RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 
71 
covered. In vain did the pursuers search for him, they could 
not see him; they returned, and Monoa got up and cried, 
ke-ke-, the note of the bird, they all immediately arose: he then 
cried lea iewa, and the whole flock (tarai whenua kura) flew 
away, and Monoa escaped i te ra kumutia, from the enemies 
who wanted that day to enclose him as in a bag. 
He Taunalia ki Kauika. 
Ka mama Kauika to hunga, ka mama Kauika wakarongo korero. 
Ka mama Kauika wakatama tama i roto i wkare kura. 
The Maori, in his heathen state, never undertook any work, 
whether hunting, fishing, planting, or war, without first utter¬ 
ing 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 a thing 
as prayer; and, therefore, it is improper to say they were 
worshippers of either gods or ancestors. As in war, they 
armed themselves with the most formidable weapons they 
could procure, and laid their plans with the greatest skill of 
which they were the masters, so to secure the fruition of their 
desires, they used the most powerful means they were ac¬ 
quainted with, to compel their gods to be obedient to their 
wishes, whether they sought for victory over their foes, fruit¬ 
ful crops, successful fishings, or huntings; they called in the aid 
of powerful 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 go 
to their nets. As the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, 
and the violent take it by storm, so the heathen Maori sought, 
in another way, by spells and incantations, to compel the gods 
to yield to their wishes; they added sacrifices and offerings at 
the same time, to appease, as it were, the anger of the gods, for 
being thus constrained to do what they wished them. They 
appear closely to resemble Baalam, who, when sent for to curse 
Israel, strove to do so by incantation and sacrifice combined, 
and afterwards confessed, Surely there is no enchantment 
against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel. 
