42 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



If a curse were uttered against a sorcerer, he would not 



speak at the time, but silently repeat the following incantation : — 



Tu, baptise the night : 



Tu, baptise the day. 



Go thou beneath, I go above 



Send thy power below 



To the night below, to the worm below, 



To the evil one below. Go to death, 



And thy spirit for ever to darkness. 



Then, returning home, he fasts three days, to insure that the 



offender shall have eaten food, which will enhance the effect of 



his incantation. When he is certain of this he has food cooked 



for himself, and, taking part of it, he wraps it in a m&aw-palm 



leaf, with some hairs from his own forehead, and, taking it to a 



running stream, he throws it in, saying : — 



My fire is burning 



To the big sea, to the long sea, 



To the boisterous sea. 



Then he returns, and while eating, lest he who cursed him should 



have bewitched his food, he repeats silently : — 



Stand erect before the world of spirits 

 That the soul of food may be eaten, 

 nd the essence of food — the food of the gods. 



This completes the charm against the offender — he is now 



doomed to certain death ; and, that the cause of it may be 



known, the ghost of the sorcerer will appear bodily at the funeral. 



The relatives then, seeing and recognising it, will go to a running 



stream, and, sitting on its brink, repeat this incantation : — 



Our protector will destroy his power, 

 He will protect from death. 

 Go thou evil one to the heaven above, 

 Go thou to the earth beneath. 



This charm precludes any future sorcery being exercised against 

 the remainder of the family. Occasionally, however, instead 

 of all these ceremonies, the sorcerer, when cursed, will lay his 

 left hand on the right side of his breast, and with the right hand 

 catch the curse, saying aloud, " Au taku wpoko ! " (Oh, my head !) 

 for on the head dwell the principal gods, and they are thus called 

 to punish the offender with death. 



Such is the description of the ceremonies of black and white 

 magic, of symbolic and sympathetic magic, of the Maoris as 

 recorded by John White.* In addition to these complicated 

 karahia and mystic ceremonies, there were in every-day use 

 simpler rites, charms, spells, and magic Formulae used by the 

 common people, and on less serious occasions by the sorcerers. 

 If. I'm- instance, the to/mni/it has satistied himself, after looking 



Maori Customs and Superstitions," 1801. 



