E—No. 7

MAORI CUSTOMS. Thou son of evil words and this curse, Thou who didst defy the priests with a curse, By these gods and sons, also these emblems Which are now seen with impetuosity Sowing death, seeking revenge for these sons, By these emblems, fall thou, die thou, On these mounds, beneath these twigs, With suddenness be thy death: Die quickly for thy curse aud evil word." This done in the water, they return now to the settlement, and some little distance from it, they sweep a place clear of grass or weeds, as an arena upon which the gods and spirits may alight; while sweeping, this incantation, which is called the " Tahinga," is used :— " Sweep, sweep, an open space, On this sacred morning of Tv, For the gods of power sweep this place On which to sow death, to revenge these sons. Tv the powerful, and Rongo, Itupaoa, and Ihungaru, come, Even to this sacred spot come, Sow death for this word and curse, Darkness come from the world below, From the gods below. Prom the worm below, and smite these sons." Within the open space, the priests dig a hole about two feet long, which is intended for a grave for the spirits of those who cursed, and while digging it, this incantation is repeated :— Now is the pit dug down to the depths of Nuku, To the limits of the earth, to the depths of Papa,— To tbe calm of darkness below, to the long night, To the utmost darkness, to the power of these priests, To the darkness of the gods of these sons and emblems. This done, and the grave finished, they put a twig of Karamu on each side, and seat themselves on its brink ; and take a shell of a freshwater mussel with which to scrape into the pit the spirits of those who uttered the curse, which have been already brought to the pit's edge. While doing this again the priest begins :— Now is the muscle shut to Rehua above, And to the stars; Atutnhi, Matariki and Tawera: To the sun and moon above, To all things and the darkness above, To the root of all things and the priests, That they may hearken to this incantation, Look at these emblems and strong desires, Which call for revenge and death. Let the revenge of Tv consume these sons, Their priests, their gods, their power and incantations . May the power of their priests be confounded, Let their wizard god be made dumb! A narrow mound is then made all along the side of the pit, upon which the priest places stones named after those who used the curse, one for each, and says : — To sweep in, to cover up, kill and bury them; Por thy power in war, thy strength and anger, And for thy prowess and also thy words; —J thy thrill of fear in the battle front, Thou .... struck down to the depths of Nuku, Even 10 the root of the world thou art sent, As food for the hosts there ; thy powerless incantation also, Thy ancestors and their power is gone with thee: They are now weak and cannot kill. We sweep them and thee into this pit, And bide you altogether with this shell, — The shells of these sons and emblems. This is repeated over every stone, and each time he comes to the name " Nuku," he strikes into the p t each stone to which it is addressed ; the twigs are now thrown likewise into the grave, then he covers it in, and pats down the hillock with his hands. The next day they come there again, and weaving a basket which is of very small size, which is called " Paro taniwha," (god's basket) the priest again repeats: -- Weave my basket for my sons to sleep in: My basket is for my dead sons and enemies to sleep in. To whom does the basket belong? To the gods and priests and ancestors, To the sacred powers and tamale ancestors, To the gods of theft. Pill up, fill up, my basket! It is to put you, your priests, gods and ancients in Your power and incantations. To whom does the basket belong ? To the female ancestors and you all, Even the stay of all power and the gods of theft. The bodies of their enemies were buried in the twigs; the stones represented their hearts, cold and dead as they; now their spirits are imprisoned in the basket, and being hung up on a stick above the grave, and squeezed by the hands of the priest, are thus offered to the gods, and chiefly to the goddess Raukataura, who is especially addressed to enlist the spirits of the female line of priesthood on their own side while weaving; also one of the party waves a mussel shell above her work to effect