100 Transactions. — Miscellaneous . 



New Zealand." Thomson,* however, knew several instances of 

 Maori women having children with men of their own race after 

 having had children by Europeans. And Professor Stirlingt 

 and Mr. Taplin have abundantly proved that Australian native 

 women may have a large family of black children after having 

 had one or more half-caste children. Thus it may be justly con- 

 cluded that this idea is now entirely exploded, and the reverse 

 a matter of notoriety. 



The Maoris, whose whole life was so much influenced by omens,, 

 had several concerning pregnancy. For instance, if a newly 

 married man, while sleeping sound at night, beholds lying on the 

 ground human skulls ornamented with feathers, he awakes with 

 the assurance that his wife will soon conceive. If the feathers 

 are those of the huia bird, it is a sign that the child will be a girl ; 

 if those of the kotuku (a white crane), the dream prognosticates 

 a male child. 



The Australian woman when pregnant must not eat kangaroo, 

 or eels, or birds. Melanesian women are afraid to eat double 

 bananas when pregnant lest they should give birth to twins. 

 Maori women, however, have all their longings and fancies grati- 

 fied, in as far as food is concerned, during pregnancy ; if she 

 desires eels, or wild-turnips, or shell-fish, or what not, her whim 

 is gratified, but not from any idea, such as prevails in Europe, 

 that non-gratification of such would result in some evil or de- 

 formity to the child. 



The pregnant Maori woman did not, like her Fijian sister, 

 habitually take medicine during pregnancy to prevent irregu- 

 larities during labour, or to facilitate the birth of the child ; nor 

 was she massaged for some months, as was the Tokelau woman, 

 prior to the commencement of labour. Kava, and a special 

 medicine called irai-ni-lutu-vata, or medicine for simultaneous 

 birth, were taken in Fiji, and the woman was subjected to a 

 curious manipulation, a form of vakasilima, to insure a rapid 

 labour. The Maori had no knowledge of such methods of treating 

 or preventing morbid parturition : if Nature failed her she had 

 little to fall hack on beyond the incantations of the tohunga. 

 The only medicine they knew of for facilitating labour, and this 

 was only occasionally used, was the nikau (Areca sapida). The 

 pith of this palm was cooked and eaten for a few weeks by ex- 

 pectanl mothers, it having the property of slightly relaxing the 

 bowels, and is reputed to relax the pelvic ligaments. 



'In former times, when a woman was rapou (pregnant for 

 the lirst time), she sometimes lived apart Erom others, but not in 

 all cases. Still, she would be under certain restrictions and rules 



* Brit, and For. Med.-Chir. Rev., vol. xv., p. 524. 

 t Ropt. Horn. Kxjied. Cent. Austr., vol. iv.. p. !•_".». 



