378 Transactions. 



The Maori kite was known under several names, and probably each name 

 described some special variety, differing from the others in size, shape, or 

 the material of which it was made. Thus there is the manu or bird, the 

 kaahu or hawk, the paakau or wing, and the manuwhara or kite of the canoe- 

 sail. Still, the term manuaute seems to have been retained as a general 

 name, and might be used loosely for any variety. 



There is a very fine model of a Maori kite in the Auckland Museum, 

 which was made for Sir George Grey by some East Coast Natives. Its 

 shape is roughly that of a hawk with wings outspread, and measuring about 

 10 It. or 12 ft. from tip to tip. It is made of raupo, neatly sewn on to a light 

 frame of manuka or tea-tree twigs, stained alternately red and black. The 

 body of the bird is surmounted by the likeness of a human head, made of 

 linen or calico, painted and decorated with hawk's feathers, the latter being 

 shaved off from the quill so as to wave in the wind. This kite is of a very 

 graceful form, and, allowing for the difference of material, probably repre- 

 sents as nearly as possible the original manuaute. 



Mr. J. White, in his " Ancient History of the Maori," tells of a kite, 

 used in the olden times, which was made to resemble a man, with head, 

 body, and legs — -the body being made of kareao (commonly known as supple- 

 jack), over which was put the bark of the aute tree. 



A smaller variety of kite is also represented in the Auckland Museum by 

 two specimens obtained through Mr. Elsdon Best. These are of a triangular 

 shape, and are made of the stems of the kakaho [Arundo conspicua) lashed 

 on to the flowering panicles of the same, no other material being used. These 

 kites are about 2 ft. long, and are ornamented with bunches of hawk's 

 feathers at the angles. This species seems to have survived all the others, 

 and has often been seen by some of the older settlers. 



So far as I have been able to gather, none of the New Zealand kites were 

 furnished with tails, such as we understand by the term. It is true that 

 Mr. Elsdon Best* mentions the " tail " of a kite, but the context shows that 

 this was part of the solid structure, as he says that to this, as well as to the 

 wings, were attached " long tails or streamers termed puhihi " (puhipuhi ?). 

 These were probably light garlands of feathers such as were flown from the 

 sternpost of a war-canoe, and were simply used for ornament, having nothing 

 whatever to do with the balancing of the kite. The same author states* 

 that " sometimes shells were attached to the kites, and when flying, should 

 the cord be held [checked ?], the oscillation would cause the shells to rattle. 

 . . . Shells of the kakahi, or fresh-water mussel, were used for this pur- 

 pose, evidently on account of their lightness." And Mr. A. Hamilton, in 

 "Maori Art" (p. 377), says that the head was sometimes hollow, and that 

 the shells were put inside. This statement agrees with that of a Maori writer 

 (Te Rangi, or WiUiam Marsh) whom I shall have to quote presently. Mr. 

 Elsdon Best states that horns or points were attached to the head of the 

 kite. These were probably in the shape of long antennae, formed of stalks 

 of toetoe or raupo, covered with feathers, such as were used on a war-canoe. 



Professor A. C. Haddon, in a most interesting and exhaustive essay on 

 kites in general (" Study of Man," p. 246), states that the string (of the New 

 Zealand kite) was most expeditiously formed and lengthened at pleasure, 

 being merely the split leaves of the flax-plant {Phormium tenax). This may 

 have been the case in regard to the little toy kites used by children, and 

 perhaps to some of the degenerate kites of later days, but a string of knotted 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 34, p. 58. 



