POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
11 
friendship existing between them: the priest^ or ora¬ 
tors of the king^ then brought the presents, or nianu- 
faiti, bird of recognition. Two young plantain-trees 
were first presented, one for te atua, the god; the 
other for te hoa^ the friend. A plantain-tree and a 
pig were brought for the king, a similar offering 
for the god; this was followed by a plantain and 
a pig, for the toe moe, the sleeping hatchet. A 
plantain-tree and a bough were then brought for the 
taura, the cord or bond of union, and then a plan¬ 
tain and a pig for the friend. 
In some of their ceremonies, a plantain-tree was 
substituted for a man, and in the first plantain- 
trees offered in this ceremony to the god and the 
friend, they might perhaps be so regarded. Consi¬ 
derable ceremony attended the reception of a com¬ 
pany of Areois. When they approached a village or 
district, the inhabitants came out of their doors, and, 
greeting them, shouted Manava, Manava, long before 
they reached the place. They usually answered, Teie 
^^Here,^^ and so proceeded to the rendezvous appointed, 
where the marotai was presented to the king, and a 
similar offering to the god. 
Our mode of saluting by merely shaking hands, they 
consider remarkably cold and formal. They usually 
fell upon each others necks, and tauahi, or embraced 
each other, and saluted by touching or rubbing noses. 
This appears to be the common mode of welcoming a 
friend, practised by all the inhabitants of the Pacific. 
It also prevails among the natives of Madagascar, 
During my visit to New Zealand, I was several times 
greeted in this manner by chiefs, whose tataued coun¬ 
tenances, and ferocious appearance, were but little 
