222 
RITES AND CUSTOMS RELATING TO THE DEAD. 
eyes to heaven, then casting them down again, and crossing 
her arms over her breast ; until a person is accustomed to 
these scenes, he can scarcely refrain from weeping, it ap- 
pears so natural, and the wail seems to come from the 
very bottom of the soul. The virtues of the dead are 
repeated, and the following lament is used on such occa- 
sions : for a male — He takxi makawe hi. 
Alas, the covering or glory of my head, alas. For a female 
— Haere e hine e wax i te ara o tupuna, Ida karanga nui wui 
kei o kui ha, kei o matua , hei karanga max ki a koe. 
Go, 0 lady, pursue the path of your ancestors ; call loudly 
to your female and male ancestors, they summon you. 
He pihi mo nga Tupapaku. 
Taku hei* he piripiri, 
Taku hei mokimoki, 
Taku hei tawiri 
Taku kati taramea, 
Te hei o te pounamu, 
I haramai ai — e, 
I runga te angai-ia-ana. 
A lament for the dead. 
My fragrant bundle the piripiri, 
My fragrant bundle the mokimoki, 
My fragrant bundle the tataka, 
My sweet juice of the taramea, 
The companion of the green-stone, 
Is gone — alas, upon 
The angai — e — . 
The tangi, or wail, was not confined to the dead ; when- 
ever friends met, it was raised, they cried over each other ; 
this ancient custom probably arose from the insecurity of 
life in former days ; those who had escaped from their con- 
stant fights, when they met, wept as though they had been 
dead : even we sometimes cry for joy, at seeing a dear 
friend, relative, or child, who has had any great deliver- 
ance from danger; the custom naturally becomes general 
amongst a savage and warlike race, like that of the Maori. 
When the dead were buried, the following pihi was used, 
by the side of a running stream, in which the staff of death 
was stuckf : — 
* The hei was a little scent bag or bundle tied to a string and worn round 
the neck. 
f The priest had two tokos or staffs, one for life the other for death, or, as 
they are expressively said, one for the po and the other for the ao , these were 
stuck up in a wahi tapu, and when he was consulted respecting the recoveiy 
of the sick, he visited these tokos until he perceived the Wairua , or spirit, 
