v2 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION F. 
off the spit with his teeth and ate it, still without touching it with 
his hands, but gnawing it as a dog would and spitting forth the 
bones. The bird may only be touched with the hands before it 
has been cooked. The balance of the first “take” of fish and 
birds are then cooked, and a third karakia recited to cause a 
plentiful season. 
The term haw is applied to the home or to man as we have 
seen. It is the invisible essence of man, that spiritual portion of 
his being which controls his existence, but which, if it comes 
under the influence of a greater magician than himself, will 
assuredly cause his death. In like manner the haw of the home 
or of land must be carefully cherished and guarded from designing 
tohunga (priests, wizards) lest the tribal homes be lost. 
The mawri of a forest or of a tribal home is the material object 
which represents the haw. It is imbued with the sacredness of the 
hau, and is the material token which absorbs, retains, and protects 
the same. The maurt is in some cases a stone. This sacred 
stone is carefully concealed, probably at the base of a tree 
frequented by bird snarers, for the powers of the maw will 
cause many birds to flock to that particular tree. No one but a 
priest could discover the mauwri of a forest—no common person 
could find it. A small platform (kahupapa) is erected among the 
branches of the tree to serve as a seat for the fowler. In some 
cases under this platform was kept amoko tapiri, which is a small 
lizard of a whitish colour and having a rough skin. Its duty was 
to guard the tree and the forest mauri. The maura of the 
Rangitaiki River is a boulder in the bed of that stream, near Fort 
Galatea. At this spot the first eels of the season are caught. In 
other cases the mauri is something constructed of the long wing 
feathers (kira) of the kaka parrot. The feathers of the right 
wing only are used ; those of the left wing have no mana (prestige, 
influence, power). This form of mauri is the one used to 
protect the haw of forests wherein bird-snaring is carried on. It 
is rendered tapw and efficient by the karakia of the priest, and its 
duties are to protect and multiply the various food products of 
the forest. Only one or two persons of the community were 
allowed to know where the mawri was concealed and how to 
preserve the haw of the kainga (village or settlement). Should 
the tohunga or priest of another tribe come with the intention of 
taking or destroying the haw of a kainga, he would not be able 
to accomplish the task should he fail to discover the mauri, 
which is the aria or ahua (incarnation, or material form or token) 
of the hau. The maurz also plays a part in the first-fruits rites 
of the Maori. The first fish of the season were taken to the 
tribal maurt of that sea and there deposited. The sea maurt of the 
Whanau Apanui tribe is a rata tree at the mouth of the Motu 
River. The first kahawai fish of the season were carried to that 
