Page:Pounamu, notes on New Zealand greenstone (IA pounamunotesonne00robl).djvu/26

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POUNAMU.

or mica schist in order to control the direction of the fractures. Hoanga was the stone used for cutting and polishing. Parihi kohatu was a sharp fragment of kara which seems to be a generic term for trap or any other hard stone. Pirori was the name given by Mr. Stack's informant to the drill.

Many of the Maori weapons were made by old men who were past the age for serving as warriors. The war-adze, however, which, as will be seen later, was a special emblem of chieftainship, was made by no one but chiefs, who, being themselves tapu conferred a certain sacredness on this particular weapon.