460 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION F. 



iciotprint. An enemy could, and would, take this subtle essence simply 

 by scooping- up some of the earth on which the footmark was im- 

 printed. This would be taken to a warlock versed in black magic, 

 vdio, by means of certain magic rites, would soon cause your death, 

 the soil being employed as an agent to connect the spells with your- 

 self, or your vitality. A shred of clothing, a lock of hair, or spittle can 

 also be employed as such an agent. 



A person in a state of tapu was not able to mix freely with his 

 kind. In some cases such a person led a most solitary and presumably 

 irksome life, not even being able to touch food with his hands, and 

 lience he would have to be fed by an attendant. When taking part in 

 any religious rite, or engaged in any task that was tayu, a person was 

 not allowed to return to his hut and family until such rite or task was 

 completed, or until the tajpu was lifted. On the retiu-n of a war party, 

 with the tci'pu of the war god and of human blood on them, the 

 members thereof had to undergo a " cleansing " performance before 

 they could break off and disperse to their homes. 



Wliat may be termed the primal or principal gods, such as Tane, 

 Tu, Kongo, and Tang-aroa, are not usually termed aiua by the Maoi'i, 

 but are looked upon as ancestors and personifications. Some of these 

 would, presumably, be termed Nature g'ods by anthropologists. These 

 primal gods were essentially originators, which the inferior or tribal 

 gods, termed atua, were not. Thus, Tane was the origin of trees, 

 plants, and birds, and represents that department of Nature. 



A god, sayeth the Maori, cannot be seen by man, but each of the 

 inferior, or tribal, gods has its form of incarnation (aria). Such a 

 form might be a bird, insect, lizard, dog, or some natural phenomena, 

 as a rainbow, meteor, or comet. Again, the inferior gods, the atua or 

 demons, have human mediums, termed waka, or kautuaka, or 

 kauioapa. The human medium of a god would perform all the rites 

 pertaining- to its cult, rites of placation and invocation. It is a 

 peculiar thing that this word waka (HUACA, as rendered by the 

 Spanish chroniclers) was employed by the ancient Inca peoples of Peru 

 to denote certain objects, or tig-ures, of wood, stone, or metal that 

 '■ Were regarded as veritable fetiches, that is to say, as the dwelling- 

 places of spirits."* It was also applied to priests by the Peruvians, as 

 it was by the Maori. 



The primal gods, as Tane, Tu, &c., had no such foi-ms of incar- 

 nation as the above, but for each of them a peculiarly cai-ved stick 

 was employed as a sort of medium of communication between the 

 priest and the god. 



We have menticmed one lo as a Maori god. Very little informa- 

 tion can now be obtained anent this deity, but I was told by the last 

 of the wise men of the Tuhoe tribe that lo was the first of all gods, 

 and the principal one. Tlie old man said — " The cult of lo was veiy 

 ancient. He was a god of veiy ancient times. It was he who was the 

 origin of all gods. He was the beginning (or first) of the gods." Only 

 priests of high rank were taught the cult of lo and its rites. No home 

 was sacred enough in which to perform such rites, or even to mention 

 the name of lo, hence all such ceremonial performances took place out 

 in the open and in some isolated spot. In fact, it looks as if lo was 

 looked upon as a creator and supreme being. 



*The Hilbert Lectures, 18S4. Native Religions of Mexico and Peru. By A. Reville. 



