to the neighbouring temporary houses, to eat, &c. It will be seen, that what we have already related of these ceremonies differs in many respects, some in kind, and all in degree, from those attending the burial of the king; but those we are about to describe are altogether peculiar to Tooitonga.

In the afternoon of the day of burial, the body being already in the fytoca, almost every man, woman, and child, provided with a tóme* and a piece of boláta, † sit down at about eighty yards from the grave. In the course of an hour the multitude collects, probably to above three thousand, all clothed in old mats, &c. and seated as just stated. One of the female mourners now comes out of the fytoca, and advances in front, where she calls out to the people, saying, Mo too, bea of my, Arise ye, and approach! whereupon the people get up, and, advancing about forty yards, again sit down. Two men behind the grave now begin to blow conch shells, and six others, with large lighted torches, about six feet high, and six inches thick, (made of bundles of tómës), next advance forward from behind the fytoca, descend the mount, and walk round one after another several times, between the fytoca and the people, waving their flaming torches in the air; they then begin to ascend the mount, at which moment all the people rise up together, and suddenly snap their bolátas, nearly at the same time, producing a considerable crash. They then follow the men with the torches, in a single line,

* A certain part of the cocoa-nut tree, of which torches are made.

Part of the stem of the banana or plantain tree, used to receive the ashes falling from lighted torches.

ascending the mount and walking round the fytoca, as they pass the back of which the first six men deposit on the ground their extinguished torches, and the rest their tómës and bolátas, the mourners within thanking them for providing these things. Thus they proceed round, and return to their places and sit down. The mataboole, who has the direction of the ceremonies, now advances in front of the people, and orders them to divide themselves in parties, according to their districts; which being done, he gives to one party the business of clearing away the bushes, grass, &c. from one side of the grave, and to another to do the same in regard to another part, a third to remove such and such rubbish, &c.; so that the whole neighbourhood of the fytoca becomes perfectly clear. This being done, all the people return to their respective temporary houses. Soon after dark, certain persons stationed at the grave begin again to sound the conchs, while others chant partly in an unknown language, * and partly in Hamoa, a sort of song, or rather a piece of recitative. While this is going on, a number of men in the neighbourhood get ready to come to the grave, to perform a part of the ceremony which the reader will not think altogether consonant with the high character for cleanliness which we have

* The natives can give no account of what this language is, nor how they originally came to learn the words. It has been handed down from father to son, among that class of people whose business it is to direct burial ceremonies. None of them understand the words. It begins thus: too fia o chi tóccalów chi eio toccalów ca me fafángo eio manáve táwto, &c. There are several Tonga words among it, and in all probability it is old or corrupted Tonga, though no sense can now be made of it.

given the natives: it must be considered, however, a religious rite, standing upon the foundation of very ancient custom. These men, above sixty in number, assemble before the grave, and wait farther orders. The chanting being finished, and the conchs having ceased to blow, one of the mourners comes forward, seats herself outside the fytoca, and addresses the people thus. "Men! ye are gathered here to perform the duty imposed on you; bear up, and let not your exertions be wanting to accomplish the work." Having said this, she retires into the fytoca. The men now approach the mount (it being dark), and (if the phrase is allowable) perform their devotions to Cloacina, after which they retire. As soon as it is daylight the following morning, the women of the first rank (wives and daughters of the greatest chiefs) assemble with their female attendants, bringing baskets, one holding one side, and one the other, advancing two and two, with large shells to clear up the depositions of the over night; and in this ceremonious act of humility there is no female of the highest consequence refuses to take her part. Some of the mourners in the fytoca generally come out to assist, so that in a very little while the place is made perfectly clean. This is repeated the fourteen following nights, and as punctually cleared away by sun-rise every morning. No persons but the agents are allowed to be witnesses of these extraordinary ceremonies, at least it would be considered highly indecorous and irreligious to be so. On the sixteenth day, early in the morning, the same females again assemble; but now they are dressed up in the finest gnatoo, and most beautiful Hamoa mats, decorated with ribands and with

wreaths of flowers round their necks: they also bring new baskets, ornamented with flowers, and little brooms very tastefully made. Thus equipped they approach, and act as if they had the same task to do as before, pretending to clear away the dirt, though no dirt is now there, and take it away in their baskets. They then return to the mood, and resume their mourning mats and leaves of the ifi tree. Such are the transactions of the fifteen days, every day the ceremony of the burning torches being also repeated. The natives themselves used to express their regret that the filthy part of these ceremonies was necessary to be performed, to demonstrate their great veneration for the high character of Tooitonga, and that it was the duty of the most exalted nobles, even of the most delicate females of rank, to perform the meanest and most disgusting offices, rather than the sacred ground in which he was buried should remain polluted. For one month, from the day of burial, greater or less quantities of provisions are brought every day, and shared out to the people. On the first day a prodigious quantity is supplied; but on every succeeding day a less quantity, gradually decreasing till the last, when, comparatively, a very small portion is brought. The expenditure, and we may say waste of provisions, is however, so great, as to require a taboo to be laid on certain kinds of provisions, (see vol. I. p. 111.), which lasts about eight or ten months; and at the end of that time the ceremony of fuccalahi is performed to remove it.

TA'BOO.-This word has various shades of signification; it means sacred or consecrated to a god, having the same signification as fucca égi;

it means prohibited or forbidden, and is applied not only to the thing prohibited, but to the prohibition itself, and frequently (when it is in sacred matters), to the person who breaks the prohibition. Thus if a piece of ground or a house be consecrated to a god, by express declaration, or the burial of a great chief, it is said to be taboo; the like if a canoe be consecrated, which is frequently done, that it may be more safe in long voyages, &c. As it is forbidden to quarrel or fight upon consecrated ground, so fighting in such a place would be said to be taboo, and those that fought would be said also to be táboo; and a man who is thus táboo would have to make some sacrifice to the gods as an atonement for the sacrilege, as instanced in Palavali's case. (See vol. I. p. 189). If a man be guilty of theft, or any crime whatsoever, he is said to have broken the taboo ; and as all such persons are particularly supposed liable to be bitten by sharks, an awkward mode of discovering a thief is founded upon this notion, by making all the suspected persons go into the water, where sharks frequent, and he who is bitten or devoured is looked upon as the guilty person. If any one touches a superior chief, or superior relation, or any thing immediately belonging to him, he táboos himself; but this is not supposed to produce any bad consequence, unless he feeds himself with his own hands, without first removing this táboo, which is to be done by performing the ceremony of móë-móë, directly to be explained. If a person touches the body of a dead chief, or any thing personally belonging to him, he becomes taboo, and time alone can relieve him. (See note, vol. I. p. 133). Cer