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