combats are sometimes very obstinately kept up, and when neither party seems likely to yield the ground, after two or three hours dispute, the king orders them to desist. The most perfect good humour constantly prevails on these occasions: if a man is knocked down, he rises with a smile; if his arm is broken, he retires to get it set, without seeming to think any thing of it: on the contrary, to be angry, or to fight with the least animosity, would be considered the mark of a very weak mind. After the battle, those who have contended with superior chiefs, or think they may have touched superior chiefs, perform the ceremony of móëmóë, to a chief at least as high in rank as any they may have come in contact with.

Every tenth day, as before stated, these ceremonies are repeated for seven or eight successive times. The child that has been mentioned as representing the wife of Alo Alo is generally chosen from among the female chiefs of the higher ranks, and is about eight or ten years old during the eighty days of this ceremony, she resides at the consecrated house of A'lo Alo, where, the day before the first ceremony, a cava party is held, at which she presides, as well as at a feast which follows. She has nothing to do on the actual days of the cere

mony, except to come with the deputation and sit down with them.

NAWGIA; or the ceremony of strangling children, as sacrifices to the gods, for the recovery of a sick relation. The blackest cloud that obscures the understanding of the Tonga people is surely that which prevents them seeing the unnatural cruelty and absurdity of this practice: we have, however, the most sanguine hopes that" Moloch-horrid king," will not much longer hold his reign in these islands. It is not, we verily believe, from a want of natural feeling, but from an excessive veneration and fear of the gods, created in an æra of great superstition, and now upheld by old practice, that the natives perform these horrible rites. All the by-standers behold the innocent victim with feelings of the greatest pity; but it is proper, they think, to sacrifice a child. who is at present of no use to society, and perhaps may not otherwise live to be, with the hope of recovering a sick chief, whom all esteem, and whom all think it a most important duty to respect, defend, and preserve, that his life may be of advantage to the country. The form of this ceremony is related (Vol. I. p. 228.): other instances (p. 379, and 454.)

The ceremony of Nawgia, (or strangling),

used to be performed upon the chief widow of Tooitonga, on the day of her husband's burial, that she might be interred with him. Two Tooitongas were buried during Mr. Mariner's time; one on his first arrival, and the other, (i. e. the last), a few months before he came away. The first of these two, however, had no chief wife, i. e. he had no wife at all, or else none that was of so high a rank as to take the charge of his household, and be the mistress over the others; consequently at his death no such ceremony was performed. The last Tooitonga's wife (the daughter of the late king, and sister of the present) was not subjected to this inhuman rite-thanks to the good sense of the late and present king. When old Finow was living, he used to say, that if Tooitonga died before his wife, she should not be strangled: "What," said he, "is the use of destroying a

young and beautiful woman? Who is there "dares say that the gods are merciless and "cruel? My daughter shall not be strangled!" Tooitonga did not die till the present king came into power, and we have already seen that he not only did not allow his sister to be strangled, but he also did not permit another Tooitonga to succeed. In consequence, it was whispered about, that some great misfortune would hap

pen to the country. At the Fiji islands, the principal wife of every chief, or at least of every considerable chief, undergoes this ceremony on the death of her husband. (See Vol. I. p. 341.)

TOOTOO-NIMA, or cutting off a portion of the little finger, as a sacrifice to the gods, for the recovery of a superior sick relation. This is very commonly done; so that there is scarcely a person living at the Tonga islands but who has lost one or both, or a considerable portion of both little fingers. Those who can have but few superior relations, such as those near akin to Tooitonga, or the king, or Veachi, have some chance of escaping, if their relations are tolerably healthy. It does not appear that the operation is painful. Mr. Mariner has witnessed more than once little children quarrelling for the honour (or rather out of bravado), of having it done. The finger is laid flat upon a block of wood: a knife, axe, or sharp stone is placed with the edge upon the line of proposed separation; and a powerful blow being given with a mallet or large stone, the operation is finished. From the nature and violence of the action, the wound seldom bleeds much the stump is then held in the smoke and steam arising from the combus

tion of fresh plucked grass: this stops any flow of blood. The wound is not washed for two days; afterwards it is kept clean, and heals in about two or three weeks, without

any application whatever. One joint is generally taken off, but some will have a smaller portion, to admit of the operation being performed several times on the same finger, in case a man has many superior relations.

BooToo, or funeral ceremonies. For a partial description of these, reference may be made to the burial of Toobó Neuha; (Vol. I. p. 150.) for a particular one, as it regards the burial of a king, to that of Finow, (p. 393.) What remains, therefore, principally to be described, are the peculiarities attending the burial of Tooitonga in the first place, however, we shall give the names of the different parts of the ceremony of burials in general; the modes of all which have been already related in the instance last referred to: the names are these.

FALA, or procuring small stones, (white and black), and sand, to cover the grave.

Too'тoo, or burning the body in spots, with lighted rolls of tapa.

LA'FA burning the arm in about six places, each in form of five or six concentric circles. TOOGI: beating the cheeks, and rubbing off