464 Transactions. 



being, say, 5 in. wide and 3 in. or 4 in. deep, running nearly the whole length 

 of the timber. Durable timbers were preferred for such troughs, such as 

 totara. These troughs were set up on ridges w^here pigeons gathered to feed 

 on berries of the toromiro tree. They were put up on the tops of two posts 

 about 5 ft. high, or were placed up in trees, sometimes secured on a sloping 

 tree-trunk. They were filled with water, and were soon discovered and 

 resorted to by the pigeons, because the miro berries make them exceedingly 

 thirsty. Many loop snares are set all round the edge of the water, so that 

 the birds thrust their heads through these slip-nooses as they drink, and are 

 so caught. 



These troughs were kept filled with water during the time that the 

 pigeons were feeding on the berries of the adjacent toromiro. They were 

 visited every morning by the owner, who secured the snared birds and 

 rearranged the loops. When giving evidence in the Purenga Block case, 

 Tamarau Waiari mentioned a famous ngongo near Te Rua-kuri, and said 

 that it formerly belonged to an ancestor named Tama-ki-waiari, adding, 

 " At that time the custom of making drinking-troughs for pigeons was 

 unknown in this district. It was introduced from the Wai-kato about 

 the year 1839." 



In travelling through this forest country one often sees these troughs, 

 but they are seldom used now. I saw a few in use at Rua-tahima a few 

 years ago. Some of the old troughs are carved at each end, and many 

 of them had special names assigned to them, such as Te Rua o Tarati, a 

 trough at Huanui, on the Wai-potiki Block. 



A peculiar custom obtained in former times of repeating a charm in order 

 to cause the birds to become thirsty and so resort to the drinking-places, 

 troughs, wai tuhi and wai tahei, where snares were set. This act was called 

 a whaunu, which term seems to equal whakainu, to cause to drink. " He 

 whaunu hi nga manu o te ngaherehere kia hiainu, kia haere mai ki te inu. He 

 mea karakia.'^ 



It takes an adept to fix up a pigeon-trough, to arrange the arorangi, 

 j>aepa£, turuturu, tekateka, takeke, whakaruru, and mahanga so that the birds 

 will readily use it. 



If a person, in traversing the woods, comes across a bird-trough with some 

 snared birds thereon, which trough belongs to another person, he will, if 

 a cautious character, pluck a branch and stick it in the ground near the 

 trough, to show that, although passing by, he had no felonious intentions 

 in visiting the place. This act is termed a tapui. 



Taking the Kaka. 



We have already given many notes concerning this bird, but have to 

 say something now about the methods of taking it. There are three modes 

 of taking the kaka — viz., the tutu process, the pae method, and spearing. 

 The latter has already been explained. The tutu is similar to the like method 

 of taking pigeons, but the tnutu kaka is larger than the 7nutu used for pigeons 

 and hence termed a 7nutu kereru. Illustrations of these mutu or perch 

 snares may be seen in " Maori Art." This mutu is a carefully made perch 

 on which a snare, a running noose, is arranged. When a bird settles on the 

 perch, the long cord attached to the noose snare is pulled by the fowler, and 

 the bird is caught by the legs. 



There are four different kinds of mutu kaka, each one differing from the 

 other three in shape. These are the kapu, porae, huanui, and kira. They 



