SINGLE COMBATS. 169 
were supposed to proceed from the god he bore 
or attended. 
At times the whole army, except the reserve, 
engaged at once, hut their battles were most 
commonly a succession of skirmishes, or partial 
engagements. The hooparau , single combat, was 
not unusual. A haughty and boastful warrior 
would advance beyond the line of his companions, 
and toho or aa y (insult,) in opprobrious terms, his 
enemies. A warrior from their army would hasten 
to meet him, and the encounter was continued till 
one was disabled or slain. We do not know whe¬ 
ther, like the Grecian heroes, these combatants 
addressed each other before engaging in the 
mortal strife, as did their neighbours in the 
southern seas. 
Their battles were with confused noise, and 
boastful shouts. The first that either party slew, 
they called erehua ; frequently the victor jumped 
upon the expiring body, or, spurning it contemptu¬ 
ously, dedicated its spirit to his gods. He then 
cut or tore off the hair from the top of the fore¬ 
head, and, elevating it in the air, shouted aloud, 
He oho , a frontlet; and, if it was a chief or war¬ 
rior of note he had slain, his name was added. 
He oho! He oho! was reiterated through the 
ranks of the victor, while he despoiled the fallen 
warrior of his ornaments, and then dragged the 
heana, slain body, to the king, or the priest, who, 
in a short address, offered the victim to his god. 
The first offering they called urukoko , increasing 
blood. The second slain was called maka-wai , 
face of water, and the third herua-oni , sand-dug. 
They were all likewise brought, and offered to the 
gods on the field. 
On some occasions, both parties discontinued 
