284

GENERAL HABITS

freely associate with the chiefs to whom theybelong; tthey are their necessary attendants atcava parties, &c. and form the bulk of theirfighting nnen and followers: they not only asso-ciate freely with one another, but also with thefollowers of other high chiefs, and even w T ith thosehigh chiefs themselves, without any reserve,excepting the requisite ceremonies of respectwhich occasion may require.

Every high or governing chief has his cownofo (those who settle or dwell with him), or,as they are sometimes called, cow-mea (adhe-rents), who consist of inferior chiefs and mata-booles; each of these inferior chiefs has hiscow-tangata, or body of fighting men, consistingchiefly of mooas : the matabooles have no cow-tangata. The retinue, or cow-nofo, of a greatchief, therefore, consists of inferior chiefs (withtheir cow-tangatas ) and matabooles ; and theretinue or cow-tangata of an inferior chief con-sists of mooas, and perhaps, also, a few tooas,who have been found brave fellows. A greatnumber of these cow-nofo, perhaps about eightyor ninety, actually dwell in and near the su-perior chief’s fencing (each fencing having manyhouses), whilst there are many others who sleepand pass a great portion of their time at theirown plantations; for not only inferior chiefs,but also matabooles and mooas, have plantations