180 
WHARE-KURA. 
into the middle of a flock of ducks ; there also he was not 
hidden ; he next tried to conceal himself in a flock of kuakas, 
sand pipers, but in vain, he then hid himself in a flock of 
toreas, large gulls, but to no purpose ; he next tried a flock 
of karoros, penguins, but there he was not concealed, at 
last he ran into a flock of tara, a small sea bird seen in great 
numbers, and there he was completely covered. In vain did 
the pursuers search for him, they conld not see him, they 
returned, Monoa got up and cried, ke-ke-, the note of the 
bird, they all immediately arose, he then cried ko iewa, let 
us go, and the whole flock, tarai whenua kura, which covered 
the entire ground, flew away, Monoa escaped in the day of 
fear, i te ra humutia , from the enemies who wanted that day 
to enclose him as in a bag. 
The Maori, in his heathen state, never undertook any 
work, whether hunting, fishing, planting, or war, without 
first uttering a karakia ; he would not even take a journey 
without repeating a spell to secure his safety ; still he could 
not be said to pray, for, properly speaking, they had no 
such thing as prayer. As in war, they armed themselves 
with the most formidable weapons they could procure, 
and laid their plans with the greatest skill they possessed, 
so to secure the fruition of their desires, they used their 
most powerful means to compel the gods to be obedient 
to their wishes, whether they sought for victory over their 
foes, fruitful crops, successful fishings, or huntings, they 
called in the aid of potent incantations ; when they 
planted their kumara, they sought to compel the god who 
presided over them to yield a good increase ; when they 
prepared their nets and their hooks, they must force the 
ocean god to let his fish enter them ; as the kingdom of 
heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by storm, 
so the heathen Maori sought, by spells and incantations, to 
compel the gods to yield to their wishes ; they added sacri- 
fices and offerings at the same time, to appease as it were 
their anger, for being thus constrained to do what they 
wished them. Their ancestors were addressed as powerful 
familiar friends; they gave them offerings, and if it can be 
