XIU. 
91 
present in his hands ; the advice was adopted, Paddy was 
graciously received, and gravely ordered to open his mouth, 
when the other immediately spit down his throat, and then 
told him he might rest satisfied, no evil would befall him, for 
he had made him noa , or removed the spell. 
One of our countrymen living at Mokau, a swearing, blas¬ 
pheming fellow, was thought to possess this power, from some 
individual who had been cursed and sworn at by him, 
suddenly dying ; the natives afterwards had the greatest fear 
of him, and even Poutama, the head chief, who was in general 
an overbearing man, was quite afraid of this fellow ; he had 
sold some pigs to him, but he did not even dare to ask him for 
the payment, and he, being a rogue, never gave any. 
The natives had a way of divination by means of sticks; 
this was called Niu. Each chief had a particular name for his 
own stick ; thus, that of one chief was called Te ata mounu ; 
that of another Te manu i te ra ; and of a third Tonga hiti. The 
person consulting the Niu went out in the morning before it 
was lio-ht, so that no one should have been out before him, 
which would destroy the power of the consultation, and taking 
his stick, a short thin one made of the mahoe, in his right hand, 
and another representing the enemy in his left, he went and 
stuck another in the ground ; this represented the tapu; and 
placing the two sticks together, one across the other, he 
uttered a karakia, and then threw them in front of the third 
stick, and it was according to their position that the consulter 
ascertained whether any one was travelling on the road, 
whether they are friends or foes, and if the latter, whether 
they would be conquered or not.* They had, in fact, no end 
* If the stick representing his tribe fell above the other, it was a favourable 
sign; if below, a bad one. 
With them, as with the heathen in general, the most trifling things are in¬ 
vested with the greatest importance; thus, the cutting of the hair (purei) was 
done with much ceremony, and the repeating of many spells; the operator 
was made tapu, for this service, and until he had finished, he could not feed 
himself, or engage in any other employment. W hen the hair was cut, a 
portion was cast into the fire, and the following karakia was uttered :— 
Oe he pikinga he kakenga, Piki mai te rangi tua tahi, 
Ka e kei tua, kei waho kei tuatua, Piki mai te rangi tua rua, 
Kei te karawa kei te ranginui e tu nci, Piki inai te rangi tua torn, 
