138 Transactions.— Miscellaneous. 
157. Ka mahi te tawa uho ki te riri! 
Well done tawa-kernel fighting away ! 
158. He tawa para! he whati kau taana ! 
A tawa pulp ! he only runs away ! 
These two proverbs I have taken together, on account of their simile. 
The tawa tree (Nosodaphne tawa) bears a large purple fruit, in which there is a 
single stone or kernel, not wholly unlike that of the date ; this is exceedingly 
hard, and cannot easily be broken; the pulp or flesh of the fruit is very 
soft when fully ripe; hence, from the one fruit, the comparison is drawn of 
the hero and the coward. 
159. Te waka pukatea ; te waka kohekohe. 
The canoe (made of the) pukatea tree; the canoe (made of the) 
kohekohe tree. 
The wood of those trees is alike soft, and won't last long in the water ; 
besides canoes made of them are both heavy (when water-logged) and slow. 
Pukatea = Atherosperma nove-zelandie ; Kohekohe = Dysoxylum spectabile. 
This proverb is used of cowards. 
160. He hiore hume ! and, He whiore hume tenei tangata ! 
Both terms derived from dogs, which clap their tails between their 
legs and sneak away. Used also of cowards. 
161. Titiro to mata ki a Rehua, ki te mata kihai i kamo. 
Look up with thine eyes at the planet Mars (or Jupiter), at the eye 
which never twinkles. 
Meaning; Never allow your eyes to wink when face to face in hand-to- 
hand combat. 
162. He koura koia kia whero wawe ? 
(Art thou) indeed a crawfish, to turn red, the moment (thou art) 
thrown on the fire ? 
Said to a foe in hand-to-hand encounter, who boasts you have not yet 
hurt him. 
168. Tini whetu, e iti te pokeao. SUE 
The stars are many, but a little black cloud hides them. 
Meaning: A small party of determined warriors may beat a large number. 
164. Ma wai e rou ake te whetu o te rangi ka taka kei raro ? 
Who ean reach (or scrape) with a crooked stick the stars of heaven 
that they should fall below ? | 
Meaning : Can you take captive a powerful chief 9. 
165. He mate i te marama. 
The moon dies, or, it is of the nature of the moon to wane or die, 
(and returns again, understood). 
Meaning : Not so, however, with you ; so beware of rashness. 
