147 



As I have already stated (vol. L, p. 9), Maoris are fond of keeping pet Tuis and 

 teaching them to "talk." Many stories are told of the proficiency these birds sometimes 

 attain. Mr. Elsdon Best has furnished the following samples of speeches taught to this 

 bird, with more or less success: — 



Uia te marmhiri me ko wai, 



Uia te manuhuri me ko wai. 



Ko Tu koe, ko Eongo koe, ko whakamau tarawa. 



Tahia te wananga-e ! ko matiti, 



Ko matiti-kura, ko matiti-aro. 



Ko te when, ko te whare, te whare patahi-e 



Huia te rangiora. Erongo ki waho-e. 



Haere mai ! Haere mai ! E te manuhiri tuarangi. 



Kaore he kai o te kainga. Kai tawhiti te kai. 



Moi moi-e ! Haere mai ! 



E-he ! E-he ! Kai tuwha ! 



The Tui or Koko was tamed by the old-time Maori, and was often taught to talk. Cases are on 

 record where they have been taught to repeat karakia (invocations), and such an accomplished bird 

 was highly prized. Again, they were taught to welcome guests arriving at the village. 



The same intelligent writer gives the following account of Maori methods of taking 

 the Tui:— 



The Koko or Tui were taken by the pae, spear, tahei (snares), mutu and whakamoe. The mutu 

 (or mutumutu) is like a small mutu-kaka, the perch being about four inches in length. It is fastened 

 to a pole, and manipulated as the 'pewa,' of which more anon. The mutu must not have a new appear- 

 ance, or the birds will not settle upon it. It is exposed to the weather to give it an old appearance (kia 

 hiwia) and make it resemble a weather-beaten dry branch. The end of the perch and the lashing are con- 

 cealed by moss, fastened on in a cunning manner by the wily fowler. When the Koko are feeding 

 upon the mako berries they will not respond to the call leaf, and at such a time are speared with 

 the maiere. ' Tahei,' or sets of noose snares, were set on trees and around pools of water, as for the 

 Pigeon . 



The ' whakamoe ' method of taking the Koko is somewhat curious. It could only be effected on 

 very cold, frosty nights, when the birds become so cold on the perches that they could be taken by hand. 

 The natives state that the birds become quite benumbed, and so much affected by the cold, that they 

 are as it were frozen to the perch. In the evening the perches or resting places of the Koko are 

 located, and the way thereto marked, either by bending down branches or by placing on the ground 

 leaves of the rangiora, with the white side uppermost. This enables the fowlers to return to the 

 resting-places of the birds, at a late hour of the night, when the frost and cold have rendered the Tui 

 powerless to fly. Armed with torches, they return, two men working together. One man remains below, 

 while the other climbs the tree and takes the birds by hand. The birds do not awaken ; they are at 

 that season very fat, and are paralysed by the cold (ka tikona e te huka). The man puts the birds into 

 a basket as he takes them. Should a bird fall it cannot fly, but falls to the ground, where fowler 

 No. 2 secures it. It will utter a cry as it falls, but that is of no moment. "He koko whakamoe, ka 

 mate te tangata." This is an old saying for people of a pa found asleep, or with no sentries set, by 

 an attacking force. " The sleepy heads are slain as easy as is the frozen Koko." 



The ' pewa ' is a device used principally for taking the Tihe and sometimes the Tieke. It is a most 

 ingenious perch, set with a loop snare, and worked as a mutu-kaka, the pole and perch being, however, 

 as one, the lashing carefully covered with moss, and on the outer end of the perch is tied a bunch of 

 berries, such as the kueo, or sometimes flowers, as the kahika (blossom of the rata) or the aka-tawhiwhi, 

 The pewa is used in the winter season. 



I have described in the 'Birds of New Zealand' (vol. i., p. 99) the nest of the 

 Tui, always constructed of small twigs and moss intermixed, with a neatly lined cavity 





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