CoLENSO. — On a better Knowledge of the Maori Race. 131 



111. Hoki atii i kona, ko te manu i motu i te mahanga ekore e taea te lohai. 



Go back from where you are, it is useless pursuing the bird escaped 

 from the snare. 

 Meaning : It is useless to attempt to take me in again. Said to have 

 been used in ancient times by a lady who ran away from her husband ; he 

 pursued her to bring her back, and she got round a headland at low-water ; 

 on his reaching the place, the tide was breaking against the base of the 

 cliffs, when she called to him from the top using those words, which have 

 since passed into a proverb. 



112. He pureirei ivhakamatuatanga. 



A faithful fatherly tuft of rushes. 

 This is said of a good solid tuft of rushes in a swamp, which, in crossing 

 the swamp, you stand on to rest awhile, and to look around before you 

 take the next step. A word of caution for many things. "Look before 

 you leap." 



113. Ka tuwhaina te huware ki te whenua, e hoki atu rami ki tou waha? 



When the spittle is spit out on the ground, will it return to thy 

 mouth again ? 

 Meaning : (much as the last), " Look before you leap." 



114. Kia mau hoe ki te knpu a tou matua. 



Hold fast to the advice of thy father (or guardian). 

 A word of caution often given to the young, — as the dying advice, or 

 teachings of the departed, were always strongly inculcated. 



115. Kia ichakatupu tangata, kaua hei tutu. 



Show yourself {lit., be growing up) a true man ; never be dis- 

 obedient. 

 Often said to the young. (I. Cor. xvi., 13). 



116. Kapo atu koe i te kai i nga ringaringa o nga pakeke, a e taea ranei e koe te 

 whai i nga turanga a tiipuna ? 



Thou snatchest food roughly from the hands of the elders, and dost 

 thou think thou wilt be able to follow in the steps of thy 

 ancestors ? 

 Applied to a chief's child, on his snatching food, or anything, from the 

 hands of aged persons. 



117. Ata ! ina te kakii ka taretare noa ; ka maaro tonu nga uaua o te kakii ! 



How disgusting ! to see the neck turning from side to side ; and the 



sinews of the neck strained to the utmost ! 



Said of a person looking over the other baskets of cooked food set before 



a party, and coveting what is placed before his neighbours or companions. 



The peculiar terms used are those which refer to a bird on the look-out 



up in a tree. 



