On the border-line, between religion and magic, wherever, if anywhere, that line exists, was the position of the clan known as the Miru. Members of this group had, in the opinion of the islanders, the supernatural and valuable gift of being able to increase all food supplies, especially that of chickens, and this power was particularly in evidence after death. It has been known that certain skulls from Easter are marked with designs, such as the outline of a fish; these are crania of the Miru, and called “puoko-moa,” or fowl-heads, because they had, in particular, the quality of making hens lay eggs (fig. 96). Hotu, the Miru, whose mother, it may be remembered, was the victim of a cannibal feast, made his own skull an heirloom, as “it was so extremely good for chickens,” that he did not wish it to go out of the family. His son gave it to a relative, who was the father of an old man from whom we managed to obtain it. When the time came to hand it over to us, the late owner began to cling to it affectionately, and say that he “wept much at the thought of its going to England”; as, however, the bargain had already been completed, we remained obdurate, and at the time of writing Hotu resides with Ko Tori at the Royal College of Surgeons. [Illustration: FIG. 96. [_Butterworth_ A MIRU SKULL WITH INCISED DESIGN. ] [Illustration: FIG. 97. ANAKENA COVE. Hill on left has terraced summit. ] The Miru were unique in other ways; they were the only group which had a headman or chief, who was known as the “ariki,” or sometimes as the “ariki-mau,” the great chief, to distinguish him from the “ariki-paka,” a term which seems to have been given to all other members of the clan.[52] The office of ariki-mau was hereditary, and he was the only man who was obliged to marry into his own clan. It was customary when he was old and feeble that he should resign in favour of his son. There are various lists of the succession of chiefs, counted from the first immigrant, Hotu-matua. The oldest lists are those given by Bishop Jaussen[53] and by Admiral Lapelin,[54] which contain some thirty names. Thomson gives one with fifty-seven. In our day there was admittedly much uncertainty about the sequence, but the number was said to be thirty,[55] and two independent lists were obtained. All these categories differ, though they contain many of the same names, particularly at the beginning and end.