Travers.—On the Traditions and Customs of the Mori-oris. 19 
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under a chief named Kakahu, who is said to have resided for a short time at 
Waitangi, but left because the climate was unfit for the growth of the 
kumera. 
The people in the canoes Rangimata, Rangihoana, and Orepuke 
assumed the name Mori-ori, but were termed by the first inhabitants 
Tangata tare or strangers, whilst the aboriginals called themselves Tangata 
whenua, or people of the soil. 
The people in the first two canoes, although said to have been cannibals, 
settled down peaceably, and soon became incorporated with the original 
inhabitants. On the arrival of the canoe Orepuke, however, disputes arose, 
leading to bloodshed and an outbreak of cannibalism, but the wars resulting 
from these disputes ultimately ceased at the command of a great chief 
named Numuku, by whom all deadly fighting was prohibited, their feuds 
being from thenceforth decided by combat with staves only, used, as my 
son states, in the manner of the quarter-staff, it being understood that the 
first side which drew blood was to be deemed victorious. Their quarrels 
appear to have arisen chiefly out of conflicting claims to the possession of 
valuable karaka trees, the fruit of which was a staple and much liked 
article of food, and my son informs me that nearly all the older karaka trees 
on the island are marked with deviees indicating their special ownership— 
a fact of very great interest. He made drawings of many of these figures, 
which are very rude, but were evidently sufficient for the purposes of the 
owners. Copies are appended to this paper. 
One of the leading chiefs of the Ngatitama, who was with the invaders 
in 1885 or 1886, informed me that the Mori-oris were large and powerful 
men, darker in color than the New Zealanders, and distinguished by hooked 
noses. Mr. John Amery, in his little work on the Chatham Islands, also 
mentions this form of nose, adding also that they had almond shaped eyes, 
and that in features they bore a strong resemblance to the Jewish people. 
They never tattooed, and indeed are said to have known nothing about it, a 
circumstance sufficiently remarkable in itself, and indicating the remoteness 
of the period at which the immigrations from New Zealand took place. 
My son informs me that the language of the Mori-oris differs a good 
deal from that of the Maori, but that it is now rarely spoken, except 
amongst some of the older people. He observed that almost every sentence 
concludes with a kind of lisping sound. He also says that gestures are 
much employed, but I am not in a position to say whether the language is 
so defective as to require the use of gestures for the purpose of their 
ordinary intercourse. The point is one of interest, ethnologically, on several 
grounds, but I think it doubtful whether this was the case amongst the - 
Mori-oris. 
