POLYNESIAN ESEARCHES. 
421 
The seventeenth^ eighteenth^ and nineteenth nights, or 
nights immediately succeeding the full moon, were con¬ 
sidered as seasons when spirits wander more than at any 
other time ; they were also favourable to the depredations 
of thieves. They do not appear to have divided their 
months into weeks, or to have had any division between 
months and days. Totally ignorant of clocks or watches, 
they could not divide the day into hours. They, how¬ 
ever, marked the progress of the day with sufficient 
exactness, by noticing the position of the sun in the 
firmament, the appearance of the atmosphere, and the 
ebbing and flowing of the tide. 
Midnight they called the Tui ra po. 
One or two in the morning—Maru ao. 
Cock-crowing, or about three o’clock in the morning—Aaoa te moa; 
aaoa being an intimation of the crowing of a cock. 
The dawn of day—Tatahita. 
Morning twilight—Marao rao. 
When the flies begin to stir—Ferao rao. 
When a man’s face can be known—Itea te mata taata. 
The first appearance of the upper part of the sun—Te hatea rao te ra. 
Sunrise, or morning—Poi poi. 
The sun above the horizon—Ofao tuna te ra. 
The sun a little higher, sending his rays on the land—Matiti titi te ra. 
About seven o’clock—Tohe pu te ra. 
Eight o’clock—Pere tia te ra. 
About nine—^Ua paare te ra. 
Ten or eleven—Ua medua te ra. 
Noon-day, or the sun on the meridian—^Avatea. 
One or two in the afternoon—Taupe te ra. 
About three in the afternoon—Tape-tape te ra. 
Nearly four—^Tahataha te ra. 
About five—Hia-hia te ra. 
Between five and six—Ua maru maru te ra. 
Sun-setting, Ahi, ahi—Evening—Mairi—^Te ra, Falling of the sun. 
The beginning of darkness—Arehurehu. 
