440 Trani<actio)is. 



" You are right about tlie ahi tapairu. That is for first-born females 

 of families of rank only. They alone may eat of the food cooked at that 

 sacred fire. The bulk of the women eat afterwards." 



In the above account the expression employed to denote an offering 

 to the hau of the forest is whangai hau. T. R. here explains that it is the 

 mauri that causes birds to abound in a forest. These birds are, as it were, 

 the return made by the mauri and the forest to man, who, in the person 

 of the tohunga, located the mauri that protects the vitality and produc- 

 tiveness of the forest. The offering of birds made to the hau of the forest 

 was probably originally an act of placation or conciliation of the gods of 

 the forest — of Tane and others. 



The above description of the hau and mauri, given by Tamati Ranapiri, 

 of the Ngati-Raukawa Tribe, is so good that it may be considered worth 

 while to preserve it in the original. Hence we so give it : — 



" Ko te mauri he karakia i karakiatia e te tohunga ki tetehi mea, ki te 

 kohatu. ki te rakau ranei, ki tetehi atu mea ranei i paingia e te tohunga 

 hei piringa, hei maunga, hei nohoanga mo te mauri. Ka whakangawhatia ki 

 tetehi o aua mea, ka waihotia ki te wahi ngaro o te ngaherehere takoto ai. 



" Kaore e noa te mauri. Ehara hoki i te mea i tapu katoa te ngahere- 

 liere pera me te tapu o te wahi i takoto ai te mauri. 



" Mo te whakangawha, he whakapakaru. Mehemea ka akona tetehi 

 taiigata e tetehi tohunga ki etehi karakia, ara karakia makutu, karakia 

 whakanoho mauri, me era atu karakia Maori, a ka mohio taua tangata. 

 Na, ka mea atu te tohunga ki taua tangata i akona ra ' Tena ! Whakanga-' 

 whatia o karakia,' ara karakiatia te kohatu kia pakaru, te tangata ranei 

 kia mate, te aha ranei. Mehemea ka pakaru te kohatu, ka mate rc.nei 

 te tangata, kua tino mana nga karakia a taua akonga. Ki te kore e ngawha 

 (pakaru) te kohatu, e mate ranei te tangata, i whakangawhatia ai, kaore 

 e mana ana karakia. Ka hoki ano aua karakia ki te patu i a ia, i te akonga. 

 Mehemea he tino kaumatua te tohunga, e tata ana ki te mate, ka mea tonu 

 mai taua tohunga ki tana akonga kia whakangawhatia ana karakia ki a 

 ia, ara ki te tohunga. Ka mate te tohunga, heoi kua ngawha (pakaru) 

 ana karakia i ako ai, kua mana. Katahi ka pai te noho a taua akonga, 

 a, i etehi wa e hiahia ai ia ki te whakanoho mauri, na kua kaha ia ki te 

 whakanoho, ki te ngaherehere ranei, ki te wai ranei, ki te pou reinga ranei 

 o te pa tuna (rauiri). Kaore rawa e pai kia noho tonu nga karakia a taua 

 akonga i roto i a ia, kaua e whakangawhatia, ara e whakapakarutia ki 

 waho, a ko te whakapakarutanga ki waho koia tena, me whakapakani 

 ki te kohatu. Kia pakaru rawa te kohatu, katahi ka pai. Koia tena te 

 Avhakangawha. 



'"' E rua ritenga o te hau o te ngaherehere. 1. Kei te tirohanga o te 

 ngaherehere e nga kai titiro, mehemea kua noho te manu, ki te patua e 

 ratou he manu i taua ra. ko te manu tuatahi e mate i a ratou, ka hoatu 

 tena ma te mauri. Ka whiua noatanga atu ki te ngaherehere, me te ki 

 ■atu ano — Ma te mauri tena. Te take, he mea kei puhore a muri atu. 2. Kei 

 te wa o te mutunga o te patu i te manu, ka puta ki waho o te ngaherehere, 

 ka timata te tunu i te manu hei huahua. Ka wehea etehi o nga manu i 

 to tuatahi Imi whangai i te hau o te ngaherehere, koia te hau ngaherehere. 

 Ka tunua aua manu i wehea ki te ahi tapu. Ma nga tohunga anake e kai 

 nga manu o te ahi tapu. Ka w^ehea ano etehi maiui ma te ahi tapairu, ko 

 ena ma nga wahine anake e kai. Ko te nuinga o nga manu (i wehea) ka 

 tunua ki fe ahi purakau. Ko nga manu o te ahi purakau ma te katoa e 

 kai. 



