supreme source of the welfare of the old-time people of the district, and through its power the sick were restored to health, or the cause of their death ascertained, and impending danger warded off from the living. The mauri of the later migration of Maoris from Hawaiki is known as ‘the manuka at Whakatane,’ a tree which is said to have grown from a branch brought from the fatherland. In the case of a sick person this mauri was appealed to by invocations repeated by the priest. The mauri ora at Whakatane was the salvation of man, says my aged informant; it was life and health itself; it represented the vitality and spiritual well-being of the people. The manuka at Whakatane was the essence and semblance, or personality, of health, of life, of spiritual and intellectual prestige. “There was also a custom of instituting a mauri to represent the health and well-being of individuals, or of a family group, the latter being the real unit of Maori social life. In these cases some material token was placed at the tuahu or sacred place of the village, and this token or talisman was imbued with the semblance of health, vitality, &c., of the person or persons, and also that of the tribal lands. By means of this singular rite the welfare of man and lands was protected, and neither would then be in danger of suffering from the arts of the wizard. For, bear in mind, we are now speaking of sickness and troubles of divers kinds as being caused by magic arts. “There were innumerable invocations used and rites performed in order to preserve the physical, intellectual, and spiritual vitality of man. These ceremonies began early in the life of the individual, when the tua and tohi rites were performed over the new-born child, and the kawa-ora and other invocations were repeated by the priest. “When the kumara, or sweet-potato, was first obtained by the old-time people of Whakatane they were advised by the islanders from whom they obtained it to slay one Taukata and sprinkle or besmear his blood on the door-frame of the store-house in which the kumara was placed. This rite was for the purpose of preventing the mauri or life-principle of the tuber from returning to Hawaiki. Should it do so, then it would be useless attempting to cultivate or propagate the seed-tubers: they would not bear, the life-principle being departed. “Now, the natives say that, in like manner, the ora (life, vitality, health) of the Maori people has returned to Hawaiki, on account of the mauri or kawa ora having become noa, or polluted. This sacred life-principle of man has become polluted through contact with Europeans—i.e., the tapu of the race is destroyed. When Christianity was embraced by the natives they proceeded to whakanoa, or make them-