166 Transactions. . 



it, " Tekau as a term for ten is a modern usage. It was 

 the white man and his books that made it known to us." 



Makere is another term used to imply an excess 

 number. Ngahuru makere (ten odd) seems to bear the 

 meaning of " ten onwards," and may be used in relation 

 to any number from eleven to nineteen inclusive. When 

 explaining to me the meaning of the expression ncjahum 

 tuma, a Native said, "Mote tekau makere tcna karanga" 

 (That term is used to denote ten onwards). Here, of course, 

 tekau is used with its modern meaning of ten. 



And again, we have the word rerenga used in a like 

 manner. Berenga is a verbal noun (rere = to run, flow, &c.). 

 Kotahi tekau, e whitu tercrenga, means " one ten, the balance 

 or excess being seven." This, again, is the modern tekau = 

 ten. Again, kotahi rau me 7iga rerenga stands for "one hun- 

 dred and the balance " (or excess over 100). 



The terms tauivhara and tauhara. bear a similar meaning 

 of excess numbers. When explaining to me the ancient 

 binary system of counting, a Native said, " Game was so 

 counted in former times, when the birds or rats were taken 

 from the snares, but when they were potted in calabashes the 

 odd numbers were omitted, and eighty-five birds would be 

 styled a hokoivha (eighty). (Kia viaoa raica nga manu, kia 

 uru ki te 7igutu iti, ka 7vhalcarerea nga tauivhara.) 



Still again, we have the terms kehe and taukchc as meaning 

 odd numbers. Taukelie is sometimes used in place of tautahi, 

 when counting by the dual method : hence kariia pti, taukehe, 

 would be used for five ; ngahuru ^)w, taukehe — twenty-one ; 

 and so on. Kehe is often used to express an odd number. 

 When looking at a hut in course of erection a Native said to 

 me, " E he ana nga heke, kua kehe" (The rafters are wrong, 

 there is an odd one). It is a Native custom to always put an 

 even number of rafters on either side of a roof. It is a sign 

 of bad luck to put an odd number. 



Williams's Maori Dictionary gives the following words 

 not used among the Tuhoe Tribe : Hara — excess above a 

 round number — kotahi rau, e nva nga hara. Hemihemi = ex- 

 cess over a definite number — kotahi rau ma ivhitu, hemihemi 

 (one hundred and seven and over). 



Whakamoe (or tuhakamoe mdtd) is an expression employed 

 to denote the counting of game in braces, laying aside each 

 brace as counted — Kai te whakamoe a Turei % nga manu o te 

 taha. 



In counting koko (tui) birds prepared for preserving, a pic 

 or brace consisted of four birds (I am not a Milesian) — i.e., 

 they were set aside by fours, but the four were only called 

 one j9^t. Possibly this was on account of the smallness of 



