Goldie. — Maori Medical Lore. 29 



Tenei to ara 



Haere ki ou tuputia 



Haere ki ou matua 



Haere ki ou koroua 



Haere ki nga mana o ou tupuna. 



Water-weeds, such as the above, were often used as ara 

 atua, by which route the afflicting demon would be forced to 

 depart. The weed or leaf used would then be deposited in the 

 sacred place of the village. 



The following is another form of takutaku : — 



Hurahia ko te tutu 



Hurahia ko nga atua 



Ma wai e huaki ? 



Maku e huaki 



Ka matika, ka haere 



Tau tika, tau tonu 



Te roua atu, kapea mai 



Roua ki whiti, roua ki tonga 



Hamama tu te waha o nga atua 



I titaha te tana o r,e rangi 



E oho nga atua whiu 



E oho nga atua ta 



E oho i te rawa i pakina ai koe. 



This calls upon the gods or spirits afflicting the person to give 

 some sign of their presence when the particular cause of the 

 attack is pronounced. The tohunga then goes on to mention 

 various tapu objects, and when the patient sneezes, or yawns, 

 or gasps, the object then being spoken of was the cause of his 

 illness. The medicine-man, having thus diagnosed the nature 

 of the complaint, then proceeds — 



Haere i te pu 



Haere i te more 



Haere i te weu 



Haere koutou e patu nei 



Haere i tua, haere i waho 



Or, if it is an atua kahu, then he inserts, — 



Atua kahukahu 



Haere i a moana nui, &c. 



The tohunga will also proceed to the place where the 

 foetus was buried and there kindle a fire, over which he 

 will repeat an incantation in order to lay the evil spirit and to 

 render it harmless. He will also cook some food, usually 

 a kumara, or sweet-potato, at that fire. This he proceeds to 

 eat, and thus the evil spirit is tamaoatia, or polluted, rendered 

 harmless. This rite is nowadays termed tvhakaivhetai by the 

 Tuhoe people — a modern, introduced expression. 



The above rite was often performed over the foetus as 

 soon as it was buried, in order that the evil spirit might 

 be rendered impotent, otherwise it might turn on the relatives 

 of the woman and afflict them sorely. 



