CoLENSO. — Traditions of the Mauris. 51 



they were fully done she carried them to the place, outside of the house, 

 where her husband was, that he might eat them ; and entering she said to 

 him, " 0, Sir, arise and sit up ; here are the choice birds nicely cooked ; 

 rise, and sit up." But he never moved. When she returned to the side of 

 the fires, she said to her brother, "0, dear Pukoro, he never arose nor 

 moved at all; he must be sleeping soundly." Now his manner of acting 

 towards her was mostly in an unkind, rough way. Then the sister said to 

 her brother, " Let us two eat our meal." The brother replied, " Let the 

 preparatory ceremony be first performed." And these were the words of 

 that ceremony: — "The ceremonial performance of Taranuiomatenga, the 

 ceremonial performance of Pukoroauahi, the ceremonial performance of 

 Puhaureroa, the ceremonial performance is fully done, the ceremonial per- 

 formance is excellent (or approved) ; excellent (is the) food first ceremonially 

 prepared, excellent the birds first ceremonially prepared."* This being 

 fully done they took their meal, and when they had finished, the woman 

 went again to see how it was with her husband ; and, finding him in the 

 same position, she cried out to him, " 0, Sir, arise, and sit up." Then she 

 looked more closely, and saw blood running down on his bed-mat ! At this 

 she went up to him to arouse him, and on pulling down the coverings (his 

 loose garments), lo ! he was quite dead, having been some time so. She 

 left him in haste, and went out and called to her brother, "Alas! 0, 

 Pukoro, the evil thing is dead!" "Of what did he die?" replied the 

 brother. " Of strangulation," she rejoined ; " the troublesome grumbling 

 creature is quite dead." Then they both took up fire, and set fire to the 

 house in which the body was ; and they heard the bursting of his belly in 

 the flames. After this they proceeded to roast and pot in their own fat 

 their birds, filling no less than 70 big calabashes with them. Thenceforth 

 that young man took his sister to be his wife, and in course of time their 

 child was born, and it was named Taporariiroi. 



[I should here remark, that although only two or three persons are here 

 spoken of by name — as, also, in most of these stories — there were many 

 others concerned; for, according to New Zealand custom, the slaves and 

 inferior working-men were never mentioned. — W.C.] 



7. The Story of a Thief, and of his Sad End. 

 The thief's name was Hotungakau; he went by night to the tare ( Calndium 

 esculenttwi j plantation of Tamateatitaka, and stole some taros ; he baked 



* This ceremonial was always performed over " first fruits," of birds (as here), of 

 kumara, etc. ; and, like most other of their semi-religious ceremonies, was very simple. 

 Insomuch that the principal noun used, being neither a prayer nor a thanksgiving, — J 

 could only translate thus, 



