Phillips. — On the Use of Projectile Weapons bj/ the Maoris, 55 



small bamboo reeds, exceedingly light and durable. They were pointed with 

 a piece of aito, or iron-wood, but were not barbed. Their arrows were not 

 feathered ; but in order to their being firmly held while the string was 

 drawn, the lower end was covered with a resinous gum from the bread-fruit 

 tree. The length of the arrows varied from two feet six inches to three 

 feet. The spot fi'om which they were shot was considered sacred ; there 

 was one of these within my garden at Huahine. It was a stone pile, about 

 three or four feet high, of a triangular form, one side of the angle being 

 convex. When the preparations were completed, the archer ascended this 

 platform, and, kneeling on one knee, drew the string of the bow with the 

 right hand, till the head of the arrow touched the centre of the bow, when it 

 was discharged with great force. It was an effort of much strength, in this 

 position, to draw the bowstring so far. The line often broke, and the bow 

 fell from the archer's hand when the arrow was discharged. The distance 

 to which it was shot, though various, was frequently 300 yards. A number 

 of men, from three to twelve, with small white flags in their hands, were 

 stationed to watch the arrows in their fall. When those of one party went 

 farther than those of the other they waved their flags as a signal to those 

 below. When they fell short, they held down their flags, but lifted up their 

 foot, exclaiming, iia pau, beaten. 



" This was a sport in the highest esteem, the king and chiefs usually 

 attending to witness the exercise. As soon as the game was finished, the 

 bow, with the quiver of arrows, was dehvered to the charge of a proper 

 person ; the archers repaired to the marae, and were obliged to exchange 

 their dress and bathe their persons before they could take any refreshment, 

 or even enter their dwellings. It is astonishing to notice how intimately 

 their system of religion was interwoven with every pursuit of their hves. 

 Then- wars, their labours, and their amusements, were all under the 

 control of their gods." After describing the quiver, Ellis continues as 

 follows : — " The bow and arrow were never used by the Society Islanders 

 excepting in their amusements ; hence perhaps their arrows, though pointed, 

 were not barbed, and they did not shoot at a mark. In throwing the 

 spear, and the stone fi'om the shng, both of which they used in battle, 

 they were accustomed to set up a mark, and practised that they might 

 throw with precision as well as force. In the Sandwich Islands they 

 are used also as an amusement, especially in shooting rats, but are not 

 included in their accoutrements for battle ; while in the Friendly Islands 

 (Tonga) the bow was not only employed on occasions of festivity, but also 

 used in war ; this, however, may have arisen from their proximity to the 

 Feejee Islands, where it is a general weapon. In the Society and Sand- 

 wich Islands it is now altogether laid aside, in consequence of its con- 



