A woman who died during an exorcism attempt had "ugly eyes" in the days before she died, the High Court in Wellington has been told.
Janet Moses, 22, died during the attempt to lift a Maori curse in 2007. Nine people are charged with her manslaughter.
The Crown says the accused embarked on a cleansing ritual which included water being forcibly poured into Ms Moses' eyes and down her throat.
A post-mortem established she had drowned.
The court heard evidence from two relatives of Ms Moses on Thursday.
Nanette Wright told the court that on the Monday before she died, Ms Moses was unresponsive and her eyes were "ugly" and staring.
She said that improved once a stone lion, the theft of which was said to have led to a curse on Ms Moses, was returned to its rightful owner. The lion's appearance also improved.
Nanette Wright said Ms Moses calmed down after the lion was returned, but later again began talking about things no one could understand.
Nanette Wright told the court that everyone at the cleansing ceremony was pouring water over their heads to clear them of the demons that were believed to be inside the house.
The court was told relatives of Ms Moses sprinkled water on themselves to ward off the demons affecting her.
Another relative, Ngahi Wright, told the court Ms Moses was behaving strangely in the week before she died and it scared her.
She said she believed Ms Moses was having psychological problems as her grandmother, whom she was close to, had died recently.
Ngahi Wright spoke of efforts her family made to rid Ms Moses of the Maori curse and showed the court a ritual involving water which she performs after showering.
Earlier, a witness told the court he saw several of the accused try to revive Ms Moses when she stopped breathing.
The witness, whose name is suppressed because of his age, told the court that during the night before Ms Moses died, family members continued pouring water into her in an effort to rid her of a curse.
He said Ms Moses became unconscious the next morning and stopped breathing.
All the accused took turns doing CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive her. The witness said that continued for about 45 minutes.
When they realised Ms Moses had died, the witness said they sang songs to keep themselves happy.