Shand. — The Early History of the Morioris. 151 



satisfaction for his " broken head." In connection, however, 

 with this they kept up their old-time war-ceremonies, reciting 

 numberless karakias as for a real fight or battle. 



Their chief causes of quarrel were curses and insulting and 

 derisive songs at one another's women. Unlike the Maoris, 

 they had no land questions to form the basis of a quarrel, conse- 

 quently they were never serious. One or two instances are re- 

 corded in which the Karewa Morioris seized and took captive 

 for a short time the women of the north-east district, but they 

 returned them shortly after to their homes. Whether any were 

 killed at such times by accident appears uncertain, although 

 there was an indistinct story of such occurring, but any approach 

 to anything of the kind was frowned at as " contrary to the laws 

 of our ancestors." 



Thus time went on in successive generations until the arrival 

 of Europeans and the discovery of the group by Lieutenant 

 Broughton, when he landed at Kaingaroa Harbour, or Skirmish 

 Bay, as he named it, where the Morioris of the place came round 

 in wondering amazement to ascertain what these strange crea- 

 tures were. Noticing the sailors smoking, they remarked " See 

 Mauhika's fire proceeding from their throats ! " The rigging of 

 the vessel they likened to kupenga (nets), and so forth, with 

 many amusing remarks. The sex of these strange creatures 

 puzzled the natives, and, seeing the visitors were friendly, they 

 touched and handled them. Ultimately some concluded that 

 they were women, while some of the bolder spirits attempted to 

 take hold of them and drag them off to their homes in the bush 

 above the sea-beach. In order, apparently, to put a stop to 

 this the sailors fired to alarm them, on which they remarked, 

 " Hear the crack of the kelp of their god Hauoro ! " alluding to 

 the report made by thrashing long arms of bull-kelp on a sea- 

 beach. Then, seeing another party coming up from the east end 

 of the harbour, the sailors fired, killing and wounding some of the 

 Morioris, which scared them, and they fled into the bush. Sub- 

 sequently the Morioris relate that they thrashed severely those 

 who took part in and caused the mishap to the strangers. It 

 appeared also that some had remonstrated with the others re- 

 garding their behaviour to the strangers. Later on a boat came 

 ashore and left some beads and other things as gifts, which the 

 natives took only when the strangers had departed. This is the 

 gist of the Moriori account, which appears to coincide very 

 closely with that of Lieutenant Broughton. They add that the 

 time of year when this happened was that of the maturity of 

 the young of the sea-bird kukuri — November as stated by 

 Lieutenant Broughton. 



No further intercourse occurred with Europeans until the 



