655 SEPT. 1777.] REMARKS ON BARBAROUS CEREMONIES. Friendly Islands. When I described | attempt made by them to preserve any the "Natche" at Tongataboo, I men- appearance of decency was by exerting tioned that, on the approaching sequel their authority to prevent the people of that festival, we had been told that from coming upon the very spot where ten men were to be sacrificed. This may the ceremonies were performed, and give us an idea of the extent of this to suffer us as strangers to advance a religious massacre in that island. And little forward. They were, however, though we should suppose that never very candid in their answers to any more than one person is sacrificed on questions that were put to them conany single occasion at Otaheite, it is cerning the institution; and particumore than probable that these occa- larly on being asked what the intention sions happen so frequently as to make of it was. They said that it was an a shocking waste of the human race; old custom, and was agreeable to their for I counted no less than forty-nine god, who delighted in, or in other skulls of former victims lying before words came and fed upon, the sacrithe "morai" where we saw one more fices; in consequence of which he added to the number. And as none complied with their petitions. Upon of those skulls had as yet suffered any its being objected that he could not considerable change from the weather, feed on these, as he was neither seen it may hence be inferred that no great to do it, nor were the bodies of the length of time had elapsed since at animals quickly consumed; and that least this considerable number of un- as to the human victim they prehappy wretches had been offered upon vented his feeding on him by burying this altar of blood. him to all this they answered, that he came in the night, but invisibly; and fed only on the soul or immaterial part, which according to their doctrine remains about the place of sacrifice until the body of the victim be entirely wasted by putrefaction. The custom, though no consideration can make it cease to be abominable, might be thought less detrimental in some respects if it served to impress any awe for the Divinity, or reverence for religion, upon the minds of the multitude. But this is so far from being the case, that though a great number of people had assembled at the "morai on this occasion, they did not seem to show any proper reverence for what was doing or saying during the celebration of the rites. And Omai happening to arrive after they had begun, many of the spectators flocked round him and were engaged the remainder of the time in making him relate some of his adventures, which they listened to with great attention, regardless of the solemn offices performing by their priests. Indeed, the priests themselves, except the one who chiefly repeated the prayers, either from their being familiarised to such objects, or from want of confidence in the efficacy of their institutions, observed very little of that solemnity which is necessary to give to religious performances their due weight. Their dress was only an ordinary one; they conversed together without scruple; and the only It were much to be wished that this deluded people may learn to entertain the same horror of murdering their fellow-creatures, in order to furnish such an invisible banquet to their god, as they now have of feeding corporeally on human flesh themselves. And yet we have great reason to believe that there was a time when they were cannibals. We were told (and indeed partly saw it) that it is a necessary ceremony, when a poor wretch is sacrificed, for the priest to take out the left eye. This he presents to the king, holding it to his mouth, which he desires him to open; but instead of putting it in, immediately withdraws it. This they call "eating the man," or "food for the chief;" and perhaps we may observe here some traces of former times, when the dead body was really feasted upon. But, not to insist upon this, it is certain that human sacrifices are not the only barbarous custom we find still prevailing amongst this benevolent, humane have faithfully described in the last Chapter, leaving us no other business in Attahooroo, we embarked about noon in order to return to Matavai, and in our way visited Towha, who had remained on the little island where we met him the day before. Some conversation passed between Otoo and him on the present posture of public affairs, and then the latter solicited me once more to join them in their war against Eimeo. By my positive refusal I entirely lost the good graces of this chief. people. For besides cutting out the jaw-bones of their enemies slain in battle, which they carry about as trophies, they in some measure offer their dead bodies as a sacrifice to the "Eatooa." Soon after a battle in which they have been victors, they collect all the dead that have fallen into their hands, and bring them to the "morai," where with a great deal of ceremony they dig a hole and bury them all in it, as so many offerings to the gods; but their skulls are never after taken up. Their own great chiefs that fall in battle are treated in a different manner. We were informed that their late King Tootaha, Tubourai-tamaide, and another chief who fell with them in the battle, fought with those of Tiaraboo, and were brought to this "morai," at Attahooroo. There their bowels were cut out by the priests before the great altar; and the bodies afterward buried in three different places, which were pointed out to us, in the great pile of stones that compose the most conspicuous part of this "morai." And their common men who also fell in this battle were all buried in one hole at the foot of the pile. This Omai, who was present, told me was done the day after the battle, with much pomp and ceremony, and in the midst of a great concourse of people, as a thanksgiving offering to the "Eatooa," for the victory they had obtained; while the vanquished had taken refuge in the mountains. There they remained a week or ten days, till the fury of the victors was over, and a treaty set on foot by which it was agreed that Otoo should be declared King of the whole island; and the solemnity of investing him with the "maro was performed at the same "morai," with great pomp, in the presence of all the principal men of the country. CHAPTER III. THE close of the very singular scene exhibited at the "morai," which I On the 14th, a party of us dined ashore with Omai, who gave excellent fare, consisting of fish, fowls, pork, and puddings. After dinner, I attended Otoo, who had been one of the party, back to his house, where I found all his servants very busy getting a quantity of provisions ready for me. Amongst other articles there was a large hog, which they killed in my presence. The entrails were divided into eleven portions, in such a manner that each of them contained a bit of everything. These portions were distributed to the servants, and some dressed theirs in the same oven with the hog, while others carried off undressed what had come to their share. There was also a large pudding, the whole process in making which I saw. It was composed of bread-fruit, ripe plantains, taro, and palm, or Pandanus, nuts, each rasped, scraped, or beat up fine, and baked by itself. A quantity of juice expressed from cocoa-nut kernels was put into a large tray or wooden vessel. The other articles, hot from the oven, were deposited in this vessel, and a few hot stones were also put in, to make the contents simmer. Three or four men made use of sticks to stir the several ingredients, till they were incorporated one with another, and the juice of the cocoa-nut was turned to oil; so that the whole mass at last became of the consistency of a hasty-pudding. Some of these puddings are excellent, and few that we make in England equal them. I seldom or never dined without one when I could get it, which was not always the case. Otoo's hog SEPT. 1777.] A REMARKABLE PRESENT OF CLOTH. being baked, and the pudding which I have described being made, they, together with two living hogs and a quantity of bread-fruit and cocoanuts, were put into a canoe and sent on board my ship, followed by myself and all the royal family. The following evening, a young ram of the Cape breed, that had been lambed, and with great care brought up on board the ship, was killed by a dog. Incidents are of more or less consequence, as connected with situation. In our present situation, desirous as I was to propagate this useful race amongst these islands, the loss | of the ram was a serious misfortune, as it was the only one I had of that breed, and I had only one of the English breed left. And in the evening of the 7th we played off some fireworks before a great concourse of people. The next day a party of us dined with our former shipmate, Oedidee, on fish and pork. The hog weighed about thirty pounds; and it may be worth mentioning that it was alive, dressed, and brought upon the table within the hour. We had but just dined, when Otoo came and asked me if my belly was full? On my answering in the affirmative, he said, "Then come along with me." I accordingly went with him to his father's, where I found some people employed in dressing two girls with a prodigious quantity of fine cloth, after a very singular fashion. The one end of each piece of cloth, of which there was a good many, was held up over the heads of the girls, while the remainder was wrapped round their bodies, under the arm-pits. Then the upper ends were let fall, and hung down in folds to the ground over the other, so as to bear some resemblance to a circular hoop-petticoat. Afterwards, round the outside of all, were wrapped several pieces of differently coloured cloth, which considerably increased the size; so that it was not less than five or six yards in circuit, and the weight of this singular attire was as much as the poor girls could support. To each were hung 657 At two "taames," or breast-plates, by Nor Ótoo was not more attentive to supply our wants by a succession of presents, than he was to contribute to our amusement by a succession of diversions. A party of us having gone down to Oparre on the 10th, he treated us with what may be called a play. His three sisters were the actresses; and the dresses they appeared in were new and elegant, that is, more so than we had usually met with at any of these islands. But the principal object I had in view this day in going to Oparre was to take a view of an embalmed corpse, which some of our gentlemen had happened to meet with at that place, near the residence of Otoo. On inquiry I found it to be the remains of Tee, a chief well known to me when I was at this island during my last voyage. It was lying in a "toopapaoo," more elegantly constructed than their common ones, and in all respects similar to that lately seen by us at Oheitepeha, in which the remains of Waheiadooa are deposited, embalmed in the same manner. When we arrived at the place, the body was under cover and wrap ped up in cloth within the "toopa- | paoo;" but at my desire the man who had the care of it brought it out and laid it upon a kind of bier, in such a manner that we had as full a view of it as we could wish; but we were not allowed to go within the pales that enclosed the "toopapaoo." After he had thus exhibited the corpse, he hung the place with mats and cloth, so disposed as to produce a very pretty effect. We found the body not only entire in every part, but what surprised us much more, was that putrefaction seemed scarcely to be begun, as there was not the least disagreeable smell proceeding from it, though the climate is one of the hottest, and Tee had been dead above four months. The only remarkable alteration that had happened was a shrinking of the muscular parts of the eyes; but the hair and nails were in their original state, and still adhered firmly; and the several joints were quite pliable, or in that kind of relaxed state which happens to persons who faint suddenly. Such were Mr Anderson's remarks to me, who also told me, that on his inquiring into the method of effecting this preservation of their dead bodies, he had been informed that soon after their death they are disembowelled by drawing the intestines and other viscera out at the anus, and the whole cavity is then filled or stuffed with cloth introduced through the same part; that when any moisture appeared on the skin it was carefully dried up, and the bodies afterward rubbed all over with a large quantity of perfumed cocoa-nut oil, which being frequently repeated, preserved them a great many months, but at last they gradually moulder away. This was the information Mr Anderson received; for my own part I could not learn any more about their mode of operation than what Omai told me, who said that they made use of the juice of a plant which grows amongst the mountains; of cocoa-nut oil; and of frequent washing with sea-water. I was also told that the bodies of all their great men who died a natural death are preserved in this manner; and that they expose them to public view for a considerable time after. At first they are laid out every day when it does not rain, afterwards the intervals become greater and greater, and at last they are seldom to be seen. In the evening we returned from Oparee, where we left Otoo and all the royal family; and I saw none of them till the 12th, when all but the chief himself paid me a visit. He, as they told me, was gone to Attahooroo to assist this day at another human sacrifice which the chief of Tiaraboo had sent thither to be offered up at the "morai." This second instance within the course of a few days was too melancholy a proof how numerous the victims of this bloody superstition are amongst this humane people. I would have been present at this sacrifice too had I known of it in time, for now it was too late. From the very same cause I missed being present at a public transaction which had passed at Oparre the preceding day, when Otoo, with all the solemnities observed on such occasions, restored to the friends and followers of the late King Tootaha the lands and possessions which had been withheld from them ever since his death. Probably the new sacrifice was the concluding ceremony of what may be called the reversal of attainder. The following evening Otoo returned from exercising this most disagreeable of all his duties as Sovereign; and the next day, being now honoured with his company, Captain Clerke and I, mounted on horseback, took a ride round the plain of Matavai, to the very great surprise of a great train of people who attended on the occasion, gazing upon us with as much astonishment as if we had been Centaurs. Omai, indeed, had once or twice be fore this attempted to get on horseback, but he had as often been thrown off before he could contrive to seat himself; so that this was the first time they had seen anybody ride a horse. What Captain Clerke and I began was after this repeated every SEPT. 1777.] ANIMALS GIVEN TO OTOO. 659 day while we stayed, by one or another | 16th, attended by Mr Anderson. of our people, and yet the curiosity of the natives continued still unabated. They were exceedingly delighted with these animals, after they had seen the use that was made of them; and as far as I could judge they conveyed to them a better idea of the greatness of other nations than all the other novelties put together that their European visitors had carried amongst them. Both the horse and mare were in good case, and looked extremely well. The next day, Etary or Olla, the god of Bolabola, who had for several days past been in the neighbourhood of Matavai, removed to Oparre, attended by several sailing canoes. We were told that Otoo did not approve of his being so near our station, where his people could more easily invade our property. I must do Otoo the justice to say that he took every method prudence could suggest to prevent thefts and robberies; and it was more owing to his regulations than to our circumspection that so few were committed. He had taken care to erect a little house or two on Nothing, however, occurred on this occasion that was either interesting or curious. We saw Etary and his followers present some coarse cloth and hogs to Otoo, and each article was delivered with some ceremony and a set speech. After this, they and some other chiefs held a consultation about the expedition to Eimeo. Etary at first seemed to disapprove of it, but at last his objections were overruled. Indeed it appeared next day that it was too late to deliberate about this measure; and that Towha, Potatou, and another chief had already gone upon the expedition, with the fleet of Attahooroo. For a messenger arrived in the evening with intelligence that they had reached Eimeo, and that there had been some skirmishes without much loss or advantage on either side. In the morning of the 18th Mr Anderson, myself, and Omai went again with Otoo to Oparre, and took with us the sheep which I intended to leave upon the island, consisting of an English ram and ewe and three the other side of the river behind our Cape ewes, all which I gave to Otoo. post, and two others close to our tents As all the three cows had taken the on the bank between the river and bull, I thought I might venture to the sea. In all these places some of divide them and carry some to Uliehis own people constantly kept watch, tea. With this view I had them and his father generally resided on brought before us, and proposed to Matavai Point, so that we were in a Etary that if he would leave his bull manner surrounded by them. Thus with Otoo, he should have mine and stationed, they not only guarded us one of the three cows, adding that I in the night from thieves, but could would carry them for him to Ulietea; observe everything that passed in the for I was afraid to remove the Spanish day, and were ready to collect contri- bull, lest some accident should hapbutions from such girls as had private pen to him, as he was a bulky, spirited connections with our people, which beast. To this proposal of mine Etary was generally done every morning. at first made some objections, but at So that the measures adopted by him last agreed to it, partly through the to secure our safety at the same time persuasion of Omai. However, just served the more essential purpose of as the cattle were putting into the enlarging his own profits. Otoo in-boat, one of Etary's followers valiantly forming me that his presence was necessary at Oparre, where he was to give audience to the great personage from Bolabola, and asking me to accompany him, I readily consented in hopes of meeting with something worth our notice. Accordingly I went with him in the morning of the opposed any exchange whatever being made. Finding this, and suspecting that Etary had only consented to the proposed arrangement for the present moment to please me, and that after I was gone he might take away his bull, and then Otoo would not have one, I thought it best to drop the |