One of the causes of this is the possibility of trouble arising from the accidental resemblance of the word to the name of some chief. The mere fact of his name, or a word similar to it, being used in a manner considered disrespectful, might be the cause of a quarrel. The following may serve as an illustration of this:—Some years ago the child of a chief of the Ngatiporou tribe received the name of Te Wairama, In consequence of this the word honu came into common use for water, and the usual word (wai) was avoided for fear of giving offence.

The same word may at different times assume functions of several parts of speech. Thus, nouns are frequently used as adjectives to denote the material of which the thing is made. Thus: he whare raupo—a house built of raupo; he roto tuna--a lake in which eels abound.

The accent is on the first syllable as a general rule.

Scheme of a Maori Verb.

Karanga—call.