MYTHOLOGY. 
45 
lizard in them, which was the cause of the disease. Or, if the 
person was very bad, he would say he had two or more of 
these reptiles in him; and if extremely ill, that he had a 
ruatara, or guana, in him. This, of course, was very alarm¬ 
ing to the friends of the sick, who would immediately entreat 
the god to cast out the reptiles, wliicli he would readily engage 
to do, although sometimes it was stipulated beforehand what 
remuneration he was to receive : he then imitated the squeak¬ 
ing of the lizard, and told the parties he had expelled the 
reptile, and that he would now speedily recover. The general 
way adopted by the gods of communicating with men was by 
a whistle, which was heard on the roof of the house; this used 
to excite great fear amongst the inmates. I am persuaded that 
ventriloquism is by no means uncommon ; that some exercise 
this power to enjoy the fears it excites. A Catechist allowed 
the people to see that he believed their gods did thus actually 
manifest themselves to men, and the natural consequence was, 
that the gods rewarded him with several displays of their 
presence even during the service. The common term for 
these gods is, the Atua-kikohiko. The account given of the 
and said he had seen him before in the Bay of Islands, which was false, as he 
had never been there; but he at once assented, to see whether the god might 
not tell some further lies, when he found that the first was agreed to; he then 
imitated the Nga puhi dialect, and said, he had seen such and such chiefs with 
him, and several other things equally untrue, again repeating his request for a 
present; but though urged to render himself visible, he obstinately refused, 
to the great mortification of the chief, who still believed he actually heard a 
god speak, when the interview terminated. The two youths dared not return 
to the pa; and the Christian feeling was so strong, that they were not permitted 
to enter it for three days. I asked my informant if he did not think the 
woman was a ventriloquist ? he said that it had not struck him before, but now 
he felt persuaded she was. He knew that it was a deception, but could not 
find it out; now all was quite clear. He said the calling of the young chief 
on the gods, reminded him of the priests of Baal calling on their gods. In 
the case just given, it is evident that there is nothing said beyond what a 
cunning old woman might say, nothing to indicate any superior intelligence; 
generally these ventriloquists are distinguished by their possessing a greater 
degree of shrewdness and acquaintance with what is going on, than their 
neighbours, and thus sometimes draw conclusions, which, though natural, being 
beyond the perception of their neighbours, when time verifies them, they 
appear prophetic, and seem to indicate a supernatural power. 
