E—No. 7

LECTURES ON or Uriohan tribe, in the Kaipara district, yet he is a witness (not a principal) in the sale of a piece of land by Ngaukora, a minor chief of the tribe. Again, in the district over which Paikea is " ariki," and even within four miles of his principal residence, Parore and other minor chiefs of a distant tribe (the Ngaitawake) sold apiece of land, in the payment for which Paikea and tribe did not participate; and not only so, but Tirarau, the " nriki" of the Ngaitawake hapu, at Kaipara, was witness to the sale, the seders being minor chiefs of his ttibe. In another instance the two " arikis," Paikea and Tirarau, were the sole sellers of a piece of land. Again, in another instance, Paikea sold a piece of land when Tirarau was witness to the sale I will now pass on to the next subject, viz., "Mana." But before I speak on this it will be as well to define the meaning of this word by examples of its use. "Mana" has many and various meanings; for instance, it means fulfil, as in this sentence : " Ka mana tak.i kti'pu i au" (I will fulfil my word) ; and it means potent, as "He karakia mana" (a potent charm); and it also means effective, as " He kupu mana tana kupu" (his word is effective) ; it also means granted, as " Ekore to tono c whakamana" (your request will not be granted) ; it also means support, as " Mawai c mana ai tau kupu" (who will support you that your word may be effective). There is also another form which the word " mana" takes when it is joined by the preposition " ki" (to) forming the word "manaki.'' I will give the meaning of this word, with examples of its use; for insiance, it means acceptable, as " E kore ahau c manakitia mai c ratou" (I shall not be acceptable to them) ; and it means like, as "Ekore aia c manaki mai ki au (be will not like me). Again, the word " mana" takes another form if the preposition "ko ' (to) is joined to it as an affix, when it means desire, as " Kahors aku manako atu" (I have no desire) ; and again if the word " tunga" (which means of itself a secret grft, the purport of which or for which it was given is only known to the receiver,) be made as an affix to the word " mana," we have " manatunga" or keepsake ; then again, if the noun oi space be added to it as an affix, that is " wa," we have " raanawa" or breath ; and again, when the adjective "nui" (large) is added it becomes " manawauui" or bravery ; and if we add the verb " popore" to the Maori word for breath, we have " manawa-popore," which is greediness, desire, regret, or anxiety. It will be seen, therefore, that "mana" expresses in its many shades of meaning, nothing more or less than the unseen determination of that uncontrolled something —the human mind. I will now refer to the " mana" of a chief or priest. The " mana" of a Maori priest is circumscribed, and only extends to those matters in which the interference of the gods may be recognised, as in the many internal arrangements of the tribe, in times of war, or in specific acts in agriculture. In war (when the tribe has determined for hostilities) the " mana" of the priest is seen in every movement of the tribe being guided by him ; this does not only include his own tribe or hapu, of which he may be a member, but includes all men of other tribes who may join them; but his mandates are only obeyed while the war lasts I will give an instance or two. In the wars of Hongi, whenever Hongi wished his army to halt, he signified such wish to the old priest of his expedition, Te Kemara, who thereupon sent a man forward to a certain point where he was to deposit the priest's garment, as the signal to halt, and in no instance was the signal disobeyed. In the wars of Te Waka Nene an old priest, Te Ngau, guided all the movements. In one instance Waka's people were short of food, when it was determined to send out a foiaging party to obtain some from the enemy. In such an expedition deeds of valor could be shown in taking the food from the enemy, out of or near their camp. On this account all the people longed to join in the party; but the old priest having retired into the scrub near the pa for a short time to consult the omens by the Niu, he returned and named those who should go : this command was obeyed, and although dissatisfaction appeared in the countenances of those who were prohibited, yet the priest's word was mana, and no murmur was expressed. I have said the priest's word was mana where that to which it referred would allow the influence of the gods to be inferred, but the opposite applied if the express wish of the priest, and not an omen of the gods, was given in his command- An instance will shew this : the ariki and priest of Ngatiawa at Taranaki, on the eve of a battle between that tribe and the Taranaki tribe, uttered a contemptuous expression against a hapu of his own people, which was, " Who ever thought that men who fish with a rod could be brave in battle 1" (This priest, Te RaKino, uttered it to the hapu of which Korotiwha was chief). When the battle did take place and was raging, in the height of the battle, Korotiwha held up his spear and called out to his hapu, "my sons, the sign of blood," at which signal they all withdrew from the combat, and the Rakino and his party were routed by the Taranaki, when Korotiwha turned the fortune of the day by attacking and gaining a victory. This will show that the mana of a priest is only so far as he is the medium of communication between the gods and the tribe. This has reference to his mana in times of war; but as the pries! is also ariki by birth, he also exercises certain mana as before stated in particular times; in agricultural pursuits, for instance, it is his prerogative to say at what time the tapu shall commence (when the crops are to be put into the ground,) and when it shall be taken off; when no canoe is allowed to pass up or down the river, in the vicinity of which the tribe are cultivating, and how long this prohibriion shall last; it is also at his intercession that the gods allow the tapu to be taken off any person who may have touched a corpse. His food, raiment, house, and all belonging to him are sacred, or tapu, and his mana is inherent in them ; that is, if touched by any common person, that mana or influence of the gods (as expressed in the word mana as applied to them), will cause death to that pet-son. It is therefore the influence of the gods, or the superstitious dread in which they were held by the people, and not human influence, that gave the mana to a priest: which I will further illustrate by following on to the mana of the ariki or chief, in the concerns of everyday life. Ist, Hereditary mana, its extent, and by what curtailed. 2nd, The dictatorship of a tribe, assumed by a minor chief of the tribe or even a member of another tribe ; by what means gained, and to what extent allowed by the tribe. The mana of an