Best. — Maori Forest Lore. 447 



snared birds from the taut nooses and resets the sn^es. If a good take, 

 the dead birds will be numerous, hanging in rows on the tree — that is to 

 say, in days gone by, when birds were many in the land. The act of taking 

 the snared birds from the nooses is described by the word icherawhera. One 

 asks, " Kai hea ra a mea ? " (Where is So-and-so ?) Another replies, " Kai 

 te wherowhera'''' (He is opening out — "nooses" understood). The special 

 term to denote this act — ui, to relax a noose — does not seem to be em- 

 ployed in this district. 



Women often engaged in the task of setting snares, and also in whera- 

 whera, or collecting the snared game. The trees easiest to climb were often 

 allotted to women. A tree named Kake-wahine, at Maunga-pohatu, was so 

 called because women used to work it in the bird-snaring season. Fowlers 

 carried a basket made of flax or ti leaves, and termed a kete ivherawhera, 

 wherein to deposit and carry the birds secured by them. A very early 

 start was made by fowlers in the morning, so as to be on the snaring-trees 

 before the birds began to frequent them. They would leave home before 

 daylight, and, indeed, often awaited dawn perched on a tree. Each person 

 had certain trees allotted to him, on which he had the right to take birds, 

 and which he visited every day during the season. Thus he had a set route 

 to traverse every day. It would never do for a person to attempt to take 

 birds on any trees but those which belonged to him. Even the different 

 members of one family often had different trees allotted to them, though 

 they often worked them together. If a man had more trees than he could 

 attend to, his relatives, sometimes females, would assist him. 



A Native would not use the word wewete, or its reduplicate form iveteivete, 

 in speaking of taking snared birds from the nooses, because he deems it a 

 puhore (bad luck) so to do. He uses the term ivherawhera (reduplicate form 

 of whera, to spread out, to open), as, " Haere hi te wherawhera i to rakau.''^ 

 Again, he would not say that he was going to titiro (look at) his pigeon- 

 troughs [waka), for that also would bring ill luck — he would find no birds 

 caught, or but very few. He uses the term matai (to examine) in this 

 case — " Haere ki te matai i ou ivaka.^' It would appear as though the 

 Native refrained from using the more common expression lest the birds 

 hear, understand, and so avoid the snares. It bears some resemblance to 

 toitoiokewa. 



Of the ti leaves Paitini says, '' E takoto tinana ana te ti, e kiia ana he ti, 

 no te haehaetanga a te ringa kia ririki, ka huaina te ingoa he rau huka. Ko 

 ■etaki o aua rau huka ka ivhiua ki te ahi taitai kia waimarie ai e ka kawea atu 

 ki te tahei, te waimarie he mate nui mai no te kai, ara no te manu^ (Before 

 a ti leaf is prepared for snares it is simply termed ti, but when it has been 

 split by hand into strips it is styled rau huka. Some of these rau huka are 

 cast into the taitai fire in order that the snares may be efficacious in taking 

 birds when they are set. By " efficacious " is meant the slaying of much 

 food — that is, of many birds.) 



A snare is termed mahanga, but when a series of snares is set on a tree 

 they are alluded to as tahei. The actual noose is called tari. The latter 

 word seems to be used as a verb by Tuhoe — '• to catch with a noose ' — only 

 when the noose is handled by a person when used as in noosing ruru, weka, 

 and porete, also in so catching a horse. 



There were many different karakia, or charms, used by fowlers when 

 bird-catching. Such charms used when fishing, snaring birds, or trapping 

 rats were known by the generic term of kaha. One such was known as 

 the tumutumu charm. Another, termed tuota, w^as a very tapu charm. If 



