e presided over childbirth, and did his worst
to unfortunate females in that state. In fact, the entire human body
appears to have been shared out amongst those evil beings, who ruled
over each part, to afflict and pain the poor creatures who worshipped
them."[88]

[87] R. Taylor, _Te Ika A Maui_, pp. 134 _sq._

[88] R. Taylor, _Te Ika A Maui_, p. 137.

Anything, indeed, whether good or evil, which excited the fear or wonder
of the Maoris would seem in the old days to have been dubbed by them an
_atua_ and invested with the attributes of divinity. For example, when a
traveller in the early years of the nineteenth century showed his watch
to some Maoris, the ticking struck them with such astonishment that they
deemed it nothing less than the voice of a god; and the watch itself,
being looked upon as a deity (_atua_) in person, was treated by the
whole of them with profound reverence.[89] Other travellers have had
similar experiences among the Maoris,[90] and compasses and barometers
have also been accorded divine honours by these ignorant savages.[91]

[89] J. L. Nicholas, _Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand_
(London, 1817), i. 254.

[90] J. Dumont d'Urville, _Voyage autour du Monde et a la
recherche de la Perouse, Histoire du Voyage_ (Paris, 1832-1833),
ii. 516.

[91] E. Dieffenbach, _Travels in New Zealand_, ii. 118.

Sec. 5. _Taboo among the Maoris_

But the most momentous practical consequence which flowed from their
belief in the spirits of the dead was the enormous influence which that
creed wielded in establishing and maintaining the system of taboo, the
most remarkable and characteristic institution in the life of the Maoris
and of the Polynesians in general. I shall first give some account of
the taboo or _tapu_, as the Maoris called it, and afterwards show how
this extraordinary system of society and religion was directly based on
a belief in the existence of ghosts and their mighty power over human
destiny.

First, then, as to taboo or _tapu_ itself. This curious institution, as
I have said, prevailed throughout all the widely scattered islands of
Polynesia, but nowhere to a greater extent than in New Zealand. It
pervaded the whole life of the natives, affected their plans, influenced
their actions, and in the absence of an efficient police provided a
certain security both for their persons and their property. Sometimes it
was used for political, and sometimes for