Page:Maori Religion and Mythology.djvu/121

Rh The first born male or female.

A man's younger brother: literally the foot.

''Syn. tuakana.''

A married man or woman.

A single man or woman.

A widow.

has the sense of tapu when occurring in karakia, or invocations of spirits.

the spirit of the germ of a human being: also called Atua noho-whare, or house-dwelling Atua. Verbi kahukahu significatio simplex est panniculus; et panniculus quo utitur femina menstrualis nomine kahukahu dicitur. Apud populum Novæ Zelandæ creditur sanguinem utero sub tempus menstruale effusum continere germina hominis; et secundùm præcepta veteris superstitionis panniculus sanguine menstruali imbutus habebatur sacer (tapu), haud aliter quàm si formam humanam accepisset: mulierum autem mos est