70 NATIVE HOUSES. [PART I. 



times a lamp is burnt, for which purpose they use 

 shark or whale oil in a pawa (Haliotis), with a wick 

 of the native flax. Each member of the family lies 

 down on a mat, and goes to sleep in the dress that he 

 or she wore during the day, but this is often thrown 

 off if the heat becomes excessive. The smoke and 

 heat render it very disagreeable for a European to 

 sleep in these houses ; besides, the natives are so com- 

 municative, that on the arrival of a stranger talking 

 goes on all night. Inferior persons and slaves range 

 themselves around the fire in the kitchen, but more 

 frequently they all sleep in the same house. The 

 kitchen (te-kauta) is a separate building ; it is con- 

 structed with high walls and gables. The firewood 

 is kept in it, but it is used as a cooking-place only 

 in bad weather. A third sort of structure are the 

 provision-houses (pataka), which are built on poles 

 to prevent rats from entering them. The sweet 

 potatoes are kept in a place by themselves. Similar 

 huts preserve the seed during winter, but these are 

 mostly erected in the plantations. The wahi-tapu, 

 or burying-place, of a beloved child or relation, stands 

 also in the enclosure ; to this enclosure favourite 

 pigs and dogs have access, and sometimes a few 

 bushes of the Phormium tenax are cultivated in it 

 for daily use. 



The different families are thus separated in their 

 fenced yards, which are, however, connected by stiles 

 leading from one to the other, and by paths be- 

 tween the fences. Near the coast these substantial 



