_POLYNESIAN SUPERSTITIONS._
When Captain Cook first visited those beautiful islands of the South
Pacific which are now included under the general name of Polynesia, he
found their inhabitants given over to the lowest and coarsest idolatry.
Many of their rites and ceremonies were as lewd as any practised in
ancient times under the auspices of the Paphian Venus. Gradually they were
brought within the influence of the missionary work of the Christian
Church; and though, if we may credit the testimony of recent observers,
much heathenism still prevails, and gross superstitions are still secretly
nourished, there cannot be a doubt, that, on the whole, their moral
condition has been materially elevated.
Among the pioneers of the Cross in these “Summer-isles of Eden” one of the
most eminent and successful was the Rev. John Williams; a missionary of
the true type, of an enlightened mind and broad sympathies, who, after a
long career of noble labour, sealed his witness to the truth with his
blood, and lives in the Gospel record as the Martyr of Erromanga. From the
plain, unvarnished, and effective chronicle of his “Missionary
Enterprises” we glean much interesting information respecting the
idolatrous ways of the islanders, revealing their identity with the
superstitions that from all times have dominated over uncivilised man. In
Rarotonga as in Mexico, for instance, the gods were supposed to be
propitiated by human sacrifices; and in many of the islands cannibalism
existed in its most disgusting form and under the sanction of a religious
ordinance.
From the chief of Aitutaki Mr. Williams obtained some curious relics of
idolatry. As for example:--an idol named _Te-rongo_, one of the great
deities, called a _Kaitangata_, or man-eater. The priests of this idol
were supposed to be inspired by the shark.
Tangarou, the great national god of Aitutaki, and of almost all the
adjacent islands. He holds the net with which he catches the spirits of
men as they fly from their bodies, and a spear with which he kills them.
A rod, with snares at the end, made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut husk,
with which the priest caught the spirit of the god. It was used in cases
of pregnancy, when the female was ambitious that her child should be a
son, and become a famous warrior. It was also employed in wartime to catch
the god by his leg, to secure his influence on the side of the party
performing the ceremony.
Ruanu; a chief from Raiatea, who, ages ago, sailed in a canoe from that
island, and settled at Aitutaki. From him a genealogy is traced. He died
at Aitutaki, and was deified as _Te atua taitai tere_, or the conductor of
fleets.
Tanu; with his fan and other appendages; the god of thunder. The natives,
when they heard a peal of thunder, were accustomed to say that this god
was flying: and produced this sound by the flapping of his wings.
The Rarotongan idols were of a singular character. From their size they
might have suited Swift’s nation of Brobdingnagians, for the smallest
seems to have been about fifteen feet high. Each was wrought out of a
piece of _aito_, or iron wood, about four inches in diameter, carved with
a rude imitation of the human hand at one end, and with an obscene figure
at the other; round it were wrapped numerous folds of native cloth, until
it measured two or three yards in circumference. Near the wooden image
some red feathers were strewn, and a string of small pieces of polished
pearl shells was regarded as the _manava_, or soul of the god.
An idol, somewhat resembling a Chinese joss, was placed in the fore-part
of every fishing-canoe; and prior to their departure on a fishing
excursion, the boatmen aways presented it with offerings, and invoked it
to grant them a successful issue.
A striking scene was that when Papeiha, a converted islander, lifted up
his voice against idolatry, for the first time, among the banana-groves of
Rarotonga.
The Rarotongans had assembled in great numbers at a _marae_, or sacred
enclosure, for the purpose of making offerings of food to the gods. Many
priests, pretending to be inspired, were filling the air with shouts and
yells; whilst around them gathered the deluded worshippers, some with one
side of their face and body blackened with charcoal; others were painted
with stripes of various colours; others figured as warriors, wearing large
caps adorned with white cowrie shells and birds’ feathers. Breaking into
their midst, Papeiha boldly addressed them on their folly in devoting such
large quantities of food to a log of wood which they had carved and
decorated and called a god. This challenge was immediately accepted by one
of the priests, who springing to his feet, protested that their god was a
real god, and a very powerful god, and that they were that day celebrating
a very sacred feast.
Papeiha replied that the day was at hand when their folly would be
revealed to them by the true GOD JEHOVAH, who would make their so-called
gods “fuel for the fire.” This strong declaration greatly perplexed the
crowd, but they continued to listen attentively while Papeiha commented on
the love of GOD in giving HIS SON to die for sinners. After he had ceased,
the people asked him many questions; among others,--“Where does your GOD
live?” He answered, that Heaven was His dwelling-place, but that both
Heaven and Earth were filled with the majesty of His presence. They
rejoined, in their inability to conceive of an Invisible but Omnipresent
Deity;--“We cannot see Him, but ours are here before our eyes, and, if the
earth was full of your GOD, He would surely be big enough to be seen.”
“And,” said another, “why do we not run against Him?” To which Papeiha
ingeniously responded:--“That the earth was full of air, but we did not
run against it: that we were surrounded by light, but it did not impede
our progress.”
Five months later, a priest came to Papeiha and his associate missionary
Tiberio, announcing his resolve to burn his idols; and he brought with him
his eldest son, a boy of ten years old, to place under their care, lest
the gods in their wrath should destroy him. Evidently, in spite of his
iconoclastic purpose, the priest still cherished a belief in the power of
his wooden deities. Leaving the child with the two teachers, he returned
home, and next day at early dawn returned, staggering under the weight of
his cumbrous idol. A crowd followed him, shouting at him as a madman, and
looking upon him as one pre-doomed to destruction by his own folly; but he
held fast to his resolve to embrace the word of JEHOVAH, and declared that
he had no fear of the issue. He threw his idol at the feet of the
teachers, one of whom fetched his saw to cut it up; but the crowd, as soon
as they saw the instrument applied to the head of the god, were stricken
with panic fear, and fled away. As no catastrophe occurred, they gradually
returned impelled by curiosity, which is sometimes stronger than fear; and
in their presence, amidst profound excitement, the first rejected idol of
Rarotonga was committed to the flames.
To convince the people of the absurdity of their apprehensions, the
teachers, as soon as the idol was converted into ashes, roasted some
bananas upon them, of which they ate, and invited the spectators to
partake. None however were brave enough to admit so dangerous a morsel
into their mouths, and they waited, open-eyed, for the expected result of
the profane audacity of the two teachers. But, like the inhabitants of
Melita, “after they had looked a great while and saw no harm come to them,
they changed their minds,” and in less than ten days after this event no
fewer than fourteen idols were destroyed. Soon afterwards, the chief
Tinomana sent for the missionaries, and on their arrival at his
mountain-home, informed them that after much deliberation, he had resolved
to become a Christian, and to place himself under their direction. He
therefore wished to know what was the first step he ought to take. They
informed him that he must destroy his maraes and burn his idols; to which
he immediately replied, “Come with me and see them destroyed.” On reaching
the place he desired some person to take a firebrand and set fire to the
temple, the _ataraw_, or altar, and the _unus_, or sacred pieces of carved
wood by which the marae was decorated. Four huge idols were then deposited
at the feet of the teachers, who, having read a portion of the tenth
chapter of S. Luke’s Gospel, which was peculiarly appropriate, especially
from verse 17 to 20, stripped them of their linen wrappings, which they
distributed among the people, and threw them into the flames.
Some of the spectators waxed wroth with the chief, and expressed
themselves with great violence, denouncing him as a fool and a madman for
burning his gods, and listening to worthless fellows who “were drift-wood
from the sea, washed on shore by the waves of the ocean.” The women were
specially vehement in their grief, and broke out into the loudest and
dolefulest lamentations imaginable. Many of them inflicted deep gashes on
their heads with sharp shells and shark’s teeth, and ran wildly to and
fro, smeared with the blood which streamed from their wounds, and crying
in tones of the deepest melancholy, “Alas, alas, the gods of the madman
Tinomana, the gods of the insane chief are given to the flames!” Others,
blackened with charcoal, were not less demonstrative.
In the course of a few days a clean sweep was made of the idols of the
district; never were Iconoclasts, not even our Puritan forefathers, more
thorough or more resolute. The teachers then advised Tinomana and their
other converts to prepare their food for the Sunday, and attend worship at
the mission station. This they did,--but they came armed as for battle,
with war-caps, slings, and spears, fearing lest the irate _Satanus_ (as
they called the idolaters) should attack them. Neither in coming nor
going, however, were they molested.
“At this time,” says Mr. Williams,[54] “a ludicrous circumstance occurred,
which will illustrate the ignorance and superstition of this people. A
favourite cat had been taken on shore by one of the teachers’ wives on our
first visit, and not liking his new companions, Tom fled to the mountains.
The house of the priest Tiaki, who had just destroyed his idol, was
situated at a distance from the settlement, and at midnight while he was
lying asleep on his mat, his wife, who was sitting awake by his side
musing upon the strange events of the day, beheld with consternation two
fires glistening in the doorway, and heard with surprise a mysterious
voice. Almost petrified with fear, she awoke her husband, and began to
upbraid him for his folly in burning his god, who, she declared, was now
come to be avenged of them. ‘Get up and pray, get up and pray,’ she said.
The husband arose, and on opening his eyes beheld the same glaring lights,
and heard the same ominous sound. Impelled by the extreme urgency of the
case, he commenced, with all possible vehemence, vociferating the alphabet
as a prayer to GOD to deliver them from the vengeance of Satan. On hearing
this, the cat, as much alarmed as the priest and his wife, of whose
nocturnal peace he had been the unconscious disturber, ran away, leaving
the poor people congratulating themselves on the efficacy of their
prayer.”
Afterwards, in the course of his wanderings, Puss reached the district of
the _Satanus_; and, as the marae was situated in a sequestered corner, and
overshadowed by the luxuriant foliage of patriarchal trees, the graybeards
of the wood, he was well pleased with the place. In order to keep the best
of company, he took up his abode with the gods; and as he met with no
opposition from within, he little expected any from without. But some few
days after came the priest, accompanied by a number of worshippers, to
present some offerings to the god; on his opening the door, Tom
respectfully welcomed him with a _miaou_. At this unwonted salutation he
rushed back in terror, shouting to his followers: “Here’s a monster from
the deep! here’s a monster from the deep!”
Whereupon the whole party hastened home, assembled several hundreds of
their companions, assumed their war-caps, equipped themselves with spear,
club, and sling, blackened their bodies with charcoal, and in all this
pomp and circumstance of Polynesian war, rushed, with yells, cries, and
shouts, to attack poor Puss. He, however, daunted by their grim and
strange array, did not await their approach. The moment the door was open,
a leap and a bound--he was gone! _Abiit, evasit, erupit._ As he darted
through the assembled warriors, they fled precipitately in all directions.
The religious system of the Samoans, according to Mr. Williams, differed
in essential respects from that which prevailed at the Tahitian, Society,
and other Polynesian groups. They had neither maraes nor temples, nor
altars nor offerings; and consequently none of the barbarous and
sanguinary rites to which we have alluded. They shed no human blood; they
strewed no maraes with the skulls and bones of their victims; they
dedicated no sacred groves to brutal and sensual observances. Hence the
Rarotongans denounced them for their impiety, and “a godless Samoan” was a
proverbial phrase. Yet they were not without their superstitions; they had
lords many and gods many; and their credulity was as marked as that of any
other savage race on whom the light of Christianity and civilisation had
never shone.
In considering the religion of the Polynesians, there are four points to
be glanced at; 1, their gods; 2, their cultus; 3, their ideas of
immortality; and 4, the means by which they hoped to secure future
happiness.
1. Their gods consisted of three kinds: their deified ancestors, their
idols, and their etus.
Some of their ancestors were deified, after the Greek fashion, for the
supposed boons they had conferred upon mankind. For example, it was
believed that the world was formerly in darkness; but that the sun, moon,
and stars were created by one of their progenitors in a manner too absurd
to be described. Also, that the heavens were of old so close to the earth
that men could not walk erect, and were compelled to crawl; until a great
man conceived the idea of elevating them to their present height; which he
effected by the employment of almost Herculean energy. By his first effort
he raised them to the top of a tender plant, called _teve_, about four
feet high. There they remained until he had refreshed and rested himself.
A second effort, and he upheaved them to the height of a tree called
_kanariki_, which is as tall as the sycamore. His third attempt carried
them to the summits of the mountains; and after a long period of repose,
and another tremendous struggle, he raised them to their present altitude,
at which they have ever since remained. This wonderful personage was
appropriately apotheosized; and down to the date of the introduction of
Christianity, was everywhere worshipped as “the Elevator of the Heavens.”
The fisherman had his god; so had the husbandman, the voyager, the
warrior, the thief; mothers dedicated their offspring to one or other of
these numerous Powers, and chiefly to Hero, the god of thieves, and to
Oro, the god of war. “If to the former, the mother, while pregnant, went
to the marae with the requisite offerings, when the priest performed the
ceremony of catching the spirit of the god with the snare previously
described, and infusing it into the child even prior to its birth, that it
might become a clever and desperate thief. Most parents, however, were
anxious that their children should become brave and renowned warriors.
This appears to have been the very summit of a heathen mother’s ambition,
and to secure it, numerous ceremonies were performed before the child was
born; and after its birth it was taken to the marae, and formally
dedicated to Oro. The spirit of the god was then caught, and imparted to
the infant, and the ceremony was completed by numerous offerings and
prayers. At New Zealand, stones were thrust down the throat of the babe,
to give it a stony heart, and make it a dauntless and desperate warrior.”
This dedication of the child to the sanguinary war-god points to a
condition of society in which life was verily and indeed a battle, and
every one had to hold his own by right of a strong arm and a reckless
spirit. There was no room for the feeble in such a system; they crawled
aside to die; or were trampled to death in the rush and press of the
crowd. Civilisation has its victims; but assuredly they are few in
comparison to the thousands and tens of thousands destroyed by the
merciless tyranny of Heathenism. Civilisation does at least teach us our
duties towards our neighbours; while Savage Man had little sentiment of
compassion or affection for father or brother, daughter or wife.
The second class of objects regarded with religious veneration was
_Idols_. In every island and district these were different; but in every
island and district they abounded. Some were large, some small; some
hideous in the extreme, others were almost comely. No fixed pattern
appears to have been before the idol-makers; each man followed his own
fancy.
The third object of worship was the _Etu_,--that is, some bird, fish, or
reptile, in which the natives believed that a spirit resided. This form of
idolatry was more in vogue in the Samoas than in any other island-group.
Among the Samoans, the objects regarded as _etus_ were, indeed, almost
innumerable, and frequently they were of extraordinary triviality. It was
not unusual to see a chief, in other matters really intelligent, muttering
his prayers to a fly, an ant, or a lizard, if such chanced to crawl or
alight in his presence.
“On one occasion,” says Mr. Williams, “a vessel from New South Wales
touched at the Samoas, the captain of which had on board a cockatoo that
talked. A chief was invited to the ship, and shortly after he entered the
cabin the captain began a colloquy with the bird. At this he was struck
with amazement, trembled exceedingly, and immediately sprang upon deck,
leaped into the sea, and called aloud to the people to follow him,
affirming the captain had his _devolo_ on board, which he had both seen
and heard. Every native dashed at once into the sea, and swam to shore
with haste and consternation; and it was with much difficulty that they
could be induced to revisit the ship, as they believed that the bird was
the captain’s _etu_, and that the spirit of the devil was in it.”
Another illustration is given by Mr. Williams:--
“While walking,” he says, “on one occasion, across a small uninhabited
island, in the vicinity of Tongatabu, I happened to tread upon a nest of
sea snakes. At first I was startled at the circumstance, but being assured
that they were perfectly harmless, I desired a native to kill the largest
of them as a specimen. We then sailed to another island, where a number of
heathen fishermen were preparing their nets. Taking my seat upon a stone
under a tou tree, I desired my people to bring the reptile, and dry it on
the rocks; but as soon as the fishermen saw it, they raised a most
terrific yell, and, seizing their clubs, rushed upon the Christian
natives, shouting: ‘You have killed our god, you have killed our god!’ I
stepped in between them, and with some difficulty stayed their violence,
on the condition that the reptile should be immediately carried back to
the boat.”
The Polynesian islanders, or most of them, seem to have cherished a
general idea of a Supreme Being, whom they regarded as the Creator of all
things and the Author of their mercies. They called him Tangatoa; and at
their great feasts, before the food was distributed, an orator would
rise, and after enumerating each viand on the board, would say: “Thank you
for this, great Tangatoa!”
The worship or _cultus_ observed by the islanders included prayers,
offerings of pigs, fish, vegetables, canoes, native cloth, and the like,
and incantations. To these must be added the dread rite of human
sacrifice. Of the style of their addresses to the gods one may form an
idea from the formula with which they were accustomed to conclude it.
Having presented the gift, the priest would say: “Now, if you are a god of
mercy, come this way, and be propitious to our offering; but if you are a
god of anger, go outside the world,--you shall have neither temples,
offerings, nor worshippers here.”
As in other savage countries, they sought to propitiate the gods by
inflicting physical injuries upon themselves. The Sandwich Islanders, in
performing some of their rites, would knock out their front teeth; the
Friendly Islanders would cut off one or two of the bones of their little
fingers. So common was the latter practice, that few were to be found who
had not in this way mutilated their hands. One missionary relates that, on
one occasion, a chief’s daughter,--a fine young woman about eighteen years
of age,--was standing by his side, when he observed by the condition of
the wound that she had recently performed the ceremony. Taking her hand,
he asked why she had cut off her finger? There was a touch of pathos in
her reply. Her mother was ill, and fearing lest she should die, she had
mutilated herself in the hope the gods would preserve her life. “Well, and
how did you do it?” “I took a sharp shell, and worked it about until the
joint was separated, and then I allowed the blood to stream from it. This
was my offering to persuade the gods to restore my mother.” One cannot
doubt the genuineness of the filial affection which could make such a
sacrifice, though we may wish that it had been more wisely exercised.
When a second offering was required, the votary severed the second joint
of the same finger. If a third or fourth were demanded, he amputated the
same bones of the other little finger; and when he had no more joints that
he could conveniently spare, he would rub the stumps of his mutilated
fingers with rough stones, until the blood again streamed from the wounds.
Human sacrifices, as we have said, were very numerous, especially in the
Henry, the Tahitian, and the Society island groups. At the so-called Feast
of Restoration (_Raumatavchi raa_,) no fewer than seven victims were
required. It was always celebrated after an invading army had forced the
inhabitants to retreat to the mountains, and had desecrated the maraes by
cutting down the branches of the sacred trees, and cooking their food with
them, and with the wooden altars and decorations of the sacred place.
At the inauguration of their greatest kings, the islanders used what was
called _Maro ura_, or the red sash. This was a piece of network, about six
feet long and seven inches wide, upon which the red feathers of the
parroquet were neatly fastened. A chief could receive no more honourable
appellation than that of _Arii maro ura_, “King of the Red Sash.” A new
piece, about eighteen inches long, was attached at every sovereign’s
inauguration; and on all such occasions several human victims were
required. A sacrifice was made, first for the _mau raa tite_, or the
extension of the network upon pegs, in order to attach to it the new
piece. A second was necessary for the _fatu raa_, or actual attachment;
and a third for the _piu raa_, or twitching the sacred relic off the pegs.
These ceremonies not only invested the sash itself with peculiar
solemnity, but also rendered the chiefs who wore it more important in the
eyes of the people. Well might it be so, when the thing was dyed, as it
were, in innocent human blood.
Human sacrifices were also offered on the breaking out of war. Mr.
Williams remarks that a correct idea of the extent to which this system is
carried may be obtained from a relation of the circumstances under which
the last Tahitian victim fell, immediately prior to the introduction of
Christianity. Pomare, king of Tahiti, was on the point of fighting a
battle which would assure his supremacy or deprive him of his dominions.
It became to him, therefore, a matter of the highest concern to propitiate
the gods by the most valuable offerings he could command. For this
purpose, rolls of native cloth, pigs, fish, and immense quantities of
other food were presented at the maraes; but the gods (or their priests)
would not be satisfied; a human victim was demanded. Pomare, therefore,
sent two of his messengers to the house of the victim, whom he had marked
for the occasion. On reaching the place they inquired of the wife where
her husband was, and she, in her innocence, gave the required explanation.
“Well,” they continued, “we are thirsty; give us some cocoa-nut water.”
She had no nuts in the house, she replied, but they were at liberty to
climb the trees, and take as many as they desired. They then requested her
to lend them the _O_,--a piece of ironwood, about four feet long and an
inch and a half in diameter, with which the natives open the cocoa-nut.
She cheerfully consented, little suspecting that she was placing in their
murderous hands the instrument which, in a few moments, was to inflict a
fatal blow on her husband’s head. Upon receiving the _O_, the men left the
house, and went in search of their victim; and the woman, her suspicions
being excited, followed them shortly afterwards, reaching the scene just
in time to see the blow inflicted, and her husband fall.
She rushed forward to take a last embrace, but was immediately seized and
bound hand and foot, while her husband’s body was placed in a long basket
made of cocoa-nut leaves, and carried from her sight. The sacrificers were
always exceedingly careful to prevent the wife, or daughter, or any female
relative from touching the corpse; for so polluting were females
considered, that a victim would have been desecrated by a woman’s touch or
breath, to such a degree as to have rendered it unfit for an offering to
the gods.
While the men were bearing their victim to the marae, he recovered from
the stunning effect of the blow, and, bound as he was in the cocoa-nut
leaf basket, said to his murderers: “Friends, I know what you are about to
do with me; you are about to kill me, and offer me as a _tabu_ to your
savage gods; and I also know that it is useless for me to beg for mercy,
for you will not spare my life. You may kill my body, but you cannot hurt
my soul; for I have begun to pray to Jesus, the knowledge of Whom the
missionaries have brought to our island: you may kill my body, but you
cannot hurt my soul.”
This address did not move the compassion of his murderers. Laying their
victim on the ground with a stone under his head, they crushed it to
pieces with another. It appears that he had been selected as a victim
because he had “begun to pray for JESUS;” and it is not unjust, therefore,
to claim for this poor Tahitian savage a place in the noble army of
martyrs.
“The manner in which human victims were sought,” says Williams, “is
strikingly illustrative of many passages of Scripture which portray the
character of heathenism. As soon as the priest announced that such a
sacrifice was required, the king despatched messengers to the chiefs of
the various districts, and upon entering the dwelling they would inquire
whether the chief had a _broken calabash_ at hand, or a _rotten
cocoa-nut_. These and sinister terms were invariably used, and well
understood, when such applications were made. It generally happened that
the chief had some individual on his premises whom he intended to devote
to this horrid purpose. When, therefore, such a request was made, he would
notify, by a motion of the hand or head, the individual to be taken. The
only weapon with which these procurers of sacrifices were armed, was a
small round stone concealed in the hollow of their hand. With this they
would strike their victim a stunning blow upon the back of the head, when
others who were in readiness would rush in and complete the horrid work.
The body was then carried, amid songs and shouts of savage triumph, to the
marae, there to be offered to the gods. At other times, the king’s gang of
desperadoes would arm themselves with spears, surround the house of their
victim, and enjoy the sport of spearing him through the apertures between
the poles which encircled the house. In these circumstances, the object of
their savage amusement, frenzied with pain and dread, would rush from one
part of the house to the other; but wherever he ran he found the spear
entering his body; and at length, perceiving no possibility of escape, he
would cover himself in his cloth, throw himself upon the floor, and wait
until a spear should pierce his heart.”
The Polynesian ideas of a future state were sufficiently curious. While
believing in its existence, the natives had no conception of the value and
immortality of the soul, no conception of the Everlasting. According to
the Tahitians, there were two places of existence for separated spirits:
one called _Roohutu noanoa_, or sweet-scented Roohutu, which in many
points resembled the paradise of the Rarotongans; and the other was
_Roohutu namu-namua_, or foul-scented Roohutu, of which it is impossible
to furnish a description. According to the Rarotongans, paradise was a
very long house, surrounded with beautiful shrubs and flowers, unfading,
and of perpetual sweetness; its inmates enjoyed a beauty which never
waned, and a youth which never waxed old, while passing their days,
without weariness, in dancing, merriment, and festivity. This was the
highest idea of Heaven and future blessedness to which they could attain,
and was as materialistic as that of the Mohammedans.
It was not necessary that a man should live a pure, true, and noble life
to gain admission to the Polynesian paradise, nor was he excluded from it
on account of his sins. In order to pass the departed spirit into elysium,
the corpse was dressed in the best attire the relatives could provide, the
head was wreathed with flowers, and other decorations were added. A pig
was then baked whole, and placed on the deceased’s body, surrounded by a
pile of vegetable food. After this, supposing the departed to have been a
son, the father would deliver some such speech as the following:--“My son,
when you were alive I treated you with kindness, and when you were taken
ill I did my best to restore you to health; and now you are dead, there’s
your _momoe o_, or property of admission. Go, my son, and with that gain
an entrance into the palace of Tiki, and do not come to this world again
to disturb or alarm us.” Body, pig, and food would then be buried; and, if
the kinsman received no contrary intimation within a few days of the
interment, they believed that the offerings had obtained for the departed
the desired admission. But if a cricket were heard on the premises, it was
considered an ill omen, and they would utter the dismalest howls, and such
expressions as the following: “Oh, our brother! his spirit has not entered
the Paradise; he is suffering from hunger, he is shivering with cold!” The
grave would immediately be opened, and the offering repeated,--generally
with success.
The sacrifices of the Fijians are of a costlier character. The Fijian
chiefs had from twenty to a hundred wives, according to their rank; and at
the interment of a principal chief, the body was laid in state “upon a
spacious lawn,” in the presence of a great crowd of interested spectators.
After the natives had exercised all the taste and skill at their command
in adorning her person, the principal wife would walk out and take her
seat near her husband’s body. A rope was passed round her neck; eight or
ten powerful men pulled at it with all their strength until she died of
suffocation; and the body was then laid by that of the chief. This done, a
second wife seated herself in the same place; the process of strangulation
was repeated, and she, too, died. A third and a fourth became voluntary
sacrifices in the same manner; and all were interred in a common grave,
one above, one below, and one on either side of the husband. The motive of
this barbarous practice was said to be, that the spirit of the chief might
not be lonely in its passage to the invisible world, and that by such an
offering its happiness might be at once secured.[55]
* * * * *
The Earl of Pembroke, in his light, gossipy book entitled, “South Sea
Bubbles,” describes a visit which he paid to one of the old sacrificial
_maraes_, or inclosures, in the island of Raiatea.
“Strange places they were,” he says; “built of enormous slabs of rock or
coral, arranged in an oblong shape, and the space inside them filled with
shingle and coral, so as to form a platform about eight feet high. I think
the largest was about fifty yards long; we scrambled up on to it by help
of a tree, and stood on the spot stained with so much blood shed in the
_name_ of religion. What horrible stories those stones could tell if they
could speak!...
“What made the human sacrifices of the Society Islands so strangely
ghastly and horrible, was the fact that the wretched victim was always
chosen from one of certain families, set apart for that special purpose
for generation after generation for ever. How this caste originated I do
not know. Many of these families used to put to sea secretly in canoes,
preferring an almost certain death by drowning or starvation to the
terribly uncertain fate that was always hanging over their heads.
“When a man came to the priests to beg some heavenly, or rather infernal,
favour, they would tell him, either from whim, malice, or some reason best
known to themselves, that the god required a human sacrifice, and naming
the victim, present the supplicant with the death-warrant in the shape of
a sacred stone. He hides this carefully somewhere about him, and
collecting a few friends, seeks out the doomed man. At last they find him
sitting lazily under a tree or mending his canoe, and squatting down round
him begin talking about the weather, fishing, or what not. Suddenly a hand
is opened--the death stone discovered to his horrified view. He starts up
terror-stricken, and tries to escape--one short, furious struggle and he
is knocked down, secured, and carried off to the merciless priests. Ugh!
it is an ugly picture.”[56]