io6 Voyage of the Novara. 



of both sexes no longer followed that custom, and hence we 

 frequently had occasion to remark exceedingly agreeable fea- 

 tures. Only a very small number of aborigines seemed to be 

 contented with their own national dress, and wore either the 

 universal blanket, or else the Cacahu, a handsome kind 

 of cloak, very artistically made by the Maori women from the 

 fibres of the New Zealand flax. All had the flaps of their 

 ears pierced, and a piece of oval-shaped rock passed through 

 the orifice, or were adorned with shark's teeth, which are 

 usually made fast to a narrow black-silk ribbon. As we in- 

 spected some of these groups, and especially were admiring 

 their splendid figures, we came upon two individuals who 

 had hid their heads under their blankets, and were weeping 

 bitterly. To our inquiry as to the cause of their uncontrol- 

 lable grief amid such a festive gathering, we were told that 

 they were two relatives who had long been separated, and 

 were thus celebrating their meeting again. Friends and rela- 

 tions usually express their joy at seeing each other again 

 by sitting for hours together, according to their friendship or 

 esteem, rubbing noses and sobbing bitterly, and weeping over 

 each other the while 1 If unobserved this will go on with un- 

 covered head ; otherwise they will draw a blanket over them- 

 selves. Kissing and hand- shaking have only become a 

 fashion among the New Zealanders since their more intimate 

 intercourse with Europeans. 



As we withdrew from tliis singular never-to-be-forgotten 

 people's festival, and were on our way to our boats, the en- 



