"TAPU." This picture represents some phases of the complex law of tapu, which environed .ilmost every action of the ancient Maori. The Maori in the act of throwing the water up to hi? mouth with his left hand, and the other drinking out of a calabash in the hands of another person (Fig. 1) are men of ariki or sacred rank, or members of the priestly class known as tohun^as; should such a man, or, in fact, a person under even the temporary influence of tapu touch the ca abash with his hands it wou.d immediately become tapu also, and so be rendered unfit for common use. Fig. 3 depicts a common incident of the olden days—the marking of a tree and the tying of a, band of flax round it in order to denote that it is rahui'd or temiporarily tapu. Particular trees, for a variety of reasons, were frequently niade "tapu" in Ihis way, generally by painting them with, kokowai, or red ochre. A bush track would often be rendered tapu m a similar fashion by setting off some mark or obstruction which denoted that it was "no thoroughfare." Fig. 4 represents a tohunga at his solitary meal, eating his potato:® with the aid of a. flax-stick, for his hands being tapu, must not touch, the food. Frequently also an exceedingly tapu person, especially those who wou d be engaged in handling the bodies of the dead, were quite holpless under the operation of this strict law of quarantine, and had to be fed by their attendants, or else scramble for their food on the ground with their hands behind their backs.

Otago Witness, Issue 2649, 21 December 1904, Page 7 (Supplement)

"TAPU." This picture represents some phases of the complex law of tapu, which environed .ilmost every action of the ancient Maori. The Maori in the act of throwing the water up to hi? mouth with his left hand, and the other drinking out of a calabash in the hands of another person (Fig. 1) are men of ariki or sacred rank, or members of the priestly class known as tohun^as; should such a man, or, in fact, a person under even the temporary influence of tapu touch the ca abash with his hands it wou.d immediately become tapu also, and so be rendered unfit for common use. Fig. 3 depicts a common incident of the olden days — the marking of a tree and the tying of a, band of flax round it in order to denote that it is rahui'd or temiporarily tapu. Particular trees, for a variety of reasons, were frequently niade "tapu" in Ihis way, generally by painting them with, kokowai, or red ochre. A bush track would often be rendered tapu m a similar fashion by setting off some mark or obstruction which denoted that it was "no thoroughfare." Fig. 4 represents a tohunga at his solitary meal, eating his potato:® with the aid of a. flax-stick, for his hands being tapu, must not touch, the food. Frequently also an exceedingly tapu person, especially those who wou d be engaged in handling the bodies of the dead, were quite holpless under the operation of this strict law of quarantine, and had to be fed by their attendants, or else scramble for their food on the ground with their hands behind their backs.