SKETCHES FROM TUHOELAND

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIX, Issue 11556, 18 April 1898, Page 2

SKETCHES FROM TUHOELAND

FOREST LOEE. CEREMONIES CONNECTED WITH THE PRESERVATION OP BIRDS. [By Elsdon Best.] 11. THE AHI TAITAI, MAURI, IKA-PUBAPURA AND WHATA-PUAROA.

As wo have seen, the products of the forest were the salvation of Ngapotiki, or Tnhoe, as they are now termed, and of these products birds were the most important. The principal birds used as food were the kaka, kereru (pigeon), koko (tui), kiwi, kakapo, tihe, rearea, ticke, porete (paroquet), together with the pihere and other small birds. Of these the kakapo, tihe and tieke are now extinct in Tuhoeland, as also are the moho, hakuai, kareke and hakoke. It is said that a few kokako and weka remain, but I have not seen or heard any during my travels through the district. In former times birds were very numerous here, and it is said that when these great numbers all sang together at daybreak and as darkness fell, the voice of man could not be heard in the land. There is a special word (ko)) to express the singing of birds at these morning and evening concerts, which were known as the Mara o Tane. A term used to denote the time when birds were so numerous is rarangi tahi —it means “ the last great rallying of kaka and other birds on the hill-growing ratar--at the time when the valley rata is out of bloom.” The different kinds of birds are seen all together on these trees, and being very fat are easily speared without the trouble ox snaring them. This was known as the rarangi tahi and an expression often heard was—lmua, i te wa o te rarangi tahi”— in former times. Trees whereon birds were speared by a person concealed among the branches were known as kaihua, and such trees were famous for all time, each having its name, such as Hinamoki —a matai tree, near Okarea, and Hcipipi—a kahika near Te Weraiti. Also, they were often used as landmarks and boundary posts, as in the case of Hinamoki. Two reasons are given by the Natives for the wholesale disappearance of birds from the forests, lakes and streams. The one is that the hollow trees formerly used as breeding places have been occupied by bees, and thus the birds have nowhere to go for that purpose. The other reason given is that the mauri of the forests has been tamaoatia, or desecrated by the introduction of pakeha customs. In former times, when going bird-hunting, no cooked food was allowed to be carried by the fowlers, inasmuch as it would desecrate the forest and destroy the virtue of the mauri or talisman thereof. To carry cooked food through the forest during the bird-taking season would be the means of driving all the birds away to other lands —ka tamaoatia te mauri. Femroot in an uncooked state, mighl be carried, and a portion cooked for each meal, but the hunters must not cany away any surplus of the cooked food—it must be left where cooked. As a kinaki, or relish for the fernroot, a few birds would be taken by means of the pepo or f * call leaf.” Again, should we visit a kainga during the birdtaking season, and be presented with cooked birds as food, we may not carry away those not eaten by us, however much we desire to—for it would be sacrilege of the gravest kind, the carrying of cooked food into the dominion of Tane, god of forests and birds, and as a punishment for desecrating his forest that god would cause all the birds to forsake the forest and migrate to the lands of other tribes, a disaster of the first magnitude. During the first part of the season— that is, until all the birds to be kept for after use were rendered down, boned and, placed in , calabashes —no birds may be cooked in the daytime, but only in the evening ; otherwise the birds would surely desert the forest, and be heard flying away in myriads at night. Another that had the same effect was known as tne tawhanarua, which means to cook birds a second time. If, when a hapi manu (oven of birds) is opened they are found to be underdone, on no account may they be cooked a second time, but must be eaten in the state they are. Also, the cooking of birds in the kohua (pots) of the white man was most disastrous, as the birds were tamaoatia by it, in the same way that men were destroyed by washing their heads with water heated in a cooking vessel at the instigation of the missionaries. The mauri or kawaora of man was made common, he was rendered tapuless by that rush act. The mauri of man is the sacred life principle, and that mauri having been whakanoatia —or made common by command of the gentle misionaiy—the result is that the Maori is fast disappearing from the face of the earth; such is the belief of the Maori, and nothing will turn him from that belief. As a means of extending the British Empire, I am open to back the British missionary against the merry Maxim. So it is that bird and man disappear before the iconoclastic outfit who yanketh out the sacredness of man, and the innocent looking but deadly go-wshore which destroys the virtue of the talismanio forest mauri. Tikitu of Ngati-awa said, “ Birds were numerous so long as we cooked them in the ancient manner, that is, in. the hapi (steam earth oven), but when we commenced to cook them in the iron .pots of the pakeha (Europeans), then itj.was .that the evils of; the tawhanarua came upon us.” ' Now the reason why ifcis dangerous to interfere with the talisman of a forest, and why birds Wo to be treated so carefully, is this: —Tane-mahuta is the god of forests and of birds, and the trees and birds represent that atua, trees being spoken of as the children of Tane, and the forest as the great sacred forest of Tane. , Hence, both trees and birds must be treated with due respect, and the customary rites duly performed when dealing with them. MAURI. The forest mauri is a kind of talisman, rendered sacred and endowed with strange powers by the karakia (invocations, spells, incantations) of the priests. Its purpose is to protect the forest, to attract birds from other lands, and to prevent the birds of the tribal forests from forsaking them or being charmed away by enemies. It is the protecting power or guardian spirit of the forest, and is carefully concealed and guarded lest it be discovered by an enemy. The mauri may bo represented by a variety of things. It is sometimes a stone—as in the case at Rangitaiki, where the mauri of that river is a stone near which the first fish of the

season are taken. The stone which represents a forest mauri is usually concealed at the base of a tree, and the emblem is generally protected by a li/.avd, known as a mdko - tapiri, which is placed to guard the sacred talisman. The mauri of a forest protects also the fish of the streams and lakes of that forest. In some cases the mauri is represented by the kira, or long wing feathers of the kaka, those of the right wing alone being used—the left wing has no mana (prestige)—the kaka being looked upon as the chief of birds, and far more highly prized than the pigeon. It was the kaka that brought the mana of Hawaiki to this country. The kira are duly endowed with the necessary powers and sanctity by the karakia of the priests (tohunga), and will then be carefully hidden as shown, and only a few of the principal people, priests or chiefs, are allowed to know the place of concealment. All forest foods will be protected by this mauri, and flourish exceeding well; also, it protects the tribal lands from spoliation by an enemy. Should enemies attempt to interfere with such lands, forest or birds, they can do no harm unless they discover the concealed mauri, in which case they ■would acquire the ban of the land, and thus be able to work incalculable damage. Hau is o. terra difficult to translate or express; as in the c:iso of the mauri there is no English equivalent. The mauri of man ia the breath or spark of life; the hau of man is the ' essence of his being, a kind of ethereal essence or ichor, noii-visible and intangible as matter, although it can be conveyed by the hand. If a man's hau be taken by witchcraft, he dies right away—lns mauri cannot save him, cannot hold life in his body. In like manner, the hau of land is the very essence of such land, and if taken by an enemy the land dies, that is, as far as its original owners are concerned. Thus the utmost care is taken to conceal the mauri or representation of tTie hau. Only a tohunga or priest can discover the mauri when thus concealed. To discover the mauri the priest will proceed to the forest, and taking a stand at some part thereof, ne recites the first part of the karakia known as Kalian : “Ka hau ki uta, ka hau ki waho.” Hearing no sign he faces to another point and again repeats the above words, and so on until ho happens to face in the right direction, that is, in the direction of the mauri. When he launches (were) the invocation in that direction the inoko-tapiri, guardian of the mauri, will commence to chatter after the manner of its kind, and thus the mauri is found, that is if the priest be near enough to hear it. Considering, however, that the chirp of this lizard is very feeble, methinks tliat the tohunga who started in to find a mauri in the forty-mile forest of Tuhoeland would be accepting a somewhat serious contract, and when one remembers that the priest of the land may he, and probably is, possessed of sufficient knowledge of the black art to hold on to his mauri, then that contract assumeth colossal proportions and may be likened to hunting for a needle in a haystack. Let those hunt for tribal mauri who will, I, for one—to use a classical expression—am not taking any in mine. Should, however, the gods favour' the mauri hunter and he hears the chirping of the moko, he then repeats the balance of the karakia: “ Tolii uioura, toM tiaki Wetetia te hau e here nei i te mauri Hpmo ild au kiawliangaia kite toa, Ki te ruwahine." The mauri seeker is now jubilant, for h,r knows full well that he holds his enemy m the hollow of his hand; then business commences. AHI TAITAI.

The sacred fire, known as the Ahi Taitai, is a most important element in the wellbeing of the tribe and tribal lands. At this holy flame are performed all sacred rites pertaining to the tribal lands and home, the establishment of forest mauri, first fruits offerings, with many others. It is not used for purposes of witchcraft, the ahi whakaene being devoted to that dread art, while the Horokaka is the fire utilised in connection with ceremonies performed over war parties. The ahi taitai is the hau or mauri of the village or settlement, and it is the protecting power thereof, as the forest mauri is of the forest and its occupants. It is kindled by the head' priest, wild procures a rearea bird (korimako) and roasts it at the fire. A portion of this bird is suspended near or over the fire while ceremonies are being performed, after which it is taken down and buried as an Ika purapura (or Manea or Taitai) which is the emblem of the Hau of the people and their home. By thus concealing the hau of people and homesteads, both are preserved from the machinations of sorcery, and the noble savage can go jaunting around with a light heart, for he knows that his hau is safe; that is, the ahua of his liau, the real hau or intellectual essence of Iris being cannot leave his body, or the body would die ; it is the ahua, or semblance (an immaterial symbol of the very essence of life—the essence" of an essence) that is conveyed to the Ika purapura, as it is the ahua of a man’s hau that is taken by sorcery, in order that he may be bewitched. The symbol or material token of a man’s ban is a piece of his hair or shred of his clothing, and this is taken to be subjected to certain karakia in order to destroy him. This symbol is then known as a Hohona (ohonga). The human sacrifice made at the dedication of a new house and buried at the base of the centre post thereof is also used as an ika purapura, the bones being disinterred and taken to the tuahu or sacred place of the settlement. The incantation used at the ahi taitai, when the Ika purapura is being intoned with the sacred hau of men and land, is termed the Here of Maui. The remainder of the bird cooked at the Alii taitai is eaten by the priest, if he is of sufficiently high standing in his profession; if not, it'is impaled upon a tree that Tane may consume it, that is, it is offered to the god of forests. It will thus be seen that the Ika purapura, or Taitai, is the Mauri of the tribe and tribal home, as the Kira, &c., are the mauri of the forest. Another receptacle for the Hau of a tribe is the Ahurewa. This is a form of tuahu ; it is a long stick or pole, which is placed in the ground at the sacred place of the settlement. This stick is the emblem of the Ahurewa. To save oneself from being brought under the influence of witchcraft — that is, to save one’s Hau—all that is necessary is to take a piece of one’s hair as a symbol of the personal Hau, and bury it at the base of the sacred post with appropriate karakia. It is not necessary to use a material symbol, as one may take the ahua of one’s Hau and bury it at the Ahurewa with equally good results if the ceremony be properly conducted. As an example of taking this alma or shadow of an essence, we may note the following. When a man has been sitting among others for a time, probably discussing the crops or weather or the last cannibal feast, he gets up to depart, but before going be recollects that a certain amount of his hau has adhered to the seat he has occupied,, and may possibly be taken by someone for illegal purposes and to work him grievous bodily harm. He will therefore, as he rises, draw Iris hand across the place on which he sat and scoop up any fragments of his hau that may be lying around loose. He then departs with a peaceful mind, and doubtless chuckling to himself at having outwitted the ghoulish han-snatcher. In like manner the marea, or hau of the human footstep, can be taken, and the careless traveller slain thereby ; thus it is well in travelling through an enemy’s country, to walk as much as possible in the water, and thus outwit the wily hau-hunters.

The whata-puaroa is another institution m connection with the ahi taitai. There are two whata-puaroa, each being represented by a post set up at the tuahu, or sacred place, of the village. Each has a special duty to perform, one being to preserve life and the other to destroy it. It is on the whata-puaroa that represents life that the bird offering of the ahi taitai is often placed, the said bird representing Tane, and which is subsequently buried as an Ika purapura. At this whata also the ahua of the people is placed as a mauri, it being also buried, or, as a Maori would say, “ planted,” like the material bird. With the ahua of the people is also placed the ahua of the land, usually represented by a stone or brauchlet, and thus the mauri of land and people is as one. The whata-puaroa which represents death, is where ceremonies are performed in order to destroy man by witchcraft, and is said to be as efficacious as the ahi whakaene, or the deadly rua-iti. It is to this whata that the manea or hau of the human footstep is taken and left there until the mara-tautane is planted, when it is taken to that most sacred spot, and, together with a seed'ktunam, is buried under-

ground with appropriate karakia of dread import, that slay man as surely as do spear and battle-axe. The first fruits cei'emonies are also pe:foimed at the Ahi taitai, or the Ahi rau Luka. The first birds taken are supposed to be fed to the gods—Messrs M iru and company—though the chief priest really eats the portion set apart for the gods, probably possessing a more accommodating sto mach, and thus the gods have to be satisfied with the hau, or essence of the food, a description of barmecide feast which may have suited those ethereal beings. The birds caught in the first rau huka (or snares) set, were cooked at the ahi taitai and eaten by the tohunga. thus having the effect of taking the tapu off the birds. The Taumaha, or thanksgiving karakia, is then repeated, after which the fattest of the birds are cooked for the women, and after that others are cooked for the men. At this time also are repeated the karakia to attract many birds and fish to the tribal lands: I. “ Te irami rurn mai, Tnrn mai, neneke mai Ki te pne runga, kite pae rare Te maim te ruru pan, to noho pae Te mana kai te whio, kai te kali, kai te koiri Kai te ioio uui no n?a.” 11. “ To manu kai tornti, koi torota Kai tore atn ram, Ida Tane Te manu te ruru pae, te noho pae, &c., ko. These charms are repeated before the first fruits are cooked, and the manner in which the priest eats the first bird is somewhat peculiar, inasmuch as he may not touch it with his hands, but must pull it off the spit with his teeth, and gnaw it as it lies on the ground, as a dog would, and spitting forth the bones. It must have been a truly edifying spectacle to see the chosen of the gods glorifying his atua by performing this difficult task’ not but what I have seen equally ridiculous things done by the Christian (!) people of Mexico ; indeed, it is not necessary to travel that far to find rites equally as senseless, and prompted in like manner by superstition.