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Na-

21

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POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES,

DURING A RESIDENCE OF NEARLY
EIGHT YEARS IN THE

SOCIETY AND SANDWICH ISLANDS.

BY WILLIAM ELLIS.

a£COND EDITIoy, ENLARGED AND IMPROVED.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

FISHER, SON, & JACKSON, NEWGATE STREET.

1831.

510

■■»,

\

• J» "■ •

The Directors and Supporters

OF
THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY;

THESE VOLUMES,

DESCRIBING THE SCENES OF THEIR

EARLIEST EXERTIONS,

AND THE IMPORTANT RESULTS OF

THEIR OPERATIONS,

AMOMG THOSE WHO WERE THE FIRST OBJECTS

X) OF THEIR BENEVOLENT SOLICITUDE,

ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
t • BY THEIR OBLIGED,

V AND OBEDIENT SERVANT,

THE AUTHOR.
a2

ADVERTISEMENT

TO THE SECOND EDITION.

In issuing the first VoliuQe of his Researches in their
present form, the Author begs to express his grateful sense
of the favourable notice ivhich the original publication
received from several leading literary Journals, as well as
its encouraging reception from the circle of his immediate
friends, and the public at large. He is also happy in
being thus able to comply veith the suggestions of a
number of highly respected individuals, who have
expressed their v^ishes that the work might be published
in a cheaper and more portable form. The reasonable
price of the present Volumes, and their periodical publi-
cation, will, it is hoped, secure the object desired — ^their
more extensive circulation. The less important parts have
been slightly abridged, the whole has been arranged in a
regular methodical order, and the history of the extension
of Christianity in the South Seas continued to the date of
the latest intelligence. As the Sandwich Islands form the
northern boimdary of Polynesia, in order to render the
work more complete, the account of those islands origi-
nally entitled '^ Narrative of a Tour through Hawaii, or
Owhyhee," is published in a corresponding manner, under
the same title: this will constitute a fourth volume of
Polynesian Researches. — ^Thus improved, and imbody-
ing much recent interesting information, the Author antici-
pates for the present Volumes a reception equal to that
with which their predecessors were favoured.

London, Jan, 1, 1831 >

PREFACE.

AccviiATE information respecting the different
parts of the world, is probably possessed in a
greater degree, and diffused to a wider extent, at
the present day, than it has been at any former
period. The mariner has encountered the dangers
of ' tintraversed and hitherto impenetrable seas;
and the traveller has explored remote and inhos-
pitable countries, in order to increase general
knowledge, and add new facilities to the prose-
cution of enlightened philosophical research.

Without depreciating the pursuits of science,
or the advantages of a more enlarged acquaintance
with the natural history of our globe, the Christian
philanthropist directs his attention to objects still
more important, and is led to contemplate, with
growing intensity of interest, the moral and spi-
ritual condition of mankind. The dominion and
extent of delusive and sanguinary idolatries, with

VI PREFACE.

their moral debasement and attendant misery,
have excited his liveliest concern; and to the
melioration of human wretchedness thus induced,
and the extension of true religion, as the only
solid basis of virtue and happiness, his energies
are directed, and his resources consecrated.—
Animated by the predictions of inspiration which
refer to the moral renovation of the world, and
cheered by " the signs of the times," his antici-
pations of ultimate success are strengthened by
the effects that already reward his exertions.

The results of efforts combined for the accom-
plishment of these objects, though various, have
been such as materially to affect some of the most
interesting portions of the human race. Their
influence is at the present moment felt among
the aborigines of Africa, the victims of colonial
slavery, the millions of civilized China and India,
the population of the inhospitable regions of
Siberia and Greenland, and the inhabitants of the
distant islands of the South Sea.

In this latter part of the world the author spent
a number of years, endeavouring to promote
the knowledge of Christianity among the natives ;
and while engaged in this pursuit, he regarded
it as perfectly consistent with his office, and com-
patible with its duties, to collect, as opportunity

PREFACE. VIl

offered, information on various subjects relative to
the country and its inhabitants.

Although circumscribed in geographical extent,
and comparatively insignificant in amount of
population, the Society and Sandwich Islands
have been regarded with unusual interest ever
since their discovery ; and the descriptions already
given to the public, of the loveliness of their
general appearance, and the peculiar character
and engaging manners of their inhabitants, have
excited a strong desire to obtain additional infor-
mation relative to the varied natural phenomena^
of the Islands themselves; the early history ; the
moral, intellectual, and physical character of
the people; and the nature of their ancient
institutions.

All their usages of antiquity having been
entirely superseded by the new order of things
that has followed the subversion of their former
system, the knowledge of but few of them is
retained by the majority of the inhabitants, while
the rising generation is growing up in total igno*
ranee of all that distinguished their ancestors from
themselves. The present, therefore, seems to be
the only time in which a variety of facts, con-
nected with the former state of the Inhabitants,
can be secured ; and to furnish, as far as possible.

VHI PREFACE.

an authentic record of these, and thus preserve
them from oblivion, is one design which the
Author has always kept in view.

The following work will exhibit numerous facts^
which may justly be regarded as illustrating the
essential characteristics of idolatry, and its influ-
ence on a people, the simplicity of whose insti-
tutions afibrds facilities for observing its nature and
tendencies, which could not be obtained in a more
advanced state of society.

These volumes also contain a brief, but it is
hoped satisfactory history of the origin, progress,
and results of the Missionary enterprise, which,
during the last thirty years, has, under the Divine
blessing, transformed the barbarous,. cruel, indo-
lent, and idolatrous inhabitants of Tahiti, and the
neighbouring Islands, into a comparatively civilized,
humane, industrious, and Christian people. They
also comprise a record of the measures pursued by
the native governments, in changing the social
economy of the people, and regelating their com-
mercial intercourse with foreigners, in the promul-
gation of a new civil code, (a translation of which
is given,) the establishment of courts of justice,
and the introduction of trial by jury.

Besides information on these points, the present
work furnishes an account of the intellectual cul-

PREFACE. IX

ture, Christian experience, and general con-
duct, of the converts; the proceedings of the
Missionaries in the several departments of their
duty; the administration of the ordinances of
Christianity ; the establishment of the first
churches, with their order and discipline; the ad-
vancement of education ; the introd«ction of arts ;
, the improvement in morals ; and the progress of
civilization.

During an absence of ten years from England,
the author made copious notes of much that came
under his notice, and, while residing in the South
Seas, kept a daily journal. From these papers,
from the printed and manuscript documents in
the possession of the London Missionary Society,
(to which the most ready access has been af-
forded,) from the very ample communications by the
Missionaries in the islands, especially his respected
colleagues, Messrs. BarflP, Williams, andOrsmond,
and from information derived by daily intercourse,
for several years, with many of the natives, who have
been identified with the most important events of
the last thirty years in Tahiti, the present volumes
have been written. He has studiously and con-
stantly endeavoured to render the accounts accu-
rate, and trusts they will prove, not only interesting,
but useful.

X PREFACE.

From the defects that may appear in the exe-
cution of the work, he feels it necessary to apolo-
gize. It has been prepared amidst incessant
public engagements, and some parts have passed
through the press during his absence on a distant
journey in behalf of the Missionary Society.

To the R%v. Joseph Fletcher, A. M. of
London, who, amidst his numerous and important
engagements, has kindly inspected most of the
sheets, and to Captain R. Elliot, R. N. who has
favoured the Author with the use of his drawings
for the embellishment of the work, he takes this
opportunity of tendering his sincere and grateful
acknowledgments.

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

CHAP. I.

PROM PAOE 1 TO PAGE 29.

Historical notice of the discovery of the Pacific — Extent
and limits of Polynesia — Voyages of Cook — Diseovery
of the Georgian and Society Islands — Origin of their
designation — Number, names, and relative situation of
the islands — Key to the pronunciation of native names —
Extent and apparent structure of the islands — Beauty
of the scenery — First approach to the shore of Mata-
vai — Inland scenery — Description of Eimeo — Coral
islands — Tetuaroa, the fashionable watering-place of
Tahiti — Harbours •— Islets on the reefs — Soil in the
islands — Climate — Winds — Rains ->and Tides.

CHAP. II.

FROM PAGE 30 TO PAGE 69.

Vegetable productions of the Islands — Forests — Various
* kinds of timber — The apape and faifai — ^The aito, or
casuarina — Tiairi, candlenut tree — Callophylla Bar-
ringtonia — Thespesia populnea — Erythrina — Hibiscus
— ^The auti, or cloth plant — Description, uses, and
legends of the sacred aoa — Account of the bread-fruit
tree and fruit — Various methods of preparing the fruit
— Arum or taro, uhi or yam — U-ma-ra, or sweet
potato — Culture, preparatioi^ and method of dressing
the arrow-root — Appearance and value of the cocoa-
nut tree — Several stages of growth in which the frait is
used — ^Manufacture of cocoa-nut oil.

CHAP. III.

FROM PAGE 60 TO PAGE 77.

Varieties and appearance of the plantain and banana —
. Vi or Braziliaii plum — ^A-hi-a or jambo-^SinguIar
growth of the inocarpus, or native chesnut — Different
kinds of ti, or Dracanae — ^To, or sugar-cane — Foreign
. fruits and vegetables that flourish in Polynesia — Value
of a garden in the South Sea Islands — Unsuccessful
attempts to introduce wheat — Introduction of coffee —
Native and foreign flowers — ^Tradition of the origin of the

Xll CONTENTS.

bread-fruit — Quadrupeds—Absence of venomous animals
and reptiles — ^Manner of rearing pigs — Birds of the
South Sea Islands-— Albatross — Pigeons — Domestic
fowls— Number and variety of fish on the coasts, and
in the lakes and rivers.

CHAP. IV.

FROM PAGE 78 TO PAGE 100.

Inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific — Oceanic ne-
groes — Eastern Polynesians — General account of the
South Sea Islanders — Physical character— Expression
of countenance — Stature, colour, &c. — Mentid capa-
city — ^Ancient division and computation of time — ^TeSii-
tian numerals — Extended calculations — Aptness in
receiving instruction — ^Moral character — Hospitality —
Extensive and affecting moral degradation — Its ener-
vating influence — Former longevity of the islanders.

CHAP. V.

FROM PAGE 101 TO PAGE 127.

Comparative numbers of the inhabitants — Indications and
causes of depopulation — Beneficial tendency of Christi-
anity — Origin of the inhabitants of the South Sea
'. Islands — Traditions — Legends of Taaroa and Hina —
;/ Resemblance to Jewish history — Coincidences in lan-
guage, mythology, &c. with tiie langufige, &c. of tiie
Hindoos and Malays, Madagasse, and South Americans
— Probable source of population — Difficulty of reaching
the islands from the west — ^Account of the different
native voyages — Geographical extent over which the
Polynesian race and language prevail.

CHAP. VI.

FROM PAGE 128 TO PAGE 159.

Habits of the Islanders — Uosocial in domestic life—
Humiliating circumstances of the females — Irregular
mode of life — ^Time of taking food — CleanliniM»*-Fre-
quent bathing — Manner of wearing the hair, and remov-
ing the beard — ^Artificial flowers — Native toilet — ^Occu-
pations — ^Agriculture — Implements, &c. — Fishing — En-
closures^Salmon and other neti — Use of the spear—

CONTENTS. XIll

Various kinds of hooks and lines — ^The raa-tira —
Fishing by torch light — Canoes used among the
islands — Origin of the name — Skreened canoe and
Maihi.

CHAP. VII.

f ROM PAOB 160 TO PAGE 192.

Description of the yaa motu, or island-canoe — Methods of
navigating native vessels — Danger from sharks — Affect-
ing wreck — Accident in a single canoe— Tahitian archi-
tecture — Materials employed in building — Description of
the various kinds of native houses-^Dress of the Tahi-
tians — Manufacture of native cloth — Variety of kinds —
Durability and appearance — Methods of dyeing — ^Mat-
ting of Society and Paumotu islanders — Native pillow,
seat, dishes, and other articles of household furniture.

CHAP. VIII.

PROM PAGE 193 TO PAGE 220.

Accoimt of the music and amusements of the islanders-
Description of the sacred drum — Heiva drum, &c.
Occasions of their use — ^The bu or trumpet — Ihara —
The vivo, or flute — General character of tiieir songs —
Elegiac singularly beautiful — ^Translation of a war
song — Ballads, a kind of classical authority — Enter-
tainments and amusements — Taupiti, or festival —
Wrestling and boxing — Effects of victory and defeat-
Foot-races — Martial games — Sham - fights — Naval
reviews — ^Apai, bandy or cricket — Tuiraa, or foot-ball
The haruraa puu, a female game — Native dances —
Heiva, &c. — The te-a, or archery — Bows and arrows —
Religious ceremonies connected with the game — Never
used by the Society Islanders, except in their amuse-
ments — Discontinued since the introduction of Chris-
tianity.

CHAP. IX.

FROM PAGE 221 TO PAGE 247.

Cockfighting — Aquatic sports — Swinmiing in the surf-
Danger from sharks — Juvenile amusements— Account
of the Areois, the institution peculiar to the inhabitants
of the Pacific— Antiquity of the Areoi society — Tradi-
tion of its origin — ^Aecount of its founders — Infanticide

XIV CONTENTS.

enjoined ivith its establishment — General charactet of
the Areois — ^Their voyages — Public dances — Buildings
for their accommodation — Marine exhibitions — Oppres-
sion and injury occasioned by their visits— Distinction
of rank among them — Estimation in which they are
held — Mode, of admission — Ceremonies attendmg ad-
vancement to the higher orders — Demoralizing nature
of their usages — Singular rites at their death and inter-
ment—Description of Rohutunoanoa, the Areois hea-
ven — Reflections on the baneful tendency of the Areoi
society, and its dissolution.

CHAP. X.

FROM PAGE 248 TO PAGE 274 •

Customs of the islanders — Infanticide — Numbers de-
stroyed — Universality of the crime — Mode of its per-
petration — Reasons assigned for its continuance — Dis-
proportion it occasioned between the sexes — Former
treatment of children — Ceremonies performed at the
temple on the birth of chiefs — Manner of carrying their
children — Evils of neglecting parental discipline —
Practice of tatauing — ^Tradition of its origiii-^Account
of the dye instruments and process of tatauing— Variety
of figures or patterns — The operation painful, and fre-

X^quently fatal — Marriage contracts — Betrothment — An-
j^cient usages — Ceremonies in the temple — Conduct of

rthe relatives — Prevalence of polygamy.

CHAP. XI.

FROM PAGE 275 TO PAGE 294.

/ ' Frequency of war in the South Sea Islands — Polynesian
! \ war-god — Religious ceremonies and human sacrifices,
prior to the commencement of hostiitflSS^'National
' councils — Mustering of forces — Emblems of the gods

taken to the war — Strength of their fleets or armies —
The battle of Hooroto — Women engaging in battle—
Tahitian banners — Martial music — Modes of attack —
Single combats, challenges, &c. — The rauti, or orators
of battle — Sacrifice of the first prisoner — Manifestation
of affection, and motives to revenge — Auguries of the
war — Use of the sling — Singular custom of the chiefs
marching to battle — Sanguinary and exterminating cha-
racter of their engagements — Desolation of the country.

CONTENTS. XV

CHAP. XII.

FROM PAGE 295 TO PAGE 320.

Estimation in which fighting men were held — Weapons —
Dress^ — Ornaments— Various kinds of helmet and ar-
mour — Ancient arms, &c. superseded by the introduction
of fire-arms-^Former ideas respecting the musket, &c.
— Dirination or augury — Savage and merciless conduct
of the victors — Existence of wild men in the mountains
— Accountof one at Bunaau'ia who had fled from the field
of battle— Treatment of the captives and the slain — Di-
viaion of the spoil, and appropriation of the country —
Maritime warfare — Encampments — Fortifications — In-
stance of patriotism — Methods of concluding peace —
Religious ceremonies and festivities that followed —
Present sentiments of the people in reference to war —
Triumph of the principles of peace-^Incident at Rurutu.

CHAP. xin.

FROM PAGE 321 TO PAGE 362.

General view of Polynesian mythology — Ideas relative to
the origin of the world, — Polytheism — Traditionary
theogony — ^Taaroa supreme deity — Different orders of
gods — Oro, Hiro, &c. gods of the wind — Power of
spirits to raise tempests — Gods of the ocean, &o. —
Supposed cause of an eclipse. — Gods of artificers and
fishermen — Oramatuas, or demons — Emblems — Images
— Uru, or feathers— 'Temples — Worship— Prayers — ^The
awakening of the gods — Offerings — Sacrifices— Occa-
sional and stated festivals and worship — Rau-mata-
vehi-raa Maui-fata — Rites for recovery frwn sickness —
Offering of first-fruits — The pae atua — ^The ripening of
the year, a religious Ceremony — Singular rites attending
its close.

CHAP. XIV.

PROM PAGE 353 TO PAGE 381.

Description of Polynesian idols-^Human 8^rifi«es — An- (/•
thropophagism — Islands in which iT-j^vail^Motives
and circumstances under V!4iich it is practised — ^Tradi-
tion of its e^dstence in Sir Charles Sanders' Island —
Extensive prevalence of Sorcery and Divination— Views
of the natives on the subject of satanic influence — De-

1 >

XVI

CONTENTS.

mons — Imprecations — Modes of incantation — Horrid

and fatal effects supposed to result from sorcery — Impo-

tency of enchantment on Europeans — Native remecUes

for sorcery — Natiye oracles — Buaatapena — Means of

inspiration — Effects on the priest inspired — ^Manner of

delivering the responses — Circumstances at Rurutu and

Huahine — ^Intercourse between the priest and the god —

Augury by the death of victims — ^Augury by the stars

and clouds — Divination for the detection of theft.
s

CHAP. XV.

FROM PAGE 382 TO PAGE 414.

Tahitian prophets — ^Ancient predictions relative to the
arrival of ships — ^Traditions of the Deluge corresponding
with the accounts in sacred and profane writings —
Greneral ideas of the people relative to death and a
future state — Death the consequence of Divine displea-
sure — State of spirits — Mini, or heaven — Religious
ceremonies for ascertaining the causes of death — Em-
balming — ^The burying of the sins of the departed —
Singular religious ceremony — Offerings to the dead —
Occupation of the spirits of the deceased — Su]>erstitions
of the people — Otohaa, or lamentation — ^Wailing —
Outrages committed under the paroxysms of grief — Use
of sharks' teeth — Elegies — ^The heva — ^Absurdity and
barbarism of the practice.

PLATES IN VOL. I.

Head of Pomare ...... to ftiee the Vignette Title.

Vignette Title, Fishing by Torchlight.

Map of Polynesia , page 1

WOOD ENGRAVINGS.

Bread-fruit Tree . page 37, 38

Fidiing Canoe 148

War Canoe 153

Skreened Canoe - tST

Single or Island Canoe . . . 162

Adaes 177

Cloth Mallet 180

Tahitian Pillow 189

Tahitian Stool .... page 180

Wooden Dish 191

Tahitian Drums 194

Trumpet Shell 196

National Temple . . . . . 341
Altar and OfEinrings .... 346

Altar and Unns 351

TahiUan Idols . . . .355,356

^ I Ohio,, -pm^-ui^-'^f^'''"'^^^'

Geori^an.

J. • ,

Rimatant '-. ^«9,>

Bapa

POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

CHAP. I.

' Historical notice of the discovery of the Pacific — Extent

and limits of Polynesia — Voyages of Cook — Discovery
of the Georgian and Society Islands — Origin of their

i designation — Number, names, and relative situation of

tiie islands — Key to the pronunciation of native names —
Extent and apparent structure of the islands — Beauty
of the scenery — First approach to the shore of Mata-
vai — Inland scenery — Description of Eimeo — Coral

I islands — Tetuaroa, the fadhionable watering-place of

Tahiti — Harbours — Islets on the reefs — Soil in the

I islands — Climate — Winds — Rains^and Tides.

I PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

The Pacifk^y the largest ocean in the world, extend-
ing over more than one-third of the surface of our
globe, was discovered in the year 1513, by Vasco
> Nugnez de Balboa, a courageous and enterpris-

I ing Spaniard, governor of the Spanish colony of

Santa Maria, in the isthmus of Darien.

The desire of finding a more direct communica-
tion with the East Indies had prompted Columbus
to the daring voyage which conducted him to the
borders of tiie new world. In that immense and
unexplored region, his -followers pursued their
career of enterprise, until Balboa, by discovering
I the great South Sea, accomplished what Columbus,

notwithstanding his splendid achievements, had

2 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

•

failed to perform. In his march across the isthmus
which separates the Atlantic from the Pacific, (an
enterprise designated by Robertson as the boldest
on which the Spaniards had hitherto ventured in
the New World,) Balboa, having been informed by
his Indian guides, that he might view the sea from
the next mountain, advanced alone to its summit ;
and beholding the vast ocean spread out before him
in all its majesty, fell on his knees, and rendered
thanks to God for having conducted him to so
important a discovery. He hastened towards the
object he had so laboriously sought, and, on reach-
mg^ its margin, plunged up to his middle in its
waves, with his sword^ and buckler, and took
possession of it in the name of his sovereign,
Ferdinand of Spain.

Seven years after this important event,. Magellan,
a Portuguese, despatched by the court of Spain to
ascertain the exact situation of the Molucca Islands,
sailed along the eastern coast of South America,
discovered the straits that bear his name; and,
passing through them, first liaunched the ships of
Europe in the Southern Sea. It is, however, pro-
bable, that neither Balboa, while he gazed with
transport on its mighty waters, nor Magellan, when
he first whitened with his canvass the waves of
that ocean, whose smooth surface induced him to
call it the Pacific, had any idea either of its vast
extent, of the numerous islands that studded its
bosom, the diversified and beautiful structure of
Uiose foundations, which myriads of tiny architects
had reared from the depths of the ocean to the
Jevel of its highest wave, or of the varied tribes
of man by whom they were inhabited. Boldly
pursuing his way across the untraversed surface
of this immense ocean, Magellan discovered th«

NAME OF, POLYNESIA. 3

ladrone, and subsequently the Philippine islands.
The object of the voyage was ultimately accom-
plished ; the Victory, the vessel in which Magellan
sailed, having performed the first voyage ever
made round the world, returned to Europe : but
the intrepid commander of the expedition termi-
nated his life without reaching his original destina-
tion, having been killed in a quarrel with the
natives of one of the Philippine Islands.

SeversJ distinguished Spanish, Dutch, and Bri-
tkh navigators followed the adventurous course of
Magellan across the waters of the Pacific, and
were rewarded by the discoveries they made in that
part of the world, which, under the appellation of
Polynesia,* from a Greek term signifying many
islandsy geographers have since denominated the
sixth division of the globe. This designation was,
in the sixteenth century, given by Portuguese
authors to the Moluccas,, the Philippines, and other
islands to the eastward of Java; and was first
appropriated to those clusters and islands, in refer-
ence to which it is employed in the present work,
by President de Brosses> in his History of Naviga-
tion,, published in Paris, 1756.

But, although many single islands and exten-
sive groups, of diversified form and structure,, some
inhabited by isolated families of men, others peo-
pled only by pelicans or aquatic birds, have been
visited and explored^ fresh discoveiies continue to

* According to De Brosses, Malte Bnin, Pink<»rtoii,
and others, Polynesia includes the various islands found
in the Pacific, from the Ladrones to Easter Island, The
principal groups are— the Ladrone Islands, the Carolinas,
the Pelew Islands, the Sandwich Islands, the Friendly
Islands, the Navigators' Islands, tiie He'rvey Islands, th«
Society Islands, the Georgian Islands, and the Marquesas.

b2

4 POLTNESIAK RESEARCHES.

be made by almost every voyager ; and it is by no
means improbable, that there are yet many islands,
and even groups of islands, which remain unknown
to the inhabitants of the other parts of the globe.

Most of the early voyages of discovery in this
ocean attracted unusual attention : those made in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the
facilities they were expected to afford in the ulti-
mate discovery of the long-sought southern conti-r
nent ; or the rich booty they furnished the daring
adventurers, who often captured the Spanish ves-
sels loaded with specie or precious metals. The
narratives of voyages of a later period were equally
attractive, by the fascinating descriptions they pre-
sented of countries and people before unknown.
Among these, none appear to have excited a live-
lier interest, or produced a deeper -impression,
than those performed by Captain Cook, in the
close of the eighteenth century. They were in-
strumental, in a great degree, in diverting public
attention from the splendid and stupendous disco-
veries in the New World, and directing it to the
clustering islands spread over the Pacific ; exhi-
biting them in all the loveliness of their natural
scenery, the interesting simplicity, and novel man-
ners, of their inhabitants. The influence of Cook's
discoveries appears to have been felt by voyagers
and travellers of other countries, as well as by
those of his own. Humboldt, speaking of his labo-
rious researches in South America, remarks, that
" the savages of America inspire less interest,
since the celebrated navigators have made known
to us the inhabitants of the South Sea, in whose
character we find such a mixture of perversity and
meekness : the state of half-civilization in which
these islanders are -found, gives a peculiar charm

EARLT VISITS. 6

to the description of their manners. Here, a king,
followed by a numerous suite, comes and presents
the fruits of his orchard ; 'there, the funeral festival
embrowns the shade of the lofty forest. Such
pictures, no doubt, have more attraction than those
which portray the solemn gravity of the inhabitants
of the Missouri or the Maranon.'^*

Since the death of Captain Cook, several intel-
ligent and scientific men from England, France,
and Russia, have undertaken voyages of discovery
in the South Seas, and have favoured the world
with the result of their enterprises. Their accounts
are read with interest, not only by those engaged
in nautical pursuits and the promotion of geogra-
phical science, but by the philosopher, who seeks
to study human nature under all its diversified
forms ; and by the naturalist, who investigates the
phenomena of our globe, and the varied produc-
tions of its surface. Voyages of discovery are also
favourite volumes with the juvenile reader. They
impart to the youthful mind many delightful and
glowing impressions relative to the strange and
Interesting scenes they exhibit, which in after-life
are seldom obliterated. — ^There are few who do not
retain the vivid recollections of their first perusal
of Prince Leeboo, or Captain Cook's Voyages.
Often, when a school-boy, I have found the most
gratifying recreation, for a winter's evening, in
reading the account of the wreck of tlie Antelope,
the discovery of Tahiti, and other narratives of a
similar kind. Little, however, did I suppose, when
in imagination I have followed the discoverer from
island to island, and have gazed in fancy on their
romantic hills and valleys, together with their
strange but interesting inhabitants, that I should
* Humboldt Pers. Nar. preface.

g POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

ever visit scenes, the description of which afforded
me so much satisfaction. This, however, in the
providence of God, has 'since taken place; and
I have been led, not indeed on a voyage of dis-
covery, commercial adventure, or naval enterprise,
but, as a Christian Missionary, on an errand of
instruction ; not only to visit, but to reside a num-
ber of years among the interesting natives of those
isolatea regions. The following pages record my
observations in that part of the world. The account
of the ancient customs, &c. of the people, and
recent changes, have been derived principally
from the people themselves, by my own inqui-
ries, or the communications of my predecessors
or companions in Missionary pursuits, with occa-
sional illustrations from those who have visited the
islands for purposes of commerce or science.

Tahiti, and the isles in its immediate vicinity, are
situated between five and seven degrees of latitude
within the southern tropic. The principal island
is supposed by some to have been discovered by
Quiros, towards the end of the sixteenth century :
on this point, however, different opinions exist, and
no authentic knowledge of Tahiti was obtained until
Captain Wallis, in the Dolphin, crossed the Pacific,
about 160 years ago. He anchored in Matavai
bay on the 19th of June, 1767, gave to the harbour
the name of Port Royal, and to the land, King
Geoi^e the Third's Island. The adjacent island
of Eimeo was seen by Captain Wallis, and from
him received the designation of Duke of York's
Island. In 1769, Captain Cook, who, with a num-
ber of scientific gendemen, had been despatched
to the South Seas, for the purpose of observing the
transit of Venus, anchored in Matavai bay. By
him the native name was affixed to the island.

SITUATION OF THE ISLANDS. 7

which, through a slight mistake ^at a foreigner
might easily make, he called Otaheite. Bougain-
ville, manifesting in this respect a nicer discrimina-
tion of sound, rejected the O, which is no part of
the name, and called it Taiti ; he however omitted
the aspirate. By the natives their island is called
Ta-hi-ti. The i having the sound of e in their lan-
guage, it is pronounced as if written in English
Ta-he-te. Captain Cook visited several parts of
Tahiti, and the neighbouring islands ; and, in ho-
nour of his majesty George III., by whom the
expedition had been sent, he designated the cluster
of which Tahiti is the principal. The Georgian
Islands : another cluster, which he discovered
about 70 miles to the westward, he called The
Society Islands, in honour of the Royal Society,
at whose recommendation the expedition had been
appointed. The Georgian Isles include Tahiti,
J^meo, Tabuaemanu or Sir Charles Sanders' Island,
Tetuaroa, Matea, and Meetia. The Society Isliands
include Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa, Borabora, Mau-
rua, Tubal, Moupiha or Lord Howe's Island, and
Fenuaura or Scilly Islands ; with the small islets
surrounding them.

The two clusters extend from 16 to 18 degrees
S. lat. and from 149 to 155 degrees W. long, and
are often included by geographical writers, among
others by M. Malte Brun, under the genersd desig-
nation of the Society Islands.* As the islands
are politically as well as geographically distinct,
I have retained the designations given by Captain
Cook, occasionally exchanging them for the terms
Windward and Leeward Islands, which are fre-
quently used by those residing and trading among
them.

* System of Geography, vol- iii. p* OSO.

8 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

The following table, principally fix>m Wallis,
Cook, and Wilson, will shew their relative situa-
tions : —

SOUTH LAT. WEST LONG.

Meatia, 17© 63' 0" . . 148o 9f 45"

Tahiti, north point, . 17 29 17 . . 149 33 15

Eimeo, 17 30 . . 160

Maiaoiti, or Sir Charles

Sander's Island, • 17 28 .. 160 40 O

Huahine, .... 10 43 .. 151 6 46

Raiatea, 16 46 .. 161 38 46

Tahaa, tiiree miles northward of Raiatea.

Borabora, .... 16 27 .. 151 62 46

Maama, «... 16 10 . . 162 30

Lord Howe's Island^ 16 46 .. 164 12 46

Scilly Island, ... 16 28 • . 165 24 46

In the preceding list I have adopted the ortho*
graphy introduced by the first Missionaries, and by
the press now established among the people. This
has not been done from caprice or affectation^ but
because the letters approach the nearest to the
signification of the sounds used by the natives
themselves. In the words Otaheite, Otahaa, &c«
sounds were exhibited which do not belong to the
names they were intended to express, and on this
account only they have been rejected.

As the native names of parsons and places wiU
unavoidably occur in the succeeding pages, a brief
notice of the sounds of the letters, and tiie division
of some of the principal words, will probably Buni-
Harize them to the eye of the reader, and facilitate
their pronunciation.

The different Polynesian dialects abound in vowel
sounds perhaps above any other language ; they
have also another striking peculiarity, that of
rejecting all double consonants, possessing inva-
riably vowel terminations, both of their syllables
and words. Every final vowel is therefore dis«

LETTERS AND LANGUAGE.

9

tinctly sounded. Several consonants used in the
English language, do not exist in that of the
Georgian and Society Islanders. There is no
sibilant, or hissing sound : s and Cj and the corre-
sponding letters, are therefore unnecessary. The
consonants that are used retain the sound usually
attached to them in English.

The natives sound the vowels with great distinct-
ness : a has the sound of a in father, e the sound of
a in fate, i that of i in marine or e in me, o that of o
in no, and u that of oo in root. The diphthong ai
is sounded as i in wine. The following are some of
the names most frequently used in the present work.

The first column presents them in the proper
syllabic divisions observed by the people. In the
second column I have endeavoured to exhibit the
native orthoepy, by employing those letters which,
according to their general use in the English
language, would secure, as nearly as possible, the
accurate pronunciation of the native words. The
h is placed after the a only to secure to that vowel
the uniform sound of a in father, or a in the inter-
jection akf or aha. Y is also placed after a, to
secure for the Tahitian vowel c, invariably the
sound of a in day-light or may-pdle.

Ta-hi-U .

Ma-ta-y6i

P6-re . .

P6-pe-^-te .

A'-te-hii-ru

Tfii-a-r4-bu .

Ei-me-o

Mo-o-T^-a

A-f&-re-ai-ta.

0'-pu-n6-hu .

Hu-a-hf-ne

NAMES OF PLACES.

pronounced as .Tah-he-te

. Mah-tah-yye

. Pae-ray
. Pah-pay-ay-tay

. Ah-tay-hoo-roo
. Tye-ah-rah-boo

. Eye-may- o
. Mo-o-ray-ah

. Ah-fah-ray-eye-toa
. O-poo-no-hoo

. Hoo-ah-he-nay

10

P6LYNESIAK RESEARCHES.

F6-re . .
Ral-a-t^-a .
0-p6-a . .
V-tu-ma6rTG
Ta-h&-a .
B6-ra'b6-ra
Mau-r(i-a
R&-pa . .
Al-tu-t^-ke
Mi-ti-&-ro .
Ma-ii-te .
A-ti-(i . .
Ra-ro-t<S-gna

or
Ra-ro-t6ii-ga
Tu-bu-ai .
Rai-va-yai
Ri-ma-t^-ra

F&h-ray
. Rye-ah-tay-ah

O-po-ah
. Oo-too-mao-ro

Tah-ha-ah
. Bo-rah-bo-rah

Mou-roo<ah
. Rah-pah

Eye-too-tah-kay
. Me-te-ah-ro

Mah-oo*tay
. Ah-rtew

Rah-ro>to-na

or
. Rah-ro-ton-ga

Too-boo-ey€
. Ry-vah-vye

Re-mah-tah-rah

NAMES OF PERSONS.

Po-m6-re .
I-di-a . . .
Ai-m&-ta .
T^-rii-t4-ri-a .
T4-ro-&-ri-i
Ma-bi-ne . .
T^rai-md-no
Ta6-a . . .
Td-ma-t6-a
Fe-n(i-a-p^-ho
Mai . . •
Au-ii6 .

. Po-mah-ray

E-dee-ah
. Eye-mah-tah

Tay-ree-tah-re-ah

Tah-^ro-ah-ree

Mah-he-nay
. Tay-rye-mah-no

Tou-ah
. Tah-mah-to-ah

Fay-noo-ah-pay-ho
.Mye

Ou-nah

A-tii-a .
Va-r6-a .
T6-a-ta .
A-ri-i . .
R&-a-ti-ra

(God)
;Spirit)
*Man)
!King)
[Chief)

. Ah-too-ah
Vah-roo-ah

. Tah-ah-tah
Ah-re-e

. Ridi-idi-te-rah.

ORIGIN OF ISLANDS. 1 1

Tahiti, the principal of the Georgian Islands, is
the most extensive and lofty of the group. It is
formed by two peninsulas, united by a long broad
isthmus. The largest is circular in form, and above
twenty miles in diameter. The smaller is oval, and
is sixteen miles long, and eight broad. The circum-
ference of the whole island is 108 miles. The whole
of the islands are mountainous in the interior, smd
have a border, from one to four miles wide, of
rich level land, extending from the base of the high
land to the sea, and though the outline of each
has some peculiarity distinguishing it from the
rest, in their general appearance they resemble
each other. Tetuaroa, Tubai, Lord Howe's, and
Scilly islands, however, form exceptions, as they
are low coral islands, seldom rising many feet
above the sea. Eimeo is supposed to be about
twenty-five miles in circumference, Huahine pro-
bably more than thirty, and Raiatea somewhat
larger. The others, though equally elevated, are of
smaller extent.

A corresponding resemblance to each other pre-
vails in the geological structure of the principal
clusters and surrounding islands ; the substances
of which the majority are composed being the same,
while each island has some distinguishing pecu-
liarity.

There is no reason to suppose that either Tahiti,
or any adjacent island, is altogether volcanic in
its origin, as Hawaii, and the whole of the Sand-
wich Islands, are. The entire mass, compos-
ing the latter, has evidently been in a state of
fusion, and in that condition has been ejected from
the focus of an immense volcano, or volcanoes, ori-
ginating, probably, at the bottom of the sea, and
forming, by their action through successive ages.

12 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

the whole group of islands ; in which nothing like
primitive or secondary rock has yet been found.
In Tahiti, and other islands of the southern clus-
ter, there are basalts, whinstone dykes, and homo-
geneous earthy lava, retaining all the convolutions
which cooling lava is known to assume ; there are
also kinds of homstone, limestone, cilex, breccia,
and other substances, which, under the action of
fire, do not appear to have altered their original
form. Some are found in detached fragments,
others in large masses.

The variety of substances found in some of the
smaller islands is greater than that which is met
with in Tahiti, or the Georgian cluster. In Bora-
bora there are masses of rock, apparently com-
posed of feldspar and quartz; and in Maupiti,
besides the common vesicular lava and the basalt
common to all the islands, a species of granite
is found in considerable abundance, which pre-
sents an anomaly as striking in the geology of
these islands, as that furnished by the existence
of carbonate of lime in the island of Rurutu, where
garnets are also obtained. Hornblende and feld-
spar are found in Huahine, as well as in some of
the other islands. Ancient lava, containing oli-
vine, augite,and zeolite, are also met with, together
with pumice and cellular lava, some kinds of which,
found in Sir Charles Sanders' Island, are of a dark
blue colour, and, though apparently containing a
portion of iron, so light as to float on the water.
Specimens of these I have by me; and a large
one of the latter kind from Sir Charles Sanders*
island, is more porous than any I ever met with
among the volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands, and
so completely honeycomb in its structure, that it
is difficult to account for its formation.

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER. IS

Strata, or veins of basalt, are frequently met with
in all the islands : they usually occur in mountains
of amygdaloid rock, or cellular volcanic stone. The
veins or strata are seldom, if ever, horizontal, but
generally perpendicular, oblique, or curved. One
of the most extensive and curious of these, is
piled up in stupendous grandeur near the head of
Matavai valley, and overhangs the mountain-stream
that flows around its base. There are several in
Huahine, which I have examined. One, on Hua-
hin4-iti, intersects, in an oblique direction with an
inclination towards the west, a large mass of pumice
and ancient porous lava ; ' another, situated on the
south-east front of Vaiorea, in the midst of a pile
of more compact and apparently recent lava, is
nearly perpendicular; both resemble very much
the whinstone dykes in the north of Ireland. The
crystallized columns or prisms are very perfectly
formed, and are laid at right angles with the posi-
tion of the vein they compose. The greater part
appear pentangular, but their shape and size is
not uniform. On comparing a very small trian-
gular crystal, which I brought from Vaiorea, with
one which I procured from the dykes near the
Giant's Causeway, the substance and structure
of each appeared nearly the saihe.

Although so many unequivocal appearances of
the action of fire occur in almost every island,
especially in those in which I have had the best
opportunity of pursuing inquiries, relative to the
probable origin of the islands, viz., Huahine, and
the small adjacent island of Vaiorea, where the
cellular rocks often present a surface, exactly
resembling that of the recently ejected and scarcely
indurated lava in Hawaii ; I never met with any
cavern, aperture, or other formation resembling a

14 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

crater ; nor have I heard of the existence of any,
with the exception of the large lake called by
the natives Vaihiria, situated among the moun-
tains of Tahiti. The wild and broken manner,
however, in which the rocks, and mountains now
appear, warrants the inference, that since their
formation, which was probably of equal antiquity
with the bed of the ocean, they have been thrown
up by some volcanic explosion, the disruptions of
an earthquake, or other violent convulsions of the
earth; and have^ from this circumstance, assumed
their bold,, irregular, and romantic forms.

Every writer on the South Sea Islands has been
lavish in praise of their scenery. Malte Brun
observes, " A new Cythera emerges from the bosom
of the enchanted wave. An amphitheatre of ver-
dure rises to our view ; tufted groves mingle their
foliage with the brilliant enamel of the meadows ;
an eternal spring, combining with an eternal au-
tumn, displays the opening blossom along with the
ripened fruits."* When speaking of Tahiti, he
remarks, that it ** has merited the title of Queen
of the Pacific Ocean.'* The descriptions in Cook's
voyages are not exaggerated, and no scenery is
adapted to produce a more powerful or delightful
impression on the mind of those who traverse the
"wide ocean, in which they are situated, than the
islands of the South Sea. The effect on my own
mind, when approaching Tahiti for the first time,
will not be easily obliterated.

The sea had been calm, the morning fair, the sky
was without a cloud, and the lightness of the breeze
had afforded us leisure for gazing upon the varied,
picturesque, and beautiful scenery of this most en-
chanting island. We had beheld successively, as
• Syst. of Ge3g. vol. iii. p. 806, Ibid. p. 63 K

GENERAL APPEARANCE^ 1^

we slowly sailed along its shore,- all the diversity
of hill and valley^ broken or stupendous moun-
tains, and rocky precipices, clothed with every
variety of verdure, from the moss of the jutting
promontories on the shore, to the deep and rich
foliage of the bread-fruit tree, the Oriental luxu-
riance of the tropical pandanus, or the waving
plumes of the lolly and graceful cocoa-nut grove.
The scene was enlivened by the waterfall on the
mountain's side, the cataract that chafed along its
rocky bed in the recesses of the ravine, or the
stream that slowly wound its way through the
fertile and cultivated valleys, and the whole was
surrounded by the white-crested watera of the
PaciiiCy rolling their waves of foam in splendid
majesty upon the coral reefs, or dashing in spray
against its broken shore.

Cataracts and waterfalls, though occasionally
seen, are not so numerous on any part of the
Tahitian coast, as in the north-eastern shores of
Hawaii. The mountains of Tahiti are less grand
and stupendous tlian those of the northern group
— but liiere is a greater richness- of verdure and
variety of landscape; the mountains are much
broken in the interior, and deep and frequent
ravines intersect their declivity from the centre to
the shore. As we advanced towards the anchor-
age, I had time to observe, not only the diversified
scenery, but the general structure and fonft, of the
island. Tahiti, excepting the border of low alluvial
land, by which it is nearly surrounded, is alto-
gether mountainous, and highest in the centre.
The mountains frequently diverge in short ranges
from the interior towards the shore, though some
rise like pyramids with pointed summits,, and others
present a conical, or sugar-loaf form, while the

16 POL Yy ESI A-N^ RESEARCHES.

outline of several is regular, and almost circular.
Orohena, the central and loftiest mountain in
Tahiti, is six or seven thousand feet above the
sea. Its summit, is generally enveloped in clouds ;
but when the sky is clear, its appearance is broken
and picturesque.

Matavai bay was the first place where we an-
chored, or had an opportunity of examining mwe
closely the country. The level land at the mouth
of the valley is broad, but along the eastern and
southern sides, the mountains approach nearer to
the sea. A dark-coloured sandy beach extends
all round the bay, except at its southern extre*
mity, near One-tree Hill, where the shore is rocky
and bold. Groves of bread-fruit and cocoa-nut
trees appear in every direction, and, amid the
luxuriance of vegetation every where presented,
the low and rustic habitations of the natives gave
a pleasing variety to the delightful scene.

In the exterior or border landscapes of Tahiti
and the other islands, there is a variety of objects,
a happy combination of land and water, of preci-
pices and plains, of trees often hanging their
branches, clothed with thick foliage, over the sea,
and distant mountains shewn in sublime outline
and richest hues ; and the whole, often blended in
the harmony of nature, produces sensations of
admiration and delight. The inland scenery is of
a different character, but not less impressive. The
landscapes are occasionally extensive, but more
frequently circumscribed. There is, however, a
startling boldness in the towering piles of basalt,
often heaped in romantic confusion near the
source or margin of some crystal stream, that
flows in silence at their base, or dashes over the
rocky fragments that arrest its progress: and

SOIL AKD PRODUCTIONS. 17

there is the wildness of romance about the deep
and lonely glens, around which the mountains rise
like the steep sides of a natural amphitheatre, till
the clouds seem supported by them — this arrests
the attention of the beholder, and for a time
suspends his faculties in mute astonishment.
There is also so much that is new in the character
and growth of trees and flowers, irregular, spon-
taneous, and luxuriant in the vegetation, which
is sustained by a prolific soil, and matured by the
genial heat of a tropic clime, that it is adapted to
produce an indescribable effect. Often, when,
either alone, or attended by one or two com-
panions, I have journeyed through some of the
mland parts of the islands, such has been the effect
of the scenery through which I have passed, and the
unbroken stillness which has pervaded the whole,
that imagination, unrestrained, might easily have
induced the delusion, that we were walking on
enchanted ground, or passing over fairy lands. It
has at such seasons appeared as if we had been
carried back to the primitive ages of the world, and
beheld the face of the earth, as it was perhaps often
exhibited, when the Creator's works were spread
over it in all their endless variety, and all the
vigour of exhaustless energy, and before population
had extended, or the genius and enterprise of man
had altered the aspect of its surface.

The valleys of Tahiti present some of the richest
inland scenery that can be imagined. Those in the
southern parts are remarkable for their beauty, but
none more so than those of Hautaua, Matavai, and
Apaiano. Those portions of them, in which the
incipient effects of civilization appear, are the most
interesting; presenting the neat white plastered
cottages in beautiful contrast with the picturesque

c

18 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

appearance of the mountains, and the rich vfeidure
of the plains.

The outline of the mountains of Eimeo, and
much of the low land, may, when the weather is
clear, be distinctly seen from Tahiti.

Moorea is the name most frequently given by
the natives to the island of Eimeo, which is
situated about twelve or fourteen miles west
from Tahiti. In the varied forms its mountains
exhibit, the verdure with which they are clothed,
and the general romantic and beautiful cha-
racter of its scenery, this island surpasses every
other in the Georgian or Society groups. The
reef of coral which, like a ring, surrounds it, is
in some places one or two miles distant from the
shore, in others united to the beach. Several small
and verdant islands adorn the reef: one lies
opposite the district of Afareaitu on the eastern
side ; and two others, a few miles south of Papetoai ;
the latter are covered with the elegantly growing
casuarina, or aito-trees, and were a favourite
retreat of Pomare the Second. Eimeo is not only
distinguished by its varied and beautiful natural
scenery, but also by the excellence of its har-
bours, which are better than those in any of the
other islands.

On the north side isTaloo harbour, in lat. 17® SCX
south, long. 150® west : one of the most secure and
delightful anchoring places to be met with in the
Pacific ; Opunohu is the proper name of this har-
bour ; near the mouth of which, on the right-hand
side, there is a small rock, called by tlie natives
Tareu^ towards which, it is possible. Captain Cook
was pointing, or looking, when he inquired of the
natives the name of the harbour his ship was then
entering. Tareu might be easily understood as if

LAND, WATER, AND PRODUCTIONS. 19

spelted Taloo, and the name of the rock thus
mistaken for that of the harbour. Separated from
Opunohu by a high mountain, is another capacious
bay, called, after its discoverer, Cook*s harbour;
it is equally convenient for anchorage with the
former, but rather more difficult of access.

On the north-eastern side of Eimeo, between
the mountain and the sea, is an extensive and
beautiful lake, called Tamai, on the border of
which stands a sequestered village, bearing the
same name. The lake is stocked with fish, and
is a place of resort for flocks of wild ducks, which
are sometimes taken in great numbers. The
rivers of Eimeo, like those of the other islands,
are but small, and are principally mountain
streams, which originate in the high lands, roll
down the rocky bottoms of the ravines, and wind
their way through the valleys to the sea. The
mountains are broken, and considerably elevated,
but not so high as those of Tahiti, which are pro-
bably 7000 feet above the level of the sea.

The South Sea islands are not more distin-
guished by the elevation of their mountains, the
picturesque outline of their landscapes, and the
richness of their verdure, than by the extent,
variety, and beauty, of those natural breakwaters
of cotcJ by which liiey are surrounded. The large
islands, though not of coral formation, all share
the advantages of that secure protection which the
reefs afford. Among the smaller islands four, viz.
Tetuaroa, Tobua, Moupiha, and Fenuaara, appear
to rest on coral foundations. The former, which
h about twenty miles north of Tahiti, includes
five small islets, the names of which are Rimatu^
Onehoa, Moturua, Hoatere, and Reiona. They
are enclosed by one reef, in which there is an

c2

20 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

Opening on the north>west, but only such as to
admit with difficulty the narrow canoes of the
natives. They are all low islands, the highest parts
being seldom three or four feet above flie water ;
the only soil they contain is composed of sand and
fragments of coral, with which is mingled vegetable
mould, produced on the spot, or carried from
Tahiti. The chief article of food produced in
these islands is the fruit of the cocoa-nut tree ;
with extensive and verdant groves of which they
are adorned. They seem, at a distance, as if they
were growing on the surface of the water, and the
roots and stems of many are washed by the spray,
or by the tide, when it rises a few inches higher
than usual. Upon the kernel of the cocoa-nut,
and the fish taken among the reefs, the inhabitants
principally subsist.

Te-tua-roa, (the long, or distant, sea,) is part of
the hereditary possessions of the reigning family
of Tahiti ; it is attached to the district of Pare,
and is said formerly to have been the depo-
sitory of the monarch's treasures. Most of the
inhabitants of these little islets occupy, under the
king, a part of his own land, from which they are
supplied with bread-fruit and taro. Tliey are
much employed in fishing, and formerly brought
over large quantities of fish, conveying in return
bread-fruit, and other edible productions, from
Tahiti. In the wars which disturbed the conclu-
sion of the reign of Pomare the First, and the
commencement of that of his successor, many of
the inhabitants were cut off; and the decrease of
population, thus occasioned, has diminished the
intercourse between these islands and Tahiti.
• In addition to the fishery carried on here,
Tetuaroa has long been a kind of watering-place

CORAL RE£F9, AND TRABE-WIND. 21

for the royal family, and a frequent resort for what
might be called the fashionable and gay of Tahiti.
Hither the areois, dancers, and singers, were
accustomed to repair, together with those whose
lives were professedly devoted to indolence and
pleasure. It was also frequented by the females
of the higher class, for the purposes of haapariy
increasing the corpulency of their persons, and
removing, by luxunous ease under the embowering
shade of the cocoa-nut groves, the dark tinge
which the vertical sun of Tahiti might have burnt
upon their complexions. So great was the inter-
course formerly, that a hundred canoes have some-
times been seen at one time on the beach.

The coral reefs, around the islands, not only
protect the low land from the violence of the sea,
but often exhibit one of tiie most sublime and
beautiful marine spectacles that it is possible to
behold. They are generally a mile, or a mile and
a half, and occasionally two miles, from the shore.
The surface of the water within the reef is placid
and transparent ; while that without, if there be
the slightest breeze, is considerably agitated ; and,
being unsheltered from the wind, is generally raised
in high and foaming waves.

The trade-¥rind, blowing constantly towards the
shore, drives the waves with violence upon the
reef, which is from five, to twenty or thirty yards
wide. The long rolling billows of the Pacific,
extending sometimes, in one unbroken line, a mile
or a mile and a half along the reef, arrested by this
natural barrier, often rise ten, twelve, or fourteen
feet above its surface ; and then, bending over it
their white foaming tops, form a graceful liquid
arch, glittering in the rays of a tropical sun, as if
studded with brilliants. But, before the eyes of

22 POLTNESIAN RESEARCHES.

the spectator can follow the splendid aqueous
gallery which they appear to lutve reared, with
loud and hollow roar they fall in magnificent
desolation, and spread the gigantic fabric in froth
and spray upon the horizontal and gently iNPoken
surface of the coral.

In each of the islands, and opposite the large
valleys, through which a stream of water falls into
the ocean, there is usually a break, or opening, in
the line of reef that surrounds the shc^e — a most
wise and beneyolent provision for the ingress and
egress of vessels, as well as a singular phenomenon
in the natural history of these marine ramparts.
Whether tlie current of fre^ water, constantly
flowing from the rivers to the ocean, prevents the
tiny architects from building their concentric walls
in one continued line, or whether in the fresh
water itself there is any quality inimical to the
growth or increase of coral, is not easy to deter-
mine ; but it is a remarkable fact, that few openings
occur in the reefs which surround the South Sea
Islands, excepting opposite those parts of the
shore from which streams of fresh water flow into
the sea. Reefs of varied, but generally circum-
scribed extent, are frequently observed within the
large outer barrier, and near the shore, or mouth
of the river ; but they are formed in shallow places,
and the coral is of a different and more slender
kind, than that of which the larger reef, rising from
the depths of the ocean , is usually composed . There
is no coral in the lagoons of the large islands.

The openings in the reefs around Sir Charles
Sanders' Island, Maurua, and other low islands,
are small and intricate, and sometimes altogether
wanting, probably because the land, composing
these islands, collects but a scanty portion of

5URRairNDi!ffO ISLETS. 23

i¥ater; and, if any, only small and frequently
interrupted streams flow into the sea. The aper-
tures in the coral beds around the larger islands,
-not only aflbid direct access to the indentations in
the coast, and the mouths of the valleys, which form
the best harbours, but secure to shipping a supply
of fresh water, in equal, if not greater abundance,
than it could be procured in any other part of the
island. The circumstance, also, of the rivers near
the harbours flowing into the sea, affords the
greatest facility in procuring fresh water, which is
so valuable to seamen.

These breaches in the reefs, in many places,
especially at Papete, or Wilks* Harbour, in Tahiti
and Afareaitu, in Moorea Fare, in Huahine, and
along the eastern side of Raiatea and Tahaa, are
not only serviceable to navigation, but highly
ornamental, and contribute much to the beauty
of the surrounding scenery. At the Ava Moa, or
Sacred Entrance leading to Opoa, there is a small
island, on which a few cocoa-nut trees are grovdng.
At Tipaemau there are two, one on each side of
the opening, rising from the extremity of the line
of reef. The little islets, elevated three or four
feet above the water, are clothed with shrubs and
verdure, and adorned with a number of lofty cocoa-
nut trees. At Te-Avapiti, several miles to the
northward of Tipaemau, and opposite the Mission*
Ary settlement — where, as its name indicates, are
two openings — there are «dso two beautiful, green,
and woody islands, on which the lowly hut of the
fisherman, or of the voyager waiting for a favour-
able wind, may be often seen. Two large and
very chamung islands adorn the entrance at Toma*
hahotu, leading to the island of Tahaa. The
largest of th^se is not more than half a mile in

24 POLYNESIAN aESEARCHES.

circumference, but both are covered with fresh and
evergreen shrubs and trees*

Detached from the large islands, and viewed in
connexion with the ocean rolling through the
channel on the one side, or the foaming billows
dashing, and roaring, and breaking over the reef
on the other, they appear like emerald gems of the
ocean, contrasting their solitude and verdant
beauty with the agitated element sporting in
grandeur around. They are useful, as well as
ornamental. .The tall cocoa-nuts that grow on
their surface, can be seen many miles distant ; and
the native mariner is tliereby enabled to steer
directly towards the spot where he knows he shall
find a passage to the shore. The constant current
passing the opening, probably deposited on the
ends of the reef fragments of coral, sea-weeds, and
drift-wood, which in time rose above the surface of
the water. Seeds borne thither by the waves, or
wafted by the winds, found a soil on which they
could germinate — decaying v^etatibn increased
the mould — and by this process it is most likely
these beautiful little fairy-looking islands were
formed on the ends of the reefs at the entrance to
the different harbours.

The Soil of the islands presents considerable
variety. The sides of the mountains are frequently
covered with a thin layer of light earth, but the
summits of many of the inferior hills present a
thick strata, or covering, of stiff red ochre, or
yellow marl. The ochre greatly resembles burnt
clay, and in the island of Rurutu, and some others
of the group, its colour is so strong as to enable
the natives to form a bright red pigment for' stain-
ing or painting thdr doors, window-shutters,
canoes, and, when mixed with lime> the walk of

FERTILITY AND CAPABILITIES. 25

their houses. This kind of ochre is seldom found
in the lofty mountains composed of basalt, or
cellular volcanic stone, but generally covers the
lower hills ^at rise between the interior mountains
and the shore. It is not peculiar to any single
island, and in some places it appears several feet in
thickness. Besides the soil on tlie sides of the
mountains and the bottom of the valleys^ around
each of the islands there are level borders of varied
breadth, sometimes three or four miles wide. This,
to the inhabitants, is the most valuable portion of
land ; here their gardens are enclosed, and hence
their chief subsistence and greatest luxuries are
derived. The soil here is a rich alluvial deposit,
with a considerable admixture of vegetable mould.
It is remarkably prolific; the only manure ever
used is decayed leaves, and these are employed
more to loosen than enrich the soil. Near the
base of the mountains, though stony, it is fertile ;
but nearer to the sea, where a considerable portion
of sand is incorporated, it is less fruitful. In many
places the sea has thrown up an embankment
along the shore, considerably higher than the
intervening space between the shore and the
mountains; extensive swamps are thus formed.
Though the effluvia arising from these marshy
places must be highly prejudicial to health, they
are generally prized by the natives, and, though
not drained, enclosed for the culture of the
different kinds of arum which constitute so great
a portion of the food of the people, when the
bread-fruit is out of season. The soil of the South
Sea Islands is not only rich, but extensive, and
capable, if cultivated, of supporting a population
nearly ten times as large as that which it now
sustains.

26 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

The Climate of the South Sea Islands is in
generad regular, and, though considerably hotter
than in Europe, is more temperate than that of the
East or West Indies, or those parts of the con-
tinent of America that are situated in the same
latitude. This is probably occasioned by the vast
expanse of ocean around; for though only 17
degrees from the equator, the thermometer, in the
shade, seldom rises higher than 90, while the
general average in some of the islands is not more
fiian 74. During the time the Duff remained in
Tahiti, from March to August, 1797, the thermo-
meter was never lower than 65 , and seldom higher
than 73; and between the months of April and
August, 1819, it ranged in the morning from 68
to 78, at noon from 75 to 84, and in the evening
from 70 to 78. Sometimes it rises for a short time
much higher than 90, but I never saw it so low as
60. The heat is constant, and, to an European,
debilitating, though much less so than that of an
Indian climate. To the natives it is genial, and,
excepting, in the immediate neighbourhood of their
stagnant waters or marshy ground, is salubrious.
They experience no inconvenience from the heat,
and often, when the mornings have been gratefully
cool to a European, they wrap themselves in their
warmest clothing.

The climate is remarkably serene and equable ;
its changes are neither violent, frequent, nor
sudden. This circumstance, were it not for the
constant heat, would render it remarkably salu-
brious. The atmosphere is moist, and the agree-
able alternations of land and sea breezes are ex-
perienced during the greater part of the year.
The refreshing land breeze sweeps down the
valleys soon after sunset, but, though grateful to

PRBVAILIKO WIlTDSy AKD BAIK. 27

the inhabitants on the shore, it extends only a short
distance oycc the ocean. The sea breeze sets in
in the forenoon. These breezes are, however,
from the circumscribed surface of land, which in
comparison with the surrounding waters is exceed-
ingly limited, more feeble and transient than those
which prevail on the shores of the continents in
the same latitude.

Strong currents of air, resembling whirlwinds,
occasionally sweep across the islands, and produce
considerable devastations among the plantations
and habitations of the people : tempests are some*
times heavy and destructive, but the islands are
never visited with those fearful hurricanes or
tornadoes, that occur in the West Indies, or in the
Indian and Chinese seas. In general, the winds
are moderate, and peculiarly refreshing.

The east, with its variations from north-east to
south-east, being the regular trade-wind, is most
prevalent, but is seldom unpleasantly violent.
Winds irom the north are often tempestuous,
more so than from the south, yet, although during
the season of variable winds, vie. from December
to March, they are strong, and continue several
days, they are not dangerous. The wind seldom
prevails from the west, among the Society Islands,
excepting in the months of December, January,
and February. At this season, though the westerly
winds are usually of short duration, they are often
heavy and boisterous. The sky is dark and
lowering, rain frequently falls in torrents, and the
weather is remarkably unsettled.

Rain is much more frequent in the Society than
in the Sandwich Islands, during the whole of the
year ; but, except in the rainy season, it is seldom
heavy or lasting : gentle showers fall, during many

28 POLTNESIAK RESEARCHES.

of the months, almost every alternate day, though
sometunes there are some weeks of dry weather.
The rainy season, the only variation of the
tropical year, occurs when the sun is vertical, and
generally continues from December to March,
At this season the rains are heavy, and often
incessant for several weeks — the streams are
swollen and muddy — the low lands overflowed —
fences washed away — and, unless great care is
taken, many plantations destroyed. The jnnds
are also variable and tempestuous, the climate
is more insalubrious, and sickness among the
people greater, than at any other period. Thunder
and lightning are frequent on the islands, espe-
cially during the rainy season. The lightnings
are vivid and awful, though not frequently injurious
to the dwellings, or fatal to the inhabitants. The
thunder is sometimes loud and terrific, often more
appalling than any I ever heard in any other parts
of the world. The awful effects of the loud and
quick-succeeding thunders is probably much in-
creased by the hilly nature of the country, which
greatly augments tiie reverberations of the deaf-
ening reports.

Among the natural phenomena of the South Sea
Islands, the tide is one of the most singular, and
presents as great an exception to the theory of Sir
Isaac Newton as is to be met with in any part of
the world. The rising and falling of the waters of
the ocean appear, if influenced at all, to be so in
a very small degree only, by the moon. The height
to which the water rises, varies but a few inches
during the whole year, and at no time is it elevated
more than a foot, or a foot and a half. The sea,
however, often rises to an unusual height, but this
appears to be the effect of a strong wind blowing for

PHENOMENA OF TIDES. 29

some time from one quarter, or the heavy swells of
the sea, which flow from different directions, and
prevail equally during the time of high and low
water. But the most remarkable circumstance is,
the uniformity of the time of high Jtnd low water.
During the year, whatever be Qie age or situation
of the moon, the water is lowest at six in the
morning, and the same hour in the evening, and
highest at noon and midnight. This is so well
established, that the time of night is marked by
the ebbing and flowing of the tide ; and, in all the
islands, the term for high water and for midnight
is the same.

30 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

CHAP. II.

Vegetable productions of the Islands — Forests — Various
kinds of timber— The Apapcf and faifai — The aito, or
casuarina — Tiairi, candlenut tree — Callophylla Bar-
ringtonia — Thespesia populnea — Erythrina — Hibiscus
—The auti, or cloth plant — Description, uses, and
legends of the sacred aoa — Account of the bread-fruit
tree and fruit — Various methods of preparing the fruit
— Arum or taro, uhi or yant— U-ma-ra, or sweet
potato — Culture, preparation, and method of dressing
the arrow-root — Appearance and value of the cocoa-
nut tree — Several stages of growth in which the fruit is
used — Manufacture of cocoa-nut oil.

The warmth of a tropical climate, and a humid
atmosphere, operating on a prolific soil, combine
to render vegetation in the South Sea Islands
rapid and luxuriant. The botany, however, of the
islands was rather abundant than diversified, when
compared with that of New Holland, or otlier
intertropical countries. But though the flora
of Polynesia is less varied and brilliant than that
of New South Wales, and among its valuable trees
fhere be neither the oak of Europe, the teak of
India, the cedar of America, the eucalypti of New
Holland, nor the pine of New Zealand, it is not
deficient in valuable timber.

Many of the inferior hills, and the sides of the
loftiest mountains, are cloUied with forests of
stately trees. Among these, the most valuable is
the apape, a tree resembling, in its habits of

VARIETY OF TREES. 31

growth, the gum of New Holland, and the pine of
New Zealand, rearing its straight and branchless
trunk, two or three feet in diameter, forty or
fifty feet, and spreading above a light crown of
pale green leaves, not much unlike the leaves of
the English ash. The wood, which is harder than
the pine, and of a beautiful pink or salmon colour,
is easily worked and durable. It is frequently
used bv the natives in building their canoes.
The faifai is another tree resembling this, but
rather smaller in size, of a bright yellow colour,
and hard texture. Numbers of small kinds of
timber are found in the mountains, but these twa
are the most valuable.

Next to these there is a numerous class that
grow on the sides of the hills, and connect the
forests of the mountains with the woods of the
valley or the plain. The principal of these is the
aito, or toa, casuarina equasitifolia ; the shape of
this tree is remarkably light and elegant, and
its appearance is superior to that of the most
graceful of the firs. The wood when first cut has
a deep' red, but on exposure to the air it assumes a
dark chesnut or black colour. It is exceedingly
hard, and more durable than M iy other in the
islands : by foreigners it is oflen ffluled iron wood ;.
and was formerly employed by the inhabitants in
the manufacture of their implements of war. The
T&v^.galaxa spartay is another large and useful
tree, growing on the sides of the mountains,
where is also found the tiairi, or candle-nut tree,
alurites triloba. The form of this tree is stately ;
the foliage, beautifully white, gives a pleasing
relief to the verdure of the mountain sides.

The most valuable and beautiful trees are those
tfcit grow in the valleys or plains :• the chief of

32 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

these is the splendid tamanu, or ati, callophyllum
tnophyllum; this, like most of the trees in the
islands, is an evergreen ; the leaves resemble those
of tlie laurel in shape, but are more dark and
shining; the trunk seldom rises above twelve or
twenty feet without branching, yet it is one of the
most magnificent trees in the country : the stem
is oflen four feet in diameter; the grain of the
wood resembles mahogany; the colour is rather
lighter, but the texture equally close, and the wood
more durable. It is one of the most valuable
kinds of timber, and is not only used by the natives
in the manufacture of their household furniture, but
as keels for their largest canoes, as it is a kind of
wood which the insects never perforate. Next to
this, the hutu. Barring tonia speciosa, is the most
splendid tree. Its growth and foliage greatly
resemble the magnolia ; and when in full bloom,
its gigantic figure, adorned with large white
flowers, whose petals are edged with bright pink,
render it a most imposing object. The trunk is
frequently three or four feet in diameter, but
though occasionally used, it is less prized than the
tamanu or tou, which is a species of cordiuy and is a
valuable tree. Next to the ati, the miro, thespesia
populnea, thougffof smaller growth, is most highly
prized by the people; the wood is durable, the
grain is close, and the colour a variegated chesnut.
The atai, though deciduous, is a beautiful tree ;
it is the erythrina coralodendron, and when in
blossom, its light green acacia foliage, adorned with a
bright red papilionaceous flowers, render It a most
pleasing object. The branches are occasionally
employed in fencing, but the wood of the trunk,
being remarkably spongy, is seldom used. The sea
shore is generally ornamented with several kinds

COVSUMPTION OF TIMBER. 33

of mimosa, but none of any great beauty or value.
One of ihe most serviceable trees is the purau, or
fau, hibiscus tiliaceus. In all the islands it is
more abundant than any other, and though gene-
rally crooked and branching, the wood is light,
tough, and durable. On account of its lightness,
elasticity, and strength, it is selected for paddles
and bows; it furnishes the best boards for the
native vessels, and its long slender branches
make excellent rafters for the ordinary dwellings.
The mara and the pua, the beslaria laurtfolia of
Parkinson, is also a useful as well as an elegant
tree, while its blossoms are among the most fra-
grant of native flowers.

To the above catalogue many others might be
added, which, though inferior in size and number,
are highly serviceable to the natives. With the
exception of the purau, most of them are of slow ^
growth. In consequence of the recent alteration
in their habits of life, timber is much more in
demand than formerly, and has of late years
become less abundant. As the natives are gene-
rally averse to planting bread-fruit trees, and for
general purposes always expect a supply of timber
from the spontaneous growUi of the forests, there is
great fear that, without more regard to the future
than they have hitherto been induced to manifest,
timber will in a few years become very scarce
among them. It is, however, to be hoped that
the great quantity they are now using, will cause
them to feel the necessity of providing for a con-
tinued supply. We have often urged it upon
their attention, but they seem to think it unne-
cessary, and perhaps the spontaneous growth may
be more rapid and abundant than we have anti-
cipated.

34 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

Next to the trees that furnish them with timber,
those plants from which they formerly procured
their clothing, require to be noticed. The most
valuable of these is the auti, mortis papyri/era,
or the Chinese paper-mulberry. The greater part
of the clotli worn in the islands is made with the
bark of this plant, which is cultivated as osiers
or willow-twigs are cultivated in England, except-
ing that, instead of a low and wet, a rich and dry
soil is selected. The bark of the bread-fruit is
also used for this purpose ; but the most singular
tree is the aoa.

Among the beautiful and diversified vegetable
productions that adorn the banks of the lake of
Maeva, is one of these trees. It stands near the
large temple of Tane,at Tama-pua, and is one of the
most ancient and extensive that I have met with in
the islands. In its growth, the aoa resembles the
banian tree of the East, and is probably a variety
of the species. The bark has a light tinge and
shining appearance, the , leaf lance-shaped and
small, of a beautiful pea-green colour. It is an
evergreen, and is props^ted by slips or branches,
which readily take root. When the stem of the
young tree is about two or three inches in
diameter, the bark immediately below the
branches, which generally spread from the trunk
about six feet above the ground, begins to open
near the lower part of the limbs. A number of
fine yellow-pointed roots protnide, and increase in
size and length every year. The branches grow
horizontally, and rather bending than otherwise :
from different parts of these, fibres shoot forth
through the bursting bark, and hang like fine
dark-brown threads. The habits of growth in
these pendulous roots are singular : sometimes

REMARKABLE TREK. 35

tliey appear like a single line, or rope, reaching
from the highest branches nearly to the ground,
where they terminate in a bunch of spreading
fibres, not unlike a tassel. At other times, while
there is one principal fibre, a number of others
branch off from this at unequal distances, from
its insertion in the bough above, and terminate in
a cluster of small fibres. The different threads
are sometimes separate from each other for a
considerable distance, and, near the bottom, unite
in one single root.

As soon as these depending fibres reach the
ground, they take root, and, in the course of a
number of years, become solid stems, covered with
a bark resembling that of the original tree, and
forming so many natural pillars to the progressively
extending branches above.

By this singular process, the aoa, at Tamapua,
appears more like a clump or grove than a single
tree. The original stem was joined by one or two,
of such dimensions, that it was not easy to dis-
tinguish the parent from the offspring; and the
fibres that had united with the ground, and thus
became so many trunks or stems of the tree,
covered a space many yards in circumference.
The lateral branches continue to extend, and
tendrils of every length and size are seen in all
directions depending from them, appearing as if
in time it would cover the face of the country with
a forest, which yet should be but a single tree.

The most remarkable appearance, however,
which the aoa presents, is when it grows near
some of the high mountain precipices that often
occur in the islands. A short distance from
Buaoa, where the rocks are exceedingly steep, and
ftbnost perpendicular for a hundred feet or more,

d2

36 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

an aoa appears to have been planted near the ibot
of the rocky pile, and the tender fibres protruded
from the branches, being nearer the rocks at the
side than the ground below, have been attracted
towards the {Nrecipice. From this, fresh nourish-
ment has been derived ; the tree has continued to
ascend, and throw out new fibres still higher, till it
has reached the top. Here a branching tree has
flourished, exhibiting all the peculiarities of the
aoa ; while the root, and that part growing along
the face of the rock, resemble a strong interwoven
hedge, extending from the base to the summit of
the precipice.

The account of the origin of this tree is one of
the most fabulous of native legends : it states that
the moon is diversified with hill and valley like
our earth, that it is adorned with trees, and among
these the aoa, the shadow of whose spreading
branches, the Polynesians suppose, occasions the
dark parts in her surface. They state that, in an-
cient times, a bird flew to the moon, and plucked
the berries of the aoa; these are smaller than
grapes ; the bird readily carried them, and, flying
over the islands, dropped some of the seeds,
which, germinating in the soil, produced the
aoa tree.

Nearly allied to the aoa, is the mate,^ctfs pro^
lixa, an useful tree, its berries furnishing a beauti-^
fill scarlet dye, and its bark supplying the cord for
the manufacture of the large and durable nets
employed in taking salmon. The romaha, urtica
argentea, is also a valuable plant, with the bark
of which, the natives twist their strong and elastic
fishing-lines, and the cord for their smaller nets.

The vegetable productions, from which the
inhabitants derive a great part of their subsist-

BREAD-FRUIT TREE. 39

ence, are numerous, varied, and valuable : among
these, the first that demands notice is the bread-
fruit tree, ar^ocarpu^, being in greater abundance,
and in more general use, than any other. - The tree
is large and umbrageous ; the bark is light-coloured
and rough ; the trunk is sometimes two or three feet
in diameter, and rises from twelve to twenty feet
without a branch. The outline of the tree is
remarkably beautiful, the leaves are broad, and
indented somewhat like those of the fig-tree, fre-
quently twelve or eighteen inches long, and rather
thick, of a dark green colour, with a surface glossy
as that of the richest evergreen.

The fruit is generally circular or oval, and is, on
an average, six inches in diameter ; it is covered
with a roughish rind, which is marked with small
square or lozenge-shaped divisions, having each a
small elevation in the centre, and is at first of a
light pea-green colour; subsequently it changes to
brown, and when fully ripe assumes a rich yel-
Ipw tinge. It is attached to the small branches
of the tree by a short thick stalk, and hangs either
singly, or in clusters of two or three together. The
pulp is soft ; in the centre there is a hard kind of
eore extending from the stalk to the crown, around
which a few imperfect seeds are formed.

Tliere is nodiing very pleasing in the blossom ;
but a stately ti^e, clothed with dark shining leaves,
and loaded with many hundreds of large light
green or yellowish coloured fruit, is one of the
most splendid and beautiful objects to be met
with among the rich and diversified scenery of a
Tahitian landscape. Two or three of these trees
are often seen growing around a rustic cottage,
and embowering it with their interwoven and pro-
lific branches. The tree is propagated by shoots

40 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

from the root, it bears in about five years, and
will probably continue bearing fifty or sixty.

The bread-fruit is never eaten raw, except by
pigs ; the natives, however, have several methods
of dressing it. When travelling on a journey,
they often roast it in the flame or embers of a
wood-fire ; and, peeling off the rind, eat the fruit :
this mode of dressing is called tunupa, crust or shell
roasting. Sometimes, when thus dressed, it is im-
mersed in a stream of water, and, when completely
saturated, forms a soft, sweet, spongy pulp, or sort of
paste ; of which the natives are exceedingly fond.

The general and best way of dressing the bread-
fruit, is by baking it in an oven of heated stones.
The rind is scraped off, each fruit is cut into
three or four pieces, and the core carefully taken
out ; heated stones are then spread over the bottom
of the cavity forming the oven, and covered with
leaves, upon which the pieces of bread-fruit are
placed ; a layer of green leaves is strewn over the
fruit, and other heated stones are laid on the top ;
the whole is then covered with earth and leaves^
several inches in depth. In this state^ the oven
remains half an hour or longer, when the earth
and leaves are removed, and the {»eces of bread-
fruit taken out ; the outsides are in general nicely
browned, and the inner part presents a white or
yellowish, cellular, pulpy substance, in appear-
ance slightly resembling the crumb of a small
wheaten loaf. Its colour, size, and structure are,
however, the only resemblance it has to bread. It
has but little taste, and that is frequently rather
sweet ; it is somewhat farinaceous, but not so much
so as several other vegetables, and probably less so
than the English potato, to which in flavour it is
also inferior. It is slightly astringent^ and> as a

QUALITIES OF BREAD-FAUIT. 41

vegetable, it is good, but is a very iadifferent substi-
tute for English bread.

To the natives of the South Sea Islands it is the
principal article of diet, and may indeed be culled
their staff of life. They are exceedingly fond of
it, and it is evidently adapted to their constitutioos^
and highly nutritive, as a very perceptible improve-
ment is often manifest in the appearance of many
of the people, a few weeks after the bread-fruit
season nas commenced. For the chiefs, it is
usually dressed two or three times a day ; but the
peasantry, &c. seldom prepare more than one oven
during the same period; and frequently tihanai
or bake it again, on the second day.

During the bread-fruit season, the inhabitants
of a district sometimes join, to prepare a quau«
tity of opio. This is generally baked in a pro-
digious oven. A pit, twenty or thirty feet in
circumference, is dug out ; the bottom is mled with
stones, logs of firewood are piled upon them, and
the whole is covered with large stones. The wood
is then kindled, and the heat is often so intense, as
to reduce the stones to a state of liquefaction.
When thoroughly heated, the stones are removed
to the sides ; many hundred ripe bread-fruit are
then thrown in, just as they have been gathered
from the trees, and are piled up in the centre of
the pit ; a few leaves are spreaa upon them, the
remaining hot stones built up like an arch over tlie
heap, and the whole is covered, a foot or eighteen
inches thick, with leaves and earth. In this state
it remains a day or two ; a hole is then dug on one
side, and the parties to whom it belongs take out
what they want, till the whole is consumed. Bread-
fruit baked in this manner, will keep good several
weeks after the oven is opened.

42 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

■ Although the general or district ovens of opio
were in their tendency less injurious than the
public stills, often erected in the different districts,
they were usually attended with debauchery and
excess, highly injurious to the health and debasing
to the morals of the people, who frequently relin-
quished their ordinary employment, and devoted
tiieir nights and days to mere animal existence, of
the lowest kind — ^rioting, feasting, and sleeping,
until the opio was consumed. Within the last ten
years, very few ovens of opio have been prepared,
those have been comparatively small, and they are
now almost entirely discontinued.

Another mode of preserving the bread-fruit is
by submitting it to a slight degree of fermentation,
and reducing it to a soft substance, which they
call mahi. When the fruit is ripe, a large quiantity
is gathered, the rind scraped off, the core taken
oiit, and the whole thrown in a heap. In this
state it remains until it has undergone the process
of fermentation, when it is beaten into a kind of
paste. A hole is now dug in the ground, the
bottom and sides of which are lined with green ti
leaves ; the mahi is put into the pit, covered over
with ti leaves, and then with earth or stones. In
this state it may be preserved several months;
and, afthough rather sour and indigestible, it is
generally esteemed by the natives as a good
article of food during the scarce season. Previ-
ous to its being eaten, it is rolled up in small
portions, enclosed in bread-fruit leaves, and baked
in the native ovens.

The tree on which the bread-fruit grows, besides
producing two, and in some cases three crops in a
year, of so excellent an article of food, furnishes a
valuable gum, or resin, which exudes from the

VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES. 43

bark, when punctured, in a thick mucilaginous
fluid, which is hardened by exposure to the sun,
and is serviceable in rendering water-tight the
seams of their canoes. The bark of the young
branches is used in making several varieties of
native cloth. The trunk of the tree also furnishes
one of the most valuable kinds of timber which the
natives possess, it being used in building their
canoes and houses, and in the manufacture of
several articles of furniture. It is of a rich yellow
colour, and assumes, from the effects of tiie air,
the appearance of mahogany ; it is not tough, but
durable when not exposed to the weather.

It is very probable, that in no group of the
Pacific Islands is there a greater variety in the
kinds of this valuable fruit, than in the South Sea
Islands. The several varieties ripen at different
seasons, and the same kinds also come to perfec-
tion at an earlier period in one part of Tahiti than
in another ; so that there are but few months in
the year in which ripe fruit is' not' to be found in
the several parts of this island. The Missionaries
are acquainted with nearly fifty varieties, for which
the natives have distinct names — these, as col-
lected by one of the first Missionaries, I have by
me, but it is unnecessary to insert them — ^th«
principal are, the paea^ artocarpus incisa, and the
uru Tnaohe, artocarpus integrifolia.

Next to the bread-fruit, the tarOy or aruniy is
the most serviceable article of food the natives
possess, and its culture receives a considerable
share of their attention. It has a large, solid,
tuberous root, of an oblong shape, sometimes nine
or twelve inches in length, and five or six in diame-
ter. The plant has no stalk; the broad heart-
shaped leaves rise from the upper end of the root,

44 POLTNESIAK RESEARCHES.

and the flower is contained in a sheath or spathe.
There are several varieties; for thirty-three of
which the natives have distinct names; and, as
the plant is found to thrive best in moist situa-
tions, it is cultivated in low marshy parts. A large
kind, called ape, arum costatuniy which is fre-
quently planted in the dry grounds, is also Used in
some seasons, but is considered inferior to the
taro.

All the vaneties are so exceedingly acrid and
pungent in their raw state, as to cause the greatest
pain, if not excoriation, should they be applied to
the tongue or palate. They are always baked in
the same manner as bread-fruit is dressed ; the
rind, or skin, being first scraped off with a shell.
The roots are solid, aiid generally of a mottled
green or gray colour ; and when baked, are pala-
table, farinaceous, and nutritive, resembling the
Irish potato as much as any other root in the
islands.

The different varieties of arum are propagated
either by transplanting the small tubers, which they
call pohiri, that grow round the principal root, or
setting the top or crown of those roots used for
food. When destitute of foreign supplies, we
have attempted to make flour with both the bread-
fruit and uie taro, by employing the natives to
scrape the root and fruit into a kind of pulpy
paste, then drying it in the sun, and grinding it in
a hand-mill. The taro in this state was sometimes
rather improved, but the bread-fruit seldom is so
good as when dressed immediately after it has
been gathered.

The uhiy or yam, dioscoria alata^ a most valuable
root, appears to be indigenous in most of the South
Sea Islands, and grows remarkably well. Several

YAMS AND POTATOES. 45

kinds flourish in the mountains ; the shape of the
root is generally long and round, and the substance
rather fibrous, but remarkably farinaceous and
sweet. The kind most in use is generally of a
dark brown colour, with a roughish skin; it is
called by the natives ohura.

The yam is cuhivated with much care, though
to no very great extent, on account of the labour
and attention required. The sides of the inferior
hills, and the sunny banks occasionally met with in
the bottoms of the valleys, are selected for its
growth. Here, a number of small terraces are
formed one above another, covered with a mixture
of rich earth and decayed leaves. The roots
intended for planting are kept in baskets till they
begin to sprout ; a yam is then taken, and each
eye, or sprout, cut off, with a part of the outside
of the root, an inch long and a quarter of an inch
thick, attached to it ; these pieces, sometimes con-
taining two eyes each, are spread upon a board,
and left in some part of the house to dry; the
remainder of the root is baked and eaten. This
mode of preparing the parts for planting does not
appear to result from motives of economy, as is the
case in some parts where the Irish potato is pre-
pared for planting in a similar manner; but
because the natives imagine it is better thus to
plant the eyes when they first begin to open, or
germinate, with only a small part of the root, than
to plant the whole yam, which they say is likely to
rot. Whether the same plan might be adopted in
planting the sweet potato, and other roots, I am
not prepared to say, as it is only in raising the
yam that it is practised in the horticulture of the
natives. When the pieces are sufficiently dry,
they are carefully put in the ground with the

46 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

sprouts apperinost, a smail portion of dried leaves
is laid upon each, and the whole lightly covered
with mould. When the roots begin to swell, the
cultivators watch their enlargement, and keep
them covered with light rich earth, which is gene-
rally spread over them about an inch in thickness.
The yam is one of the best flavoured and most
nutritive roots which the islands produce. The
natives usually bake them; they are, however,
equally good when boiled ; and, as they may be
preserved longer out of the ground than any other,
they are the most valuable sea-stock to be pro-
cured ; and it is to be regretted that they are not
more generally cultivated. Few are reared in the
Georgian Islands; more perhaps in the Society
cluster ; but Sir Charles Sanders' Island is more
celebrated for its yams than any other of the

The umaray or sweet potato, convolvulus data-
tuSy or chrysorizus, is grown by the natives as an
article of food. The richest black mould is chosen
for its culture ; and the earth is raised in mounds
nine or ten feet in diameter, and about three feet
high. They do not plant the roots ; but in the
top of these mounds insert a small bunch of the
vines, which germinating, produce the tuberous
roots eaten by the natives. In the Sandvdch
Islands, the sweet potato is one of the principal
means of subsistence; here it is only partially
cultivated, and is greatly inferior to those grown
in the northern islands, probably from the differ-
ence of soil and climate. The roots are large, and
covered with a thin smooth skin. In size, shape,
and structure, they resemble several kinds of the
Irish potato. The umara is very sweet, seldom
mealy, and sometimes quite soft, but altogether

EDIBLE VEGETABLES. 47

less palatable than the taro or the yam. It is
dressed by the natives in their stone ovens, and is
only used when the bread-fruit is scarce.

Patara, is a root growing wild in the valleys, in
shape and taste resembling a potato more than any
other root found in Tahiti. It is highly farina-
ceous, though less nutritive than the yam; the
stem resembles the woodbine or convolvulus. The
natives say the flower is small and white ; I neve
saw one, for it is not cultivated, and but seldom
souglit, as the tuberous root is small, and more
than two are seldom found attached to the same
vine or stalk.

The natives are acquainted with rice; but,
although both the soil and climate would probably
favour its growth, it has not yet been added to the
edibles of Tahiti. We have not been very anxious
to introduce it, as the quantity of water required
for its culture, would, we have supposed, ipduce in
such a climate a state of atmosphere by no means
conducive to health. But though they have not
rice, they have a plant which t]bey call hoi, the
shape and growth of which resemble the patara ;
but in taste and appearance it is so much like
rice,- that the natives call the latter by the native
designation of the former. It is very insipid, and
only sought in seasons of scarcity.

The pia, or arrow-root, chailea tacca, is indige-
nous and abundant. It is sometimes cultivated ;
but in most of the islands it grows spontaneously
on vthe high sandy banks near the sea, or on the
sides of the lower mountains, and appears to
thrive in a light soil and .dry situation. Though
evidently of a superior quality, and capable of
being procured in any quantity, it requires some
labour to render it fit for food, and on this account

48 FOLTKBSIAM &EBEARCHBS.

it wa« not extensiTely used by the nativea, but
formed rather a variety in their dishes at public
feastings, than an article of general consumption.

He growth of the arrow-root resembles that of
the potato. Although indigenous,' and growing
spontaneously, it is occasionally cultivated in the
native gardens, by which means finer roots are
procured. When it is raised in this manner, a
single root uncut is planted ; a number of tuberous
roots, about the size of large new potatoes, are
formed at the estremities of fibres, proceeding
fifom the root which had been planted. The
leaves are of a light green colour, and deeply
indented ; they are not attached to one common
stem, but the stalk of each distinct leaf proceeds
from the root. The stalk, bearing the flower,
rises in a single shaft, resembling a reed, or arrow,
three or four feet high, crowned with a tuft of light
pea-green petalled flowers. These are succeeded
by a bunch of green berries, resembling the berries
of the potato. To the shape and size of the reed
or shaft bearing the flower, the arrow-root is
probably indebted for its name.

When the leaves from the stalk dry or decay,

the roots are dug up and washed ; after which the

rind is scraped off with a cowrie shell. The root is

then grated on a piece of coral, and the pulp

pressed through a sieve made with the wiry fibrous

matting of the cocoa-nut husk. This is designed

to remove the fibres and other woody matter which

the root may contain. The pulp, or powder, is

>f water, placed beneath

er having been repeat-

I subside to the bottom,

oS", Fresh water is

it flows from the pulp,

ARROW- EOOT, COCOA-HUT, ETC. 49

tasteless and colourless; the arrow-root is then
taken out, dried in the sun, and is fit for use.

Simple as this process is, it requires considerable
care to dry it properly. When partially dry, the
natives were formerly accustomed to knead or
roll it up in circular masses, containing six or
seven pounds each, and in this state expose it to
the sun till sufficiently dry to be preserved
for use. By this process they prepared much
that has been exported from the islands, which
may account for its inferior colour, as the whole
mass was seldom sufficiently dry to prevent its
turning mouldy, and assuming a brown or unfa-
vourable colour.

They had no means of boiling it, but were
accustomed to put a quantity of the arrow-root
powder with the expressed milk from the kernel of
the cocoa-nut into a large wooden tray, or dish ;
and, having mixed them well together, to throw
in a number of red-hot stones, which being moved
about by thin white sticks, heated the whole mass
nearly to boiling, and occasioned it to assume a
thick, broken, jellied appearance. In this state
it is served up in baskets of cocoa-nut leaves, and
is a very rich sweet kind of food, usually forming a
part of every public entertainment.

Arrow-root has recently been prepared in large
quantities, as an article of exportation to England ;
but although it is equal to that brought from the
West Indies, it has not been so well cleaned,
dried, or packed, and has consequently appeared
very inferior when it has been brought into the
market. There is reason, however', to believe, that
when the natives shall have acquired better methods
of preparing their arrow-root, it may become a
valuable article of commerce.

E

50 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

There is a very large and beautiful species of
fern, called by the natives^ nahe; the leaves of
which are fragrant, and,^ in seasons of scarcity, the
large tuberous kind of root is baked and eaten.
It is insipid, affords but little nutriment, and is
only resorted to when other supplies fail. It is
altogether a different plant from the fern, the
root of which is eaten by the natives of New
Zealand. The berries, or apples, of the nono, wio-
rindo citrifolia, and the stalks of the pohue, con-
volvulus BrasiliensiSy are also eaten in times of
^Bunine.

The fruits of the islands are not so numerous as
in some continental countries of similar tem-
perature, but they are valuable ; and, next to the
bread-fruit, the kaari, or cocoa-nut, coccos nuci-
Jera, is the most serviceable. The tree on which
it grows is also one of the most useful and
ornamental in the islands, imparting to the land-
scape, in which it forms a conspicuous object,
all the richness and elegance of intertropical-
verdure.

The stem is perfectly cylindrical, three or four
feet in diameter at the root, very gradually taper-
ing to the top, where it is probably not more than
eighteen inches round. It is one single stem from
the root to the crown, composed apparently of a
vast number of small hollow reeds, united by a
kind of resinous pith, and enclosed in a rough,
brittle, and exceedingly hard bark. The stem is
without branch or leaf, excepting at the top, where
a beautiful crown or tuft of long green leaves
appears like a graceful plume waving in the fitful
breeze, or nodding over the spreading wood, or
the humble shrubbery. The nut begins to grow
in a fev months after it is planted ; in about five

COCOA-NUT TREE. 51

or six years, the stem is seven or eight feet high,
and the tree begins to bear. It continues to gi*ow
and bear fifty or sixty years, or perhaps longer,
as there are many groves of trees, apparently in
their highest perfection, which were planted by
Pomare nearly forty years ago. While the plants
are young, they require fencing, in order to protect
them from the pigs ; but after the crown has reached
a few feet above the ground, the plants require no
further care.

The bread-fruit, the plantain, and almost every
other tree furnishing any valuable fruit, arrives at
perfection only in the most fertile soil ; but the
eocoa-nut, although it will grow in the rich
bottoms of the valleys, and by the side of the
streams that flow through them, yet flourishes
equally on the barren sea-beach, amid fragments
of coral and sand, where its roots are washed by
every rising tide ; and on the sun-burnt sides of
the mountains, where the soil is shallow, and
remote ^m the streams so favourable to vege-
tation.

The trunk of the tree is used for a variety of
purposes : their best spears were made with cocoa-
nut wood; wait plates, rafters, and pillars for
their laiger houses, were often of the same ma-
terial ; their instruments for splitting bread-fruit,
their rollers for their canoes, and also their most
durable fences, were made with its trunk. It is
also a valuable kind of fuel, and makes excellent
charcoal.

The timber is not the only valuable article the
cocoa-nut tree furnishes. The leaves, called niau,
are composed of strong stalks twelve or fifteen feet
long. A number of long narrow pointed leaflets
are ranged alternately on opposite sidea. The

e2

52 POLYNESIAK a£SEA&CH£S.

leaflets are often plaited, when the whole leaf is
called paua^ and forms an excellent skreen for the
sides of their houses, or covering for their floors.
Several kinds of baskets are also made with the
leaves, one of which, called arairiy is neat, con-
venient, and durable. They were ^so plaited for
bonnets or shades for the foreheads and eyes^ and
were worn by both sexes. In many of their
religious ceremonies they were used, and the niau^
or leaf, was also an emblem of authority, and was
sent by the chief to his dependents, when any
requisition was made : through the cocoa-nut leaf
tied to the sacrifice the god was supposed to enter ;
and by the same road the evil spirits, who, it was
imagined, tormented those affected with diseases
were driven out. Bunches or strings of the
leaflets were also suspended in the temple on
certain occasions, and answered the same purpose
as beads in Roman Catholic worship, reminding the
priest or the worshipper of the order of his prayers.
On the tough and stiff stalks of the leaflets, the
candle-nuts, employed for lighting their houses,
were strung when used.

Round that part of the stem of the leaf which is
attached to the trunk of the tree, there is a sin-
gular provision of nature, for the security of the
long leaves against the violence of the winds,
A remarkably flne, strong, fibrous matting, at-
tached to the bark under the bottom of the stalky
extending half way round the trunk, and reaching
perhaps two or three feet up the leaf, acting like
k bracing oif network to each side of the stalk,
keeps it steadily fixed to the trunk. While the
leaves are young, this substance is remarkably
white, transparent, and as fine in texture as silver
paper. • In this state it is occasionally cut into

VARIETY OF USES. 53

long narrow slips, tied up in bunches, and used by
the natives to ornament their hair. Its remarkable
flexibility, beautiful whiteness, and glossy surface,
render it a singularly novel, light, and elegant
plume ; the effect of which is heightened by its
contrast with the black and shining ringlets of the
native hair it surmounts. As the leaf increases in
size, and the matting is exposed to the air, it be-
comes coarser and stronger, assuming a yellowish
colour, and is called aa.

There is a kind of seam along the centre,
exactly under the stem of the leaf, from both sides
of which long and tough fibres, about the size of a
bristle, regularly diverge in an oblique direction.
Sometimes there appear to be two layers of fibres,
which cross each other, and the whole is cemented
with a still finer, fibrous, and adhesive substance.
The length and evenness of thie threads or fibres,
the regular manner in which they cross each other
at oblique angles ; the extent of surface, and the
thickness of the piece, corresponding with that
of coarse cotton . cloth ; the singular manner in
which the fibres are attached to each other-
cause this curious substance, woven in the loom
of nature, to present to the eye a remarkable
resemblance to cloth spun and woven by human
ingenuity.

This iiingular fibrous matting is sometimes taken
off by the natives in pieces two or three feet wide,
and tised as wrapping for their arrow-root, or made
into bags. It is also occasionally employed in
preparing articles of clothing. Jackets, coats, and
even shirts, are made witfi the aa, though the
coarsest linen cloth would be much more soft and
flexible. To these shirts the natives generally fix
a cotton collar and wristbands, and seem sliscepti-

64 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

ble of but little irritation from its wiry texture and
surface. It is a favourite dress with the fishermen,
and others occupied on the sea.

The fruit, however, is the most valuable part of
this serviceable, hardy, and beautiful plant. The
flowers are small and white, insignificant when
compared with the size of the tree or the fruit.
They are ranged along the sides of a tough, succu-
lent, branching stalk, surrounded by a sheath,
which the natives call aroe^ and are fixed to the
trunk of the tree, immediately above the bottom
of the leaf. Fruit in every stage, from the first
formation after the falling of the blossom, to the
hard, dry, ripe, and full-grown nut, that has almost
begun to germinate, may be seen at one time on
the same tree, and frequently fruit in several dis-
tinct stages on the same bunch, attached to the
trunk of the same stalk.

The tree is slow in growth, and the fruit does
not, probably, come to perfection in much less
than twelve months after the blossoms have fallen.
A bunch will sometimes contain twenty or thirty
nuts, and there are, perhaps, six or seven bunches
on the tree at a time. Each nut is surrounded by
a tough fibrous husk, in some parts two inches
thick; and when it has reached its frill size^ it
contains, enclosed in a soft white shell, a pint or a
pint and a half of the juice usually called cocoa-
nut milk.

There is at this time no pulp whatever in the
iiiside. In this stage of its growth the nut is called
outty and the liquid is preferred to that found in the
nut in any other state. It is perfectly clear, and
in taste combines a degree of acidity and sweet-
ness, which renders it equal to the best lemonade.
No accurate idea of the consistence and taste of

FRUIT, AND OEEMIKATING PROCESS. 55

the juice of the cocoa-nut can be fbnned from
that found in the nuts brought to England. These
are old and dry, and the fluid comparatively ran-
cid; in this state they are never used by the
natives, except for the purpose of planting or ex-
tracting oil. The shell of the auo, or young cocoa-
nut, is used medicinally.

In a few weeks after the nut has reached its full
size, a soft white pulp, remarkably delicate and
sweet, resembling, in consistence and appearance,
the white of a slightly boiled egg, is formed around
the inside of the shell. In this state it is called
niaa, and is eaten by the chiefs as an article of
luxury, and used in preparing many of what may
be called the made-dishes of Tahitian banquets.
After r^naining a month or six weeks longer, the
pulp on the inside becomes much firmer, and
rather more than half an inch in thickness. The
juice assumes a whitish colour, and a Sharper
taste. It is now called omotOy and is not so much
used. If allowed to hang two or three months
longer on the tree, the outside skin becomes yel-
low and brown, the shell hardens, the kernel
increases to an inch or an inch and a quarter in
thickness, and the liquid is reduced to less than
half a pint. It is now called opaa, and, after
hanging some months on the tree, falls to the
ground. The hard nut is sometimes broken in
two, and broiled, or eaten as taken from the tree,
but is generally used in making oil

If the cocoa-nut be kept long after it is fully
ripe, a white, sweet, spongy substance is formed
in the inside, originating at the inner end of the
germ which is enclosed in the kernel, immediately
opposite one of the three apertures or eyes, in the
sharpest end of tlie shell, which is opposite to that

56 POLTNESIAK RESEARCHES.

w4iere the stalk is united to the husk. This fibrous
sponge ultimately absorbs the water, and fills the
concavity, dissolving 'the hard kernel, and com-
bining it with its own substance, so that the shell,
instead of containing a kernel and milk, encloses
only a soft cellular substance. While this truly
wonderful process is going on within the nut, a
single bud or shoot, of a white colour but hard
texture, forces its way through one of the holes in
the shell, perforates the tough fibrous husk, and,
after rising some inches, begins to unfold its pale
green leaves to the light and the air ; at this time,
also, two thick white fibres, originating in the same
point, push away the stoppers or coverings from the
other two holes in the shell, pierce the husk in an
opposite direction, and finally penetrate the ground.
If allowed to remain, the shell, which no knife
would cut, and which a saw would scarcely pene-
trate, is burst by an expansive power, generated
within itself; the husk and the shell gradually
decay, and, forming a light manure, facilitate the
growth of the young plant, which gradually strikes
its roots deeper, elevates its stalk, and expands its
leaves, until it becomes a lofty, fruitful, and grace^
ful tree.

There are many varieties of the cocoa-nut tree,
in some of which the fruit is rather small and
sweet. For each variety the natives have a
distinct name, as well as for the same nut in its
different stages of perfection. I have the names
of six sorts, but it is unnecessary to insert them.

The juice of the nuts growing on the sea-shore
does not appear to partake, in any degree, of the
saline property of the water that must constantly
moisten die roots of the tree. The milk of the
nuts from the sandy beach or the rocky mountain,

COCOA-NUT TRBE. 67

is often as sweet and as rich as that grown in the
most fertile parts of the yalley.

On first arriving in the islands, we used the
cocoa-nut milk freely, but subsequently pre-
ferred plain water as a beverage ; not that the
milk became less agreeable, but because we sup-
posed, perhaps erroneously, the free use of it
predisposed to certain dropsical complaints pre-
valent among the people.

The cocoa-nut trees are remarkably high, some-
times sixty or seventy feet, with only a tuft of
leaves, and a number of- bunches of fruit, on
the top; yet the natives gather the fruit with
comparative ease. A little boy strips off a piece
of bark from a purau, branch, and fastens it
round his feet, leaving a space of four or five
inches between them, and then, clasping the tree,
he vaults up its trunk with greater agility and ease
than a European could ascend a ladder to an
equal elevation. When they gather a bunch at
a time, they lower them down by a rope ; but
when they pluck the firuit singly, tney cast them
on the ground. In throwing down the nuts, they
give them a whirling motion, that they may fall on
the point, and not on the side, whereby they would
be likely to burst.

Cocoa-nuts were formerly a considerable article
of food among the common people, and were
used with profusion on every feast of the chiefs ;
but for some years past they have been pre-
served, and allowed to ripen on the tree, for
the purpose of preparing oil, which has recently
become an article of exportation, although the
value is so small as to afford but little encourage-
ment to its extended manufacture.

58 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

The cocoa-nut oil is procured from the pulp,
and is prepared by grating the kernel of the old
nut, and depositing it in a long wooden trough,
usually the hollow trunk of a tree. This is
placed in the sun every morning, and exposed
during the day; after a few days the grated
nut is piled up in heaps in the trough, leaving
a small space between each heap. As the oil
exudes, it drains into the hollows, whence it is
scooped in bamboo canes, and preserved for sale
or use. After the oil ceases to collect in the
trough, the kernel is put into a bag, of the matted
fibres, and submitted to the action of a rude lever
press; but the additional quantity of oil, thus
obtained, is inferior in quality to that produced
by the heat of the sun. This process requires
considerable labour for the grating of the kernel by
the hand ; but it is probable, should its manufac-
ture be continued, that mills will be erected for
bruising the pulp.

In addition to these advantages, the shells of
the large old cocoa-nuts are used as water-bottles,
the largest of which will hold a quart; they are of a
black colour, often highly polished, and, with care,
last a number of years. All the cups and drinking
vessels of the natives are made with cocoa-nut
shells, usually of the omoto, which is of a yellow
colour. It is scraped very thin, and is often
slightly transparent. Their ava cups were gene-
rally black, highly polished, and sometimes inge-
niously carved with a variety of devices, but the
Tahitians did not excel in carving. The fibres of
the husk are separated from the pulp by soaking
them in water, and are used in making various
kinds of cinet and cordage, especially a valuable

BOUNTY OF THE CREATOR. 59

coiar rope; and, as the pious Herbert sung two
hundred years ago,

^ The Indian's nut alone
Ig clothing, meat and trencher, drink and can,
Boat, cable, sail and needle, all in one."

It is impossible to contemplate either the bread-
fruit or cocoa-nut tree, m their gigantic and
spontaneous growth, their majestic appearance,
the value and abundance of their fruit, and the
varied purposes to which they are subservient,
without admiring the wisdom and benevolence
of the Creator, and his distinguishing kindness
towards the inhabitants of these interesting
islands.

60 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

CHAP. III.

Varieties and appearance of the plantain and banana —
Vi or Brazilian plum — A-hi-a or jambo — Singular
growth of the inocarpus, or native chesnut — Different
kinds of tt, or DraoanaB — ^To, or sugar-cane — Foreign
fruits and vegetables that flourish in Polynesia — Value
of a garden in the South Sea Islands — Unsuccessful
attempts to introduce v^heat — Introduction of cofi'ee —
Native and foreign flowers — ^Tradition of the origin of the
bread-fruit — Quadrupeds^- Absence of venomous animals
and reptiles — Manner of rearing pigs — Birds of the
South Sea Islands — ^Albatross — Pigeons — Domestic
fowls— Number and variety of fish on the coasts, and
in the lakes and rivers.

More rich and sweet to the taste, though far less
serviceable as an article of food, is the maiay plan-
tain and banana, musa paradisaica and musa
sapientum. These are also indigenous, although
generally cultivated in the native gardens. They
are a rich nutritive fruit, common within the tro-
pics, and so generaUy known as to need no parti-
cular description here. There are not, perhaps,
fewer than thirty varieties cultivated by the natives,
besides nearly twenty kinds, very large and ser-
viceable, that grow wild in the mountains. The
orea, or maiden plantain, with the other varieties,
comes to the highest perifection in the South Sea
Islands, and is a delicious fruit. The stalk, or
tree, on which these fruits grow, is seldom above
eight or twelve feet high ; the leaves are fine broad
specimens of the luxuriance of tropical vegetation.

PLANTAIN AND BANANA* 61

being frequently twelve or sixteen feet long,
eighteen inches or two feet wide, of a beautiful
pea-green colour when fresh, and a rich bright
yellow when dry. The fruit is about nine inches
long, and in shape somewhat like a cucumber,
excepting that the angles are frequently well de-
fined, which gives to the fruit, when ripe, the ap-
pearance of a triangidar or quadrangular prism of a
bright delicate yellow colour. Sixty or seventy
single fruit are occasionally attached to one stalk.
Each plantain stem, or tree, produces only one
bunch of fruit ; and when the fruit is ripe, it is cut
down, and its place supplied by the suckers that
rise around the root whence it originally sprung.
If the suckers, or offsets, be four or five feet high
when the parent stem is cut down, they will bear
in about twelve months.

The fruit is not often allowed to ripen on the
trees, but it is generally cut down as soon as it has
reached its full size, and while yet green ; the bunch
is then hung up in the native houses to ripen,
and is eaten as the fruit turns yellow. When
they wish to accelerate their ripeness for a public
entertainment, they cut them down green, wrap
them in leaves, and bury them thirty-six or forty-
eight hours in the earth, and on taking them out
they are quite soft, and apparently ripe, but much
more insipid than those which had gradually
ripened on the tree, or even in the house. The
kinds growing in the mountains are large, and,
though rich and agreeable when baked, are most
unpalatable when raw ; they have a red skin, and
a bright yellow pulp. Their native name is fei :
their habits of growth are singular ; for, while the
fruit of all the other varieties is pendent from
the stem, this rises erect from a short thick stalk

62 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

in the centre of the crown or tuft of leaves at the
top. In several of these islands, the fei is the
principal support of the inhabitants. The plantain
is a fruit that is always acceptable, and resembles
in flavour a soft, sweet, but not juicy pear; it
is very good in milk, also in puddings and pies,
and, when fermented, makes excellent vinegar.

The viy or Brazilian plum, a variety of spondias^
{spondias dulcis of Parkinson,) is an abundant
and excellent fruit, of an oval or oblong shape,
and bright yellow colour. In form and taste it
somewhat resembles a magnum-bonum plum, but
it is larger, and, instead of a stone, has a hard
and spiked core, containing a number of seeds.
The tree on which it grows is deciduous, and one
of the largest found in the islands, the trunk being
frequently four or five feet in diameter. " The bark
is gray and smooth, the leaf pinnate,, of a light
green colour ; the fruit hangs in bunches, and is
often so plentiftkl, that the ground underneath the
trees is covered with ripe fruit, while the satisfied,
and almost surfeited pigs, lie sleeping round its
roots.

Tlie ahia^ or jambo, etigenia Mallaccensis, is
perhaps the most juicy of the indigenous fruits of
the Society Islands. It resembles, in shape, a
small oblong apple, is of a bright beautiful red
colour, and has a white, juicy,, but rather insipid
pulp. Though grateful in a warm climate like
Tahiti, its flavour is by no means so good as that
of the ahia growing on the Sandwich Islands. Like
the vi, it bears but one crop in the year, and does
not continue in season longer than two or three
months. Both these trees are propagated by seed.

In certain seasons of the year, if the bread-fruit
be scarce, the natives supply the deficiency thus

MA-PE, OR CHESKtTT. 63

occasioned with the fruit of the ma-pe or rata^
a native chesnut, tuscarpua edulis. like other
chesnut-trees, the ma-pe is of stately growth and
splendid foliage. It is occasionally seen in the
high grounds, but flourishes only in the rich
bottoms of the valleys, and seldom appears in
greater perfection than on the margin of a stream.
From the top of a mountain I have ofl;en been able
to mark the course of a river by the winding and
almost unbroken line of chesnuts, that have
towered in majesty above the trees of humbler
growth. The ma-pe is branching, but the trunk,
which is the most singular part of it, usually rises
ten or twelve feet without a branch, after which
the arms are large and spreading.

During the first seven or eight years of its
growth, Sie stem is tolerably round, but after that
period, as it enlarges, instead of continuing cylin-
drical, it assumes a different shape. In four or
five places round the trunk, small projections
appear, extending in neariy straight lines^ from the
root to the branches. The centre of the tree
seems to remain stationary; while these projec-
tions increasing, at length seem like so many
planks covered with bark^ forming a number of
natural buttresses round the tree. The centre of
the tree often continues many years with per-
haps not more than two or three inches' of wood
round the medula, or pith ; while the buttresses,
though only about two inches thick, extend two,
three, and four feet, being widest at the bottom.
I have observed buttresses, not more than two
inches in thickness, projecting four feet from the
tree, and forming between each, natural recesses,
in which I have often taken shelter during a
shower. When the tree becomes old, its form

C4 POLYX£SIANrR£S£ARCII£S.

is still more picturesque, as a number of knots
and contortions are formed on the buttresses and
branches, which render the outlines more broken
and fantastic.

The wood of the rata has a fine straight grain,
but being remarkably perishable, is seldom used,
excepting for fire-wood. Occasionally, however,
they cut off one of the buttresses, and thus obtain
a good natural plank, with which they make the
long paddles for their canoes, or axe-handles.
The leaf is large and beautiful, six or eight inches
in length, oblong in shape, of a dark green colour,
and, though an evergreen, exceedingly light and
delicate in its structure. The tree bears a small
white racimated panicle flower, esteemed by the
natives on account of its fragrance. The fruit,
which hangs singly or in small clusters from the
slender twigs, is flat, and somewhat kidney-shaped.
The same term is used by the natives for this
fruit, and the kidney of an animal. The nut is a
single kernel, in a hard, tough, fibrous shell,
covered with a thin, compact, fibrous husk. It is
not eaten in a raw state ; but, though rather hard
when fully ripe, it is, when roasted in a green state,
soft, and pleasant to the taste.

In addition to these, the ^e-root, dracana tev'
minalis, resembling exactly that found in the
Sandwich Islands, is baked and eaten ; and the to,
or sugar-cane, saccharum qfficinarum, which grows
spontaneously, and perhaps in greater perfection
than in any otiier part of the world, was formerly
cultivated, and eaten raw. On a journey, the
natives often carry a piece of sugEir-cane, which
furnishes a sweet and nourishing juice, appeasing
at once, to a certain degree, both thirst and
hunger. Within a few years they have beei^

"kative muiTs. 65

taught to extract the juice, and, by boiling it, to
prepare a very good sugar.

Most of the native fruits are delicious; and
their number has been greatly increased by the
addition of many of the most valuable tropical
fruits. Vines, oranges, shaddocks, limes, and other
plants, were introduced by Captains Cook, Bligh,
and Vancouver. It is stated, that as soon as the
young grapes were formed, the natives plucked
and ate them, but were so displeased at their
acidity, that they tore up the plant. Vines were
also taken by the Missionaries, but nearly de-
stroyed by the natives in their wars. In 1824 I
brought a number of plants from the Sandwich
Islands ; which were thriving when I last heard.
Citrons, tamarinds, pine-apples, guavas. Cape mul-
berries and figs, custard apples and coffee plants,
have at different times been introduced, and suc-
cessfully cultivated, by the Missionaries. Many
foreign vegetables have been tried, yet few of
them thrive. The growth of corn has been more
than once attempted without success. Pumpkins,
melons, water-melons, cucumbers, cabbages, and
French-beans, flourish better than any other
foreign vegetables.

To a European, a garden is a valuable acqui-
sition in this part of the world ; and, next to our
dwellings, we regarded it as an important part of
our domestic establishment. As soon as the sites
of our houses were fixed, we employed natives to
enclose a piece of ground adjoining them. I
received, in December, 1816, from governor Mac-
quarie in New South Wales, a hundred ears of
Egyptian wheat, which being a kind frequently
grown in a warm climate, it was supposed might
flourish in the islands. The grain was planted

p

66 POLYNSSIAV RESEARCHEsi

with care^ and grew remarkably well; tbe leaf
was green, the stalks high and strong, and the ears
large ; but as^ they began to turn yellow, few of
them contained a mngle grain, and those that
were found were shrivelled and dry. Potatoes
were also tried, and have been repeatedly planted
since, in different situations and seasons; but
although, after the first growth, they usually ap-
pear like young potatoes, — if planted again, they
are invariably soft and swQ^t, very small, and less
palatable than the indigenous sweet potato.

At Afareaitu I had sown a number of seeds
from England, Rio Janeiro, and New South Wales.
Coffee and cashew-nuts, anacardium occidentale,
I had before planted in boxes; they grew well, but
the coffee and the cashew-nuts were totally de-
stroyed by the goats, which, leaping the fence one
day, in a few minutes ate up the plants on which
I had bestowed much care. The custard-apple,
anona triloba or squamosa ^ that I had brought &om
Rio, were preserved, and plants from it are now
bearing fruit in several of the islands. In addition
to these, I was enabled to cultivate the papaw
apple, carica papaya^ French-beans, carrots, tur-
nips, cabbages, and Indian com ; while our little
flower-garden, in Huahine, was adorned with the
convolvulus major and minor, capsicum, helian-
thus, and amaranthus, with several biiUiant native
flowers, among which the gardenia and hibiscus
rosea chinensis were always conspicuous. The
front of our house was shaded by orange trees, and
our garden enclosed with a citron hedge .

The comfort connected with a garden, and the
means of support derived therefrom, were not our
only inducements to its culture ; we were desirous
to increase the vegetable productions of the island,

VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. 67

and anxious also that our establishments should
become models for the natives in the formation of
their own, and in this we were not disappointed.
A neat little garden was afterwards considered by
numbers as a necessary appendage to their habita-
tion. The natives display a taste for the beautiful,
in their fondness of flowers. The gardenia, hibiscus,
and amaranthus, were often woven in graceful
wreaths or garlands, and worn on their brows. They
were delighted when the helianthus was added to
their flowers. Pomare and his queen passed by
my garden when the first ever grown in the islands
was in flower, and came in, to admire its size
and brilliancy. Soon after their return, I received
a note from the king, asking for a flower for the
queen, and also one for her sister ; I sent them each
a small one ; and the next time they appeared in
public, the large sunflowers were fixed as ornaments
in their hair.

To the list of the edible vegetables, fruits, and
roots of the Society Islands, already given, others
might probably be added, but these are sufficient
to show the abundance, diversity, nutritiveness,
delicacy, and richness of the provision spontan-
eously furnished to gratify the palate, and supply
the necessities, of Uieir inhabitants. Here man
seemed to live only for enjoyment, and appeared
to have been placed in circumstances, where every
desire was satisfied, and where it might be imagined
that even the apprehension of want was a thing
unknown. Amid the unrestrained enjoyment of
a bounty so diversified and profuse, it is hardly
possible to suppose that the divine Author of all
should neither be recognized nor acknowledged;
or, that his very mercies should foster insensibility,
and alienate the hearts of the participants in his

f2

68 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

bounty. Such, however, was the melancholy fact.
Although

" the soil untiird

Pour'd forth spontaneous and abundant harvests.
The forests cast their fruits, in husks or rind,
Yielding sweet kernels or delicious pulp,
Smooth oil, cool milk, and unfermented wine.
In rich and exquisite variety ;
On these the indolent inhabitants
Fed without care or forethought.'

»

We have often endeavoured to learn from the
natives whether the vegetable productions used
as food when the islands were discovered by
Captain Wallis, were found there by those who
first peopled them ; whether these colonists, from
whatsoever country they may have come, had
brought any seeds or roots with them ; or whether
they had been, at a more recent period, conveyed
thither from any other islands : but their answers,
with regard to the origin of most of them, have
been so absurd and fabulous, tliat no correct in-
ference can be drawn from them. Most of them
are, in their traditions, stated to have been formed
by their gods, at the same time that the fishes of
the sea, the fowls of the air, and the inhabitants
of the earth, were produced.

In reference to the origin of the bread-fruit, one
of their traditionary legends states, that in the
reign of a certain king, when the people ate araea,
red earth, a husband and wife had an only son,
whom they tenderly loved. The youth was weak
and delicate ; and one day the husband said to the
wife, '^ I compassionate our son, he is unable to
eat the red earth. I will die, and become food
for our son." The wife said, " How will you be-
come food ?" He answered, ** I will pray to my

LEGEND OF THE BREAD-FRUIT. 69

god ; he has power, and he will enable me to dp
it." Accordingly, he repaired to the family marae,
and presented his petition to the deity. A favour-
able answer was given to his prayer, and in the
evening he called his wife to him, and said, ** I
am about to die ; when I am dead, take my body,
separate it, plant my head in one place, my heart
and stomach in another, &c. and then come into the
house and wait. When you shall hear first a sound
like that of a leaf, then of a flower, afterwards of
an unripe fruit, and subsequently of a ripe round
fruit falling on the ground, know that it is I, who
am become food for our son." He died soon after.
His wife obeyed his injunctions, planting the
stomach near the house, as directed. After a
while, she heard a leaf fall, then the large scales
of the flower, then a small unripe fruit, afterwards
one full grown and ripe. By this time it was day-
light ; she awoke her son, took him out, and they
beheld a large and handsome tree, clothed with
broad shining leaves, and loaded with bread-fruit.
She directed him to gather a number, take the first
to the family god and to the king ; to eat no more
red earth, but to roast and eat the fruit of the tree
growing before them. — ^This is only a brief outline
of the tradition which the natives give of the origin
of the bread-fruit. The account is much longer,
and I wrote it out in detail once or twice from the
mouth of the natives ; but though not unpleasant
as a specimen of the natives* faculty of invention,
it is ill adapted to afford information. It was
probably invented by some priest, to uphold the
influence of the gods, and the tribute of first-
fruits paid to the king. The origin of the cocoa-
nut, chesnut, and yam, are derived from similar
sources; thp. cocoa-nut having grown from the

70 POLYNESIAir EESEARCHES.

head of a man, the chesnut firojn his kidneys, the
yams from his legs, — and other vegetable produc-
tions from different parts of his body. The im-
portance of the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut, in the
estimation of the natives, may also be gathered
from the fact of their fabulous traditions assigning
their origin to the head and the heart of him whose
affection for his son was stronger than his love of
life.

There are no serpents in the islands, and the
only venomous reptiles are a species of centipede,
and a small kind of scorpion. The natives are
seldom stung by them; and though the bite of
the latter is painful, it is not attended with danger
or serious inconvenience. There are no beasts of
prey, nor wild animals, with the exception of a few
boars or hogs, and dogs, in the mountains, and
these are not often troublesome.

With the exception of the fish on the coasts, the
variety and abundance in the animal is much infe-
rior to that in the vegetable productions of the South
Sea Islands. Hogs, dogs, rats, and lizards were
the only quadrupeds originally found among them.
Hogs, called by the natives pwaa, or &z^aa, and which
they say were brought by the first inhabitants,
were found in the island by Wallis and Cook.
These, however, differed considerably from the
present breed, which is a mixture of English and
Spanish. They are described as having been
smaller than the generality of hogs now are, with
long legs, long noses, curly or almost woolly hair,
and short erect ears. An animal of this kind is
now and then seen, and the people say such were
the only hogs formerly in Tahiti. It was also said,
that they, unlike all other swine, were wholly
averse to the mire ; and a phenomenon so novd

PIGS. 71

among the habits of their species, produced a
poetical effusion, which appeared in a monthly
periodical about five or six and twenty years ago.
If such were the cleanly habits of the swme in Tahiti
at that time, they have degenerated very much
since, for I have often seen them stretched out at
ease in a miry slough, apparently as much at
home as the greatest hog would be in such a
situation, in any other part of the world.

The swine now reared are large, and often well
fed ; they are never confined in sties, but range
about in search of food. Those that feed in the
heads of the valleys live chiefly upon fruit and
roots, while those kept about the houses of the
natives are fed occasionally with bread-fruit or
cocoa-nuts. Unless well fed, they are very de-
structive to the fences and the native gardens,
and bite through a stick, one or two inches in
diameter, with very little effort: sometimes the
natives break their teeth, or put a kind of yoke upon
them ; which, in some of the islands of the Pacific, is
rather a singular one. A circular piece, as large
as a shilling or a half-crown, is cut out of each
ear, and when the wound has healed, a single
stick, eighteen inches or two feet long, is passed
through the apertures. This wooden bar lies hori-
zontally across the upper part of the pig's head,
and, coming in contact with the upright sticks of a
fence, arrests his progress, even when he has suc-
ceeded in forcing his head through. The flesh of the
pig, though in general soft, rich, and sweet, is not
so fuie as English-fed pork, neither has it the pe-
culiarly agreeable taste by which the latter is dis-
tinguished. This is probably caused by the Tahitian
swine feeding so much upon cocoa-nuts, and other
sweet fruit. For the kind, however, native pork is

72 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

very good ; but, having little meat besides, we soon
became tired of it. Although capable, when all
the bones are taken out, of being preserved by salt,
the natives never, till lately, thought of sitting
down to less than a hog baked whole. Several of
the chiefs, however, now only dress so much as is
necessary for the immediate use of their families,
and salt the remainder.

Next to the flesh of swine, that of the dog was
formerly prized by the TahiUans, as an article of
food. Nevertheless, dogs do not appear to have
been reared for food so generally as among the
Sandwich Islanders ; here they were fed rather as
an article of luxury, and principally eaten by the
chiefs. . They were usually of a small or middling
size, and appear a kind of terrier breed, but were
by no means ferocious ; and, excepting their shape
and habits, they have few of the characteristics of
the English dog : this probably arises from their
different food. The hog and the dog were the only
quadrupeds whose flesh was eaten by the Tahitians.
Rats were occasionally eaten uncooked by the
Friendly Islanders ; but, although numerous, they
do not appear to have been used for that purpose
here. Cats are now domesticated in most of the
houses, and appear great favourites with the
people.

To these, horses, asses, homed cattle, goats, and
sheep, have been added, and, excepting the latter,
appear to thrive exceedingly well. Rabits have
been several times taken to the islands, and either
turned loose, or fed in pens ; but the climate, or
food, does not seem to have been suitable, and
they seldom lived long.

Hie feathered tribes of the South Sea Islands,
like those of the northern Pacific, are not distin-

FEATHERED TRIBES. 73

guished by brilliancy of plumage, or melody of
song. There are, however, several varieties, and
some of them in amazing numbers. The most
numerous class are the aquatic birds. These skim
the sur£ice of the ocean, derive their subsistence
from the sea or the inland lakes and streams,
build their nests in the hollows of the craggy rocks,
or haunt the lagoons and streams, rearing their
young, and reposing by the side of the inland
waters, or among the tall grass and rushes that
border the extensive lakes or marshy hollows.
Among the former may be reckoned the stately
albatross, dwmedia exulans, called by the natives
obutu ; the tropic bird, phaeton aetheriuSy called
otaha ; several kinds of petrels, called otatare, and
others : these abound in all the islands, but appear
to resort in greater multitudes to the unnumbered
clefts in the rocky sides of the mountains of Bora*
bora and Maurua, than to the more eastern islands.
Among the lakes are several kinds of heron, that
stand like sentinels on the broken rocks, watch-
ing for their prey, or march with solemn gravity
along the margin of the stream : wild ducks resort
to the lagoons and marshes.

There are several kinds of birds of prey, and a
number of the woodpecker tribe, with some small
paroquets, of rich and splendid plumage. In the
inland parts of some of the islands, the turtle-dove,
which is called uupa, and among the mountains
pigeons, which, for the sound of their notes, the
natives call uuairao, are foun^ in considerable
numbers. Among the singing birds, which are not
numerous, the omaomao is the most conspicuous.
It is about the size of the English thrush, is of a
yellow and brown speckled colour, and in its note
resembles the thrush more than any other bird.

74 POLTITESIAK RESEARCHES.

The most useful bird, however, is the common
domestic fowl, called moa by the natives. These
were found among the islands by their discoverers,
and appear to have been there as long as the people.
They are of the same kind as those reared in Eng-
land ; the bodies are smaller, and the legs longer,
but this may perhaps have arisen from their not
being confined, and seldom fed by the people.
Those that are tame usually live upon what they
find in the garden, or the fragments of bread-fruit,
&c. left after the native meal. During the day
they seldom wander far from their owner's dwelling,
and at night, either take shelter under the same
roof, or roost on the boughs of the trees by which
it is overshadowed. Eggs are often plentiful, and
the flesh of the fowls, though inferior to that of
those fed in England, is generally good. Besides
the tame fowls, tibere are numbers wild in different
parts of the island, which range the woods, feeding
on fruits or insects; these are occasionally taken by
the natives, but are inferior to those that are domes-
ticated. Fowls are not much used by the inhabit-
ants, but are now reared chiefly to supply the vessels
that touch at the islands for refreshment.

Fish are numerous in the seas that surround the
islands ; they abound on their coasts among the
reefs, and in their extensive lagoons. The enor-
mous whale, called by the people tohoraj is often
seen by the natives in their canoes, pursuing his
gigantic pastime, raising his unwieldy bulk above
file water, or spouting it in the air. The black-fi&h
pass along their straits, and the porpoises often ap-
pear in shoals, or exhibit their gambols to the great
amusement of the people, frequently throwing their
whole bodies several feet out of the water, curving
their tails, and falling headlong into the sea. The

SEA AND RIVER FISH. 75

natives call them atta^ a word which also ugnifies to
spring or jump. Here, also, are seen a great num-
ber of the ray species, from the large unsightly
diabolus, to the smallest kind, and a great variety
of the medusa, or cuttle-fish. The fleet, beautiful,
and sportive dolphin, and the anomalous creature
called the flying-fish, that pursues its way alter-
nately through the water and the air, and seems the
uniting link between the feathered and the finny
tribes. The natives call it marara. The totara,
or hedge-hog fish, is also found among their reefs.
The openi, scomber scomber of Linneus, resort
to their coasts in large shoals, at stated seasons of
the year, and are ta^en in great numbers by the
people.

The islanders are usually expert fishermen, and
fish is a principal means of support for those who
reside near the shore. The albicore, bonito, ray,
swordfish and shark, the porpoise and the dolphin,
are among the larger sea-fish that are eaten by
them ; in addition to which, they have an almost
endless variety of rock-fish, which are remarkably
sweet and good.

In the rivers they find prawns and eels, and in
their lakes, where there is an opening to the sea,
multitudes of excellent fish are always found ;
among others is a salmon, which, at certain seasons
of the year, is taken in great abundance. It exactly
resembles the northern salmon in size, shape, and
structure, but the flesh is much whiter than that of
the salmon of Europe, or of those taken on the north-
ern coasts of America; the taste is also the same,
excepting that the Tahitian salmon is rather drier
than the other. In the sand they find muscles
and cockles, and on the coral reefs a great variety of
shell-fish ; among which, the principal are crabs,

76 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

lobsters, welks, a large species of cham, and several
varieties of echinis, or sea-egg. Numbers of turtle
are also found among the reefs and low coralline or
sandy islands. The turtle was formerly considered
sacred ; a part of every one taken was offered to the
gods, and the rest dressed with sacred fire, was eaten
only by the king and chiefs ; and then, I think, either
within the precincts of the temple, or in its imme-
diate vicinity ; now they are eaten by whomsoever
they are caught. Most of their fish is very good,
and furnishes a dish of which we never tired.

The rivers furnish few fresh- water fish ; eels, are
the principal, and they are very fine. Eels being
great favourites, are sometimes tamed, and fed
till they attain an enormous size. Taaroarii had
several in different parts of the island. These pets
were kept in large holes, two or three feet deep,
partially filled with water. On the sides of these
pits, the eels formed or found an aperture in a hori-
zontal direction, in which they generally remained,
excepting when called by the person who fed them.
I have been several times with the young chief,
when he has sat down by the side of the hole, and,
by giving a shrill sort of whistle, has brought out an
enormous eel, which has moved about the surface
of the water, and eaten with confidence out of its
master's hand. Connected with the fresh-water
fish, a phenomenon is often observed, for which the
natives are puzzled to account. In the hollows of
the rocks, and in other places, to which they sup-
pose the sea and the river never gain access, and
where the water collected is entirely what falls from
the clouds, small but regularly formed fish are
sometimes found. The people have frequently ex-
pressed their surprise at finding them, and appeared
to wonder how they ever came there. They call

TRADITIONS. 77

them topatauOf literally, rain-drop, supposing they
must have fallen from the clouds with the rain.

The accounts the natives give of the introduction
of the animals found on the islands by the first
European visitors, are most of them as fabulous as
those relating to their own origin. Some, indeed,
say that pigs and dogs were brought from the west
by the first inhabitants ; but others refer their origin
to man. One of their traditions states, that after
Taaroa had made the world and mankind, he
created the quadrupeds of the earth, the fowls of
the air, and the fishes of the sea ; but one of their
most indelicate accounts states, that in ancient
times a man died, and after death his body was
destroyed by worms, which ultimately grew into
swine — and were the first known in the islands.
We never observed among them any traces of the
Asiatic doctrine of the transmigration of souls ;
although they believed that hogs had souls, and
that there was a distinct place, called Ofetuna, whi-
ther they supposed the souls of the pigs repaired
after their death. This idea some carried so far as
to suppose, that, not only animals had souls, but to
imagine that even flowers and plants were organized
beings, also possessing souls. Another singular
practice in reference to their pigs was, that of giving
them some distinct, though often arbitrary name ;
so that each pig had his own proper name, by which
he, as well as the several members of the family,
was distinguished. This difference, however, pre-
vailed — a man frequently changed his name, but
the name of the pig, once received, was usually
retained.

78 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

CHAP. IV.

Inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific — ^Oceanic ne-
groes — Eastern Polynesians — Genera] account of the
South Sea Islanders — Physical character — Expression
of countenance — Stature, colour, &c. — Mentid capa-
city — Ancient division and computation of time — ^Tahi-
tian numerals — Extended calculations — Aptness in
receiving instruction — ^Moral character— Hospitality —
Extensive and affecting moral degradation — Its ener-
vating influence — Former longevity of the islanders.

The islands of the Pacific are inhabited by two
tribes of men totally distinct, and in some respects
entirely different from each other. The most
ancient tribe is composed of what are designated
Oceanic negroes, who are distinguished by the
darkness of the skin, smallness of stature, and
particularly by their black woolly or crisped hair.
The other tribe exhibits many of the distinguishing
features which belong to the physical character of
the Malayan and aboriginal American tribes. The
former race more properly belong to Australasia, as
by them New Holland, New Guinea, New Britain,
New Caledonia, and the New Hebrides, are peopled,
while on one of the islands, still farther to liie west-
ward, both tribes take up their abode, and yet
remain distinct ; the Oceanic negroes dwelling in
the interior, and among the mountain ^tnesses,
while those of a fairer complexion form their settle-
ments along the shore. In the vicinity of the
Friendly Islands they appear to be blended. The
greater part of Polynesia appears to be inhabited

PHYSICAL CHARACTER. 79

by those who present in their physical character
many points of resemblance to the Malays and
South Americans, but yet differ materially from
either, and seem to form an intermediate race.

Although, with very few exceptions, all the in-
habitants of these islands, to which the designation
of Polynesia is given, exhibit the leading marks
of the tribe to which they belong, the people of
each cluster are distinguished by some minor pecu-
liarities. The following description refers to the
inhabitants of the Georgian, Society, and adjacent
islands, which, for the sake of brevity, are desig-
nated Tahitians, or Society Islanders.

The Tahitians are generally above the middle
stature ; but their limbs are less muscular and firm
than those of the Sandwich Islanders, whom in
many respects they resemble. They are, at the
same time, more robust than the Marquesans, who
are the most light and agile of the inhabitants of
Eastern Polynesia. In size and physical power
they are inferior to the New Zealanders, and pro-
bably resemble in person the Friendly Islanders,
as much as any others in the Pacific ; exhibiting,
however, neither the gravity of the latter, nor the
vivacity of the Marquesans. Their limbs are well
formed, and although, where corpulency prevails,
there is a degree of sluggishness, they are gene-
rally active in their movements, graceful and stately
in their gait, and perfectly unembarrassed in their
address. Those who reside in the interior, or fre-
quently visit the mountainous parts of the islands,
form an exception to this remark. The constant
use of the naked feet in climbing the steep sides
of the rocks, or the narrow defiles of the ravines,
probably induces them to turn their toes inwards,
which renders their gait exceedingly awkward.

'n

80 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

Among the many models of perfection in the
human figure that appear in the islands, (present-
ing to the eye of the stranger all that is beautiful
in symmetry and graceful in action,) instances of
deformity are now frequently seen, arising from a
loathsome disease, of foreign origin, affecting the
features of the face, and muscular parts of the
body. There is another disease, which forms such
a curvature of the upper part of the spine, as to
produce what is termed a humped or broken back.
The disease which produces this distortion of shape,
and deformity of appearance, is declared, by the
natives, to have been unknown to their ancestors ;
and, according to the accounts some of them give
of it, was the result of a disease left by the crew of
Vancouver *s ship. It does not prevail in any of
the other groups ; and although such numbers are
now affected with it, there is no reason to believe,
that, formerly, except the many disfigurements pro-
duced by the elephantiasis, which appears to have
prevailed from their earliest antiquity, a deformed
person was seldom seen.

The countenance of the Society Islander is open
and prepossessing, though the features are bold,
and sometimes prominent. The facial angle is fte-
quently as perpendicular as in the European struc-
ture, excepting where the frontal and the occipital
bones of the skull were pressed together in infancy.
This was frequently done by the mothers, with the
male children, when they were designed for war-
riors. The forehead is sometimes low, but fre-
quently high, and finely formed; the eye-brows
are dark and well defined, occasionally arched, but
more generally straight; the eyes seldom large,
but bright and full, and of a jet-black colour ;
the cheek-bones not high ; the nose either recti-

COUNTENANCE AND STATURE. 81

linear or aquiline, often accompanied with a ful-
ness about the nostrils; it is seldom flat, not-
withstanding it was formerly the practice of the
mothers and nurses to press the nostrils of the
female children, a flat and broad nose being by
many regarded as more handsome than otherwise.
The mouUi in general is well formed, though the
lips are sometimes large, yet never so much so as
to resemble those of the African. The teeth are
always entire, excepting in extreme old age, and,
though rather large in some, are remarkably white,
and seldom either discoloured or decayed. The
ears are large, and the chin retreating or project*
ing, most generally inclining to the latter. The
form of the face is eiUier round or oval, and but
▼ery seldom exhibits any resemblance to the angu-
lar form of the Tartar visage, while their profile fre-
quently bears a most striking resemblance to that
of the European. Their hair is a shining black or
dark brown colour; straight, but not lank and wiry
like that of the American Indian, nor, ejccepting
in a few solitary instances, woolly like the New
Guinea or New Holland negroes. Frequently it is
soft and curly, though seldom so fine as that of the
civilized nations inhabiting the temperate zones.

There is a considerable difference between the
stature of the male and female sex here, as well as
in other parts of the world, yet not so great as that
which often prevails in Europe. The females,
though generally more delicate in form and smaller
in size ti^an the men, are, taken altogether, stronger
and larger than the females of England, and some^
times remarkably tall and stout. A roundness and
fiilness of figure, without extending to corpulency,
distinguishes the people in general, particularly
the females.

82 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

It is a sin^lar fact in the physiology of the in-
habitants of this part of the world, that the chie&,
and persons of hereditary rank and influence in the
islands, are, almost without exception, as much su*
perior to the peasantry or common people, in state-
liness, dignified deportment, and physical strength,
as they are in rank and circumstances ; although
they are not elected to their station on account of
their personal endowments, but derive their rank
and elevation from their ancestry. This is the case
with most of the groups of the Pacific, but pecu-
liarly so in Tahiti and the adjacent isles. The
father of the late king was six feet four inches high ;
Pomare was six feet two. The present king of
Raiatea is equally tall. Mahine, the king of Hua-
hine, but for the effects of age, would appear little
inferior. Their limbs are generally well formed, and
the whole figure is proportionea to their height;
which renders the difference between the rulers and
their subjects so striking, that Bougainville and some
others have supposed ^ey were a distinct race, the
descendants of a superior people, who s^ a remote
period had conquered the aborigines, and perpe-
tuated their supremacy. It does not, however, ap-
pear necessary, in accounting for the fact, to resort
to such a supposition ; different treatment in infan-
cy, superior and more regular diet, bathing, distinct
habits of life, and the relation that often prevails
between the physical character of parents and their
children, are sufficient. Some individuals cunong
the lower classes exhibit a stature equal to that of
the. chiefs ; but tliis is of rare occurrence, and that
circumstance alone does not facilitate the admission
of its possessor to the higher ranks in society, though
in the matrimonial alliances of their chiefs, they un-
doubtedly had respect to the physical superiority of

PREVAILIKO COMPLEXIOK. 83

their rulers. Hence, in one of their songs, the foU
lowing sentiments are inculcated :-^'^ If black be
the complexion of the mother, the son will sound
the conch-shell ; if vigorous and strong the mother,
the son will be a governor.*'

The prevailing colour of the natives is an olive, a
bronze, or a reddish brown-*-«qually removed from
the jet-black of the African and the Asiatic, the
yellow of the Malay, and the red or copper-colour
of the aboriginal American, frequently presenting
a kind of medium between the two latter colours.
Considerable variety, nevertheless, prevails in the
complexion of the population of the same island,
and as great a diversity among the inhabitants of
different islands. The natives of the Paliser or
Pearl Islands, a short distance to the eastward of
Tahiti, are darker than the inhabitants of the Geor-
gian group. It is not, however, a blacker hue that
their skin presents, but a darker red or brown. The
natives of Maniaa,. or Mangeea, one of the Harvey
cluster, and some of the inhabitants of Rurutu, and
the neighbourhood to the south of Tahiti, desig-
nated by Malte Brun, ** the Austral Islands," and
the majority of the reigning family in Raiatea, are
not darker than the inhabitants of some parts of
southern Europe.

At the time of then- birth, the complexion of
Tahitian infants is but little if any darker than that
of European children, and the skin only assumes
the bronze or brown hue as they grow up under
repeated or constant exposure to the sun. Those
parts of the body that are most covered, even with
their loose draperies of native cloth, are, through
every period of life, much lighter coloured than
those that are exposed ; and, notwithstanding the
dark tint with which the climate appears to dye

g2

84 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

their skin, the ruddy bloom of health and yigour,
or the sudden blush, is often seen mantling the
youthful countenance under the light brown tinge,
which, like a thin veil, but partially conceals its
glowing hue. The females who are much em-
ployed in beating cloth, making mats, or other
occupations followed under shelter, are usually
fairer than the rest ; while the fishermen, who are
most exposed to the sun, are invariably the darkest
portion of the population.

Darkness of colour was generally considered an
indication of strength ; and fairness of complexion,
the contrary. Hence, the men were not solicitous
either to cover their persons, or avoid the sun's
rays, from any apprehension of the effect it would
produce on the skin. When they searched the
field of battle for the bones of the slain, to use them
in the manufacture of chisels, gimlets, or fish-hooks,
they always selected those whose skins were dark,
as they supposed their bones were strongest. When
I have seen the natives looking at a very dark man,
I have sometimes heard them say, Taata ra e,
te ereere ! ivi maitai tona : " The man, how dark !
good bones are his.'' A fair complexion was not an
object of admiration or desire. They never consi-
dered the fairest European countenance seen among
them, handsomer than their own ; and sometimes,
when a fine, tall, well-formed, and personable man
has landed from a ship, they have remarked as he
passed along, <* A fine man that, if he were but a
native." They formerly supposed the white colour
of the European's skin to the effect of illness, and
hence beheld it with pity. This opinion probably
originated from the effects of a disease with which
they are occasionally afflicted — a kind of leprosy,
which turns the skm of the parts affected, white.

MENTAL CAPACITY. 85

This impression, however, is now altogether re-
moved by the lengthened intercourse they have
had with foreigners, and the residence of European
families among them.

The mental capacity of the Society Islanders has
been hitherto much more partially aeveloped than
their physical character. They are remarkably
curious and inquisitive, and, compared with other
Polynesian nations, may be said to possess consi-
derable ingenuity, mechanical invention, and imita-
tion. Totally unacquainted with the use of letters,
their minds could not be improved by any regular
continued culture ; yet the distinguishing features
of their civil polity — ^the imposing nature, nimierous
observances, and diversified ramifications of their
mythology — ^the legends of their gods — the histo-
rical songs of their bards — ^the beautiful, figurative,
and impassioned eloquence sometimes displayed in
their national assemblies — ^and, above all, the copi-
ousness, variety, precision, and purity of their lan-
guage, with their extensive use of numbers — ^war-
rant the conclusion, that they possess no contemp-
tible mental capabilities. This conclusion is sup-
ported by a variety of circumstances connected with
their former state.

Though unacquainted with the compass, they
have names for the cardinal points. The north
they call Apatoa ; the south, Apatoerau ; the east,
Te hitia o te ra, tiie rising of the sun ; and the west,
the Tooa o te ra, the falling or sinking of the sun.

Their genealogies and chronological traditions do
not appear to have been so correctly preserved as
those of the Hawaiians, one or two of which I have,
that appear, at least for nearly thirty generations,
tolerably correct, though they go back one hundred
generations. They were, however, as correct in

86

POLYNESIAN HESEARCflES.

their methods of computing time as their northeni
neighbours, if not more so. One mode of reckon-
ing time was by tci's, or generations ; but the most
general calculation was by the year, which they call
matahiti, and which consisted of twelve or thirteen
lunar months, by the tau or matarii, season or half-*
year, by the month of thirty days, and by the day
or night. They had distinct names for each month ;
and tiiough they all agreed about the length of the
year, they were not unanimous as to the beginning
of it, or the names of the months, each islatid hav*
ing a computation peculiar to itself.

The following is a statement of their divisions of
time, copied from a small book on arithmetic, &c.
prepared by Mr. Davies, which I printed at Hua-
hine in 1819. It is the method of computation
adopted by the late Pomare and the reigning
family.

1. Ararehu . *

2. Faaahu . . .

S. Pipiri . . .

4. Taaoa . . .

5. Aununu . *

6. Apaapa . .

7. Paroro mua .

8. Paroro mari .

9. Muriaha . •

10. Hiaia . . .

11. Tema . . .

12. Te-eri . . .

The new moon that appears about thd
Bummer solstice of Tahiti, and
generally answers to the last ten
days of December or the begin*
tting of January.

January, and part of Febraary —
The season of plenty.

February, and part of March.

March, and part of April — The sea-
son of scarcity.

April, and part of May.

May^ and a part of Jane.

June, and a part of July.

July, and a part of August.

August, and a part of September.

September, and part of October.

October, and part of Norember —
The season of scarcity.

The whole, or a part of, November
— The uru, or young bread-fruit,
begins to flower.

DIVISIOK 0¥ TIME. 87

1|. Te>tai .... The whoW, or ft part of, December

— ^The urn, or bread-fmit, nearly
ripe.
Their calculations, howerer, were not rery exact
Thirteen moons exceed tiie duration of the solar year.
But, in order to adapt the same moons to the same seasons,
as diey successively occur, the moon generally answering
to March, or the one occurring about July, is omitted ; and,
in some years, only twelve moons are enumerated.

Another computation commenced the year at
the month Apaapa, about the middle of May, and
gave different names to several of the months.
They divided the year into two seasons, of the
Matarii, or Pleiades. The first they called
Matarii i niay Pleiades above. It commenced
when, in the evening, these stars appeared on or
near the horizon ; and the half year, during which,
immediately after sunset, they were seen above the
horizon, was called Matarii i nia. The other sea*
son commenced when, at sunset, the stars were
invisible, and continued until at that hour they
appeared again above the horizon. This season was
called Matarii i raro, Pleiades below.

The islanders had three seasons besides these.
The first they called Tetau^ autumn, or season of
plenty, the harvest of bread-fruit. It commenced
with the month Tetai, December, and continued
till Faahu. This is not only the harvest, but the
summer of the South Sea Islands. It is also the
season of most frequent rain. The next is Te tau
miti rahiy the season of high sea. This commences
with Tieri, November, and continues until January.
The third is the longest, and is called the Te tau
Poaiy the winter, or season of drought and scarcity.
It generally commences in Paroromttay Ju^y^ s^d
continues till Tema^ October.

The natives have distinct names for each day

8S POLTNE8IAV RESEARCHES.

and each night of the month or moon. They do
not, however, reckon time by days, but by nights.
Hence, instead of saying, now many days since ?
they woidd inquire, Eui hia aenei? '' How many
nights ?" The following are the different nights of
each moon.

The Ni«hts of the Moon.

1. Ohirohiti. 16. Otura-tea«

2. Hoata. 17. Raau-nnia.

5. Hami-ami-imtft. 18. Raau-roto.
4. Hami-anii-'roto. 19. Raau-muri.

6. Hami-ami-mur^. 20. Ore-ore-mua.

6. Ore-ore-mua. 21. Ore-ore-roto.

7. Ore-ore-muri. 22. Ore>ore-mari.

8. Tamatea. 2S. Taaroa-mua.

9. Ohana. 24. Taaroa-roto.

10. Oari. 2$. Taaroa-muri.

11. Omaharu. 20. O-Tane.

12. Ohua. 27. O-Roomie.
13; Omaitn. 28. O-Roomaori.

14. Ohotu. 29. O-nnitu.

15. Omarae. — Te-marama- 20. 0-T«rieo. — ^This is the
ati, or the moon with a night or day the moon dies,
round and full face. or is changed.

The seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth
nights, or nights immediately succeeding the full
moon, were considered as seasons when spirits
wander more than at any other time; they were
also favourable to the depredations of thieves.
They do not appear to have divided their months
into weeks, or to have had any division between
months and days. Totally ignorant of clocks or
watches, they could not divide the day into hours.
They, however, marked the progress of the day
with sufficient exactness, by noticing the position
of the sun in the firmament, the appearance of
the atmosphere, and the ebbing and flowing of
the tide.

DIVISION or TIME. 89

Midnight they called the Toi ra po.

. One or two in the morning — ^Maru ao.

Cock-crowing, or about three O'clock in the morning —
Aaoa te moa ; aaoa being an imitation of the crowing of a
eoek.

The dawn of day — Tatahiata.

Morning twilight — Marao rao.

When tiie flies begin to stir — Ferao-rao.

When a man's face can be knolm — Ttea te mata taata.

The first appearance of the upper part of the son — Te
hatea ra o te ra*

Sunrise, or morning — Foi poi.

The sun above the horizon — Ofao tuna te ra.

The sun a little higher, sending his rays on the land —
Matiti titi te ra.

About seven o'clock — ^Tohe pu te ra.

Eight o'clock-^Pere tia te ra.

About nine — Ua paare te ra.

Ten or eleven — Ua medua te ra.

Noon-day, or the sun on the meridian — ^Avatea.

One or two in the afternoon — Taupe te ra.

About three in the afternoon— Tape-tape te ra.

Nearly four—Tahataha te ra.

About five — Hia-hia te ra.

Between five and six — Ua mam mam te ra.

Sun-setting, Ahiahi — Evening — ^Mairi te ra, Falling of
the Sim.

The beginning of darkness — Arehurehu.

Night, or the light quite gone— Po.

When the sea begins to flow towards the land — Pananu
te tai.

About eleven at night— Tia ma te mL

In order to facilitate their commercial transac-
tions, and their intercourse with civilized nations^
the names for the months, and the days of the
week, used in England, have been introduced.
They have also been instructed in our methods of
calculating the leap-years, Szc.

The English method of mensuration has been
introduced, and, with regard to short distances,
they begin to understand it. The word hehedoma
has been introduced, to signify a week. It is not,

90 POLTNESIAK RESEARCHES.

however, so frequently employed by the people, as
the word Sabbath. If a native wished to say he
had been absent on a voyage or journey six weeks,
he would generally say six Sabbaths, or one moon
and two Sabbaths.

Considering their uncivilized state, and want of
letters, their method of computing time is matter
of astonishment, and shews that they must have
existed as a nation for many generations, to hav^
rendered it so perfect. It is also an additicmal
proof that they are not deficient in mental capa-
city.

Their acquaintance with, and extensive use of
numbers, under these circumstances, is still more
surprising. They did not reckon by forties, after
the manner of &e Mexicans and the Sandwich
Islanders, but had a decimal method of calculation.
These numerals were,

Atahi, one. Aono, six.

Araa, two. Ahita, seren.

Atoru, three. Avara, eight

Amaha, four. Aiva, nine.

Arima, five. Ahurn, ten.

Eleven would be Ahum matahi, ten and one ;
and so on to twenty, which was simply Erua
aliuru, two tens ; twenty-one, two tens and one ;
and proceeding in this way till ten tens, or one
hundred, which they called a Rau. The same
method was repeated for every successive rau, or
hundred^ till ten had been enumerated, and
these they called one ManOy or thousand. They
continued in the same way to enumerate the units,
ahurus or tens, raus or hundreds, and manos or
thousands, until they had counted ten manos, or
thousands; this they called a Manotiniy or ten
thousand. CoAtinuing the same process, they

t78E OF KUMBERS. 91

edunted ten manotinis, which they called a Rehu,
or one hundred thousand. Advancing still farther,
they counted ten rehus, which they called an lUy
which was ten hundred thousand, or one million.

They had no higher number than the iu, or mil-
lion : they could, however, by means of the above
terms or combinations, enumerate, with facility,
tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or
hundreds of thousands of millions.

The precision, regularity, and extent of their
humbers has often astonished me; and how a
people, having, comparatively speaking, but little
necessity to use calculation, and being destitute of
knowledge of figures, should have originated and
matured such a system, is still wonder ^1, and ap-
pears, more than any other fact, to favour the opi-*
nion that these islands were peopled from a country
whose inhabitants were highly civilized.

Many of their numerals are precisely the same
as those used by the people of several of the
Asiatic islands, and also in the remote and popu-
lous island of Madagascar. Occasionally the
islanders double the number, by simply counting
two instead of one. This is frequently practised
in counting fish, bread-fruit, or cocoa-nuts, and is
called double counting, by which all the above
terms signify twice as large a number as is now
affixed to them.

In counting, they usually employ a piece of the
stalk of the cocoa-nut leaf, putting one aside for
every ten, and gathering them up, and putting a
longer one aside for every rau, or hundred. The
natives of most of the islands, adults and children,
appear remarkably fond of figures and calculations,
and receive the elements of arithmetic with great
facility, and seeming delight.

92 rOLTNESIAN RESEARCHES.

They estimate the distance of places by the
length of time it takes to travel or sail from one to
the other. Thus, if we wished to give them an
idea of the distance from the islands to England ,
we should say it was five months ; and they would
say the distance from Tahiti to Huahine was a
night and a day, and from Huahine to Raiatea,
from sunrise to nearly noon, &c.

That their mental powers are not inferior to those
of the generality of mankind, has been more fully
shown since the establishment of schools, and the
introduction of letters. Not only have the children
and young persons learned to read, write, cipher,
and commit their lessons to memory with a facility
and quickness not exceeded by individuals of the
same age in any country; but the education of
adults, and even persons advanced in years — ^which
in England, with every advantage, is so difficult
an undertaking, that nothing but the use of the
best means and untiring application ever accom-
plished it — has been effected here with compara-
tive ease. Multitudes, who were upwards of thirty
or forty years of age when they commenced with
the alphabet, have, in the course of twelve months,
learned to read distinctly in the New Testament,
large portions, and even whole books of which,
some of them have in a short period committed to
memory.

They acquired the first rules of aritlmietic with
equal facility, and have readily received the diffe-
rent kinds of instruction hitherto furnished, as fast
as their teachers could prepare lessons in the
native language. It is probable that not less
than ten thousand persons have learned to read
the Scriptures, and that nearly an equal num-
ber are either capable of writing, or are under

APTITUDE FOK INSTRUCTION. 93

instruction. In the several stations and branch
stations, many thousands are still receiving daily
instruction in the first principles of human know-
ledge and divine truth.

The following extract from the journal of a Tahi-
tian, now a native Missionary in the Sandwich
group, is not only most interesting from the intelli-
gence it conveys, but creditable to the writer's
talents. It was published in the American Mis-
sionary Herald, and refers to the young princess of
the Sandwich Islands, the only sister of the late
and present king.

** Nahienaena, in knowledge and words, is a woman of
matured understanding. All the fathers and mothers of
this land are ignorant and left-handed ; they become chil-
dren in the presence of Nahienaena, and she is their mo-
ther and teacher. Her own men, women, and children,
those composing her household, (or domestic establish-
ment,) listen to the good word of God from her lips* She
also instructs Hoapiri and wife in good things. 9he
teaches them night and day. She is constantly speaking
to her steward, and to all her household. Very numerous
are the words which she speaks, to encourage, and to
strengthen them in the good way.

^' The young princess has always been pleasant in con-
versation. Her words are good words. She takes plea-
sure in conversatioo, like a woman of mature years. She
orders her speech with great wisdom and discretion,
always making a just distinction between good and evil.
She manifests much discernment in speaking to others the
word of God, and the word of love. It was by the mali-
ciousness of the people, old and young, that she was
formerly led astray. She was then ignorant of the devices
of the wicked. They have given her no rest ; but have
presented every argument before her that this world could
present, to win her over to them.

*' Nahienaena desires now to make herself very low.
She does not wish to be exalted by men. She desires to
cast off entirely the rehearsing of names ; for her rejoicing
is not now in names and titles. This is what she desires,
and longs to have reheaned— * Jesus alone ; let him bo

94 rOLTlTESI AN RESEARCHES .

lifted up; Jet him be exalted; let all rejoice in kira; let
our hearts sing praise to him.' This is the langaage of
her inmost sonl/'

On a public occasion, in the island of Raiatea,
during the year 1 825, a number of the inhabitants
were conversing on the wisdom of God ; which, it
was observed, though so long unperceived by them,
was strikingly exhibited in every object they be-
held. In confirmation of this, a venerable and
gray-headed man, who had formerly been a sor-
cerer, or priest of the evil spirit, stretched forth his
hand, and, looking at the limbs of his body, said,
" Here the wisdom of God is displayed. I have
hinges from my toes to my finger ends. Tliis finger
has its hinges, and bends at my desire — this arm,
on its hinge, is extended at my will — ^by means of
these hinges, my legs bear me where I wish ; and
my mouth, by its hinge, masticates my food. Does
not all this display the wisdom of God?*'

The above will show, that the inhabitants of these
distant isles, though shut out for ages from inter-
course with every other part of the world, and
deprived of every channel of knowledge, are, not-
withstanding, by no means inferior in intellect or
capacity to the more favoured inhabitants of other
parts of the globe. These statements also warrant the
anticipation, that they will attain an elevation equal
to that of the most cultivated and enlarged intel-
lect, whenever they shall secure the requisite
advantages.

They certainly appear to possess an aptness for
learning, and a quickness in pursuit of it, which is
highly encouraging, although in some degree coun-
teracted by the volatile disposition and fugitive
habits of their early life', under the influence of
which their mental character was formed ; and a

WORAL CHARACTER. 95

Ime of indolence, fostered by the wannth of the
climate, and the fertility of the soil.

The moral character of the South Sea Islanders,
though more fully developed than their intellectual
capacity, often presents the most striking contra-
dictions. Their hospitality has, ever since their
discovery, been proverbial, and cannot be ex-
ceeded. It is practised alike by all ranks, and
is regulated only by the means of the individual
by whom it is exercised. A poor man feels him-
self called upon, when a friend from a distance
visits his dwelling, to provide an entertainment for
him, though he should thereby expend every article
of food he possessed ; and he would generally divide
his fish or his bread-fruit with any one, even a
stranger, who should be in need, or who should
ask him for it.

I am willing to afford them every degree of
credit for the exercise of this amiable disposition ;
yet, when it is considered that a guest is not enter-
tained day after day at his friend's table, but that
after one large collection of food has been pre-
sented, the visitor must provide for himself, while
the host frequently takes but little further concern
about him — ^we are induced to think, that the force
of custom is as powerful in its influence on his
mind, as that of hospitality. In connexion with
this, it should be recollected, that for every such
entertainment, the individual expects to be reim-
bursed in kind, whenever he may visit the abode of
his guest. Their ancient laws of government, also,
imperiously required the poor industrious land-
holder, or farmer, to bring forth the produce of his
garden or his field for the use of the chiefs, or the
wandering and licentious Areois, whenever they
might halt at his residence ; and more individuals

96 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

have been banished, or selected as sacrifices^ for
withholding what these daring ramblers required,
than perhaps for all other crimes. To withhold
food from the king or chiefs, when they might
enter a district, was considered a crime next to
resisting the royal authority, or declaring war
against the king ; and this has in a great degree
rendered the people so ready to provide an enter-
tainment for Uiose by whom they may be visited.

Next to their hospitality, their cheerfulness and
good nature strike a stranger. They are seldom
melancholy or reserved, always willing to enter
into conversation, and ready to be pleased, and to
attempt to please their associates. They are, gene-
rally speaking, careful not to give offence to each
other : but though, since the introduction of Chris-
tianity, families dwell together, and find an increas-
ing interest in social intercourse, yet they do not
realize that high satisfaction experienced by mem-
bers of families more advanced in civilization.
There are, however, few domestic broils; and
were fifty natives taken promiscuously from any
town or village, to be placed in a neighbourhood
or house — ^where they would disagree once, fifty
Englishmen, selected in the same way, and placed
under similar circumstances, would quarrel perhaps
twenty times. They do not appear to delight in
provoking one another, but are far more accus-
tomed to jesting, mirth, and humour, than irritating
or reproachful language.

Their jests and raillery were not always confined
to individuals, but extended to neighbourhoods, or
the population of whole islands. The inhabitants
of one of the Leeward Islands, (Tahaa, I believe,)
even to the present time furnish matter for mirthful
jest to the natives of the other islands of the group,

JESTS AND RAILLERY. 97

from the circumstance of one of their people, the
first time she saw a foreigner who wore boots,
exclaiming, with astonishment, that the individual
had iron legs. It is also said, that among the first
scissors possessed by the Huahineans, one pair
became exceedingly dull, and the simple-hearted
people, not knowing how to remedy mis defect,
tried several experiments, and at length baked the
scissors in a native oven, for the purpose of sharpen-
ing them. Hence the people of Huahine are often
spoken of in jest by the Tahitians, as the /eta en
paotif or people that baked the scissors. The
Tahitians themselves were in their turn subjects of
raillery, from some of their number, who resided at
a distance firom the sea, attempting, on one occa-
sion, to kill a turtle by pinching its throat, or strang-
ling it, when the neck was drawn into the shell, on
which they were surprised to find they could make
no impression with tiieir fingers. The Huahineans,
therefore, in their turn, spoke of the Tahitians as
the feia uumi honu, the people that strangled
the turtle.

Their humour and their jests were, however, but
rarely what might be termed Innocent sallies of wit;
they were in general low and immoral to a disgust-
ing degree. Their common conversation, when
engaged in their ordinary avocations, was often such
as the ear could not listen to witliout pollution,
presenting images, and conveying sentiments, whose
most fleeting passage through tiie mind left con-
tamination. Awfully dark, indeed, was their moral
character, and notwithstanding the apparent mild-
ness of their disposition, and the cheerful vivacity
of their conversation, no portion of the human race
was ever perhaps sunk lower in brutal licentiousness
and moral degradation, than this isolated people,

H

98 POLYNESIAN RBSEARCHES.

'' The Paphian Venus drfyen from the west^
In Polynesian groves long nndistarbed.
Her shamefal rites and orgies foul maintained.
The wandering voyager at Tahiti found
Another Daphne.^'

The veil of oblivion must be spread over this part
of their character, of which the appalling picture,
drawn by tlie pen of inspiration in the hand of the
apostle, in the first chapter of his epistle to the
Romans, revolting and humiliating as it is, affords
but too £edthful a portraiture.

The depraved moral habits of the South Sea
Islanders undoubtedly weaken their jnental energies,
and enervate their physical powers ; and although
remarkably strong men are now and then met with
among them, they seem to be more distinguished by
' activity, and capability of endurance, than by mus-
cular strength. They engage in various kinds of
work with great spirit for a time, but they soon tire.
Regular, steady habits of labour are only acquired
by long practice. When a boat manned with
English seamen, and a canoe with natives, have
started together from the shore— at their first setting
out, the natives would soon leave the boat behind;
but, as they became weary, they would relax their
vigour; while the seamen, pulling on steadily,
would not only overtake them, but, if the voyage
occupied three or four hoursy would invariably
reach their destination first.

The natives take a much larger quantity of
refreshment than European labourers, but their
food is less solid and nutritive. They have, how-
ever, the power of enduring fatigue and hunger in a
greater degree than those by whom they are visited.
A native will sometimes travel, in the course of a
day, thirty or forty miles, frequently over mountain

FORMER LONGEVITY. 99

and ravine, without taking any refreshment, except
the juice from a piece of sugar-cane, and apparently
experience but little inconvenience from his ex-
cursion. The facility with which they perform their
journeys is undoubtedly the result of habit, as
many aire accustomed to traverse the mountains^
and climb the rocky precipices, even from their
childhood.

The longevity of the islanders does not appear to
have been, in former times, inferior to that of the
inhabitants of more temperate climates. It is, how-
ever, exceedingly difficult to ascertain the age of
individuals in a community destitute of all records ;
and although many persons are to be met with^
whose wrinkled skin, decrepit form, silver hair,
impaired sight, toothless jaws, and tremulous voice,
afford every indication of extreme age ; these alone
would be fallacious data,^ as climate, food, and
habits of life might have prematurely induced them.
Our inferences are therefore drawn from facts con-
nected with comparatively recent events in their
history, the dates of which are well known. When
the Missionaries arrived in the DufF, there were
natives on the island who could recollect the visit
of Captain Wallis : he was there in 1767. There
are, in both the Sandwich and Society Islands, in-
dividuals who can recollect Captain Cook's visit,
which is fifly years ago ; there are also two now in
the islands, that were taken away in the Bounty,
forty years since ; and these individuals do not look
more aged, nor even so far advanced in years, as
others that may be seen. The opinion of those
Missionaries who have been longest in the islands
is, that many reach the age of seventy years, or
upwards. There is, therefore, every reason to
believe, that the period of human life, in the South

II 2

100 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

Sea Islands, is not shorter than in other parts of
the world, unless when it is rendered so by the
inordinate use of ardent spirits, and the influence
of diseases prevailing among the lower classes,
from which they were originally exempt, and the
ravages of which they are unable to palliate or
remove.

The mode of living, especially among tne farmers,
their simple diet, and the absence of sdl stimulants,
their early hours of retiring to rest, and rising in the
morning with or before the break of day, their
freedom from irritating or distressing cares, and
sedentary habits, which so often, in artificial or
civilized society, destroy health, appear favourable
to the longevity of this portion of the inhabitants,
and present a striking contrast to the dissipated
and licentious habits of the Areois dancers, and
votaries of dissipation and pleasure.

POPULATION. 101

CHAP. V.

CoinparatiTe nmnben of the inhabitantB— IndicationB and
caases of depopulation — Beneficial tendency of ChriBti-
anity — Origin of the inhabitants of the South Sea
Islands — ^Traditions — Legends of Taaroa and Hina —
Resemblance to Jewish history*— Coincidences in lan-
guage, mythology, &g. with the language, &c. of the
Hindoos and Malays. Madagasse, and South Americans
— Probable source ot population — Difficulty of reaching
the islands from the west — ^Account of the different
native voyages-^Geographical extent over which tiie
Polynesian race and language prevail.

It is impossible for any one who has visited these
islands, or traversed any one of the districts, to
entertain the slightest doubt that the numb^ of
inhabitants in the South Sea Islands was formerly
much greater than at present. What their number,
in any remote period of their history, may have
been, it is not easy to ascertain : Captain Cook
estimated those residing in Tahiti at 200,000. The
grounds, however, on which he formed his conclu-
sions were certainly fallacious. The population
was at all times so fugitive and uncertain, as to the
proportion it bore to any section of geographical
surface, that no correct inference, as to the amount
of the whole, could be drawn from the numbers
seen in one part. Captain Wilson's calculation, in
1797, made the population of Tahiti only about
16,000 ; and, not many years afterwards, the
Missionaries declared it as their opinion, that this
island did not contain more than 8000 souls ; and I

102 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

cannot think that, within the last thirty years, it
has ever contained fewer inhabitants.

The present number of natives is about 10,000;
that of Eimeo and Tetuaroa probably 2,000. The
Leeward Islands perhaps contain neai'ly an equal
number. The Austral Islands have about 5,000
inhabitants ; 4,000 of whom reside in the islands of
Rapa and Raivavai.* Rarotogna, or Ranitoa, has
a population of nearly 7,000 ; and the whole of the
Harvey Islands contain not less than ten or eleven
thousand. Connected with these may be con-
sidered the Paumotu, or Pearl Islands, of whose
population it is difficult to form any correct esti-
mate, as there are no means of ascertaining their
numbers, excepting from the reports of the natives,
and the observations of masters of vessels, who
generally make a very short stay among them.
Anaa, or Prince of Wales's Island, is said to be
inhabited by several thousands, and as the islands
are numerous, though small, it is to be presumed
that their population does not amount to less than
ten thousand. From these statements it will appear,
that the population of the Geoi^ian and Society
Islands, together with the adjacent clusters, with
which the natives maintain constant intercourse,
and to which Christianity has been conveyed by
native or European teachers, comprises between
forty-eight and fifty thousand persons. In this
number, the Marquesas, to which native teachers
have gone, and which one of the Missionaries has
recently visited, are not included. Their popula-
tion is probably about thirty or forty thousand.

With respect to the Society and neighbouring

* Since this estimate was first published, a severe
epidemic has swept through these two latter islands, and
considerably diminished the population.

DEPOPULATIOV. 103

islands, although no ancient monuments are found
indicating that they were ever inhabited by a race
much further advanced in civilization than those
found on their shores by Wallis, Codic, and Bou-
gainville ; yet that race has evidendy, at no very
remote period, been much more numerous than it
was when discovered by Europeans. In the bot-
tom of every valley, even to the recesses in the
mountains, on the sides of the inferior hilb, and on
the brows of akaost every promontory, in each of
the islands, monuments of former generations are
still met with in great abundance. Stone pave-
ments of their dwellings and court-yards, founda-
tions of houses, and ruins of family temples, are
numerous. Occasionally they are found in ex-
posed situations, but generally amidst thickets of
brushwood or groves of trees, Some of which are of
the largest growth. All these relics are of the
same kind as those observed among the natives at
the time of their discovery, evidently proving that
they belong to the same race, though to a more
populous «ra of their history. The stone tools
occasionally found near these vestiges of antiquity
demonstrate the same lamentable fact.

The present generations, deeply sensible of the
depopulation that has taken place even within
ike recollection of those most advanced in years,
have felt acutely in prospect of the annihila-
tion that appeared inevitable. Their priests for-
merly denounced the destruction of the nation, as
the greatest punishment the gods could inflict, and
the following was one of the predictions : £J tupu
tefau, € toro tefarero^ e mou te taata: " The fau
{hibiscus) shall grow, Htkefarero (coral) shall spread
or stretch out its branches, but man shall cease." —
The fau is one of the most spreading trees, and is

104 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

of quickest growth ; it soon over-runs uncultivated
lands ; while the branching cotdX^farero, is perhaps
more rapid in its formation than any of the coral-
lines that close up the openings in the reefs, and,
wherever it is shallow, rises to the water's surface,
so as to prevent the passage of the canoe, and
destroy the resort of the fish. This was denounced
as the punishment that would follow disobedience
to the injunctions or requisitions of the priest, de-
livered in the name, and under the authority, of
the gods. Tati, however, remarked to Mr. Davies,
that it was the observing, not the neglecting of the
directions of the priest, that had nearly .produced
its actual accomplishment.

At the time when the nation renounced idolatry,
the population was so much reduced, that many of
the more observant natives thought the denuncia-
tion of the prophet was about to be literally ful-
filled. Tati, the chief of Papara, talking with Mr.
Davies on this subject, in 1815, said, with great
emphasis, that '' if God had not sent his word at
the time he did, wars> infant-murder, human sacri-
fices, &c. would have made an end of the small
remnant of the nation.'* A similar declaration was
pathetically made by Pomare soon after, when some
visitors from England, I think the Deputation from
the Missionary Society, waited upon him at his resi-
dence. He addressed them to the following effect :
'^ You have come to see us under circumstances
very different from those under which your country-
men formerly visited our ancestors. They came in
the eera of men, when the islands were inhabited,
but yon are come to behold just the remnant of the
people." I have often heajd the chiefs speak of
themselves and of the natives as only a small toea,
remainder, left after the extermination of Satani>or

DEPOPULATION. 105

the evil spirit ; comparing themselyes to a firebrand
unconsumed among the mouldering embers of a
recent conflagration. These figures, and others
equally affecting and impressive, were but too
appropriate, as emblems of the actual state to
which they were reduced. Under the depopulating
influence of vicious habits — the dreadful devasta-
tion of diseases that followed, and the early de*
struction of health — ^the prevalence of infanticide
— ^the frequency of war — ^the barbarous principles
upon which it was prosecuted, and the increase of
human sacrifices, it does not appear possible that
they could have existed, as a nation^ for many
generations longer.

An inquiry naturally presents itself in connexion
with this subject, viz. — ^To what cause is this recent
change in the circumstances of the people to be
attributed ? It is self-evident, that if these habita
had always prevailed among the Tahitians, they
must long since have been annihilated. Society
must, at some time, have been more favourable, not
only to the preservation, but to the increase of
population, or the inhabitants could never have
been so numerous as they undoubtedly were a
century or a century and a half ago. There is no
question that depopulation had taken place to
a considerable extent prior to their discovery by
Captain Wallis, and it is not easy to discover the
causes which first led to it. Infanticide and human
sacrifices, together with their wars, appear to have
occasioned the diminution of the inhabitants before
the period alluded to. Whether wars were more
frequent immediately preceding their discovery,
than it had been in earlier ages, we have not the
means of knowing, nor have we been able to ascer-
tain, with any great accuracy, how long the Areoi

106 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

society had existed, or child-murder was practised.
There is reason to believe that infanticide is not of
recent origin, and the antiquity of the Areoi frater-
nity, according to tradition, is equal to that of the
first inhabitants.

Human sacrifices, we are informed by the natives,
are comparatively of modem institution : they were
not admitted until a few generations antecedent to
the discovery of the islands. They were first offered
at Raiatea, m the national marae at Opoa, having
been demanded by the priest in the name of the
god, who had communicated the requisition to his
servant in a dream. Human sacrifices were pre-
sented at Raiatea and the Leeward Islands for
some time before they were introduced among the
offerings to the deities of Tahiti; but soon after
they began to be employed, they were offered witli
great frequency, and in appalling numbers : but of
this, an account will hereafter be given.

The depopulation that has taken place during
the last two or three generations, viz. since their
discovery, may be easily accounted for. In addi-
tion to a disease, which, as a desolating scourge,
spread, unpalliated and unrestrained, its unsightly
and fatal influence among the people, two others
are reported to have been carried thither— one by
the crew of Vancouver in 1790 : and the other bv
means of the Britannia, an English whaler, in 1807.
Both these disorders spread through the islands ;
tlie former almost as fatal as the plague, the latter
affecting nearly every individual throughout all the
islands. The maladies originally prevailing among
them, appear, compared with those by which they
are now afflicted, to have been few in number and
mild in character.

Next to these diseases; the introduction of fire-

CAUSES OF DEPOPULATION. 107

annSy although their use in war has not perhaps
rendered their engagements more cruel and mur-
derous Uian when they fought hand to hand with
club and spear — has most undoubtedly cherished ,
in those who possessed them, a desire for war, as a
means of enlarging their territory, and augmenting
their power. Pomare's dominion would never have
been so extensive and so absolute, but for the aid
he derived, in the early part of his reig^, from the
mutineers of the Bounty, who attended him to
battle with arms which they had previously learned
to use with an effect, which his opponents could
not resist. Subsequently, the hostile chieftains,
having procured fire-arms, and succeeding in
attaching to their interest European deserters from
their ships, considered themselves, if not invincible,
at least equal to their enemies, and sought every
opportunity for engaging in Uie horrid work of
accelerating the depopulation of their country.
Destruction was the avowed design with which
they commenced every war, and the principle of
extermination rendered all llieir hostilities fatal to
the vanquished party.

Another cause most influential in the diminution
of the Tahitian race, has been the introduction of
the art of distillation, and the extensive use of
ardent spirits. They had, before they were visited
by our ships, a kind of intoxicating beverage called
ava^ but tlie deleterious effects resulting from its
use were confined to a comparatively small portion
of the inhabitants. The growth of the plant from
which it was procured was slow ; its culture re-
quired care ; it was usually tabued for the chiefs ;
and the common people were as strictly prohibited
from appropriating it to their own use, as Uie .
peasantry are in reference to game in England.

108 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

Its effects also were rather sedative, than narcotic
or inebriating.

But after the Tahitians had been taught by
foreign seamen, and natives of the Sandwich
Islands, to distil spirits from indigenous roots, and
rum had been carried to the islands in abundance
as an article of barter, intoxication became almost
universal ; and all the demoralization, crimes, and
misery, that follow in its train, were added to the
multiplied sorrows and wasting scoui^es of the
people. It nurtured indolence, and spread discord
through their families, increased the abominations
of the Areoi society, and the unnatural crime of
infanticide. Before going to the temple to offer a
human sacrifice to their gods, the priests have been
known to intoxicate themselves, in order that they
might be insensible to any unpleasant feelings this
horrid work might excite.

These causes operating upon a people, whose
simple habits of diet rendered their constitutions
remarkably susceptible of violent impressions,
are, to a reflecting mind, quite sufficient to account
for the rapid depopulation of the islands within the
last fifty or sixty years.

The philanthropist, however, will rejoice to
know, that although sixteen years ago the nation
appeared on the verge of extinction, it is now,
under the renovating and genial principles of true
religion, and the morality with which this is inse-
parably connected, rapidly increasing. When the
people in general embraced Christianity, we re-
commended that a correct account of the births and
deaths occurring in each of the islands should be
kept. From the operation of the causes above
enumerated, for some years even after the crimes
•n which they originated had ceased, the number

RECENT INCREASE OF POPULATION. 109

of deaths exceeded that of births. About the
years 1819 and 1820 they were nearly equal, and
since that period population has been rapidly
increasing,

It was not till the account of deaths and births
was presented, that we had an adequate idea of
the affecting depopulation that had been going on ;
and if, for several years after infanticide, inebria-
tion, human sacrifices, and war, were discontinued,
the number of deaths exceeded that of the births ;
how appalling must that excess have been, when
all these destructive causes were in full operation !
There is now, however, every ground to indulge
the expectation that the population will become
greater than it has been in any former period of
their history ; and it is satisfactory, in connexion
with this anticipation, to know— that an extent of
soil capable of cultivation, and other resources,
are adequate to the maintenance of a population
tenfold increased above its present numbers.

The origin of the inhabitants of the South Sea
Islands, in common with other parts of Polynesia,
is a subject perhaps of more interest and curiosity,
than of importance and practical utility. The vast
extent of geographical surface covered by the race
of which they form an integral portion, the ana-
logy in character, the identity in language, &c.,
the remote distance at which the different tribes
are placed from each other, and the isolated spots
which they occupy in the vast expanse of sur-
rounding water, render the source whence they
were derived, one of the mysteries connected with
the history of our species.

To a Missionary, the business of whose life is
with the people among whom he is stationed,
every thing relating to their history is, at least.

1 10 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

interestiiig ; and the origin of the islanders has
often engaged our attention, and formed the
subject of our inquiries. The early history of a
people destitute of all records, and remote from
nations in whose atinals contemporaneous events
would be preserved, is necessarily involved in
obscurity. The greater part of the traditions of this
people are adapted to perplex rather than facilitate
the investigation.

A very generally received Tahitian tradition is,
that the first human pair were made by Taaroa,
the principal deity formerly acknowledged by the
nation. On more than one occasion, I have lis-
tened to the details of the people respecting his
work of creation. They say, tliat after Taaroa
had formed the world, he created man out of
araea, red earth, which was also the food of man
until bread-fruit was produced. In connexion-
with this, some relate that Taaroa one day called
for the man by name. When he came, he caused
him to fall asleep, and that, while he slept, he
took out one of his ivi, or bones, and with it made
a woman, whom he gave to the man as his wife,
and that they became the progenitors of mankind.
This always appeared to me a mere recital of the
Mosaic account of creation, which they had heard
from some European, and I never placed any
reliance on it, altiiough they have repeatedly told
me it was a traditioi^ among them before any
foreigner arrived. Some have also stated that
the woman's name was Ivi, which would be by
them pronounced as if written Eve. Ivi is an
aboriginal word, and not only signifies a bone, but
also a widow, and a victim slain in war. Not-
withstanding the assertion of the natives, I am
disposed to think that /vi, or Eve, is the only

POPULAR TRADITIONS. 1 1 1

aboriginal part of the Btory, as far as it respects
the mother of the human race. Should more
careful and minute mquiry confirm the truth of
their declaration, and prove that this account was
in existence among them prior to their intercourse
with Europeans, it will be the most remarkable
and valuable oral tradition of the origin of the
human* race yet known.

Another extensive and popular tradition referred
the origin of the people to Opoa, in the island of
Raiatea, where the tits, or spirits, formerly resided,
who assumed of themselves, or received from the
gods, human bodies, and became the progenitors
of mankind. The name of one was Tii Maaraauta ;
Tii, branching or extending towards the land, or
the interior : and of the other, Tii Maaraatai ; Tii,
branching or spreading towards the sea. These,
however, are supposed to be but other names for
Taaroa. It is supposed that prior to the period of
Tii Maaraauta's existence, the islands were only
resorted ta by the gods or spiritual beings, but
that these two, endowed with powers of pro-
creation, produced the human species. They first
resided at Opoa, whence they peopled the island
of Raiatea, and subsequently spread themselves
over the whole cluster. Others state, that Tii was
not a spirit, but a human being, the first man
made by the gods ; that his wife was sometimes
called Til, and sometimes Hina ; that when they
died, their spirits were supposed to survive the
dissolution of the body, and were still called by
the same name, and hence the term tii was first
applied to the spirits of the departed, a significa-
tion which it retained till idolatry was abolished.

In the Ladrone Islands, departed chiefs, or the
spirits of such, are called aritis, and to them

112 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

prayers were addressed. The iiis of Tahiti were
also considered a kind of inferior deities, to whom,
on several occasions, prayers were offered. The
resemblance of this term to the demons or dii of the
ancients, is singular, and might favour the con-
jecture that both were derived from the same
source.

The origin of the islands, as well as their inha-
bitants, was generally attributed to Taaroa, or the
joint agency of Taaroa and Hina; and although one
of their traditions states that all the islands were
formerly united in one fenua nui, or large coj>-
tinent, which the gods in anger destroyed, scatter-
ing in the ocean the fragments, ofwhich Tahiti is
one of the largest ; yet others ascribe their forma-
tion to Taaroa, who is said to have laboured so hard
in the work of creation, that the profuse perspi-
ration induced thereby, filled up the hollows, and
formed the sea ; accounting, by this circumstance,
for its transparency and saltness. Others attribute
the origin of the world, the elements, the heavenly
bodies, and the human species, to the procreative
powers of their deities ; and, according to their
account, one of the descendants of Taaroa, and the
son of the sun and moon, and, in reference to his
descent, the Manco Capac of their mythology,
embracing the sand on the sea shore, — begat a son,
who was called Tii, and a daughter, who was called
Opiira. These two, according to their tradition,
were the father and mother of mankind.

But the most circumstantial tradition, relative to
the origin of mankind, is one for which, as well as
for much valuable information on the mythology
and worship of the idols of the South Sea Islanders,
I am indebted to the researches of my esteemed
friend and coadjutor, Mr. BarfF. According to this

POPULAR TRADITIONS. 113

legend, man was the fifth order of intelligent beings
created by Taaroa and Hina, (of whom an account
will hereafter be given,) and was called the Rahu
taata ite ao ia Tiiy ** The class, or order of the
world, of, orby, Tii/' Hina is reported to have
said to Taaroa, *^ What shall be done, how shall
man be obtained ? Behold, classed or fixed are
gods of the po, or state of night, and th^re are
no men/' Taaroa is said to have answered, ** Gro
on the shore to the interior, to your brother/' Hina
answered, ^* I have been inland, and he is not/'
Taaroa then said, ^^ Go to the sea, perhaps he is on
the sea ; or if on the land, he will be on the land/'
Hina said, '^ Who is at sea V* . The god answered,
'^ Tiimaaraatai/' Who is Tiimaaraatai ? is he a
man ?" " He is a man, and your brother,"
answered the god ; '' Go to the sea, and seek him/'
When the goddess had departed, Taaroa ruminated
within himself as to the means by which man should
be formed, and went to the land, where he assumed
the appearance and substance which should con-
stitute man. Hina returning from her unsuccessful
search for Tiimaaraatai at sea, met him, but not
knowing him, said, " Who are you ?" " I am Tii-
maaraatai," he replied. ** Where have you been ?"
said the goddess : '^ I have sought you here, and
you were not ; I went to the sea, to look for Tii-
maaraatai, and he was not." '' I have been here in
my house, or abode," answered Tiimaaraatai/' and
behold you have arrived, my sister, come to me."
Hina said, " So it is, you are my brother ; let us
live together." They became man and wife; and
the son that Hina afterwards bore, they called Tii.
He was the first-bom of mankind. Afterwards
Hina had a daughter, who was called Hinaeree-
remonoi ; she became the wife of Tii, and bore to

I

114 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

him a son, who was called Taata, the general name
(with slight modification) for man throughout the
Pacific. Hina, the daughter and wife ofTaaroa,
the grandmother of Taata, being transformed into
a beautiful young woman, became the wife of
Taata or Man, bore him a son and a daughter,
called Ouru and Fana, who were the progenitors
of the hutnan race.

One account states that the visible creation has
two foundations or origins, that Taaroa made the
earth, the sun, moon, and stars, heaven and hell :
and that Tii made man of the earth. According
to this tradition, they believed that of the earth at
Ati-auru, a place in Opoa, Tii made a woman,
dwelt with her in a house called Fare-pouri, in
Opoa, that she bore him a daughter' who was
called Hina-tumararo ; she became the wife of
Tiimaaraatai, and from these the world was peo*
pled : Tii and Taaroa, the people imagined to be
one and the same being, but that Taaroa dwelt in
the region of chaoSy and Tii in the world of light.

Another tradition stated, that the first inha-
bitants of the South Sea Islands originally came
from a country in the direction of the setting sun,
to which they' say several names were given,
though none of them are remembered by the pre-
sent inhabitants.

Their traditions are numerous, often contra^
dictory, and though it is difficult to obtain a correct
recital of them from any of the present rnhal»t-
ants ; yet more might have been inserted, but they
can scarcely be said to impart any valuable infor-
mation as to the countiy whence the inhabitants
originally came. Some additional evidence, small
indeed in quantity, but rather more conclusive,
may be ga^liered from the traditions of the mytho-

POPULAR TRADITIONS. 115

logy, (fustoms^ and language preserved among the
Tahitians, and inhabitants of other isles of the
Pacific^ when they are compared with those pre-
vailing in different parts of the world. One of
their accounts of creation, that in which Taaroa is
stated to have made the first man with earth or
sand, and the very circumstantial tradition they
have of the deluge, if they do not, as some have
supposed, (when taken in connexion with many
eustoms, and analogies in language^) warrant thq
inference that the Polynesians have an Hebrew
origin ; they show that the nation, whence they
emigrated, was acquainted with some of the lead->
ing facts recorded in the Mosaic history of the pri-
mitive ages of mankind. Others appear to have
a striking resemblance to several conspicuous
features of the more modem Hindoo, or Brami-
nical mythology. The account of the creation
given in Sir W. Jones's translation of the Institutes
of Menu, accords in no small degree with the
Tahitian legends of the production of the world,
including waters, &c., by the procreative power
of their god. The Braminical account is, that
f* He (t. e. the divine Being) having willed to pro-
duce various beings from his own Divine sub-
stance, first, with a thought, created the waters^
aiid placed in them a productive seed. That seed
became an egg, bright as gold, blazing like the
luminary with a thousand beams, and in that egg
he was bom himself, in the form of Brama, the
gfeat forefather of all spirits. The waters were
called nartty because they were the production of
narauy the Spirit of God ; and since they were hi^
first ayana, or place of motion, he is thence named
Narayana, or moving in the waters. In the egg
the great power sat inactive a whole year (of the

i2

116 POLYNESIAK RESEARCHES.

creator ;) at the close of which, by his thought
alone, he caused the egg to divide itself. From
it^ two divisions he formed the heavens (above)
end the earth (beneath)" &c. It is impossible
to avoid noticing the identity of this account, con-
tained in one of the ancient writings of the
Bramins,. with the ruder version of the same
legend in the tradition prevailing in the Sandwich
Islands, that the islands were produced by a bird,
a frequent emblem of deity, a medium through
which the gods often communicated with men ;
which laid an egg upon the waters, which after-
wards burst of itself, and produced the islands ;
especially, if with this we connect the appendages
Tahitian tradition ftimishes, that at first the hea-
vens joined the earth, and were only separated by
the ievtty an insignificant plant, draconitum po-
lypkillum, till their god, Ruu, lifted up the hea-
vens from the earth. The same event is recorded
in one of their songs, in the following line :

Na Ruu i to te rai:

Ruu did elevate or raise the heavens.

Meru, or Mount Mem, the abode of the gods,
the heaven of the Hindoos, is also the paradise of
some classes of the South Sea Islanders, the
dwelling-place of departed kings, and others who
have been deified.

The institutes of Menu* also forbade a Bramin
to eat with his wife, or to be present when she ate;
and in this injunction may have originated the
former universal practice among these islands, of
the man and his wife eating their meat separately.

* Menu was the Noah of the Hindoos ; and Mini, pro-
nounced Meru, was the first king of the Sandwich
Islands,

POLYNESIANS AND ASIATICS. 1 17

Varuna and Vahni are among the gods of the
Hindoos; the latter, among tibe eight guardian
deities of the world, appears to have been the
Neptune of the Bramins, as we learn from the
following lines in Sir W. Jones's beautiful trans-
lation of the hymn to Indra ; " Green Varuna,
whom foaming waves obey:" and also, " Vahni
flaming like the lamp of day." Both the terms in
the South Sea language for spirit, or spiritual
being, bear a strong resemblance to. these names ;
the one being vartia, in which the n only is omit-
ted; and in many words, as they are used among
the other islanders, some of their consonants are
omitted by the Tahitians. Vaiti is al^o another
apparently more ancient term for spirit^ used by
them, which somewhat resembles the Vahni of
the Hindoos. Bishop Heber, the most recent
writer on the usages and appearance of the Hin-
doos, informs us, in his admirable Journal, that
many things which he saw among the inhabitants
of India, especially of Ceylon, reminded him of the
plates in Cook's voyages.

The points of resemblance between the Polyne-
sians and the Malayan inhabitants of Java, Suma-
tra, and Borneo, and the Ladrone, Caroline, and
Philippine Islands, are still greater. In some parts
the word for god or spirit is dewa. Among the
Battas of Sumatra, men and women eat separately,
cannibalism prevails, and they are much addicted
to gaming. War is deteimined, and its results
predicted, by observing the entrails, and the
appearance, of the animals offered in sacriEce ;
these all prevail in the isles of the Pacific.

The principal portion of the marriage ceremony,
in some of these islands, consists in the bridegroom
throwing a piece of cloth over the bride, or the

i 18 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

friends throwing it over both. This is also prac-
tised among the Tahitians. The bodies of the
dead are kept by the inhabitants of the Caroline
Islands, in a manner resembling the tupapaus of
Tahiti ; and, in the Ladrones, they feast round the
tomb, and offer food, &c. to the departed. This
practice also prevailed extensively in the South
Sea Islands. The fables of the inhabitants of
the Ladrone . Islands, which led them to regard
a rock as the father of their race, accords with
some of the Tahitian traditions.

In the former also, according to the accounts of
ihe Jesuit Missionaries, a licentious society exbted,
called by the people Uritoy, strikingly analogous,
in all its distinguishing features, to that institu-
tion in the South Seas called the Areoi society.
Their implements of war are alike. Dr. Bucha-
nan states, that in Pulo Panang he saw a chief of
the Malay. tribe, who had a staff, the head of
which was ornamented with a bushy lock of
human hair, which the chief had cut from the
head of his enemy when he lay dead at his feet.
This exactly accords with the conduct of the Mar-
quesans ; many of whose clubs, and even walking-
sticks, I have seen decorated with locks of human
hair taken from those slain in battle.

Between the canoes and the language, of these
islands and the southern groups, there is a more
close resemblance. Their language has a remark*
able affinity with that of the eastern Polynesia.
There are also many points of resemblance in
language, manners, and customs, between the
South Sea Islanders and the inhabitants of Mada-
gascar in the west ; the inhabitants of the Aleu-
tian and Kurile islands in the north, which stretch
along the mouth of Behring's straits, and form

POLYNESIANS AND ASIATICS. 119

the chain which connects the old and the new
worlds ; and also between the Polynesians and the
inhabitants of Mexico, and some parts -of Sonth
America. The general caft ni featere, and fre-
quent fliiBde fif aanplodoii — die pisctioe of tatau-
ing^, which prevails among the Aleutians, and some
of the tribes of America — ^the process of embalm-
ing the dead bodies of their chiefs, and preserving
them uninterred — ^the form and structure of their
massy pyramidal stone temples and places of
sepulture— the game of chess among the Arauca-
nians — ^the word for God being tew or tev — ^the
exposure of their children-— liieir games — ^their
mode of dressing the hair, ornamenting it with
feathers — ^the numerous words in their language
resembling those of Tahiti, &c. ; their dress, espe^
cially the poncho^ and even the legend of the
origin of the Incas, bear no small resemblaxM^e to
that of Tii, who was also descended from the sun.

The points of resemblance are not' so many as
in the Asiatic continent and islands ; but that pro-
bably arises from the circumstance of the great
facilities furnished by the Hindoo records^ and the
absence of all original writings relating to the his-
tory, mythology, manners, language, &c. of the
aborigines of South America. Were we better
acquainted with the history and institutions of
the first inhabitants of the new world, more nume-
rous points of resemblance would be discovered.

Other coincidences, of a more dubious character,
occur in the eastern, western, and intermediate or
oceanic. tribes; among which might be mentioned
the account given by Sir John Mandeville. He is
stated to have commenced his travels early in the
fourteenth century. In a country near the river
Indus, he met with the fountain of youth, the water

120 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

of which being odoriferous^ tasted of all m9A^
ner of spices ; and of this, whoever drank for a
few days upon a fasting stomachy was quickly
cured of every internal disorder with which he
might be afflicted. To this description he added^
it was certain those who lived near, and drank
frequently of it, had a wonderful appearance of
youth through their whole lives, and that he him-
self drank of it three or four times, and imagined
his health was better afterwards. The expedition
which led to the discovery of Florida was under*
taken not so much from a desire to explore un-
known countries, as to find an equally celebrated
fountain, described in a tradition prevailing among
the inhabitants of Puerto Rico, as existing in
Binini, one of the Lucayo Islands. It was said to
possess such restorative powers as to renew the
youth and vigour of every person who bathed in its
waters. It was in search of this fountain, which
was the chief object of their expedition, that Ponce
de Leon ranged through the Lucayo Islands, and
ultimately readied the shores of Florida.* Although
it may throw no light on the origin of the South
-Sea Islanders, nor fiimish any evidence of their
former connexion with the inhabitants either of
India or America, the coincidence is striking
between these fabulous traditions, and those so
circumstantially detailed by the natives of some of
the islands of the Pacific, especially in the Ha*
waiian account of the voyage of Kamapiikai, to

* In reference to this enterprise, Robertson remftrks :
>' That a tale so fabulous should gain credit among the
uninstructed Indians, is not surprising; that it should
make any impression on an enlightened people, appears,
in the present age, altogether incredible. The fact^
however, is certain.

REMARKABLE COIUCIBKUCSS. 121

the land wliere the inhabitants enjoyed perpetual
health and youthful beauty, where the wai ora
(life-giving fountain) removed every internal mala*
dy, and external deformity or decrepitude, from
all those who were plunged beneath its salutary
waters. A tabular view of a number of words in
the Malayan, Asiatic, or the Mada^asse, the Ame*
ncan, and the Polynesian lang^uages, would pro-
bably show, that at some remote period, either the
inhabitants of these distant parts of the world
maintained frequent intercourse with each other,
or that cc^nies from some one of them, originally
peopled, in part or altogether, the others. The
striking analogy between the numerals and other
parts of the language, and several of the customs,
of the aborigines of Madagascar, and those of the
Malays who inhabit the Asiatic islands, many thou-
sands of miles distant in one direction, and of the
Polynesians more remote in another, shows that
they were originally one people, cht that they had
emigrated from the same source. Many words in
the language, and several of the traditions, cus-
toms, &c. of the Americans, so strongly resemble
those of Asia, as to warrant the inference that they
originally came from that part of the world. Whe*
ther some of the tribes who originally passed from
Asia, along the Kurile or Aleutian Islands, across
Behring's straits, to America, left part of their
number, who were the progenitors of the present
race inhabiting those islands ; and that they, at
some subsequent period, either attempting to fol-
low the tide of emigration to the east, or steering
to the south, were by the north-east trade-winds
driven to the Sandwich Islands, whence they pro-
ceeded to the southern groups ; or whether those
who had traversed the nortb-west coast of Ame-

122 POLTNEHAK KESEARCHES.

rica, sailed either from California or Mexico across
the Pacific, under the favouring influence of the
regular easterly winds, peopled Easter Island, and
continued under the steady easterly or trade^-windB
advancing westward till the/met the tide of emigra-
tion flowing from the larger groups or islands, iii
which the Malays form the majority of the popula-
tion — it is not now easy to determine. But a variety
of facts connected with the past and present circum-
stances of the inhabitants of these countries, autho-
rize the conclusion, that, either part of the present
inhabitants of the South Sea Islands came origi-
nally from America, or that tribes of the Polyne-
sians have, at some remote period, found their way
to the continent.

If the opinion of some American antiquaries be
correct, that the skeletons found in the caverns of
•Kentucky and Tennessee are those of a Malay tribe,
and some of the bodies were wrapped in feather
cloaks, similar to those used ^' in the Sandwich and
Figi islands," and ''the best defined specimens of
art among the antiquities of Ohio and Kentucky are
clearly of a Polynesian character ;'' it would appear
that the North Americans, Polynesians, and Malays
were formerly the same people, or had one common
origin. The difficulties in the passage of the first
inhabitants from the American continent, to the
most eastern islands of the Pacific, are not greater
than must have attended the passage of the same
tribe between the Society and Sandwich Islands ;
and yet the identity of the inhabitants of these is
unequivocal. It is difficult to say which group
was first peopled. Evidence of great antiquity,
compared with the peopling of smaller islands, may
be adduced in favour of each; but I am, for
various reasons, disposed to think the northern

WHENCE PEOPLED. 123

islands were first settled. Their genealogies ex-
tend much farther back. I am not aware that
Tahiti, or the name of any of the southern islands,
is given to any part of the Sandwich Islands;
yet in some of their traditions, Hawaii is men-
tioned as the ancient name of Opoa ; and Oro,
who is by some described as both god and man,
as haying two bodies or forms, or being a kind of
connecting link between the gods and men, is
described as the first king of Hawaii, or Opoa
in Raiatea. If it be supposed that any part of
the American continent was settled by a maritime
people, whether Malayan or Japanese, a portion
of the same tribe who settled in Nootica, or
whose remains are discovered in North America,-
might, in vessels corresponding with those in
which they passed the straits, proceed southward
to the Sandwich Islands, and thence spread over
eastern Polynesia.

In the practice of tatauing, and in other re-
spects, the Battas of Sumatra, and the tribes found
in some of the islands to the south-west of Suma-
tra, who are regarded by Marsden as the descen-
dants of the original inhabitants of this archipe-
lago, especially the natives of the Poggi, or
Nassau Islands, resemble the natives of Poly-
nesia. Resemblances nearly, if not equally as
strong, are found on the American continent.
. La Perouse describes the inhabitants of the
country in the neighbourhood of the Baie des
Fran^ais, as remarkably fair; and in their fea-
tures, complexion, &c. bearing a strong resem-
blance to the inhabitants of Mangeea, or, as the
natives call it, Maonia, and the lighter coloured
islanders of the Pacific. About lat. 36. N. the
natives of the coast visited by Vancouver, are

124 POLTKESIAN RESEARCHES.

described as a people of pleasing and courteous
deportment, and gentle expression of countenance,
their features resembling those of Europeans; their
complexion was of a light olive, and their skins
tataued like those of the South Sea Islanders.*

The origin of the inhabitants of the Pacific is
involved in great mystery, and the evidences are
certainly strongest in favour of their derivation
from the Malayan tribes inhabiting the Asiatic
Islands ; but, allowing this to be their source, the
means by which they have arrived at the remote
and isolated stations they now occupy, are still
inexplicable. If they were peopled from the
Malayan Islands, they must have possessed better
vessels, and more accurate knowledge of naviga*
tion, than they now exhibit, to have made their
way against the constant trade-winds prevailing
widiin the tropics, and blowing regularly, with
but transient and uncertain interruptions, from
east to west. The nations at present inhabiting
the islands of the Pacific, have undoubtedly been
more extensively spread than they now are. In
the most remote and solitary islands occasionally
discovered in recent years, such as Pitcaim's, on
which the mutineers of the Bounty settled, and on
Fanning's Island near Christmas Island, midway
between the Society and Sandwich Islands,
although now desolate, relics of former inhabit-
ants have been found. Pavements of floors,
foundations of houses, and stone entrances, have
been discovered ; and stone adzes or hatchets have
been found at some distance from the surface,
exactly resembling those in use among the people
of the North and South Pacific at the time of their
discovery. These facts prove that the nations
* Pritchard's Physical Hist, of Mankind, vol. ii. p. $04.

WHENCE PEOPLED. 125

now inhabiting these and other islands have been,
in former times, more widely extended than they
are at present. The monuments or vestiges of
former population found in these islands are all
exceedingly rude, and therefore warrant the in-
ference tiiat the people to whom they belonged
were rude and uncivilized, and must have emi*
grated from a nation but little removed from a
state of barbarism — a nation less civilized than
those must have been, who could have constructed
vessels, and traversed this ocean six or seven
thousand miles against the regularly prevailing
winds, which must have been the fact, if we con-
clude they were peopled only by the Malays.

On the other hand, it is easy to imagine how
they could have proceeded from the east. The
winds would favour their passage, and the inci-
pient stages of civilization in which they were
found, would resemble the condition of the abori-
gines of America, far more than that of the Asiatics.
There are many well-authenticated accounts of long
voyages performed in native vessels by the inhabit-
ants of both the North and South Pacific. In
1696, two canoes were driven from Ancarso to one
of the Philippine islands, a distance of 800 miles.
"They had run before the wind for 70 days
together, sailing from east to west." Thirty-five
had embarked, but five had died fix>m the effects
of privation and fatigue during the voyage, and
one shortly after their arrival. In 1720, two
canoes were drifted fix)m a remote distance to one
of the Marian islands. Captain Cook found in the
island of Wateo Atiu inhabitants of Tahiti, who had
been drifted by contrary winds in a canoe, from
some islands to the eastward, unknown to the
natives. Several parties have, within the last few

126 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

years, reached the Tahitian shores from islands to
the eastward, of which the Society Islands had
never before heard. In 1820, a canoe arrived
at Maurua, about thirty miles west of Borabora,
which had come from Rurutu, one of the Austral
Islands. This vessel had been at sea between a
fortnight and three weeks, and, considering its
route, must have sailed seven or eight hundred
miles. A more recent instance occurred in 1824 :
a boat belonging to Mr. Williams of Raiatea, left
that island with a westerly wind for Tahiti* The
wind changed after the boat was out of sight of
land. They were driven to the island of Atiu, a
distance of nearly 800 miles in a south-westerly
direction, where they were discovered several
months afterwards. Another boat, belonging id
Mr. Barff of Huahine, was passing between that
island and Tahiti about the same time, and has
never since been heard of; and subsequent in-
stances of equally distant and perilous voyages in
canoes or open boats, might be cited. The tradi-
tions of the inhabitants of Rarotogna, one of the
Harvey Islands, preserve the most satisfactory
accounts, not only of single parties, at different
periods for many generations back, having arrived
there from the Society Islands, but also derive the
origin of the population from the island of Raiatea.
Their traditions according with those of the Raia-
teans on the leading points, afford the strongest
evidence of these islands having been peopled
from those to the eastward.

If we suppose the population of the South Sea
Islands to have proceeded from east to west, these
events illustrate the means by which it may have
been accomplished ; for it is a striking fact, that
every such voyage related in the accounts of

WHENCE PEOPLED. 127

ToyagerSy preserved in the traditions of the natives,
or of recent occurrence, has invariably been from
east to west, directly opposite to that in which it
must have been, had the population been altoge-
ther derived from the Malayan archipelago.

From whatever source, however, they have origi-
nated, the extent of geographical surface over
which they have spread themselves, the variety,
purity, and copiousness of their language, the
ancient character of some of the best traditions,
as of the deluge, &c. justify the supposition of
their remote antiquity. Yet their ignorance of
letters, of the use of iron till a short time prior
to their discovery, and the rude character of all
their implements, and of the monuments of their
ancestry, seem opposed to the idea of their having
been derived, as supposed by some eminent modem
geographers, from an ancient, powerful nation,
which cultivated maritime habits, but which has
been frittered down into detached local communi-
ties unknown to each other*

128 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

CHAP. VI .

Habits of the Islanders — Unsocial in domestic life-*^
Humiliating circumstances of the females — Irregular
mode- of life — Time of taking food — Cleanliness — Fre-
quent bathing — Manner of wearing the hair, and remov-
ing the beard— ^Artificial flowers — Natiye toilet — Occu*
pations — Agriculture — Implements, &c. — Fishing — En-
closures — Salmon and other nets — Use of the spear-
Various kinds of hooks and lines — The vaa-tira —
Fishing by torch light — Canoes used among the
islands — Origin of the name — Skreened canoe and
Maihi.

The habits* of the South Sea Islanders were in
many respects interesting and commendable ; yet
in these, as in their moral character and disposi-.-
tions, they often presented the most strange con-
tradictions. Patriotism and public spirit were
often strongly manifested. In their universal pas-
sion for public amusements they appear a social
people, yet their domestic habits were unsocial
and cheerless. This is probably to be attributed
to the invidious distinction established by their
superstition, and enforced by tabu oetween the
sexes.

The father and the mother, with their chil-
dren, never, as one social happy band, surrounded
the domestic hearth, or, assembling under the
grateful shade of the verdant grove, partook toge-
ther, as a family, of the bounties of Providence.
The nameless but delightful emotions, experienced

FEMALfi DEGRADATION. 129

on such occasions, were unknown to them, as well
as all that we are accustomed to distinguish by the
endearing appellation of domestic happiness. The
institutes of Oro and Tane inexorably required,
not only that the wife should not eat those kinds
of food of which the husband partook, but that she
should not eat in the same place, or prepare her
food at the same fire. This restriction applied not
only to the wife, with regard to her husband, but
to all the individuals of die female sex, from their
birth to their death. In sickness or pain, or
whatever other circumstances, the mother, the wife,
the sister, or the daughter, might be brought into,
it was never relaxed. The men, especially those
who occasionally attended on the services of idol
worship in the temple, were considered ra^ or
sacred ; while the female sex was considered noa^
or common : the men were allowed to eat the flesh
of the pig, and of fowls, and a variety of fish,
cocoa-nuts, and plantains, and whatever was pre-
sented as an ofTermg to the gods : these the females,
on pain of death, were forbidden to touch ; as it
was supposed, they would pollute them. The
fires at which the men's food was cooked, were
also sacred, and were forbidden to be used by the
females. * The baskets in which their provision
was kept, and the house in which the men ate,
were also sacred, and prohibited to the females
under the same cruel penalty. Hence the inferior
food, both for wives, daughters, &c. was cooked
at separate fires, deposited in distinct baskets, and
eaten in lonely solitude by the females, in little
huts erected for the purpose.

The most offensive and frequent imprecations
which the men were accustomed to use towards
each other, referred also to this degraded condition

i30 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

of the females. E taka miti noa oe na to medua,
Mayest thou become a bottle, to hold salt water
for thy mother ; or another, Mayest thou be baked
as food for thy mother; were imprecations they
were accustomed to denounce upon each other :
or. Take out your eye-ball, and give it to your
mother to eat.

Their domestic habits were not only unsocial,
but irregular, alike in their periods for refresh*
ment and sleep, and their seasons of labour or
amusement.

The natives of the South Sea Islands had no
regular times for eating, but arranged their meals^
in a great measure, according to their avocations,
or the supply of their provision. They usually eat
some time m the forenoon; but their principal
meal is taken towards the evening. Their food
being lighter, and of a less stimulating kind, than
that of Europeans, is usually consumed by them in
much larger quantities at a time. They do not
appear ever to have been very temperate in their
diet, excepting from necessity, and many seem to
have made the gratification of their appetite the
means of shortening their existence.

They had no stated periods for labour or rest.
The morning they regard as the best part of the
day : they rise early, generally with, and frequently
before, day-break, though it is often late before
they retire to rest, especially when the mild light
of the moon illuminates their cool and pleasant
evening hours. Much of their time, however, is
passed in sleep, and unless urgent engagements
forbid, all classes without hesitation resign them-
selves to slumber during the sultry hours of the
middle of the day. A strong healthy man feels it
no disgrace to lie stretched on his mat from morn-

BATHING IN RIVERS. 131

ing till evening, scarcely rising', except to eat,
unless some amusement, or other call, urgently
require it.

Although irregular, the people are cleanly ; but
to the influence of climate, the habit of frequent
bathing, so prevalent among the South Sea Island*
ers, is probably to be attributed. This salutary
custom is followed alike by all classes, without
regard to sex or age. The infant immediately after
its birth is with its mother taken to the sea ; and
the last effort often made by the aged and decrepit,
is to crawl or totter to the water, and enjoy its
refreshing influence. Their loose light mode of
dressing, and the abundance of cool, clear, and
secluded streams meandering through almost every
valley in the islands, probably favour the frequency
of the practice, and its grateful effects render it
one of their greatest luxuries.

Contrary to the practice of those who are accus-
tomed to resort to the sea-side for the purpose of
bathing in salt-water, the natives of these islands,
without exception, prefer on every account to
bathe in the mountain streams. It is a principal
remedy in many of their diseases ; yet doubtless it
often aggravates what they design to alleviate. It
is, however, a practice of great benefit : for this, as
well as every other purpose, they prefer the fresh
water ; and even those whose avocations lead them
to frequent the sea for Ashing, although they may
have plunged beneath the wave fifty times in the
^^Jf yet invariably repair to the nearest stream to
bathe, before they return to their houses. They
say the sea-water produces an irritation which is
peculiarly unpleasant. Children -not more than
three or four years of age, are often seen playing
in groups along the margin of the sea, without the

k2

132 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

least apprehension of danger, and they as frequent-
ly resort for amusement to the rivers. It is pro-
bable that the people in general bathe less now
than they were accustomed to do formerly, yet
there are none, perhaps, who omit ^bathing once,
and many who visit the river twice, in the course
of the day. The universality and frequency of this .
custom is highly conducive to health, and produces
a degree of personal cleanliness seldom met with
among an uncivilized race.

, Although some of their practices are offensive to
every feeling of delicacy and propriety, yet they
are certainly a remarkably cleanly people. This
regards not only their repeated ablutions, but their
care to remove every Uiing unsightly from their
persons. No hair was allowed on their limbs ; for-
merly it was plucked out by the roots, or shaved
with a shell or a shark's tooth ; and those who do
not wear the European dress, are still very particu-
lar in removing the hair from their legs and arms.
This is usually done with a knife, the razors they
have among them being reserved for removing the
beard.

. The adults formerly wore their hair in a variety
of forms ; the heads of their children they always
shaved with a shark's tooth. This operation was
frequently repeated during their juvenile years.
The females generally cut fiieir hair short, but the
men wore theirs in every diversity of form — some-
times half the head almost shaved, the hair being
cut short, and the other half covered with long hair
— sometimes the crown cut, and the edges left the
original length. Frequently it was plaited in a
broad kind of tail behind, or wound up in a knot on
the crown of the head, or in two smaller ones above
each ear. Since the introduction of Christianity it

NATIVE SHAVING. 133

has been worn remarkably neat : the men's hair is
usually short, the females the same, excepting in
the front, though some wear it long, curled in
front, and bound up on the crown.

Nothing at first sight produces a stronger im-
pression on the most careless observer, in the dif-
ference between the inhabitants of an island where
paganism prevails, and those of one where Chris-
tianity has been introduced, than the appearance
of their hair. I have often seen one who was an
idolater, or who had but recently embraced
Christianity, and whose hair was uncut and his
beard unshaven, standing in a group of Christians,
and I h&ve been struck with the contrast.

Sometimes the men plucked the beard out by
the roots, shaved it off with a shark's tooth, or
removed it with the edges of two shells, acting
like the blades of a pair of scissors, by cutting
against each other ; while others allowed the beard
to grow, sometimes twisting and braiding it toge-
ther! 'these fashions, however, have all disappeared,
and the beard is generally at least shaved once a
week, and by the chiefs more frequently. These cut
their whiskers father singularly sometimes, and leave
a narrow strip of their beard on the upper lip, resem-
bling mustachios : the greater part, however, re-
move the beard altogether, which must often be no
easy task. There are no barbers by profession, yet
every man is not his own barber, but contrives to
shave his neighbour, and is in return shaved by
him. Some of the most ludicrous scenes ever ex-
hibited in the islands occur while they are thus
employed. Only a few of the chiefs are so far
advanced in civilization as to use soap ; the farmers
cannot understand how it can help to remove the
beard, they therefore dispense with it altogether.

134 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

When the edge of the razor or knife is adjusted,
the person to undergo the operation, in order to be
quite stationary, lies flat on his back on the ground,
sometimes in his house, at other times under the
shade of a tree, and his friend kneels down orer
him, and xx>mmences his labour. When he has
finished, he lays himself down, and the man who
is shaved gets up, and performs the same office for
his friend. Sometimes the razor becomes rather
dull, and something more than a little additional
strength is necessary. A whetstone is then applied
to the edge ; but if this be not at hand, the man
gets up hsdf shaved, and both go together to the
nearest grindstone; and I have beheld that the
transition from the grindstone to the chin is some-
times direct, without any intermediate application
to the edge of the razor. The hone and the strap,
however, have been introduced, and ere long will
probably supersede the use of the grindstone, and
also of the whetstone.

The islanders appear to have paid at all times
great attention, not only to cleanliness, but to
personal ornaments. On public occasions, their
appearance was in a high degree imposing. At
their dances, and other jdaces of amusement or
festivity, they wore a pro^sion of ornament, and
on ordinary occasions, with the exception of the
aged and decrepit, devoted much time to the
improvement of their appearance. The hair of
the females, which was neatly dressed, and some-
times appeared in short loose curls, was an
object of great attention; the eye-brows were
also reduced, or shaped according to their ideas of
beauty. The hair was ornamented with elegant
native flowers, sometimes exhibited in great pro-
fusion and variety, at others with only one or two

ADORNING THE HAIR. 135

single jessamine blossoms, or a small wreath inter-
woven with their black and shining ringlets. They
displayed great taste in the use of flowers, and
the adoming of their hair. Frequently I have
seen them with beautiful wreaths of yellow flowers,
worn like fragrant necklaces on their bosoms, and
garlands of the same around their brows, or small
bunches of the brilliant scarlet hibiscus rosa cAi-
nensis fastened in their hair. Though totally
unacquainted with what we are accustomed to
call artificial flowers, yet the brilliant and varied
odoriferous plsmts, that grew spontaneously among
their mountains or their valleys, did not suffice to
gratify their wishes; they were therefore accus*
tomed to manufacture a kind of artificial flowers,
by extracting the petals and leaflets of the most
fragrant plants and flowers, and fastening them with
ime native thread, to the wiry stalk of the cocoa*
nut leaf, which they saturated with monoi, or
scented oil, and wore itreach ear, or fixed in the
native bonnet, made with the rich yellow cocoa-
nut leaf. The men, though unaccustomed to
addm their hair with^flowers, were careful of pre-
serving and dressing it. Iliey generally wore it
long, and often fastened in a graceful braid on the
crown, or on each side of the head, and sp€»it not
a small portion of their time in washing and per*
fuming it with scented oil, combing and adjusting
it. When it was short, they sometimes dressed
it with the gum of the bread-fruit tree, which gave
it a shining appearance, and fixed it as straight as
if it had been stiffened with rosin. The open air
was the general dressinff-place of both sexes; and
a group of females might often be seen sitting -
under the shade of a clump of wide-spreading
trees, or in the cool mountain-stream, employing

136 POLYNESIAN llESEARCHES.

themselves for hours together in arranging* the
curls of the hair, weaving the wreaths of flowers,
and filling the air.yith their perfumes. Their
comb was a rude invention of their own, formed
by fixing together thin strips of the bamboo-cane.
So in^portant was the arrangement and adorning
of the hair formerly considered, that there was a
god of hair-dressers or combers, called To-toro-
potaa, whose aid w$is invoked at the toilet. . Their
mirror was one supplied by nature, and consisted
in the clear water of the stream, contained in a
cocoa-nut shell.

The attention of the people to personal deco-
ration rendered looking-glasses valuable articles of
trade in their early intercourse with foreigners ;
and although the habit has very much declined,
and their taste with regard to ornament, &c. is
materially changed, looking-glasses are still, with
many, desirable articles. Those, however, who
have furnished them, have often made a mistake
in . sending, on account of their cheapness, an
inferior kind, which, in consequence of a defect
in the glass, exhibits the face in a distorted and
ludicrous shape. Nothing will more offend a
Tahitian than to ask him to look in one of these
glasses. They call them hio maamaa^ foolish
glasses, and, instead of purchasing them, would
sometimes hardly be induced to accept them as
presents.

Since the introduction of Christianity, the use
of flowers in the hair, and fragrant oil, has been in
a great degree discontinued — ^partly from . the con-
nexion of those ornaments with the evil practices
to which they were formerly addicted, and partly
from the introduction of European caps and
bonnets, the latter being now universally worn.

AGRICULTURE. .137

Like the semi-civilized inhabitants of most tro-

f>ical countries, they are strongly inclined to indo-
ence, which is probably increased, not only by
the warmth of the climate, but by the abundance
in which the fruits of the earth are spontaneously
produced, and the facility with which the means
of subsistence may be procured. For an unci-
vilized people, however, though there were no
established trades, or regular divisions of labour,
they may be considered as industrious, and their
occupations, though few, considerably varied. The
principal were agriculture, fishing, building, cloth-
making, and cooking. Agriculture among them
was but in its infancy ; their implements were few
and simple. The chief, and almost only implement
used, was the 6, a stick sharpened at the point,
and used in loosening and turning up the earth.
Formerly they hardened the end with which they
penetrated the soil, by charring it in the fire. An
implement of this kind is still their greatest
favourite. No ploughs or harrows have yet been
introduced, for the want of oxen or horses. They
are not very fond of English spades, ho^, &c.
The spade, they say, takes up too much earth at
once, and, besides the stooping required, is a
heavier load than they like to lift repeatedly.
The tool most frequently employed, is a long stick
with a narrow sharp piece of iron, like a broad
chisel, at the end ; and, as much of the'ground is
stony, in such places it is found very convenient.
The rudeness of the tool increases the labour of
the person using it, while his singular position
must render it exceedingly fatiguing. No use is
made of the foot in thrusting the spade into the
soil, but the person digging assumes a crouching
attitude, pierces the ground, and breaks up the

138 POLYNESIAN hesearches.

earth by the strength of the hands and arms.
The making and repairing fences also occupies mach
of the time of those engaged in the cultivation
of the soil. According to one of their legends^
Matabu-fenua was the god of agriculturists.

The peculiar situation of the islanders, and
their amphibious habits, lead them to seek a great
part of their subsistence from the ocean that sur-
rounds them. Many are fishermen by profession.

Their methods of fishing are numerous, some of
them rude, others remarkably ingenious. In the
shallow parts of their lakes tiiey erect enclosures
of stones for taking a number of small and
middling-sized fish. This enclosure they call a
OMOL ia, a fish fence.

A circular space, nine or twelve feet in dia-
meter, is enclosed with a stone wall, built up
fit>m the bottom of the lake, to the edge of the
water. An opening, four or six inches deep,
and a foot or two wide, is left in the upper
part of the wall. From each side of this open^
ing, a wall of stone is raised to the edge of the
water^ extending fifty or a hundred yards, and
diverging from the aperture, so that the wall
leaves a space of water within, of the shape of a
wedge, the point of which terminates in the cir-
cular enclosure. These walls diverge in a direc-
tion firom the sea, so that the fish which enter the
lake are intercepted only in their return. 'Hiey
are so numerous through the whole extent of the
shallow parts of the lake, that it seems scarcely
possible for a fish to escape. These enclosures are
valuable; fish are usually found in them every
morning, which furnish a means of subsistence to
the proprietors, who have no other trouble than
simply to take them out with a hand-net. They

METHOD OF FISHING. 139

are also excellent preserves, in which fish may be
kept securely till wanted for use. Each endoeare
has its distinct owner, whose right to the fish
enclosed is always respected. Most of the fish
from the lake are taken this way. The net and
the spear are occasionally employed, but here the
line is rarely used.

They have a singular mode of taking a remark-
ably timorous fish, which is called au or needle,
on account of its long sharp head. The fi^ermen
build a number of rafts, which they call motoi;
each raft is about fifteen or twenty feet long, and
six or eight wide, and it is made with the light
branches of the hibiscus or purau. At one edge a
kind of fence or skreen is raised four or five feet,
by fixing the poles horizontally, one above the
other, and fastening them to upright sticks, placed
at short distances along the raft. Twenty or thirty
of these rafts are often employed at the same time.
The men on the raft go out at a distance from
each other, enclosing a large spau^e of water,
having the raised part or frame on the outside.
They gradually approach each other till the rafts
join, and form a connected circle in some shallow
part of the lake. One or two persons then go in
a small canoe towards the centre of the enclosed
space, with long white sticks, which they strike in
the water with a great noise, and by this means
drive the fish towards the rafts. On approaching
these, the fish dart out of the water, and in
attempting to spring over the raft, strike against
the raised fence on the outer side, and fall on the
surface of the horizontal part, when they are
gathered into baskets, or canoes, on the outside.
In this manner, great numbers of these and other
kinds of fish, that are accustomed to spring out of

140 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

the water when alarmed or pursued, are taken
with facility.

Among the reefs, and near the shore, many fish
are seized by preparing an intoxicating mixture
from the nuts of the hutu, betonica splendida, or
the hora, another native plant. When the water
is impregnated with these preparations, the fish
come from their retreats in great numbers, float on
the surface, and are easily caught.

The favour of the gods was formerly considered
essential to success in fishing. The gods of fisher-
men were numerous, though Tamai or Tahaura and
Teraimateti were the principal. Matatine, or Aut^,
was the deity of those who manufactured nets.

Fishing nets were various ; all were remarkably
well made, and carefully preserved. Their light
casting-nets were used with great dexterity, generally
as they walked along the beach. When a shoal of
small fish appeared, they would throw the net
with the right-hand, and enclose sometimes the
greater part of them. The nets used in taking
operu, or herrings, were exceedingly large, and
generally made of the twisted bark of the hibiscus.
Several nets were used at the same time, the
meshes of the outside net being very large, and
those within smaller, for the purpose of detaining
the fish. This kind of fish visit the coasts in shoals
at one or two seasons of the year only, and as they
do not design their nets to last longer than one
season, they are not very carefully prepared.

Upea is the common name for net. The upea
ava, or salmon net, is the most important, and is
seldom possessed by any but the principal chiefs ;
it is sometimes forty fatiioms long, and twelve or
more feet deep. One of this kind wa^ made by
Hautia, the governor of Huahine, soon after our

NET-MAKING. 141

flurrival. Although the fonner pagan ceremonies,
and offerings at the marae, were discontinued,
some of the ancient usages were observed, one of
which appeai>Bd rather singular. As is customary
on all occasions of public work, the proprietor of
the net required the other chiefs to assist in its
preparation. Before he began, two large pigs
were killed and baked. When taken from the
oven, they were cut up, and the governor's mes-
senger sent with a piece to every chief; on delivery,
the quantity was stated which each was desired to
prepare towards the projected net. If the piece of
pig was received, it was considered as an agree-
ment to furnish it ; but to return it, was, in effect,
to refuse compliance with the requisition. At this
time, however, no one returned the taraku, or
price, but all agreed to furnish one or two fathoms
of the net. When any other chief wanted a net,
he took the same course.

The cord was about a quarter of an inch in dia-
meter, and made with the tough white bark of the
mate,^cus prolixa, which, next to the romaha, or
flax, is considered more durable than any other
indigenous vegetable substance. The cord was
twisted with the hand across the knee, in two or
three strands or threads, and was even and firm.
The meshes were about four inches square.

The servants of the chief furnished their quantity
of netting, and the needle with which they wrought
was not unlike that used by European workmen.
As the other parties brought in their portions, the
chief and his men joined them together. On en-
tering the house of Hautia, I have found him in a
profuse perspiration, toiling in the midst of his
men at the manufacture of the net.

The floats were made with short pieces of dry^

142 POLYNESIA!^ AES£ARCH£S.

lighty buoyant hibiscus ; and the bottom was hung
with stones, generally circular and smooth, about
three inches in diameter. These were not per-
forated, but enveloped in pieces of the matted fibre
of the cocoa-nut husk, tied together at the ends,
and attached to the lower border of the net.

The first wetting of a new net was formerly
attended with a number of prayers, offerings, &c,
at the temple, and on the beach. I recollect, at
Afareaitu, when they were going to take out, for
the first time, a large salmon-net, and had put it
upon the canoe, the whole party, including the
fishermen and chiefs of the district, kneeled down
upon a pebbly beach, and offered a prayer to the
true God, that they might be successful. This
was about day-break ; and as the sun rose above
the waves, I saw them rowing cheerfully out to sea.
Though these nets were called upea ava, salmon-^
nets, a variety of large fish was taken in them ; a
shark was not unirequently enclosed, which some-
times made great havock among the fishermen,
before they could transfix him with their spears.

lliis kind of fishing was followed not only as a
means of procuring food, but as an amusement.
The chiefs were exceedingly fond of it, and often
strove to excel. Hautia was celebrated for his
skill and strength in taking some kinds of fish.
'Dieir country was little adapted for hunting, and
the only quadrupeds they ever pursued were the
wild hogs in the mountains ; but the smoothness
and transparency of the sea within the reefs, was
favourable to aquatic sports ; and a chief and his
men, furnished with their spears, &c. often set
out on their fishing excursions with an exhilaration
of spirits equal to that with which a European
nobleman pursues the adventures of the chase.

FISHING-BPEAR. 143

The more daring of the young chiefs were generally
among the foremost in pursuing the shark, or other
dauntless fish; while others, more advanced in
years, remained in their canoes at a distance, gra-
tified to behold the sport, and share in some degree
the excitement it produced. When the tautai or
fishing party returned, the nets were hung up on
the branches of trees near the shore, as they appear
in the. view of Fa-re harbour. Besides the her-
ring, hand, and salmon nets, they had a number
of others, adapted to particular places, or kinds of
fish.

Next to the net, the spear was most frequently
used. It was variously formed, according to the
purpose for which it was designed. Since their
intercourse with foreigners, the best spears have
been made with iron, barbed only on one side.
Two or three small spear-heads were occasionally
fastened to a single handle. Another kind of
spear, in frequent use, was entirely of wood. Nine,
ten, or twelve pointed pieces of hard wood, six or
eight inches long, were fastened to a handle, from
six to eight feet in length. When using this, they
generally waded into the sea as high as the waist,
and, standing near an opening between the rocks
of coral, or near the shore, and watching the pas-
sage of the fish, darted the spear, sometimes with
one hand, but more frequently with both, and often
struck them with great precision.

Their aim with this spear, however, is much less
certain than with one headed with iron ; which
some throw with great dexterity, though others are
exceedingly awkward. When fishing on the reefs,
they often wear a kind of sandal, made of closely
netted cords of the bark of the native auti^ or
cloth-plant. This was designed to preserve their

144 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

feet from the edges of the shells, the spikes of the
echinus, &c. They use the angle or the spear in
fishing at the edge of the reef, when the surf is
low. I have often, when passing across the bay,
stopped to gaze on a group of fishermen standing
on a coral reef, or rock, amidst the roar of the
billows and the dashing surf and foam, that broke
in magnificent splendour around them. With un-
wavering glance, they have stood, with a little
basket in one hand, and a pointed spear in the
other, striking with unerring aim such fish as the
violence of the wave might force within their
reach.

They have a curious contrivance for taking
several kinds of ray and cuttle-fish, which resort to
the holes of the coral rocks, and protrude their
arms or feet for the bait, but remain themselves
firm within the retreat. The instrument employed
consists of a straight piece of hard wood, a foot
long, round and polished, and not half an inch in
diameter. Near one end of this, a number of the
most beautiful pieces of the cowrie or tiger-shell
are fastened one over another, like the scales of a
fish or the plates of a piece of armour, until, it is
about the size of a turkey's egg, and resembles the
cowrie. It is suspended in an horizontal position,
by a strong line, and lowered by the fisherman
from a small canoe, until it nearly reaches the
bottom. The fisherman then gently jerks the line,
causing the shell to move as if inhabited by a fish.
This jerking motion is called tootoofe the name of
the singular contrivance.

, The cuttle-fish, attracted, it is supposed, by the
appearance of the cowrie, (for no bait is used,)
darts out one of its arms or rays, which it winds
round the shell, and fastens among the openings

FISH-HOOKS. 145

between the plates. The fisherman continues
jerking the line^ and the fish puts forth another
and another arm or ray, till it has quite fastened
itself to the shells, when it is drawn up into the
canoe, and secured.

They use the hook and line both in the smooth
water within the reef, and in the open sea ; and in
different modes display great skill. In this depart-
ment they seldom have any bait, excepting a small
kind of oobu, a black fresh-water fish, which they
employ when catching albicores and bonitos. Hieir
hooks usually answer the double purpose of hook
and bait. Their lines are made with the tough
elastic roTnakoy or flax, twisted by the hand.

In no part of the world, perhaps, are the in-
habitants better fishermen ; and, considering their
former entire destitution of iron, their variety of
fishing apparatus is astonishing. Their hooks
were of every form and size, and made of wood,
shell, or bone, frequently human bone. This was
considered the most offensive use to which the
bones of an enemy could be applied : and one
of the most sanguinary modern wars in Tahiti
originated in a declaration made by a fisherman of
one party, that he had a hook made with the bone
of a rival chief who had been slain in a former
war.

The hooks made with wood were curious ; some
were exceedingly small, not more than two or
three inches in length, but remarkably strong;
others were large. The wooden hooks were never
barbed, but simply pointed, usually curved inwards
at the point, but sometimes standing out very
wide, occasionally armed at the point with a piece
of bone. The best were hooks ingeniously made
with the small roots of the aito tree, casuarina, or

146 POLTVESIAN RESEARCHES.

iron wood. In selecting a root for this purpose,
they chose one partially exposed^ and growing by
the side of a bank, preferring such as were free
from knots and other excrescences. The root
was twisted into the shape they wished the future
hook to assume, and allowed to grow till it had
reached a size large enough to allow of the outside
or soft parts bemg removed, and a sufficiency
remaining to make the hook. Some hooks thus
prepared are not much thicker than a quill, and
perhaps three or four inches in length. Those
used in taking sharks are formidable looking wea-
pons ; I have seen some a foot or fifteen inches
long, exclusive of the curvatures, and not less
than an inch in diameter. They are such frightful
things that no fish, less voracious than a shark,
would approach them. In some, the marks of the
shark's teeth are numerous and deep, and indicate
the effect with which they have been used. I do
not think theTahitians take as many sharks as the
Sandwich Islanders do : they, however, seldom
spare them when they come in their way; and
though sharks are not eaten now, the natives
formerly feasted on them with great zest.

The shell, or shell and bone hooks, were curious
and useful, and always answered the purpose of
hook and bait ; the small ones are made almost
circular, and bent so as to resemble a worm, but
the most common kind is the aviti, used in catch-
ing dolphins, albicores, and bonitos ; the shank of
the hook is made with a piece of the mother-of-
pearl shell, five or six inches long, and three-
quarters of an inch wide, carefully cut, and finely
polished, so as to resemble the body of a fish. On
the concave side, a barb is fastened by a firm
bandage of finely twisted romaka, or flax ; the

. METHODS OP FISHING. 147

blrb is usually an inch and a half in length, and
is of shell or bone. To the lower part of this, the
end of the line is securely fastened > and being
braided alon^ the inner or concave side of the
shell, is again attached to the upper end. Great
care is taken in the manufacture of these pearl-
shell hooks, and they are considered much better
than any made in Europe.

The line is fastened to the hook in a curious man-
ner, and, when taken to sea, is attached to a strong
bamboo-cane, about twelve or fifteen feet long;
light single canoes are preferred for catching dol-
phins, bonitos, or albicores. Two or three persons
usually proceed to sea, and when they perceive a
shoal of these fish, those who angle sit in the stem
of the canoe, and hold the rod at such an eleva-
tion, as to allow the hook to touch the edge of the
water, but not to sink. When the fish approach
it, the rowers ply their paddles briskly, and the
light bark moves rapidly along, while the fisher-
man keeps the hook near the surface of the water.
The deception of the hook is increased by a num-
ber of hairs or bristles beiiig attached to the end
of the shell, so as to resemble the tail of a flying-
fish. The bonito, &c. darting after, and grasping
its prey, is itself secured. During the season,
two men will sometimes take twenty or thirty
large fish in this way in the course of the fore-
noon.

The most ingenious method, however, of taking
these large fish is by means of what is termed a
tira, or mast. A pair of ordinary sized canoes is
usually selected for this purpose, and the lighter
and swifter, the more suitable are they esteemed.
Between the fore-part of the canoes, a broad deep
oblong kind of basket is constructed,, with the

l2

148

stalks of a strong kind of fern, interwoven with the
tongh fibres of Qie ieie, this is to contain the fish
which may be taken, and thus secure them, with-
out impeding the operations of the fishermen or
rowers. To the fore-part of the canoes a loi^
curved pole is fastened, branching in opposite
directions at the outer end ; the foot of this rests
in a kind of socket, fixed between the two canoes.

Fishing Canoe.

From each of the projecting branches, lines with '
pearl-shell hooks are suspended, so adjusted as to
be kept near the surface of the water. To that
part of the pole which is divided into two branches,
strong ropes are attached; these extend to the
stem of the canoe, where they are held by persons
watching the seizure of the hook. The tira, or
mast, projects a considerable distance bevond the
stem of the canoe, and bunches of feathers are
fastened to its extremities. This is done to
resemble the aquatic birds which follow the course
of the small fish, and often pounce down and
divide the prey which the laige ones pursue. As
it is supposed that the bonitos follow the course of

flSHING CANOE. 149

the birds, as much as that of the Bshes, when the
fishermen perceive the birds, they proceed to the
place, and usually find the fish. The undulation
of the waves occasions the canoe to rise and sink
as they proceed, and this produces a corresponding
motion m the hook suspended from the mast;
and so complete is the deception, that if the fish
once perceives the pearl-shell hook, it seldom fails
to dart after it ; and if it misses the first time, is
almost sure to be caught the second. As soon as
the fish is fast, the men in the canoe, by drawing
the cord, hoist up the tira, and drag in the fish,
suspended as it were from a kind of crane. When
the fish is removed, the crane is lowered ; and as
it projects over the stem of the canoe, the rowers
hasten after the shoal with all possible celerity.

During the rainy season, or on the occurrence
of a flood, when the rivers are swollen and rapid,
discolouring the water of the sea to a great extent,
a number of large fish approach the mouths of
the rivers, for the purpose of preying on the eels
and other fresh-water fish carried down in the
torrent ; at such seasons the fishermen are on the
alert, and usually return firom the sea richly laden

These, and a variety of other methods of fishing,
are pursued by day-light; but many fish are taken
by night : sometimes the fishery is carried on by
moon*light, occasionally in the dark, but fishing
by torch-light is the most picturesque. Tlie
torches are bunches of dried reeds firmly tied toge-
ther. Sometimes they pursue their nocturnal sport
on the reef, and hunt the totara^ or hedge-hog fish.
Large parties often go out to the reef; and it is a
beautiful sight to behold a long line of rocks illu-
minated by the flaring torches. These the fisher-
men hold in one hand, and stand with the poised

150 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

spear in the other, ready to strike as soon as the
fish appears.

In the rivers they also fish by torch-light, espe-
cially for eels ; and though the circumstances are
varied, the impression is not inferior. Few scenes
present a more striking and singular effect than a
band of natives walking along like shallow parts of
the rocky sides of a river, elevating a torch with
one hand, and a spear in the other ; while the glare
of their torches is thrown upon the overhanging
boughs, and reflected from the agitated surface of
the stream. Their own bronze-coloured and lightly
clothed forms, partially illuminated, standing like
figures in relief; while the whole scene appears
in bright contrast with the dsik and almost mid-
night gloom that envelops every other object.

Since their intercourse with Europeans, English-
made steel hooks have been introduced. They
like their sharpness at the point, but usually com-
plain of them as too open or wide. For some
kinds of fish they are preferred, but for most
they find the mother-of-pearl hooks answer best.
Every fisherman, I believe, would rather have a
wrought-iron nail three or four inches long, or a
piece of iron-wire of the size, and make a hook
according to his own mind, than have the best
European-made hook that could be given to him.
Most of the nails which they formerly procured from
the shipping were used for this purpose, and highly
prized.

Their ideas of the .nature of these valuable
articles were very singular. Perceiving, in their
shape and colour, a resemblance to the young
shoots or scions that grow from tlie roots of the
bread-fruit trees, they imagined that they were a
hard kind of plant, and procured in the same way.

INSTANCE OF SIMPLE HONESTY. 151

Anxious to secure a more abundant supply, they
divided the first parcel of nails ever received, car-
ried part to the temple, and deposited them on the
altar ; the rest they actually planted in their gar-
dens, and awaited their growth with the highest
anticipation. In the manufacture of hooks ^m
nails, they manifested great patience and persever-
ing labour : they had no files, but sharpened the
points, and rounded the angles, by rubbing the nail
on a^ stone ; they also used a stone in bending it to
the required shape. The use of files, however,
has greatly facilitated their manufacture of fish-
hooks.

In connexion with this subject, a striking instance
of native simplicity and honesty occurred about the
time of our arrival. Two Christian chiefs, Tati and
Ahuriro, were walking together by the water-side,
when they came to a place where a fisherman had
been employed in making or sharpening hooks,
and had left a large file, (a valuable article in
Tahiti,) lying on the ground. The chiefs picked
it up ; and, as they were proceeding, one said to
the other, '* This is not ours. Is not our taking it
a species of theft ?" " Perhaps it is," replied the
other. " Yet, as the true owner is not here, I do
not know who has a greater right to it than our-
selves." " It is not ours," said the former, " and
we had better give it away." After further con-
versation, they agreed to ^ive it to the "first person
they met, which they did ; telling him they had
found it, and requested that if he heard who had
lost such a one, he would restore it.

The isolated situation of the islanders, and their
dependence upon the sea for much of their sub-
sistence, necessarily impart a maritime character to
their habits, and render the building, fitting, and

152 POLYKE8IA17 RESEARCHES.

managing of the vessels' one of the most general
and important of their avocations. It also procures
no small respect and endowment for the Tahua
tatai wm, builder of canoes. Vcui loaa, or vaka,
is the name of a canoe , in most of the islands of
the Pacific ; though by foreigners they are uniform-
ly called canoes, a name first given to this sort of
boat by the natives of the Caribbean Islands,* and
adopted by Europeans ever since, to designate the
rude boats used by the uncivilized natives in every
part of the world.

The canoes of the Society Islanders are various,
both in size and shape, and are double or single.
Those belonging t6 tiie principal chiefs, and the
public district canoes, were fifty, sixty, or nearly
seventy feet long, and each about two feet wide,
and tluree or four feet deep ; the stems remarkably
high, sometimes fifteen or eighteen feet above the
water, and frequently ornamented with rudely
carved hollow cylinders, square pieces, or grotesque
figures, called His, The rank or dignity of a chief
was supposed, in some degree, to be indicated by
the size of his canoe, the carving and ornaments
with which it was embellished, and the number of
its rowers.

Next in size to these was the pahi, or war canoe.
I never saw but one of these : the stem was low,
and covered, so as to afford a shelter from the
stones and darts of the assailants; the bottom
was round, the upper part of the sides narrower,

* After his first interview with the natives of the newly
discovered islands, in the Caribbean sea, we are informed
by Robertson, that Columbus returned to his ship, accom-
panied by many of tiie islanders in their boats, which they
called canoes ; and though rudely formed out of the trunk
of a single tree, they rowed them with surprising dexterity.

WAS CAVOK. 153

and perpendicular ; a rude imitation of the humGui
head, or some other grotesque figure, was cai*ed
on die stem of each canoe. The stem, often ele-
vated and curved like the neck of a swan, termi-
nated in the carved figure of a bird's head, aud
the whole was mi»e solid' and compact than the
other vessels. In some of their caaoes, and in the
pflhi among the rest, a rude sort of grating, made
widi the li^t but tough wood of the tH«ad-frHtt
tree, covert the hull of the vessels, 4he intervening
space between them, and projected a fbot or e^-

teeta inches over the outer edges. On this the
rowers usually sat; and here the mariners, who
attended to the sails, took their stations, and found
it much more convenient and secure than standing
on the narrow ei^s of the canoes, or the curved
and circular beams that held them together.
I^ere was also a kind of platform in the front,
or generally near the centre, on which the fight-
ing men were stationed : these canoes were some-
times sixty feet long, between three and four

154 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

feet deep, and^ witii their platforms in front or in
the centre, were capable of holding fifty fighting
men.* The vaatii, or sacred canoe, was always
strong and large, more highly ornamented with
carving and feathers than any of the others. Small
houses were erected in each, and the image of the
god, sometimes in the shape of a large bird, at
other times resembling a hollow cylinder, orna-
mented with various coloured feathers, was kept
in these houses. Here their prayers were preferred,
and their sacrifices offered. .

Their war canoes were strong, well-built, and
highly ornamented. They formerly possessed large
and magnificent fleets of these, and other large
canoes ; and, at their general public meetings, or
festivals, no small portion of the entertainment was
derived from the regattas, or naval reviews, in
which the whole fleet, ornamented with carved
images, and decorated with flags and streamers, of
various native-coloured cloth, went through their
different tactics with great precision. On these
occasions the crews by which they were navigated,
anxious to gain the plaudits of the king and chiefs,
emulated each other in the exhibition of their sea-
manship. The vaati, or sacred canoes, formed
part of every fleet, and were generally the most
imposing in appearance, and attractive in their
decorations.

The peculiar and almost classical shape of the
large Tahitian canoes, the elevated prow and stern,
the rude figures, carving, and other ornaments, the
loose-flowing drapery of the natives on board, and
the maritime aspect of their general places of
abode, are all adapted to produce a singular effect

* In Cook's voyages a description is given of some, one
hundred and eight feet long.

NAMES OF CANOES. 155

oh the mind of the beholder. I have often thought,
when I haye seen a fleet of thirty or forty ap-
proaching the shore, that they exhibited no faint
representation of the ships in which the Argonauts
sailed, or the vessels that conveyed the heroes of
Homer to the Trojan shores.

Every large canoe had a distinct name, always
arbitrary, but frequently descriptive of some real
or imaginary excellence in the canoe, or in memory
of some event connected with it. Neither the
names of any of their gods, or chiefs, were ever
given to their vessels ; such an act, instead of
being considered an honour, would have been
deemed the greatest insult that could have been
offered. The names of canoes, in some instances,
appear to have been perpetuated, as the king's
state canoe was always called Anuanua, or Uie
rainbow. The most general and useful kind of
canoe is the tipairua, or common double canoe,
usually from twenty to thirty feet long, strong and
capacious, with a projection from the stem, and a
low shield-shaped stem. These are very valuable,
and usually form the mode of conveyance for every
chief of respectability or influence, in the island.
They are also used to transport provisions, or other
goods, from one place to another.

One of these, in which we voyaged to Afareaitu
soon after our arrival, was between thirty and forty
feet in length, strong, and, as a piece of native
workmanship, well built. The keel was formed
with a number of pieces of tough tamanu wood,
inophyllum callophyllumy twelve or sixteen inches
broad, and two inches thick, hollowed on the
inside, and rounded without, so as to form a con-
vex angle along the bottom of the canoe ; these
were fastened together by laoings of tough elastic

156 poltkIssiak heseaecaes.

cord, made witli the fibres of the coco%i-nut husk;
On the hont end of the keel, a solid piece, cut
out of the trunk of a tree, so, contrived as to con-
stitute the forepart of the canoe ; was fixed with
the same lashmg ; and on the upper part of it, a
thick board or plank projected horizontally, in
a line parallel with the surface of the water. This
front piece, usually five or six feet long, and twelve
or eighteen inches wide, was called the ihu vaa^
nose of the canoe, and without any joining, ct>m<»
prised the stem,' bows, and bowsprit of the vessel.

The sides of the canoe were composed of two
lines of short plank, an inch and a half or two
inches thick. The lowest line was convex on the
outside, and nine or twelve inches broad; the
upper one straight. The stern was considerably
elevated, the keel was inclined upwards, and
the lower part of the stem was pointed, while
the upper part was fiat, and nine or ten feet
above the level of the sides. The whole was
fastened together with cinet, not continued along
the seams, but by two, or, at most, three holes
made in each board, within an inch of each other,
and corresponding holes made in the opposite
piece, and the lacing passed through from one
to the other. A space of nine inches or a foot was
left, and then a similar set of holes made. The
joints or seams were not grooved together, but the
edge of one simply laid on that of the o^er, and
fitted wich remarkable exactness by the ad^e of the
workman, guided only by his eye : they never used
line or rule. The edges of their planks were
usually covered with a kind of pitch or gum from
the bread-fruit tree, and a thin layer of cocoa-nut
husk spread between them. Tlie husk of the
cocoa-nut swelling when in contact with water.

aKIlEBllED CANOE. 157

Gils any apertures that may exist, and, considering
the manner in whicli thev are put together, the
canoes are often remarkably dry. The two canoes
were fastened together by strong curved pieces of
wood, placed horizontally across the upper edges
of the canoes, to which they were fixed by strong
lashings of thick cotar cordage.

Skreened Canoe.

The space between the two bowsprits, or broad
planks projecting from the front of our canoe, was
covered with boards, and furnished a ptatfonn of
considerable extent ; over this a kind of temporaiy
awning of platted cocoa-nut leaves was spread,
and under it the passengers sat during the voyage.
TTie upperpartof eachof the canoes was not above
twelve or fi^een inches wide; little projections
were formed on the inner part of the sides, on
which small moveable thwarts or seats were fixed,
whereon the men sat who wrought with the pad-
dle, while the luggage was placed in the bottom,
piled up against the stem, or laid on the elevated
stage between the two canoes. The heat of the
sun was extreme, and the awning afforded a grate-
ful shade.

158 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

The rowers appeared to labour hard. Their
paddles, being made of the tough wood of the
hibiscus, were not heavy ; yet, having no pins in
the sides of the canoe, against which the handles
of the paddles could bear, but leaning the whole
body over the canoe, first on one side, and then
on the other, and working the paddle with one
hand near the blade, and the other at the upper
end of the handle, and shovelling as it were the
water, appeared a great waste of strength. They
often, however, paddle for a time with remarkable
swiftness, keeping time with the greatest regula-
rity. The steersman stands or sits in the stern,
with a large paddle ; the rowers sit in each canoe
two or three feet apart ; the leader sits next; the
steersman gives the signal to start, by striking his
paddle violently against the side of the canoe ;
every paddle is then put in and taken out of the
water with every stroke at the same moment ; and
after they have thus continued on one side for five
or six minutes, the leader strikes his paddle, and
the rowers instantly and simultaneously turn to the
other side, and thus alternately working on each
side of the canoe, they advance at a considerable
rate. There is gener^ly a good deal of striking
the paddle when a chief leaves or approaches the
shore, and the effect resembles that of the smack-
ing of the whip, or sounding of the horn, at the
starting or arrival of a coach.

They have also a remarkably neat double canoe,
called Maihi, or twins, each of which is made out
of a single tree, and are both exactly alike. The
stem and stern are usually sharp ; although, occa-
sionally, there is a small board projecting from
each stem. These are light, safe, and swift, easily
managed, and seldom used but by the chiefs. The

SKREEVED CANOE. 159

late king Pomare wa^ fond of this kind of con-
veyance.

The single canoes are built in the same manner,
and with the same materials, as the double ones.
Their usual name is iipaihocy and they are more
various in their kind than the others. The small
bukoe, the literal name of which is single shell, is
generally a trunk of a tree, seldom more than
twenty ^et in length, rounded on the outside, and
hollow ' within ; sometimes sharp at both ends,
though generally only at the stem. It is used by
fishermen among the reefs, and also along the
shore, and in shallow water, seldom carrying more
than two persons. The single maihi is only a
neater kind of buhoe.

160 POLYNESIAN RBSEARCHES.

CHAP. VII.

Description of the vaa motu, or island-canoe — Methods of
navigating native vessels — Danger from sharks — ^Affect-
ing wreck — ^Accident in a single canoe — ^Tahitian archi-
tecture — Materials employed in building — Description of
the various kinds of native houses — Dress of the Tahi-
tians — Manufacture of native cloth — ^Variety of kinds —
Durability and appearance— Methods of dyeing — Mat-
ting of Society and Paumotu islanders — Native pillow,
seat, dishes, and other articles of household furniture.

The vaa motu, island-canoe, is g^ierally a large,
strong, single vessel, built for sailing, and princi-
pally used in distant voyages. In addition to the
ordinary edge, or gunwale,. of the canoe, planks,
twelve or fifteen inches wide, are fastened along
their sides, after the manner of wash-boards in a
European boat. , The same are also added to
double canoes, when employed on long voyages.
A single vaa is never used without an outrigger,
varying in size with the vessel; it is usually
formed with a light spar of the hibiscus, or of the
erythrina, which was highly prized as an anuif or
outrigger, on account of its being both light and
strong. This is always placed on the left side,
and fastened to the canoe by two horizontal poles,
from five to eight feet long; the front one is
straight and firm, the other curved and elastic ;
it is so fixed, that the canoe, when empty, does not
float upright, being rather inclined to the left;
but, when sunk into the water, on being laden, it
is generally erect, while the outrigger, which

SINGLE, or ISLAND CANOE. 161

is firmly and ingeniously fastened to the sides
by repeated bands of cmet, floats on the sur-
face. In addition to this, the island canoes have
a strong plank, twelve or fourteen feet long, fast-
ened horizontally across the centre, in an inclined
position, one end attached to the outrigger, and
the other extending five or six feet over the oppo-
site side, and perhaps elevated four or five feet
above the sea. A small railing of rods is fastened
along the sides of this plank, and it is designed to
assist the navigators in balancing the keel, as a
native takes his station on the one side or the
other, to counteract the inclination which the wind
or sea might give to the vessel. Sometimes they
approach the shore with a native standing or sit-
ting on the extremity of the plank, and presenting
a singular appearance, which it is impossible to
behold without expecting every undulation of the
sea will detach him from his apparently insecure
situation, and precipitate him into the water.

Single, or Inland Canoe.

This kind of canoe {see next page,) is principally
employed in the voyages which the natives make to
Tetuaroa, a cluster .of islands, five in number,
to the north of Tahiti.

In navigating their double canoes, the natives
frequently use two saib, but in their single vessels
only one. The masts are moveable, and are only
raised. when the sails are used. They are slightly
fixed upon a step placed across the canoe, and
fastened by strong ropes or braces extending to
both sides, and to the stem and stem. The sails
were made with the leaves of the pandanus split
into thin strips, neatly woven into a kind of mat-

M

162 FOLTNBSIAM ftBBEAKCHBS.

ting. Hie sh^w of the gails of the iiland-coaoet
h aingular, the side attached to the mast is strai^t,
the outer part resetDbliDg the sectioa of an oval,
eut in the longcit direction. The other muIb
are ctwunonly used in the same manner as iprit
or lu^er ^ila are uaed in E^iropean boats.
llie lOpes from the comers of the aaile are not
usually fastened, but held in the hands of the
natives. The ri^ng is neither varied nor com-
fiei; the coidage is made wi^ the twisted
bark of the hibiscus, or the fibres of the cocoa-

The paddles of the Tahitians are plain,- having
a Hnooth round handle, and an oblong-shaped
blade. Their canoes having no rudder, are
steered by a man in the stem, with a paddle
generally longer than the rest. In long voyages,

CANOE-BUILDINO. 163

they have two or three steering paddles, including
a very large one, which they employ in stormy
weather, to prevent the vessel from drifting to
leeward. Temariotuu, the god of mariners and
pilots, was stated to have made his rudder, or
steering-paddle, from the sacred alto of Ruaro-
roirai. The tataa, or scoop, with which they bale
out the leakage, is generally a neat and convenient
article, cut out of a solid piece of wood. Their
canoes were formerly ornamented with streamers
of various coloured cloths ; and tufts of fringe and
tassels of feathers were attached to the masts and
sails, though they are now seldom used. A small
kind of house or awning was erected in the centre,
or attached to the stem, to skreen the passengers
from the sun by day and the damp by night. The
latter is still used, though the former is but seldom
seen. They do not appear ever to have orna-
mented the body or hull of their vessels with
carving or painting; but, notwithstanding this
seeming deficiency, they had by no means an
unfinished appearance.

In building their vessels, all the parts were first
accurately fitted to each other, the whole was taken
to pieces, and the outside of each plank smoothed
by rubbing it with a piece of coral and sand
moistened with water; it was then dried, and
polished with fine dry coral. The wood was gene-
rally of a rich yellow colour, the cinet nearly the
same, and a new well-built canoe is perhaps one
of the best specimens of native skill, ingenuity,
and perseverance, to be seen in the islands. Most
of the natives can hollow out a buhoe, but it is
* only those who have been regularly trained to the
work, that can build a large canoe, and in this
there is a considerable division of labour, — some

m2

164 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

laying down the keel and building the hull, some
making and fixing the sails, and others fastening
the outriggers, or adding the ornaments. The
principal chiefs usually kept canoe-builders at-
tached to their establishments, but the inferior
chie& generally hire workmen, paying them a
given number of pigs, or fathoms of cloth, for
a canoe, and finding them in provision while they
are employed. The trees that are cut down in the
mountains, or the interior of the islands, are often
hollowed out there, sometimes by burning, but
generally by the adze, or cut into the shape de-
signed, and then brought down to the shore.

Idolatry was interwoven with their naval archi-
tecture, as well as every other pursuit. The priest
had certain ceremonies to perform, and numerous
and costly offerings were made to the gods of the
chief, and of the craft or profession, when the
keel was laid, when the canoe was finished, and
when it was launched. Valuable canoes were
often among the national offerings presented to
the gods, and afterwards sacred to the service of
the idol.

The double canoes of the Society Islands were
larger, and more imposing in appearance, than
most of those used in New Zealand or the
Sandwich ^ Islands, but not so strong as the
former, nor so neat and light as the latter. I
have, however, made several voyages in them.
In fine weather, and with a fair wind, they are
tolerably safe and comfortable; but when the
weather is rough, and the wind contrary, they are
miserable sea-boats, and are tossed about com-
pletely at the mercy of the winds. Many of the .
natives that have set out on voyages from one
island to another, have been carried from the

DEXTERITY AND DANGER, ON UPSETTING. 165

group altogether, and have either perished at sea,
or drifted to some distant island.

In long voyages, single canoes are considered
safer than double ones, as the latter are sometimes
broken asunder, and are then unmanageable ; but,
even though the former should fill or upset at sea,
as the wood is specifically lighter than the water,
there is no fear of their sinking. When a canoe is
upset or fills, the natives on board jump into the
sea, and all taking hold of one end, which they
press down, so as to elevate the other end above
the sea, a great part of the water runs out ; they
then suddenly loose their hold of the canoe, which
falls upon the water, emptied in some degree of its
contents. Swimming along by the side of it, they
bale out the rest, and climbing into it pursue their
voyage. This has frequently been the case ; and,
unless the canoe is broken by upsetting or filling,
the detention is all the inconvenience it occasions.
The only evil they fear in such circumstances, is
that of being attacked by sharks, which have some-
times made sad havock among those who have been
wrecked at sea.

An instance of this kind occurred a few years
ago, when a number of chiefs and people, al-
together thirty-two, were passing from one island
to another, in a lai^e double canoe. *They were
overtaken by a tempest, the violence of which
tore their canoes from the horizontal spars by
which they were united. It was in vain for
them to endeavour to place them upright, or empty
out the water, for they could not prevent their
incessant overturning. As their only resource,
they collected the scattered spars and boards, and
constructed a raft, on which they hoped they might
drift to land. Tlie weight of the whole number,

166 POLYK ESI AN RESEARCHES.

who were now collected on the raft, was so great
as to sink it so far below the surface, that they
sometimes stood above their knees in water. They
made very little progress, and soon became ex-
hausted by fatigue and hunger. In this condition
they were attacked by a number of sharics. Desti-
tute of a knife, or any other weapon of defence,
they fell an easy prey to these rapacious monsters.
One after another was seized and devoured, or
carried away by them; and the survivors, who
with dreadful anguish beheld their companions thus
destroyed, saw the niunber of assailants apparently
increasing, as each body was carried away, until
only two or three remained. The rail, thus light-
ened of its load, rose to the surface of the water,
and placed them beyond the reach of the voracious
jaws of their relentless destroyers. The voyage on
which they had set out, was only from one of the
Society Islands to another, consequently they
were not very far from land. The tide and the
current now carried them to the shore, where
they landed, to tell the melancholy fate of their
fellow- voyagers.

But for the sharks, the South Sea Islanders
would be in comparatively little danger from ca-
sualties in their voyages among the islands ; and
although when armed they have sometimes been
known to attack a shark in the water, yet when
destitute of a knife or other weapon, they become
an easy prey, and are consequently much terrified
at such merciless antagonbts.

Another circumstance also, that added to this
dread of sharks was, the superstitious ideas they
entertained relative to some of the species.
Although they would not only kill, but eat cer-
tain kinds of shark : the large blue sharks, squalus

SHARKS FORMERLY DEIFIED. 167

glaucus, were deified by them, and, rather than
attempt to destroy them, they would endeavour to
propitiate their favour by prayers and ofieringar.
Temples were erected, in which priests officiated,
and offerings were presented to tiie deified mon-
sters, while fishermen and others, who were much
at sea, sought their favour. In one of their fabu-
lous legends, for which I am indebted to my friend
Mr. Omiond, the island of Tahiti is represented
as having been a shark, originally from Raiatea ^
Matarafau, in the east, was the head ; and a place
near Faaa, on the west, was the tail ; the large
lake Vaihiria was the ventricles or gills ; while the
lofty Orohena, the highest mountain in the island,
probably 6- or 7000 feet above the sea, was re-
garded as its dorsal fin ; and its ventral fin was
Matavai. Many ludicrous legends were foimerly
in circulation among the people, relative to the
regard paid by the sharks at sea, to priests of
their temples, whom they were always said to
recognize, and never to injure. I received one
from the mouth of a man, formerly a priest of an
akua maOf shark god ; but it is too absurd to be
recorded. The principal motives, however, by
which the people appear to have been influenced
in their homage to these creatures, was the same
that operated on their minds in reference to other
acts of idolatry ; it was the principle of fear; and
a desire to avoid destruction, in the event of being
exposed to their anger at sea.

The superstitious fears of the people have now
entirely ceased. I was once in a boat, on a voyage
to Borabora, when a ravenous shark approaching
us, seized the blade of one of the oats, and
on being shaken from it, darted at the keel of the
boat, which he attempted to bite. While he waft

168 P0LY1VESIAV RESEARCHES.

thus employed, the native whose oar he had seized,
leaning over the side of the boat, grasped him by
the tail, succeeded in lifting him out of the water,
.and, with the help of his companions, draped
him alive into the boat, where he began to flounder
and strike his tail with rage and violence. Mr.
Tyerman and myself, for we were sailing together,
were climbing up on the seats out of his way, but
the natives, giving him two or three blows on the
nose with a smsdl wooden mallet, quieted him,
and then cut off his head. We landed the same
evening, when I believe they baked and ate him. .
The single canoes, though safer at sea, are yet
liable to accident, notwithstanding the outrigger,
which requires to be fixed with care, to prevent
them from upsetting. To the natives this is a
matter of slight inconvenience, but to a foreigner
it is not always pleasant or safe. Mrs.Orsmond^
Mrs. Barff, Mrs, Ellis, and myself, with our two
children, and one or two natives, were once crossing
the small harbour at Fa-re, in Huahine ; a female
servant was sitting in the fore part of the canoe,
with our little girl in her arms, our infant boy was
at his mother's breast, and a native, with a long light
pole, was paddling or pushing ihe canoe along,
when a small buhoe, with a native youth sitting in
it, darted out from behind a bush that hung over
the water, and before we could turn, or the youth
could stop his canoe, it ran across our outrigger.
This in an instant went down, our canoe was turned
bottom upwards, and the whole party precipitated
into the sea. The sun had set soon after we
started from the opposite side, and, the twilight
being very short, the shades of evening had
already thickened around us, which prevented the
natives on the shore from perceiving our situation,

DANGEROUS ACCIDENT. 169

The native woman held our little girl up with one
hand, and swam ¥rith the other towards the shore,
aiding, as well as she could, Mrs.Orsmond, who had
caught hold of her long hair, which floated on the
water behind her; Mrs. BarfF, on rising to the
surface, caught hold of the outrigger of the canoe
that had occasioned our disaster, and, calling out
for help, informed the people on the shore of
our danger, and speedily brought them to our
assistance.

' Mr.Orsmond no. sooner reached the beach, than
he plunged into the sea ; Mrs. O. leaving the
native by whom she had been supported, caught
hold of her husband, and not only prevented his
Swimming, but sunk him so deep in the water, that,
but for the timely arrival of the natives, both would
probably have found a watery grave. Mahine-
vahine, the queen, sprang in, and conveyed
Mrs. Bar£P to the shore. I came up on the side
opposite to that on which the canoe had turned
over, and found Mrs. Ellis struggling in the water,
with the child still at her breast. I immediately
climbed upon the canoe, and raised her so far out
of the water, as to allow the little boy to breathe,
till a small canoe came off to our assistance, into
which she was taken, when I swam to the shore,
grateful for the deliverance we had experienced.

It was not far from the beach where this occur-
red, yet the water was deep, and several articles
which we had in the canoe, were seen the next day
lying at the bottom, among coral and sand, seven-
teen or eighteen fathoms below the surface. Acci-
dents of this kind, however, occur but seldom ;
aind though we have made many voyages, this is the
only occasion. on which we have been in danger.

The natives of the eastern isles frequently come

170 POLYNESIAN RE9EARCHZS.

down to the Society Islands in large double canoes,
which the Tahitians dignify with the name of paki^
the term for a ship. They are built with much
smaller pieces of wood than those employed in the
structure of the Tahitian canoes, as the low cored**
line islands produce but very SEoall kinds of tim-
ber, yet they are much superior both for strength,
convenience, and sustaining a tempest at sea«
They are always double, and one canoe has a per*
manent covered residence for the crew. The two
masts are also stationary, and a kind of ladder, or
wooden shroud, extends from the sides to the head
of the mast. The sails are large, and made with
fine matting. Several of the principal chiefs
possess a pahi paumotu, which they use as a more
safe and convenient mode of conveyance than their
own canoes. One canoe, that brought over a chief
from Rurutu, upwards of three hundred miles, was
very large. It was somewhat in the shape of a
crescent, the stem and stem high and pointed^
and the sides broad ; the depth from the upper
edge of the middle to the keel, was not less than
twelve feet. It was built with thick planks of
the Barringtonia, some of which were four feet
wide; they were sewn together with twisted or
braided cocoa-nut husk, aiid although they brought
the chief safely, probably more than six hundred
miles, they must have been very ungovernable and
unsafe in a storm or heavy sea.

The paumotu canoes, in their size, shape, and
thatched cabins, resemble those used by the in-
habitants of some of the islands to the west, and of
the Caroline islanders, more than those of New
Zealand, Tahiti, or the Sandwich Islands.-

The building of their dwellings is another im^
portant occupation of the islanders. Fa-re is the

HOUSE-BUILmVG . 171

term for house in most of the islands. The first
abodes we occupied were native buildings, and an
account of the erection of those prepared for us at
Afareaitu, will convey a general idea of their plan
and architecture. The timber being prepared, they
planted the square posts which support the ridge-
pole about three feet deep. The piece forming
the ridge was nearly triangular, flat underneath,
but raised along the centre on the upper side, and
about nine inches wide ; the joints were accurately
fitted, and square mortises were made, to receive
tenons formed on the top of the posts. As soon
as these were firmly secured, it was raised by ropes,
and fixed in its place. The side-posts were next
planted, about three or four feet apart ; these were
square, and nearly nine inches wide. In the top
of each post, a groove, about six inches deep and
an inch and a half wide, was cut ; in this was fixed
a strong board, eight or nine inches broad, bevelled
on the upper edge, forming a kind of wall-plate
along the side of tiie house. Tlie rafters, which
they call ako, were put on next ; they are usually
straight branches of the purauy an exceedingly
useful tree, growing luxuriantly in every part of
the islands. The poles used for rafters are about
four inches in diameter at the largest end. As
soon as they are cut, the bark is stripped off, and
used in the manufi^cture of cords^e, lines, &c.
The rafters are then deposited in a stream of water
for a number of days, in order to extract the juices
with which they are impregnated, and which, the
natives suppose, attract insects, that soon destroy
them. When taken out, the poles are dried, and
considered fit for use. The wood is remarkably
light) its growth is rapid, and though the old parts
of the tree are exceedingly toughs the young

172 POLYNESIA'Mr RESEARCHES.

branches or poles, used for rafters and other pur-
poses, are soft and brittle, resembling the texture
and strength of branches of the English willow.
The foot of the rafter is partially sharpened, and
about eighteen inches from the end a deep notch
is cut, which receives the bevelled edge of the ra-pe,
or wall-plate, while the upper extremity rests upon
the ridge. The rafters are generally ranged along on
one side, three feet apart, with parallel rafters on the
opposite side, which cross each other at the top of
the ridge, where they are firmly tied together with
cord, or the strong fibres of the iete, a tough
mountain plant. A pole is then fixed along, above
the junction of the opposite rafters, and the whole
tied down to pegs fastened in the piece of timber
forming the ridge. The large wood used in build-
ing is of a fine yellow colour, the rafters are beauti-
fully white ; and as the house is often left some
days in frame, its appearance is at once novel and
agreeable.

The buildings are thatched with ran fara, (the
leaves of the pandanus,) which are prepared with
great care. When first gathered from the trees,
they are soaked three or four days in the sea, or a
stream of water. The sound leaves are then se-
lected, and each leaf, after having been stretched
singly on a stick fixed in the ground, is coiled up
with the concave side outwards. In this state they
remain till they are perfectly flat, when each leaf
is doubled about one-third of the way from the
stalk, over a strong reed or cane six feet long, and
the folded leaf laced together with the stiff stalks
of the cocoa-nut leaflets. The thatch, thus pre-
pared, is taken to the building, and a number of
lines of cinet are extended above the rafters, and
in each of the spaces between, from the lower edge

HOUSE-BUILDING. 173

to the ridge. The thatchers now take a reed of
leaves, and fasten it to the lower ends of the
rafters at the left extremity of the roof, and, placing
another reed about an inch above it, pierce the
leaves with a long wooden needle, and sew it to
the lines fixed on the outer side of the rafters, and
in the space between them : when six or eight reeds
are thus fixed, they pass the cord with which they
are sewn two or three times round each of the three
rafters over which the reed extends. Placing
every successive reed about an inch above the last,
they proceed until they reach the ridge. The
workmen now descend, and carry up another
course of thatch, in the same way inserting the
ends of the reeds of the fresh course into the bent
part of the leaves on the former. It is singular to
see a number of men working underneath the
rafters, in thatching a house.

When the roof is finished, the points only of the
long palm-leaves are seen hanging on the outside ;
and the appearance within, from the shining brown
colour of the leaves bent over the reeds, and the
whiteness of the rafters, is exceedingly neat and
ingenious. The inside of the rafters of the chiefs'
houses, or public buildings, is frequently ornament-
ed with braided cords of various colours, or finely-
fringed white and chequered matting. These are
bound or wrapped round the rafters, and the extre-
mities sometimes hanging down twelve or thirteen
inches, give to their roof or ceiling a light and
elegant appearance. Most of the natives are able
to thatch a house, but covering in the ridge is more
difficult, and is only understood by those who have
been regularly trained for the work. A quantity
of large cocoa-nut or fern leaves is first laid on
the upper part of the thatch, and afterwards a

1 74 POL YNESI AN RESEA RCHES.

species of long grass, called aretUy is curiously fixed
or woven from one end to the other, so as to remain
attached to the thatch, and yet cover, the ridge of
the house.

The roof being finished, they generally level the
ground within, and enclose the sides. In the
erection of my house, this part was allotted to the
king's servants. About thirty of them came one
morning with a number of bundles of large white
purau poles, from two to three inches in diameter*
After levelling the floor, they dug a trench a foot
deep round the outside, and then, cutting the
poles to a proper length, planted them an inch and
a half or two inches apsirt, imtil the building was
completely enclosed, excepting the space left for a
door in the front and opposite sides. In order to
keep the poles in their proper place, two or three
light sticks, called teay were tied horizontally along
the outside. Partitions were then erected in the
same manner, as we were desirous, contrary to the
native practice, to have more than one room. The
house was now finished, and in structure resem-
bled a large birdcage. In two of the rooms we
laid down boards which we had brought from Port
Jackson, and either paved the remainder of the
floor with stones, or plastered it with lime. The
outside was skreened with platted cocoa-nut
leaves, lined with native cloth. This also consti-
tuted our curtains, and, hung up before the en-
trance to some of the apartments, answered the
purpose of a door. Thus fitted up, our native
house proved a comfortable dweUing during the
months we remained at Afareaitu.

The houses of the natives, although varying in
size and shape, were all built with the same kind
of materials, and in a similar manner. Some <^

CAPACIOUS BUILDIK68. 175

ttiem were exceedingly large, capable of contain-
ing two or three thousand people. NanUy a house
belonging to the king, on the borders of Pare,
was three hundred and ninety-seven feet in length.
Others were a hundred or a hundred and forty
feet long. These, however, were erected only for
the leading chiefs. As the population has de-
creased, a diminution has also taken place in the
size of the dwellings, yet, for some time after our
arrival, several remained an hundred feet in length.
The chiefs seem always to have been attended by
a numerous retinue of dependants, or Areois, and
other idlers. The unemployed inhabitants of the
districts where they might be staying, were also
accustomed to attend the entertainments given for
the amusement of the chiefs, and this probably
induced the people to erect capacious buildings for
their accommodation.

Some of the houses were straight at each end,
and resembled in shape an English dwelling ; this
was called haupape : but the most common form
for the chiefs' houses was what they called potS^
which was parallel along the sides, and circular at
the ends. Houses of this kind have a very neat,
light, and yet compact appearance. The above
are the usual forms of their permanent habitations,
and the durability of the house depends much upon
the manner in which it is thatched ; if there is
much space between the reeds, it soon decays ;
but if they are placed close together, it will last
five or seven years without admitting the rain*
Occasionally two or three coverings of thatch are
put on the same frame. The Tahitians are a social
people, naturally fond of conversation, song, and
dance ; hence a number often resided under the
same roof.

176 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

In addition to the oval and the oblong house,
they often had the^are pora, the fare rau, and
the buhapuy or other temporary dwellings, for en-
campments during the period of war, or when
journeying among the mountains ; and their
far an vaa, or canoe houses, which were large,
and built with care ; a number of what they call
oa were planted at unequal distances on both
sides of the rafter and post, which being one piece
of timber, tended to strengthen the byilding.

The floor of their dwellings was covered with
long dried grass, which, although comfortable
when first laid down, was not often changed, and,
from the moisture occasioned by the water spilled
at meals and other times, was frequently much
worse than the naked sand or soil would have been.
Their door was an ingenious contrivance, being
usually a light trellis-frame of bamboo -cane,
suspended by a number of braided thongs, and
attached to a long cane in the upper part of the
inside of the wall-plate — ^the thongs sliding back-
wards and forwards like the rings of a curtain,
whenever it was opened or closed. Many of their
houses are erected within their enclosures or plan-
tations, but they generally stand on the shore, or
by the wayside.

Every chief of rank, or person of what in Tahiti
would be termed respectability, has an enclosure
round his dwelling, leaving a space of ten or twenty
feet width withinside. This court is often kept
clean, sometimes spread over with dry grass, but
generally covered with black basaltic pebbles, or
anoMna, beautifully white fragments of coral. The
aumoa is a neat and durable fence, about four
feet high ; the upright pieces are tenoned into a
polished rail along tJie top, or surrounded with the

WOOD AND 8TOHE ADZES. 1'

straight and peeled branches of the purau <

Erected with such tools a» are exhibited below,
the size, structure, and conveniency of the Ta-

f
I

hititm houses, such as Wallis found, and such
as are here described, display no small degree of

178 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

invention, ^ill, and attention to comfort, and
show that the natives were even then far renu>ved
from a state of barbarism. They also warranted
the inference that they were not defici^it in capa-
city for improvement, and that, with better models
and tuition, they would improve in the cultivation
of every art of civilaed life, especially when they
should be put in possession of iron and iron tools,
as those they had heretofore used were rude stone
adzes, or chisels of bone.

It is,, however, proper to remark,, that although
all were capable of building good native houses,
and many erected comfortable dwellings, yet great
numbers, from indolence or want of tools, reared
only temporary and wretched huts, as unsightly in
the midst of the beautiful landscape, as they were
unwholesome and comfortless to their abject in-
habitants.

The dress of the islanders was various as to
its form, colour, and texture. It was neither
cumbrous nor costly, but always light and loose ;
and though singular, often elegant. Wool, cot-
ton, and silk were formerly unknown among them.
The prince and the peasant, the warrior and
the voluptuary, were clad in vestments of the
same materials. The head was uncovered, ex-
cepting when adorned with flowers, and the
brow was occasionally shaded by a light skreen of
cocoa-nut leaves. The dress of the sexes differed
but little ; both wore the pareu, or folds of cloth,
round the waist. The men, however, wore the
maro or girdle, and the tiputa or poncho, while the
females wore over their shoulders the light ahupu
or ahutiapono, in the form of a vest, or loose scarf
or shawl.

Next to those kinds of labour necessary to

CLOTH MANUFACTURE. 179

obtain their subsistenee, and construct their dwell-
ings, their apparel claimed attention. This,
tiiough light, required, from the simple methods
by which it was fabricated, a considerable portion
of their time. Cloth made with the bark of a
tree, constituted a principal article of native dress^
prior to the introduction of foreign cloth. It is
manufactured chiefly by females, and was one of
their most frequent employments. The name
for cloth, among the Tahitians, is ahu. The
Sandwich Island word tapa, is, we believe, never
used in this sense, but signifies a part of the human
body. In the manufacture of their cloth, the
natives of the South Sea Islands use a greater
variety of materials than their neighbours in the
northern group : the bark of the different varieties
of wautiy or paper mulberry, being almost the only
article used by the latter ; while the former employ
not only the bark of the paper mulberry, which
they call auti^ but also that of the aoa and of
the bread-fruit.

The process of manufacture is much the same
in all, though some kinds are sooner finished than
others. When the baik from the branches of the
bread-fruit or auti is used, the outer green or
)Mt>wn rind is scraped off with a shell ; it is then
slightly beaten, and allowed to ferment, or is
macerated in water. A stout piece of wood,
resembling a beam, twenty or thirty feet long, and
from six to nine inches square, with a groove cut
in the under side, is placed on the ground ; across
this, the bark is laid, and beaten with a heavy mal-
let of casuarina or iron -wood. The mallet is
usually 6fteen or eighteen inches long, about two
inches square, and round at one end, for the pur-
pose of being held fim^y. The sides of the mallet

n2

180 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

are grooved; one side very coarse or lai^e, the
opposite side exceedingly fine. One of the re-
maining sides is generally cut in chequers or ^mall
squares, and the other is plain or ribbed. The
bark is placed lengthwise across the long piece of
wood, and beaten first with the rough side of the
mallet, and then with those parts that are finer.

Cloth Mallet,

Vegetable gum is rarely employed ; in general,
the resinous matter in the bark is sufficiently
adhesive. The fibres of the bark are completely
interwoven by the frequent beating with the
grooved or chequered side of the mallet; and
when the piece is finished, the texture of the cloth
is often fine and even ; while the inequalities occa-
sioned by the fine grooves, or small squares, give
it the appearance of woven cloth. During the
process of its manufacture, the cloth is kept satu-
rated with moi^ure, and carefully wrapped in
thick green leaves every time the workwomen
leave off*; but as soon as it is finished, they spread
it to dry in the sun, and bleach it according to the
purpose for which it is designed. The ore or
cloth made with the bark of the aoa, is usually
thin, and of a dark brown colour ; that made with
the bark of the bread-fruit and a mixture of the
auti, is of a light brown, or fawn colour; but
the finest and most valuable kind is called hobu.

'\

CLOTH MANUFACTURE. 181

It is made principally, and sometimes entirely, from
the bark of the paper mulberry, and is bleached
till beautifully white. This is chiefly worn by the
females.

It is astonishing that they should be able, by a
process so simple, to make bales, containing some-
times two hundred yards of cloth, four yards wide ;
the whole in one single piece, made with strips of
bark seldom above four or five feet long, and,
when spread open, not more than an inch and
a half broad — joined together simply by beating
them with the grooved mallet. When sufficiently
bleached and dried, the cloth is folded along the
whole length, rolled up into a bale, and covered
with a piece of matting — ^this is called ruru vehe.
The wealth of a chief is sometimes estimated by the
number of these covered bales which he possesses.
The more valuable kinds of cloth are rolled up in
the same way, covered with matting or cloth of an
inferior kind, and generally suspended from some
part of the roof of the chief's house. The estima-
tion in which it was held has been greatly dimin-
ished since they have become acquainted with
European cloth, and large quantities are now
seldom made. It is, however, still an article in
general use among the lower classes of society,
and the mother yet continues to beat her parure,
or native pareu, for herself and childrd]^.

A number of smaller pieces are still made,
among which the tiputa is one of the most valu-
able. It is prepared by beating a number of
layers of cloth together, to render it thicker tlian
the common cloth : for the outside layer, they
select a stout branch of the auti, or bread-fruit,
about an inch and a half in diameter : this they
prepare with great attention, and, having beaten it

1 82 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

to the usual width and length, which is about ten
feet long and three feet wide, they fix it on the
outside, and attach it to the others by rubbing a
small portion of arrow-i^t on the inner side,
before beating it together. The tiputa of the
Tahitians corresponds exactly with the poncho of
the South Americans. It is rather longer, but is
worn in the same manner, having a hole cut in the
centre, through which, when worn, the head is
passed ; while the garment hangs down over the
shoulders, breast, and back, usually reaching, both
before and behind, as low as the knees. Next to
the tiputa, the ahufara is a general article of dress.
These are either square like a shawl, or resemble a
scarf. They are sometimes larger, and correspond
with a counterpane more than a shawl, and are
always exceedingly splendid and rich in their
colours.

The natives of the Society Islands have a variety
of vegetable dyes, and display more taste in the
variations and patterns of the cloth, than in any
other use of colours. Much of the common cloth
is dyed either with the bark of the aito, casuarina,
or tiari, aleurites. This gives it a kind of dark red
or chocolate colour, and is supposed to add to its
durability. The leaves of the arum are sometimes
used, but brilliant red and yellow are their favour-
ite hues. The former, which they call mati, is
prepared by mixing the milky juice of the small
berry oClhe mati,^eus prolixa, with the leaves of
the tQ^,^*a species of cordia. When the dye is
prepared by this combination, it is absorbed on the
fibres of a kind of rush, and dried for use. It pro-
duces a most brilliant scarlet dye, which, when
preserved with a varnish of gum, retains its bright-
ness till the garment is worn out. The yellow is

VEGETABLE DYES. 183

|)repared from the inner bark of the root of the
nono, morinda citrifolia, and though far more
fugitive than the scarlet of ^e mati, is an exceed-
ingly bright colour. The yellow dye is prepared
by infusing the bark of the root in water, m which
the cloth is allowed to remain till completely satu-
ratedy when it is dried in the sun. The mati, or
scarlet dye, is moistened with water, and laid on
the dry cloth. Their patterns are fixed with the
scarlet dye on a yellow ground, and were formerly
altogether devoid of uniformity or regularity, yet
still exhibiting considerable taste. They now
fix a border round the ahufara, and arrange the
figures in diflferent parts. Nature supplies the
pattern. They select some of the most delicate
and beautiful ferns, or the hibiscus flowers :
when the dye is prepared, the leaf, or flower, is
laid carefully on the dye ; as soon as the surface
is covered with the colouring matter, the stained
leaf or flower, with its leaflets or petals correctly
adjusted, is fixed on the cloth, and pressed gra-
dually and regularly down. When it is removed^
the impression is often beautiful and clear.

The scarf or shawl, and the tiputa, are the only
dresses prepared in this way, and it is difficult to
conceive of the dazzling and imposing appearance
of such a dress, loosely folded round the person of
a handsome chieftain of the South Sea Islands,
who perfectly understands how to exhibit it to the
best advantage. This kind of cloth is made better
by the Tahitians than any other inhabitants of the
Pacific. It is not, however, equal to the wairiirii
of the Sandwich Islanders. Much of this cloth,
beautifully painted, is now employed in their
houses for bed and window curtains, &c. Several
kinds of strong cloth are finished with a kind of

184 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

gum or varnish, for the purpose of rendering them
impervious.

But in the fabrication of glazed cloth, the
natives of the Austral Islands, especially those of
Rurutu, excel all with whom I am acquainted.
Some of their pieces of cloth are thirty or forty
yards square, exceedingly thick, and glazed on
both sides, resembling the upper side of the
English oil -cloth table-covers. It must have
required immense labour to prepare it, yet it was
abundant when they were first discovered. It is
usually red on one side, and black on the other,
the latter being highly varnished with a vegetable
gum.

In the manufacture of cloth, the females of all
ranks were employed ; and the queen, and wives
of the chiefs of the highest rank, strove to excel
in some department — in the elegance of the pat-
tern, or the brilliancy of the colour. They are fond
of society, and worked in large parties, in open
and temporary houses erected for the purpose.
Visiting one of these houses at Eimeo, I saw six-
teen or twenty females all employed. The queen
sat in the midst, surrounded by several chief
women, each with a mallet in her hand, beating
the bark that was spread before her. The queen
worked as diligently and cheerfully as any present.

The spar or square piece of wood on which the
bark is beaten, being hollow on the under-side,
every stroke produces a loud sound, and the noise
occasioned by sixteen or twenty mallets going at
one time, was to me almost deafening; while the
queen and her friends seemed not only insensible
tp any inconvenience from it, but quite amused at
its apparent effect on us. The sound of the cloth-
beating mallet is not disagreeable, where heard at

CHIEF WOMEN EXCEL IN CLOTH-HAKINO. 185

a distance, in some of the retired valleys, indicat-
ing the abode of industry and peace ; but in the
cloth-houses it is hardly possible to endure it.

As the wives and daughters of the chiefs take a
pride in manufacturing superior cloth, the queen
would often have felt it derogatory to her rank, if
any other females in the island could have finished
a piece of cloth better than herself. I remember,
in the island of Huahine, when a native once
passed by, wearing a beautiful ahufara, hearing
one native woman remark to another — What a
finely printed shawl that is ! The figures on it are
like the work, or the marking, of the queen ! This
desire, among persons in high stations, to excel in
departments of labour, is what we have always
admired. This feeling probably led Pomare to
bestow 80 much attention on his hand-writing, and
induced the king of the Sandwich Islands to
request that we would not teach any of the people
till we had fully instructed him in reading and
writing.

The ahu, or cloth made with the bark of a tree,
although exceedingly perishable when compared
with European woven cloth, yet furnished, while it
lasted, a light and loose dress, adapted to the
climate, and the habits of the people. The dura-
tion of a Tahitian dress depended upon the mate-
rials with which it was made, the aoa being con-
sidered the strongest. Only the highly varnished
kinds were proof against wet. The beauty of the
various kinds of painted cloth was soon marred,
and the texture destroyed, by the rain, as they
were kept together simply by the adhesion of the
interwoven fibres of the bark. Notwithstanding
this, a tiputa, or a good strong pareu, when
preserved from wet, would last several months.

186 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

Though the native cloth worn by the inhabitants
was made by the women, there were some kinds
used in the temples/ in the service of the id<ds,
which were made by men, and which it was neces-
sary, according to the declarations of the priest,
should be beaten during the night.
' Although the manufacture of cloth was formerly
the principal, it was not the only occupation of the
females. Many of the people, especially the
raateiras, or secondary chiefs, wore a kind of mat
made with the bark of the hibiscus, which they
call purau ; and the preparation of this, as well as
the beds or sleeping mats, occupied much of the
time of the femsdes. Great attention was paid to
the manufacture of these fine mats. They chose
for this purpose, the young shoots of the plant,
and having peeled o£f the bark, and immersed it in
water, placed it on a board, the outer rind being
scraped off with a smooth ^ell. The strips of
bark were an inch or an inch and a half wide, and
about four feet long, and when spread out and dry,
looked like so many white ribands. The bark was
slit into narrow strips frequently less than the
eighth of an inch wide. They were woven by the
hand, and without any loom or machinery. They
commenced the weaving at one comer, and having
fixtended it to the proper width, which was usually
three or four feet, continued the work till the mat
was about nine or ten feet long, when the project-
ing ends of the bark were carefiiUy removed, and a
fine fringe worked round the edges. — Only half
the pieces of bark used in weaving were split into
narrow strips throughout their whole length. The
others were slit five or six inches at the ends where
they commenced, while the remaining part was
rolled up like a riband. These they unrolled, and

MANUFACTURE OV MATTINC^. 187

extended the slits as the weaving advanced^ until
the whole was complete. When first finished,
they are of a beautifully white colour, and are
worn only by the men, either bound round the
loins as a pareu, or with an aperture in the centre
as a tiputa or poncho, and sometimes as a mantle
thrown loosely over the shoulder. Their appear-
ance is light and elegant, and they are remarkably
durable, though they become yellow from exposure
to the weather.

The inhabitants of the Palliser Islands, to the
eastward of Tahiti, exceed the Society Islanders
in the quality of their mats, which are made of a
tough white rush or grass, exceedingly fine and
beautiful. They frequently manufacture a sort of
girdle, called tiheri, six inches in width, and some-
times twenty yards in length, but remarkably fine
and even, being woven by the hand, but with a
degree of regularity rivalling the productions of
the loom. They are highly valued by the Tahi-
tians, and are a principal article of commerce
between the inhabitants of the different islands.
f The sails for their canoes, and beds on which
they sleep, are a coarser kind of matting made
with the leaves of different varieties of palm, or
pandanus, found in the islands. Some kinds
grow spontaneously, others are cultivated for their
leaves. The matting sails are much lighter than
canvass, but less durable. The size and quality
of the sleeping mats is regulated by the skill of
the manufacturer, or the rank of the proprietor.
Those who excel in making them, use very fine
ones themselves. They are all woven by the
hand, yet finished wRh remarkable regularity and
neatness.

The ordinary mats are not more than six feet

188 K)LTN£SIAK RESEARCHES.

wide, and nine or twelve feet long, but some are
twelve feet wide, and sixty or eighty, or even a
hundred yards long. Mats of this size, however,
are only made for high chiefs, and in the prepara-
tion, perhaps, the females of several districts have
been employed. They are kept rolled up, and
suspended in some part of the chief's dwelling,
more for the purpose of displaying his wealth,
and the number of his dependents, than for actual
use.

The kinds of leaf least liable to crack, are se-
lected, and, for the purpose of sleeping upon, or
even spreading on a floor, the use to which we
generally applied them, the mats look neat, and
last a considerable time. Several kinds of fine
matting, ornamented with bright stained rushes
interwoven with the others, were formerly made as
articles of dress for the kings, or presents to the
gods ; but in this department of labour they were
always inferior to the Sandwich Islanders, whose
variegated mats are superior to any I have seen in
the Pacific. Weaving of mats, with beating and
staining of cloth, was the chief occupation of the
females. A large portion of the property of the
people consisted in mats and cloth, which also
constituted part of their household furniture.

A variety of other articles were, however, neces-
sary to the furnishing of their houses, bat these
were manufactured by the men. Next to a sleep-
ing mat, a pillow was considered essential. This
was of hard wood, and often exceedingly rude,
though sometimes ingeniously wrought, resembling
a short low stool, nine inches or a foot in length,
and four or five inches high. The upper side was
curved, to admit the head ; the whole pillow, which
they call tuaurua, is cut out of a single piece.

upon the bare wood they reclined their heads
at night, and slept as soundly as the inhabitants of
more civilized puts would do on the softest down.

Tabitian Pillow.

In general, they sat cross-le^ed on mats spread
on the floor; but occasionally used a Btool, which
they called iri or nokoraa. This resembled the
pillow in shape, and, though niuch lai^er, was
made out of a single piece of wood. The tamanu,
or callophyllum, was usually selected, and im-
mense trees must have been cut down for this
purpose. I have seen iris four' or five feet long,
Tahitian Stool.

three feet wide, and each end three feet six inches
high ( yet the whole cut out of one solid piece of
timber. The upper ,part was curved, and the
extremes being highest, the seat resembled the
e side of a crescent, bo that, however large

190 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

it might be, only one sat on it at a time. The iri
was finely polished, and the wood, in its ^in and
colour resembling the best kinds of mahogany,
rendered it, although destitute of carving or other
ornament, a handsome piece of furniture in a chief-
tain's dwelling. The rank of the host was often
indicated by the size of this seat, which was used
on public occasions, or for the accommodation of
a distinguished guest. Those in more ordinary use
were low, and less curved, but always made out of
a single piece of wood.

Next to these, their weapons, drums, and other
musical instruments, were their most important
furniture ; a great portion, however, of what might
be called their household furniture, was app^'o-
priated to the preparation or preservation of their
food.

The umetey or dish, was the principal. Some-
times it was exceedingly large, resembling a canoe
or boat more than a dish for food. It was frequently
made with the wood of the tamanu, exceedingly
well polished ; some were six or eight feet long, a
foot and a half wide, and twelve inches deep, these
belonged only to the chiefs, and were used for the
preparation of arrow-root, cocoa-nut milk, &c. on
occasions of public festivity. The umetes in ordi-
nary use were oval, about two or three feet long,
eighteen inches wide, and of varied depth. They
are supported by four feet, cut out of the same
piece of wood, and serve not only for the prepara-
tion of their food, but as dishes, upon which it is
placed when taken from the oven.

The papakia is extensively used. It is a low
solid block or stool, supported by four short legs,
and smoothly polished on the top. It is cut out
of one piece of wood, and is used instead of a

WOODEH DISH. 191

mortar for pounding bread-fruit, plantains, or
bruising taro; which ia done by placing these
upon the papahia, and beating them with a short
stone pestle called a penv. This is usually made
with a black Bort of basalt, found chiefly in the
island of Maurua, the most western of the group.
The penu Ib sometimes conBtructed from a species
of porous coral.*

The water used for washing theii feet is kept in
bottles called aano, made from tiie shells of large
and fiiU-grown cocoa-nuts. That which they
drink is contained in calabashes, which are much
lai^er than any I ever saw used for the same pur-
pose in the Sandwich Islands, but destitute of
ornament. They are kept in nets of cinet, and
suspended from some part of the dwellmg. It is
customary with them to wash their hands both

Wooden Dish.

before and after eating. The dishes used for this
purpose were often curiously carved. One I
brought from the Austral Islands, of which the

cured at RurntD, is deposited ii
at AnstiD Friars.

192 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

accompanying wood-cut gives a correct represen-
tation, is neither inelegant nor rude.

Tlie drinking cups are made witli the cocoa-nut
shell after it is full grown, but before it is perfectly
ripe. The shell is then soft, and is scraped until
much thinner than a saucer, and frequently trans-
parent. They are of a yellow colour, and plain,
though the cups formerly used for drinking ava
were carved. These are the principal utensils in
the preparation of their food; they are kept
remarkably clean, and, when not in use, suspended
from some part of the dwelling, or hung upon a
stand.

The y*a^a, or stand, is a single light post planted
in the floor, with one or two projections, and a
notch on the top, from which the calabashes of
water, baskets of food, umetes, &c. are suspended.
Great labour was formerly bestowed on this piece
of furniture, and the fata pua was considered an
ornament to the house in which it was erected.
About a foot from the ground, a projection
extended six or. eight inches wide, completely
round,, flat on the top, but concave on the under
side, in order to prevent rats or mice from ascend-
ing and gaining access to the food. Their only
knife was a piece of bamboo-cane, with which
they would cut up a pig, dog, or fish, with great
facility.

The carriage of fruits and roots, from the garden
to the dwelling-house, and the constructing of
their ovens, in which much of their food is still
prepared according to their former custom, is
generally performed by the men, whil6 the pre-
paration for the meal within doors is made by the
females.

AMUSEMENTS. 193

CHAP. VIIL

Account of the muiic and amasementB of the islanden—*
Description of the sacred drum — Heiya drum, &c.
Occasions of their use — ^The bu or trumpet — Ihara —
The yivoy or flute — General character of their songs —
Elegiac singularly beautiful — ^Translation of a war
song — Ballads, a kind of classical authority — Enter-
tainments and amusements — Taupiti, or festival —
Wrestling and boxing — Effects of rictory and defeat —
Foot-races — Martial games — Sham - fights — ^ Naval
reviews — ^Apai, bandy or cricket — ^Tuiraa, or foot-ball
— ^The haruraa puu, a female game — Native dances—
Heiva, &c. — The te-a, or archery — Bows and arrows —
Religious ceremonies connected with the game — Never
used by the Society Islanders except in their amusements
— Discontinued since the introduction of Christianity.

As a people, the South Sea Islanders were pecu-
liarly addicted to pleasure, and to their music,
dances, and other amusements, nearly as much of
their time was devoted as to all other avocations.
Their music wanted almost every quality that
could render it agreeable to an ear accustomed to
harmony, and was deficient in all that constitutes
excellence. It was generally boisterous and wild,
and, with the exception of Uie soft and plaintive
warblings of the native flute, was distinguished
by nothing so much as its discordant, deafening
sounds.

The principal musical instrument used bv the
South Sea Islanders, was the pahu, or arum.
This varied in size and shape, according to the
purpose for which it was designed. Their drums

o

194 POLYNESIAN RESEABCHSS.

were all cut out of a solid piece of wood. Hie
block out of nhkh they were made, being hfA-
lowed out from one end, remaining BoHd at the
otlier, and having liie top covered with a piece of
shark's skin, occasioned their frequently resem-
bling, in construction and appearance, a kettle-
drum. The pua and the reva, which are remark-
ably close-grained and durable, were esteemed the

Tahitian Drums.

most suitable kinds of wood for the manufacture
of their drums. The lai^ drums were called
paku, and the smaller ones toere. The paku
ra, sacred drum, which was r«(u, or beaten, on
every occasion of extraordinary ceremony at the
idol temple, was particularly large, standing- some-
times eight feet high. The sides of one, that I
saw in TWie's marae at Maeva, was not more than
a foot in diameter, but many were much lai^r.
In some of the islands, these instruments were

TAHITI AN DRUMS. 195

tery curiously carved. One which I brought from
High Island^ and have deposited in the Mission-
ary Museum, is not inelegantly decorated ; others,
however, I have seen, exhibiting very superior
workmanship.

The drums used in their heivas and dances
were ingeniously made. Their construction resem-
bled that of those employed in the temple, the
skin forming the head was fastened to the
open work at the bottom by strings of cinet,
made with the fibres of the cocoa-nut husk.
Drums were among the martial music of the
Tahitians, and were used to animate the men
when proceeding to battle. The drums beaten as
accompaniments to the recital of their songs, were
the same in shape, but smaller. They were all
neatly made, and finely polished. The large
drums were beaten with two heavy sticks, the
smaller ones with the naked hand. When used,
they were not suspended from the shoulders of the
performers, but fixed upon the ground, and con-
sequently produced no very musical effect. The
sound of the large drum at the temple, which was
sometimes beaten at midnight, and associations
connected therewith, were most terrific. The
inhabitants at Maeva, where my house stood
within a few yards of the ruins of the temple, have
frequently told me, that at the midnight hour,
when the victim was probably to be offered on the
following day, they have often been startled from
their slumbers by the deep, thrilling sound of the
sacred drum ; and as its portentous sounds have
reverberated among the rocks of the vallcyi every
individual through the whole district has trembled
with fear of the gods, or apprehension of being
seized as the victim for sacrifice.

o 2

|9d TOLYNESIAN RESEAKCtlEB.

The sound of the trumpet, or shell, a species of
murex, used in war to stimulate in action, by the
priests ia the temple, and also by the her^d, and
others on board tneir fleets, was more horrific than

The Trumpet Shell.

that of the dnun. The lai^st sheUs were usually
selected for this purpose, and were sometimea
above a foot in length, and seven or eight inches
in diameter at the mouth. In order to faciliute

DRUM, AND FLUTE. 197

the blowing of this trumpet, they made a perfora-
tion, about an inch in diameter, near the apex of
the shell. Into this they inserted a bamboo cane,
about three feet in length, which was secured by
binding it to the shell with fine braid ; the aper-
ture was rendered air-tight by cementing the
outsidea of it with a resinous gum from the bread-
fruit tree. These shells were blown when a
procession walked to the temple, or their warriors
marched to battle, at the inauguration of the
king, during the worship at the temple, or when a
tabu, or restriction, was imposed in the name of
the gods. We have sometimes heard them blown.
The sound is extremely loud, but the most mono-
tonous and dismal that it is possible to imagine.

The ihara was another exceedingly noisy
instrument. It was formed from the single joint
of a large bamboo cane, cut off a short distance
beyond the two ends or joints. In the centre, a
long aperture was made from one joint towards
the other. The ihara, when used, was placed
horizontally on the ground, and beaten with
sticks. It was not used in their worship, but
simply as an amtuiement ; its sounds were harsh
and discordant. In its shape, &c. the ihara of
the Polynesians appears to resemble the Topo-
naztli of the Mexicans, described by Claverigo.
The huehuetl, or drum of the latter, appears also
to be much the same as the drum of the Tahi-
tians, and was used on similar occasions.

The vivo, or flute, was the most agreeable
instrument used by the islanders. It was usually
a bamboo cane, about an inch in diameter, and
twelve or eighteen inches long. The joint in the
cane formed one end of the flute ; the aperture
through which it was blown was close to the end ;

198 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

it seldom had more than four other holes/ three in
the upper side covered with the fingers, and one
beneath, against which the thumb was placed.
Sometimes, however, there were four holes on
the upper side. It was occasionally plain, but
more frequently ornamented, by bemg partially
scorched or burnt with a hot stone, or having fine
and beautifully plaited strings of human hair wound
round it alternately with rings of braided cinet.
It was not blown from the mouth, but the nostril.
The performer usually placed the thumb of the
right hand upon the right nostril, applied the
aperture of the flute, which he held with the
fingers of his right hand, to the other nostril, and,
moving his fingers on the holes, produced his
music. The sound was soft, and not unpleasant,
though the notes were few; it was generally
played in a plaintive strain, though frequently
used as an accompaniment to their peheSy or songs.
These were closely identified both with the music
and the dances. The ihara^ the drum, and the
flute, were generally accompanied by the song, as
was also the native dance.

" In every nation it has been found that poetry
is of much earlier date than any other production
of the human mind,*' and I am disposed to
ascribe the highest antiquity to the native ballads.
Much of their mythology is probably to be
ascribed to this source, and many of their legends
were originally funeral or elegiac songs, in honour
of departed kings or heroes. I have heard them
recited, and have often been struck with their
pathos and beauty; two lines of one, which
Mr. Nott heard recited for the consolation of a
mother and family, on the death of an only son,
have always appeared exceedingly beautiful.

POETRY. 199

The grief generally felt was described in affecting
strains, and then, in reference to sympathy of a
higher order, it was added —

To m rii te ua He iriatae :

Ere ra te tea, e rotmato 'I'a no Oro,

The literal rendering of which would be —

<* Thickly falls the small rain on the face of the sea,
They are not drops of raib, but they are tears of Oro.*'

The sentiment of the second line is weakened
by the introduction of the plural pronoun and the
conjunction ; but, preserving the idiom, as well
as die sense, the line would be —

Not rain, but the weeping it (is) of Oro.

In the Tahitian, the word for tears, roimata, is
the same in the singular and plural, and accords
with the singular pronoun, it referring to the word
ua or rain.

Their songs were generally historical ballads,
which varied in their nature with the subjects to
which they referred. They were exceedingly
numerous, and adapted to every department of
society, and every period of life. The children
were early taught these udes, and took great
delight in their recital. Many of their songs
referred to the legends or achievements of their
sgods, some to the exploits of their distinguished
heroes and chieftains ; while others were of a more
objectionable character. They were often, when
recited on public occasions, accompanied with
gestures and actions corresponding to the events
described, and assumed a histrionic character.
In some cases, and on public occasions, the
action presented a kind of pantomime. They had
one song for the fishern^an, another for the canoe-

200 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

builder, a song for cutting down the tree, a song
for launching the canoe. But they were, with
few exceptions, either idolatrous or impure ; and
were, consequently, abandoned when the people
renounced their pagan worship. Occasionally,
however, we heard parts of these songs recited^
when events have occurred similar to those on
which, in former times, they would have been used.
The following is one of their songs preparatory
to war, —

On the Hfted club of Tane, great friend, I rely

For defence from the storm (descending,) on the ship of

peace, (or government,)
To allay the raging deep, that it may rest,
Ijet there be cidm before the king.
The king of the black purple deep.
The king of the depths unknown,
The king who fills with consternation ;
But Hiro is that warrior.
Broad is the back of Hiro,
A back of vast expanse,*
His eyes are deep-fixed and dark.
His ear hangs not down in fear,
Like the pike-fish is the hair on his body.
Let the slung stone fly,
Make sacred the council of war.
The collected clubs of the house of warriors.
Soon I will reveal my council,
The sacred and scarlet feathers, and blood.
The slinger who stands.
The beloved, the favourite of kings, who sits.
The war-dress of Tu, warrior of ttke sky.

O Hiro, to whom shall I deliver the song of war !
Shall I declare it to Marama, the warrior bom of Hiro
Who came forth with skill (to arrangpe the battle,)
With the savageness of the dog, the strength of the shark,
That shall sever the head where the skull joins the neck.
Causing the live bodies to run headless.
And shall pile dead bodies high as the temple walls,
In the cocoa-grove, at Tauniau,t let us encamp,

* Th« name of one of their gods, t A nnall island whence the
Huahine fieeta sailtd.

WAR- SONG. 201

That Uara king^ at Tarapati may behold it:

Hiro, to whom shall I this wax-song declare, '

1 declare it to the band of the keel.

The band of brave fighters who neyer fled,

The keel sustains the ship, warriors each other,

To the two pupils for whom the life of the stone battle-axe

was created.
To the sky producer, or growing sky.
The clear sky, the spreading sky,
The sky above, sky even piled,
The treaty nursed in the lap.
Before the face of the armies of Rai and Roo.
Aud great Ru, who in Mauarahu lifted the heavens,
Gods shall enter, and there shall be darkness,
There shall be the blackness of darkness ;
Our onset shall be as the rolling sea,
Our conflict the struggle of travail.
Let it be as the sea in a storm.
As the sea raised by sudden tempest,
Roo, the first-bom god, shall cause destruction :
The heads of men shall be caught as fish in the net.
Shout the name of Ro on the right hand and the left,
Thus shall we the he€uls of men entangle.
Climb the rock halfway to its summit, and return.
Climb the rock Fataufatau ;
Enter the narrow cleft, whence it is high above, and deep

below,
And weep as did the mother of Tafai,
She fled to the long mountain in Romaroma ;*
Surrounded with war, she and her son fled.
The younger brother may climb the bread-fruit Maau,
Or fly to &e elder brother.
The spear of Tuhorotua has been here :
Splendid his vestments.
As the east wind is the speech of the timorous.
Who would arrange for long and pleasant day.
Short be the darkness, a single night.
Let the toughness of the pia and tevet
And of the chosen warriors be shown.
At the root of the cocoa-tree I will wait.
Till a branch:^ shall spring forth.
To feed the visitors of divine Tumataroa in Ai-tupo,§

* A moantaia near Borabora. f IVo natiye plants. t A good
▼ictim. $ A temple in Raiatea, to which the first taken or slain in battle
was conveyed.

202 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

A small blow shall be a blow like the water-spout of the

sea,
A blow to the rear of the army,
Shall be seen by thee before my face.
O god of earth, O god of ocean,
Let the armament be firm and true.
Only the worthless fly ;
Let us (or may we) stand as the coral rock,
Move on terrific as the sea hedge-hog,
A corpulent and short-breathed fellow (is our opponent)
We shall obtain the passes ; .
Be as the large sarage dog, turn not from blows.
Our defence (or steadiness) in battle shall be as that of the

flock of birds.
Who sleep at sea in the midst of the storm.
Recite the song of battle,
Be courageous, be vigilant and strong ;
Leave the dead among the dead.
Urge on the collected (or united) spears of bold warriors.

The annexed little fragment is from a song
descriptive of one of the small islands near Maufiti,
the westernmost of the Society Islands

Song of Tanatua.

A dwelling remote is the island Tiapa*,

A land whence appears well M aupiti,

Unequalled among the thousands of lands ;

Easy is the access to Tuanai,t

Elevated is the (rock) Tauraura,

The eating-place of Oubuore ;

Where the point of land meets the coral reef.

Cease to weep, great Ipo,

Here is beautiful Maupiti,

O the waters of Atimo,

Ane also at Maupiti.

Their traditionary ballads were a kind of
standard, or classical authority, to which they
referred, for the purpose of determining any dis-
puted fact in their history. Tlie fidelity of public
recitals referring to former events, was sometimes

* A small island Dear Maupiti. f Ad island.

TRADmOVABY BAIXAOS. 203

questioned by the orators or chroniclers of the
party opposed to that by whom the recital had
been made. The disputes which followed, were
often carried on with great pertinacity and deter-
mination. As they had no records to which they
could at such times refer, they could only oppose
one oral tradition to another, which unavoidably
involved the parties in protracted, and often
obstinate debates. At such times, a reference to
some distich, in any of their popular and historic
songs, often set the matter in dispute at rest. On
a recent occasion, two parties were disputing in
reference to an event which occurred in the bay
of Papara during the time Captain Bligh remained
there in the Bounty, in 1788 or 1789. The fact
questioned was the loss of the buoy of his anchor :
after disputing it for some time without convincing
his opponent, the individual who had stated the
fact, referred to the following lines in one of their
balladsy relating that event :

*' O mea eitk e Tareu ei&
Eid te potto a Bligh,**

Such an one a thief, and Tareu a thief.
Thieved (or stole) the buoy of Bligh.

The song was one well known, and the exist-
ence of this fact, among the others that had
taken place, and the remembrance of which the
ballad was designed to preserve, was conclusive,
and appeared to satisfy the parties by whom it
had been questioned. Most of their historical
events were thus preserved. These songs were
exceedingly popular for a time. The facts on
which they were grounded became thus generally
known ; and they were, undoubtedly, one of the
most effectual means they had of preserving

204 FOLYKESIAN RESEARCHES.

the knowledge of the leading events of former
tunes.

Freed in a great degree, so far as the means
of subsistence were concerned, from anxiety and
labour, the islanders were greatly devoted to
amusement, for which heiva was the general
name, though voyagers have restricted that term
to their dances. By the natives, heiva was applied
to most of their amusements, hence they spoke of
the heiva-maonay wrestUng, heiva-moto, boxing,
heiva-vivo, flute-playing, Aeit;a-u(fe, singing, heiva^
kaapee uo, kite-flymg, and heiva-tea, archery :
war, pagan-worship, and pleasure, appear to have
engaged their attention, and occupied the prin-
cipal portion of their time. Their games were
numerous and diversified, and were often affairs
of national importance. They do not appear ever
to have been gamblers, or to have accompanied
any of their sports with betting, or staking pro^
perty upon success, as the Sandwich Islanders
have done from the earliest periods of their
history, but seem to have followed their games
simply for amusement.

The Taupiti, or Oroa, was generally a season of
public festivity, when thousands of both sexes,
arrayed in splendid garments, assembled to witness
the games. These festivals were usually connected
with some religious ceremony , or cause of national
rejoicing. The return of the king from a tour, or
the arrival of a distinguished visitor, were among
the most ordinary occasions of these games.
Wrestling was the favourite, and perhaps most
frequent sport; hence the taupiti, or assembly,
was often called the taupiti maona, assembly for
wrestling. A large quantity of food was always
prepared, and generally served out to the different

WRESTLIKO MATCHES. 205

parties, at the commencement of the festiyal,
whereby the banquet was concluded before the
games began* The wrestlers of one district some-
times challenged those of another, but the trial of
strength and skill often took place between the
inhabitants of different islands; the servants of
the king of the island forming one band, and those
in the train of his guest the other.

In this, as in most of their public proceedings,
the gods presided. Before wrestling commenced,
each party repaired to tlie marae of the idols of
which they were the devotees. Here they pre-
sented a young plantain-tree, which was fre-
quently a substitute for a more valuable offering,
and having invoked aid of the tutelar deity of the
game, they repaired to the spot where the multi-
tude had assembled. A space covered with a
grassy turf, or the level sands of the sea-beach,
was usually selected for these exhibitions. Here
a ring was formed, perhaps thirty feet in diameter,
the aufenua, people of the country, being on one
side, the visitors on the other. The inner rank
sat down, the others stood behind them; each
party had their instruments of music with them,
but all remained quiet until the games began.
Six or ten, perhaps, from each side, entered the
ring at once, wearing nothing but the maro or
girdle, and having their limbs sometimes anointed
with oil.

The fame of a celebrated wrestler was usually
spread throughout the islands, and those who
were considered good wrestlers, priding them-
selves upon their strength or skill, were desirous
of engaging only with those they regarded as their
equals. Hence, when a chief was ^pected, in
whose train were any distinguished vn*estlers,

206 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

those among the adherents of the chiefs by whom
the party was to be entertained, who wished : to
engage, were accustomed to send a challenge
previous to their arrival. If this, which was called
tipaopao, had been the case when they entered
the ring, they closed at once, without ceremony.
But if no such arrangement had been made, the
wrestlers of one party, or perhaps their champion,
walked around and across the ring, having the left
arm bent, with the hand on the breast ; and gave
the challenge by striking the right hand violently
against the left, and the left against the side, which
produced a loud hollow sound. The strokes on the
arm were sometimes so violent, as not only to
bruise the flesh, but^ to cause the blood to gush
out.

When the challenge was accepted, the anta-
gonists closed, and the most intense interest was
manifested by the parties to which they respec-
tively belonged. Several were sometimes engaged
at once, but more frequently only two. They
grasped each other by the shoulders, and exerted
all their strength and art, each to throw, his rival ;
this was all that was requisite ; and although they
generally grappled with each other, this was not
necessary according to the rules of the game.
Mape, a stout, and rather active, though not a
large man, who was often in my house at Eimeo,
was a famous wrestler. He was seen in the ring
once, with a remarkably tall heavy man, who was
his antagonist ; they had grappled and separated,
when Mape walked carelessly towards his rivalj
and on approaching him, instead of stretching out
his arms as was expected, he ran the crown of his
head with all his might against the temple of his
antagonist, and laid him flat on the earth.

. WRESTLING MATCHES. 207

Unbroken silence and deep attention was mani-
fested during the struggle; but as soon as one
was thrown, the scene was instantly changed ; the
vanquished was scarcely stretched on the sand,
when a shout of exultation burst from the victor's
friends. Their drums struck up; the women rose,
and danced in triumph over the fallen wrestler,
and sung in defiance to the opposite party. These
were neither silent nor unmoved spectators, but
immediately commenced a most deafening noise,
partly in honour of their own clan or tribe, but
principally to mar and neutralize the triumph of
the victors. It is not easy to imagine the scenes
that must often have been presented at one of
their taupitis, or great wrestling matches, when
not less than four or five thousand persons,
dressed in their best apparel, and exhibiting every
variety of costume and brillancy of colour, were
under the influence of excitement. One party were
drumming, dancing, and singing, in the pride of
victory, and thfe menace of defiance ; while, to
increase the din and confusion, the other party
were equally vociferous in reciting the achieve-
ments jof the vanquished, or predicting the short-
ness of his rival's triumph.

However great the clamour might be, as soon
as the wrestlers who remained in the ring engaged
again, the drums ceased, the song was discon-
tinued, and the dancers sat down. All was per-
fectly silent, and the issue of the second struggle
was awaited with as great an intensity of interest
as the first. If the vanquished man had a friend
tft taio in the ring, he usually arose, and chal-
lenged the victor, who having gained one triumph,
either left the ring, which it was considered
honourable for him to do, or remained and awaited

208 POLYVESIAK RESEARCHES.

a fresh challenge. If he had retired, two fresh
combatants engaged , and when one was thrown,
exhibitions of feeling, corresponding with those
that had attended &e conclusion of the first
struggle, were renewed, and followed every suc-
cessive engagement. When the contest was over,
the men repaired again to the temple, and pre-
sented their offering of acknowledgment, usually
young plantain trees, to the idols of the game.

There are a number of men still living, who,
under the system of idolatry, were celebrated as
wrestlers through the whole of the islands. Among
these, Fenuapeho, the hardy chieftain of Tahaa,
is perhaps the most distinguished. He is not a
large man, but broad, strong, sinewy, and remark-
ably firm -built. In person he appears to have
been adapted to excel in such kinds of savage
sports.

Although wrestling was practised principally by
the men, it was not confined to them. Often,
when they had done, the women contended,
sometimes with each other, and occasionally with
men, who were not perhaps reputed wrestlers.
Persons in the highest rank sometimes engaged in
the sport ; and the sister of the queen has been
seen wearing nearly the same clothing as the
wrestlers wore, covered all over with sand, and
wrestling with a young chief, in the midst of a
ring, around which thousands of the people were
assembled.

On all great festivals, wrestling was succeeded
by the Moto-raa, or Boxing. This does not
appear to have been so favourite an amusement
with the Tahitians as wrestling; and there was
generally a smaller number to engage. It was
mostly practised by the lower orders and servants

BOXING MATCHES. 209

of the Areois, and was with them, as boxing is
every where, savage work; though, considering
the rude and barbarous state of the people, who
had little idea of influence or power, but as con-
nected with their gods, or with mere brute
strength, we are not surprised that it should have
existed. The challenge was given in the same
way as in wrestling; but when the combatants
engaged, the combat was much sooner ended, and
no time was spent in sparring or parrying the
blows. These were generally straight-forward,
severe, and heavy; usually aimed at the head.
They fought with the naked fist, and the whole
skin of the forehead has been at times torn or
driven off at a blow. No one interfered with
the combatants while engaged ; but as soon as
either of them fell, or stooped, or shunned his
antagonist, he was considered vanquished, the
battle closed, and was instantly succeeded by the
shouts and dances of triumph.

These barbarous sports, though generally fol-
lowed by the common people, were not confined
to them ; other classes sometimes engaged ; chiefs
end priests were often among the most famous
boxers and wrestlers. These games were not only
dreadfully barbarous, but demoralizing in their
influence on the people, who would set up a shriek
of exultation when the blood started, or the van-
quished fell senseless on the sand. They were
also often fatal. Metia, a taura no Oro, priest of
Oro, who resided at Matavai, was celebrated for
his prowess, and slew two antagonists, a father
and a son, at one of these festivals, in Taiarapu.
Considering the brutalizing tendency and the fatal
results of boxing and wrestling, we cannot but
rejoice that they have ceased with that system of

/

210 POLTHESIAN RESEARCHES.

barbarism, licentiousness, and cruelty with which
they were associated, and by which they were
supported.

Connected with these athletic sports was
another, less objectionable than either. This was
the faatitiaike^mo raa^ or foot-race, in which
the young men of the opposite parties engaged.
Great preparation was made for this trial of
strength and agility. The bodies of the ranners
were anointed with oil ; the maro, or girdle, the
only garment they wore, was bound tight round
the loins. A wreath of flowers adorned the brows,
and alight white or coloured bandage of native cloth
was sometimes bound like a turban round the head.
A sinooth line of sandy beach was usually selected
for the course. Sometimes they returned to the
place from which they had started, but in general
they ran the prescribed distance in a straight line.
One df these races took place at Afareaitu while
we resided there* Jt was between one of the king's
servants, and a young man recently arrived from
the Pearl Islands. The stranger was a tall, thin,
handsome young man ; and, as they walked past
my house to the course, the people in general
seemed to^think his rival had but little prospect of
equalling the swiftness of his speed, and it was
thought he had already secured the re, or prize.
The result, however, disappointed their expecta-
tions ; and, as the spectators returned, I learned
that, although on tlie first effort it was impossible
to determine to whom the prize belonged, after
repeated trials it was adjudged to Pomare's
domestic. The faatitiaike-mo raa vaa, or canoe-
race, was occasionally practised on the smooth
waters of the ocean, within the reefs, and appeared
to afford a high degree of satisfaction.

THROWIVO THE I^PE A R. 211

Their martial games were numerous ; and to
these preparatory sports, the youth paid great
attention. The moto, or boxing, and the maonay
or wrestling, were regarded as a sort of military
drilling; but the vera patia^ throwing the spear
or javelin, and the practice of throwing stones
from a sling, were the principal military games.
In the latter, the Tahitians excelled most of the
nations of the Pacific ; devoting to its practice a
considerable portion of their time, and being able
to cast the stone with great accuracy.

Throwing the spear, or darting the javelin, was
an amusement in which they passed many of their
juvenile hours. It was not a mere exercise of
strength, like that exhibited in shooting with the
bow and arrow, but a trial of skill. The stalk, or
stem, of a plantain tree was their usual mark or
target. This they fixed perpendicularly in the
ground ; and, retiring to a spot a number of yards
distant, endeavoured to strike the mark with their
missiles. These, thrown with precision and force,
readily penetrated its soft and yielding substance.
Although this was with some a favourite amuse-
ment, Uie Tahitians do not appear to have followed
it with such avidity as the Sandwich Islanders
were accustomed to do, nor to have made such
proficiency in the art. In order to avoid accidents
while practising with the sling, the boys generally
employed the firuit of the nono, morinda ciirifoliay
instead of a stone. The mark at which they threw
was a thin cane, or small white stick, fixed erect
in the ground ; and the force and precision with
which it was repeatedly struck^ were truly
astonishing.

Besides these games, they often had what might
be termed reviews of their land and naval forces.

p 2

212 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

In these, all the appendages of battle were ex-
hibited on land, and the fleets were equipped as in
maritime war. The fighting men, in both exhibi-
tions, wore the dress and bore the arms employed
in actual combat. They also performed their
different evolutiohs, in attack and defence, advance
and retreat. Sham-fights were connected with
these displays of naval or military parade. In
their mock engagements, they threw the spear,
thrust the lance, parried the club, and at length,
with deafening shouts, mingled in general and
promiscuous struggle. Some of the combatants
were thrown, others captured, and the respective
parties retreated to renew the contest.

Their naval reviews often exhibited a spectacle,
which to them was remarkably imposing. Ninety
or a hundred canoes were, on these occasions,
ranged in a line along the beach, ready to be
launched in a moment. Their elevated and often
curiously carved stems, their unwieldy bulk, the
raised and guarded platform for the fighting men,
the motley group assembled there, bearing their
singularly and sometimes fantastically shaped wea-^
pons, the numerous folds of native cloth that formed
their cumbrous dress, their high, broad turbans,
the lofty stems of their vessels, grotesque and
rudely carved, together with the broad streamers
floating in the breeze, combined to inspire them
with the most elevated ideas of their naval prowess;
The effect thus produced was heightened by the
appearance of the sacred canoes, bearing the
images or the emblems of the gods, the fls^ of the
^bds, and the officiating or attending priests.
Often, while the vessels were thus ranged along
the beach, the king stood in a small one, drawn
by a number of his men, who walked in the sea.

BANDY — FOOT-BALL. 213

In front of each canoe he paused, and addressed
a short harangue to the warriors, and an ubu, or
invocation, to the gods. After this was ended, at
ft signal given, the whole fleet was in a moment
launched upon the ocean, and pulled with rapi-
dity and dexterity to a considerable distance from
the shore, where the several varieties of their
naval tactics were exhibited ; after which, they
returned in regular order, with precision, to
the shore.

Many of their games were most laborious. One
at which the men played, called apai, or paipaiy
resembled a sport in some parts denominated
''bandy." A similar game, called palicariy was
formerly a frequent amusement among the abori-
gines of South America, and those inhabiting the
northern parts of the same continent, even as far
as Canada. A ball is provided, and the players
are furnished with sticks about three or four feet
long, bent at one end ; with these they strike the
ball, each party endeavouring to send it beyond
the boundary mark of their opponents. The ball
is made with tough shreds of native doth, tightly
knotted together. The sticks used by the Tahi-'
tians were rude and unpolished, just as they were
cut from the tree ; but those used by the inhiabi*
tants of the Southern Islands are made with the aitOf
or iron-wood, the handle wrought with great ^are,
and sometimes curiously carved, while a round
protuberance is formed at the lower end, which,
being slightly curved, augments the force with
which they strike the ball.

The tuiraa, or foot-ball, is also a frequent game,
followed more by the women than the men. Whole
districts engaged in this amusement. In the
former, they only struck the ball with a stick ; in

214 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

this^ they employed the foot, and each party en*
deavoured to send it beyond the opposite boundary
line, which had been marked out before they began.
When either party succeeded in this, the air was
rent wilii their shouts of success.

The ham raa puu, seizing of the ball, was how-»
ever the favourite game of this kind. The females
alone engaged in tihe seizing of the ball ; in pro^
jecting which^ neither, sticks nor feet were allowed
to be applied. An open place was necessary for
all their sports, and the sea-beach was usually
selected. The boundary mark of each party was
fixed by a stone on the beach, or some other
object on the shore, having a space of fifty or a
hundred yards between. The ball was a large
roll or bundle of the tough stalks of the plantain
leaves twisted closely and firmly together. They
began in the centre of the space. One party, seiz-
ing the ball, endeavoured to throw it over the
boundary mark of the other. As soon as it was
thrown, both parties started after it, and, in stoop-
ing to seize it, a scramble often ensued among
those who first reached the ball ; the numbers in-
creased as the others came up, and they frequently
fell one over the other in the greatest ccmfusion;
Amidst the shouts, and din, and disorder that fol-
lowed, arms or legs were sometimes broken before
the ball was secured. As the pastime was usually
followed on the beach, the ball was often thrown
to the sea; here it was fearlessly followed, and, with
all the noise and cheering of the difib«nt parties,
fortv or fifty women might sometimes be seen, up
to their knees or their waists in the water, splash-
ing and plunging amid the foam and spray, after
the object of their pursuit. These are only some
of the games that were followed by the isulubs, at

DANCES. 215

their great meetings or national festivals. In
these, and in feasting, the hours of the day were
spent.

Their dances were numerous and diversified;
and were performed by men and women- —in many
the parties did not dance together. Their move*
ments were generally slow, but regular and exact ;
the arms, during their dances, were exercised aa
much as their feet. The drum and the flute were
the music by which they were led ; and the dance
was usually accompanied by songs and ballads,-
On is the native word for dance, but each kind of
dance had a distinct name. The least objection-
able was the huray which appears to have been the
kind of dance witnessed by Captain Cook in Hua^
hine. The hura was sometimes a pantomimic ex-
hibition, with dancing at intervals during the per-
formance ; but the most decent and respectable was
that which consisted principally of dancing. It
was practised from a motive which many will think,
manifested a decisive elevation above savage life.
The families of the distinguished chiefs in the
neighbourhood were always invited to witness the.
hura. They usually came arrayed in their best ap-
parel, followed by numbers of their attendants.. It
was generally designed to bring into notice the
daughters of the chiefs, and recommend them to,
young men of rank and station equal or superior
to their own, who, it was hoped, might be so charm-
ed by their dancing, as to become their future
husbands.

The daughters of the chiefs, who were the
dancers on these occasions, at times amounted
to five or six, though occasionally only one exhi-
bited her symmetry of figure, and gracefulness of
action. Their dress was singular, but elegant.

^16 POLYNESIA-NT RESEARCHES.

The head was ornamented with tamau, a fine and
beautiful braid of human hair^ wound round the
head in the form of a turban.* A triple wreath of
scarlet, white, and yellow flowers, composed of the
aute, the fragrant gardenia, or Cape jessamine, and
the beslarialaurifolia, tastefully interwoven, adorned
the curious head-dress. The tahema, a loose vest
of spotted cloth, covered the lower part of the
bosom. The tihi, of fine white stiffened cloth, fre-
quently edged with a scarlet border, gathered like
a large frill, passed under the arms, and reached
below the waist; while the araitihi, a handsome fine
cloth, fastened round the waist with a band or
dash, covered the feet. The breasts were orna-
mented with rainbow-coloured mother-of-pearl
shells, or the pii, which was a covering of curiously
wrought net- work and feathers.

The music of the hura was the large and small
drum, and occasionally the flute. Besides the
musicians, the haapii, teacher or prompter, was an
important personage. He was attired in three or
four finelv fringed mats, fastened round his waist,
and stooa or sat near the mat on which the dancers
stood. His business was, by the expression of his
countenance and the action of his hands, to direct
the performers. Their dancing was not lively and
nimble, and seldom could those engaged be said
to trip

On the light fantastic toe.

Their movements were generally slow, but alwaysi
easy and natural, and no exertion, on the part of the
performers, was wanting, to render them graceful

* Mr. Barff, to whom I am indebted for the principal
part of this account, procured a head-dress of this kind,
containing one hundred fathoms of the finest braided
human hair.

DAKCES — ARCHERY. 217

Riid attractive. Besides the distinguished females
who performed the hura, there were others who
were regarded as appendages to the exhibition^
These were the faata, who were men, generally
four in number, who were arrayed in fringed mats,
fastened round the waist, and each was a sort of
clown or harlequin. Their business was, during
the intervals between the different parts of the
hura, to dance in the most comic and ludicrous
manner, for the mirth of the spectators. They
were called ei ataraa na te mataitai — cause of
laughter to the lookers on. The heva tiaraau was
another dance, inferior to the hura, and not more
objectionable. There were many others, but they
were all too indelicate or obscene to be noticed.
These were sometimes held in the open air, but
more frequently performed under the cover of the
houses, erected in most of the districts for public
entertainments. These structures were frequently
spacious, and well built ; consisting of a roof sup-
ported by pillars, without any shelter for the sides.
A low fence, called aumoa, surrounded the house ;
and the inside was covered with mats, on which
the company sat and the dancers performed. The
patau, or prompter, sat by the drum, and regulated
the several parts of the performance. After the
athletic exercises of the day, the dances ensued in
the evening, and were often continued till the
dawn of the following morning. There were gods
supposed to preside over their dances, whose sanc-
tion patronized the debasing immoralities con-
nected with them.

The te-a, or archery, was also a sacred game,
more so, perhaps, than any other ; it was also
called heiva te-a, play, or amusement of archery.
The bows, arrows, quiver, and cloth in which they

218 POLTKESI A N RESEARCHES .

were kept together, with the dresses worn by the
archers, were all, sacred, and under the special
care of persons appointed to keep them. It was
usually practised as a most honourable recreation,
between the residents of a place and their guests.
The sport was generally followed either at the foot
of a mountain, or on the sea-shore. My house^
in the valley of Haamene at Huahine, stood very
near an ancient vahi te-a, a place of archery.
Before commencing the game, the parties repaired
to the marae, and performed several ceremonies ;
after which, they put on the archers' dress, and
proceeded to the place appointed* . They did not
shoot at a mark ; it was therefore only a trial of
strength. In • a place to wliich they shot the
arrows, two small white flags were displayed,
between which the arrows were directed.

The bows were made of the light, tough wood of
the purau; and were, when unstrung, perfectly
straight, about five feet long ; an inch, or an inch
and a quarter, in diameter in the centre, but
smaller at the ends. They were neatly polished,
and sometimes ornamented with* finely braided
human hair, or cord of the fibres of cocoa-nut
husk, wound round the ends of the bow in altera
nate rings. The string was of romaha^ or native
flax; the arrows were small bamboo reeds, ex-
ceedingly light and durable. They were pointed
with a piece of aitOy or iron-wood, but were not
barbed. Their arrows were not feathered ; but, in
order to their being firmly held while the string
was drawn, the lower end was covered with a resi-
nous gum from the bread-fruit tree. The length
of the arrows varied from two feet six inches to
three feet. The spot from which they were shot
was considered sacred; there was one of these

ARCHERT. 219

within my garden at Huahine. It was a stone
pile, about three or four feet high, of a triangular
form, one side of the angle being convex.

When the preparations were completed, the
archer ascended this platform, and, kneeling on
one knee, drew the string of the bow with the
right hand, till the head of the arrow touched the
centre of the bow, when it was discharged with
great force. It was an effort of much strength in
Qiis position to draw the bowstring so far. The
line often broke, and the bow fell from the archer's
hand when the arrow was discharged. The dis«
tcmce to which it was shot, though various, was
frequently three hundred yards. A number of
men, from three to twelve, with small white flags
in their hands, were stationed, to watch the arrows
in their fall. When those of one party went far-
ther than those of the other, they waved the flags
as a signal to the party below. When they fell
short, they held down their flags, but lifted up their
foot, exclaiming uau pan, beaten.

This Was a sport in the highest esteem, the king
and chiefs usually attending to witness the exer-
cise. As soon as the game was finished, the bow,
with the quiver of arrows, was delivered to the
charge of a proper person : the archers repaired to
the marae, and were obliged to exchange their
dress, and bathe their persons, before they could
take refreshment, or enter their dwellings. It is
astonishing to notice how intimately their system
of religion was interwoven with every pursuit of
their lives. Their wars, their labours, and their
amusements, were all under the control of their
gods. Paruatetavae was the god of archers.

The arrows they employed were sometimes beau*
tifully stained and variegated. The bows were

!220 POLYNESIAK KESEARCHES.

|)lain, but the quivers were often elegant in shape
and appearance. They were made with the sin^e
joint of a bamboo cane, three feet six or nine
inches long, and about two inches in diameter.
The outside was sometimes handsomely stained,
and finely polished at the top and the bottom ;
they were adorned with braided cord, and plaited
human hair. The cap or cover of the quiver was a
small, handsome, well-formed cocoa-nut, of a dark
brown chocolate colour, highly polished, and
attached to the quiver by a cord passing up
the inner side of the quiver, and festened near the
bottom.

The bow and arrow were never used by the
Society Islanders excepting in their amusements ;
hence, perhaps, their arrows, though pointed, were
not barbed, and they did not shoot at a mark. In
throwing the spear, and the stone from the sling,
both of which they used in battle, they were accus-
tomed to set up a mark ; and practised, that they
might throw with precision, as well as force. In
the Sandwich Islands, they we used also as an
amusement, especially in shootmg rats, but are not
included in their accoutrements for battle ; while in
the Friendly Islands, the bow was not only em-
ployed on occasions of festivity, but also used in
war; this, however, may have arisen from their
proximity to the Feejee Islands, where it is a
general weapon. In the Society and Sandwich
Islands, it is now altogether laid aside, in conse-
quence of its connexion with their former idola-
try. I do not think the Missionaries ever incul-
cated its discontinuance, but the adults do not
appear to have thought of following this, or any
other game, since Christianity has been introduced
among them.

COCK-FIOHTING. 22]

CHAP. IX.

Cockfighting — ^Aquatic sports — Swimming in the rarf—
Danger from sharks — JuTenile amusements — Account
of the Areois, the institution peculiar to the inhabitants
of the Pacific— Antiquity of the Areoi society — Tradi-
tion of its origin — ^Account of its founders — Infanticide
enjoined with its establishment — General character of
the Areois — Their voyages — Public dances — Buildings
for their accommodation — ^Marine exhibitions — Oppres-
sion and injury occasioned by their yisits— Distinction
of rank among them — Estimation in which they are
held — ^Mode of admission — Ceremonies attending ad-
vancement to the higher orders — Demoralizing nature
of their usages — Singular rites at their death and inter-
ment—Description of Rohutunoanoa, the Areois hea-
ven — Reflections on the baneful tendency of the Areoi
society, and its dissolution.

The most ancient, but certainly not the most inno-
cent game among the Tahitians, was the /aatito-
raamoa^ literally, the causing fighting among fowls,
or cock-fighting. The traditions of the people
state, that fowls have existed in the islands as long
as the people, that they came with the first colo-
nists by whom the islands were peopled, or that
they were made by Taaroa at the same time that
men were made. The traditions and songs of the
islanders, connected with their amusements, are as
ancient as any in existence among them. The
Tahitians do not appear to have staked any pro-
perty, or laid any bets, on their favourite birds, but
to have trained and foug^ht them for the sake of the

222 POLTKESIAK KESKARCPIBS.

gratification the; derived from beholding them
destroy each other. Long before the first foreign
vessel was seen off their shores, they were accus-
tomed to train and to fight their birds. The fowls
designed for fighting were fed with great care ; a
finely carved fatapua, or stand, was made as a
perch for the birds. This was planted in the house,
and the bird fastened to it by a piece of cinet,
braided fiat that it might not injure the leg. No
other substance would have been secure against
the attacks of his beak. Their food was chiefly
poe, or bruised bread-fruit, rolled up in the hand
like paste, and given in small pieces. The fowl
was taught to open his mouth to receive his food
and his water, which was poured from his master's
hand. It was also customary to sprinkle water
over these birds to refresh them.

The natives were universally addicted to this
sport. The inhabitants of one district often
matched their birds against those of another, or
those of one division of a district against those
of another. They do not appear to have enter-
tained any predilection for particular colour in
the fowls, but seem to have esteemed all alike.
They never trimmed any of the feathers, but were
proud to see them with heavy wings, firil-feathered
necks, and long tails. They also accustomed them
to fight without artificial spurs, or other means of
injury. In order that the birds might be as firesh
as possible, they fought them early in the morn-
ing, soon after aay-break, while the air was cool,
and before they became languid from heat. More
than two were seldom engaged at once, and so
soon as one bird avoided the other, he was consi-
dered as viy or beaten. Victory was declared in
favour of his opponent, and they were immediately

SWIMMING IN THE SURF. 223

parted. This tunusement was sometimes continued
for several days successively, and, as well as the
other recreations, was patronized by their idols.
Ruaifaatoa, the god of cockfighters, appears among
the earliest of their inferior divinities.

Like the inhabitants of most of the islands of the
Pacific, tlie Tahitians are fond of the water, and
lose all dread of it before they are old enough to
know the danger to which we should consider them
exposed. They are among the best divers in the
world, and spend much of their time in the sea,
not only when engaged in acts of labour, but when
following their amusements. One of their favourite
sports is the horue or faahee^ swimming in the
surf, when the waves are high, and the billows
break in foam and spray among the reefs. Indi-
viduals of all ranks and ages, and both sexes,
follow this pastime with the greatest avidity.
They usually selected the openings in the reefs,
or entrances of some of the bays, for their sport ;
vdiere the long heavy billows of the ocean rolled
in unbroken majesty upon the reef or the shore.
They used a small board, which they called papa
fahee — swam from the beach to a considerable
distance, sometimes nearly a mile, watched the
swell of the wave, and when it reached them, rest-
ing their bosom on the short flat pointed board,
they mounted on its summit, and, amid the foam
and spray, rode on the crest of the wave to the
shore : sometimes they halted among the coral
rocks, over which the waves broke in splendid con-
fusion. When they approached the shore, they
slid off the board which they grasped with the
hand, and either fell behind liie wave, or plunged
toward the deep, and allowed it to pass over their
heads. Sometimes they were thrown with violence

f

5224 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

upon the beach, or among the rocks on the edges
of the reef. So much at home, however, do they
feel in the water, that it is seldom any accident
occurs.

I have often seen, along the border of the reef
forming the boundary line to the harbour of Fa-re,
in Huahine, from fifty to a hundred persons, of all
ages, sporting like so many porpoises in the surf,
sometimes mounted on the top of the wave, and
almost enveloped in spray ; at other times plunging
beneath the mass of water that has swept in moun-
tains over them, cheering and animating each
other ; and, by the noise and shouting they made,
rendering the roaring of the sea, and the dashing
of the surf, comparatively imperceptible. TKeir
surf-boards are inferior to those of the Sandwich
Islanders, and I do not think swimming in the sea
as an amusement, whatever it might have been
formerly, is now practised so much by the natives
in the south, as by those in the north Pacific.
Both were exposed in this sport to one common
cause of interruption ; and this was, the intrusion
of the shark. The cry of a mao amotig the former,
and a 9»an5 among the latter, is one of the most
terrific they ever hear; and I am not surprised
that such should be the efiect of the^ approach of
one of these voracious monsters. The great shout-
ing and clamour which they make, is principally'
designed to frighten away such as may approach;
Notwithstanding this, they are often disturbed,
and sometimes meet their death from these formi*-
dable enemies.

A most affecting instance of this kind occurred
very recently in the Sandwich Islands, of which
the following account is given by Mr. Richards,
and published in the American Missionary Herald :

AWFUL DEATH BT A SHAHK. 225

^ At nine o*cl6ck in the morning of June 14th,
1826, while sitting at my writing-d€isk, I heard a
simultaneous scream from multitudes of people,
Pau i ka mano! Pau i ka manol '^ Destroyed by
the shark I Destroyed by the shark !" The beach
was instantly lined by hundreds of persons, and a
few of the most resolute threw a large canoe into
the water, and, alike regardless of the shark and
the high rolling surf, sprang to the relief of their
companion. It was too late. The shark had
already seized his prey. The affecting sight was
only a few yards from my door, and while I stood
watching, a large wave almost filled the canoe,
and at Uie same instant a part of the mangled
body was seen at the bow of the canoe, and the
shark swimming towards it at her stem. When
the swell had rolled by, the water was too shallow
for the shark to swim, t'he remains, therefore,
were taken into the canoe, and brought ashore,
rhe water was so much stained by the blood, that
we discovered a red tinge in all the foaming bil-
lows, as they approached the beach.

" The unhappy sufferer was an active lad
about fourteen years old, who left my door only
about half an hour previous to the fatal accident,
I saw his mother, in the extremity of her anguish,
plunge into the water, and swim towards the
bloody spot, entirely forgetful of the power of her
former god.

^^ A number of people, perhaps a hundred, were
at this time playing in the surf, which was higher
than usual. Those who were nearest to the victim
heard him shriek, perceived him to strike with his
right hand, and at the same instant saw a shark
seize his arm. Then followed the cry which I
heard, which ^echoed from one end of Lahaina to

Q

226 POLTNESIAK RESEARCHES.

the other. All who were playing in the water
made the utmost speed to the shore, and those
who were standing on the beach saw the surf-board
of the unhappy sufferer floating on the water,
without any one to guide it. When the canoe
reached the spot, they saw nothing but the blood
with which the water was stained for a considerable
distance, and by which they traced the remains,'
whither they had been carried by the shark, or
driven by the swell. The body was cut in two by
the shark, just above the hips ; and the lower part,
together with the right ann, were gone.
. '' Many of the people connect this death with
their old system of religion ; for they have still a
superstitious veneration for the shark, and this
veneration is increased rather than diminished by
such occurrences as these.

'^ It is only about four months since a man was
killed in the same manner at Waihee, on the
eastern part of this island. It is said, however,
that there are much fewer deaths by the sharks
than formerly. This, perhaps, may be owing to
their not being so much fed by the people, and
therefore they do not visit the shores so fre-
quently."

Besides ^efaahecj or surf-swimming, of which
Huaouri was the presiding god, and in which the
adults principally engaged, there were a number
of aquatic pastimes peculiar to the children;
among these, the principal was erecting a kind of
stage near the margin of a deep part of the sea or
river, leaping from the highest elevation into the
sea, and chasing each o3ier in the water, diving
to an almost incredible depth, or skimming along
the surface. Large companies of children, from
nine or ten to fifteen or sixteen years of age, have

JUVENILE AMUSEMENTS. 227

often been seen, the greater part of the forenoon,
eagerly following this apparently dangerous game,
with the most perfect confidence of safety. An-
other amusement, which appears to afford high
satisfaction to the children of the islanders, is the
construction of small canoes, boats, or ships, and
floating them in the sea. Although they are rude
in appearance, and soon destroyed, many of the
boys display uncommon ingenuity in constructing
this kind of toy. The hull is usually made with a
piece of light wood of the hibiscus, the cordage of
bark, and the sails are either of the leaflets of the
cocoa-nut, or the native cloth. The owners of
these little vessels frequently go in small parties,
and, taking their small-craft in their hands, wade
up to their waist or arm-pits in the sea, and some-
times swim still further out ; and then, launching
their miniature fleets, consisting of ships, brigs,
sloops, boats, canoes, &c. return towards the shore.
They usually fix a piece of stone at the bottom of
the little barks, which keeps them upright ; and as
the wind wafts them along the bay, their owners
run along up to their knees in the sea, splashing
and shouting as they watch their progress.

Such were some of the amusements of the
natives in the South Sea Islands. In these, when
not engaged in war, they spent much of their time.
There were also others, of a less athletic kind, and
of less universal prevalence. Among these, the
aperea was one of the most prevalent ; it consisted
in jerking a reed, two feet and a half or three feet
in length, along the ground. The men seldom
played at it, but it was a common diversion for the
women and children. Timo, or timotimOy was an-
other game with the same class. The parties sat
on the ground, with a heap of stones by their side,

q2

228 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

held a small round stone in the right hand, which
they threw several feet up into the air, and, before
it fell, took up one of the stones from the heap,
which they held in the right hand till they caught
that which they had thrown up, when they threw
down the stone they had taken up, tossed the
round stone again, and continued taking up a
fresh stone every time they threw the small round
one into the air, until the whole heap was removed.
The teatea mata was a singular play among the
children, who stretched open their eyelids by
fixing a piece of straw, or stiff grass, perpendicu-
larly across the eye, so as to force open the lids in
a most frightful manner. Tupaurupauru, a kind
of blind-man's-buff, was also a favourite juvenile
sport.

They were very fond of the tahorOy or swing,
and frequently suspended a rope from the branch
of a lofty tree, and spent hours in swinging back-
wards and forwards. They used the rope singly,
and at the lower end fastened a short stick, which
was thus suspended in a horizontal position ; upon
this stick they sat, and, holding by the rope, were
drawn or pushed backwards and forwards by their
companions. Walking in stilts was also a favourite
amusement with the youth of both sexes. The
stilts were formed by nature, and generally con-
sisted of the straight branches of a tree, with a
smaller branch projecting on one side. Their
naked feet were placed on this short branch, and
thus, elevated about three feet from the ground,
they pursued their pastime.

The boys were very fond of the uo, or kite,
which they raised to a great height. The Tahitian
kite was different in shape from the kites of the
English boys. It was made of light native cloth.

AllEOI SOCIETY. 229

instead of paper, and formed in shape according to
the fancy of its owner.

These are only some of the principal games or
amusements of the natives; others might be added,
but these are sufficient to shew that Siey were not
destitute of sources of entertainment, either in
their juvenile or more advanced periods of life.
With the exception of one or two, they have all,
however, been discontinued, especially among the
adults ; and the number of those followed by the
children is greatly diminished. This is, on no
account, matter of regret. Many were in them-
selves repulsive to every feeling of common
decency, and all were intimately connected with
practices inimical to individual chastity, domestic
peace, and public virtue. When we consider the
debasing tendency of many, and the inutility of
others, we shall rather rejoice that much of the
time of the adults is passed in more rational and
beneficial pursuits. The practice of useful mecha-
nic arts, of agriculture, and of fishing, are better
adapted to preserve the robustness and vigour of
their constitutions^ and at the same time to exempt
them from the moral evils of their games. Few, if
any of them, are so sedentary in their habits, as
to need these amusements for exercise ; and they
are not accustomed to apply so closely to any of
their avocations, as to require them merely for
relaxation.

The greatest source of amusement to the people,
as a nation, was most probably the existence of a
society, peculiar to the Islands of the Pacific, if
not to the inhabitants of the southern groups.
This was an institution called the Areoi society.
Many of the regulations of this body, and the
practices to which they were addicted, cannot be

230 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

made public, without violence to every feeling of
propriety; but, so far as it can be consistently
done, it seems desirable to give some particulars
respecting this most singular institution. Although
I never met with an account of any institution
analogous to this, among the barbarous nations in
any parts of the world, I have reason to believe it
was not confined to the Society group, and neigh-
bouring islands. It does not appear to have
existed in the Marqiiesas or Sandwich Islands;
but the Jesuit Missionaries found an institution,
bearing a striking resemblance to it, among the
inhabitants of the Caroline or Ladrone Islands ; a
privileged fraternity, whose practices were, in many
respects, similar to those of the Areois of the
southern islands. Tliey were called uritoy ;
which, omitting the tj would not be much unlike
areoi : a greater difference exists in the pronun-
ciation of words known to be radically the same.

How long this association has existed in the
South Sea Islands, we have no means of ascertain-
ing with correctness. According to the traditions
of the people, its antiquity is equal to that of the
system of pollution and error with which it was so
intimately allied ; and, by the same authority, we
are informed that there have been Areois almost as
long as there have been men. These, however,
were all so fabulous, that we can only infer from
them that the institution is of ancient origin.
According to the traditions of the people, Taaroa
created, and, by means of Hina, brought forth,
when full grown, Orotetefa and Urutetefe. They
were not his sons ; oriori is the term employed
by the people, which seems to mean create. They
were called the brothers of Oro, and were num-
bered among the inferior divinities. They remained

ORIGIN OF THE AREOIS. 231

in a state of celibacy ; and hence the devotees were
required to destroy tiieir offspring. The origin of
the Areois institution is as follows.

Oro, the son of Taaroa, desired a wife from the
daughters of Taata, the first man ; he sent two of
his brothers, Tufarapainuu and Tufaiapairai, to
seek among the daughters of man a suitable com-
panion for him ; they searched through the whole
of the islands, from Tahiti to Borabora, but saw
no one that they supposed fit to become the wife
of Oro, till they came to Borabora. Here, residing
near the foot of Mouatahuhuura, red-ridged moun-
tain, they saw Vairaumati. When they beheld
her, they said one to the other, This is the excel-
lent woman for our brother. Returning to the
skies, they hastened to Oro, and informed him of
their success ; told him they had found among the
daughters of man a wife for him, described the
place of her abode, and represented her as a
vahine purotu aiaiy a female possessed of every
charm. The god fixed the rainbow in the hea-
vens, one end of it resting in the valley at the
foot of the red-ridged mountain, the other pene-
trating the skies, and thus formed his pathway to
the earth.

When he emei^ed from the vapour, which, like
a cloud, had encircled the rainbow, he discovered
the dwelling of Vairaumati, the fair mistress of the
cottage, who became his wife. Every evening he
descended on the rainbow, and returned by the
same pathway on the following morning to the
heavenly regions. His wife bore a son, whom he
called Hoa-tabu-i-te-rai, friend, sacred to the
heavens. This son became a powerful ruler among
men.

The absence of Oro from his celestial compa-

232 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

nions, during the frequent visits he made to the
cottage of Vairaumati in the valley of Borabora,
induced two of his younger brothers, Orotetefa
and Urutetefa, to leave their abode in Uie skies,
and commence a search after him. Descending
by the rainbow in the position in which he had
placed it, they alighted on the earth near the
base of the red-ridged mountains, and soon per-
ceived their brother and his wife in their terrestrial
habitation. Ashamed to offer their salutations to
him and his bride without a present, one of them
was transformed on the spot into a pig, and a
bunch of uru, or red .feathers. These acceptable
presents the other offered to the inmates of the
dwelling, as a gift of congratulation. Oro and his
wife expressed their satisfaction at the present ;
the pig and the feathers remained the same, but
the brother of the god assumed his original form.

Such a mark of attention, on such an occasion,
was considered by Oro to require some expression
of his commendation. He accordingly made them
gods, and constituted th^n Areois, saying, EiAreoi
orua % te ao, neiy ia noaa ta orua tuhaa: ''Be
you two Areois in this world, that you may have
your portion, (in the government,*' &c.) In the
commemoration of this ludicrous fable of the pig
and the feathers, the Areois, in all the taupiti, and
public festivals, carried a young pig to the temple;
strangled it, bound it in the aku haio, (a loose
open kind of cloth,) and placed it on the altar.
They also offered the red feathers, which they
called the uru maru no ie Areoi, ** the shadowy
uru of the Areoi," or the red feathers of the party
of the Areoi.

It has been already stated that the brothers,
who were made gods and kings of the Areois, lived

CONVERTS FROM THE AREOIS. 233

in celibacy; consequently they had no descen-
dants. On this account, although they did not
enjoin celibacy upon their devotees, they prohi-
bited their having any offspring. Hence, one of
the standing regulations of this institution was^
the murder of their children. The first company,
the legend states, were nominated, according to
the Oro's direction, by Urutetefa and Orotetefa,
and comprised the following individuals : Huatua,
of Tahiti ; Tauraatua, of Moorea, or Eimeo ; Te-
maiatea, of Sir Charles Sanders' Island ; Tetoa and
Atae, of Huahine; Taramanini and Airipa, of
Raiatea ; Mutahaa, of Tahaa; Bunaruu, of Bora-
bora; and Marore, of Maurua. These indivi-
duals, selected from the different islands, consti-
tuted the first Areoi society. To them, also, the
gods whom Oro had placed over them delegated
authority, to admit to their order all such as were
desirous to unite with them, and consented to
murder their infants.* These were always the
names of the principal Areois in each of the
islands ; and were borne by them in the several
islands at the time of their renouncing idolatry ;
when the Areois name, and Areois customs, were
simultaneously discontinued.

It is a most gratifying fact, that some of those
who bore these names, and were ringleaders in all
the vice and cruelty connected with the system,
have since been distinguished for their active
benevolence, and moral and exemplary lives.
Anna, one of the first deacons in the church at
Huahine, one of the first native teachers sent out

* The above is one of the most regular accounts of the
origin of the Areoi institution, extant among the people.
Mr. Barff, to whom I am indebted for it, received it from
Anna, and Mahine the king of Huahine.

234 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

by that church to the heathen, and who has been
the minister of the church in Sir Charles Sanders*
Island, an indefatigable, upright, intelligent, and
useful man, as a Christian Missionary in the South
Sea Islands, was the principal Areoi of Raiatea.
He was the Taramanini of that island, until he
embraced Christianity.

They were a sort of strolling players, and privi-
leged libertines, who spent their days in travelling
from island to island, and from one district to
another, exhibiting their pantomimes, and spread-
ing a moral contagion throughout society. Great
preparation was necessary before the mareva, or
company, set out. Numbers of pigs were killed,
and presented to Oro ; large quantities of plantains
and bananas, with other fruits, were also offered
upon his altars. Several weeks were necessary to
complete the preliminary ceremonies. The con-
cluding parts of these consisted in erecting, on
board their canoes, two temporary maraes, or tem-
ples, for the worship of Orotetefa and his brother,
the tutelar deities of the society. This was merely
a symbol of the presence of the gods ; and con-
sisted principally in a stone for each, from Oro's
marae, and a few red feathers from the inside of
the sacred image. Into these symbols the gods
were supposed to enter when the priest pronounced
a short ii6u, or prayer, immediately before the sail-
ing of the fleet. The numbers connected with this
fraternity, and the magnitude of some of their
expeditions, will appear from the fact of Cook's
witnessing, on one occasion, in Huahine, the de-
parture of seventy canoes filled with Areois.

On landing at the place of destination, they pro-
ceeded to the residence of the king or chief, and
presented their marotaiy or present; a similar

EXHIBITIONS OF THE AREOIS. 235

offering was also sent to the temple and to the
gods, as an acknowledgment for the preservation
they had experienced at sea. If they remained in
the neighbourhood, preparations were made for
their dances and other performances.

On public occasions, their appearance was, in
some respects, such as it is not proper to describe.
Their bodies were painted with charcoal, and theii
faces, especially, stained with the matiy or scarlet
dye. Sometimes they wore a girdle of the yellow
ti leaves; which, in appearance, resembled the
feather girdles of the Peruvians, or other South
American tribes. At other times they wore a vest
of ripe yellow plantain leaves, and ornamented
their heads with wreaths of the bright yellow and
scarlet leaves of the hutu, or Barring ionia ; but,
in general, their appearance was far more repulsive
than when they wore these partial coverings.

Upaupa was the name of many of their exhibi-
tions. In performing these, they sometimes sat in
a circle on the ground, and recited, in concert, a
legend or song in honour of their gods, or some
distinguished Areoi. The leader of the party stood
in the centre, and introduced the recitation with a
sort of prologue, when, with a number of fantastic
movements and ^attitudes, those that sat around
began their song in a low and measured tone and
voice ; which increased as they proceeded, till it
became vociferous and unintelligibly rapid. It
was also accompanied by movements of the arms
and hands, in exact keeping with the tones of the
voice, until they were wrought to the highest
pitch of excitement. This they continued, until,
becoming breathless and exhausted, they were
obliged to suspend the performance.

Their public entertainments frequently consisted

236 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

in delivering speeches, accompanied by every
variety of gesture and action ; and their represen-
tions, on these occasions, assumed something of
the histrionic character. The priests, and others,
were fearlessly ridiculed in these performances, in
which allusion was ludicrously made to public
events. In the taupiti, or oroa, they sometimes
engaged in wrestling, but never in boxing ; that
would have been considered too degrading for
them. Dancing, however, appears to have been
their favourite and most frequent performance.
In this they were always led by the manager or
chief. Their bodies, blackened with charcoal, and
stained with mati, rendered the exhibition of their
persons on these occasions most disgusting. They
often maintained their dance through the greater
part of the night, accompanied by their voices, and
the music of the flute and the drum. These
amusements frequently continued for a number of
days and nights successively at the same place;
The upaupa was then hui, or closed, and they
journeyed to the next district, or principal chief-
tain's abode, where the same train of dances,
wrestlings, and pantomimic exhibitions, was re-
peated.

Several other gods were supposed to preside
over the upaupa, as well as the two brothers who
were the guardian deities of the Areois. The gods
of these diversions, according to the ideas of the
people, were monsters in vice, and of course
patronized every evil practice perpetrated during
such seasons of public festivity.

Substantial, spacious, and sometimes highly
ornamented houses, were erected in several dis-
tricts throughout most of the islands, principally
for their accommodation, and the exhibition of

LICENTIOUSNESS OF THE AREOIS. 237

their performances. The house erected for this
purpose, which we saw at Tiataepuaa, was one of
the best in Eimeo. Sometimes they performed in
their canoes, as they approached the shore ; espe-
cially if they had the king of the island, or any
principal chief, on board their fleet. When one
of these companies thus advanced towards the
land, with their streamers floating in the wind,
their drums and flutes sounding, and the Areois,
attended by their chief, who acted as their promp-
ter, appeared on a stage erected for the purpose,
with tiieir wild distortions of person, antic gestures,
painted bodies, and vociferated songs, mingling
with the sound of the drum and the flute, the
dashing of the sea, and the rolling and breaking
of the surf, on the adjacent reef; the whole must
have presented a ludicrous imposing spectacle,
accom'^anied with a confusion of sight and sound,
of which it is not very easy to form an adequate
idea.

The above were the principal occupations of the
Areois ; and in the constant repetition of these,
often obscene exhibitions, they passed their lives,
strolling from the habitation of one chief to that of
another, or sailing among the different islands of
the group. The farmers did not in general much
respect them ; but the chiefs, and those addicted
to pleasure, held them in high estimation, furnish-
ing them with liberal entertainment, and sparing
no property to gratify them. This often proved
the cause of most unjust and cruel oppression to
the poor cultivators. When a party of Areois
arrived in a district, in order to provide daily a
sumptuous entertainment for them, the chief would
send his servants to the best plantations in the
neighbourhood; and these grounds, without any

*238 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

ceremony, they plundered of whatever was fit for
use. Such lawless acts of robbery were repeated
every day, so long as the Areois continued in the
district; and when they departed, the gardens
often exhibited a scene of desolation and ruin,
that, but for the influence of the chiefs, would have
brought fearful vengeance upon those who had
occasioned it.

A number of distinct classes prevailed among
the Areois, each of which was distinguished by the
kind or situation of the tatauing on their bodies.
The first or highest class was called Avae parai,
painted leg; the leg being completely blackened
from the foot to the knee. The second class was
called Otiore, both arms being marked, from the
fingers to the shoulders. The third class was
denominated Harotea, both sides of the body,
from the arm-pits downwards, being marked with
tatau. The fourth class, called Hua, had only two
or three small figures, impressed with the same
material, oh each shoulder. The fifth class, called
AtorOy had one small stripe, tataued on the lefl
side. Every individual in the sixth class, desig-
nated Ohemara, had a small circle marked round
each ankle. The seventh class, or Poo, which
included all who were in their noviciate, was
usually denominated the Poo faarearea, or plea-
sure-making class, and by them the most laborious
part of the pantomimes, dances, &c. was per-
formed ; the principal or higher orders of Areois,
though plastered over with charcoal, and stained
with scarlet dye, were generally careful not to
exhaust themselves by physical effort, for the
amusement of others.

In addition to the seven regular classes of
Areois, there were a number of individuals, of both

REPUTATION OF THE AREOIS. 239

sexes, who attached themselves to this dissipated
and wandering fraternity, prepared their food and
their dresses, performed a variety of servile occu-
pations, and attended them on their journeys, for
the purpose of witnessing their dances, or sharing
in their banquets. These were called Fanaunau,
because they did not destroy their offspring, which
was indispensable with the regular members.

Although addicted to every kind of licentious-
ness themselves, each Areoi had his own wife, who
was also a member of the society ; and so jealous
were they in this respect, that improper conduct
towards the wife of one of their own number, was
sometimes punished with death. This summary
and fatal punishment was not confined to their
society, but was sometimes inflicted, for the same
crime, among other classes of the community.

Singular as it may appear, the Areoi institution
was held in the greatest repute by the chiefs and
higher classes; and, monsters of iniquity as
they were, the grand masters, or members of
the first order, were regarded as a sort of super-
human beings, and treated with a corresponding
degree of veneration by many of the vulgar and
ignorant. The fraternity was not confined to any
particular rank or grade in society, but was com-
posed of individuals from every class. But al-
though thus accessible to all, the admission was
attended with a variety of ceremonies ; a protracted
noviciate followed ; and it was only by progressive
advancement, that any were admitted to the supe-
rior distinctions.

It was imagined that those who became Areois
were generally prompted or inspired to adopt this
course by the gods. When any individual there-
fore wished to be admitted to their society, he

240 POLTNESIAN RESEARCHES.

repaired to some public exliibition, in a state of
apparent nenevay or derangement. He generally,
wore a girdle of yellow plantain or ti leaves round
his loins ; his face was stained with matiy or scarlet
dye ; his brow decorated with ia shade of curiously
platted yellow cocoa-nut leaves ; his hair perfumed
with powerfully scented oil, and ornamented with
a profusion of fragrant flowers. Thus anayed,
disfigured, and adorned, he rushed through the
crowd assembled round the house in which the
actors or dancers were performing, and, leaping
into the circle, joined with seeming frantic wild-
ness in the dance or pantomime. He continued
in the midst of the perfonhers until the exhibition
closed. This was considered an indication of his
desire to join their company ; and if approved, he
was appomted to wait, as a servant, on the prin-
cipal Areois. After a considerable trial of his
natural disposition, docility, and devotednesss in
this occupation, if he persevered in his deter^
mination to join himself with them, he was in-
augurated with all the attendant rites and observ-
ances.

This ceremony took place at some taupiti, or
other great meeting of the body, when the prin-
cipal Areoi brought him forth arrayed in the ahu
haio, a curiously stained sort of native cloth, the
badge of their order, and presented him to the
members who were convened in full assembly.
The Areois, as such, had distinct names, and, at
his introduction, the candidate received from the
chief of the body, the name by which in future he
was to be known among them. He was now
directed, in the first instance, to murder his chiU
dren ; a deed of horrid barbarity, which he was in
general too ready to perpetrate. He was then

IVAUOUEATIOK OF AN AREOI. 241

instructed to bend his left arm, and strike his right
hand upon the bend of the left elbow, whidh at
the same time he struck against his side, whilst he
repeated the song or invocation for the occasion ;
of which the following is a translation.

** The mountain above, moua tabu* sacred
mountain. The floor beneath Tamapuayf project-
ing point of the sea. Manttnu, of majestic or
kingly bearing forehead. 7>artttorta,t the splen-
dour of the sky. I am such a one, (pronouncing
his new Areoi name,) of the mountain huruhuru.''
He was then commanded to seize the cloth worn
by the chief woman present, and by this act he
completed his initiation^ and became a member, or
one of the seventh class.

The lowest members of the society were ^e
principal actors in all their exhibitions, and on
them chiefly devolved the labour and drudgery of
dancing and performing, for the amusement of the
spectators. The superior classes led a life of dis-
sipation and luxurious indolence. On this account,
those who were novices continued a long time in
the lower class ; and were only admitted to the
higher order, at the discretion of the leaders or
grand masters.

The advancement of an Areoi from the lower
classes, took place also at some public festival,
when all the members of the fraternity in the island
were expected to be present. Each individual
appointed to receive this high honour, attended in
the full costume of tlie order. The ceremonies

* The conical mountain near the lake of Maeva.

t The central district on the borders of the lake, lying
at the foot of the monntain.

t The hereditary name of the king or highest chief of
Huahine.

1

242 POLYNE8IA17 RESRARCH£S.

were commenced by the principal Areoi, who arose^
and uttered an invocation to Te huaa ra, (which,
I presume, must mean the sacred pig,) to the
sacred company of TahUalmateaf (the name of a
principal national temple in Raiatea,) belonging to
Tapamanini, the chief Areoi of that island. He then
paused, and another ezdaimed, Give us such an
ifidividual, or individuals, mentioning the names
of the party nominated for the intended elevation.

When the gods had been thus required to sanc-
tion their advancement, they were taken to the
temple. Here^ va the presence of the gods, they
were solemnly anointed, thefordiead of each person
being sprinkled with fragrant oil. The sacred pig,
clothed or wrapped in the haio or cloth of the
order, was next put into his hand, and offered to
the god. Each individual was then declared, by
the pefson officiating on the occasion, to be an
Areoi of the order to which he was thus raised. If
the pg wrapped in the sacred clotli was killed,
which was sometimes done, it was buried in the
temple ; but if alive, its ears were ornamented with
the aroore, or sacred braid and tassel, of cocoa-nut
fibre. It was then liberated, and being regarded
as sacred, or belonging to the god to whom it had
been offered, was allowed to range the district
uncontrolled till it died.

The artist or priest of the tatau was now em-
ployed to imprint, with unfading marks, the dis-
tinctive badges of the rank or class to which the
individuals had been raised. As this operation
was attended with considerable suffering to the
parties invested Ivith these insignia of rank, it was
usually deferred till the termination of the festival
which followed the ceremony. This was generally
furnished with an extravagant profusion : every

ATROCITIES OF THE AREOIft. 243

kind of food was prepared, and large bales of native
cloth were also provided, as pesents to the Areois,
among whom it was divided. The greatest pecu-
liarity, however, connected with this entertainment
was, that the restrictions of tabu, which prohibited
females, on pain of death, from eating the flesh of
the animals offered in sacrifice to the gods, were
removed, and they partook, with the men, of the
pigs, and other kinds of food considered sacred,
which had been provided for the occasion. Music,
dancing, and pantomime exhibitions, followed, and
were sometimes continued for several days.

These, though the general amusements of the
Areois, were not the only purposes for which they
assembled. They included

' AU monstrous, all prodigious things;'

and these were * abominable, unutterable.* In some
of their meetings, they appear to have placed their
invention on the rack, to discover the worst pollu-
tions of which it was possible for man to be guilty,
and to have striven to outdo each other in the most
revolting practices. The mysteries of iniquity, and
acts of more than bestial degradation, to which
they were at times addicted, must remain in the
darkness in which even they felt it sometimes ex-
pedient to conceal them. I will not do violence to
my own feelings, or offend those of my readers,
by details of conduct, i^hich the mind cannot con-
template without pollution and pain. I should
not have alluded to them, but for the purpose of
shewing the affecting debasement, and humiliating
demoralization, to which ignorance, idolatry, and
the evil propensities of the human heart, when un-
controlled or unrestrained by the institutions and
relations of civilized society and sacred truth, are

244 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES..

capable of reducing mankind, even under circum •
stances highly fayourable to the culture of virtue,
purity, and happiness.

In these pastimes, in their accompanying abomi-
nations, and the often-repeated practices of the
most unrelenting, murderous cruelty, these wan-
dering Areois passed their lives, esteemed by the
people as a superior order of beings, closely allied
to the gods, and deriving from them direct sanction,
pot only for their abominations, but even for their
heartless murders. Free from labour or care, they
roved from island to island, supported by the chiefs
and the priests; and often feasted on plunder
i^om the gardens of tlie industrious husbandman,
while his own family was not unfrequently deprived
thereby, for a time, of the means of subsistence.
Such was their life of luxurious and licentious indo-
lence and crime. And such was the character of
their delusive system of superstition, that, for
them, too, was reserved the Elysium which their
fabulous mythology taught them to believe was
provided, in a future state of existence, for those so
preeminently favoured by the gods.

A number of singular ceremonies were, on this
account, performed at the death of an Areoi. The
otokcui, or general lamentation, was continued for
two or three days. During this time the body
remained at the place of its decease, surrounded
by the relatives and friend* of the departed. It
was then taken by the Areois to the grand temple,
where the bones of the kings were deposited. Soon
after the body had been brought within the pre-
cincts of the marae, the priest of Oro came, and,
standing over the corpse, offered a long prayer to
his god. This prayer, and the ceremonies con-
nected therewith, were designed to divest the body

ABEOI H£AV£ir. 245

of all the sacred and mysterious influence the indi-
vidual 'was supposed to have received from the
god, when, in the presence of the idol, the per-^
fumed oil had been sprinkled upon him, and he
had been raised to the order or rank in which he
died. By this act it was imagined they were all
returned to Oro, by whom they had been originally
imparted. The body was then buried as the body
of a common man, within the precincts of the
temple, in which the bodies of chiefs were interred.
This ceremony was not much unlike certain por^
tions of the degrading rites performed on the person
of a heretic, in connexion with an auto de fe, in tlie
Romish church.

The resources of the Areois were ample. They
were, therefore, always enabled to employ ,the
priest of Romatane, who was supposed to have the
keys of Rohutu noanoa, the Tahitian's paradise.
This priest consequently succeeded the priest of
Oro, in the funeral ceremonies : he stood by the
dead body, and offered his petitions to Urutaetae^
who "Wdia not altogether the Charon of their mytho-
logy, but the god whose office it was to conduct
the spirits of Areois and others, for whom the
priest of Romatane was employed, to the place of
happiness.

lliis Rohutu noanoa, literally, (perfumed or fra-*
grant Rohutu,) was altogether a Mahomedan
paradise. It was supposed to be near a lofty and
stupendous mountain in Raiat^a, situated in the
vicmity of Hamaniino harbour,^ and called Teme^
hani unauna^ splendid or glorious Temehani. It
was, however, said to be invisible to mortal eyes^
being in the reva, or aerial regions. Tlie country
was described as most lovely and enchanting in
appearance, adorned with flowers of every form

246 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

and hue, and perfumed with odours of every fra-
grance. The air was free from every noxious
vapour, pure, and salubrious. Every species
of enjo3rment, to which the Areois and other
favoured classes had been accustomed on earth,
was to be participated there; while rich viands
and delicious fruits were supposed to be fur-
nished in abundance, for the celebration of their
sumptuous festivals* Handsome youths and
women, purotu ancte^ all perfection, thronged the
place. These honours and gratiikations were only
for the privileged orders, the Areois and the
chiefs, who could afford to pay the .priests fipir the
passport thither : the charges were so great, that
the common people seldom or never thought of
attempting to procure it for their relatives ; besides,
it is probable that the high distinction kept up
between the chiefs and people here, would be
expected to exist in a future state, and to exclude
every individual of the lower ranks, from the
society of his superiors.

Those who had been kings of Areois in this
world, were the same there for ever. They were
supposed to be employed in a succession of amuse-
ments and indulgences similar to those to which
they had been addicted on earth, often perpetrating
the most unnatural crimes, which their tutelar gods
were represented as sanctioning by their own
example.

These are some of the principal traditions and
particulars relative to this singular and demoral-
izing institution, which, if not confined to the
Georgian and Society Islands, appears to have
been patronized and carried to a greater extent
there than among any other islands of the Pacific.
Considering the imagined source in which it ori-

ITS DEMORALIZIVO IKFLUENCE. 247

ginated, the express appointment of Oro, their
powerful god, the antiquity it claimed, its remark-
able adaptation to the indolent habits and depraved
uncontrolled passions of the people, the sanction
it received here, and the prospect it presented to
its members, of the perpetuity, in a future state, of
gratifications most congenial to those to whom
they were exhibited, the Areoi institution appears
a master-piece of satanic delusion and deadly infa-
tuation, exerting an influence over the mmds of
an ignorant, indolent, and demoralized people,
which no human power, and nothing less than a
Divine agency, could counteract or destroy •

^48 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

CHAP. X.

Custom» of the islandeirs — Infanticide — Nnmbers de-
stroyed — Universality of the crime — ^Mode of its per-
petration — Reasons assigned for its continuance — Dis-
proportion it occasioned between the sexes — Former
treatment of cbildren^-^Ceremonies performed at the
temple on the birth of chiefs — ^Manner of canylng their
children — Evils of neglecting parental discipline —
Practice of tataning — ^Tradition of its origin — ^Account
of the dye instraments and process of tatauing — Variety
of figures or patterns — The operation painful, and fre-
quently fatal — Marriage contracts — Betrothment — An-
cient usages — Ceremonies in the temple — Conduct of
the relatives — Prevalence of polygamy.

Next to the occupations and amusements of the
islanders, such of their customs and observances
as were peculiar or striking require to be briefly
noticed. Many of their usages were singular,
some remarkably interesting, and others horribly
cruel. Among die latter kind, the murder of their
children, violating the closest and tenderest sym-
pathies of human nature, and seizing its victims
with their first consciousness of existence, stands
prominently forward.

Infanticide, the most revolting and unnatural
crime that prevails, even amongst the habitations
of cruelty which fill the dark places of the earth,
was intimately connected with the execrable Areoi
institution. This affecting species of murder was

INFANTICIDE. 249

tiot peculiar to the inhabitants of the Pacific. It
has prevailed in different parts of the world, in
ancient and modem times, among civilized as well
as barbarous nations : but, until the introduction
of Christianity, it was probably practised to a
greater extent, and with more heartless barbarity^
by the South Sea Islanders, than by any other
people with whose history we are acquainted.
Although we have been unable accurately to
ascertain the date of its introduction to Tahiti and
the adjacent isles, the traditions of the people
warrant the inference, that it is of no veiy
recent origin. I am, however, inclined to think it
was practised less extensively in former times than
during the fifty years immediately preceding the
subversion of their ancient system of idolatry.
There is every reason to suppose that, had the
inhabitants murdered their infants during the early
periods of their history, in any great degree, much
less to the extent to which they have carried this
crime in subsequent years, the population would
never have become so numerous, as it evidently
was, not many generations prior to their discovery.

It is difficult to learn to what extent infanticide
was practised at the time Wallis discovered Tahiti,
or the subsequent visits the islanders received from
Cook ; but its frequency and avowed perpetration
was such as to attract the attention of the latter.
Captain Cook's general conduct among the
natives, notwithstanding the harsh measures he
deemed it expedient to pursue towards the inha-
bitants of Eimeo, was humane ; he took every
opportunity of remonstrating with the king and
chiefs, against a usage so merciless and savage.

When the Missionaries arrived in the Duff, this
was one of the first and most affecting appendages

250 POLYNESIAV RESEAECHES.

of idolatry that awakened their sympathies^ amd
called forth their expostulation and ihterf(OTeiiBe«
Adult murder sometimes occurred ; many wei«
slain in war ; and during the first years of their
residence in Tahiti, human victims were frequently
immolated. Yet the amoimt of all these and
other murders did not equal that of infonticide
alone. No sense of irresolution. <» horror appeared
to exist in the bosoms of those parents who deli*
berately resolved on the deed before the child was
bom» They often visited the dwellings of the
foreigners, and spoke with perfect complacency of
their cruel purpose. On these occasions, the
Missionaries employed every inducement to dis-
suade them from executing their intention, warn-
ing them, in the name of the living God, urging
them also by every consideration of maternal ten-
derness, and always ofTering to piX)vide the little
stranger with a home, and Uie means of education.
The only answer they generally received was, that
it was the custom ^ the country; and the only
result of their efforts, was the distressing conviction
of the inefficacy of their humane endeavours. The
murderous parents often came to their houses
almost before their hands were cleansed ttoat their
children's blood, and spoke of the deed with worse
than bmtftl insensibility, or with vaunting satisfac-
tion at the triumph of their customs over the per-
suasions of their teachers.

In their earliest public negociations with the
king and the chiefs, who constituted the govem"
ment of the island, the Missionaries had enjoined,
from motives of policy, as well as humanity and a
regard to the law of God, the abolition of this
cruel practice. The king Pomare acknowledged
that he believed it was not right ; that Captain

EXTENT or INFANTICIDE. 251

Cook, for whom they entertained the highest
respect, had told him it ought not to be allowed ;
and that for his part he was willing to discontinue
it. These, however, were bare professions ; for his
own children were afterwards murdered, as well as
those of his subjects.

In point of number, the disproportion between
the infants spared and those destroyed, was truly
distressing. It was not easy to learn exactly what
this disproportion was ; but the first Missionaries^^!
have published it as their opinion, that not less than kl^
/two-thirds of the children were mulBereditJjriheir iv

(ownH^'aro:: — «iaW(Sque!irtin»rccmiw'-^^^ the-^

pe5plejnan3' the afiecting details many have given
since their reception of Christianity, authorize the
adoption of the opinion as correct. The first three
infants, they observed, were frequently killed ; and
in the event of twins being bom, both were rarely
permitted to live. In the largest families more than
two or three children were seldom spared, while
the numbers that were killed were incredible.
The very circumstance of their destroying, instead
of nursing their children, rendered their offspring
more numerous than it would otherwise have been.
We have been acquainted with a number of
parents, who, according to their own confessions,
or the united testimony of their friends and neigh-
bours, had inhumanly consigned to an untimely
grave, four, or six, or eight, or ten children^ and
some even a greater number. I feel hence, the
painful and humiliating conviction which I have
ever been reluctant to admit, forced upon me from
the testimony of the natives themselves, the pro-
portion of children found by the first Missionaries,
and existing in the population at the time of our
arrival^-^that during the generations immediately

25i POLYNESIAN researches;

preceding the subversion of paganism, not less
C than two-thirds of the children were massacred !
J^A female, who was frequently accustomed to wash
the linen for our family, had thus cruelly destroyed
five or six. Another, who resided very near us,
had been the mother of eight, of which only one
had been spared. But I will not multiply instances,
which are numerous in every island, and of the
accounts of which the recollection is most distinct.
I am desirous to establish beyond doubt the belief
of the practice, as it is one which, from every con-
sideration, is adapted to awaken in the Christian
mind liveliest gratitude to the Father of mercies,
strongest convictions of the miseries inseparable
from idolatry, tenderest commiseration for the
heathen, and vigorous efforts for the amelioration
of their wretchedness.

The universality of the crime was no less painful
and astonishing than its repeated perpetration by
the same individuals. It does not appear to have
been confined to any rank or class in the commu^
nity; and though it was one of the indispensable
regulations of the Areoi society, enforcea on the
authority of those gods whom they were accus-
tomed to consider as the founders of thek order, it
was not peculiar to them. It was perhaps less
practised by the raatiras, or farmers, than any otheF
class, yet they were not innocent. I do not recol-
lect having met with a female in the islands, during
the whole period of my residence there, who had
been a mother while idolatry prevailed, who had
not imbrued her hands in the blood of her
ofispring. I conversed more than once on the
subject with Mr. Nott, during his recent visit to
his native country. On one occasion, in answer
•to my inquiry,, he stated, that he did not recollect

UNIVERSALITY OF INFANTICIDE. 253

'baying, in the course of the thirty years he had
spent in the South Sea Islands, known a female,
who was a mother under thp former system of
superstition, who had not been guilty of this unna-
tural crime. Startling and affecting as the infer-
ence is, it is perhaps not too much to suppose,
that few, if any, became mothers, in those later
periods of the existence of idolatry, who did not
also commit infanticide. Recent facts confirm this
melancholy supposition. During the year 1829,
Mr. Williams was conversing with some friends in
his own house in the island of Raiatea, on this
subject. Three native females were sitting in the
room at the time, the eldest not more than forty
years of age. In the course of conversation he
observed, " Perhaps some of these females have
been guilty of this crime." The question was pro- k
posed, and it was found that no one was guiltless ; \\
and the astonishment of the parties was increased, ' i
when it was reluctantly confessed, that these three
females had destroyed not fewer than one-and^
twenty infants. One had destroyed nine, another
seven, and the third five. These individuals were
not questioned as having been more addicted to
the practice of this crime than others, but simply
because they happened to be in the room when
the conversation took place. Without reference
to other deeds of barbarism, they were in this
respect a nation of murderers ; and, in connexion
with the Areoi institution, murder was sanctioned
"by their laws.

The various methods by which infanticide was
effected are most of them of such a nature as to pro-
hibit their publication. It does not appear that they
ever buried them alive, as the Sandwich Islanders
were accustomed to do, by digging a hole, some-

(i?

254 FOLYNESIAK RESEARCHES.

times in the floor of the dwelling, laying a piece of
native cloth upon the infant *s mouth, and treadmg
down the earth upon the helpless child. Neither
were the children as liable to be destroyed, after
having been suffered to live for any length of time.
The horrid deed was alwajsperpetrated bjefore
the victim had seen fheTigHt, orlff a Tiurried man-
/I ner, and immediately aifter birth. The infants,
thus disposed of, were called tamarii huihia,
uumihea, or tahihiay children stabbed or pierced
with a sharp* pointed strip of bamboo cane,
strangled by placing the thumbs on the throat,
or takihia, trodden or stamped upon. These
were the mildest methods; others, sometimes em-
ployed, were too barbarous to be mentioned.

The parents themselves, or their nearest rela-
tives, who often attended on the occasion for this
J express purpose, were the executioners. Often,
I almost before the new-bom babe could breathe
;'ij the vital air, gaze upon the light of heaven, or
1 1 experience the sensations of its new existence, that
U existence has been extinguished by its cruel
I mother's hand ; and the >' felon sire," instead of
i|welcoming, with all a father's joy, a dau£;htec-Q];a
' ^on, h&s dug it s gjve upoii' the spot^^ or among the
j thict-^rownBusKes anEew^fSKfe'distarit. On receiv-
ing the warm palpitating body from its mother's
hand, he has, with awful unconcern, deposited the
precious charge, not in a father's arms, but in its
eai'ly sepulchre ; and instead of gazing, with all
that thrilling rapture which a father only knows,
upon the tender babe, has concealed it from his
view, by covering its mangled form with the un-
conscious earth; and, to obliterate all traces of
the deed, has trodden down the yielding soil, and
strewed it over with green boughs, or covered it

x:

INFANTICIDE IMMEDIATE AFTER BIRTH. 255

with verdant turf. This is not an exaggerated
description, but the narrative of actual fact ; other
details, more touching and acute, have been repeat-
edly given to me in the islands, by individuals
who had been themselves employed in these unna-
tural deeds.

The horrid act, if not committed at the time the
infant entered the world, was not perpetrated at
any subsequent period. Whether this was a kind
of law among the people, or whether it was the
power of maternal affection, by which they were
influenced, it is not necessary now to inquire ; but
the fact is consolatory. If the little stranger was,
from irresolution, the mingled emotions tiiat strug-
gled fot mastery in its mothar*S bosom, or any
other cause, suffered to live ten minutes or half
an hour; it was safe ; instead of a monster's grasp,
it received a mo ther's caress and a mother's smile,
and was afterti^U'ds nursed wlflTlollcifii^
tendernessr - ^ rg cr ti e l act vi ws iftd€eS:W£^n com-
mitted by the mother's hand ; but there were
times when a mother's love, a mother's feelings,
overcame the iron force of pagan custom, and all
the mother's influence and endeavours have been
used to preserve her child. Most affecting in-
stances, which I forbear reciting, have been
detailed by some, who now perhaps are childless,
of tiie struggles between the mother to preserve,
and the father and relatives to destroy, the infant.
Hiis has arisen from the motives of false pride by
which they were on some occasions influenced. ^

The reasons assigned for this practice, though
varied, were uniformly shameful and criminal. The
first is the regulation of the Areoi institution, in
order to be a member of which it was necessary,
in obedience to the express injunction of the tute-

I:

J

\

256 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

lar gods of the order, that no child should be per-
mitted to live. Another cause was the weakness
and transient duration of the conjugal bond,
whereby, although the marriage contract was
formed by individuals in the higher ranks of so-
ciety, with persons of corresponding rank, fidelity
was seldom maintained.

The marriage tie was dissolved whenever either
of the parties desired it ; and though amongst their
i principal chiefs it was allowed nominally to re-
1 main, the husband took other wives, and the wife
other husbands. These were mostly individuals of
personal attractions, but of inferior rank in society.
The progeny of such a union was almost invariably
destroyed, if not by the parents themselves, by the
relatives of those superior in rank, lest the dignity
of the family, or their standing in society, should
be injured by being blended with those of an infe-
rior class. More infant murders have probably
been committed under these circumstances, from
barbarous notions of family pride, than from any
other cause. One of my Missionary companions*
states, that by the murder of such children, the
party of inferior birth has been progressively ele-
vated in rank, and that the degree of distinction
attained, was according to the number of children
destroyed, — that by diis means, parties, before
unequal, were considered as corresponding in
rank, and their offspring allowed to live.

The raatiraSy or secondary class of chiefs, and
others by whom it was practised, appear to have
been influenced by the example of their superiors^
or the shameless love of idleness. The sponta-
neous productions of the soil were so abundant,
that lime care or labour was necessary to provide

• Mr. WiUiams.

MALTHUSIAN MOTIVE FOR INFANTICIDE. 257

the means of subsistence: the climate was so
warm, that the clothing required, as well as the
food, could be procured with the greatest facility ;
yet they considered the little trouble required as
an irksome task. A man with three or four chil-
dren, and this was a rare occurrence, was said to
be a taata taubuubuuy a man with an unwieldy
or cumbrous burden ; and there is reason to believe
that, simply to avoid the trifling care and effort
necessary to provide for their offspring during the
helpless periods of infancy and childhood, multi-
tudes were consigned to an untimely grave. A
Malthusian motive has sometimes been adduced,
and they have been heard to say, that if all the
children born were allowed to live, there would not
be food enough produced in the islands to sup-
port them. This, however, has only been resorted
to when other methods of defending the practice
have failed.

During the whole of their lives, the females were
subject to the most abasing degradation ; and
their sex was often, at their birth, the cause of
their destruction : if the purpose of the unnatural
parents had not been fully matured before, the
circumstance of its being a female child, was
often sufficient to fix their determination on its
death. Whenever we have asked them, what
could induce them to make a distinction so invi-
dious, they have generally answered, — that the
fisheries, the service of the temple, and especially
war, were the only purposes for which they thought
it desirable to rear children ; that in these pursuits
women were comparatively useless ; and therefore
female children were frequently not suffered to
live. Facts fully confirm these statements.

In the adult population of the islands at the time

s

"n

258 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

of our arvival, the disproportion between the sexes
was very great. There were, probably four or five
men to one woman. In all the schools established
on the first reception of Christianity, the same
disproportion prevailed. In more recent years the
sexes are nearly equal. In addition to this cruel
practice, others, equally unnatural, prevailed, for
which the people had not only the sanction of their
priests, but the direct example of their respective
deities.

Without pursuing this painful subject any fur-
ther, or inquiring into its antiquity or its origin,
which is probably co-eval with that of the mon-
strous Areoi institution; these details are of a
kind that must impress every mind, susceptible of
the common sympathies of humanity, with the
greatest abhorrence of paganism, under the sanc-
tion of which such cruelties were perpetrated. They
are also adapted to convey a most powerful con-
viction of tne true character of heathenism, and
the miseries which its votaries endure.

The abolition of this practice, with the subver-
sion of idolatry, of which an account will be found
in the succeeding pages, is a grateful reward to
those who have sent the mild and humanizing prin-
ciples of true religion to those islands. This single
fact demands the gratitude of every Christian
parent, especially of every Christian &male, and
affords the most cheering encouragement to those
engaged in spreading the gospel throughout the
world.

The child of a king, or chief of high rank, soon
after its birth, was taken to the temple, and de-
livered to the paia, or priest, whose office it was
to perform the required rites. The sacred imple-
ments of war, which were regarded as emblems of

t /

INITIATORY AITES. 259

greatness, were placed in prescribed order on the
pavement. Over them a large leaf of the arum
costatum was laid, and filled with water, in which
he bathed the infant, laying upon it the sacred knife,
or sting-ray bone. Ttarai^ and the other priests
who officiated, now offered over the infant an ubu,
called the prayer of life, which was preferred to
the tutelar god of the island. A surgical opera- y
tion was now performed, and the infant was re- ]
moved to the fare apaxi, a kind of tent, made by
bending four pliant sticks or canes over a small
mat ; each end of the sticks being fixed in the
ground, they formed a circular arch over the little
bed. Upon the sticks the sacred cloth of the god
was spread, to indicate that the child was admitted
to the society of the gods, and exalted above ordi-
nary men. Another temporary building, within
the precincts of the temple, was prepared, to receive
the infant, as soon as this ceremony terminated.
In this building, called farehua^ it remained five
or six days, when it was taken to its parents'
dwelling. During the time the infant remained at
the marae, the kindling of fire, launching of a
canoe, or beating of cloth, was prohibited, on pain
of death.

From these ceremonies, and the privileges they
were supposed to confer, all female children, except
those of the king or highest chiefs, were excluded.

The raatiras, or inferior chiefs, imitating the
example of their superiors, endeavoured to secure
renown for their children, by performing coitc-
sponding ceremonies at their family maraes, but no
attention was paid to it, except by the members of
the relatives and dependents.

In the treatment of those children belonging to
this class,, for merly 8par§ d»AJaumber of singular cus- y

260 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

toms were observed , and several ceremonies per-
formed. The mother bathed in the sea immediately
after a profuse perspiration had been induced, and
the infant was taken to the water almost as soon as it
entered the world. It was also taken to the marae,
where a variety of ceremonies were celebrated. In
some of the islands, a number of these were attended
to before its birth. When the mother repaired to
the temple, the priest, after presenting costly
and numerous ofiferings, caught the god in a kind
of snare or loop, made with human hair, and also
offered up bis prayer that the child might be an
honour to his family, a benefit to the nation, and
be more famous than any of his ancestors had been.
This usage prevailed in the Hervey Islands. A
number of ceremonies were performed in the
Society Islands. The child was, soon after its
birth, invested with the name and office of its
father, who was henceforward considered its in-
ferior. This, however, during the minority of the
child, was merely nominal : the father exercised
all authority, though in the name of the child. The
children were frequently nursed at the breast till
they were able to walk, although they were fed
with other food.

As soon as the child was able to eat, a basket
was provided, and its food was kept distinct from
that of the parent. During the period of infancy,
the children were seldom clothed, and were gene-
rally laid or carried in a horizontal position. They
were never confined in bandages, or wrapped in
tight clothing, but though remarkably plump and
healthy in appearance, they were generally very
weak until nearly twelve months old. As soon as
able to sit up, the child was not, when taken out,
carried in the arms, so as to rest on the bosom, but

TREATMENT OF CHILDREN. 261

nursed or carried at the side, seated on the hip
of the person by whom it was borne.

The Tahitian parents and nurses were careful in
observing the features of the countenance, and the
shape of the child's head, during the period of
infancy, and often pressed or spread out the
nostrils of the females, as a flat nose was consider-
ed by them a mark of beauty. The forehead and
the back of the head, of the boys, were pressed
upwards, so that the upper part of the skull ap-
peared in the shape of a wedge. This, they said,
was done, to add to the terror of their aspect,
when they should become warriors. They were
then careful to haune, or shave, the child's head
with a shark's tooth. This must have been a
tedious, and sometimes a painful operation, yet it
was frequently repeated; and although every
idolatrous ceremony, connected with the treatment
of their children, has been discontinued for a num-
ber of years, the mothers are still very fond of
shaving the heads, or cutting the hair of their
infants as close as possible. This often gives them
a very singular appearance. The children are in
general large, and finely formed ; and, but for the
prevalence of the disease which produces such a
distortion of the spine, there is reason to believe
that a deformed person would be very rarely seen
among the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands.

No regular parental discipline was maintained
in the native families. As soon as the child was
able to will or act for itself, it was generally exempt
from all control, and given up to the influence
of its own inclinations. If ever control was
attempted, it was only by the father, the mother
was always disregarded, and the father has often
encouraged the insult and violence, while all inter-

^62 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

j ference of the mother has been resistied by the child.

I Their years of childhood and youth were passed in

i indolence, irregularity, and the unrestrained indul-

I gence in whatever afforded gratification. One of

the earliest and singular usages to which they

attended was that of tatauing or marking the skin.

This was generally commenced at the age of eight

or ten years, and continued at intervals, perhaps,

till the individual was between twenty and thirty.

Tatauing, usually called tatooing, is not confined
to them, but pervades the principal groups, and is
extensively practised by the Marquesians and New
Zealanders. Although practised by all classes, I
have not been able to trace its origin. It is by
some adopted as a badge of mourning, or memorial
of a departed friend ; and from the figures we have
sometimes seen upon the persons of the natives,
and the conversation we have had, we should be
induced to think it was designed as a kind of his-
torical record of the principal actions of their lives.
But it was adopted by the greater number of the
people merely as a personal adornment ; and tra-
dition informs us, that to this it owes its existence.
'Die following is the native account of the origin
of tatauing. Hina, the daughter of the god Taa-
roa, bore to her father a daughter, who was called
Apouvaru, and who also became the wife of Taa-
roa. Taaroa and Apouvaru looked stedfastly at
each other, and Apouvaru, in consequence, after-
wards brought forth her first-born, who was called
Matamataaru. Again the husband and the wife
looked at each t)ther, and she became the mother
of a second son, who was called Tiitiipo. After a
repetition of this visual intercourse, a daughter was
bom, who was called Hinaereeremonoi. As she
grew up, in order to preserve her chastity, she was

ORIGIN OP TATAUINO. 263

made pahio, pr kept in a kind of enclosure, and
constantly attended by her mother. Intent on her
seduction, the brothers invented tatauing, and
marked each other with the figure called Taomaro.
Thus ornamented, they appeared before their
sister, who admired the figures, and, in order
to be tataued herself, eluding the care of her
mother, broke the enclosure that had been erected
for her preservation, was tataued, and became also
the victim to the designs of her brothers. Tatauing
thus originated among the gods, and was first prac-
tised by the children of Taaroa, their principal deity*
In imitation of their example, and for the accom-
plishment of the same purposes, it was practised
among men. Idolatry not only disclosed the
origin, but sanctioned Uie practice. The two sons
of Taaroa and Apouvaru were the gods of tatauing.
Their images were kept in the temples of those
who practised the art professionally, and every
application of their skill was preceded by a prayer
addressed to them, that the operation might not
occasion death, that the wounds might soon heal,
that the figures might be handsome, attract ad-
mirers, and spiswer the ends of wickedness de-
signed.

Tatauing, which must have been a painful opera-
tion, was seldom applied to any extent at the same
time. There were takua, professors of the art of
tatauing, who were regularly employed to perform
it, and received a liberal remuneration.

The colouring matter was the kernel of the
candle-nut, aUurites triloba, called by the
natives tiairi. This was first baked, then reduced
to charcoal, afterwards pulverized, and mixed
with oil. The instruments were rude, though in-
genious, and consisted of the bones of birds or

264 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

fishes, fastened with fine thread to a small stick.
Another stick, somewhat heavier, was also used, to
strike the above when the skin was perforated.
The figure, or pattern to be tataued, was portrayed
upon the skin with a piece of charcoal, though at
times the operation was guided only by the eye.

When the idolatrous ceremonies attending its
commencement were finished, the performer, im-
mersing the points of the sharp bone instrument
in the colouring matter, which was a beautifiil
jet, applied it to the surface of the skin, and,
striking it smartly with the elastic stick which he
held in his right hand, punctured the skin, and in-
jected the dye at the same time, with as much
facility as an adder would bite, and deposit her
poison.

So long as the person could endure the pain^
the operator continued his work, but it was seldom
that a whole figure was completed at once. Hence
it proved a tedious process, especially with those
who had a variety of patterns, or stained the
greater part of their bodies. Both sexes were
tataued.

The tatauing of the Sandwidi and Palliser
Islanders, though sometimes abundant, is the
rudest I have seen ; that of the New Zealanders
and the Marquesians is very ingenious, though
different in its kind. The former consists prin-
cipally in narrow, circular, or curved lines, on dif-
ferent parts of the face ; the lines in the latter were
broad and straight, interspersed with animals, and
sometimes covered the body so as nearly to con-
ceal the original colour of the skin, and almost
even to warrant the description given by Schouten
of the inhabitants of Dog Island, who, he observes,
** were marked with snakes and dragons, and such

TATAUIKO. 265

like reptiles, which are very significant emblems
of their own mischievous nature.'*

The Tahitian tatauing is more simple, and dis-
plays greater taste and elegance than either of the
others. Though some of the figures are arbitrary,
such as stars, circles, lozenges, &c, ; the patterns
are usually taken from nature, and are often some
of the most graceful. A cocoa*nut tree is a
favourite object; and I have often admired the
taste displayed in the marking of a chiefs* legs,
when I have seen a cocoa-nut tree correctly and
distinctly drawn, its root spreading at the heel, its
elastic stalk pencilled as it were sdong the tendon,
and its waving plume gracefully spread out on the
broad part of the calf. Sometimes a couple of
stems would be twined up from the heel, and
divided on the calf, each bearing a plume of
leaves.

The ornaments round the ankle, and upon the
instep, make them often appear as if they bore the
elegant eastern sandal. The sides of the legs are
sometimes tataued from the ankle upward, which
gives the appearance of wearing pantaloons with
ornamented seams* From the lower part of the
back, a number of straight, waved, or zigzag lines,
rise in the direction of the spine, and branch off
regularly towards the shoulders. But, of the upper
part of the body, the chest is the most tataued.
Every variety of figure is to be seen here : cocoa-
nut and bread-fruit trees, with convolvolus wreaths
hanging round them, boys gathering the fruit, men
engaged in battle, in the manual exercise, triumph-
ing over a fallen foe ; or, as I have frequently seen
it, they are represented as carrying a human sacri-
fice to the temple. Every kind of animal — goats,
dogs, fowls, and fish — ^may at times be seen on this

266 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

part of the body ; muskets, swords, pistols, clubs,
spears, and other weapons of war, are also stamped
upon their arms or chest.

They are not all crowded upon the same per-
son, but each one makes a selection according to
his fancy; and I have frequently thought the
tatauing on a man's person might serve as an
index to his disposition and his character. The
neck and throat were sometimes singularly marked.
The head and the ears were also tataued, though
among the Tahitians this ornament was seldom
applied to the face.

The females used the tatau more sparingly than
the men, and with greater taste. It was always
the custom of the natives to go barefooted, and
the feet, to an inch above the ankles, of the chief
women, were often neatly tataued ; appearing as
if they wore a loose sandal, or elegant open-worked
boot. The arms were frequently marked with cir-
cles, their fingers with rings, and their wrists with
bracelets. The thin transparent skin over the black
dye, often gave to the tatau a tinge of blue.

The females seldom, if ever, marked their faces;
the figures on their feet and hands were all the
ornaments they exhibited. Many suffered much
from the pain occasioned by the operation, and
from the swelling and inflammation that followed,
which often continued for a long time, and ulti-
mately proved fatal. This, however, seldom de-
terred others from attempting to secure this badge
of distinction or embellishment of person.

On account of the immoral practices invariably
connected with the process of tatauing, the chiefs
prohibited it altogether, and, excepting a few
foreign seamen, who often evinced as great a desire
to have some figure tataued on their arms or hands,

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. 267

as the natives themselves, the practice was dis-
continued for some years.

The celebration of marriage frequently took
place among the Tahitians at an early age, vtrith
females at twelve or thirteen, and with males when
two or three years older. Betrothment was the
frequent method by which marriage contracts were
made among the chiefs, or higher ranks in society.
The parties themselves were not often sufficiently
advanced in years to form anyjudgment of their own,
yet, on arriving at maturity, they rarely objected
to the engagements their friends had made.

The period of courtship was seldom protracted
among any class of the people ; yet all the inci-
dent and romantic adventure that was to be ex-
pected in a community in which a high degree of
sentimentality prevailed, was occasionally exhi-
bited, and the unsuccessful suitor, perhaps, led to
the commission of suicide, under the influence of
revenge and despair. Unaccustomed to disguise
either their motives or their wishes, they generally
spoke and acted without hesitation ; hence, what-
ever barriers might oppose the union of the parties,
whether it was the reluctance of eitlier of the
individuals, or of their respective families, the
means used for their removal were adopted with
much less ceremony than is usually observed in
civilized society. Several instances of this kind
occurred during our residence in Huahine : one
regarded a chief of Eimeo, who had followed
Taaroarii the king's son. His figure was tall and
gigantic, his countenance and manners not un-
pleasing, and his disposition mild. He was upwards
of twenty years of age. Some time after our
arrival in Huahine, he became attached to the

268 POLYNESIAN RESEA&CHES.

niece of the principal raatira in the island, and
tendered proposals of marriage. Her family admit-
ted his visits, and favoured his design, but the
object of his choice declined every proposal he
made. No means to gain her consent were left
untried, but all proved unavailing. He discon-
tinued his ordinary occupations, left the establish-
ment of the young chief who had selected him
for his friend, and repaired to the habitation of
the individual whose favour he was so anxious
to obtain. Here he appeared subject to the
deepest melancholy, and, leaving the other mem-
bers of the family to follow their regular pursuits,
from morning to night, day after day, he attended
his mistress, performing humiliating offices with
apparent satisfaction, and constantly following in
her train .whenever she appeared abroad.

His friends interested themselves in his behalf,
and the disappointment, of which he was the sub-
ject, became for a time the topic of general conver-
sation in the settlement. At length the object of
his attachment was induced to accept his offer;
they were publicly married, and lived very com-
fortably together. Their happiness, however, was
but of short duration, for his wife, for whom he
appeared to cherish the most ardent affection,
died a few months afterwards.

Another instance of rather a different kind, sub-
sequently occurred. A party of five or six per-
sons arrived in a canoe from Tahiti, on a visit to
their friends in the Leeward Islands. Though
Borabora was their destination, they remained
several weeks at Huahine, the guests of Tarai-
mano. During this period, a young woman, one
of the belles of the island ^ belonging to the house-
hold of their hostess, became exceedingly fond of

MATRIMOKIAL ALLIANCES. 269

the society of one of the young men, and it was
soon intimated to him that she wished to become
his companion for life. The intimation, however,
was disregarded by the young man, who expressed
his intention to prosecute his voys^e. The young
woman became unhappy, and made no secret of
the cause of her distress. She was assiduous in
redoubUng her efforts to please the individual
whose affection she was desirous to obtain. At
this period I never saw him either in the house of
his friend, or walking abroad, without the young
woman by his side.

Finding the object of her attachment, who was
probably about eighteen years of age, unmoved
by her attentions, she not only became exceedingly
unhappy, but declared, that if she continued to
receive the same indifference and neglect, she
would either strangle or drown herself. Her friends
endeavoured to dissuade her from her purpose;
but, as she declared her determination was
unaltered, they used their endeavours with the
stranger, who afterwards returned the attentions
he had received, and the parties were married at
Huahine. His companions pursued their voyage
to Borabora, and afterwards returned to Tahiti,
while the new-married couple continued to reside
with Taraimano. Their happiness was of short
duration ; not that death dissolved their union,
but that attachment, which had been so ardent in
the bosom of the young woman before marriage,
was superseded by a dislike as powerful ; and
although I never heard the slightest charge of
unkindness preferred against the husband, his wife
not only treated him with insult, but finally left
him. Instances of such unhappy marriages, though
not unusual formerly, are now of rare occurrence.

270 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

It is only among the middle and lower tanks of
society, that the contract is made by the parties
themselves. I am not aware that the husband
received any dowry with his wife, unless the rank
of her family was inferior to that of his own. The
suitor often made presents to the parents of the
individual whom he wished to marry, in order to
gain their consent.

Among the higher ranks, the individuals them-
selves were usually passive, and the arrangements
were made by their respective friends. They were
often betrothed to each other during childhood,
and the female thus betrothed was called a
vahine pahio. As she grew up, for the preserva-
tion of her chastity, a small platform, of consider-
able elevation, was erected for her abode, within
the dwelling of her parents. Here she slept, and
spent the whole of the time she passed within
doors. Her parents, or some member of tlie
family, attended her by night and by day, supplied
her with every necessary, and accompanied her
whenever she left the house. Some of their tra-
ditions warrant the inference that this mode of
life, in early years, was observed by other females
besides those who were betrothed.

When the time fixed for the marriage arrived,
and the parties themselves agreed to the union,
great preparations were made for the dances,
amusements, and festive entertainment, usual on
such occasions. A company of Areois generally
attended, and, on the day preceding the nuptials,
commenced their upctupa, or dance, and panto-
mimic exhibitions.

On the morning of the marriage-day, a tem-
porary altar was erected in the house of the bride.
The relics of her ancestors, perhaps their skulls or

MARRIAGE CER£MOKY. 271

bones 9 were placed upon it, and covered with fine
white native cloth ; presents of white cloth were
also given by her parents, and those relatives of
the family who attended.

The sanction of the gods they considered essen-
tial to the marriage contract^ and these prelimi-
naries being adjusted, the parties repaired to the
marae, or temple. The ceremony was generally
performed in the family marae, excepting when
the parties were connected with the reigning
family, which rendered it necessary that it should
be solemnized in the temple of Orb or of Tane,
the two principal national idols. On entering the
temple, the b^de and bridegroom changed their
dresses, and arrayed themselves in their wedding
garments, which were afterwards considered
sacred ; they took their stations in the place
appointed for them, tlie bride on one side of the
area, and the bridegroom on the other, five or six
yards apart.

The priest now came forward, clad in the habi-
liments of his ofHce, and, standmg before them,
addressed the bridegroom usually in the following
terms: Eita anei oe a faarue i ta oe vahine?
" Will you not cast away your wife V to which
the bridegroom answered, Eita ; "No." Turn-
ing to the bride, he proposed to her the same
question, and received a similar answer. The
priest then addressed them both, saying, " Happy
will it be, if thus with ye two." He then offered
a prayer to the gods in tlieir behalf, imploring for
them that they might live in afiection, and realize
the happiness marriage was designed to secure.

The relatives now brought a large piece of white
cloth, which they call ahu vauvau, spreading
cloth : it was spread out on the pavement of the

272 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

marae. The bridegroom and -bride took their
station upon this clodi, and clasped each other by
the hand. The skulls of their ancestors, which
were kept carefully preserved by survivors, who
considered the spirits of the proprietors of these
skulls as the guardian spirits of the family,
were sometimes brought out and placed before
them.

The relatives of the bride then took a piece of
sugar-cane, and, wrapping it in a branch of the
sacred miro, placed it on the head of the bride-
groom, while the new-married pair stood holding
each other's hands. Having placed the sacred
branch on the bridegroom's head, they laid it
down between them. The husband's relatives
then performed the same ceremony towards the
bride. On some occasions, the female relatives
cut their faces and brows with the instrument set
with shark's teeth, received the flowing blood on
a piece of native cloth, and deposited the cloth,
sprinkled with the mingled blood of the mothers of
the married pair, at the feet of the bride.

By the latter parts of the ceremony, any infe^
riority of rank that might have existed was
removed, and they were considered as equal. The
two families, also, to which they respectively
belonged, were ever afterwards regarded as one.
Another large piece of cloth, called the tapai,
covering, was now brought, and the ceremony
concluded by the relatives throwing it over the
bridegroom and bride.

The cloth used on these occasions, as well as
the dress, was considered sacred, and was taken
to the king, or appropriated to the use of the Areois.
The parties returned to their habitation, where
sumptuous feasting followed, the duration of which

POLYGAMY. 273

was according to the rank or means of the femilies
thus united.

Such were the marriage ceremonies formerly
observed among the inhabitants of the South Sea
Islands. They exhibited much that was curious and
affecting, especially in the blood of their parents,
and the skulls of their ancestors, presented before
the parties. The one, perhaps, as the emblem of
their union, and the oUier as an intimation that
the inhabitants of the world of spirits were wit-
nesses of the agreement. Considering these, and
other significant usages, it is surprising how a
people, so uncivilized and rude as in many
respects they certainly were, should ever have
instituted observances so singular and impressive,
in connexion with the marriage contract.

Notwithstanding all this ceremony and form in
entering into the engagement, the marriage tie/1
was probably one of the weakest and most brittle' 1
that existed among them; neither party felt them- i
selves bound to abide by it any longer than it suited
their inclinations and their convenience. The
slightest cause was often sufficient to occasion
or to justify their separation, though among the
higher classes the relation was nominally continued
long after it had actually ceased.

Polygamy was practised more extensively by
the Tdiitians than by the inhabitants of the Sand-
wich Islands, and probably prevailed to as great
an extent among them as among any of the Poly-
nesian tribes. Many of the^raatirad, or inferior
chiefs, had two or three wives, who appeared to
receive an equal degree of respect and support.
With the higher chiefs, however, it was different ;
although they might, like Hamanemane, keep a
number of females, it was rather a system of con-

T

I

/

/

V

274 P0LTVE9IAK RESEARCHES.

cubinage, than a plurality of wires, that prevailed
among them. The individual to whom the chief
was first united in marriage, or whose rank was
nearest his own, was generally considered as his
wife, and, so long as she lived with her husband,
the other females were regarded as inferior.
When the rank of the parties was equal, they
often separated; the husband took other wives,
and the wife other husbands ; and if the rank of
the wife was in any degree superior to that of her
husband, die was at liberty to take as many other
husbands as she pleased,, although still nominally
regarded as the vnfe of the individual to whom she
had been first married^

FREQUENCY OF WAR. 275

CHAP. XI.

Frequency of war in the South Sea Islands — Poiynesian
war-god — Religious ceremonies and human sacrifices,
prior to the commencement of hostilities — National
councils — ^Mustering of forced — Emblems of the gods
taken to the war — Strength of their fleets or armies —
The battle of Hooroto-— Women engaging in battle—
Tahitian banners — Martial music — ^Modes of attack —
Single combats, challenges, &c. — ^The rauti, or orators
of battle — Sacrifice of the first prisoner — Manifestation
of affection, and motives to revenge — Auguries of the
war — Use of the sling — Singpilar custom of the chiefs
in marching to battle — Sanguinary and exterminating
character of their engagements — Desolation of the
country.

War among uncivilized nations is often an
object of the highest ambition, the road to most
envied distinction, and the source of most ardent
delight. It was so among the South Sea
Islanders. They appear to have been greatly
addicted to it from the earliest periods of their
history. It occurred very frequently, prior to the
introduction of Christianity. During the fifteen
years Mr. Nott spent in the islands, while the
people were pagans, the island of Tahiti was
involved in actual war ten different times. The Mis-
sionaries were painfully familiar with it. It sur-
rounded their dwelling ; and the wounded in
battle have often, with their wounds fresh and
bleeding, sought their houses for relief.

t2

do was the principal war-god, but he was noc
the only deity whose influence was important on
these occaMons. Tairi, Maahiti, Tetnahnrnhnm,
Tane, and Rimaioa, **ioag hand, or am," the
andrat gods of war, were all deities of the firrt
tank, harring been created by Taaioa, according
to their ^buloos traditions, before Oio existed.

In modon times^ howerer, Oio's influence has
been p r in c ip ally sought in war. This they imagined
was die chief object of his attention ; and when
it proceeded in its bloodiest fcmns, it was supposed
to affiml him the highest satisfaction. Sixnewfaat
of his imagined character may be infored from
the fiict of his priest requiring every victim offered
in sacrifice^ to be covered with its own bloody in
order to his acceptance. The influence ascribed
to the gods in war may be in a measure inferred
from the frequent and sanguinary appeals made to
them at its commencement, and during every period
of its progress.

When war was in agitation, a human sacrifice
was offered to Oro, and was denominated the
Matea : the ceremony connected with it was
called — fetching the god to preside over the nuu
or anny. The image of the god was brought out ;
when the victim was offered, a red feather was
taken from his person, and given to the party,
who bore it to tneir companions, and considered
it as the symbol of Oro's presence and sanction,
during their subsequent preparations. The com-
mencement of war, the violating of ft treaty, was
called the aoti a pito, the cutting of tlie cord
of union ; whenever this took place, a human
victim was offered by the offending party, to pre*
vent the gods from being angry at their treachery^
A human victim, called the Amoatabu, was also

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 277

offered by tlie party assailed, to secure protection
from the gods, and punishment on their enemies.
Another human sacrifice was now taken, called
the Maui faatere, and was equivalent to the public
declaration of war, and such it was also considered
by the opposing party. In 1808, when the late
Pomare heard that Taute, his former chief
minister, and the most celebrated warrior in the
nation, had joined the rebel chiefs, and that the
Maui faatere had been offered, and the sanction
of the gods thus implored, he was so affected that
he wept ; and it was in vain that one of his
orators, in alluding to this event subsequently,
exclaimed. Who is Taute? He is a man, and
not a god, his head reaches not to the skies.
Who is Taute ? The king's spirits and courage
never revived.

If it was a naval expedition, canoes were now
collected and equipped, and the weapons put in
order, the spears and clubs cleaned with a boar*s
tusk, pointed with bones of the sting-ray, and
having been carefully polished, the handle of every
weapon was covered with the resinous gum of the
bread-fruit, that it might adhere to tine warrior's
hand, and render his grasp firm.

When the implements of destruction were ready,
and this seldom occupied many days, another hu-
man sacrifice was offered, called the haea mati —
the tearing of the mati in the presence of the gods,
as the fibres of mati were torn at the temple, before
being twisted into cord for the sacred net. This
was immediately before the expedition started;
and if accepted, Oro generally inspired one of his
prophets, who declared that the fleet or army
should be victorious. On all these occasions,
human sacrifices, covered with their own blood,

278 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

were offered to Oro, in numbers proportioned to
the Bftagnitude of the undertaking, or the force of
the parties confederated*

While these ceremonies were proceedings, na-
tional councils were held. Peace, or war, was
usually determined by a few leading individuals^
including the king, priests, and the principal chiefs.
The prayers and sacrifices offered, oracles con--
sulted, responses received, and councils held, were
only parts of the external machinery by which, as
it regarded the mas» of the population, these move-
ments were directed. This, however, was not
always the case, and peace or war was often the
result of the impressions produced by the popular
orators on the general assemblies-. -These harangues
were specimens of the most impassioned natural
eloquence, bold and varied in its figures, and im^'
pressive in its ^eets.

I never had an opportunity of attending one of
their national councils when the questicm of war
was debated, under the imposing influence im-
parted by their mythology, whereby they ima-
gined the contention between the gods of the
rivals was as great as that sustained by the parties
themselves. A number of the figures and expres
sions used on these occasions are familiar; but,
detached and translated, they lose their force.
From what I have beheld in their public speeches,
in force of sentiment, beauty of metaphor, and
effect of action, I can imagine that the impression
of an eloquent harangue, delivered by an sodent
warrior, armed perhaps for combat, and aided by
the influence of highly excited feeling, could pro-
duce no ordinary effect; and I have repeatedly
heard Mr; Nott declare, (and no one can better ap-
preciate native eloquence,) he would at any time go

THE PRIESTS AND GODS PROPITIATED. 279

thirty miles to listen to an address impassioned as
those he has sometimes heard on these occasions.

When war was determined, the king's vea, or
herald, was sent round the island, or through the
districts dependent on the parties^ and all were
required to arm, and repair to the appointed ren-
dezvous. Sometimes the king-s flag was carried
round. The women, the children, and the aged,
called the oktm^ were either left in the villages, or
lodged in some place of security, while the men
hastened to the field.

Their arms were kept with great care, In high
preservation. Insome.of the houses, on our arri-
val in the Leeward Islands, especially in the dweU-
ing of Fenuapeho,.the chief of Tahaa^ every kind
of weapon was in such order, and so carefully fixed
agabst the sides of the house, that the dwelling
appeared more like an armoury than a domestic
abode. Many a one, whom the summons from
the chief has found destitute in the morning, has
been known to cutdownor rive a tall cocoa-nut tree,
finish his lance or his spear, andioin the warriors
at the close of the same day. The chief of each
district led his own tenantry to the war — ^reported^
on his arrival, the number of men he had borought
— ^and then formed his buhapa^ or encampment,
with the rest of the forces.

A number of ceremonies still remained to be
observed. The priests were important personages
in ev^ry expedition ; their influence with the gods
was considered the means of victory, and they re-
ceived a proportionate share of consideration. The
first service of this kind was called the taamu raa
ra — ^the binding of the sacredness or supernatural
influence ; and while the chiefs and warriors: had
been employed in the preliminaries of war, the

280 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

priests had been unremitting in their prayers that
the ra atua, &c. the influence of the gods, &c.
might be turned against their enemies^ or that the
gods would leave fiiem defenceless. When their
prayers were successful, it was supposed that the
gods of their enemies left them, and came to the
party by whom they were thus implored, and,
entering the canoes, clubs, spears, and other
weapons of their army,' insured its triumph. As a
compensation for this important service, the chiefs
assembled ; a quantity of cloth, mats, and perhaps
a canoe, was spread before them, surmounted by
a branch of the sacred witro, and a few red ifea-
thers, emblematical of the tutelar gods. The priests
were then sent for, and the whole presented to
them from the heads of the army by an orator, the
burden of whose address was — *^ This is the recom-
pense for your fatigue in imploring the aid of the
gods by night and by day."

A second ceremony followed, called fairaro :
a large quantity of cloth, mats, &c. were given to
the priests, that they might persevere in their
labours. This was succeeded by a third, of the
same kind, called the kdameii, in which, in addi-
tion to the other kinds of property, a number of
fine pigs, each distinguished by a distinct name,
were given to the priests, that they might redouble
their vigilance to induce their own gods to keep
with them, and the gods of their enemies to forsake
those enemies, and, by means of the weapons of
those who now sought their favour, to exert their
power against the parties they had formerly aided.

The atoafare ia Manaha — ^the building of the
house of Manaha, or hosts of gods — ^was a singu-
lar ceremony. It was designed for the abode
of the gods and spirits, who they supposed fought

THE HOSTS OF GODS INVOKED. 281

with them, and whose favour they desired. In
order to propitiate the gods, a human sacrifice was
offered. The work was begun, and the house
must be finished in one day, on which day every
individual must abstain from all kinds of food, no
canoe must be launched, no fire lighted, while the
work was in progress, and at the foot of the central
pillar the body of a man offered in sacrifice was de-
posited. Into this house the toos, or images of the
spirits, were sometimes taken ; but although the
priest always offered his prayer here, the gods were
usually left in their sacred temples, and only a
feather was taken from their images, which they
supposed to be endowed with all their power.

'Hie last religious ceremony, prior to the com-
mencement of conflict, was the haumanava. Slight
temples were erected in the sacred canoes of Oro,
and the other gods. In these, the red feathers
taken from the idols were deposited ; they were
called manutahi no Tane^ &c. or single bird of
Tane ; all the gods were supposed to be present,
having been brought from their elysian abodes by
the prayers of the priests. There was a kind of
intermediate race of beings, between men and
gods, who were employed as messengers, to fetch
the latter in cases of emergency ; each god had his
own messenger, hovering about the habitations of
men, in the shape of a bird or a shark. When the
priest by prayers sought the aid of these gods, they
imagined that the messenger set off to the place of
the god's abode, somewhere in fare papa, near
" the foundation of the world," and made the
usual declaration — Mai haere i te ao, e tamae ti te
ao, ** Come to the world, or state of light, there is
war in the world."

The sacred feathers being deposited in the tem-

282 FOLTN^IAN RESEARCHES.

porary maraes erected in the canoes, a large num-
ber of the finest hogs they could procure were
killed, and baked in the temple on shore, the
heads cut off, and placed on a small altar in the
canoe, before the symbol of the idob' presence.
The remaining part of the body vas eaten by the
priests,^and those who feasted on the sacrifices.
Whether they fought by sea or by land, as their
principal engagements were near the shore, a fleet
usually accompanied the army, and on board the
canoes the ^principal idols were generally kept.
The arrangements being now completed, with die
emblems of their gods, and the offerings they made,
they speedily set out for the comlntt, confident of
victory.

Nuu and popaifp^a were the terms usually em-
ployed to designate an army, though it is probable
the former was applied principaUy to an army,
or fleet, filled with fighting men, and the latter to
an army on shore, tc^ether with the multitude that
followed for the purposes of plunder, &c. Their aranies
must formerly have been large: when Captain
Cook was there in 1774, he supposed the fleet to
consist of not fewer than 1700 canoes, each carry-
ing forty men; making altogether. 6000 fighting
men. I think, however, there must have been
some mistake in his calculation. In the last war
but one, in which the people of Huahine were
engaged with those of Raiatea, at the battle of
Hooroto, in the latter island, acccnrding to the
testimony of Mahine, the present king of Huahine,
who was there, and whose father was the general
of the forces, the fleet consisted of ninety ships, or
war-canoes, each about one hundred feet long,
filled with men, who, besides their ordinary arms,
possessed the two guns left with Mai by Captain

SANGUINARY BATTLE OF HOOROTO. 283

•

Cook, from the use of which they expected an easy
victory. This was one of the most sanguinary
conflicts that had occurred for many years. Te-
nana, the king of Huahine, went down to avenge
the cause of Ohunehaapaa, whose son is still living
in Raiatea. Ohunehaapaa had been banished by
the Raiatean chiefs, and the chiefs and people of
Huahine undertook to reinstate him. The Wind-
ward fleet anchored at Tipaemau, when the Raia-
teans fled to Tahaa. The Huahinean chief sent
to demand from Tapoa the surrender of the land.
This was refused, and both parties prepared for
battle. Next day the hostile fleets met near Hoo-
roto, and a most bloody and obstinate engagement
ensued ; both parties lost so many, that when piled
up, on the day after the battle, the dead bodies
are said to have formed a heap as high as tlie
young cocoa-nut trees. They still determined to
persevere till one party should be destroyed ; but
Mauai^ a native of Borabora, inspired by Oro, in-
timated the will of the god that they should desist.
An armistice was concluded ; the warriors of two
districts of Huahine, Faretou, and Fareihi, being
comparatively uninjured, sailed over to Tahaa, for
the purpose of plunder. They, however, met
with a more determined resistance than they had
expected, and were not only repulsed, but almost
cut off. Mato, the father of the present king of
Huahine, and general of the army, was slain. The
survivors were glad to return to their own island,
and the Raiateans were too much enfeebled to
endeavour to prevent them.

In this war, the greater part of the chiefs and
warriors of the Leeward or Society Islands were
destroyed. The island of Huahine never recovered
from die shock of this murderous conflict.

284 POLTNBSIAK RESEARCHES.

Tamai or tuua is the general terai for war, in all
its diversified forms ; the same word is also used
to denote quarrelling ; aro is the term for battle.
The modes of attack and defence were various,
and regulated by circumstances. Among the
principal, were thefatatiay where two armies, led
on by their respective sovereigns, advanced face
to face ; the duu mata^ in which none turn back ;
the maivay in which a select band, joining hands,
rushed into the fiercest part of the conflict, and
endeavoured to spread confusion and terror among
the enemy ; the aro nee, where only a small front
was shown, and the main force concealed; the
moohono, jointless backbone, and the aro ro, (ant-
fight) in which the army is formed in lines, and
the front line, when hard pressed, retires, while
those immediately behind advance to sustain the
conflict. Besides these there were a number of
others, such as the butoa, coral rock, in which the
army stood and repelled every assailant ; the rapa-
tahiy in which the assailants singled out the chiefs
and leaders ; but the most desperate was the uura
tamafaarerey when the warriors forsook land,
house, wife, and children, and, determining to
refuse quarter, went forth to conquer or die. The
divisions of the army were : 1 . The viro arOj front
line, or advanced guard ; 2. the afoa viri, second
rank; 3. the tapono viriy shotilder viri, or third
rank ; 4. the hotuai, or fourth line ; and 5. the
hoe haahuay'GT last division, including the wives,
children, baggage, and property of the warriors.
The rank immediately in front of the king or
principal chief, always contained the braveist men.

The forces were marshalled for the fight by the
principal leader, who was said to tarai te aro^
shape or form the battle ; when this was accom*

AIILITART TACTICS. 285

plished, the signal was given, and uniting in the
umera ia Ra, song of battle to the god of war, or
in deafening shouts- and imprecations, they rushed
with bold and menacing impetuosity to u, or join
in combat. Sometimes their attacks were made
by night, but then they generally bore a raTwa, or
torch. To ambuscades they seldom had recourse,
though they occasionally adopted what was called
the aro nee, or attack by stealth, surprising their
enemies by an unexpectea onset.

. The flags of the gods, or the emblems of the
idols, were carried to the battle, to insp'xe the
combatants with confidence, and the martial ban-
ners they employed were formerly hoisted on board
the different fleets, but more recently carried by
the bravest of the warriors in the centre of their
armies. Their flags were red, white, or black.
Rude and harsh kinds of music animated the war-
riors in their fleets, and since the reign of Oro
the combatants have marched to the battle, in-
spired by the sounds of the trumpet and the drum.
Before this time, during the celestial supremacy
of Tane and Ra, these gods were accustomed in
action to advance before those bands of warriors
whom they were disposed to aid, and to spread dis-
may through the ranks of their enemies by waving
their tails, which the natives supposed resembled
the tails of comets, or the luminous appearance
called a falling or shooting star.

It is a singular fact, that although they left
their images in their respective temples, no offer-
ings were presented after the haumanava had been
performed, and no sacrifice was deposited on the
altars of any of the temples, lest the gods should
hereby be induced to forsake the army, or remain
behind.

286 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

When their modes of attack were deliberate,
the celebrated warriors of each army occasionally
marched forward beyond the first line of the body
to which they belonged, and, on approaching, the
ranks of the enemy, sat down on the 49and or the
grass. Two or three from one of these parties
would then rise, and, advancing a few .yards
towards their opponents, boastfully challenge them
to the combat. When the challenge was accepted,
which it often was with the utmost promptitude, the
combatants advanced with intimidating menaces.

These often addressed each other by recounting
their names, the names and deeds of their ances*
tors, their own achievements in combat) the
prowess of their arms, and the augmented fame
they should acquire by the addition of their pre-
sent foes to the number of those they had sdready
slain ; in conclusion, inviting them to advance,
that they might be devoted to their god, who was
hovering by to receive the sacrifice. With taunt-
ing scorn die antagonist would reply much in the
same strain, sometimes mingling affected pity with
his denunciations. When they had finished their
harangue, the omoreaa, club of insult, or insulting
spear, was raised, and the onset commenced.
Sometimes it was a single combat, fought in the
space between the two armies, and in sight of both.

At other times, several men engaged on both
sides, when those not engaged, though fully armed
and equipped, kept their seat on the ground. If a
single combat, when one was disabled or slain, the
victor would challenge another; and seldom thought
of retreating, so long as one remained. When a
number were engaged, and one fell, a warrior from
his own party rose, and maintained the struggle ;
when either party retreated, the ranks of the army

ORATORS OF BATTLE. 287

to which it belonged rushed forward to sustain it ;
this brought the opposing army on, and, from a
single combat or a skirmish, it became a general
engagement. The conflict was carried on with the
most savage fury, such as might be expected in
barbarous warriors, who imagined the gods, on
whom their destinies depended, had actually en-
tered into their weapons, giving precision and force
to their blows, direction to their missiles. Mid im*
parting to the whole a supernatural fatality.

The din and clamour of the deadly fray were
greatly augmented by the efforts of the Rauti.
These were, as the Druids among the ancient
Britons, the orators of battle. They were usually
men of commanding person and military prowess,
arrayed only in a girdle of the leaves of the ti-
plant round their waist; sometimes carrying a
light spear in the left, but always a small bunch of
green ti-leaves in the right hand. In this bunch
of leaves the principal weapon, a small, sharp,
serrated, and barbed airofai, (bone of the sting-
ray,) vras concealed, which diey were reported to
use dexterously when in contact with the enemy.
The principal object of these Rautis was, to ani-
mate the troops by recounting the deeds of their
forefathers, the fame of their tribe or island, the
martial powers of their favouring gods, and the
interests involved in the contest. In the discharge
of their duties they were indeiatigable, and by
night and day went through the camp rousing the
ardour of the warriors. On the day of battle they
marched with the army to the onset, mingled in the
fray, and hurried to and fro among the combatants,
cheering them vrith the recital of heroic deeds, or
stimulating them to : achievements of daring and
valour.

288 POLTKESIAK RESEARCHES.

Any attempt at translating their expressions
would convey so inadequate an idea of their origi-
nal force, as to destroy their effect. '' Roll onw^urd
likiB the billows — ^break on them with te haruru o
te taiy the ocean's foam and roar when bursting on
the reefs — hang on them as te tura mau taiy the
forked lightning plays above. the frothing surf —
give out the vigilance, give out the strength, give
out the anger, the anger of the, devouring wild
dog, — ^till their line is broken, till they flow back
like the receding tide." These were the expres-
sions sometimes used, and the impression of their
spirit-stirring harangues is still vivid in the recol-
lection of many^ who, when any thing is forcibly
urged upon them, often involuntarily exclaim,
*^ Tini Jlauti teie" equal to a Rauti this.

If the battle continued for several successive
days, the labours of the Rautis were so incessant
by night through the camp, and by day amid the
ranks in the field, that they have been known to
expire from exhaustion and fatigue. The priests
were not exempted from the battle; they bore
arms, and marched with the waniors to the
combat.

The combatants did not use much science in the
action, nor scarcely aim to parry their enemy's
weapons; they used no shield or target, and,
believing the gods directed and sped their weapons
with more than human force upon their assailants,
they depended on strength more than art for suc-
cess. Tlieir clubs were invariably aimed at the
head, and often, with the lozenge-shaped weapon,
they would (apaiy or cleave, the skulls of their
opponents. Their spears they directed against the
body, and the maui was often a deadly thrust,
piercing through the heart.

THE FIRST CAPTIVE SACRIFICED. 289

When the first warrior fell on either side, a
horrid shout of exultation and of triumph was
raised by the victors, which echoed along the line,
striking a panic through the ranks of their antago-
nists, it being considered an intimation of the
favour of the gods towards the victorious parties.
Around' the "body the struggle became dread-
ful ; and if the victors bore him away, he was
despoiled of his \)maments, and then seized by the
priests, or left to be ofiered to the gods at the close
of the battle.

The first man seized on before quite dead was
offered in sacrifice, and called te mataahaetvmu
Taaroa — tlie first rending of the root. The victim
was not taken to the temple, but the head was
bound round with, sacred cinet brought from the
temple, and the body laid alive upon a number of
spears, and thus borne on men's shoulders along
the ranks, in the midst or rear of the army,
the priest of Oro walking by the side, offering his
prayer to the god, and watching the writhings and
involuntary agitation of the dying man. If a tear
fell from his eye, it was said to be weeping for his
land. If he clenched the fist, it was an indication
that his party would resist to the last, and con-
quest to the captors was uncertain, &c. If these
auguries were deemed favourable, he pronounced
victory as certain. Such indications were consi-
dered most encouraging, as earnests of the god*s co-
operation. Sometimes the first victim was called Te
ivi te vai o Tu: the head was completely covered
as low as the neck with successive bandages of
cinet, carried to the temple, and burned before
Taaroa ; and was generally regarded as an earnest
of the defeat of his party, and the destruction of
his family.

u

^290 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

When a distinguished chief or warrior fell, the
party, to which he belonged, retired a short distance,
collected some of their bravest men, and then, in
a body, with fury and revenge rushed upon their
antagonists, to vaere totOy clear away the blood.
The shock was terrific when they met the opposing
ranks, and numbers frequently fell on both sides.
Two brothers, or intimate friends, often mani-
fested in battle an affecting strength of attachment
and constancy ; they fought side by side, espe-
cially in the Duumata, in which no retreat was
allowed ; and if one was killed, the survivor dipped
his hand in the blood of his slain brother, and
rubbed it on his own person, to manifest his
affection, alleviate his grief, and stimulate to
revenge.

During the engagement, the parties often re-
treated, so that there was a considerable space
between the ranks, as -when proceeding to the
onset. The slingers were then employed; who
often advanced in front of the ranks to which they
belonged, and with boasting threats warned their
enemies to fly or fall. The most dangerous missile
was the vriti or stone, from the ma or sling. The
latter was prepared with great care, and made
with finely braided fibres of the cocoa-nut husk,
or filaments of the native flax, having a loop to
fasten it to the hand at one end, and a wide re^*
ceptacle for the stone in the centre. The sling
was held in the right hand, and, armed with the
stone, was hung over the right shoulder, and
caught by the left hand on the left side of the
back. When thrown, the sling, after being
stretched across the back, was whirled round over
the head, and the stone discharged with great
force.

EXPERT SLIKOERS. 291

The most expert slingers, as well as the most
renowned among the warriors, were celebrated
through the islands ; and when one of these pre-
sented himself, a cry ran through the opposite
ranks : Beware, or be vigilant, e ofai mau omea-^^xi
adhering stone is such a one ; or e ofai tano e ofai
buai — a sure or a powerful stone is such an one.
The stones, which were usually about the size of
a hen's eggy were either smooth, being polished by
friction in the bed of a river, or sharp, angular,
and rugged ; these were called ofai ara — faced or
edged stones. When thrown with any degree of
elevation, they were seen and avoided, but they
were generally thrown horizontally four or five feet
from the ground, when they were with difficulty
seen, and often did much execution. The slingeni
were powerful and expert marksmen.

The custom of the warriors sitting on the ground
to wait for the combat, was not the only singular
practice of the Tahitians in proceeding to battle.
There was another, which they called pito. When
two leading chiefs marched together to the onset,
they not only walked side by side, but arm in arm.
In this manner, Pomare-vahine, and Mahine, the
chiefs of Huahine and Eimeo, marched to the bat-
tle of Narii. This was designed to shew their
union, and that they would conquer or fall toge-
ther. When a single chief led on his own men,
he also walked in pito with his principal aito or
warriors, two on each side, the nearest to him hav-
ing hold of his arms. On approaching the enemy
they separated, but fought near the person of
their chieftain, whose life it was considered their spe-
cial duty to defend, at the exposure of their own.

The battle sometimes terminated by both parties
retreating, to recover, and prepare for a fresh

u2

292 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

campaign, but it was more frequently continued
till liie flight of one party left the other master of
the field.

The carnage and destruction which followed the
fati or breaking, and hea or flying, of one of the
armies, was dreadful. It was called tahxieay and
in it the gods were supposed to engage as well as
the men. Those who were vi, or beaten, fled to
their canoes, or to their parts or fastnesses in the
mountains, while the victors, who were called
upoatia^ erect heads, pursued them with reckless
slaughter. A prostrate warrior, as he lay at the
feet of his antagonist, wounded or disarmed, would
perhaps supplicate mercy, exclaiming Tahitia
iau ia or a wau — Spare me, may I live. If the
name of the king or chief, of the victor, was
invoked, the request was often granted ; but fre-
quently a reproach or taunt, and a deadly blow or
thrust, was the only reply.

The slaughter of the routed army was continued
till the evening closed on the scene of murder and
of blood, or until the fugitives had either reached
their fortifications and strongholds in the moun>
tains, or had eluded the pursuit of their enemies. —
When the men went to battle, the women gene-
rally remained ; but some of them fearlessly at-
tended their husbands to the field, and either
followed in the rear, or fought in the midst of the
ranks. They carried the same kind of weapons as
the men, but frequently used only their nails and
their hands. Many were slain in the field, or
during the retreat.

By whatever considerations civilized and
enlightened nations may be influenced in the
practice of war, and upon whatever principles
they may desire to conduct it, war, barbarous.

HORROR OF SAVAGE WAR. 293

murderous, unrelenting war, is the delight of
savages ; and among no portion of the most cruel
and warlike of the human race has it perhaps pre-
vailed more extensively, or proved a greater
scourge,, than among the interestmg inhabitants of
the islands of the Pacific. With the Society and
Sandwich Islanders, it has, since the introduction
of Christianity, ceased. In the Friendly, Figi,
and other groups, it still prevails : in the Mar-
quesas, and New Zealand, it rages with unabated
violence, and spreads devastation and wretchedness
among the infatuated and hapless people.

Among the Society Islanders, in consequence
of the influence of the climate, luxurious mode of
living, and effeminacy of character induced
thereby, the obstinacy and the continuance of
actual combat were not equal to that which
obtained in other tribes; yet we learn from the
frequency of its occurrence, and the deadly hatred
which was cherished, that the passion for war was
not less powerful with them than with the New
Zealander or the M arquesian ; and its consequent
cruelties and demoralization were perhaps un-
equalled in any other part of the world. Their
wars were most merciless and destructive. Inven-
tion itself was tortured to find out new modes of
inflicting suffering; and the total extermination
of their enemies, with the desolation of a country,
wais often the avowed object of the war. This
design, horrid as it is, has been literally accom-
plished : every inhabitant of an island, excepting
the few that may have escaped by flight in their
canoes, has been slaughtered ; the bread-fruit
trees have been cut down, and left to rot; the
cocoa-nut trees have been killed by cutting off
their tops or crown, and leaving the stems in

294 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

desolate leafless ranks, as if they had been shivered
by lightning.

Their wars were not only sanguinary, but fre-
quent; yet from a variety of ceremonies, which
preceded the expeditions, they were seldom prompt
in commencing hostilities. What they were prior
to the first visits of foreigners, we have not the
means of correctly ascertaining, but since that
time, the only period during which correct dates
can be affixed to events in their history, the short
and simple annals of Tahiti are principally filled
with notices of destructive wars ; and the effects,
of desolation still visible, prove that they have not
been less frequent in the other islands.

The occasions of hostility were also at times
remarkably trivial, though not so their conse-
quences. The removal of a boundary mark ; the
pulling down of the king's flag ; the refusing to
acknowledge the king's son as their future sove-
reig; speaking disrespectfully of the gods, the
king, or the chiefs ; the slightest insult to the king,
chiefs, or any in alliance or friendship with them ;
with a variety of more insignificant causes — were
sufficient to justify an appeal to arms, or an
invasion of the offender's territory with fire and
spear. Although there were no standing armies
or regular* troops in the South Sea Islands, nor
any class of men exclusively trained and kept for
military purposes, war was followed as a profession
as much as any other, and considered by many as
one to which every other should be rendered sub-
servient.

ESTIMATION OF WARRIORS. 295

CHAP. XII.

Estimation in which fighting men were held — ^Weapons —
Dress — Ornaments — Various kinds of helmet and ar-
moar — Ancient arms, &c. superseded by the introduction
of fire-arms — Former ideas respecting the musket, &c.
— Divination or augury — Savage and merciless conduct
of the victors — Existence of wild men in the mountains
Account of one at Bunaauia who had fled from the field
of battle— Treatment of the captives and the slain — Di-
vision of the spoil, and appropriation of the country-4-
Maritime Warfare— Encampments — Fortifications — In-
stance of patriotism — Methods of concluding peace-7
Religious ceremonies and festivities that followed —
Present sentiments of the people in reference to war— ^

' Triumph of the principles of peace— Incident at Rumtu.

Provision for war was attended to when every
other consideration was disregarded. In the per^
petration of the unnatural crime of infanticide,
boys were more frequently spared than female
children, solely with a view to their becoming
warriors. In all our schools, we were surprised at
the disproportion between the boys and the girls
that attended, and at the small number of women
in the adult population; and on inquiring the
cause, were invariably told that more girls than
boys were destroyed, because they would, if spared;
be comparatively useless in war. War therefore,
being esteemed by the majority as the most im-
portant end of life, every kind of training for its
successful pursuit was held in the highest repute.

296 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

In times of war, all capable of bearing arms
were called upon to join the forces of the chieftain
to whom they belonged, and the farmers, who held
their !tnd partly by feudal tenure, were obliged to
render military service whenever their landlord
required it. There were, besides these, a number
of men celebrated for their valour, strength, or
address in war, who were called aitOy fighting-men
or warriors. This title, the result of achieve-
ments in battle, was highly respected, and
proportionably sought by the daring and ambi-
tious. It was not, like the chieftainship and other
prevailing distinctions, confined to any class, but
open to all ; and many from the lower ranks have
risen, as warriors, to a high station in the com-
munity.

Originally their weapons were simple, and form-
ed of wood; they consisted of the spear, which the
natives called patia or tao, made with the wood of
the cocoa-nut tree, or of the aito, iron-wood, or
casuarina. It was twelve or eighteen feet long,
and about an inch or an inch and a half in dia-
meter at the middle or the lower end, but tapering
off to a point at the other. The spears of the in-
habitants of Rurutu, and other of the Austral
Islands, are remarkable for their great length and
elegant shape, as well as for the high polish with
which they are finished.

The omore, or club, was another weapon used
by them ; it was always made of the aitOy or iron-
wood, and was principally of two kinds, either
short and heavy like a bludgeon, for the purpose
of close combat, or long, and: furntdhed with a
broad lozenge-shaped blade. TheTahitians did
not often car>'e or ornament their weapons, but by
the inhabitants of the southern islands they were

WEAPONS. 297

frequently very neatly, though partially, carved.
The inhabitants of the Marquesas carve their spears,
and ornament them with human hair;* and the
natives of the Hervey Islands, with the Friendly
and Figian islanders, construct their weapons
with taste, and carve them with remarkable in-
genuity.

The paeho was a terrific sort of weapon, al-
though it was principally used at the heva, or
seasons of mourning. It resembled, in some
degree, a club ; but having the inner side armed
with large sharks' teeth, it was not used for striking
a blow, but for almost embowelling those assailed.
Another weapon of the same kind resembled a
short sword, but, instead of one blade it had three,
four, or five. It was usually made of a forked
aito branch; the central and exterior branches,
after having been pointed and polished, were
armed along the outside with a thick line of sharks'
teeth, very firmly fixed in the wood. This was
only used in close combat, and, when applied to
the naked bodies of the combatants, must have
been a terrific weapon. The bowels or lower parts
of the body were attacked with it, not for the
purpose of piercing, as a dagger is used, but
drawn across like a saw.

They do not use the patia, or dagger, of the
Sandwich Islands, but substitute an equally fatal
weapon, the aero fat, a serrated back-bone of the
sting-ray, and the hotOy a short dart-like wea-
pon, barbed and pointed with this or other fish-

* This practice corresponds with that of the Malayans,
atnon{( whom Dr. Buchuian saw a chief, the top of whose
spear was ornamented with a tuft of hair, which he had
takeii from a vanquished foe, as he lay dying or dead at
his feet.

298 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

boneSy which being rugged on the edges, and
barbed towards the point, is very destructive in a
dexterous hand. Some of the natives of the
Palliser Islands used the t'Az, javelin or short spear j
while fighting at a distance, and the South Sea
Islanders use the ttora, a polished dart about three
feet long, cast from the hand generally in their
naval engagements, but occasionally on land.
The parOy or large mother-of-pearl oyster shell;
was also used in cutting the throats, or severing
the head from the bodies, of those who were over-
come.

The dress and ornaments of the warriors of
Tahiti, and the adjacent islands, were singular,
and unlike those of most savage nations, being often
remarkably cumbersome. Tlieir helmets, tiiough
less elegant and imposing than the fine Grecian-
formed helmet of the Hawaiians, were adapted
to produce considerable effect. Some of the
Tahitians wore only a fillet or bandage round the
temples, but many had a quantity of cloth bound
round in the form of a high turban, which not
only tended to increase their apparent stature,
but broke the force of a blow from a club, or a
thrust from a spear.

The most elegant head-dresses, however, were
those worn by the inhabitants of the Austral
Islands, Tubuai, Rurutu, &c. Their helmets were
considerably diversified in form, some resembling
a tight round cap, fitted closely to the head, with a
light plume waving on the summit. Those used
by the natives of Tubuai, and High Island, re-
sembled an officer's cocked hat, worn with the
ends projecting over each shoulder, the front beau-
tifully ornamented with the green and red wing
and tail feathers of a species of paroquet. The

HELMETS. 299

Rurutuan helmet* is graceful in appearance, and
useful in the protection it affords to the head of the
wearer. It was a cap fitted to the head, and reach-
ing to the ears, made with thick stiff native cloth,
on^ a cane frame- work. The lower part of the
front is ornamented with bunches of beautiful red
and green feathers, tastefully arranged, and above
these a line of the long slender tail-feathers of the
tropic, or man-of-war bird, is fixed on a wicker-
frame ; the hinder part of the cap is covered with
long flowing human hair, of a light brown or tawny
colour, said to be human beard ; this is fastened to
a slight net-work attached to the crown of the
helmet, and, being detached from any other part,
often floats wildly in the wind, and increases the
agitated appearance of the wearer.

On each side, immediately above the ears,
numerous pieces of mother-of-pearl, and other
shells, are fastened, not as plates or scales, but
depending in a bunch, and attached to the helmet
by a small strong cord, similar to those passing
under the chin, by which the helmet is fastened to
the head. These shells, when shaken by the
movements of the wearer- s head, produce a rattling
noise, which heightens the din of savage warfare.

The Rurutuan helmet, though more complete
and useful, was far less imposing than the faiiL
worn by the Georgian and Society Islanders. This
was also a cap fitted closely to the head, sur-
rounded by a cylindrical structure of cane-work,
ornamented with the dark glossy feathers of aqua-
tic birds. The hollow crown frequently towered

* A Rtmituan helmet, a number of spears, a paeho, and
many of the implements of war here described, have been
deposited in the Missionary Museum, Austin FriarS|
London.

300 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

two or three feet above the head, and, being
curved at the top, appeared to nod or bend with
every movement of the wearer.

This was a head-dress in high esteem, and worn
only by distinguished men, who were generally
sought out by the warriors in the opposing army.
To subdue or kill a man who wore a fau, was one
of the greatest feats. I have been often told, by
a gigantic man who resided some time in my
house, and was one of the warriors of Eimeo, that
when the army of the enemy has come in sight,
they used to look out for the fau rising above the
rest of the army, and when they have seen one,
pointing to it, animate each other by the exclama-
tion, " The man with the fau ; ha ! whosoever
shall obtain him, it will be enough." But, however
imposing in appearance these high helmets may
have been, they afforded no defence ; and, although
formed only of cane-work and feathers, must have
been inconvenient.

The slingers, and the most light and agile among
the fighting men, wore, in battle, only a maro, a
loose mantle, or ahubu.

Some of the fighting men wore a kind of armour
of net-work, formed by small cords, wound round
the body and limbs, so tight, as merely to allow of
the unencumbered exercise of the legs and arms,
and not to impede the circulation of the blood :
or the Ruuruu, a kind of wooden armour for the
breast, back, and sides, covered with successive
folds of thick cloth, bound on with ropes. Over
this a costly cloth was spread. The head was
guarded witii a corresponding quantity of cloth ;
and thus defended, the warrior, secure against
either club or spear, was generally stationed witli
the main body of the army, though so encumbered

DRESS A17D WEAPONS. 301

as. to render retreat impracticable, and, in the event
of the defeat of his companions, was invariably
captured or slain. In general, the dress of the
Tahitian warriors must have been exceedingly
troublesome. To make an imposing appearance,
and defend their persons, seem to have been the
only ends at which they aimed ; differing greatly
in this respect from the Hawaiians, who seldom
thought of guarding themselves, but adopted a
dress that would least impede their movements.

The Tahitians went to battle in their best
clothes, sometimes perfumed with fragrant oil,
and adorned with flowers ; and whether they wore
only the light tiputa, or the cumbrous ruuruu^
which left only the arms at liberty, the whole was
bound round the waist with a finely braided sash
or girdle. On the breast they wore a handsome
military gorget, ingeniously wrought with mother-
of-pearl shells, white and coloured feathers, and
dog's hair.

Their ancient dresses and weapons have,
since their intercourse with Europeans, been super-
seded in a great degree by the introduction of
fire-arms, the bayonet, and the sword. Pupuhi
is the general name for gun. Puhi signifies to
blow with the mouth, pupuhi to blow repeatedly,
and this name has been given to a musket, from
the circumstance of the foreigners, whom the
natives first saw firing, bending down the head on
one side to take aim, and bringing the mouth
nearly in contact with the piece, into or through
the barrel of which they supposed the person blew,
and thus produced the explosion ; hence it is called
the blower.

They imagined that the first ships they saw were
islands ; their inhabitants supernatural, vindictive.

302 POLYNESIAN" RESEARCHES.

and revengeful beings. The flag of one of the
first vessels hanging from the ship into the water,
a native approached, and took a piece of it away ;
this being perceived, he was fired at, andwounded,
as they sdl supposed, by the thunder.

When we consider this, we shall not be sur-
prised at their ideas of the source of motion in the
ball. The opinion of its being blown from the
mouth of the muskeiteer, has long been corrected ;
still the name is retained, and a cannon is called
pupuhifennaf to blow land, or country, from its
contents spreading over a wide tract of country ;
the musket they call pupuhi roa, long gun ; the
blunderbuss vaAara At, wide or great mouth; the pis*
tol pupuhi teuumu ; a swivel, pupuhi tioi, turning
gun ; the bullets or balls they call ofai^ or stones.
Arms, ammunition, and ardent spirits, were form-
erly the principal articles in demand by all classes;
and being the most valuable kinds of barter, they
jnaintained a high price. Ten or twelve hogs,
worth at least from one to two pounds a head, was,
for a long time, the regular price of a musket ; and
one hundred pigs have been paid for a cannon. I
have seen upwards of seventy tied up on the beach,
at Fa-re, as the price of a single old cannon, which
had been preserved from the wreck of an English
vessel, at another island. These articles have,
however, long ceased to be in demand among the
Tahitians.

It does not appear that their wars were more
sanguinary and cruel when they fought at a dis-
tance with muskets, than when they grappled hand
to hand with club and spear. The numbers killed
might be greater, but fewer were wounded.
Although familiar with the musket during their
last wars, they are by no means expert marksmen :

DIVINATION. 303

tliey understand little about taking aim, and often
fire without placing the butt-end of the musket
against the shoulder, or presenting their piece.
They grasp it in the most awkward manner, hold-
ing it above the head, or by the side, and in this
singular position fire it oif. I was once with a
party of natives, when one of them fired at a bul-
lock but a few yards distant, and missed it.

War was seldom proclaimed or commenced with
promptitude, being always considered as one of the
most important matters in which the nation could
engage. Hence the preparatory deliberations were
frequent and protracted.

The greatest importance was always attached to
the will of the gods : if they were favourable, con-
quest was regarded as sure ; but if they were un-
favourable, defeat, if not death, was as certain.
Divination, or enchantment, was employed for the
purpose of knowing their ultimate decision, and at
these times they always pretended to follow impli-
citly supernatural intimation, though all this jug-
gling and contrivance was designed only to deceive
the people into a persuasion that the god sanc-
tioned the views of the king and government. The
divinations were connected with the offerings, and
the success or failure of the expedition was often
chiefly augured from the muscular action in the
heart or liver of the animal offered, the involuntary
acts and writhing contortions of the limbs of the
human sacrifice in the agonies of death ; or the
appearance of the slaughtered victim, after it had
been placed upon the altar.

When the murder and destruction of actual con-
flict terminated, and the vanquished sought secu-
rity in flight, or in the natural strong-holds of the
mountains, some of their conquerors pursued them

304 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

to their hiding-places, while others repaired to the
villages, and destroyed the wives, children, infirm
and afflicted relatives, of those who had fled before
them in the field. These defenceless wretches
seldom made much resistance to the lawless and
merciless barbarians, whose conduct betrayed a
cowardly delight in torturing their helpless victims.
Plunder and revenge were the principal objects in
these expeditions. Every thing valuable they
destroyed or bore aivay, while the miserable objects
of their vengeance were deliberately murdered..
No age or sex was spared. The infant that un-.
consciously smiled in its mother's arms, and the
venerable gray-haired father or mother, expe-
rienced unbridled and horrid barbarity. The aged
were at once despatched, though embowelling and
every horrid torture was practised. Tlie females
experienced brutality and murder, and the tender-
est infants were perhaps transfixed to the mother's
heart by a ruthless weapon — caught up by rufiian
hands, and dashed against the rocks or the trees — ;
or wantonly thrown up in the air, and caught on
the point of the warrior's spear, where it writhed
in agotiy and died. A spear was sometimes thrust
through the infant-s head from ear to ear, a line
passed through the aperture, and when the horrid
carnage has been over, and the kindling brand has
been applied to the dwellings, while the flames
have crackled, the dense columns of smoke as- .
cended, and the ashes mingled with the blood
from the victims, the cruel warriors have retired
with fiendish exultation, some bearing the spoils of
plunder, some having two or three infants hanging
on the spear they bore across their shoulders, and
others dragging along the sand those that were
strung together by a line through their heads, or a

WILD MEV. 305

cord round their necks. This cruelty was iiot con-
fined to the slain ; the living captives, adults and
children, were sometimes thus strung' together by
cords passed through the head from ear to ear, l>y
holes made with the spears.

When those who had been vanquished in the
field did not return to battle, but remained in their
strong-holds, another religious ceremony was' per-
formed by the conquerors, called the Hora. A
large quantity of property, the spoil of victory,
was tdken to the priests of Oro, partly as an
acknowledgment for past success, but chiefly to
encourage them to increased intercession that the
jdestruction the god had commenced might not
cease till their enemies were annihilated, for their
wars were wars of extermination.

One singular result of their dreadful wars, and
their horrid sacrifice of human beings is, the exist-
ence of a number of wild men inhabiting the fast-
nesses of the interior mountains of Tahiti. I have
not heard of any having been seen in any other
island, but they have been more than once met
with in the neighbourhood of Atehuru. When I
visited this station in 1821, I saw on^ of. these
men, who had been some time before taken in
the mountains ; he was comparatively tame, yet I
shall not soon forget his appearance. He was
above the middle size, large-boned, but not fleshy.
His features and countenance were strongly
marked ; his complexion was not darker than
those of many around, but his aspect was agitated
and wild. His beard was unshaven, and his hair
had remained uncut for many years. It appeared
about a foot and a half in length, in some parts
perhaps longer. He. wore it parted in the middle
of his forehead, but hanging uncombed ^nd

X

306 POLTN£SIAK RESEARCHES.

diBhevelled on the other parts of his head. On
the outside it was sHghtly curled, and hung m
loose ringlets. The colour was singular; at the
roots, or close to his head, it was dark brown or
blade, six inches from his head it was of a tavhiy
brown, while the extremities exhibited a Mght and
in some places bright yellow. Many attempts
had been made to persuade him to have it cut,
but to this he would never consent*
. His only clothing was a maroy or girdle, with
sometimes a light piece of cloth over his shoulder.
His nailsj for the sake of convenience, he had cut.
He said but little, and though he came and looked
at us once or twice, he seemed averse to obs^rva*
tion, and retired when I attempted to converse
with him. He had been driven to the mountains
in a time of war, had remained in solitude for
years, had been at length discovered by persons
travelling in these regions, secured, and brought
dovm^ where with great difficulty he had been
induced to remain. Mr. Darling said, he was very
quiet, but appeared uninterested in most of what
was passing around him.

Since Mr. Darling^s residence at Bunaauia,
others have been seen in the mountains, and one
was secured by the people of Burder's Point.
They had gone to the mountains for the bark of
the tiairi, which they use in dying native cloth ;
on their way they perceived a man lying on his
side asleep, and exclaiming this is a taehae^ a wild
man, one of them went round among the bushes,
in otder to get on the opposite side, while the
other was to advance slowly towards him ; as they
approached he awoke, and startled by their ap-
pearance, rose, flinging over his shoulders his hair,
which the natives described as reaching to his

WILD MEV. 307

waist, and darted into the woods; where he was
stopped by one of the men who saw him, and
finally secured. He was evidently enfeebled from
recent illness, or, as the natives expressed them-
selves, they could neither have caught or retained
kirn. Terror seemed to have abswbed every feel-
ing. It was in vain diey assured him that they
meant him no injury, he appeared either not to
understand, or not to regard any thing they said,
but constantly exclaimed, *^ Ye are murderers, ye
are murderers,*' occasionally supplicating them with,
** Do not murder me, do not murder me.'' They
conducted him to the settlement, gave him food
and clothing, and, treating him with kindness, he
appeared somewhat calmed, but still manifested a
most restless apprehension, and for a long time
the only sounds he uttered were, *' Do not kill me."
He was. taken to the school and ^e chapel, but
appeared distressed by the noise, yet pleased with
letters, and ultimately even learned die elements
of reading, but took the first opportunity of fleeing
to the mountains. About a fortnight afterwards
he was again secured, and brought to the settle-
ment ; but whether or not he has since returned to
the woods, I have not the means of knowing. He
is supposed to have originally fled for fear of being
sacrificed to the gods, and, under the panic which
seized those who were defeated in some of the
battles that within the last fifty years have been
fou^t in these portions of the island, to have re-
treated to the mountain fastnesses in its more
central parts, where perhaps he had experienced
a degree of mental aberration which had deprived
him of memory, and induced him to wander
like a demoniac among the lonely rocks and
valleys.

x2

308 POLTKESIAK &XBEARCHE8.

On another occasion^ some people from Bnnaaub
•aw a lai^e party, four or five, with two women
and some children. These, the persons who saw
them thought it most prudent to leave unmo-
lested, and, though a large party have since
sought them, I have not heard of their being met
with. It is reported by the natives, that others have
been seen, and that some of the inhabitants of the
lowlands have been in danger of losing their lives
from coming in contact with them. After the
evidence of the facts above mentioned, we cannot
doubt the existence of such unhappy victims ; but
at the same time, the circumstance of their being
so seldom seen, warrants the hope that they are
not numerous.

. The captives taken in war, called ivi or titif
were murdered on the spot, or shortly afterwards,
unless reserved for slaves to the victors. The
bodies of the slain were treated in a most savage
manner; they were pierced with their spears;
and at times the conduct of the victors towards
their lifeless remains was inconceivably barbarous.
They were regarded as belonging to the king, and
were disposed of according to his direction, and
either left on the field, or taken to the places
appropriated to the bodies of the slain.

On the day following the battle, the bure taata
was performed. This consisted in collecting the
bodies of the slain, and offering them to Ofo, as
trophies of his prowess, and in acknowledgment of
their dependence upon his aid. Prayers were
preferred, imploring, a continuance of his assist-
ance.

The bodies were usually left exposed to the
elements, and to the hogs or wild dogs, and the
crabs, that preyed upon them. — The victors took

CAKKIBALISlf. 309

iway the lower jaw-bones of the most distinguished
among the slain, as trophies, and often the bones
of the arms or legs, forming with them tools for build-
ing canoes, or fish-hooks, while others converted the
skulls of the slain into drinking vessels to be used at
the feast of victory. Sometimes they piled the bodies
in a heap, and built the skulls into a kind of wall
around the temple, as at Opoa, but they were com-
monly laid in rows near the shore, or in front of
the camp, their heads all in the same direction.
Here the skulls were often so battered with the
dubs, that no trace of the countenance or human
head remained. The bodies of females slain in
war were presented to two of the daughters of
Taaroa, and were treated with equal barbarity^ and
a degree of brutality, as inconceivable as it ¥ra8
detestable.

In addition to the preceding indignities, their
bodies were sometimes laid in rows along the
beach, and used as rollers, over which they dragged
their canoes, on landing, or launching them after
a battle. We do not know that the Tahitians ever
feasted on the bodies of the slain in a regular
ban(]|uet, although this is practised by the M ar-
quesians on the one side, and the New-Zealanders
on tlie other — by the inhabitants of the Dangeroua
Archipelago in the immediate neighbourhood of
the Georgian Islands in the east — and in several of
the Hervey Islands in the west, especially Aitu-»
take, where it continued till the abolition of idola-
try in 1823.

Here the warriors were animated to the mur^
derous combat by allusions to the inhuman feast
it would furnish at the close. In New-Zealand, it
is stated that a warrior has been known, when
exulting over his fallen antagonist, to sever hi|

3l6 POLTNESIAK RESEARCHES.

bead from his body, and, while the life-Hood
has flowed warm from the dying trunk, to scoc^
it up in his hands, and, turning to his enemies
with fiend-like triumph, drink it before them. The
Tahitians were not, however, altogether free front
cannibalism ; and, occasionally^ a warrior, out of
bravado or revenge, has been known to eat two w
three mouthfuls of a vanquished foe, generally the
fat from the inner side of the ribs.

Besides the atore, embowelling, which was fte^
quently mfiicted, they sometimes practised what
they called tiputa taata. When a man had slain
his enemy, in order fully to satiate his revengCy
and intimidate his foes, he sometimes beat the
body flat, and then cut a hole with a stone battle-
axe through the back and stomach, and passed his
own head through the aperture, as he would
through the hole of his tiputa or poncho ; hence
the name of this practice. In this terrific manner,
with the head and arms of the slain hanging down
before, and the legs behind him, he marched to
renew the conflicts A more horrific act and tssL^
hibition it is not easy to conceive of, yet I was
well acquainted with a man* in Fare, named
Taiava, who, according to his own confession, and
the declaration of his neighbours, wa» guilty of
this deed during one of their recient wars. The
bodies of celebrated warriors were often pinikim
for the amusement of the spectators. The legs
and arms were broken, round the feet and hands
a kind of fringe of ti -leaves was tied, a rope was
tied round the neck, by which the body was drawn
up towards the branch of a tree, from which it
remained suspended ; a small cord, attached to
one of the feet, was held in the hand of the
ejphibitor ; by means^ of these cords the body was

BRUTALITY OF THE VICTORS. 311

drawn up jmd down : other dead bodies were placed
on the ground beneath, and beaten with the stalk of
the cocoa-nut leaf, in the place of drums ; to the
horrid music, thus produced, the suspended body
was made to move, for the mirth of the thousands
who assembled to witness the sport ; and such was
the interest of these exhibitions, that the natives
say they never thought of taking food at the time.

Other brutalities were practised towards the
slain, which I never could have believed, had they
not been told by the individuals who had been
engaged in them, but which, though I do not
doubt their authenticity, are improper to detail. I
should not have dwelt so long on the distressing
facts that have been given, but to exhibit in the
true, though by no means strongest colours, the
savage character and brutal conduct of those, who
have been represented as enjoying, in their rude
and simple state, a high degree of happiness, and
tmltivating all that is amiable and benevolent.

The bodies of the slain being now abandoned
by the victors, they turned their attention to
llie division of the spoils, the appropriation of
the country, &c. In connexion with this, the
rani arua was performed, and was indeed con-
sidered as a part of the ceremony of devoting
the slain to the gods. A human sacrifice
was procured, and offered, principally to secure
the return of the occupations and amusements of
peace; feasting, dancing, &c. The burden of
the prayer was — Tutavae aua i te po^ Roonui
urena homai te ao, &c, and which may be ren-
dered, '^ Let the god of war return to the world of
night : Let Roo the god of peace preside in the
world, or place of light," &c.

The local situation of the people, and their

^

312 POLTVBSIAN li£llEA&CBX».

familiarity witE the sea, led them to feel at home

upon the water, and on this element man^of llieir

bloodiest battles were fought. A deicnption ef

their pahis^ or war canoes, has been already given.

Their fleets were often large. The Huafaiman

expedition, according to the account of those still

livmg who were in the battle of Hooroto, amounted

to '^ ninety ships, each twenty fathoms long," on

which it IS probable a number of smaller canoes

were in attendance. When the engagement took ^i

place within the reefs, the canoes were often lashed

together in aline, the stem of one being fastened

to the stem of the canoe before it. This they

called apt, and adopted it to prevent the breaking

of their line, or retreat from the combat. The

opposing fleet was, perhaps, lashed or fastened in

the same way ; and thus tne two fleets, presenting

one continued line of canoes, with the revas on

streamers flying, were paddled out to sea^ the

warriors occupying the platform raised for their

defence, and enabling them to command each part

of the canoe.

At a distance, stones were slung ; on a nettfiet
approach, light spears or javeUns were hurled^
until they came close, alongside of each other,
when, under the excitement of n^, infiBttuation;
ambition, or despair, they fought with the most
obstinate fury.

It is not easy to imagine a conflict more 8an<i>
guinaryand horrid than theirs must have been.
Although the victors, when faatin^d or suppli-
cated, sometimes spared the fallen, it was rarely
they gave any quarter. Retreat there was none—*
and, knowing that death or conquest must end
the fray, they fought^ under the influence of de»^
peration.

lOJlTBESftES. 313

. At timeSy both fleets retired^ lui lit Hooroto;
iMft >vhen victory was eridently in favour of one,
the warriors in that fleet sometimes swept through
the other, slaughtering all who did not leap into
the sea, and swim toward the canoe of some friend
in . the opposing fleet. I have been informed by
some of the chiefs of Huahine, who have been in
their battles, that they have seen a fleet towed to
the shore' by the victors^ flUed with the wounded
and the dead — ^the few that survived being inade-
quate to its management*

When the canoes of a fleet were not &stened
together, as soon as the combatants perceived
that they were overpowered, they sought safety in
flight, and, if pursued, abandoned their canoes on
Teaching the shore, and hastened to their fortress
in the mountains.

: They did not enclose their temporary encamp-
ments in the open field, but each party considered
a fortification as a security against invasion, and a
srefuge after defeat in action.

Their places of defence were rocky fortresses
improved by art — ^narrow defiles, or valleys sheU
tered by fMrojecting eminence»-*passes among the
mountains, difficult of access, yet allowing their
inmates a secure and extensive range, and an
unobstructed passage to some spring or stream.
The celebrated Pare, in Atehuru, was of this kind;
the mouth of the valley in which it was situated
was built up with a stone wall, and those who fled
thither for shelter, were generally able to repd
their assailants.

Sometimes they cut down trees, and built a kind
of stage or platform called pafata^ projecting over
an avenue leading to the pam: upon this they
coIlect€Kl piles of stone and firagmeots of rock^

314 P0LTKE9IAV RESBAECHE8.

which they huried down on those by Vfhbm they
were attacked. In some of the Hervey Islands
they planted trees around their places of encamp-
ment, and thus rendered them secure a^inst sur-
prise. — These enclosures they called pa, the term
which is used to designate a fort in the Sandwich
Islands.

If those who had been routed on the field of
battle were allowed by their pursuers tiijie to wall ,

up the entrances of their places of refuge, they ^

were seldom exposed to assault, though they might '^

be decoyed from them by stratagem, or induced to
leave from hunger. The pari in Boraboro, and
some places in Tahiti, are seldom excelled as natu-
ral fortresses. Several of these places were very
extensive ; that at Maeva,. in Huahine, bordering
on a lake of the same name, and near Mouna^
tabu, is probably the best artificial fortification in
the islands. Being a square of about half a mile
on each side, it encloses many acres of ground well
stocked with bread-fruit, containing several springs,
attd having within its precincts the principal temple
of their tutelar deity. The walls are of solid stone-
work, in height twelve feet. They are even and
regularly paved at the top. On die top of the
walls, (which in some places were ten or twelve feet
thick,) the warriors kept watch, and slept. Their
houses were built within, and it was considered
sufficiently large to contain the whole of the popu-
lation. There were four principal openings in the
wall> at regular distances from each other, that in
the west being called the king's road. They were
designed for ingress and egress, but during a siege
were built up with loose stones, when it was con«-
sidered a pan haabuea, an impregnable fortress, or,
as the term indicates, place of refuge and life.

FLAG OF TBUCB. 315

Such as fled to the rocks or mountains were called
meho.

If those who had escaped were numerous, and
the conquering army wished to subdue tliem, the
war often assumed a protracted form. When the
assailants had determined on reducing them, they
endeavoured to decoy them out ; if they failed^
they seldom succeeded in scaling or forcing their
ramparts. Famine often reduced the besieged to
the greatest distress, so that they ate the pohuey
or wild conyolvolus stalks, and other rude kinds
of food. They frequently made desperate sallies,
but were often driven back with great slaughter.

In a sally made during one of the wars which
occurred in the year 1802, called in the annals of
Tahiti, '' the war of Rua," this chief, and a num-^
ber of his fighting-men, were taken, and killed on
the spot by the king's order. The next day the
king marched to the fortress, but found it well
manned, and the greatest determination to resist
manifested by the warriors.

An ambassadress, with a flag of truce, passed
between the parties, but the besieged manifested
an uncommon degree of dauntless obstinacy^
When told of the numbers and the persons slain,
they appeared as if but little affected by it, pre*
tended not to know them, excepting the chief,
who, they said, it was far more likely had been
drowned in the river, than that he had fallen into
their hands. This they evidently did, to shew that
what they thought would induce them to make an
unconditional surrender, had not so subdued them ;
and the survivor, Taatahee, directed the ambassa-
dress to say to Pomare, " When I have experienced
the same fate as Rua then, and not till then,
he may expect peace."

dl6 K>X.TK£SIAir aEflEARCHSS.

When the reduction of a fortress wad a matter of
importance, the co-operation of the gods was agmn
invoked, and the Hiamoea performed. This was a
religious ceremony, in which the finest mats, cloth^
and other valuable spoils, were taken by ^e victo-
rious party, as near to the fortress as it was safe to
approach. Here they took the different articles of
property in their hands, and, holding them up,
offered them to the gods, who, it was supposed,
had hitherto fieivoured the besieged ; the priests
frequently exclaiming to tiie following effect-^
Tane in the interior or fortress, Oro in tbe interior
or fortress, &c. come to the sea, here are your
offerings, &c. The priests of the besieged, on the
contrary, endeavoured to detain the gods, by ex-
hibiting whatever property they possessed, if they
considered the god likely to leave them. A war*
rior would sometimes offer himself, and say, Eiaha
e kaere, ** Leave us not, here is your offering,
O Oro ! even I !" It is hardly possible to avoid
admiring the patriotism evinced on such occasions.
It was a devotion worthy of a better cause.

Although the besieged might offer their human
sacrifices, they must perform what, under these
circumstances, would be called Tcutraa'-moua, th^
fall from the mountain, and which they carried as
near the temple of the tutelar deity as their ene***
mies would allow them to approach, when, having
deposited their offering, they fled to the fortress,
deteimined to defend it ; yet, if the property wluch
the victors had there offered, and devoted as it
were to the gods, was valuable and abundant, the
besieged became dispirited, believing that the gods
had left them, and gone to the party by whom
these offerings had been made. They always
imagined that the gods were influenced by motivep

LUDICBOU8 IKVOQATIOK. 317

wmUar to those which governed their own con-
duct; and when once the vanquished party im-
bibed the impression that the gods had forsaken
them, their defence was comparatively feeble, and
they consequently fell a prey to their enemies, who
were often indebted more to the superstitious
apprehensions of their foes, than to their own skill
or power. It is amusing (were it not too serious a
subject) to notice the absurdity, and childish con-
duct occasionally exhibited. When a party wished
for peace, they sometimes offered the taata o meia
Toay a young plantain tree, taken up by the roots,
put in a basket, and carried to the temple, as they
were accustomed to carry a human victim. The
men who bore it, shouting to the god, exclaimed,
^^ Here is the man, long plantain ; give us peace
in abundance. Compassionate your devotees —
pause the war to cease. If you do not attend, we
will not worship you again. Compassionate your
pigs, feeders, pearl divers, scarlet feather seekers.
If you do not deliver us, you are an evil working
god."

If the conquered party surrendered at discre-
tion, their land and property were divided by the
conquerors, and the captives either murdered, re-
duced to slavery, or reserved for sacrifices when the
gods might require human victims. The bodies of
such as were killed in their forts, were treated with
the same indignity as those slain in the field ; parts
of the bodies were eaten by the priests, the rest
piled up in heaps on the sea-coast, where the
effects of decomposition have been so offensive,
that the people have forborne to fish in the adja-
cent parts of the sea. On the contrary, when nei-
ther party had been subdued, and, by intimation
fiom the gods, or any other cause, one party desired

318 POLTKESIAN RESBARCHES.

peace, an ambassador was sent with a flag of triice,
which was usually of native cloth, a bunch of the
sacred miro, or a bunch of feathers fixed to the
end of a reed, and called the manufaiti, and pro-
posals of peace. If the other party were farour-
able, an interview followed between the leaders,
attended by the priests and national orators.

They usually sat in council on the ground, either
under a shady grove, or on the sandy beach. The
orators of those who had sent the proposals made
the first harangue ; this was followed by a reply
from the orator of the other party, who was sitting
on the ground opposite, and ten or twenty yards
distant. Each held in his hand a bunch of the
sacred miro. The king or chiefs sat beside them,
while the people stood around, at some distance.
When the terms were agreed upon, the wreath of
peace was woven with two or three green boughs,,
furnished by each, as the bond of reconciliation
and friendship. Two young dogs were then ex-
changed by the respective parties, and the apapia
brought ; this was sometimes a long strip of apa,
or cloth, white on one side, and red on the olher ;
the cloth was joined together, by both parties, in
token of their union, and imprecations were in-
voked on those who should hae, or rend, the apaa
pia, or band of peace. The apaa pia and the
green boughs were then offered to the gods, and
Qiey were called upon to avenge the treachery of
those who should rend the band, or break the
wreath. Divinations were also used, to know
whether it would be of a long or short con-
tinuance. Sometimes a chief desirous of peace,
sent a herald with the red and yellow feathers,
and the apaa pia fastened at opposite ends of a
cane, saying, " Fly to the dark water, (opposing

RATIFICATION OF PfiACB. 319

army) with this manufaiti ;'' which was also called
the restorer of peace, by which the dark sky becsune
bright and cloudless.

Feasting followed the ceremonyy together with
the usual native games ; besides which, religious
rites were performed. The first was the maiot,
when vast quantities of food were taken to the
king, and large offerings to the gods, together with
prayers for the establishment and prosperity of the
reign. Another was called the oburoa iul te ariiy
and consisted also in ofFerings to the gods, with
prayers for their support, and a large present of
food to the principal warrior chief, under the king,
as an acknowledgment of his important service in
the recent struggles, and his influence in establish-
ing the king in his government.

But the most important ceremony, in connexion
with the ratification of peace, was Uie upoofctataa,
&c. It was commemorative of the establishment
of the new government, and designed to secure its
perpetuity, and the happiness of the community.
A leading raatira was usually the chief proprietor
of the entertainment, and master of the ceremo-
nies. The festival was convivial and religious.
Food and fruits, in the greatest profusion, were
furnished for the altars of the gods, and the ban-
quet of the king.

A heiva, or grand dance, formed a part of this
ceremony. It was called the dance of peace, and
was performed in the presence of the king, who,
surrounded by a number of chiefs and warriors, sat
at one end of the large house in which it took
place. A number of men, and sometimes women,
fantastically dressed, danced to the beating of the
drum and die warbling of the vtvo, or fiute ; and
though the king was surrounded by a number of

320 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

attendants as body-guards, towards the close of
the exhibition the men sought to approach the
king's person, and kiss his hand, or the females to
salute his fiskce ; when one or the other succeeded
in this, the heiva, or dance, was complete, and the
performance discontinued.

This, however, was only part of the ceremony,
for while they were thus employed, the priests
were engaged in supplicating the gods that these
amusements might be continued, and their enjoy-
ments in feasting, dancing, and the pursuits con-
nected with them, might not be again suspended or
disturbed by war. Peace was now considered as
established, the club and spear were cleaned, va^
nished, and hung up in their dwellings ; and the
festive entertainments, pagan rites, and ordinary
avocations of life, resumed, till some fresh quarrel
required an appeal to their weapons, and again led
them to the field of plunder and of death.

I have dwelt longer on this subject than I
intended, and perhaps than it required ; but the
former frequency of war, the motives influencing
the parties engaging in the ceremonies connected
with it, and the manner in which it was prose*
cuted, were all adapted to convey, next to their
mythology, a correct idea of the national character
of the people, who made war, paganism, and
vicious amusements, the business of life. In all
our converse with them relative to their former
state, no subject was so frequently introduced.
No event in history, no character in their bio-*
graphy, appeared unconnected with some warlike
expedition, or feat of arms ; and almost all the
■illustrations of the most powerful and striking
expressions which we sought to investigate, were
drawn fipom the wars.

MYTHOLOGY. 321

CHAP. Xlll.

General view of Polynesian mythology — Ideas relative to
the oi;j^n of the world — Polytheism — Traditionary
theogony—- Taaroa supreme deity — Different orders of
gods«-Oro, Hiro, &c. gods of the wind — Power of
spirits to raise tempests — Gods of the ocean, &c. —
Supposed cause of an eclipse. — Gods of artificers and
fishermen — Oramatuas, or demons — Emblems — Images
— Uru, or feathers — ^Temples — Worship — Prayers — The
awakening of the gods — Offerings — Sacrifices— Occa-
sional and stated festivals and worship — Rau-mata-
vehi-raa Maui-lbta — Rites for recovery from sickness —
Offering of first-fruits — I'he pae atua — The ripening of
the year, a religious ceremony — Singular rites attending
its close.

Whatever attention the Tahitians paid to their
occupations or amusements, and whatever energies
have been devoted to the prosecution of their bar-
barous wars, the claims of all were regarded as
inferior to those of their religion. On this every
other pursuit was dependent, while each was alike
made subservient to its support. In an account
of the former state of the people, their system
of religion requires therefore particular notice.

Like that of all the ancient idolatrous nations,
the mythology of the South Sea Islanders is but
an assemblage of obscure fables brought by the
first settlers, or originated in repiarkable facts of

Y

322 POLYKESIAX RESEARCHES.

their own history, and handed down by tradition
through successive generations. If so much that
is mysterious and ftibulous has been mingled with
the history of those nations among whom hiero-
glyphics or the use of letters has prevailed, it
might be expected to exist in a greater degree,
where oral communication, and ihsi often under
the fantastic garb of rude poetry, is the only mode
of preserving the traditional knowledge of former
times.

Distinguished, however, as the Polynesian my**
thology is by confusion and absurdity, it is not
more so than the systems of some of the most
enlightened and cultivated pagan nations, of the
past or present time. It was not more character-
ized by mystery and fable, than by its abomina-
tions and its cruelty. Its objects of worship were
sometimes monsters of iniquity. The islanders
had *' lords many and gods many," but seldom
attributed to them any moral attributes. Among
the multitude of their gods, there was no one
whom they regarded as a supreme intelligence or
presiding spiritual being, possessing any moral
perfections, resembling those which are insepa-
rable from every sentiment we entertain of the
true God.

Like the most ancient nations, they ascribe the
origin of all things to a state of chaos, or darkness^
and even the first existence of their principal
deities refer to this source. Taaroa, Oro, and
Tane, with other deities of the highest order, are
on this account said to be fanau pOy bom of Night.
But the origin of the gods, and their priority of
existence in comparison with the formation of the
earth, being a matter of uncertainty even among
the native priests, involves the whole in obscurity*

MYTHOLOGY. 323

Taatoa, the Tanaroa of the Hawaiians, and the
Tangaroa of the Western Isles, is generally spoken
of by the Tahitians as the first and principal god,
uncreated, and existing from the beginning, or
irom the time he emei^ed from the po, or world of
darkness.

Several of their taata-paari, or wise men, pre-
tend that, according to other traditions, Taaroa
was only a man who was deified after death. By
some he is spoken of as the progenitor of the other
gods, the creator of the heavens, the earth, the
sea, man, beasts, fowls, fishes, &c.; while by
others it is stated, that the existence of the land,
or the universe, was anterior to that of the gods.

There does not appear to be any thing in the
Tahitian mythology corresponding with the doc-
trine of the Trinity, or the Hindoo tradition of
Brahma, Vishnou, and Siva.' Taaroa was the
former and father of the gods ; Oro was his first
son : but there were three classes or orders be-
tween Taaroa and Oro. As in the theogony of
the ancients, a bird was a frequent emblem of
deity; and in the body of a bird they supposed
the god often approached the marae, where it left
the bird, and entered the too, or image, through
which it was supposed to communicate with the
priest.

The inferior gods and men, the animals, the
air, earth, and sea^ were by some supposed to
originate in the procreative power of the supreme
god. One of the legends of their origin and
descent, furnished to some of the Missionaries, by
whom it has been recorded, states, that Taaroa
was bom of Night, or proceeded from Chaos, and
was not made by any other god. His consort,
Ofeufeumaiterai, also uncreated, proceeded from

y2

324 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

the pOy or night. Oro, the great national idol of Rai-
atea, Tahiti, Eimeo, and some of the other Islands,
was the son of Taaroa and Ofeufeumaiterai. Oro
took a goddess to wife, who became the mother of
two sons. These four male and two female deities
constituted the whole of their highest rank of divi-
nities, according to the traditions of the priests of
Tahiti — though the late king informed Mr. Nott
that there was another god, superior to them all,
whose name was Rumia; he did not, however,
meet with any of their priests or bards who knew
any thing about him. The tradition most generally
received in the Windward Islands, ascribed the
origin of the world, and all that adorn or inhabit
it, to the procreative power of Taaroa, who is said
to have embraced a rock, the imagined foundation
of all things, which afterwards brought forth the
earth and sea. It states, that soon after this, the
heralds of day, the dark and the light blue sky,
appeared before Taaroa, and solicited a soul for
his offspring; the then inanimate universe. The
foundation of all replied, It is done, and directed
his son, the Sky-producer, to accomplish his will.
In obedience to the mandate of Taaroa, his son
looked up into the heavens, and the heavens
received the power of bringing forth new skies,
and clouds, sun, moon, and stars, thunder and
lightning, rain and wind. He then looked down-
wards, and the unformed mass received the power
to bring forth earth, mountains, rocks, trees, herbs
and flowers, beasts, birds and insects, fountains,
rivers, and fish. Raitubu, or Sky- producer, then
looked to the abyss, and imparted to it power to
bring forth the purple water, rocks and corals, and
all die inhabitants of the ocean. Some of the
gods are said to have been produced in the same

LEGEND OF THE CREATION. 325

way, namely, hj the god Taaroa looking at the
goddess his wife, who afterwards became the
mother of his children.

Raawas also ranked among the principal deities;
although inferior to Taaroa and Oro, and he was sup-
posed to be an independent being ; but nothing of
consequence is ascribed to him in the native fables.
His wife, Otupapa, who was also a divinity, bore
him three sons and two daughters. Tane, the
tutelar idol of Huahine, was also numbered among
the uncreated gods, considered as having pro-
ceeded from the state of Night, or Chaos. His
goddess was called Taufairei. They were the
parents of eight sons, who were all classed with
the most powerful gods, and received the highest
honours. Among the sons of Tane was Temeharo,
the tutelar deity of Pomare*s family.

The most popular traditions in the Leeward
Islands differed in several minor points from the
above, which prevailed in the Windward group.
According to one, for which I am indebted to my
friend Mr. BarfF, Taaroa, who was supreme here
as well as in Tahiti, was said to be Toivi, or
without parents, and to have existed from eternity.
He was supposed to have a body, but it was invi-
sible to mortals. After innumerable seasons had
passed away, he cast his paa, shell or body, as
birds do their feathers, or serpents their skins;
and by this means, after intervals of innumerable
seasons, his body was renewed. In the reva, or
highest heavens, he dwelt alone. His first act
was the creation of Hina, who is also called his
daughter. Countless ages passed away, when
Taaroa and his daughter made the heavens, the
earth, and the sea. The foundation of the world
was a solid rock ; which, with every part of the

326 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

creation, Taaroa was supposed to sustain by his
invisible power. — It is stated, that the Friendly
Islanders suppose that the earth is supported on
the shoulders of one of their gods, and that whei^
an earthquake takes place, he is transferring it
from one shoulder to the other.

Haying, with the assistance of Hina, made the
heavens, earth, and sea, Taaroa ariari, or created,
the gods. The first was Rootane, the god of
peace. The second was Toahitu, in shape like a
dog ; he saved such as were in danger of falling
from rocks and trees. Tefatu (the lord) was the
third. Te iria, (the indignant,) a god of war, was
the fourth. The fifth, who was said to have had a
bald head, was called Ruanuu. The sixth was a
god of war. The seventh, Tuaraatai, Mr. BarfF
thinks was the Polynesian Neptune. The eighth
was Rimaroa, (long arms,) a god of war. The
ninth in order were the gods of idiots, who were
always considered as inspired. The tenth was
Tearii tabu tura, another Mars. These were
created by Taaroa, and constituted the first order
of divinities.

A second class were also created, inferior to
these, and employed as heralds between the gods
and men. The third order seems to have been
the descendants of Raa; these were numerous and
varied in their character, some being gods of war,
others among the Esculapiuses of the nation.

Oro was the first of the fourth class, and seems
to have been the medium of connexion between
celestial and terrestrial beings. Taaroa was his
father. The shadow of a bread-fruit leaf, shaken
by the power of the eurm of Taaroa, passed over
Hina, and she afterwards became the mother of
Oro. Hina, it is said, abode in Opoa at the time

INFERIOR DIVINITIES. 327

of his birth ; hence that was honoured as the place
of his nativity, and became celebrated for his wor-
ship. Taaroa afterwards created the wife of Oro,
«itnd their children were also gods.

After the birth of Oro, Taaroa had other sons,
who were called brothers of Oro, among whom
were the gods of .the Areois. These were the four
orders of celestial beings worshipped in the Lee-
ward Islands. The different classes only have
been mentioned ; an enumeration of the individual
deities, and their offices or attributes, would be
tedious and useless.

These objects of fear and worship were exceed-
ingly numerous, and may be termed the chief
deities of the Polynesians. There was an inter-
mediate class between the principal divinities and
the gods of particular localities or professions, but
they are not supposed to have existed from the
beginning, or to have been bom of Night. Their
origin is veiled in obscurity, but they are often
described as having been renowned men, who
after death were deified by their descendants.
Roo, Tane, Teiri, probably Tairi, the principal idol
of the Sandwich Islanders, Tefatu, Ruanuu, Moe,
Teepa, Puaua, Tefotuture, Opaevai, Haana, and
Taumure. These all jreceived the hoyiage of the
peofde, and were on all public occasions acknow-
ledged among Tahiti's gods.

Their gods of the ocean were not less numerous;
this was to be expected amount a people almost
amphibious in their habits, dwelling in islands,
and deriving a great part of their sustenance from
the sea. The names of fourteen principal marine
divinities were communicated by the first Mission-
aries ; others have been subsequently added, but
it is unnecessary to enumerate them here. They

328 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

are not supposed by the people to be of equal
antiquity wiUi the atua fauau pOy or night*bom
gods.

They were probably men who had excelled their
contemporaries in nautical adventure or exploit,
and were deified by their descendants. Hiro is
conspicuous amongst them, although not exclu-
sively a god of Uie sea. The most romantic
accounts aie given in their aat, or tales, of his
adventures, his voyages, his combat with tjie gods
of the tempests, his descent to the depth of the
ocean, and residence at the bottom of the abyss,
his intercourse with the monsters there, by whom
he was lulled to sleep in a cavern of the . ocean,
while the god of the winds raised a violent stonn,
to destroy a ship in which his friends were voy-
aging. Destruction seemed to them inevitable —
they invoked his aid — a friendly spirit entered the
cavern in which he was reposing, roused him fix>m
his slumbers, and informed him of their danger.
He rose to the surface of the waters, rebuked the
spirit of the storm, and his followers reached their
destined port in safety.

The period of his adventures is probably the
most recent of any thus preserved, as there are
more place% connected widi his name in the Lee-
ward Islands than with any other. A pile of rocks
in Tahaa is called the Dogs of Hiro ; a mountain
ridge has received the appellation of the Pahi, or
Ship of Hiro ; and a large basaltic rock near the
summit of a mountain in Huahine, is called the
Hoe or Paddle of Hiro.

Tuaraatai and Ruahatu, however, appear to
have been the principal marine deities. Whether
this distinction resulted from any superiority they
were supposed to possess, or from the conspicuous

SHARKS CONSIDERED SACRED. 329

part the latter sustains in their tradition of the
deluge, is not known; but their names are fre-
quently mentioned. They were generally called
atua moo, or shark gods ; not that the shark was
itself the god, but the natives supposed the marine
gods employed the sharks as the agents of their
vengeance.

The lai^e blue shark was the only kind sup-
posed to be engaged by the gods ; and a variety
of the most strange and fabulous accounts of the
deeds they have performed are related by their
priests. These voracious animals were said always
to recognize a priest on board any canoe, to come
at his call, retire at his bidding, and to spare him
in the event of a wreck, though they might devour
his companions, especially if they were not his
maru, or worshippers. I have been repeatedly
told by an intelligent man, formerly a priest of
an atua mao, that the shark through which his
god was manifested, swimming in the sea, carried
either him or his father on its back from Raiatea
to Huahine, a distance of twenty miles. The shark
was not the only fish the Tahitians considered
sacred. In addition to these, they had gods who
were supposed to preside over the fisheries, and to
direct to their coasts the various shoals by which
they were periodically visited. Tahauru was the
principal among these ; but there were five or six
others, whose aid the fishermen were accustomed
to invoke, either before launching their canoes, or
while engaged at sea. Matatini was the god of
fishing-net makers.

Next in number and importance to the gods of
the sea, were those of the aerial regions, some-
times worshipped under the figure of a bird. The
chief of these were Vei^omatautoru and Tairibu,

330 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

brother and sister to the children of Taaroa, th^r
dwelling was near the great rock, which was the
foundation of the world. Hurricanes, tempests,
and all destructive winds, were supposed to be
confined within them, and were employed by
them to punish such as neglected the worship
of the gods. In stormy weather their com-
passion was sought by the tempest-driven mari-
ner at sea, or the friends of such on shore.
Liberal presents, it was supposed, would at any
time purchase a calm. If the first failed, subse-
quent ones were certain of success. The same
means were resorted to for procuring a storm, but
with less certainty; Whenever the inhabitants of
one island heard of invasion firom those of another,
they immediately carried large ofierings to these
deities, and besought them to destroy by tempest
the hostile fleet whenever it might put to sea.
Some of the most intelligent people still think evil
spirits had formerly great power over the winds,
as they say there have been no such fearful storms
since tibey abolished idolatry, as there were before.
There were also gods of the peho te moua te pari
e tefaa, the valleys, the mountains, the preci-
pices, and the dells or ravines. The nomes of
twelve of the principal of these are preserved by
the Missionaries ; but as few of them are indi-
cative of the character or attributes of these gods,
their insertion is unnecessary.

I have often thought, when listening to their
fabulous accounts of the adventures of tiieir gods,
which, when prosecuting our researches in their
language, manners, customs, &c, we have some-
times with difficulty induced them to repeat, that,
had they been acquainted with letters, these would
have furnished ample materials for legends rival-

TERRORS FROM AN ECLIPSE. 331

ling in splendour of machinery, and magnificence
of achievement, the dazzling mythology of the
eastern nations. Rude as their traditions were,
in the gigantic exploits they detail, and the bold
and varied imagery they employ, they are often
invested with an air of romance, which shews that
the people possessed no inferior powers of ima-
gination.

By their rude mythology, each lovely island
was made a sort of fairy-land, and the spells of
enchantment were thrown over its varied scenes.
The sentiment of the poet that —

'^ Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth,
Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep.

ft

was one familiar to their minds ; and it is impos-
sible not to feel interested in a people who were
accustomed to consider themselves surrounded by
invisible intelligences, and who recognized in the
rising sun — the mild and silver moon — ^the shoot-
ing star — the meteor's transient flame — the
ocean*s roar — ^the tempest's blast, or the evening
breeze — ^the movements of mighty spirits. The
mountain's summit, and the fleecy mists that hang
upon its brows — die rocky defile — the foaming
cataract — and the lonely dell — were all re-
garded as the abode or resort of these invisible
beings.

An eclipse of the moon filled them with dismay ;
they supposed the planet was natua, or under the
influence of the spell of some evil spirit that was
destroying it. Hence they repaired to the temple,
and oflered p-ayers for the moon's release. Some
imagined that on an eclipse, the sun and moon
were swallowed by the god which they had by
neglect offended. Liberal presents were offered,

332 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

\phicb were supposed to induce the god to abate his
anger, and eject the luminaries of day and night
from his stomach.

The shape and stability of their islands they
regarded as depending on the influence of spirits.
The high and rocky obelisks, and detached pieces
of mountain, were viewed as monuments of their
power. The large mountain on the left-hand side
of the entrance to Opunohu, or Taloo harbour,
which separates this bay from Cook's harbour, and
is only united to the island by a narrow isthmus,
was ascribed by tradition to the operations of
those spirits, who, like the spirits in most other
parts of the world, prefer the hours of darkness
for their achievements. This mountain, it is
stated, was formerly united with the mountains of
the interior, and yielded in magnitude to none ;
but one night, the spirits of the place determined
to remove it to the Leeward Islands, nearly one
hundred miles distant, and accordingly began
their operations, but had scarcely detached it from
the main land, when the dawn of day discovered
their proceedings, and obliged them to leave it
where it now stands, forming the two bays already
named. An aperture in the upper part of a moun-
tain near Afareaitu, which appears from the low-
land like a hole made by a cannon-ball, but which
is eight or nine feet in diameter, is said to have
been made by the passage of a spear, hurled by
one of these supernatural beings.

Amusement was in part the business of a Tahi-
tian's life ; and with his games, as well as with
every other institution, idolatry was connected.
Five or six gods were imagined to preside over the
upaupa, or games, of which Urataetae was one of
the principal.

VARIOUS TUTELARY DIVINITIES. 333

The most benevolent of their gods were Roo or
Tane, Temaru, Feimata, and Teruharuhatai. These
were invoked by the tahua faatere, or expelling
priests; and were supposed to be able to re-
strain the effects of sorcery, or expef the evil
spirits, which, from the incantations of the sor-
cerer, had entered the sufferer. They had also
patron deities of the healing art. Tama and
Tetuahuruhuru were the gods of surgery ; and their
assistance was implored in reducing dislocations,
healing fractures, bruises, &c. ; while Oititi, or
Rearea, was their Esculapius, or god of physic.

In addition to these, there were gods who presided
over the mechanic arts. The first was Oihanu, or
Ofanu, the god of husbandry; the chief of the
others was Taneetehia, the god of carpenters,
builders, canoe-wrights, and all who wrought in
wood. Nenia and Topea, the gods of those who
thatched houses, and especially of those who
finished the angles where the thatch on each side
joined. With these, others of a more repulsive
character might be associated, but I shall only
mention Heva, the god of ghosts and apparitions,
and Hiro the god of thieves. To the list, from
which the gi*eater part of the above are taken, in-
cluding nearly one hundred of the objects formerly
worshipped by the nation, a number of the- prin-
cipal family idols of the king and chiefs might be
added, as every family of any antiquity or rank
had its tutelar idol.

The general name by which their objects of
worship were designated was atua, wliich is perhaps
most appropriately translated god. This word is
totally different in its meaning, as well as sound,
from the word varua, spirit, although that is
sometimes applied to the gods : when the people

334 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

were accustomed to speak disrespectfiilly of them,
they called them varaua inOy bad or evil spirits.
It is also different in its signification from the
word which is used to designate an image, and the
spirits o^ departed children or relations, and fre-
quently those evil genii to whom the sorcerers
addressed their incantations.

Atua, or akua, is the name for god, without any
exception, throughout the whole of the eastern
part of Polynesia. The first a appears to be a
component part of the word, though in many sen-
tences it is omitted, in consequence of the preced-
ing word terminating in a vowel. It is then pro-
nounced tua ; and diough but little light is thus
thrown on the origin of the people, it is interesting
to trace the correspondence between the taata or
tangata, first man, in Polynesia, and tangatanga,
a principal deity among the South Americans ; the
atuay or tua^ of the South Sea islanders, and the
tev, which is said to be the word for god in the
Aztec or Mexican language, the deviyo of the
Singhalese, and the deva of the Sanscrit.

The objects of worship among the Tahitians,
next to the atua or gods, were the oramatuas tiis
or spirits. These were supposed to reside in the
po, or world of night, and were never invoked but
by wizards or sorcerers, who implored their aid for
the destruction of an enemy, or the injury of some
person whom they were hired to destroy. They
were considered a different order of beings from
the gods, a kind of intermediate class between
them and the human race, though in their prayers
all the attributes of the gods were ascribed to
them. The oramatuas were the spirits of de-
parted fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children,
&c. The natives were greatly afraid of them, and

DEMONS, OR GENII. 335

presented ofTerings, to avoid being cursed or
destroyed, when they were employed by the
sorcerers.

They seem to have been regarded as a sort of
demons. In the Leeward Islands, the chief ora-
matuas were spirits of departed warriors^ who had
distinguished themselves by ferocity and murder,
attributes of character usually supposed to belong
to these evil genii. Each celebrated tii was hon-
oured with an image, through which it was sup-
posed his influence was exerted. The spirits of the
reigning chiefs were united to this class, and the
skulls of deceased rulers, kept with the images,
were honoured with the same worship. Some
idea of what was regarded as their ruling passion,
may be inferred from the fearful apprehensions
constantly entertained by all classes. They were
supposed to be exceedingly irritable and cruel,
avenging with death the slightest insult or neglect,
and were kept within the precincts of the temple.
In the marae of Tane at Maeva, the ruins of their
abode were still standing, when I last visited the
place. It was a house built upon a number of
large strong poles, which raised the floor ten or
twelve feet from the ground. They were thus
elevated, to keep them out of the way of men, as
it was imagined they were constantly strangling,
or otherwise destroying, the chiefs and people. To
prevent this, they were also treated with great
respect ; men were appointed constantly to attend
them, and to keep them wrapped in the choicest
kinds of cloth, to take them out whenever there
was a pae atua, or general exhibition of the gods ;
to. anoint them frequently with fragrant oil ; and
to sleep in the house with them at night. All
this was done, to keep them pacified. And though

336 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

the office of calming the angry spirits was honour-
able, it was regarded as dangerous, for if, during
the night or at any other time, these keepers were
guilty of the least impropriety, it was supposed the
spirits of the images, or the skulls, would hurl
them headlong from their high abodes, and break
their necks in the fall. The figures marked No. 5,
in the engraving of the Idols, represent the images
of two tiis or oramatuas ; whose form and appear-
ance convey no inappropriate exhibition of their
imagined malignity of disposition.

Among the animate objects of their worship,
they included a number of birds as well as fishes,
especially a species of heron, a kingfisher, and
one or two kinds of woodpecker, accustomed to
frequent the sacred trees growing in the precincts
of the temple. These birds were considered
sacred, and usually fed upon the sacrifices. The
natives imagined the god was imbodied in the
bird, when it approached the temple to feast upon
the ofFering ; and hence they supposed their pre-
sents were grateful to their deities. The cries of
those birds were also regarded as the responses of
the gods to the prayers of the priests.

lliey supposed their gods were powerful spiritual
beings, in some degree acquainted with the events
of this world, and generally governing its affairs;
never exercising any thing like benevolence
towards even their most devoted followers, but
requiring homage and obedience, with constant
offerings ; denouncing their anger, and dispensing
destruction on all who either refused or hesitated
to comply. But while the people supposed they
were spiritual beings, they manufactured images
either as representations of their form, and emblems
of their character, or as the vehicle or instrument

CONVERSATION WITH AN IDOL-MAKER. 337

through which their communications might be made
to the god^ and his will revealed to them.

The idols were either rough unpolished logs of
the aito, or casuarina tree, wrapped in numerous
folds of sacred cloth; rudely carved wooden
images ; or shapeless pieces covered with curiously
netted cinet, of finely braided cocoa-nut husk, and
ornamented with red feathers. They varied in
size, some being six or eight feet long, others not
more than as many inches. These, representing
the spirits they called tii ; and those, representing
the national or family gods, toos. Into these they
supposed the god entered at certain seasons, or in
answer to the prayers of the priests. During this
indwelling of the gods, they imagined even the
images were very powerful : but when the spirit had
departed, though they were among the most sacred
things, their extraordinary powers were gone.

I had repeated conversations with a tahua'tarai-^
too, a maker of gods, whom I met with on a visit
to Raiatea. As he appeared a serious inquirer
after truth, and I could place some confidence in
what he related, I was anxious to know his own
opinion as to the idols it had been his business to
make, — ^whether he really believed they were the
powerful beings which the natives supposed ; and
if so, what constituted their' great power over the
other parts of the tree from which they were hewn ?
He assured me, that although at times he thought
it was all deception, and only practised his trade
to obtain the payment he received for his work ;
yet at other times he really thought the gods he
himself had made, were powerful beings. It was
not, he said, from the alteration his tools had effected
in the appearance of the wood, or the carving with
which they were ornamented, but because they had

z

338 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

been taken to the temple, and were fiUed with the
atua, that they became so powerful. The images
of aito-wood were only exceeded in durability by
those of stone. Some of the latter were calcarious
or silicious, but the greater part were rude, un-
carved, angular columns of basalt, various in size,
and destitute of carving or polish ; they were
clothed or ornamented with native cloth.

The sacred flag was also used in processions,
and regarded as an emblem of their deities.

Throughout Polynesia, the ordinary medium of
communicating or extending supernatural powers,
was the red feather of a small bird found in many
of the islands, and the beautiful long tail-feathers
of the tropic, or man-of-war bird. For these
feathers the gods were supposed to have a strong
predilection ; they were the most valuable offerings
that could be presented ; to them the power or
mfluence of the god was imparted, and through
them transferred to the objects to which they
might be attached. Among the numerous cere-
monies observed, the paeatua w^ conspicuous.
On these occasions, the gods were all brought
out of the temple, the sacred coverings removed,
scented oils were applied to the images, and
they were exposed to the sun. At these sea-
sons, the parties who wished their emblems
of deity to be impregnated with the essence of
the gods, repaired to the ceremony with a number
of red feathers, which they delivered to the offi-
ciating priest.

The wooden idols being generally hollow, the
feathers were deposited in the inside of the image,
which was filled with them. Many idols, how-
ever, were solid pieces of wood, bound or covered
with finely-braided Gibres of the cocoa-nut husk ;

INFUSION OF DIVINE PROPERTIES. 339

to these the feathers were attached on the out-
side by small fibrous bands. In return for the
feathers thus united to the god, the parties received
two or three of the same kind, which had been
deposited on a former festival in the inside of the
wooden or inner fold of the cinet idol. These
feathers were thought to possess all the properties
of the images to which tiiey had been attached,
and a supernatural influence was supposed to be
infused into them. They were carefully wound
round with very fine cord, the extremities alone
remaining visible. When this was done, the new-
made gods were placed before the larger images
from which they had been taken j and, lest their
detachment should induce the god to withhold his
power, the priest addressed a prayer to the princi-
pal deities, requesting them to abide in the red
feathers before them. At the close of his uhu, or
invocation, he declared that they were dwelt in or
inhabited, (by the gods,) and delivered them to the
parties who had brought the red feathers. The
feathers, taken home, were deposited in small bam-
boo-canes, excepting when addressed in prayer.
If prosperity attended their owner, it was attri-
buted to their influence, and they were usually
honoured with .a too, or image, into which they
were inwrought; and subsequently, perhaps, an
altar and a rude temple were erected for them.
In the event, however, of their being attached to
an image, this must be taken to the large temple,
that the supreme idols might sanction the transfer
of their influence.

Polynesian temples were either national, local, or
domestic. The former were depositories of their
principal idols, and the scenes of all great festi-
vals; the second were those belonging to the

z2

340 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

several districts ; and the third, such as were ap^
propriated to the worship of family gods. Marae
was the name for temple, in the South Sea Islands «
All were uncovered, and resembled oratories rather
than temples. The national places of worship
were designated by distinct appellations. Tabu-
tabu-a-tea was the name of several in the South
Sea Islands, especially of those belonging to the
king : the word may mean wide-spread sacredness.
The national temples consisted of a number of
distinct maraes, altars, and sacred dormitories,
appropriated to the chief pagan divinities, and
included in one large stone enclosure of consi-
derable extent. Several of the distinct temples
contained smaller inner-courts, within which the
gods were kept. The form of the interior or area
of their temples was frequently that of a square or
a parallelogram, the sides of which extended forty
or fifty feet. Two sides of this space were en-
closed by a high stone wall ; the front was pro-
tected by a low fence ; and opposite, a solid pyra-
midal structure was raised, in front of which the
images were kept, and the altars fixed. These
piles were often immense. That which formed
one side of the square of the large temple in
Atehuru, according to Mr. Wilson, by whom it
was visited when in a state of preservation, was
two hundred and seventy feet long, ninety-four
wide at the base, and fifty feet high, being at the
summit one hundred and eighty feet long, and six
wide. A flight of steps led to its summit ; the
bottom step was six feet high. The outer stones
of the pyramid, composed of coral and basalt,
were laid with great care, and hewn or squared
with immense labour, especially the tiavd, or
comer stones^

NATIONAL TEHFLE AT ATEIICRU. 34l

Within the enclosure, the houses of the pricsta,
and keepers of the idols, were erected. Ruins of
temples are found in every situation : on the sum-
mit of a hill, as at Maeva, where Tane's temple,
nearly one hundred and twenty feet square, en-
closed with high walb, is stiR standing, almost
entire ; on the extremity of a point of land pro-
jecting into the sea ; or in the recesses of an exten-
sive and overshadowing giove. The trees growing

within the walls, and around the temple, were
sacred; these were the tall cypress-like casuarina,
the tamanu, or callophyllum, miro, or thespesia,
and the tou, or coidia. These were, excepting
the casuarina- trees, of lai^ foli^e and exuberant
growth, their interwoven and dark umbrageous
branches frequently excluded the rays of the sun ;
and the contrast between the bright glare of a
tropical day, and the sombre gloom in the depths
of these groves, was peculiarly striking. The
fantastic contortions in the trunks and tortuous

342 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

branches of the aged trees, the plaintive and
moaning sound of the wind passing through the
leaves of the casuarina, often resembling the wild
notes of the Eolicm harp— and the dark walls of
the temple, with the grotesque and horrific appear-
ance of the idols--combined to inspire extraordi-
nary emotions of superstitious terror, and to nur*
ture that deep feeling of dread which chcu'acterized
the worshippers of Tahiti's sanguinary deities.

The priests of the national temples were a dis-
tinct class ; the office of the priesthood was here-
ditary in all its departments. In the family,
according to the patriarchal usage, the father was
the priest ; in the village or district, the family of
the priest was sacred, and his office was held by
one who was also a chief. The king was some-
times the priest of the nation, and the highest
sacerdotal dignity was often possessed by some
member of the reigning family. The intimate
connexion between Qieir false religion and politi-
cal despotism, is, however, most distinctly shown
in the fact of the king's personifying the god, and
receiving the offerings brought to the temple, and
the prayers of the supplicants, which have been
frequently presented to Tamatoa, the present king
of Raiatea. Thfe only motives by which they were
influenced in their religious homage, or service,
were, with very few exceptions, superstitious fear,
revenge towards their enemies, a desire to avert
the dreadful consequences of the anger of the
gods, and to secure their sanction and aid in the
commission of the grossest crimes.

Their worship consisted in preferring prayers,
presenting offerings, and sacrificing victims. Their
ubus, or prayers, though occasionally brief, were
often exceedingly protracted, containing many

PRAYERS AND OFFERINGS. 343

repetitions, and appearing as if the suppliants
thought they should be heard for their much
speaking. The petitioner did not address the god
standing or prostrate, but knelt on one knee, sat
cross-legged, or in a crouching position, on a. broad
flat stone, leaning his back against an upright
basaltic column, at the extremity of a smooth
pavement, usually six or ten yards from the front
of the idol. He threw dovm a branch of sacred
miro on the pavement before the image or altar,
and began his tarotaro, or invocation, preparatory
to the offering of his prayer. Pure is the desig-
nation of prayer, and haamore that of praise, or
worship. •

Smsdl pieces of niaUf or cocoa-nut leaf, were
suspended in different parts of the temple, to
remind the priest of the order to be observed.
They usually addressed the god in a shrill, un-
pleasant, or chanting tone of voice, though at
times the worship was extremely boisterous. That
which I have often heard in the northern islands
was peculiarly so ; and on these occasions, when
we have induced the priest to repeat any of the
prayers, they have always recited them in these
tones.

I have several of their prayers, but they are
vain and unmeaning recitations, or abound so
much in expressions and ims^es of licentiousness
and crime, as to be unfit for translation. The fol^
lowing is an outline of one of the least excep-
tionable. It was the morning prayer, and is called
the awaking, or awakening, of the gods.

" Awake Roo — ^awake Tane — awake unnum-
bered progeny of Tane — awake Tuu — awake Tua-
ratai." Thus the gods, to the number of twenty, are
called upon by name, and are directed to the birds

344 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

and to Roo, the god of morning, and the parent
of clouds — to the formation and increase of
clouds — ^to the blue cloud, the red cloud, and the
low hungry cloud, and the homed or pointed
cloud. They are then directed to mark the pro-
gress of Roo, the property or offerings of Roo,
the platted cocoa-nut leaf of Roo, the medium
through which his influence or power was con*
veyed to his image, or through which he received
the spirit of the offerings. All the gods are then in*
yoked to enter their tapau or cocoa-nut leaves, and
to open wide their mouths. Each one is addressed
by name, and it is declared, " Here is the food
and offering, in or from the land or the sea." The
gods are then invoked to take off the sacredness or
restriction, and to hold it fast, probably that men
may securely attend to their avocations. The
gods are then supposed to be awakened, and the
priest retires.

Their offerings included every kind of valuable
property: — the fowls of the air, the fishes of the
sea, the beasts of the field, and the fruits of the
earth, together with their choicest manufactures,
were presented. The sacrifice was frequently
called Taraehara, a compound term, signifying
disentangling from guilt; from tara, to untie or
loosen, and hara, guilt. The animals were taken
either in part or entire. The fruits and other
eatables were generally, but not always, dressed.
Portions of the fowls, pigs, or fish, considered
sacred, dressed with sacred fire within the temple,
were offered ; the remainder furnished a banquet
for the priests and other sacred persons, who were
privileged to eat of the sacrifices. Those portions
appropriated to the gods were deposited on the
fata or altar, which was of wood. Domestic altars.

ALTARS— OFFERINGS. 345

or those erected near the corpse of a departed
friend, were small square wicker structures;
those in the public temple were large, and usually
eight or ten feet high. The surface of the altar
was supported by a number of wooden posts or
pillars, often curiously carved, and polished.
The altars were covered with sacred boughs, and
ornamented with a border or fringe of rich yellow
plantain leaves. Besides these, there were
smaller altars connected with the temples ; some
resembling a small round table, supported by a
single post fixed in the ground. Occasionally,
the carcase of the hog presented in sacrifice,
was placed on the large altar, while the heart
and some other internal parts were laid on this
smaller altar, which was called 2ifata aiat. The
pigs, &c. when presented alive, received the
sacred mark, and ranged the district at liberty;
when slain, they were exceedingly anxious to
avoid breaking a bone, or disfiguring the animal.
One method of killing them was by holding the
pig upright on its legs, placing a strong stick
horizontsuly under its throat, and another across
upon its neck, and then pressing them together
until the animal was strangled* Another plan
was, by bleeding the pig to death, washing the
carcase with the blood, and then placing it in a
crouching position on the altar. Offerings and
sacrifices of every kind, whether dressed or not,
were placed upon the altar, and remained there,
until decomposed. The heat of the climate, and
frequent rain, accelerated this process, yet the
atmosphere in the vicinity of the maraes was fre-
quently most ofiensive.

Animals, fruits, &c. were not the only articles
presented to their idols; the most affecting part

346 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

of their sacrificing was the fTec(uent immola-
tion of human victims. These, in the technical
language of the priests, were called ^sA. They
were offered in seasons of war, at great national
festivals, during the illness of their rulers, and on
the erection of their temples. I have been inform-
ed by several of the inhabitants of Maeva, that the
foundation of some of the buildings, for the abode
of their gods, was actually laid in human sacri-
fices; that at least the central pillar, supporting
the roof of one of the sacred houses at Maeva,
was planted upon the body of a man, who had

Altar y and Offerings,

been offered as a victim to the sanguinary deity
afterwards to be deposited there. The unhappy
wretches selected were either captives taken in
war, or individuals who had rendered themselves
obnoxious to the chiefs or the priests. When they
were wanted, a stone was, at the request of the
priest, sent by the king to the chief of the district
from which the victims were required. If the
stone was received, it was an indication of an
intention to comply with the requisition. It is a
singular fact, that the cruelty of the practice
extended not only to individuals, but to families

HUMAN VICTIMS. 347

and districts. When an individual had been taken
as a sacrifice, the family to which he belonged was
regarded as tabu or devoted ; and when another
was required, it was more frequently taken from
that family than any other : and a district from
which sacrifices had been taken, was, in the same
way, considered as devoted ; and hence, when it
was known that any ceremonies were near, on
which human sacrifices were usually offered, the
members .of tabu families, or others who had
reason to fear they were selected, fled to the
mountains, and hid themselves in the caverns
till the ceremony was over. At a public meet-
ing in Raiatea, Paumoana, a native chieftain,
alluded to this practice in terms resembling these :
— How great our dread of our former gods ! Are
there not some here who have fled from their
houses, to avoid being taken for sacrifices ? Yes !
I know the cave in which they were concealed.

In general, the victim was unconscious of his
doom, until suddenly stunned by a blow from a
club or a stone, sometimes from the hand of the
very chief on whom he was depending as a guest
for the rights of hospitality. He was usually mur-
dered on the spot — his body placed in a long
basket of cocoa-nut leaves, and carried to the
temple. Here it was offered, not by consuming it
with fire, but by placing it before the idol. The
priest, in dedicating it, took out one of the eyes,
placed it on a plantain leaf, and h'anded it to the
king, who raised it to his mouth as if desirous to
eat it, but passed it to one of the priests or attend-
ants, stationed near him for the purpose of receiv-
ing it. At intervals during the prayers some of
the hair was plucked off, and placed before the
god ; and when the ceremony was over, the body

348 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

was wrapped in the basket of cocoa-nut leaves,
and frequently deposited on the branches of an
adjacent tree. After remaining a considerable
time, it was taken down, and the bones were buried
beneath the rude pavement of the marae. These
horrid rites were not unfrequent, and the number
offered at their great festivals was truly appalling.

The seasons of worship were both stated and
occasional. The latter were those in which the
gods were sought under national calamities, as the
desolation of war, or the alarming illness of the
king or chiefs. In addition to the rites connected
with actual war, there were two that followed its
termination. The principal of these. Ran mata
vehi raa, was designed to purify the land from the
defilement occasioned by the incursions or devas-
tations of an enemy, who had perhaps ravaged the
country, demolished the temples, destroyed or
mutilated the idols, broken down the altars, an4
used as fuel the unus, or curiously carved pieces of
wood marking the sacred places of interment,
and emblematical of tiis or spirits. Preparatory
to this ceremony, the temples were rebuilt, new
altars reared, new images, inspired or inhabited by
the gods, placed in the maraes, and fresh unus
erected.

At the close of the rites in the new temples, the
parties repaired to the sea-beach, where the chief
priest offered a short prayef, and the people
dragged a small net of cocoa-nut leaves through a
shallow part of the sea, and usually detached
small fragments of coral from the bottom, which
were brought to the shore. These were denomi-
nated fish, and were delivered to the priest, who
conveyed them to the temple, and deposited them
on the altar, offering at the same time an ubu or

RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 349

prayer, to induce the gods to cleanse the land
from pollution, that it might be pure as the coral
firesh from the sea. It was now supposed safe to
abide on the soil, and appropriate its produce to
the purposes of support ; but had not this cere-
mony been performed, death would have been
anticipated.

The maui fata, altar-raising, was connected
with the preceding rites. No human victim was
slain, but numbers of pigs, with abundance of
plantains, &c. were placed upon the altars, which
were newly ornamented with branches of the sacred
miro, and yellow leaves of the cocoa-nut tree.
These rites extended to every marae in the island,
and were designed to secure rain and fertility for
the country gained by conquest, or recovered from
invasion.

Besides these, the chief occasional services were
those connected with the illness of their rulers,
which was supposed to be inflicted by the gods for
some offence of the chiefs or people. Long and
frequent prayers were offered, to avert their anger,
and prevent death. But, supposing the gods were
always influenced by the same motives as them-
selves, they imagined that the efficacy of their
prayers would be in exact proportion to the value
of the offerings with which they were accompanied.
Hence, when the symptoms of disease were violent
and alarming, if the sufferer was a chief of rank,
the fruits of whole fblds of plantains, and a hun-
dred or more pigs, have been taken to the marae,
and frequently, besides these, a number of men,
with rapes round their necks, have been also led
to the temple, and presented before the idol. The
prayers of the priests have often been interrupted
by the ejaculatory addresses of the men, calling on

350 - POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

the god by name, and exclaiming, " Be not angry,
or let thy wrath be appeased ; here we are : look
on us, and be satisfied,'' &c. It does not appear
that these men were actually sacrificed, but pro-
bably they appeared in this humiliating manner
with ropes about their necks, to propitiate the
deity, and to shew their readiness to die, if it
should be required.

While these ceremonies were observed, the pro-
gress of the disease was marked, by the friends of
the afHicted, with intense anxiety. If recovery
followed, it was attributed to the pacification of
the deities ; but if the disease increased, or ter-
minated fatally, the god was regarded as inex-
orable, and was usually banished from the temple,
and his image destroyed.

Religious rites were connected with almost
every act of their lives. An ubu or prayer was
offered before they ate their food, when they tilled
their ground, planted their gardens, built their
houses, launched their canoes, cast their nets,
and commenced or concluded a journey. The
first fish taken periodically on their shores, toge-
ther with a number of kinds regarded as sacred,
were conveyed to the altar. The first-fruits of
their orchards and gardens were also taufnaha, or
offered, with a portion of their live-stock, which
consisted of pigs, dogs, and fowls, as it was sup-
posed death would be inflicted on the owner or the
occupant of the land, from which the god should
not receive such acknowledgment.

The bure arii, a ceremony in which the king
acknowledged the supremacy of the gods, was
attended with considerable pomp ; but one
of the principal stated festivals was the pae
atua, which was held every three moons. On

ALTAR AND UNUS. 351

these occaBtons all the idols were brought from
tiieir sacred depository, and meheu, or exposed to
the sun ; the cloth In which they had been kept
was removed, and the feathers in the inside of the
hollow idols were taken out. The images were
then anointed with fragrant oil ; new feathers,
brought by their worshippers, were deposited in
the inside of the hollow idols, and folded tn new

sacred cloth ; aft«r a number of ceremonies, they
were carried back to their dormitories in the tem-
ple. Large quantities of food were provided for
the entertainment, which followed the religious
ritea of the pae atua.

The most singular of their stated ceremonies was
the maoa raa matahitif ripening or completing of
^e year. This festival was regularly observed in
Huahine : although I do not know that it was
universal, vast multitudes assembled. In general,
the men only engaged in pagan festivals ; but
men, women, and children, attended at this : the
females, however, were not allowed to enter the

352 POLYNESIAN flESEARCHES.

sacred enclosure. A sumptuous banquet was held
annually at the time of its observance, which was
regulated by the blossoming of reeds.

Their rites and worship were in many respects
singular, but in none more so than in the ripening of
the year, which was regarded as a kind of annual
acknowledgment to the gods. When the prayers
were finished at the marae, and the banquet ended,
a usage prevailed much resembling the popish
custom of mass for souls in purgatory. Each
individual returned to his home, or to his family
marae, there to offer special prayers for the S{»rits
of departed relatives, that they might be liberated
from the po, or state of night, and ascend to rohu-
tunoanoa, the mount Miru of Polynesia, or return
to this world, by entering into the body of one of
its inhabitants.

They did not suppose, according to the generally
received doctrine of transmigration, that the spirits
who entered the body of some dweller upon earth,
would permanently remain there, but only come
and inspire the person to declare future events, or
execute any other commission from the super-
natural beings on whom they imagined they were
constantly dependent.

IDOLS. 353

CHAP. XIV.

Descriptioti of Polynesian idols — Human sacrifices— An-
thropophagism — Islands in which it prerails — Motives
and circumstances under which it is practised — ^Tradi-
tion of its existence in Sir Charles Sanders' Island —
Extensive prevalence of Sorcery and Diyination— Views
of the natives on the subject of satanic influence — De-
mons — Imprecations — Modes of incantation — Horrid,
and fatal effects supposed to result from sorcery — Impo-
tency of enchantment on Europeans— Natire remediea
for sorcery — Natire oracles — Buaatapena — Means of
inspiration — Effects on the priest inspired — Manner of
dellTering the responses — Circumstances at Rurutu and
Huahine — Intercourse between the priest and the god —
Augury by the death of victims — Augury by the stars '
and clouds — Divination for the detection of thefU

The system of idolatry, which prevailed among
a people separated from the majority of their
species by trackless oceans, and possessing
the means, not only of subsistence but of com-
fort, in an unusual degree, presents a most
affecting exhibition of imbecility, absurdity, and
degradation. Whether we consider its influence
over the individual, the family, or the nation,
through the whole period of life — its oppressive
elcactions, its frequent and foolish rites, its mur-
derous sacrifices, the engines of its power, and the
objects of its homage and its dread— it is impossi-
ble to contemplate it without augmented thank-
fulness for the blessings of revelation, and in-

2a

354 POI YNESIAN RESEARCHES.

creased compassion for those inhabiting ^'the dark
places of the earth."

The idols of the heathen are in general appro-
priate emblems of the beings they worship and
fear ; and if we contemplate those ot the South
Sea Islanders, they present to our notice all that is
adapted to awaken our pity. The idols of Tahiti
were generally shapeless pieces of wood, from one
to four feet long, covered with cinet of cocoa-nut
fibres, ornamented with yellow and scarlet fea-
thers. Oro was a straight log of hard casuarina
wood, six feet in length, uncarved, but decorated
with feathers. The gods of some of the adjacent
islands exhibit a greater variety of form and struc-
ture. The accompanying wood -cut contains seve-
ral of these.

The figure in the centre. No. 1. exhibits a
correct front view of Taaroa, the supreme deity
of Polynesia ; who is generally regarded as the
creator of the world, and the parent of gods
and men. The image from which this was
taken, is nearly four feet high, and twelve or
fifteen inches broad, carved out of a solid piece of
close, white, durable wood. In addition to the
number of images or demigods forming the features
of his face, and studding the outside of his body,
and which were designed to shew the multitudes
of gods that had proceeded from him ; his body is
hollow, and when taken from the temple at Ruru-
tu, in which for many generations he had been
worshipped, a number of small idols were found in
the cavity. They had perhaps been deposited
there, to imbibe his supernatural powers, prior to
their being removed to a distance, to receive, as
his representatives, divine honours. The opening to
the cavity was at the back ; the whole of which.

DESCRIPTION OF IDOLS. 357

might be removed. No. 2. is Terongo, one of
.the principal gods, and his three sons. No. 3. is
an image of Tebuakina, three sons of Roiigo^ a
principal deity in the Hervey Islands. The name
is probably analogous to Orono in Hawaii, though
distinct from Oro in Tahiti. No. 4. exhibits a
sacred ornament of a canoe from the island of
Huahine. The two figures at the top, are images
worshipped by fishermen, or those frequenting Qie
sea. The. two small idols at the lower comers of
the ]plate, No. 5. are images of oramatuas, or de-
mons. The gods of Rarotogna were some of
them much larger; Mr. Bourne, in 1825, saw
fourteen about twenty feet long, and six feet
wide.

Such were the objects the inhabitants of these
islands were accustomed to supplicate ; and to
appease or avert the anger of which, they devoted
not . only ev^ry valuable article they possess-
ed, but murdered their fellow-creatures, and
offered their blood. Human victims were sacri-
ficed to Taaroa, Oro, and several others. The eye
was presented to the king. The natives state, that
they regarded the eye as the organ or emblem of
power» It has been supposed, that the circum-
stance of the priests* offering the eye, the most
precious part of the victim, to the king, who
«tppeared to eat it, indicated their having formerly
devoured the men they had sacrificed. I do not
regard this fact as affording any very strong evi-
dence, although I have not the least doubt that
the inhabitants of several of the South Sea Islands
have eaten human fiesh.

From the many favourable, traits in their charac-
ter, we have been unwilling to believe they had
lever been cannibals; the conviction of our mistake

'S58 POLYNESIAN RESEAKCHES.

has, however, been impressed by evidence so vari-
ous and multiplied, as to preclude uncertainty.
Their mythology led them to suppose, that the
spirits of the dead are eaten by the gods. or de-
mons ; and that the spiritual part of their sacri*
fices is eaten by the spirit of the idol before whom
it is presented. Birds resorting to the temple,
were said to feed upon the bodies of the human
sacrifices, and it was imagined the god approached
the temple in the bird, and thus devoured the
victims placed upon the altar. In some of the
islands, ^^ man-eater*' was an epithet of the princi-
pal deities; and it was probably in connexion
with this, that the king, who often personated the
god, appeared to eat the human eye. Part of
some human victims were eaten by the priests.

The Marquesians are known to be cannibals ; the
inhabitants of the Palliser or Pearl Islands, in the
immediate neighbourhood of Tahiti, to the east-
ward, are the same. A most affecting instance of
their anthropophagism is related by recent visitors;
who state that a captive female child, pining with
hunger, on begging a morsel of food from the
cruel and conquering invaders of her native
island, received a piece of her own father's flesh I

The bodies of prisoners in war, or enemies slain
in battle, appear to have been eaten by most of
the Hervey Islanders, who reside a short distance
to the west of the Society group. There were
several inducements to this horrid practice. The
New Zealanders ate the bodies of their enemies,
that they might imbibe their courage, &c. Hence,
they exulted in their banquet on a celebrated war-
rior ; supposing that, when they had devoured his
flesh, they should be imbued with his valiant and
daring spirit. I am not certain that this was the

CANNIBALISM. 359

motive by which the eastern Polynesians were in-
fluenced, but one principal design of their wars
was to obtain men to eat. Hence, when dwelling
in their encampment, and clearing the brushwood,
&c. from the place in which they expected to
engage the enemy, they animated each other to
the work in the following terms, " Clear away
well, that we may kill and eat, and have a good
feast to-day.*' To " kill and eat," was the haughty
warrior's threat ; and to be '^ killed and eaten," the
dread of the vanquished and the exile. In the
island of Rarotogna, they cut off the heads of the
slain, piled them in heaps within the temple, and
furnished the banquet of victory with their bodies.

The desire of revenge, or the satisfaction result-
ing from actually devouring an enemy, was not
their only motive. The craving of nature^ and the
pangs of famine, often led to this unnatured crime.
It was the frequent inducement in the Marquesas,
and sdso in the Hervey Islands. In Maute,
Metiaro, and Atiu, seasons of scarcity are severely
felt; and, to satisfy their hunger, a number of
persons, at the hour of midnight, have stolen 9,.
man from a neighbouring residence, killed, and
eaten him at once. Mr. Bourne, who visited the
islands in 1 825, states, that members of the same
family are not safe ; and so awful is their wretched-
ness, that this horrid cruelty is practised towards
those who, in civilized communities, are the objects
of most endearing attachment : the husband has
preyed upon the body of his wife, and the parent
upon his child, in a most revolting manner, without
subjecting it to any previous preparation. These
facts are too painful and barbarous to admit detail.
Another, and perhaps more criminal motive than
either revenge or want, led some to the perpetra-

360 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

tion of these appalling deeds: this was; the in-
dulgence of their depraved and vitiated appetite^

In the little island of Tapuaemanu, between
Eimeo and Huahine, tradition states that thi^re
were fonnerly cannibals. In the reign of Tamata«-
fetUy an ancestor of the present ruler^ it is related,
that when a man of stout or corpulent habit went
to the island, or lowland on the reef^ he was seldom
heard of afterwards. The people of the island
imagined those thus missing were destroyed by the
sharks: but for many years, the servants of ih^
king followed them to the island on the reef, and
havmg murdered, baked them there. When the
bodies were baked, they wrapped them in leaves
of the hibiscus andplantain, as they were accustomed
to wrap their eels, or other iish, taken and cooked
on the island ; they then carried them to the in**
terior, where the king and his servants feasted on
them. Their deeds were at length discovered by
Feito, the wife of the king. She was in the house
on one occasion, and, as they supposed^ asleep,
when she overheard the king and his servants
planning the death of Tebuoroo, her brother.
Anxious to save her brother's life, she revealed to
him the purpose of the chief. He communicated
it to the raatiras, or farmers, who immediately re-
paired to the marae of Taaroa, to inquire what they
should do ; and left with a unanimous determine
tion to destroy their chief. Two men, Mehoura
and Raiteanui, were appointed to hide themselves
near his place of badiing; and when the chief
came to bathe, they kiUed him with stones. A
native of this island related the above stieitement
within the last two years, at a public meeting held
near the place where it is reported to have occurred,
and afterwards in private stated that it was acr

IDOLATRY SORCERY — WITCHCRAFT. 361

cQrdmg to their traditions. Mr. Barff, to whom I
am indebted for the tradition, adds, '^ The people
affirmed it to be true." This unnatural crime
does not appear to have been general; and
the above is the only direct account that we have
of its existence in what are properly the Society
Islands. It is not probable that it will ever be
revived, and, at a recent public meeting, in allud*
ing to it, as illustrative of the former, and contrast-
ing it with the present state of the people, the
native speaker concluded by saying, '' Behold,
under the gospel of Jesus Christ, this land, where
man-eaters have dwelt, has become a land of
neighbours and of brethren."

No people in the world, in ancient or modem
times, appetur to have been more superstitious than
the South Sea Islanders, or to have been more en*
tirely under the influence of dread from imaginary
demons, or supernatural beings. They had not
only their major but their minor demons, or spirits,
and all the mmute ramifications of idolatry. Sor-
cery and witchcraft, were extensively practised . By
this art, the sorcerers pretended to be able to inflict
the most painful maladies, and to deprive of life
the victims of their mysterious rites.

It is unnecessary now to inquire whether satanic
agency affects the bodies of* men. We know this
was the fact at the time our Saviour appeared on
earth. Many of the natives of these islands sure
firmly persuaded, that while they were idolaters,
their bodies were subject to most excruciating suf-
ferings, from the direct operation of satanic power.
In this opinion they might be mistaken, and that
which they regarded as the effect of super-human
agency, might be only the influence of imagina-
tion, or the result of poison. But considering the

362 POLYNESIAN BESEARCHES.

undisputed exercise of such an influence, recog-
nized in the declarations and miracles of our Lord
and of his apostles, existing not only in heathen ^
but Jewish society, and considering, in connexion
with this, the undisputed dominion, moral and in*
tellectual, which the powers of darkness held over
those who were entirely devoted to the god of this
world, it does not appear impossible, or incon-
sistent with the supreme government of Grod, that
these subordinate powers should be permitted to
exert an influence over their persons, and that
communities, so wholly given to idolatry of the
most murderous and diabolical kinds, should be
considered corporeally, as well as spiritually, to be
lying ^' in the wicked one." In addition to the
firm belief which many who were sorcerers, or
agents of the infernal powers, and others who were
the victims of incantation, still maintain, some of
the early Missionaries are disposed to think this
was the fact. Since the natives have embraced
Christianity, they believe they are now exempt
from an influence, to which they were subject
during the reign of the evil spirit.

Individuals, among the most intelligent of the
people, sometimes express their deliberate con-
viction, that it is because they live under the dis-
pensation or government of Jesus Christ, that they
are now exempt from those bodily sufferings to
which they were exposed while they were willing
and zealous devotees of idols. It is, I believe,
also an indisputable fact, that those kinds of
violent, terrific, and fatal corporeal agony, which
they attributed to this agency, have altogether
ceased, since the subversion of that system, of
which it was so dreadful a part. I am not pre-
pared to pronounce the opinions many of the

WIZARDS. 363

natives still hold, as altogether imaginative : at the
same time, the facts that have come to my know-
ledge, during my residence among them, have led
me to desire the most satisfactory evidence for
rejecting them.

Witchcraft and sorcery they considered the pe-
culiar province of an inferior order of supernatural
beings. The names of the principal oramatuas
were, Mau-ri, Bua-rai, and Tea-fao. They were
considered the most malignant of beings, exceed-
ingly irritable and implacable ; they were not con-
fined to the skulls of departed warriors, or the
images made for them, but were occasionally
supposed to resort to the shells from the sea-shore,
especially a beautiful kind of murex, the murex
ramoces. These shells were kept by Uie sorcerers,
and the peculiar singing noise perceived on apply-
ing the valve to the ear, was imagined to proceed
from the demon it contained.

These were the kinds of beings invoked by the
wizards or sorcerers. Different names were ap-
plied to their arts, according to the rites employed,
or the effects produced. Tahu, or tahutahu, nati-
natiaha, or pifao, were the general terms employed,
both for sorcery and the performance of it. Tahu,
in general, signifies to kindle, and is much the
same in import as ahikuni, the word for sorcery in
the Sandwich Islands. The application of fire
was common to both. Natinati signifies involved,
entangled, and knotted : aha^ is cinet ; and the
persons afflicted with this, were supposed to be
possessed by a demon, who was twisting and knot-
ting their inside, and thus occasioning most ex-
cruciating pain and death. Pifao signifies a hook
or biirb ; and is also indicative of the condition of
those, under the visitation of evil spirits, who were

364 POLYNESIAN RESBA&CHES.

holding them in agony, as severe as if transfixed
by a barbed spear or hook.

Incantations sometimes commenced with an im-
precation or corse, either by the priest' or the
offended party, and it was usually denounced in
the name of tiie gods of the party, or of the king,
or some oramatua. The poor people entertained
the greatest horror of this mode of vengeance, as
it was generally considered fetal, unless, by
engaging a more powerful demon, its effects could
be counteracted.

This dreadful system of iniquity, and demon
tyranny, was complex and intricate. The party
using sorcery against another, whose destruction
they designed, employed a tahutahu, or a taata-
obu'tara, whose influence with the demons procured
their co-operation, and was supposed to induce
the tii, or spirit, to enter into the victim of their
malice.

Prayers, ofleringB,and the accustomed mysteries,
however numerous, were not sufficient for this
purpose. It was necessary to secure something
connected with the body of the object of ven*
geance. The parings of the nails, a lock of the
hair, the saliva from the mouth, or other secretions
from the body, or else a portion of the food which
the person was to eat. This was considered as the
vehicle by which the demon entered the person,
who afterwards became possessed. It was called
the ttiim^ growing, or causing to grow. When
procured, the tar a was performed; the sorcerer
took the hair, saliva, or other substance that had
belonged to his victim, to his house or marae,
performed his incantations over it, and offered his
prayers; the demon was then supposed to enter
the tubu, and through it the individual, who suf-

PORTABLE SPITTOON. 365

fered from the enchantment. If it was a portion
of food, similar ceremonies were observed, and
the piece of bread-fruit, fish, &c., supposed by this
process to be impregnated by the demon, was
placed in the basket of the person for whom it Was
designed ; and, if eaten, inevitable destruction-
was expected to follow.

The use of the portable spittoon by the Sand-
wich Island chiefs, in which the saliva was care-
fully deposited, carried by a confidential servant,
and buried every morning, and the custom of the
Tahitians in scrupulously burning or burying the
hair when cut off, and also furnishing to each indi-
vidual his distinct basket for food, originated in
their dread of sorcery by any of these means.
When the tara had been performed, and the tubu
secured, the effects were violent, and death speedy.
Hie most acute agonies and terrific distortions of
the body were often experienced; the wretched
sufferer appeared in a state of firantic madness,
or, as they expressed it, torn by the evil spirit,
while he roamed and writhed under his dreadful
power.

On one occasion, Mr. Nott sent two native boys,
who were his servants, from Eimeo to Tahiti, for
tarOf or arum-roots. The man, under whose care
it was growing, was a sorcerer : he was from home,
I believe — ^but the boys, according to the direc-
tions tliey had received, went to the field, and
procured the roots for which they had been sent.
Before they had departed, the person who had
charge of the field returned, and was so en-
raged, that he pronounced the most dreadful
imprecations upon one, if not both of them, threat-
ening them with the pifao. The boys returned to
Ekneo, but apparently took no notice of the

366 POL¥VCSIAN RESEARCHES.

threatening. One of them was shortly afterwards
taken i\\ ; and the imprecation of the sorcerer
being made known to his friends, it was immedi-
ately concluded that he was possessed by the evil
spirit. Alarming symptoms rapidly increased,
and some of the Missionaries went to see him in
this state. On entering the place where he lay, a
most appalling spectacle was presented. The
youth was lying on the ground, writhing in an-
guish, foaming at the mouth, his eyes apparently
ready to start from his head, his countenance
exhibiting every form of terrific distortion and
pain, his limbs agitated with violent and
involuntary convulsions. The friends of the
boy were standing round, filled with horror at
what they considered the effects of the malignant
demon ; and the sufferer shortly afterwards expired
in dreadful agonies. In general, the effects of
incantations were more gradual in their progress,
and less sudden, though equally fatsA in their
termination.

The belief of the people in the power of the
sorcerers remained unshaken, until the renuncia-
tion of idolatry, and the whole population were
consequently kept in most humiliating and slavish
fear of the demons. No rank or class was sup-
posed to be exempt fVom their fatal influence.
The young prince of Taiarabu, Te-arii-na-vaho-
roa, brother of the late king, was by many of the
people considered as destroyed, by Metia, a pro-
phet of Oro, and a celebrated sorcerer, who had
sometimes been known to threaten even the king
himself with the effects of his indignation. *' Give
up, give up,*' was the language he on one occasion
employed, when addressing the king, " lest I bend
my strong bow ;*' in allusion, it is supposed, to his

SORCERY. ' 367

pretended influence with the demon. Whole
families were sometimes destroyed. In Hua-
hine, out of eight, one individual alone survives ;
seven, it is imagined, having been cut off by one
sorcerer.

The imprecation was seldom openly denounced,
unless the agent of the powers of darkness ima-^
gined his victim had little prospect of escape,^ and
that his famrly were not likely to avenge his death.
In general, these mysteries were conducted with
that secrecy, which best comported with such
works of darkness. Occasionally the tahutahu em-
ployed his influence with the evil spirit, to revenge
some insult or injury he or his relatives had
received ; but more frequently he exercised it for
hire. From his employers he received his fee and
his directions, and having procured the tubu, or
instrument of acting on his victim, repaired to
his own rude marae, performed his diabolical
rites, delivered over the individual to the demon
he invoked, imploring the spirit to enter into
the wretch, and inflict the most dreadful bodily
sufferings, terminate at length the mortal ex-
istence, and then hurry the spirit to the po, or
state of night, and there pursue the dreadful
work of torture. These were the infernal labours
of the tahutahu or the pifao, the wizard or the
sorcerer ; and these, according to the superstitions
of the people, their terrific results.

It is possible that in some instances these suffer-
ings may have been the effects of imagination, and
a deep impression on the mind of the afflicted
individual, that he was selected as the victim of
some insatiable demon's rage. Imagining he was
already delivered to his power, hope was aban-
doned, death deemed inevitable, and the infatu-

368 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

ated sufferer became the victim of despair. It \»
also possible that poison, of which the natives had
several kinds, vegetable and animal, (some few of
which they have stated as capable of destroymg
human life,) might have produced the violent con-
vulsions that sometimes preceded dissolution. It
is probable that into the piece of food->over which
the sorcerer performed his enchantments~-he in-
troduced a portion of poison, which would prove
fatal to the individual by whom it should be eaten.
Indeed, some of the sorcerers, since their conver-
sion to Christianity, and one of them on his death-
bed, confessed that this had been practised, ami
that they supposed the poison had occasioned the
death which had been attributed to their incan-
tations. Others, however, still express their
belief, that they were so completely under the
dominion of the evil spirit, that his power extended
to the body as well as to the mind. I offer no
opinion on this matter, but confine myself to
stating the sentiments of the people, and some of
the facts connected with the same. It has been
a subject of frequent conversation with several
of the most reflecting among the natives, who,
since they have become Christians, have expressed
their deliberate belief that their bodies were subject
to Satanic agency.

It is a singular fact, that while the practice con-
tinued, with all its supernatural influence, among
the natives, the sorcerers invariably confessed that
incantations were harmless when employed upod
EuropeJEins: several have more than once been
threatened with sorcery, and there is reason to
believe it has been put to the test upon them.
The sorcerers have always declared, that they could
not prevail with the white men^ because such were

COUNTER-DIVINATION. ' ^ 369

under the keeping of a more powerful Being than
the spirits they could engage against them, and
therefore were secure. The native Missionaries, in
different islands, have also been threatened with
sorcery from the idolaters among whom they have
endeavoured to introduce Christianity. They have
always defied the sorcerers and their demons, tell-
ing them that Jehovah would protect them from
their machinations; and though frequently ex-
posed to incantations^ have never sustained the
slightest injury.

The sentiments entertained by the natives rela-
tive to the character of these supernatural beings,
led them to imagine them to be such as they were
themselves, only endowed with greater powers. They
supposed that in all their actions they were influ-
enced by motives exactly corresponding with those
that operated upon their own minds ; hence they
believed, that even spirits could be diverted from
their purposes by the offer of a larger bribe than
they had received to carry it into effect, or that the
efforts of one tii could be neutralized or counter-
acted by those of another more powerful.

Under the influence of these opinions, when any
one was suffering from incantations, if he or his
friends possessed property, they immediately em-
ployed another sorcerer. This person was fre-
quently called difaatere^ causing to move or slide,
who, on receiving his fee, was generally desired,
first to discover who had practised tlie incantations
which it was supposed had induced the sufferings :
as soon as he had accomplished this, he was em-
ployed, with more costly presents, to engage the
aid of his demons, that the agony and death they
had endeavoured to inflict upon the subject of
their malignant efforts, might revert to themselves

2 B

370 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

— and if the demon employed by the second party
was equally powerful with that employed by the
first, and their presents more valuable, it was gene-
rally supposed that they were successful.

How affecting is the view these usages afford, of
the mythology of these rude untutored children of
nature ! How debasing then* ideas of those beings
on whom they considered themselves dependent,
and whose service they regarded as the principal
business of their lives ! — how degrading and bru-
talizing such sentiments, and how powerful their
effect must have been, in cherishing that deadly
hatred which oft^n found but too congenial a home
in their bosoms ! They were led to imagine that
these super-human beings were engaged in per-
petual conflict with each other, employing their
dreadful powers, at the instigation of their priests,
in afBicting with deepest misery, and ultimately
destroying, the devotees of some rival demon.

A mythology so complicated, and a system of
idolatry so extensive and powerful, as that which
prevailed in the South Sea Islands, led the people
not only to consider themselves as attended and
governed by the gods, but also induced to seek
their direction, and submit to their decision, in
every event of interest or importance. Every
island had its oracle ; and divination, in various
forms, was almost universally practised by the
priests.

In many respects, the oracles of the Polynesians
resembled those of the ancients; in some they
differed. Oro, the great national idol, was gene-
rally supposed to give the responses to the priests,
who sought to know the will of the gods, or the
issue of events ; and at Opoa, this being con-
sidered as the birth-place of the god, was the

THE DEVOTED HOG, 371

most celebrated oracle of the people. It does not
appear that there were any persons specially ap-
pointed to consult the gods. The priest, who
officiated in other services, presented the offerings,
and proposed the inquiries of those who thus
sought supernatural direction.

No event of importance was determined, nor
any enterprise of hazard or consequence under-
taken, without, in the first instance^ inquiring of
the gods its result. The priest was directed,
as they expressed it, to spread the matter before
the idol, and to wait the intimation of his will, or
the prediction of its consequences. The priest,
who was called tauray or tairoiroy repaired to the
temple, presented the offerings, and proposed the
inquiry, while the parties by whom he was em-
ployed anxiously waited his report.

In all matters of great and national importance,
however, the gods were generally consulted by the
buaa tapena, or dedicated hog. The animal was
strangled, the hair singed or burnt off by the
application of torches of reeds, and the hog was
conveyed to the sacred pavement, in front of the
depository of the idol. It was there embowelled,
and if the movements of the entrails, after being
taken out, were quick or continued, it was regarded
as an omen of success. This mode of consulting
the god was generally resorted to, prior to engaging
in war, or during the existence of hostilities. The
hog was now bathed with its own blood, and the
priest offered his prayers over it, and then laid the
sacred cocoa-nut leaf round it, as the tapau, or
means by which the god might enter, and through
the sacrifice manifest his will. The heart and its
appurtenances were placed on the small altar,
while the carcase was placed with great care in an

2ij2

372 POLTKESIAN RESEAHCHES.

upright position on the large altar. The priest
then preferred the claims of the people, and the
several orders of diviners took their station near
the victim, to watch the indications of the god's
designs, while the men, women, and children of
the island waited without, to know the result. The
following were the principal omens. If the hog
continued for a given period without exhibiting
any change, it was an indication of continued con-
quest and spoil to the party offering it. If the
hinder parts of the pig sunk, while the fore-part
remained stationary, it was regarded as an indi-
cation that the enemy was restrained by the gods,
and that peace might be concluded; and such
intimation was invariably attended to. If the
middle of the back sunk while the fore and hind-
parts remained stationary, it was an indication
that neither army should be overcome, but that
both, after sustaining some loss, should clami the
victory. If some parts of the surface of the
animal which had been covered with blood,
changed colour, while other parts continued red,
it signified that both armies should alternately
experience victory and defeat. If the back was
bent to one side, it indicated that the front rank of
both armies should be destroyed, but the rear
escape. If one eye closed, it shewed that the
opposing chiefs should be conquered, or one of
them taken. If the hinder parts of the sacrifice
became enlarged, it indicated that the party offering
it would be overcome, and consequently predis-
posed them to retreat, or sue for peace.

In the Sandwich Islands, the king, personating
the god, uttered the responses of the oracle, from
his concealment in a frame of wicker-work. In the
southern islands, the priest usually addressed the

INQUIRING OF THE IDOL. 373

image, into which it was imagined the god entered
when any one came to inquire his will. Some*
times the priest slept all night near the idol,
expecting his communication in a dream ; at other
times it was given in the cry of a bird, whose
resort was in the precincts of his temple ; in the
sighing of the breeze among the entwining
branches of the tall and slender trees around the
temple; or in the shrill, squeaking articulations
of some of the priests. When the priest returned
to those by whom he had been employed, if an
unfavourable answer had been given, the project
was at once abandoned, however favourable other
circumstances might appear. If the answer was
propitious, arrangements were forthwith made for
its prosecution ; but if no answer had been given,
no further steps were then taken, it was considered
to be restrained by the idol, and was left in abey-
ance with him.

Appearing to the priest in a dream of the night,
though a frequent, was neither the only nor the
principal mode by which the god intimated his
will. He frequently entered the priest, who,
inflated as it were with the divinity, ceased to act
or speak as a voluntary agent, but moved and
spoke as entirely under supernatural influence.
In this respect there was a striking resemblance
between the rude oracles of the Polynesians, and
those of the celebrated nations of ancient Greece.

As soon as the god was supposed to have
entered the priest, the latter became violently
agitated, and worked himself up to the highest
pitch of apparent frenzy, the muscles of the limbs
seemed convulsed, the body swelled, the coxmte-
nance became terrific, the features distorted, and
the eyes wild and strained. In this state he often

374 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

rolled on the earth, foaming at the mouth, as if
labouring under the influence of the divinity by
whom he was possessed, and, in shrill cries, aiid
violent and often indistinct sounds, revealed the
will of the god. The priests, who were attending,
and versed in the mysteries, received, and reported
to the people, the declarations which had been
thus received.

When the priest had uttered the response of
the oracle, the violent paroxysm gradually sub-
sided, and comparative composure ensued. The
god did not, however, always leave him as soon as
the communication had been made. Sometimes
the same taura, or priest, continued for two or
three days possessed by the spirit or deity ; a piece
of native cloth, of a jpeculiar kind, worn round one
arm, was an indication of inspiration, or of the in>
dwelling of the god with the individual who wore
it. The acts of the man during this period were
considered as those of the god, and hence the
greatest attention was paid to his expressions, and
the whole of his deportment.

In the year 1808, during the civil war between
the king and rebel chiefs, of whom Taute was the
leader, the priest of Oro, who was known to be not
only attached to the king's interests, but a per-
sonal friend of Pomare, left the royal camp, and
went over to that of the enemy. Many of
Pomare's friends endeavoured to persuade him to
remain with them, but no one dared to use force,
as it was supposed that he acted under the inspi^
ration of his god. This circumstance greatly dis-
couraged the king and his friends, and probably
prepared the way for their discomfiture and
flight, as they supposed the god had forsaken them,
and fought with their enemies.

PUBLIC EXPOSURE OF PRIESTCRAFT. 375

On an occasion, of more recent date, the
god and the prophet were not treated with quite
so much respect, but were rather rudely handled.
The natives of Rurutu having determined to
renounce idolatry, it was proposed by the native
teachers that the people should meet together at
the sacred enclosure, near the idol temple, where
both sexes would unitedly partake of those kinds
of food which had heretofore been regarded as
sacred, and the eating of which by any female,
especially in such a place, the gods would have
punished with death.

At a previous meeting, Auura, one of the chiefs,
had told a priest, who pretended to be inspired,
that he was the very foundation of the deceit, and
that he should never deceive them again. The
priests, however, appeared at the appointed meet-
ing ; and one of them, pretending to be inspired,
began denouncing, in the name of his god, the
most awful punishment upon those that had
violated the sacred place. One or two of the
natives of Raiatea went up to him, and told him
to desist, and not attempt to deceive them any
longer, that the people would not tolerate their
imposition. The priest answered, that it was the
god that was within him, and that he was the god.
When uruhia, (under the inspiration of the spirit,)
the priest was always considered as sacred as the
god, and was called, during this period, atua, god,
though at other times only denominated taura, or
priest. Finding him determined to persist in his
imprecations, one of the christian boatmen from
Raiatea said, ^* If the god is in, we will try and
pinch, or twist, him out." Immediately seizing the
priest, who already began to shew symptoms of
violent convulsive muscular action, they prevented

376 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

his throwing himself on the ground. For a long
time, the priest and one of the Raiateans* struggled
together; when the god, insulted at the rude liberty
taken with his servant, left him, and the priest
silently retired from the assembly.

When one of the priests was exhibiting all the
violent gestures of inspiration in Huahine, a
by-stander observed, that it was all deceit, and
that if they were to open the body of the priest,
they should not find any god within. The mul-
titude, however, appeared struck with horror at
the startling proposal, and seemed to think the
individual who had dared to utter it would not
escape the signal vengeance of the powerful spirit.

Although so much ceremony, and such extra-
ordinary effects, attended the public or formal
intercourse between the god and the people,
through the medium of the priest, the commu*
nications between the priest and the god were
sometimes of an opposite character, and ludicrously
colloquial. Mr. Davis, when itinerating round
tlie island of Eimeo, in the early part of his mii^
sionary labour in tliat island, arrived at a village
near Tiatae-pua, where he endeavoured to pur-
chase provisions from the inhabitants. Vegetables
were procured with facility, but the only animab
were a number of fowls, and these belonged to
the priest of the adjacent temple. Application
was made to this individual, who looked at the
articles (scissors, looking-glasses, &c.) offered in
exchange, and seemed desirous to barter his fowls
for them, but he said they belonged to the god,
having been presented as offerings, and that with-
out his leave he durst not part with any.

Again he examined the articles, and then said
he would go and ask if the god was willing to part

AUouttY. 377

with any of the fowls. He proceeded to the tem*
pie, whither he was followed by Mr. Davies, who
heard his address to the object of hope and fear, in
words to the following e£fect : • '^ O my atua, (or
gody) here is some good property, knives, scissors,
looking-glasses, &c. e km paha vau, na moa na
taua ; perhaps I may sell some of the fowls belong-
ing to us two, for it. It will be good property for
you and me.'' After waiting a few moments, he
pretended to receive an answer in the affirmative,
and returned, stating that the god had consented
to the appropriation. The sacred fowls were
accordingly hunted by a number of boys and dogs,
and several secured, and «old for the above-men-
tioned articles.

It has already been stated, that the oracle
was not the only method by which the people
were accustomed to consult the gods; nor was
the inspiration of the priests the exclusive
manner by which supernatural direction was re-
vealed to the people. Divination, or augury, was
practised in a variety of modes, and by these
means it was thought tiiat future events were made
known, and information was communicated. Much
of their augury was connected with the sacrifices
they offered. They had also a singular method of
cutting a cocoa-nut, and, by minutely examining
its parts, of ascertaining their portentous indica*
tions. These ceremonies were generally prac-
tised in the temple.

There were others, however, performed elsewhere,
as the patu^ which consisted in dividing a ripe
cocoa-nut into two equal parts, taking the half
opposite to that to which the stalk was attached,
and proceeding with it in a canoe to some distance
from the shore ; here the priest offered his prayers ;

378 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

and then placing the cocoa-nut in the sea, con-
tinuing his prayers, and narrowly watching its
descent, he thereby pretended to ascertain the
result of any measures in which those by whom he
was employed were interested. The patu was
frequently resorted to while negociations for peace
were carried on between parties who had been
en^ged in war. The situation of the stars was
also regarded as foreshewing future events. When
Venus and any other conspicuous planet appeared
above the horizon at sunset, for several successive
nights, it was viewed as an indication that two
chiefs were planning each others downfall. When
the horns of the new moon were in an upright
direction, it was supposed to indicate the secret
formation of two hostile parties. Such an aspect
was called an angry or savage moon. If three or
more spiral clouds were seen in the west about the
setting of the sun, it indicated division of councils,
and conflicts. If one conspicuous cloud appeared,
it foretold the death of some powerful chief. When
the sky was red over Borabora at sunset, the in-
habitants of Huahine imagined it proceeded from
preparations for invasion by the Boraborans, and
they prepared accordingly. Divination was em-
ployed to discover the cause or author of sickness,
or to ascertain the fate of a fleet or a canoe that
might have commenced a distant or hazardous
voyage. This latter was often used in the islands
to the westward of the Society group.

The natives had also recourse to several kinds of
divination, for discovering the perpetrators of acts
of injury, especially theft. Among these was a
kind of water ordeal. It resembled in a great
degree the wai haruru of the Hawaiians. When
the parties who had been robbed wished to use thi9

VTATEa ORDEAL. 379

method of discovering the thief, they sent for a
priest, who, on being informed of the circumstances
connected with the theft, offered prayers to his
demon. He now directed a hole to be dug in the
floor of the house, and filled with water; then,
taking a young plantain in his hand, he stood over
the hole, and offered his prayers to the god, whom
he invoked, and who, if propitious, was supposed
to conduct the spirit of the thief to the house, and
place it over the water. The image of the spirit,
which they imagined resembled the person of the
man, was, according to their account, reflected in
the water, and being perceived by the priest, he
named the individual, or the parties, who had com-
mitted the theft, stating that the god had shewn
him the image in the water. The priests were
rather careful how they fixed on an individual, as
the accused had but slight prospect of escaping, if
unable to falsify the charge ; but when he could do
this, the credit of the god, and the influence of the
priest, were materially diminished.

Sometimes the priest, after the first attempt,
declared that no answer had been returned, and
deferred till the following day the repetition of his
enchantments. The report, however, that this
measure had been resorted to, gencurally spread
among the people, and the thief, alarmed at the
consequences of having the gods engaged against
him, usually returned the stolen property under
cover of the night, and by this superseded
the necessity for further inquiries. — Like the
oracles among the nations of antiquity, which
gradually declined after the propagation of Chris-
tianity, the divinations and spells of the South Sea
Islanders have been laid aside since their recep-
tion of the gospel. The only oracle they now

380 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

consult is the Sacred Volume; and multitudes,
there is reason to believe, give to its divine
communications unreserved credence, and yield
to its requirements the most cheerful and consci-
entious obedience.

The religion, of which some account has been
given, although established among a people
scarcely above the rudest barbarism — destitute of
letters, hieroglyphics, and symbols, and by their
isolated situation deprived of all intercourse with
the rest of the world — is, as a system, singularly
complete.

The invention displayed in the fabrication and
adjustment of its several parts, the varied and
imposing imagery under which it was exhibited,
and the mysterious and complicated machinery
which sustained its operations, were remarkable ;
and, in the standard of virtue which it fixed, in
the future destinies it unfolded, and in its adaptation
to the untutored but ardent mind, the Polynesian
mythology will not suffer by comparison with any
systems which have prevailed among the most
polished and celebrated nations of ancient or mo-
dem times.

In some respects, the mythology of Tahiti pre-
sents features peculiarly its own : in others we
trace a striking analogy to that of the nations of
antiquity. In each, tihe light of truth occasionally
gleams through a mass of darkness and error.
The conviction that man is the subject of superna-
tural dominion, is recognized in all, and the multi-
plied objects of divine homage, which distinguished
tlie polytheism of the ancients, marked also that
of the rude islanders. Nor was the fabulous reli-
gion of the latter deficient in the mummeries of
sorcery and witchcraft, the delusion of oracles^ and

ANALOGY TO ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY. 381

the influence of other varieties of juggling, and
oppressive spiritual domination.

We are not surprised, that, to the enlightened,
benevolent, but transient visitor, the South Sea
Islanders appeared under circumstances peculiarly
favourable to happiness, but their idolatry exhibits
them as removed to the farthest extreme from such
a state. The baneful effects of their delusion was
increased by the vast preponderance of malignant
deities, frequently the personifications of cruelty
and vice. They had changed the glory of God
into the image of corruptible things, and instead of
exercising those affections of gratitude, compla-
cency, and love, towards the objects of their wor-
ship, which the living God supremely reqilires,
they regarded their deities with horrific dread, and
worshipped only with enslaving fear.

While this system shews the distance to which
those under its influence departed from the know-
ledge and service of the true God ; it also fur-
nishes additional confirmation of the fact, that
polytheism, whether exhibited in the fascinating
numbers of classic poetry, the splendid imagery
of eastern fable, or the rude traditions of unlettered
barbarians, is equally opposed to all just views of
the being and perfections of the only proper object
of religious homage and obedience ; and that,
whether invested with the gorgeous trappings of a
cumbrous and imposing superstition, or appearing
in the naked and repulsive deformity of rude ido-
latry, it is alike unfriendly to intellectual improve-
ment, moral purity, individual happiness, social
order, and national prosperity.

382 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

CHAP. XV.

Tahitian prophets — Ancient predictions relative to the
arrival of ships — Traditions of the Deluge corresponding
with the accotitits in sacred and profane writings —
General ideas of the people relative to death and a
future state' — Death the consequence of Divine displea-
sure—State of spirits — Mini, or heaven — Religious
ceremonies for ascertaining the causes of death — Em-
balming — The burying of the sins of the departed —
Singular religious ceremony — Offerings to the dead —
Occupation of the spirits of the deceased — Superstitions
of the people — Otohaa, or lamentation — Wailing —
Outrages committed under the paroxysms of grief — Use
of sharks' teeth — Elegies — The heva — ^Absurdity and
barbarism of the practice.

Besides the priests who made known the will of
the gods, and pretended to foi-etell the issue of
those enterprises in which the people might be
engaged, or were about to commence, there have
been at different periods individuals who have fore-
told events that were to take place in periods yet
more remote, but which at the time appeared in-
comprehensible. There are some which regarded
the destiny of the people, but the most remarkable
(because, according to the interpretation of the
natives themselves, they have received a partial
fulfilment) were those referring to the strange
ships that should arrive. Among the native pro-
phets of former times, there appear to have been
several of the name of Mauu One of the most

TAHITI AN PROPHETS. 383

celebrated of this name resided at Raiatea, and on
one occasion, when supposed to be under the in-
spiration of the god, he predicted that in future
ages a vaa ama ore, literally an " outriggerless
canoe," would arrive at the islands from some
foreign land. Accustomed to attach that appen*
dage to their single canoes, whatever might be
their size or quality, they considered an outrigger
essential to their remaining upright on the water,
and consequently could not believe that a canoe
without one would live at sea. The absence of
this has ever appeared to the South Sea Islanders
as one of the greatest wonders connected with the
visits of the first European vessels. At one of
the Hervey Islands, where they had never seen
a vessel until recently visited by a Missionary,
when the boat was lowered down to the water,
and pushed off by the rowers from the ship's side,
the natives simultaneously and involuntarily ex-
claimed — ** It will overturn and sink, it has no
outrigger."

The chiefs and others, to whom Maui delivered
his prophecy, were also convinced in their own
minds, that a canoe would not swim without this
necessary balance, and charged him with fore-
telling an impossibility. He persisted in his pre-
dictions, and, in order to remove their scepticism
as to its practicability, launched his umete, or oval
wooden dish, upon the surface of a pool of water
near which he was sitting, and declared that in
the same manner would the vessel swim that
should arrive.

We have not been able to ascertain the
period when this prediction was delivered. It
was preserved among the people by oral tradi-
tion, until the arrival of Captain Wallis's and

384 POLYNESIAK RESEA&CHES.

Cook's vessels. When the natives first saw
these, they were astonished at their gigantic size,
imposing aspect, and the tremendous engines
on board. These appearances induced them first
to suppose the ships were islands inhabited by a
supernatural order of beings, at whose direction
lightnings flashed, thunders roared, and the
destroying demon slew, with instantaneous but
invisible strokes, the most daring and valiant of
their warriors. But when they afterwards went
alongside, or ventured on board, and saw that
they were floating fabrics of timber, borne on the
surface of the waters, and propelled by the winds
of heaven, • they unanimously declared that the
prediction of Maui was accomplished, and the
canoes without outriggers had arrived. They
were confirmed in this interpretation, when they
saw the small boats belonging to the ships em-
ployed in passing to and fro between the vessel
and the shore. These being simple in their struc-
ture, and approaching their own canoes in size,
yet conveying in perfect safety those by whom
they were manned, excited their astonishment,
and confirmed their convictions that Maui wad a
prophet.

When a boat or a vessel has been sailing in or
out of the harbour, I have often heard the natives,
while gazing at the stately motion, exclaim, TV vaa
a Maui e I Ta vaa ama ore. " Oh the canoe
of Maui! the outriggerless canoe!" They have
frequently asked us how he could have known such
a vessel would arrive, since it was at that time
considered by all besides as an impossibility. We
have told them it was probable he had observed
the steadiness with which his umete, or other
hollow wooden vessel, floated on the water, and

FIRST APPEARANCE OF SHIPS. 385

had thence inferred that at some future period they
might behold larger vessels equally destitute of
any exterior balancing power. They in general
consider the use of boats and shipping among
them as an accomplishment of his prediction.

The islanders also state, that there is another pre-
diction, still to be fulfilled ; and although it appears
to them as great an improbability as the former,
yet the actual appearance of one, leads many to
think that possibly they may witness the other.
This remaining prediction also has reference to a
ship, and declares that after the arrival of a
canoe without an outrigger, e vaa taura ore, a
boat, or vessel, without ropes or cordage, shall
come among them. What idea Maui designed to
convey by Uiis declaration, it is perhaps not easy
to ascertain ; but the people say it is next to
impossible that the masts should be sustained, the
sails attached, or the vessel worked, without ropes
or cordage. They say, however, that one predic-
tion respecting the vessels has been accomplished,
but that the other remains to be realized. I have
often thought, when contemplating the little use
of rising on board our steam- vessels, that should
a specimen of this modem invention ever reach
the South Sea Islands, although the natives would
not, perhaps, like the inhabitants of the banks of
the Ganges, be ready to fall down and worship this
wonderful exhibition of mechanical skill, they
would be equally astonished at that power within
itself by which it would be propellea, and would
at once declare that the second prediction of Maui
was accomplished, and the vessel without rigging
or cordage had arrived.

They have other predictions, but less circum-
stantial or probable, yet I could not learn that

386 POLTKESIAN RESBARCHES.

they have ever been led, from the declarations of
their wise men, to anticipate the arriyal of any
distinguished personage in their country. The
expectation of some wise and great prince or ruler
rismg up among them, or coming from some distant
region, which has prevailed among many nations,
and is generally supposed to refer to the appear-
ance of the Saviour, does not seem to have existed
among them ; unless we suppose the anticipated
return of Rono to the Sandwich islands, an Avatar
of whom, the inhabitants supposed Captain Cook
to be, refers to this event.

Traditions of the deluge, the most important
event in reference to the external structure and
appearance of our globe that has occurred since
its creation, have been found to exist among the
natives of the South Sea Islands, from the earliest
periods of their history. Accounts, more or less
according with the scripture narrative of this awful
visitation of Divine justice upon the antediluvian
world, have been discovered among most of the
nations of ^e earth; and the striking analogy
between those religiously preserved by the in-
habitants of the islands of the Pacific, and the
Mosaic account, would seem to indicate a de-
gree of high antiquity belonging to this isolated
people.

The principal facts are the same in the traditions
prevailmg among the inhabitants of the different
groups, although they differ in several minor par-
ticulars. In one group the accounts state, that
in ancient times Taaroa, the principal god, (accord-
ing to their mythology, the creator of the world,)
being angry with men on account of their disobe-
dience to his will, overturned the w'orld into the
sea, when the earth sunk in the waters, excepting

TBADITIONS OF THE DELUGE. 387

a few aurus, or projecting points, wliich remaining
above its surface, constituted the present cluster of
islands. The memorial preserved by the in-
habitants of Eimeo, states, that after the inundation
of the land, when the ¥rater subsided, a man
landed from a canoe near Tiataepua, in their
island, and erected an altar^ pr marae, in honour
of his god.

The most circumstantial tradition preserved
among the Windward Islands, of this remarkable
event, is one, lor the original of which I am
indebted to Mr. Orsmond : the following is a
literal translation : —

*■ Destroyed was Tahiti by the sea ; no man,
nor hog, nor fowl, nor dog, remained. The groves
of trees, and the stones, were carried away by the
wind. They were destroyed, and the deep was
over the land. But these two persons, the hus-
band and- the wife, (when it came in,) the wife
took up her voung chicken ; the husband took up
his young pig ; the wife took up her young dog
and the kitten ; the husband took up that. [These
were all the animals formerly known to the
people, and the term fanauay young, is both
singular and plural, so Uiat it may apply to one,
or to more Uian one chicken, &c.] They were
going forth, and looking at Orofena :* the husband
said, ^ Up, both of us, to yonder mountain high.'
The wife replied, * No, let us not go thither.'
The husband said, ' It is a high or long rock, and
will not be reached by the sea:* but the wife
replied, ^ Reached will be it by the sea yonder,
we two on the. mountain round as abreast, O Pito-
hito; it will not be reached by the sea.' They
two arrived there. Orofena was overwhelmed by
* The high mountain in Tahiti.
C 2

B88 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

the sea; that mountain, Pito-hiti, (alone) re-
mained, that was their abode.

" There they watched nights ten,* the sea ebbed,
and they two saw the little heads of the mountains
in their elevation. When the sea dried or retired,
the land remained without produce, without man,
and the fish were putrid in the caves and holes of
the rocks. They said, ' Dig a hole for the fish in
the sea.' The wind also was becoming feeble,
and when it was dead or calm, the stones and the
trees began to fall from the heavens : thither they
had been carried by the wind. All trees of the
land had been torn up, and carried high by the
wind. They two looked about, and the woman
said, ^ Safe are we two from the sea, but death,
or hurt, comes now in these stones that are falling.
Where shall we abide V Tom by the roots up had
been all the trees, and carried above the pathway
of the rain in the heavens.

" * Dig a hole for us two, a dwelling-place.' The
hole was dug, covered with grass the bottom of
the hole or cave ; stones were spread on the top
of the hole, and these covered over with earth.
While these two were sitting within, they heard
witli terror the loud voice of the falling stones.
Now they fell more thinly, then one little stone
at a time fell, and afterwards ceased entirely.

*^ The woman said, ' Arise you, and advance
without, and see if the stones fall.' The man
replied, * I go not out, I shall die.' He waited
till night and till day, and then said, * The wind
is truly dead, and the stones and the trunks of
trees cease to fall, neither is there the sound of
the stones." They went out, and like a small

• The native mode of reckoning time is by nights,
instead of days.

TRADITIONS OP THE DELUGE. 389

mountain was the heap or collection of the stones
and the wood. Tlie earth and the rocks remained
of the land ; the shrubs were destroyed by the sea.
They descended, and gazed with astonishment:
There were no houses, nor cocoa-nuts, nor palm-^
trees, nor bread-fruit, nor hibiscus, nor grass ; all
was destroyed by the sea. They two dwelt toge-
ther. The woman brought forth two children;
one was a son, the odier a daughter. They
grieved that there was no food for their children.
Again the mother brought forth, but still there was
no food. The children grew up without food;
then the bread-fruit bore fruit, and the cocoa-nut,
and every other kind; of food. In three days en-
circled or covered was the land with food. The
land became covered with men. From two persons,
the father and the mother, filled was the land."

The principal facts of this singular and curious
account, though blended together by the natives
in the order in which they are here given, pro-
bably refer to two distinct events. The total inun-
dation of the land is perhaps a relic of the account
of the deluge, and the tearing up and falling of
the trees and stones, to some violent hurricane or
volcanic eruption.

The tradition, which prevails in the Leeward
Islands, is intimately connected with the island of
Raiatea. According to this, shortly after the first
peopling of the world by the descendants of Taata,
RuahatUy the Neptune of the South Sea Islanders,
was reposing among the coralline groves in the
depths of the ocean, on a spot that, as his resort,
was sacred. A fisherman, either through forget-
fulness or disregard of the tabu, and sacredness of
the place, paddled his canoe upon the forbidden
waters, 8ind lowered his hooks among the branching

390 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

corals at the bottom. The hooks became entangled
in the hair of the sleeping god. After remaining-
some time, the fisherman endeavoured to pull up
his hooks, but was for a long period unable to move
them. At length they were suddenly disentangled,
and he began to draw them towards the surfece.
In an instant, however, the god, whom he had
aroused from his slumbers, appeared at the surface
of the water, and, after upbraiding^ him for his
impiety, declared, that the land was criminal, or
convicted of guilt, and should be destroyed.

The affrighted fisherman prostrated himself be-
fore the god of the sea, confessed his sorrow for
what he had done, and implored his forgiveness,
beseeching him that the judgment denounced
might be averted, or that he might escape. Rua-
hatu, moved by his penitence and importunity,
directed him to return home for his wife and child,
and then proceed to a small island called Toa^
marama, which is situated within the reefs on the
eastern side of Raiatea. Here he was promised
security, amid the destruction of the surrounding
islands. The man hastened to his residence, and
proceeded with his wife and child to the place ap-
pointed. Some say he took with him a frieiid who
was residing under his roof, with a dog, a pig, and
a pair of fowls, so that the party consisted of four
individuals, besides the only domesticated animals
known in the islands. '

They reached the refuge appointed, before the
close of the day ; and as the sun approached the hori-
zon, the waters of the ocean began to rise, the in-
habitants of the adjacent shore left their dwellings
on the beach, and fled to the mountains. The
waters continued to rise during the night, and the
next morning the tops of the mountains only

TRADITIONS OF THE DELUGE. 391

appeared, above the wide-sfuread sea. These were
afterwards covered, and all the inhabitants of the
land perished. The waters subsequently retired, the
fisherman and his companions left their retreat,r
took up their abode on the main land, and became
the progenitors of the present inhabitants.

Toamarama, the ark in which those individuals
are stated to have been preserved, is a small and
low coralline island, of exceedingly circumscribed
extent, while its highest parts are not more than
two feet above the level of the sea. Whether, on
the occasion above referred to, it was raised by
Ruahatu tq a greater elevation than the summits
of the lofty mountains on the adjacent shore, or
whether the waters, when, according to their repre-
sentations, they rose several thousand feet above
their present level, formed a kind of cylindrical
wall around Toamarama, the natives do not pre-
tend to know, and usually decline discussing this
circumstance. Their belief in the event was, how-
ever, unshaken ; and whenever we have conversed
with them on the subject, they have alluded to the
farero, coral, shells, and other marine substances,
occasionally found near the surface of the ground,
on the tops of their highest mountains. These,
they say, would never have been carried there by
the people, and could not have originally existed
in the situations in which they are now found, but
must have been deposited there by the waters of
the ocean, when the islands were inundated. — ^We
do not consider these marine substances as evi-
dences that the islands were overflowed at the
deluge, but have generally been accustomed to
attribute to the whole a formation, if not posterior,
yet not of more than equal antiquity with that
event. We have usually viewed the coral, shells,

392 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

&c. which do not appear to be fossils, as indica-
tions of the submanne origin of the mountains,
and have supposed they were deposited on the
rocks, near the surface of which they are now
found, when those rocks formed the bed of the
ocean, and prior to those violent explosive convul-
sions by which they were raised to their present
elevation, and formed the groups of islands now
under consideration.

These are but mere speculative opinions, and
however strong the indications of such an origin
might appear to our own minds, we could not de-
monstrate that the different islands now existing
had not formerly belonged to one large island.
Neither could we shew that they were not the re-
mains of a continent, originally stretching across
the Pacific, and uniting Asia and America, which,
having been overflowed by the waters of the deluge,
might have disappeared after those disruptions had
taken place, by which the fountains of the great
deep were broken up. Such speculations would
have been useless, and we should only have perplex-
ed the minds of the people with our own opinions.
In general, we endeavoured to direct them to the
records of that great event preserved in the Scrip-
tures ; in the traditionary accounts of which, per-
petuated, as they were likely to be, by the descend-
ants of the family of Noah for many generations,
their own traditions, with those of the Sandwich
Islanders, and other neighbouring tribes, had pro-
bably originated. I have frequently conversed
with the people on the subject, both in the northern
and southern groups, but could never learn that they
had any accounts of the windows of heaven having
been opened, or the rain having descended. In
the legend of Ruahatu, the Toamarama of Taliiti,

TRADITIONS OF THE DELUGE. 393

and the Kai of Kahinarii in Hawaii, the inunda-
tion is ascribed to the rising of the waters of the
sea. In each account, the anger of the god is
considered as the cause of the inundation of the
world, and the destruction of its inhabitants. The
element employed in effecting it is the same as
that mentioned in the Bible ; and in the Tahitian
tradition, the boat or canoe being used, as the
means of safety to the favoured family, and the
preservation of the only domestic animals found
on the islands, appear corrupted fragments of the
memorial of Noah, the ark, and its inmates. These,
with other minor points of coincidence between
the native traditions and the Mosaic account of
the deluge, are striking, and warrant the inference,
that although the former are deficient in many
particulars, and have much that is fabulous in their
composition, they yet refer to the same event.

The memorial of an universal deluge, found
among all nations existing in those communities,
by which civilization, literature, science, and the
arts, have been carried to the highest perfection,
as well as among the most untutored and barba-
rous, preserved through all the migrations and
vicissitudes of the human family, from the remote
antiquity of its occurrence to the present time, is a
most decisive evidence of the authenticity of reve-
lation. The brief yet satisfactory testimony to
this event, preserved in the oral traditions of a
people secluded for ages from intercourse with
other parts of the world, furnishes strong addi-
tional evidence that the scripture record is irre-
fragable. In several respects, the Polynesian
account resembles not only the Mosaic, but those
preserved by the earliest families of the postdilu-
vian world, and supports the presumption that

394 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

their religious system has descended from the
Arkite idolatry, the basis of the mytliology of the
gentile nations. The mundane egg is conspicuous
in the cosmogony of some of the most ancient
nations. One of the traditions of the Hawaiians
states, that a bird deposited an egg (containing
the world in embryo) upon the surface of the
primeval waters. If the symbol of the egg be
supposed to refer to the creation, and the bird be
considered a corrupted memorial of the event re-
corded in the sacred writings, in which it is said,
" The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters,*' the coincidence is striking. It is no less
so, if it be referred to the ark, floating on the
waters of the deluge. The sleep of Ruabatu
accords with the slumber of Bramah, which was the
occasion of the crime that brought on the Hindoo
deluge. The warning to flee, and the means of
safety, resemble a tradition recorded by Koempfer,
as existing among the Chinese. The canoe of the
Polynesian Noah has its counterpart in the tradi-
tions of their antipodes, the Druids, whose memo-
rial states the bursting of the waters of the lakei
lieon, and the overwhelming of the face of all
lands, and drowning all mankind excepting two
individuals, who escaped in a naked vessel, (c^
vessel without sails,) by whom tlie island of Britain
was re-peopled. The safety which the progenitors
of the Peruvian race are said to have found in
caves, or the summits of the mountains, when the
waters overflowed the land, bears a resemblance to
the Hawaiian ; and that of the Mexican, in which
Coxcox, or Tezpi, and his wife, were preserved in
a bark, corresponds with the Tahitian tradition*
Other points of resemblance between the Polyne-
sian account, and the memorial of the deluge, pre-

NOTIONS OF DEATH. 395

served among the ancient nations, might be cited ;
but these are sufficient to shew the s^eement in
the testimony to the same event, preserved by the
most distant tribes of the human family.

Before closing the account of the ancient state
of the people, their views in relation to the origin
of those maladies with which they were afflicted,
the cause of death, and their ideas of a future
state, require to be noticed. Some of tlieir usages
and opinions on these subjects were remarkably
curious. Every disease was supposed to be the
effect of direct supernatural agency, and to be
inflicted by the gods for some crime against the
tabu, of which the sufferers had been guilty, or in
consequence of some offering made by an enemy
to procure their destruction. Hence, it is pro-
bable, in a great measure, resulted their neglect
and cruel treatment of their sick. The same
ideas prevailed with regard to death, every in-
stance of which they imagined was caused by the
direct influence of the gods.

The natives acknowledged that they possessed
articles of poison, which, when taken in the food,
would produce convulsions and death, but those
effects they considered more the result of the
god's displeasure, operating by means of these
substances, than the effects of the poisons them-
selves. Those who died of eating flsh, of which
several kinds found on their coasts are at certain
seasons unsuitable for food, were supposed to die by
the influence of the gods; who, they imagined,
had entered the fish, or rendered it poisonous.
Several Europeans have been affected by these
fish, though only slightly, usually causing swell-
ing of the body, a red colour diffused on the
skin, and a distressing head-ache. Those who

396 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

were killed in battle were also supposed to die
from the influence of the gods, who, they fancied,
had actually entered the weapons of their mur-
derers. Hence, those who died suddenly were
said to be seized by the god.

Their ideas of a future state were vague and
indefinite. They generally spoke of the place to
which departed spirits repaired on leaving the
body, as the po, state of night. This also was the
abode or resort of the gods, and those deified
spirits that had not been destroyed. What their
precise ideas of a spirit were, it is not easy to
ascertain. They appear, however, to have ima-
gined the shape or form resembled that of the
human body, in which they sometimes appeared
in dreams to the survivors.

When the spirit left the body, which they called
unuhi te varua e te atua, the spirit drawn out by
the god, (the same term, unuhi, is applied by them
to the drawing a sword out of its scabbard,) it was
supposed to be fetched, or sent for, by the god.
They imagined that oramattias, or demons, were
often waiting near the body, to seize the human
spirit as it should be drawn out (they supposed)
from the head ; and, under the influence of strong
impressions from such superstitions, or the effects
of a disordered imagination, when dying, the poor
creatures have sometimes pointed to the foot of
the mat or the couch on which they were lying,
and have exclaimed, "There the varua, spirits,
are waiting for my spirit ; guard its escape, pre-
serve it from them," &c.

On leaving the body, they imagined it was
seized by other spirits, conducted to the po, or
state of night, where it was eaten by the gods ; not
at once, but by degrees. They imagined, that

IDEAS OF HEAVEN. 397

different parts of the human spirit were scraped
with a kind of serrated shell , at different times ;
that the ancestors or relatives of the deceased per-
formed this operation ; that the spirit thus passed
through the god, and if it underwent this process
of being eaten, &c. three different times, it became
a deified or imperishable spirit, might visit the
world, and inspire others.

They had a kind of heaven, which they called
Miru, The heaven most familiar, especially in
the Leeward Islands, is Rohutu noanoa, sweet-
scented Rohutu. This was situated near Tama-
hani unaunaj glorious Tamahani, the resort of
departed spirits, a celebrated mountain on the
north-west side of Raiatea. The perfumed Rohu-
tu, though invisible but to spirits, was somewhere
between the former settlement and the district of
Tipaehapa on the north side of Raiatea. It was
described as a beautiful place, quite an Elysium,
where the air was remarkably salubrious, plants and
shrubs abundant, highly odoriferous, and in perpe-
tual bloom. Here tibe Areois, and others raised to
this state, followed all the amusements and pur-
suits to which they had been accustomed in the
world, without intermission or end. Here was
food in abundance, and every indulgence. It is
worthy of remark, that the misery of the one, and
enjoyments of the other, debasing as they were,
were the destiny of individuals, altogether irre-
spective of their moral character and virtuous
conduct. The only crimes that were visited by
the displeasure of their deities were the neglect of
some rite or ceremony, or the failing to furnish
required offerings. I have often, in conversations
wiUi the people « and sometimes with the priests,
endeayoured to ascertain whether they had any

998 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

idea of a person^s condition in a future state being
connected with his disposition and general conduct
in this; but I never could learn that they ex-
pected , in the world of spirits, any difference in
the treatment of a kind, generous, peaceful man,
and that of a cruel, parsimonious, quarrelsome
one. I am, however, inclined to think, from the
great anxiety about a future state, which some
have evinced when near death, that natural con-
science, which I believe pronounced a verdict on
the moral character of every action throughout
their lives, is not always inactive in the solemn
hour of dissolution, although its salutary effects
were neutralized by the strength of superstition.

As soon as an individual was dead, the tahua
tutera was employed, for the purpose of discovering
the cause* of the deceased person's death. In
oitier to effect this, the priest to(^ bis canoe, and
paddled slowly along on the sea, near the house in
which the body was lying, to watch the passive of
the spirit ; which they supposed would fly upon him,
with the emblem of the cause through which the
person died. If he had been cursed by the gods,
the spirit would appear with a flame, fire being the
agent employed in the incantation of the sorcerers;
ifpifoLody or killed, by the bribe of some enemy,
given to the gods, the spirit would appear with a
red feather, the emblem or sign of evil spirits
having entered his food. Afber a short time, the
tahua, or priest, returned to the house of the
deceased, and told the survivors the cause of his
death, and received his fee, the amount of which
was regulated by the circumstances of the parties.

The taata faatere, or faatubua, was then em-
ployed, to avert the destruction of the surviving
members of the family. A number of ceremonies

DISPOSAL OF A CORPSE. 399

were performed and prayers offered, according to
the cause of the death that had taken place ; and
when these were concluded^ the priest, informing
the family that he had been successful, and that
the remaining members were now safe, received
another fee, and departed.

The disposal of the corpse was the next concern.
The bodies of the chiefs, and persons of rank and
affluence, and those of the middle class, were pre-
served ; the bodies of the lower orders uncere-
moniously buried, which was called the burial of
a dog : when interred, the body was not laid out
straight or horizontal, but placed in a sitting pos-
ture, with the knees elevated, the face pressed
down between the knees, the hands fastened
under the legs, and the whole body tied with cord
or cinet wound repeatedly round. It was then
covered over, and deposited not very deeply in
the earth.

However great the attachment between the
deceased and the survivors might have been,
and however they might desire to prolong the
melancholy satisfaction resulting from the presence
of the lifeless body, on which they still felt it some
alleviation to gaze, the heat of the climate weis
such, as to require that it should be speedily
removed, unless methods were employed for its
preservation, and these were generally too expen-
sive for the poor and middle ranks. They were
therefore usually obliged to inter the corpse some-
times on the first, and seldom later than the
second day after death. During the short period
that they could indidge the painful sympathies
connected with the retention of the body, it was
placed on a sort of bier covered with the best white
native doth they possessed, and decorated with

400 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

wreaths and garlands of the most odoriferous
flowers. The body was also placed on a kind of
bed of green fragrant leaves, which were also
strewed over the floor of the dwelling. During
the period which elapsed between the death and
interment of the body, the relatives and surviving
friends sat round the corpse, indulging in melan-
choly sadness, giving vent to their grief in loud
and continued lamentations, often accompanied
with the use of the shark's tooth ; which they em-
ployed in cutting their temples, faces, and breasts,
till they were covered with blood from their self-
inflicted wounds. The bodies were frequently
committed to the grave in deep silence, unbroken
excepting by occasional lamentations of those who
attended. But on some occasions, the father deli-
vered an affecting and pathetic oration at the
funeral of his son.

The bodies of the dead, among the chiefs, were,
however, in general preserved above ground : a
temporary house or shed was erected for them,
and they were placed on a kind of bier. The
practice of embalming appears to have been long
familiar to them ; and the length of time which
the body was thus preserved, depended altogether
upon the costliness and care with which the pro-
cess was performed. The methods employed were
at all times remarkably simple: sometimes the
moisture of the body was removed by pressing the
diff*erent parts, drying it in the sun, and anointing
it with fragrant oils. At other times, the intes-
tines, brain, &c. were removed; all moisture was
extracted from the body, which was fixed in a
sitting position during the day, and exposed to
the sun, and, when placed horizontally, at night
was frequently turned over, that it might not remain

EMBALMING. 401

long on the same side. The inside was then filled
with cloth saturated with perfumed oils, which were
also injected into other parts of the body, and care-
fully rubbed over the outside every day. This,
together with the heat of the sun, and the dryness
of the atmosphere, favoured the preservation of
the body.

Under the influence of these causes, in the
course of a few weeks the muscles dried up, and
the whole body appeared as if covered with a kind
of parchment. It was then clothed, and fixed in
a sitting posture ; a small altar was erected before it,
and offerings of fruit, food, and flowers, were daily
presented by the relatives, or the priest appointed
to attend the body. In this state it was preserved
many months, and when it decayed, the skull
was carefully kept by the family, while the other
bones, &c. were buried within the pirecincts of the
family temple.

It is singular that the practice of preserving the
bodies of iJbeir dead by the process of embalming,
which has been thought to indicate a high degree
of civilization, and which was carried to such per-
fection by one of the most celebrated nations of
antiquity, some thousand years ago, should be
found to prevail among this people. It is also prac-
tised by other distant nations of the Pacific, and
on some of the coasts washed by its waters.

In commencing the process of embalming, and
placing the body on the bier, another priest was
employed, who was called the tahua bure tiapa-
pau, literally " corpse-praying priest." His office
was singular : when the house for the dead had
been erected, and the corpse placed upon the plat-
form or bier, the priest ordered a hole to be dug in
the earth or floor, near the foot of the platform.

D

402 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

Over this he prayed to the god, by whom it was
supposed the spirit of the deceased had been
required. The purport of his prayer was, that all
the dead man's sins, and especially that for which
his soul had been called to the po^ might be depo-
sited there, that they might not attach in any
degree to the survivors, and that the anger of the
god might be appeased.

The priest next addressed the corpse, usually
saying, £iia oe na te hara e vai at, ^^ With you
let the guilt now remain." The pillar or post of
the corpse, as it was called, was then planted in
the hole, perhaps designed as a personification of
the deceased, to exist after his body should have
decayed — ^the earth was thrown over, as they
supposed, the guilt of the departed — and the hole
filled up.

At the conclusion of this part of the curious rite,
the priest proceeded to the side of the corpse, and,
taking a number of small slips of the Jfa maia,
plantain leaf-stalk, fixed two or three pieces under
each arm, placed a few on the breast, and then, ad-
dressing tiie dead body, said, There are your family,
there is your child, there is your wife, there is your
father, and there is your mother, Be satisfied
yonder, (that is, in the world of spirits.) Look
not towards those who are left in this world. —
The concluding parts of the ceremony were de-
signed to impart contentment to the departed, and
to prevent the spirit from repairing to the places of
his former resort, and so distressing the survivors.

This was considered a most important ceremony,
being a kind of mass for the dead, and necessary
for tJie peace of the living, as well as the quiet of
the deceased. It was seldom omitted by any who
could procure the accustomed fees for the priest,

BURYING THE SINS OF THE DEAD. 403

which for this service were generally furnished in
pigs and cloth, in proportion to the rank or pos-
sessions of the family.

All who were employed in embalming, which
they called miri, were, during the process, care-
fully avoided by every person, as the guilt of the
crime for which the deceased had died, was sup-
posed in some degree to attach to such as touched
the body. They did not feed themselves, lest the
food denied by the touch of their polluted hands,
should cause their own death, — but were fed by
others.

As soon as the ceremony of depositing the sins
in the hole was over, all who had touched the body
or the garments of tlie deceased, which were
buried or destroyed, fled precipitately into the sea,
to cleanse themselves from the pollution, called
mahurukuru, which they had contracted by touch-
ing the corpse; casting also into the sea, the
clothes they had worn while employed in the work.
Having finished their ablutions, they gathered a
few pieces of coral from the bottom of the sea, and,
returning with them to the house, addressed the
dead body by saying, " With you may the ma-
huruhuruy or pollution, be,'' and threw down the
pieces of coral on the top of the hole that had been
dug for the purpose of receiving every thing con-
taminating, connected with the deceased.

The ceremonies in general were now finished,
but if the property of the family was abundant,
their attachment to the deceased great, and they
wished his spirit to be conveyed to Rohutu noanoay
the Tahitian paradise, a fifth priest was employed.
Costly offerings were presented, and valuable
articles given to the priest of Romatane, the
keeper of this happy place ; Urutaetae was th«

d2

404 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

guide of such as went thither, and tlie duty of the
priest now employed was to engage him to conduct
the spirit of the departed to this fancied region of
enjoyment.

The Tahitians divide their history into two eras,
the first they call the hau hupekupe, the rude or
unpolished age : during this period the bodies of
the dead were allowed to remain in the house in
which they had lived, and which was still occupied
by the survivors. A kind of stage or altar was
erected in the house, on which the body was laid.
But when the people became wiser, and society
improved, the hau una, neat or polished age,
commenced, which continued till the arrival
of foreigners. It was in the commencement of
this age, that separate houses were built for
the dead.

The houses erected as depositories for the dead,
were small and temporary buildings, though often
remarkably neat. The pillars supporting the roof
were planted in the ground, and were seldom more
than six feet high. The bier or platform on which
tiie body was laid, was about three feet from the
ground, and was moveable, for the purpose of
being drawn out, and of exposing the body to the
rays of the sun. The corpse was usually clothed,
except when visited by the relatives or friends of
the deceased. It was, however, for a long time
carefully rubbed with aromatic oils once a day.
. A light kind of altar was erected near it, on
which articles of food, fruits, and garlands of
flowers were daily deposited ; and if the deceased
were a chief of rank or fame, a priest or other
person was appointed to attend the corpse, and
present food to its mouth at different periods
during the day. When asked their reason for

DEPOSITORIES FOR THE DEAD. 405

this practice, they have said they supposed there
was a spiritual as well as a material part of food,
a part which they could smell ; and that if the
spirit of the deceased returned, the spirit or scent
of the offering would be grateful, or they were
influenced by a wish to appease any desire the
departed might have to return and partake of the
enjoyments of life. Connected with the deposi-
tories of the dead, there was what they called the
aumihay a kind of contagious influence, of which
they appeared to be afraid ; and hence, at night
especially, they avoided the place of sepulture.
The family, district, or royal maraes were the
general depositories of the bones of the departed,
whose bodies had been embalmed, and whose
skulls were sometimes preserved in the dwelling
of the survivors. The marae or temple being
sacred, and the bodies being under the guardian-
ship of the gods, were in general considered secure
when deposited there. This was not, however,
always the case ; and in times of war, the victors
sometimes, not only despoiled the temples of the
vanquished, and bore away their idol, but robbed
the sacred enclosure of the bones of celebrated
individuals. These spoils were appropriated to
what the nation considered the lowest degradation,
by being converted into chisels or borers, for the
builders of canoes and houses, or transformed into
fishing-hooks. In order to avoid this, they carried
the bones of their chiefs, and even the recently de-
ceased corpse, and deposited them in the caverns
of some of the most inaccessible rocks in the lofty
and fearful precipices of the mountain denies.

Notwithstanding the labour and care bestowed
on the bodies of the dead, they did not last very
long ; probably the most carefully preserved could

406 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

not be kept more than twelve months. When
they began to decay, the bones, &c. were buried,
but the skull was preserved in the family some-
times for several generations, wrapt carefully in
native cloth, and often suspended from some part
of the roof of their habitations. In some of the
islands they dried the bodies, and, wrapping them
in numerous folds of cloth, suspended them also
from the roofs of their dwelling-houses.

The tribes inhabiting the islands of the Pacific
were remarkably superstitious, and among them
none more so than the inhabitants of the Georgian
and Society Islands. They imagined they lived
in a world of spirits, which surrounded them night
and day, watching every action of their lives, and
ready to avenge the slightest neglect, or the least
disobedience to their injunctions, as proclaimed by
their priests.

. These dreaded beings were seldom thought to
resort to the habitations of men on .errands of
benevolence. They were supposed to haunt the
places of their former abode, to arouse the sur^
vivors.from their slumbers by making a squeaking
noise, to which, when the natives heard, they would
sometimes reply, asking what they wfere, what
they wanted, &c. Sometimes the spirits upbraided
the living with former wickedness, or thie neglect
of some ceremonious enactment, for which they
were unhappy.

When a person was seized with convulsions or
hysterics, it was said to be from seizure by the
spirits, who sometimes scratched their faces, tore
their hair, or, otherwise maltreated them. For
some time after the death of Taaroarii we could
seldom induce any of our servants to go out of the
house after it was dark, under an apprehension

FRANTIC ORIEF FOR THE DEAD. 407

that they should see^ or be seized by, his spirit.
They were, however, very ignorant young persons.
The natives in general laugh at their former cre-
dulity. The whole system of their superstition
seems to have been, in every respect, wonderfully
adapted to debase the mind, and keep the people
in the most abject subjection to the priests, who,
in order to maintain their influence, had recourse
to this extensive and imposing machinery of
supernatural agency; and it must be confessed
that, considering their isolated situation, their
entire ignorance of science, of natural and expe-
rimental philosophy, their ardent temperament,
the romantic nature of the country, and the adven-
turous character of many of their achievements,
there was something remarkably imposing to an
uncultivated mind in the system here inculcated.

Almost every native custom connected with the
death of relations or friends, was singular, and
none perhaps more so than the otohaay which,
though not confined to instances of death, was
then most violent. It consisted in the most frantic
expressions of grief, under which individuals acted
as if bereft of reason. It commenced when the
sick person appeared to be dying; the wailing
then was often most distressing, but as soon as
the spirit had departed, the individuals became
quite ungovernable.

They not only wailed in the loudest and most
affecting tone, but tore their hair, rent their gar-
ments, and cut themselves with shark's teeth or
knives in a shocking manner. The instrument
usually employed was a small cane, about four
inches long, with five or six shark's teeth fixed
in, on opposite sides. With one of these instru-
ments every female provided herself after mar-

408 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

riage, and on occasions of death it was unsparingly
used.

With some this was not sufficient ; they prepared
a short instrument, something like a plumber's
mallet, about five or six inches long, rounded at
one end for a handle, and armed with two or three
rows of shark's teeth fixed in the wood, at the
other. With this, on the death of a relative or a
friend, they cut themselves unmercifully, striking
the head, temples, cheek, and breast, till the blood
flowed profusely from the wounds. At the same
time they uttered the most deafening and agonizing
cries; and the distortion of their countenances,
their torn and dishevelled hair, the mingled tears
and blood that covered their bodies, their wild
gestures and unruly conduct, often gave them a
frightful and almost inhuman appearance. This
cruelty was principally performed by the females,
but not by them only ; the men committed on these
occasions the same enormities, and not only cut
themselves, but came armed with clubs and other
deadly weapons.

The otohaa commenced with the nearest rela-
tions of the deceased, but it was not confined to
them; so soon as the tidings spread, and the
sound of the lamentations was heard through the
neighbourhood, the friends and relatives repaired
to the spot, and joined in the tragic performance.

I am not prepared to say that the same enor-
mities were practised here as in the Sandwich
Islands at these times, but on the death of a king
or principal chief the scenes exhibited in and
around the house were in appearance demoniacal.
The relatives and members of the household began ;
the other chiefs of the island and their relatives
came to sympathize with the survivors, and, on

SELF-INFLICTIONS FOR THE DEAD. 409

reaching the place, joined in the infuriated conduct
of the bereaved ; the tenantry of the chiefs also
came, and, giving themselves up to all the savage
infatuation which the conduct of their associates or
the influence of their superstitions inspired, they
not only tore their hair, and lacerated their bodies
till they were covered with blood, but often fought
with clubs and stones till murder followed.

Anna has now some dreadful indentations on
his skull from blows he received by stones on one
of these occasions at Huahine ; ana in almost one
of the last otohaa observed in the same island, a
man was killed by the contents of the musket of
another. Since the introduction of fire-arms, they
have been used in these seasons ; and the smoke
and report of the guns must have added to the din
and terrible confiision of the scene. I cannot
conceive of a spectacle more appalling, than that
which the infuriated rabble, smeared with their
own blood, presenting every frightful distortion in
feature, and frantic madness in action, must often
have exhibited. This scene was sometimes con-
tinued for two or three successive days, or longer,
on the death of a person of distinction.

I have often conversed with the people on their
reasons for this strange procedure, and have asked
them if it was not exceedingly painful to them to
cut themselves as they were accustomed to do.
They have always answered that it was very painful
in some parts of the face-^that the upper lip, or
the space between the upper lip and the nostril,
was the most tender, and a stroke there was always
attended with the greatest pain — ^that it was their
custom, and therefore considered indispensable, as it
was designed to express the depth of their sorrow —
that any one who should not do so, would be con«

410 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

gidered deficient in respect for the deceased, and
also as insulting to his family. The acts of vio->
lence committed, they added, were the effects of
the paroxysms of their sorrow, which made them
neneva, or insensible. They continued till their
grief was ua maha^ or satisfied, which often was
not the case till they had received several severe
blows upon the tender part above mentioned.

The females on these occasions sometimes put
on a kind of short apron of a particular sort of
cloth, which they held up with one hand, while
they cut themselves with the other. In this apron
they caught the blood that flowed from the grief-
inflicted wounds, until it was almost saturated. It
was then dried in the sun, and given to the nearest
surviving relations as a proof of the affection of the
donor, and was preserved by the bereaved femily
as a token of the estimation in which the departed
had been held.

Had the otohaa been confined to instances of
death, or seasons of great calamity, it would not
have appeared so strange, as it does in connexion
with the fact, that it was practised on other occa-
sions, when . feelings the most opposite to those of
calamity were induced. In its milder form, it was
an expression of joy, as well as of grief; and when
a husband or a son returned to his family, after a
season of absence, or exposure to danger, his
arrival was greeted, not only with the cordial wel-
come, and the warm embrace, but loud wailing was
uttered, and the instrument armed with shark's
teeth applied, in proportion to the joy experienced.

The early visitors, and the first Missionaries,
were much surprised at this strange and contra-
dictory usage ; and, in answer to their inquiries,
were informed, that it was the custom of Tahiti.

ELEGIAC BALLADS. 411

The wailing was not so excessive, or the duration
so long, nor were the enormities committed so
great, as in the event of a death. The otohaa
appears to have been adopted by the people to
express the violence or excess of their passion,
whether joy or grief.

There was another custom associated with their
bereavements by death, of an opposite character,
and more agreeable to contemplate. This was
their elegiac ballads, prepared by the bards, and
recited for the consolation of the family. They
generally followed the otohaa, and were often
treasured up in the memory of the survivors, and
eventually became a part of the ballads of the
nation. Though highly figurative and beautiful in
sentiment, breathing a pathetic spirit of sympathy
and consolation, they were often historical, or
ratlier biographical, recounting, under all the
imagery of song, the leading events in the life of
the individuals, and were remarkably interesting,
when that life had been one of enterprise, adven-
ture, or incident.

Scarcely had Taaroarii, the young chieftain of
Huahine, been consigned to the tomb, when a
ballad was prepared, after the ancient usage of his
country. I heard it once or twice, and intended
to have committed it to paper, but my voyage to
the Sandwich Islands, shortly afterwards, pre-
vented. It commenced in a truly pathetic man-
ner ; the first lines were —

Ua moe te teoto o Atiapii i roto te ana
Ua rava e adu iona uuauna,

" The pride of Atiapii* sleeps in the cavern ;
Departed has its glory, or its brightness," &c,

* One of the names of the island of Huahine.

412 POLTKESIAK RESEARCHES,

It was, throughout, adapted to awaken tenderness,
and regret at the event, and sympathy with the
survivors.

Soon after the decease of a chief or person of
distinction, another singular ceremony, called a
kevay was performed by the relatives or depend-
ants. The principal actor in this procession was a
priest, or relative, who wore a curious dress, the
most imposing part of which was the head*oma-
ment, or parae. A cap of thick native cloth was
fitted close to the head ; in front were two large
broad mother-of-pearl shells, covering the face
like a mask, with one small aperture through
which the wearer could look. Above the mask a
number of beautiful, long, white, red-tipped, tail
feathers of the tropic bird, were fixed, diverging
like rays ; beneath the mask was a curved piece
of thin yet strong board, six or nine inches wide
in the centre, but narrow at the ends, which, turned
upwards, gave it the appearance of a crescent.

Attached to this was a beautiful kind of net-
work of small pieces of brilliant mother-of-pearl
shell called the ahu aua^ each piece being about
an inch or an inch and a half long, and less than
a quarter of an inch wide. Every piece was finely
polished, and reduced to the thinness of a card ; a
small perforation was made at each comer, and
the pieces fastened together by threads passed
through these perforations. They were fixed per-
pendicularly to the board, and extended nearly
from one end to the other. The depth varied
according to the taste or means of the family, but
it was generally nine inches or a foot.

The labour in making this part of the parae
must have been excessive. The many hundred
pieces of mother-of-pearl shelly that must have been

SINGULAR FUKEAAL PKOCESSION. 413

cut, ground down to the required tliickness, po-
lishedy and perforated, without iron tools, before a
single line could be €xed upon the head-dress,
required a degree of patience that is surprising.
The manufacture was regarded as a sacred work ;
emblems of intercourse with the gods were re-
quired to be placed in front of the parae when it
was made.

This part covered the breast of the wearer ; a
succession of pieces of black and yellow cloth
fastened to the pearl-shell netting, surrounded the
body, and reached sometimes to the loins, to the
knees, or even to the ankles. The beautiful
mother-of-pearl shell net-work was fringed with
feathers; a large bunch of man-of-war-bird's
plumage was fixed at each end of tlie board, and
two elegantly shaped oro-oro feather tassels, hang-
ing from each end, were attached to the light
board by cords, also covered with feathers.

In one hand the heva carried a paeho, a terrific
weapon, about five feet long, one end rounded for
a handle, the other broad and flat, and in shape
not unlike a short scythe. The point was orna-
mented with a tuft of feathers, and the inner or
concave side armed with a line of large, strong,
sharks* teeth, fixed in the wood by the fibres of the
tough ieie. In the other hand he held a tete or
kind of clapper, formed with a large and a smaller
pearl-oyster shell, beautifully polished.

The man thus arrayed led the procession, which
came from the valley, whither, as if under the
paroxysm of grief, the party had retired at the
death of the person for whom this was used, and
continued, as he walked along, to strike or jingle
the shells against each other, to give notice of his
approach. He was attended by a number of men

414 POLTNESIAK RESEARCHES.

and boys, painted with charcoal and red and white
clay, as if they had endeavoured to render them-
selves as hideous as possible. They wore only a
maro or girdle, and were covered with these
coloured earths. Sometimes the body was painted
red, with black and white stripes ; at other times
the face painted red or black, and the rest of the
body red and white. The pigment was mixed
with the gum of the bread-fruit tree, that it might
adhere to the skin. They were armed with a club
or cudgel, and proceeded through the district,
seizing and beating every person they met with,
who did not shew them the greatest respect ; any
one who should ridicule them would be unmerci-
fully cut with the paeho. The only remedy was
to fly to the king's temple, which was on tlus, as
well as some other occasions, a kind of sanctuary,
or place of refuge. In general, all who saw their
approach instantly fled, or hid themselves.

They did not enter any of the dwellings, but
often struck them as they passed by, to the great
terror of those within. They appeared and acted
as if they were deranged, and were supposed to be
inspired by the spirit of the deceased, to revenge
any injury he might have received, or to punish
those who had not shewn due respect to nis re-
mains. It was often the means of commencing a
war, which frequently proved fatal to multitudes
before it terminated. Tuiheva was the god of this
singular ceremony.

END OF VOL. 1.

London : Fisher, Son, and Jtcktbn, Priutmrs.