Note 584 — Chapter VI · LUNAR CALENDARS AND THE WEEK

R. Taylor, Te Ika A Maui, London, 1855, p. 177. When the Maori adopted the European week, they gave native names to three of the weekdays. Sunday they called “the week,” te wiki, because on that day the week began, Saturday was te ra horoi, or washing and cleaning-up day, a name derived from their observation of European customs at that time, and Friday was te ra oka, or bleeding day, so named because the missionaries killed their pigs on Friday in order to be able to cut them up on Saturday and dispose of them before Sunday. The remaining weekdays had naturalized names, viz., manei, turei, wenerei, and tairei (ibid., pp. 176 sq.).