E—No. 7

MAORI CUSTOMS. the Tohunga has made an incision with the Uhi, by striking it with the piece of fern stalk held in his right hand, he again draws the Uhi between the finger and thumb which holds the black*, and, in so doing, it carries with it a portion for the next incision. Men generally have thair faces fully tattooed, but this is not done at one time. It is said the only person known to have been fully tattooed at one sitting, died as the last lines were finished. While a man is undergoing the operation, persons who may be near, or the Tohunga himself, will sing these words, to amuse and inspire him with courage : — In a group we sit And eat together, »And we look at the marks , On the eyes and nose Of Tutetawha, Which turn here and there Like the legs of a lizard. Tattoo him with the chisel of Mataora. Do not be so wistful That the women should see thee, They are getting the young leaf From the Wharawhara.* I am the author Of your beautiful marks. The man with the payment, Tattoo him nicely: The man with no payment, Do not mark him well. Strike the sounds, f Tangaroa rise thou, Lift up Tangaroa. Females have only their lips, chin, and neck tattooed; they consider the climax of beauty consists in jet black lips. When such an one is undergoing the operation of being made a beauty, to amuse her, and make her forget the pain she suffers for beauty's sake, the Tohunga and her friends sing the following song: — Recline, my daughter, to mark thee, To tattoo thy chin; Lest when though goest to a house of strangers They say, where has this ugly woman come from? Recline, my daughter, to mark thee; To tattoo thy chin, t That though may est be comely; Lest when thou goest to a feast, They ask where this red-lipped woman came from? To make thee beautiful, Come and be tattooed, , Lest when thou goest into a party of dancers, They ask where this woman with ugly lips came from? To make thee beautiful Come and let thy lips be tattooed, Lest thou go where slaves are, And they ask where this red-chinned woman came from? We mark thee, we tattoo thee, By the spirit of Hine-te-iwa-iwa; We tattoo thco, that the spirit of the shore May be sent by Rangi To the depths of the sea, To the foaming wave. Thy beauty is tied with love, Thy beauty is as the Heavens, As the stars Tahatiti, Ruatapu, Rongonui and Kahukur*. The forehead of man is marked, And his is dying fame; The sin of old was by man, { That sin from above, Even in the honje of tho sun; And the sin from beneath, Where he goes to, when he departs. But thou art more beautiful Than Uetonga and Tamarereti, Or the sacred shadow of Reretoro. The spirit of the shore shall be sent by Rangi To the depths of the sea, To the foaming wave. Leave; the flatterers and children, Leave thy farewell with them, And depart as the passing cloud O'er Raukawa mountains, And let them weep in sorrow. But as for me, I am Rongo and Papa, My work is done.

* Wharawhara leaves, with the silken part of which the Maori females decorate their faces. ■f- Pakuru—A piece of wood (Kaiwhiria) about twelve inches in length; one end of which is put into the mouth, and the other end beaten with a stick: each blow being accompanied by words, emitted by the opening and CQ_press_s of the lips. These words were a set form, belonging to the ceremony, and were also called Pakuru. J Alluding to Maui having beaten the sun.