72 
RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 
Their ancestors were addressed as powerful familiar friends ; 
they gave them offerings, and if it can be said that any prayers 
were offered up, it was to them they were made. 
The word karakia , which we use for prayer, formerly meant 
a spell, charm, or incantation; it may be derived from ka, to 
burn, showing the consuming power of the spell, and raid , to 
dry up, denoting its effects. I remember, many years ago, 
picking up in France a little book, published by authority, 
entitled “ Every Man his own Physician,” which contained 
spiritual remedies, such as Ave Marias and Paternosters, for 
most of the diseases to which the body is subject. I his is 
precisely the character of Maori religion ; they have spells 
suited for all circumstances—to conquer enemies, catch fish, 
trap rats, and snare birds, to make their kumara grow, and 
even to bind the obstinate will of woman to find anything 
lost; to discover a stray dog; a concealed enemy; in fact, for 
all their wants. These karakias are extremely numerous ; a 
few may be given as examples. 
In worshipping or uttering their karakias, different ways 
were adopted; when an offering was made, it was held up 
by the tohunga above his head, whilst he uttered his karakia, 
and waved about. This was called “ He Hirihiringa atua.” In 
the south, where a small kind of image was used, about 
eighteen inches long, resembling a peg, with a carved head, 
“ He waka pakoko rakau.” The priest first bandaged a fillet 
of red parrot feathers under the god’s chin, which was called 
his pahau, or beard ; this bandage was made of a certain kind 
of sennet, which was tied on in a peculiar way ; when this was 
done, it was taken possession of by the atua, whose spirit entered 
it. The priest then either held it in the hand, and vibrated it in 
the air, whilst the powerful karakia was repeated, or he tied a 
piece of string (formed of the centre of a flax leaf) round 
the neck of the image, and stuck it in the-ground. Pie sat at a 
* Atu aim, or charm, to induce a stubborn woman to accept the person who 
is disliked by her as her husband :—Te umu ma te kahu e hawe ma te karoro 
e kawe tua wairangi Tuapo hewa manuwairitua manawa rawrikau, mihi mai 
tangi mai Id au ki tenci tangata kino tenei to tane ko all. This charm is so 
powerful as to compel the lady to come from any distance. 
