Water was forcibly poured into the eyes and down the throat of a woman who died during a Maori exorcism, a jury has been told.
Janet Moses, 22, died at a relative's home in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, in October 2007.
Police said she had drowned during an apparent exorcism, or makutu, at which about 40 members of her family were present.
Nine people, whose names are suppressed, are jointly charged with her manslaughter in the High Court at Wellington.
One of the nine, along with a tenth person who also has name suppression, are charged with wilfully permitting a child to be ill-treated at the ceremony.
Crown prosecutor Kate Feltham told the court on Monday that Ms Moses' family was concerned about her behaviour and asked a kaumatua, or Maori elder, for help.
The kaumatua told them Ms Moses had been possessed by an evil spirit, but though there was still something in her, she just needed time to sort herself out.
Ms Feltham said the family then embarked on a cleansing ritual, which lasted for several days and included water being forcibly poured into Ms Moses' eyes and down her throat.
A post-mortem established that she had drowned.
Earlier, Justice Simon France told jurors the case is not about whether they believe in exorcism, but is about what caused Ms Moses' death, what role people played in relation to it, and what her attitude was to what was happening.
The trial will hear from 101 witnesses and is expected to last about a month.
