342 AUSTRALASIAN AND POLYNESIAN 
all become impotent. Indeed, the “prayers” themselves are 
happily lost. 
In adzing a canoe, it was the duty of the chief saunga (artisan- 
priest) to chaunt an extempore never-ending song, which the other 
workmen took up. The song gave precision and unity to the 
stroke of their stone adzes, added to their cheerfulness, and 
was believed to be supernaturally efficacious in helping on the 
work to its completion. As the ¢awnga would be sure to be 
associated with the same set of helpers, the assistants knew 
pretty well what was being chaunted. This sort of thing was 
called a “pataratara” — “a talking,” of which I retain two 
written but untranslated specimens. Originally it was an address 
to the tree-spirit not to be angry at their adzing the noble trunk, 
with an invocation to the axe-fairy, Ruateatonga, to aid the 
progress of the work. 
Taraaere, the last priest of Tangaroa (who had often offered 
human sacrifices to the tutelar god of Rarotonga), when nearly 
ninety years of age, said to me :— 
“My father taught me how to retain wisdom (korero). He also 
told me when to marry. He did not feed me with bananas, 
plantains, and fish, lest, the food being light and slippery, wisdom 
should slip away from me. No! he fed me with ‘taro,’ well 
beaten with a pestle, and mixed with cooked ‘taro ’-leaves, the 
glutinous nature of the ‘taro’ being favourable to the retention 
of wisdom.” 
This was uttered without a sinile, in the full belief that this 
simple diet of his youth and early manhood accounted for the 
marvellous memory which he possessed to the very end of life. 
He assured me that it was thus the priests of the olden days 
were brought up. 
DEATH. 
No one was believed to die a strictly natural death unless 
extreme old age was attained. Nineteen out of every twenty 
were regarded as victims of special divine anger or of the incan- 
tations of “the praying people” (Zangata purepure) i.e., the 
sorcerers. Causes of death were :— 
1. Infringement of Zapz laws of all kinds. 
2. An uttered resolve broken; e¢.g., preparation for battle 
upon the receipt of false intelligence. The trick may be seen 
through after a time, still the fight must at all risks come off, 7f 
once the war-girdle has been put on. Not only would shame attend 
the withdrawing warriors, but the special wrath of the war-god 
would rest upon them. So that there is nothing for it but fight at 
allrisks. A journey prepared for, but not carried out. Many years 
ago it was intended that the writer should remove to Rarotonga to 
take charge of the mission there. Everything was ready, when 
a brother from England arrived for that station. It so happened 
