CoLENSO. — On the Colotir Sense of the Maoris. 71 



covered were all severally and regularly annulated, and made of alternate 

 black and white (or black and yellow) cbequer-work. Each of those dress- 

 mats, made after the fashion above described, took a long time to manu- 

 facture. 



The same taste was also observable in their smaller personal ornaments ; 

 — in the pure white natural plumes of the white heron, and in the long 

 white semi-transparent muslin-like epidermis of the mountain tikumu plant, 

 and in the artificially- scraped and bleached white inner rind of the paper 

 mulberry, for their black hair ; in the snowy-white tufts of the down of the 

 albatros and of the gannet for their ears, to set off the more strikingly 

 the black lines of tattooing in their cheeks. And so with their other highly 

 prized head ornaments, namely, the long black tail-feathers of the huia 

 bird tipped with white ; and the skin of the dark-plumaged tuii (or parson- 

 bird), with its strikingly-contrasted hanging white neck-feathers suspended 

 in their ears ; and also the shark's white tooth (mako), for which, as a 

 contrast, they early sought a yard of black silk shoe-ribbon : this last 

 addition of a black ribbon, was, of course, a more modern one ; but it 

 was entirely in keeping with their national taste before it became debased 

 and vitiated ; — and in no case did I ever once detect a Maori wearing a 

 red or gaudy- coloured ribbon to suspend his white ear-pendant of shark's 

 tooth. 



Before, however, I quit this part of my subject (having brought pro- 

 minently forward their dresses made out of their white and black dog- 

 skins), I would also briefly remark, that although I have seen very many of 

 their old and ancient carved and ornamented staffs of rank, they were all 

 hung and decorated with ivhite hair only, obtained from the flowing tails of 

 their ivhite dogs ; and I never saw, or heard, of such a staff being so 

 ornamented with the hair of the tails of their black dogs. And this could 

 only have arisen as a matter of similar general taste ; the white hair, when 

 new, being a much greater contrast to the carved dark and stained wood of 

 the staff, than the black haii" could be. 



I have shown how greatly the old Maoris loved a pure white colour, and 

 to what great pains, and even dangers, they went in order to secure orna- 

 ments, etc., possessing it in its purity. Some of our early settlers will also 

 recollect how very much the Maoris of 25-30 years back (before they gener- 

 ally adopted European garments) preferred pure white calico sheets as 

 open flowing garments for summer wear, for adults as well as for 

 children. And not a few of our colonists (possibly some of my audience 

 here this evening), who have travelled with Maoris, or who may have 

 fallen-in with them in travelling, will have noticed how very quickly the 



