132 
PROVERBS. 
60. Mata kitea, maoa, riro ke. 
When raw it is seen; when cooked it is taken away.—A saying- 
used when persons who are cooking food see a party of strangers 
approaching. It is better to eat the food only half cooked, 
than wait and have to divide it with others. 
61. Ka ngaro a moa te iwi nei. 
This tribe will become extinct like the moa.—The moa, or 
dinornis, was a very large bird, which is now supposed to he 
extinct, the hones only having been discovered. It would he 
thus with the tribe alluded to ; the people would all die, and 
their skeletons only would remain to show that they had been. 
62. He titi rere ao, ka kitea; he titi rere po, e kore e kitea. 
The “titi” which flies in the day time is seen; but the “titi” 
which flies in the night is not.—Used when a stranger arrives 
at a village in the night. Eeing unseen, he is not welcomed 
till he gets into the pa. The titi is a sea bird which goes 
inland at night. 
63. Ki te hamama popoia te tangata, e kore e mau te ika. 
If a man yawns whilst fishing, he will he unsuccessful.—A 
saying which is applied to a person who has not perseverance 
enough to finish what he has begun. If he gets tired of it, 
it will never he completed. 
64. E kore e taka te parapara a ona tupuna, tukua iho Id a ia. 
He cannot lose the spirit of his ancestors; it must descend to 
him.—This saying is, perhaps, identical with ours, “A chip 
of the old block.” 
65. Ka tangi te karewarewa ki waenga o te rangi pai, ka ua apopo ; 
ka tangi ki waenga o te rangi ua, ka paki apopo. 
If the sparrow-hawk screams on a fine day, it will rain on the 
morrow; if it screams on a rainy day, it will be fine on the 
morrow. 
66. I hea koe i te tangihanga, o te riroriro ? 
Where were you when the riroriro first sung ?—The riroriro is 
a small bird whose note is heard in the spring, and is one of 
the signs of approaching summer. This saying is applied 
to a person who is too idle to plant food at the proper season, 
and complains of hunger in the winter. 
67. Haere ki Patiarero. 
Go to Patiarero.—A Wanganui saying, Go, that they may eat 
you. This is said when anyone is bent upon ru nnin g into danger. 
