Maori Doorways. 



39 



by the grandfather of Matangi, an old man in 1820. Thus dating from the time of 

 Cook's visit, or perhaps earlier. 



The ngawaewae were, in the old houses, very short ; a fine pair in this Museum 

 from Tetaheke, Lake Rotoiki, shown in PI. XXII, measures only thirty inches in 

 height, but with the advent of foreigners the height of the doorway increased, and 

 modern carved ngawaewae are made high enough to accommodate a tall foreigner; one 

 of these is shown in Fig. 26. In the modern work the old design, however, still ap- 



FIG. 32. INTERIOR OF MAORI HOUSE, ROTORUA. 



pears, one figure upon another. The round bellies of the figures, the curious three- 

 fingered hand, the fingers of one or the other hand inserted in the mouth, the mouth 

 itself recalling the mouth of the Hawaiian idols, who also have the same oblique eye, 

 all are repeated in most of the doorposts I have seen. A section of one of these 

 ngawaewae is of L form, the figures occupying the short arm, while the longer one is 

 decorated with Maori arabesques. 



In the fine doorway shown in Fig. 33 the same figures are at either side of the door. 

 The main figure over the door has so large a head that the remarkable device of two 

 necks does not seem unreasonable. In the Fig. 34, the central slab of a fine pataka 



in the Bishop Museum, the interlaced strap pattern of the ground is good even for old 



[223] 



