THE MAORIS OF NEW ZEALAND. 



Previous to engaging in war the omens were consulted by taking 

 a number of fern stalks to represent spears, and others to repre- 

 sent the warriors. The spears were thrown at the stalks repre- 

 senting the warrior chiefs singly. If the spear fell on his left side, 

 the man would fall ; if on the right, he would live. Then sticks 

 named for enemies were thrown at others named for the men, 

 women, and children who were to remain behind, lest they should 



JSP 



Maori Salutation. 



be attacked in the absence of the warriors. A young chief on his 

 first war party received a special baptism, when he and his com- 

 panions had to stand naked in the water and be sprinkled and 

 charmed. Until he had passed through this ceremony and the 

 bloodshedding he was a nobody. All men on a war party were 

 tapa to women, and had to do their own cooking because there 

 were no women along ; but they were very particular that food 

 should not be passed by one in front of another, or put near a 

 weapon, or touched by the right hand. When the fight was over 

 the men formed in ranks, three deep, each headed by a priest, 

 who received from every man a portion of hair which he had cut 

 from his victims, and waved it as a wave-offering to the war god 

 while the party sang the war song. Approaching their own tribal 

 land, they performed the ceremony of " turning round to look 

 back." A hole having been dug for each slain enemy chief's head, 

 turning round toward the hostile land the priests waved and 

 shook the heads as a challenge, and to allow them to bid farewell: 

 after which followed other ceremonies, closing with the lifting of 

 the tapu from the warriors. 



A curious point in the settling of ranks was that the son was 

 greater than his father, because, holding rank by both father and 



