Best. — Clothing of the Ancient Maori. 627 



The Wliare Pora. — This was the house specially set aside 

 for teaching the art of weaving in its various branches, and in 

 it were performed the ceremonies connected with the installa- 

 tion and teaching of the tauira, or students. 



It will thus be observed that the above houses were 

 schools for the teaching of various subjects ; but they were 

 also something more, for the various labours, rites, &c., per- 

 taining to such subjects were continually carried on in these 

 ancient colleges by the elder members of the tribe. 



There are other whare of a special nature, and which are 

 often mentioned in the unwritten archives of Tuhoe Land, 

 but they were not schools in any sense. The ichare potae, or 

 tohare taua, was the house of mourning, but in many cases 

 the term was merely a figurative one, and used much as we 

 use it. An expression of a still less literal nature is '' te tvJiare 

 o te riri" — i.e., " the house of war." The ivhare kahu was a 

 rude hut, often specially constructed for the purpose, occupied 

 by women during confinement. When the infant was about 

 two nights old, mother and child were transferred to the 

 whare kohanga, or nest house. But to return to the ivhare 

 pora. 



We will now endeavour to give some idea of the initiation 

 of a student in the whare pora, having fortunately been able 

 to obtain the information from one who has been through the 

 ceremonies. 



When a young woman is desirous of entering the ivhare 

 pora in order to be taught the various arts pertaining to the 

 manufacture of clothing she first obtains the services of 

 a tohunga (priest or wise man). It is not necessary that 

 he should be a tohunga of high rank, but he must be 

 acquainted with the rites and karakia (invocations, incanta- 

 tions, or ritual) of the ivhare pora. She will then say to the 

 mohio (person of knowledge), " Puhatia ake ahau ki to mara- 

 7nara, he hiahia noku." A strange expression this, and one 

 which applies to a peculiar custom, as we shall see anon. 



The tohunga and the tauira (pupil) are alone in the ivhare 

 pora; no others may be admitted. The pupil seats herself 

 before the tiiruturu : these are two sticks about lin. in 

 diameter and 4 ft. in length ; they are stuck in the ground 

 some distance apart, according to the width of the garment to 

 be woven ; the upper ends of the sticks often rest against the 

 roof near the walls of the house. This is all the frame used 

 by the Maori weaver — these upright sticks — though in weav- 

 ing such cloaks as korowai four turuturit are used. To these 

 sticks is attached the taivhiu, which is the first aho, or woof- 

 thread. The taivhiu is pulled taut and secured, and then to 

 it are attached one end of the io, or warp- threads (known as 

 " whengu" among some tribes), which io are thus suspended 



