A tangi, or meeting of friends.Mount Egmont in the distance. Plate 52. From the book: The New Zealanders

PLATE LII.

THE CEREMONY of ONGI, or PRESSING NOSES.

THIS scene represents a party of natives arrived at a small pah at Taranaki, who are saluting their friends with the ceremony of ongi, or pressing noses; a mode of greeting which corresponds with our custom of shaking hands; on occasions where friends meet after a long absence, the ongi is performed for a considerable time, especially by the women. In the distance is the snow-capped peak of Mount Egmont.

Text for plate 52: The New Zealanders illustrated / by George French Angas. -- London: Thomas M'Lean, 1847 (RB001054)