98 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. IV. 
kuta feathers. He took an eager part in the proceed- 
ings, and was the bearer of a sort of sham challenge 
from one party to the other. They now for a third 
time went through the peropero, or " war-dance ;" 
but dispensed with any sham-fighting, as the day was 
nearly at an end, and they wished everything to ter- 
minate in an amicable way. Many of the women had 
joined in the wildest part of the dance, yelling and 
grimacing with as demoniacal a frenzy as any of the 
men. We were shown some natives from JJ^anganui, 
a settlement some distance north of Kapiti, who dis- 
tinguished themselves by their ferocious appearance. 
They had blackened all round their eyes with charcoal, 
and painted themselves copiously with streaks of red 
ochre and oil ; they performed their part with exces- 
sive vigour and gusto, and looked, when in the ecstasy 
of the dance, like demons incarnate. Barrett and 
fffarepori told us that these Wanganui natives were 
looked upon as the most savage and warlike even by 
the other tribes, and that they spoke a different dialect 
from the Ngatlawa. They were closely allied, at this 
time, with the latter. 
A haka was now performed by about one hundred 
and fifty men and women. They seated themselves in 
ranks in one of the court-yards of the pa, stripped to 
the waist. An old chieftainess, who moved along the 
ranks with regular steps, brandishing an ornamented 
spear in time to her movements, now recited the first 
verse of a song in a monotonous, dirge-like measure. 
This was joined in by the others, who also kept time 
by quivering their hands and arms, nodding their heads 
and bending their bodies in accordance with each 
emphasis and pause. These song| are often made im- 
promptu on various subjects ; l)ut those selected for the 
present occasion were principally ancient legends. 
