TE PITO TE HENUA, OR EASTEE ISLAND. 537 



Stone adzes. — Called Toki. The collection comprises twenty-five dif- 

 ferent sizes, called by distinctive names which signify the use for which 

 they are designed. Tools of this class were always used in a wooden 

 handle. (Plate LVII.) 



Stone knife. — Called Hoe. Ground down to a knife-blade with a 

 point and cutting - edge, used principally for fashioning the eyes and 

 faces of the images. (Plate LI, fig. 3.) 



Ax handles. — Miro Toki. Hard-wood, with natural joint, used for 

 holding stone implements. (Plate LVII.) 



Fish god. — Called Mea Ilea. This rough, ill-shaped stone was one of 

 the objects really worshipped by the natives. Some of them bear evi- 

 dences of tool marks, but it does not appear that any effort was made to 

 carve them into shape or decorate them. These gods were never com- 

 mon, and were possessed by communities or clans, and not by individ- 

 uals. The legends claim that they were all brought to the island by 

 Hotu Matua and the first settlers. (Plate LI, fig. 4.) 



Bonito god. — Called Mea Kahi. A stone with apparently no distin- 

 guishing characteristics, and nothing to merit the profound religious 

 homage paid to it. It is not clear why the bonito should have the dis- 

 tinction of a separate god from the other fish, unless it be for the reason 

 that it appears in great numbers in these waters, and has always been 

 highly esteemed as an article of food. Fish always constituted an im- 

 portant diet with the natives, and the abundance in • which they were 

 found was ascribed to the faithful and constant adoration of these stone 

 gods. (Plate LI, fig. 5 ) 



Fowl god. — Called Mea Moa. A beach pebble with slight traces of 

 tool-marks, but it might readily be passed among other stones without 

 attracting attention. To the fowl god is ascribed the custody of chick- 

 ens, and its beneficial influence was secured by being placed under a 

 setting hen for a short time before the eggs were hatched. (Plate LI, 

 fig. G.) 



Stone Fish Hook. — Called Mugai Kihi. These primitive hooks, now 

 very rare on the island, were made of the hardest rock to be obtained, 

 and were ground into shape by long and constant rubbing. (Plate 

 LVIII, fig. 3.) 



Hone fish hooks. — ('ailed Mugai Iri. In accordance with an ancient 

 superstition, these hooks were manufactured from the thigh-bones of 

 deceased fishermen. The curve was fashioned with a small barb which 

 prevented the escape of the fish. The form is so perfectly adapted to 

 the purpose that the natives still use their old bone hooks in preference 

 to those <•!' European make. A fish hook of similar design was used 

 by the Indians of Santa Cruz Island. (Plate LVIII, figs. 1 and 2.) 



Incised tablets. — Called Ilokau Bongo Kongo. Two specimens in ex- 

 cellent state of preservation, showing the hieroglyphics used in the 

 written language. (Plates XXXVIII-XLI.) 



Double paddle. — Called Mata Kao kao. Made of heavy wood, bal- 



