MYTHOLOGY. 
137 
Kahui-rere, the last person possessing wings, lost them by 
his wife unfortunately laying down upon them whilst he 
slept. 
In fact; in the accounts which the natives give of their 
gods, and their exploits, we have but a magnified history 
of their chiefs, their wars, murders, and lusts, with the addi- 
tion of soQie supernatural powers ; they were cannibals ; 
influenced by like feelings and passions as men, and were 
uniformly bad ; to them were ascribed all the evils incident 
to the human race ; each disease was supposed to be occa- 
sioned by a different god, who resided in the part affected ; 
thus, Tonga, the god who caused headache, took up his 
abode in the forehead; Moko Titi, a lizard god, was the 
source of all pains in the breast; Tu-tangata-kino was the 
god of the stomach ; Titihai occasioned pains in the ankles 
and feet ; Rongomai and Tuparitapua were the gods of con- 
sumption, and the wasting away of the legs and arms; 
Koro-kio-ewe presided over childbirth, and did his worst to 
unfortunate females in that state. In fact, the entire human 
body appears to have been shared out amongst those evil 
beings, who ruled over each part, to afflict and pain the 
poor creatures who worshipped them ; Rebua especially 
presided over the side ; Purakau was the god of witchcraft ; 
and Tote of sudden death. This portioning out of the body 
was, however, much the same amongst the heathen generally; 
the Greeks and Romans had their gods and goddesses, each 
Whanau Moana, ka noho ai ki Wai totara, ko tai ake, o te one kaha whai, na 
ka puta ki waho ko Tararere, ko Tarapunga te manu i te ra, Tarakapu whenua 
Kapunga rauru. 
Wanau Moana was the offspring of Turi’s third son ; his navel string having 
been thrown into the sea, drifted on shore, where it was seen by some per- 
sons, who carried it away, and suspended it from the ridge pole of their house ; 
they noticed that it moved and had life ; it grew up to be a man and had 
wings ; Te Whanau Moana, sea bom, lived on the side of Wai-totara next 
the sea ; he became the father of Tararere, Tarapunga, the bird of the 
day. Tarakapu whenua, Kapunga rauru. These winged people flew openly 
in the day ; at first they had no regular home, but went about from one place 
to another, sometimes alighting on the tops of mountains, sometimes flying 
to an island of the sea, until one of their number, named Tara pu- whenua, 
caused them to dwell in pas. This \yonderful race belonged exclusively to 
Waitotara, and lived at Tieki Moerangi. 
