Arawa (niho, teeth ; and taniwha, a fabulous 

 reptile). 



(7.) Further evolution of the chevron design is shown in fig. 4, 

 Plate LXVIII. On a wider panel, by producing the lines of the chevrons 

 or making the points of the second vertical row coincide with the points of 

 the first, the effect produced is a series of lozenges running down the middle 

 of the panel. Both the lozenges and the original chevron motive forming 

 the sides of the lozenges are enhanced internally by repetition of their 

 generating-lines. The example figured is a closed design except for the small 



