537

   Stone adzes.-Called Toki. The collection comprises twenty-five different sizes, called by distinctive names which signify the use for which they are designed. Tools of this class were always used in a wooden handle. (Plate LVII.)
   Stone knife.-Called Hoe. Ground down to a knife-blade with a point and cutting edge, used principally for fashioning the eyes and faces of the images. (Plate LI, fig. 3.)
   Ax handles.-Miro Toki. Hard-wood, with natural joint, used for holding stone implements. (Plate LVII.)
   Fish god.-Called Mea Ika. This rough, ill-shaped stone was one of the objects really worshipped by the natives. Some of them bear evidences of tool marks, but it does not appear that any effort was made to carve them into shape or decorate them. These gods were never common, and were possessed by communities or clans, and not by individuals. The legends claim that they were all brought to the island by Hotu Matua and the first settlers. (Plate LI, fig. 4.)
   Bonito god.-Called Mea Kahi. A stone with apparently no distinguishing characteristics, and nothing to merit the profound religious homage paid to it. It is not clear why the bonito should have the distinction of a separate god from the other fish, unless it be for the reason that it appears in great numbers in these waters, and has always been highly esteemed as an article of food. Fish always constituted an important diet with the natives, and the abundance in which they were found was ascribed to the faithful and constant adoration of these stone gods. (Plate LI, fig. 5.)
   Fowl god.-Called Mea Moa. A beach pebble with slight traces of tool-marks, but it might readily be passed among other stones without attracting attention. To the fowl god is ascribed the custody of chickens, and its beneficial influence was secured by being placed under a setting hen for a short time before the eggs were hatched. (Plate LI, fig. 6.)
   Stone Fish Hook.-Called Mugai Kihi. These primitive hooks, now very rare on the island, were made of the hardest rock to be obtained, and were ground into shape by long and constant rubbing. (Plate LVIII, fig. 3.)
   Bone fish hooks.-Called Mugai Iri. In accordance with an ancient superstition, these books were manufactured from the thigh-bones of deceased fishermen. The curve was fashioned with a small barb which prevented she escape of the fish. The form is so perfectly adapted to the purpose that the natives still use their old bone hooks in preference to those of European make. A fish-hook of similar design was used by the Indians of Santa Cruz Island. (Plate LVIII, fig 1 and 2.)
   Incised tablets.-Called Hokau Rongo-Rongo. Two specimens in excellent state of preservation, showing the hieroglyphics used in the written language. (Plates XXXVIII-XLI.)
   Double paddle.-Called Mata Kao-kao. Made of heavy wood,

537