8 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



supreme source of the welfare of the old-time people of the 

 district, and through its power the sick were restored to 

 health, or the cause of their death ascertained, and impending 

 danger warded off from the living. The mauri of the later 

 migration of Maoris from Hawaiki is known as ' the manuka 

 at Whakatane,' a tree which is said to have grown from a 

 bianch brought from the fatherland. In the case of a sick 

 person this mauri was appealed to by invocations repeated by 

 the priest. The mauri ora at Whakatane was the salvation of 

 man, says my aged informant ; it was life and health itself ; it 

 represented the vitality and spiritual well-being of the people. 

 The manuka at Whakatane was the essence and semblance, 

 or personality, of health, of life, of spiritual and intellectual 

 prestige. 



" There was also a custom of instituting a mauri to repre- 

 sent the health and well-being of individuals, or of a family 

 group, the latter being the real unit of Maori social life. In 

 these cases some material token was placed at the tuahu or 

 sacred place of the village, and this token or talisman was 

 imbued with the semblance of health, vitality, &c, of the 

 person or persons, and also that of the tribal lands. By 

 means of this singular rite the welfare of man and lands was 

 protected, and neither would then be in danger of suffering 

 from the arts of the wizard. For, bear in mind, we are now 

 speaking of sickness and troubles of divers kinds as being 

 caused by magic arts. 



"There were innumerable invocations used and rites per- 

 formed in order to preserve the physical, intellectual, and 

 spiritual vitality of man. These ceremonies began early in 

 the life of the individual, when the tua and tohi rites were 

 performed over the new-born child, and the kaiva-ora and 

 order invocations were repeated by the priest. 



" When the kumara, or sweet-potato, was first obtained by 

 the old-time people of Whakatane they were advised by the 

 islanders from whom they obtained it to slay one Taukata and 

 sprinkle or besmear his blood on the door-frame of the store- 

 house in which the kumara was placed. This rite was for the 

 purpose of preventing the mauri or life-principle of the tuber 

 from returning to Hawaiki. Should it do so, then it would be 

 useless attempting to cultivate or propagate the seed-tubers : 

 they would not bear, the life-principle being departed. 



"Now, the natives say that, in like manner, the ora (life, 

 vitality, health) of the Maori people has returned to Hawaiki. 

 on account of the mauri or L-aioa ora having become noa, 

 or polluted. This sacred life-principle of man has become 

 polluted through contact with Europeans — i.e., the tapu of 

 the race is destroyed. When Christianity was embraced by 

 the natives they proceeded to wliakanoa, or make them- 



