Very great care was, of course, taken to hand it down from father to son in the priestly families.

In certain places in New Zealand, notably at Wanganui, sacred colleges stood called Whare-kura (Red-house).

These halls had to be built by priestly hands, stood turned to the east, and could only be approached by the purified.

They were dedicated by sacrifice, sometimes of a dog, sometimes of a human being.

The pupils, who were boys of high rank, went, at the time of admission, through a form of baptism.