tself hereditary. Chieftainship, when associated with
inheritance of property, is hereditary; and when the chief, as among the
Zulus, absorbs supernatural power, then the same man becomes diviner
and chief, and is a person of great and sacred influence. The liveliest
account of the performances of the Maori "tohunga" or sorcerer is to be
found in Old New Zealand,(7) by the Pakeha Maori, an English gentleman
who had lived with the natives like one of themselves. The tohunga, says
this author,(8) presided over "all those services and customs which had
something approaching to a religious character. They also pretended to
power by means of certain familiar spirits, to foretell future events,
and even in some cases to control them.... The spirit 'entered into'
them, and, on being questioned, gave a response in a sort of half
whistling, half-articulate voice, supposed to be the proper language
of spirits." In New South Wales, Mrs. Langlot Parker has witnessed
a similar exhibition. The "spirits" told the truth in this case. The
Pakeha Maori was present in a darkened village-hall when the spirit of
a young man, a great friend of his own, was called up by a tohunga.
"Suddenly, without the slightest warning, a voice came out of the
darkness.... The voice all through, it is to be remembered, was not the
voice of the tohunga, but a strange melancholy sound, like the sound of
a wind blowing into a hollow vessel. 'It is well with me; my place is a
good place.' The spirit gave an answer to a question which proved to
be correct, and then 'Farewell,' cried the spirit FROM DEEP BENEATH THE
GROUND. 'Farewell,' again, FROM HIGH IN AIR. 'Farewell,' once more came
moaning through the distant darkness of the night." As chiefs in New
Zealand no less than tohungas can exercise the mystical and magical
power of tabu, that is, of imparting to any object or person an
inviolable character, and can prevent or remit the mysterious punishment
for infringement of tabu, it appears probable that in New Zealand,
as well as among the Zulus and Red Indians, chiefs have a tendency to
absorb the sacred character and powers of the tohungas. This is natural
enough, for a tohunga, if he plays his cards well, is sure to acquire
property and hereditary wealth, which, in combination with magical
influence, are the necessary qualifications for the office of the
chieftain.

(1) Pinkerton, xvi. 401.

(2) Charlevoix, i. 105. See "Savage Spiritualism" in Cock Lane a