98 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



Ko Rongo-matane 



Kia puta i roto ko Tu-mata-uenga 



Kia mau ki te rakau 



To rakau poto, to rakau roa 



I puta ana mai 



Ko Wahieroa na Tawhaki 



Ka horohoroa i unga 



Ka horohoroa i raro 



Ka puta ana ki waho ko Te Hapu-oneone 



Ka whanau i roto i a te hapu 



Na Tiki-nui, no Tiki-roa, na Tiki-apoa 



Na Tiki-tahito, na Tiki-hou 



Ka pa ki te ruahine 



I a kahau ki waho 



I a kahau ki uta 



I a kahau matire rau 



" The above is the form of Jcarakia used should a male child 

 be desired. If a female child is wanted, then, instead of the name 

 Rongo-ma-tane, that of Rongo-mai-wahine is inserted, and the 

 lines following it are altered so as to apply to a female, whose 

 labours were dedicated to Hine-te-waiwa — that is, to weaving 

 and the various domestic duties. Male children were dedicated 

 to the service of Tu, the god of war. 



" When the marriage feast, known as the Jcai kotore* was held, 

 the priest recited over the young couple an invocation called 

 ohaoha, in order to preserve their physical and spiritual welfare, as 

 also to cause the woman to be fruitful. It often happened that 

 the bride's sisters would decline to eat of the food of the particular 

 oven termed the umu kotore, which was prepared for such relatives 

 only, lest they should become sterile {hoi purua)." 



A sterile Maori woman sometimes made a whaka-pakoko- 

 whare or small house,(?) adorned it with the family treasures, 

 treated it with great reverence, and saluted it with endearing 

 terms. This image, often a mere doll, she mused in the hopes of 

 becoming fruitful. They also, it is said, repeated special in- 

 cantations, called uruuruawa, for the cure of barrenness. The 

 Tuhoe natives called the images above referred to whaka-pakoko, 

 a word meaning " image." This image was in human form, and 

 usually made of wood. In some cases a stone was so dressed 

 and carried by the childless woman, and even potatoes were 

 sometimes so utilised. Mr. Best knew a woman who, being 

 barren, used to nurse a young pig in her arms, as a substitute. 

 Wherever she went the little pig accompanied her. sometimes 

 carried in her arms, at others it would be seen trotting along 

 behind her. Fashionable women in Paris and New York similarly 

 carry puppies and monkeys. It has been stated that the >r}iuL<< 

 pakoko were regarded as gods, and also that they were carried 



* See Trans. NX. lust., vol. xxxvi. 



