If the child be a male, it will be born—if a female, the mother's line of ancestors must be invoked.
Intimately connected with the superstition respecting things tapu is the belief as to the cause of disease, namely, that a spirit has taken possession of the body of the sufferer. The belief is that any neglect of the law of tapu, either wilful, or accidental, or even brought about by the act of another person, causes the anger of the Atua of the family who punishes the offender by sending some infant spirit to feed on a part of his body—infant spirits being generally selected for this office on account of their love of mischief, and because not having lived long enough on earth to form attachments to their living relatives, they are less likely to show them mercy. When, therefore, a person falls sick, and cannot remember that he has himself broken any law of the tapu, he has to consult a matakite (seer) and a tohunga to discover the crime, and use the proper ceremonies to appease the Atua; for there is in practice a method of making a person offend against the laws of tapu without his being aware of it. This method is a secret one called makutu. It is sufficient for a person who knows this art, if he can obtain a portion of the spittle of his enemy, or some leavings from his food, in order that he may treat it in a manner sure to bring down the resentment of his family Atua. For this reason a person would not dare to spit when in the presence of anyone he feared might be disposed to injure him, if he had a reputation for skill in this evil art.
With such a belief as to the cause of all disease it will not be wondered at that the treatment of it was
