CoLENSO. — On a better Knowledge of the Maori Race, 71 



(Bound it revolves !) 

 It is done ! it is tattooed ! 



(Soon it is ended !) 

 Give hither quietly thy chin to be imprinted ; 



(Nimbly the hand moves !) 

 For thy going to the houses of the single men ; 

 Lest these ill words should be said ; — 

 " Wliither goes this woman with her red chin ; 

 Who is coming this way? "* 

 Note. — All those separate lines within parentheses, run thus in the 

 original, " Pirori e/ " and the great difficulty is, to know what was really 

 meant by that word or phrase. Pirori (as I showed in a recent paper)! is 

 the name of the curious wimble or drill, of the old Maoris, with which they 

 perforated the hard greenstone ; and is used, as a verb, of the making of 

 the drill revolve quickly ; also, of the setting a hoop, or a ball, rolling, 

 with a quick jumping or hopping motion; and also (formerly by old Maoris), 

 of a European writing quickly, or shading with black-lead pencil, as in 

 drawing. I am inclined to believe that the word was used here partly in a 

 semi-humourous and partly in a cheering sense ; to divert their attention, 

 and to assure them the puncturing operation, always painful, would be soon 

 over. And in this view of it I am also borne out by several old Maoris 

 with whom I have conversed on this subject. Nevertheless I cannot help 

 thinking there is still something more (after their fashion) concealed in the 

 short pithy phrase. In their beautiful and expressive language, so full of 

 natural and truthful metaphor, especially in all matters referring to a young 

 female, J — there is a proverbial comparison for a woman's lips when well 

 tattooed ; such are said to resemble a rori ( Parmojyhorus australisj ; the 

 plump black smooth and glossy mantle of this shell-fish appearing, when 

 living, its whole length on both sides fi-om under its narrow back shell, and 

 turning up and enveloping its sides, no doubt originated the proverb ; and 

 pi beuig the general name for the young of birds and small animals, — the 

 whole sentence may have been intended to remind the person operated on 

 of that (in their estimation) pleasing natural simile — ^^ Pirori e.'" = Beau- 

 tiful as the black young rori ! (by keeping quiet). 



(6.) 

 The Cry of the little green Parrot. 

 G. P. " 0, thou big brown parrot, ilying away there I 

 Give me back here my own red feathers 1" 



* See Grey's " Poetry," p. 58. 



t "Trans. N.Z. Inst.," Vol. XH., p. 93. 



X See " Trans. N.Z. Inst.," Vol. XII., p. 142, for a few terse proverbs of this kind, 

 referring to females. 



