134 MUMMIFIED HEADS. [PART I. 



a custom of preserving in a peculiar manner the 

 heads of their slaughtered enemies. After the 

 brain has been taken out (and eaten), the head is 

 slowly steamed over hot stones, the exudating hu- 

 midity is wiped off, and this process is continued 

 till the head becomes mummified, in which state it 

 can be preserved for a long time ; these heads are 

 called moko-mokai. In returning home from a 

 war excursion the victors carry them on the taia- 

 has, a sort of pike, and afterwards plant them upon 

 the fences around their houses. In singing the 

 Pihe, or funeral ode, these trophies are elevated on 

 sticks at the concluding chorus. 



Formerly these heads formed a speculative sort 

 of commerce with the Sydney traders, but now they 

 have become very scarce ; I myself have seen them 

 only on one occasion in the interior. 



