xxviii Appendix. 



Notes on the Word " Moa" in the Poetry of the New Zealanders.* By the 



Rev. James W. Stack. 

 [Bead before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 23rd December, 1874.] 



In a former paper, wliicli appears in the fourth Vol. of the Transactions of 

 the N.Z. Institute, 1 1 stated that it could not be inferred, from the allusions 

 to the Moa in the Poetry of the New Zealanders, that they were familiar with 

 the bird the remains of wliich are now known by that name. This statement 

 having been questioned, I have again examined the collection of poetry made 

 by Sir George Grey, containing upwards of five hundred different pieces of 

 composition. I met with the word Moa seven times. 



First, upon page 9 : " Ka ngaro i te ngaro a te Moa." Lost (or hidden), 

 like the Moa is lost. 



Granting that the poem in which this line occurs is an ancient composition, 

 the allusion to the Moa may be accounted for by traditions now lost respecting 

 the Hawaikian Moa. Succeeding generations probably asked — "Where is the 

 Moa of which tradition speaks, and of which the feathei'S are now treasured 1 

 " Lost," would be the reply, and then the saying would become proverbial, — 

 Lost, like the Moa is lost. But if the phrase, " Ka ngaro i te ngaro a te J/oa," 

 in this lament of Ikaherengatu's, is to be taken as a proof of the acquaintance 

 of the Maori with the Dinornis, it is at least a proof that the aged chiefs, who 

 sang it, admitted that the Moa disappeared long ago, and not, as some think, 

 quite recently. 



On page 15, " E moa " is evidently a name. 



On page 41, " Moa i roki roki." Moa is a contraction for moana (calm ocean). 



On page 96, " Tu tonu Puhi raki, ko te Moa kaihau." Here Moa 

 evidently means a bleak spot. 



It is a question whether the phrase Moa kai liau ever did refer to the habits 

 of the bird. The interpretation some Maoris now give may be only a gloss. 



On page 133 we find the following curious allusion to the Moa : — '* Te 

 manu hou nei e, te Moa." This new bird, the Moa. 



The composer of the sonnet in wliich this line occurs would hardly havo 

 called it a new bird if the Maoris had always been familiar with it. 



• This paper was received too late for insertion in its proper place in the volume. 



+ Xraus. N.Z. last., IV., Art. V. 



