OMENS.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 17 September 1919, Page 2

OMENS.

(Contributed by A. J. Knocks.) Omens are thought, evea by many, intellectual people of the present day, to be a foretelling of events to follow in the near future. Probably thu Maoris have more faith in such signs than many other races of people, and certainly peculiar instances have happened in connection with their Tohus of Aitua and Waimuria (omens of good and evil) which, to say the most, would be passed by the pakeha with the simple remark, "Ah, yes, urn, it was a peculiar coincidence," and thought no more about. Of course, this is in accordance with the education Of the present day. Though many people believe dreams are omens, conveying predictions of things to come, it takes a man of master mind the meaning of .•!_ dream to find. Even medical science disagrees upon the subject of dreams. I was present on one- occasion at the opening ceremony of a Maori carved house, where there was a large gathering of both Maori and Europeans. Two tohuugas (wise and clever men) were the principals. Firstly one of the tohungns (a middle-aged, strong, healthy looking man) climbed up at the back of the house on to the roof, stood up and began to walk along the tup of the"roof, repeating a chant as ho proceeded. When he had reached to about half-way along the length of the. roof he failed in his chant, faltered

and stopped, breaking down in his incantation. After a little while he again proceeded with the ceremony until ho had travelled the length of the building. At this lime I was standing near the other tohunga, who was sitting; near by. Ho remarked, "He aitua hamate" —it is ;ttt ill-omen, death will follow. I asked what he meant. Ho explained, "Did you not hear hint break down in his ceremony of the. chant? It is :m omen of evil, and he will die soon." Our talk was cut. short, by tohunga number two saying, "My turn now." He climber to the roof and walked steadily from one end of. the building to the other, chanting thu whole time without faltering, as an adept should do, and then descended amidst great cheering. The tohunga

first mentioned was dead at midnight. These kind of ceremonies were held io be sacred and necessary by the Maoris, on the occasions of the opening (house warmings) of newly-built houses. May, be it is asking blessings, in the way oC long life for the owners, builders, and building. • '

Now wc come to two distinct case, in which the signs of ill omcu were observed, and even a speech was made in connection with the omened matter

by ti prominent aged Maori resident of

Otaki before the disaster took place. This happened in our midst at Otnkt within the lent few days. As Ido not think there would be any objection by relatives concerned, I will give the names of the people. A Maori named Wonka Te Naihi,'who was living in his cottage within a few chains of fit* Otaki railway station, died rather unexpectedly at I a.m. on Monday, the Ist September last. Ah is customary with our Maori friends, a tent was erected for the corpse to lie in, being erected in the same place as it had been

on two x>reviou« similar occasions, near the dnellinghouse. Mohi Hekiera and Mohi to Tawharu went to pay their

respects to the deceased at the tatigi. As the body had not yet been placed in she tent, Mohi Hekiera soßtjcslcd the tent was put up in ati unsuitable place and «hould be shifted. Accordingly these two men shifted the lent tc» another site near by and assisted to

tiring the corpsa front the house to tin:

tent. Seeing this ill-omen of shifting the tent from one place to another, coupled with other signs, an old, educated, prominent Maori stood up and included these words in hi* speech: "Wanka, I notice the ■ owena, and if

they are an invitation for me to accompany you on your present journey I distinctly decline. Hear me! Ido not intend to be one of your party," and so on. Mohi Hekicra, one of the men concerned in the shifting of the tent, was., whilst still attending the tangl, in some unaccountable way badly burned about the head and face. He tell* us: the first intimation he got that anything was wrong whilst sitting on a sear, near the fire, was, to find bis moustache in a blaze and a live coal in his mouth, and he ways: the strange thing about the incident in even supposing he had dozed in deep and fallen on tha Sre, which he does not remember doing —his hands were not iu any way burnt. He has been confined to his bed ever since, and is still in a bad way. Now for the other Mobil Whilst attending Waaka's tangisanga he became indisposed, returned to his home in Otaki, and died ia'a few day«. He was an elderly man, but strong, active sud healthy-looking. Now there is a tacgi being held over his remains at the Baokawa Maori meeting-boose at Otaki- The patient reader of the foregoing will have noted the principal illomen rents in the fact of :! tac tent lavi»g been first erected in its usual place for the reception of the dead, and then being pulled dowa and shifted ta another place before the body was placed in it. j mmmmmmmmmmmmmimai