INFANT BAPTISM. 
185 
of the child was called te tuatanga, or jpana joananga. 
After this was done, three ovens were made ; the first, 
which was very small, only contained one little basket of 
food, this was for the tino ariki, chief priest ; the second 
at Taupo, where the female priests were the most highly 
esteemed, had a similar quantity, this was for one of them ; 
the third oven, a very large one, contained food for all the 
guests; in the first a korimako was cooked, the sweetest 
singing bird of New Zealand : it was eaten that the child 
might have a sweet voice, and become an admired orator. 
Taku kokomako wakahau My korimako teacher come 
No nga rake manawa From the dense forest 
Ki te tatika i pungarehu. To the shore of pungarehu. 
In imitation of this bird, which only sings in the morning, 
the high chiefs give their commands, and scold their slaves, 
with the first dawn of day. 
The form of baptism was rather different in the northern 
part of the island to that of the south. There, when the 
infant was eight days old, the parents and friends assem- 
bled near an appointed place, by the side of a. running 
stream. The priest procured a branch of the karamu, 
which was stuck upright in the water ; the navel string of 
the child was cut off with a piece of shell, and fastened 
to the branch ; the water which flowed round the rawa, 
branch, was sprinkled over the child, when it received its 
name ; sometimes it was immersed. The following karakia 
was used : — 
Tohia te tama nei ; 
Kia riri, kia nguha ; 
Ka waka taka te watu ; 
Ka tohi ki tai mo tu ; 
Karo tao, karo mahuta ; 
Te toa rere, te toa mahuta ; 
Karo patu, karo tao ; 
Te toa rere te toa mahuta ; 
Ka tohia ki tai mo Tu. 
Sprinkle this boy ; 
Let him flame with anger ; 
That the hail may fall ; 
Dedicate him to the god of war ; 
Ward, ward off the spears, let 
them pass off ; 
Be nimble to jump about'; 
Shield off the blow, shield off the 
spear ; 
Let the brave man jump about ; 
Dedicate him to the god of war. 
