Best. — Clothinq of the Ancient Maori. 657 



stranger. She, of course, ceased working until I had seated 

 myself, when she re-erected her turiituru, and went on with 

 her work. 



Women will not smoke while weaving, and should they 

 eat in the same house where the weaving is being done they 

 will cover their work and go aside to eat. 



Hukiora : If a chief from a neighbour '.ng village arrive at 

 the weaving-house, and should the weaver lean the turuturiL 

 over without detaching the work therefrom, that is a,hukiora — 

 she has saved herself from the evil omen. As the chief seats 

 himself he will say, "Erect your turutitru." 



Tahakura : It is an evil omen for the weaver to leave an 

 aha uncompleted at sundown, when she leaves off work — that 

 is, the alio is not carried out to the margin of garment at the 

 right-hand turuturu. This is termed a tahakura. (" Kua 

 tahakura to ivhatji.") That garment will never be finished by 

 the weaver, for every succeeding aho (woof-thread) will prove 

 to be short, and thus will not run out to the margin. The 

 weaver will never again be able to concentrate her mind on 

 the w^ork to complete the same. The tahakura has unnerved 

 her, and destroyed her power of continuity. That garment 

 will have to be thrown away. As that worthy old adept, Te 

 Whatu, of Eua-tahuna, remarked to me, " Such is the result 

 of not having gone through the ceremony of Moremore putoha ; 

 one is aiflicted by the tahakura and the aroakapa." Moral : 

 Let not the sun descend upon an incomplete aho, and enter 

 thyself betimes as a novicp for the all-powerful Moremore 

 puivha. 



But should a close acquaintance — i.e., a man — chance upon 

 a woman weaving, such is not an evil omen for her, albeit he 

 will not remain. {Ka ahua konekone, ara ka whakama, he kore 

 hoa tane mona hai hoa noho.) 



Some authorities state that if an aho turns out to be too 

 short the result is a pouaru — that is, either the weaver or 

 her husband will shortly die. Should a person go behind a 

 garment that is being woven — that is, on the opposite side 

 to the weaver — and look at that garment, that also is an 

 aroakapa. 



In preparing miro (twisted threads) for the io and aho 

 (warp and woof) of fine garments it is an aitua (evil omen) to 

 throw the hungahunga or tow into the fire. AH the know- 

 ledge of the weaver will be lost ; it will be destroyed by the 

 fire. 



Weaving of fine garments must invariably be carried on 

 under cover, never in the open, although it is quite sufficient 

 if the weaver has merely a rough shelter of branches over her 

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