Religion.

It cannot be gathered from Lamont's account whether the Tongarewans believed in or worshipped the gods common to the Polynesian race, such as Tangaroa, Tane, Rongo, Tu, &c., but that they had some form of rude worship, accompanied with many ceremonies, is evident. The same word, atua, common to Polynesia, was applied as a general one, signifying a spirit or god. Of these they possessed four minor ones (the names are unfortunately not given), represented by various objects; two of them being in their attributes malicious, and two beneficent. The latter were supposed to give life and all necessary to maintain it. The visible representation of one of these atuas was a long stick with a large bunch of feathers fastened to one end; of another, a piece of wood with a bunch of human hair attached.^* Others were made of cocoanut-wood, a wood which, in some form, was generally connected with their superstitious observances. They believe that the spirit, after the death of the body, haunts its former home for some time, and then leaves for distant regions. The stars were supposed to represent deceased spirits. In the case of severe illness the patient was taken to the marae, where the priest invoked the atua in his favour with many prayers and incantations, finally touching the sufferer with one of the emblematic gods. In the case of death the body was wrapped in mats and taken to the marae, to remain there some days, and was then returned to its former dwelling, where it was hung up on the rafters of the roof, the widow remaining constantly with it for lengthened periods in a state of mourning, and tapu, or, as the Tongarewans appear to call it, hui-atua. After a time the body was buried in the marae.

The priests appear to have had great power, and were consulted on all important occasions. The maraes, or sacred enclosures, some of which were as much as a hundred yards square, and where all the religious ceremonies were conducted, were enclosed by upright slabs of stone, standing as much as 6ft. out of the ground. Inside were other stones standing on end, said to be tombs. There were several of these maraes in different parts of the group, some deserted and evidently not in use for ages. One, at Te Puka islet, appears to have been the most celebrated of them all, and here, tradition says, was the tomb of Mahuta, their great progenitor. Any one entering a marae became tapu, and could not mix with his fellows until he had gone through certain ceremonies. In