were found in the cavity. They had perhaps been deposited there, to imbibe his supernatural powers, prior to their being removed to a distance, to receive, as his representatives, divine honors. The opening to the cavity was at the back; the whole of which might be removed. No. 2. is Terongo, one of the principal gods, and his three sons. No. 3. is an

image of Tebuakina, three sons of Rongo, a principal deity in the Hervey Islands. The name is probably analogous to Orono in Hawaii, though distinct from Oro in Tahiti. No. 4. exhibits a sacred ornament of a canoe from the island of Huahine. The two figures at the top, are images worshipped by fishermen, or those frequenting the sea. The two small idols at the lower corners of the plate, No. 5. are images of oramatuas, or demons. The gods of Rarotogna were some of them much

larger; Mr. Bourne, in 1825, saw fourteen about twenty feet long, and six feet wide."

In the Sandwich Islands idols of a somewhat different form were worshipped. The annexed figure may be considered as a fair specimen of the greater part of Hawaiian idols. The head has generally a most horrid appearance, the mouth being large, and usually extended wide, exhibiting a row of large teeth, resembling in no small degree the cogs in the

wheel of an engine, and

adapted to excite terror rather than inspire confidence in the beholder. Some of their idols were of stone, and many were constructed with a kind of wicker-work covered with red feathers. Throughout Polynesia, the ordinary medium of communicating or extending supernatural powers, was the red feather of a small bird found in many of the islands, and the beautiful long tail-feathers of the tropic, or man-of-war bird. For these feathers the gods were supposed to have a strong predilection; they were the most valuable offerings that could be presented; to them the power or influence of the god was imparted, and through them transferred to the objects to which they might be attached. Among the numerous ceremonies observed, the paeatua was conspicuous. On these occasions, the gods were all brought out of the temple, the sacred coverings removed, scented oils were applied to the images, and they were exposed to the sun. At these seasons, the parties who wished their emblems of deity to be impregnated with the essence

of the gods, repaired to the ceremony with a number of red feathers, which they delivered to the officiating priest.

The wooden idols being generally hollow, the feathers were deposited in the inside of the image, which was filled with them. Many idols, however, were solid pieces of wood, bound or covered with finely braided fibres of the cocoa-nut husk; to these the feathers were attached on the outside by small fibrous bands. In return for the feathers thus united to the god, the parties received two or three of the same kind, which had been deposited, on a former festival, in the inside of the wooden or inner fold of the cinet idol. These feathers were thought to possess all the properties of the images to which they had been attached, and a supernatural influence was supposed to be infused into them. They were carefully wound round with very fine cord, the extremities alone remaining visible. When this was done, the new made gods were placed before the larger images from which they had been taken; and, lest their detachment should induce the god to withhold his power, the priest addressed a prayer to the principal deities, requesting them to abide in the red feathers before them. At the close of his ubu, or invocation, he declared that they were dwelt in or inhabited, (by the gods,) and delivered them to the parties who had brought the red feathers. The feathers, taken home, were deposited in small bamboo canes, excepting when addressed in prayer. If prosperity attended their owner, it was attributed to their influence, and they were usually honored with a too, or image, into which they were inwrought; and subsequently, perhaps, an altar and a rude temple were erected for them. In the event, however, of their being attached to an image, this must be taken to the large temple, that the supreme idols might sanction the transfer of their influence.

Polynesian temples were either national, local, or domestic. The former were depositories of their principal idols, and the scenes of all great festivals; the second were those belonging to the several districts; and the third, such as were appropriated to the worship of family gods. Marae was the name for temple, in the South Sea Islands. All were uncovered, and resembled oratories rather than temples.

Their worship consisted in preferring prayers, presenting offerings, and sacrificing victims. Their ubus, or prayers, though occasionally brief, were often exceedingly protracted, containing many repetitions, and appearing as if the suppliants thought they should be heard for their much speaking. The petitioner did not address the god standing or prostrate, but knelt on one knee, sat cross-legged, or in a crouching position, on a broad flat stone, leaning his back against an upright basaltic column, at the extremity of a smooth pavement, usually six or ten yards from the front of the idol. He threw down a branch of sacred miro on the pavement before the image or altar, and began his tarotaro, or invocation, preparatory to the offering of his prayer. Pure is the designation of prayer, and haamore that of praise, or worship.

Small pieces of niau, or cocoa-nut leaf, were suspended in different parts of the temple, to remind the priest of the order to be observed. They usually addressed the god in a shrill, unpleasant, or chanting tone of voice, though at times the worship was extremely boisterous.

Their offerings included every kind of valuable property :-the fowls of the air, the fishes of the sea, the beasts of the field, and the fruits of the earth, together with their choicest manufactures, were presented. The sacrifice was frequently called Taraehara, a compound term, signifying disentangling from guilt; from tara, to untie or loosen, and hara, guilt. The animals were taken either in part or entire. The fruits and other eatables were generally, but not always, dressed. Portions of the fowls, pigs, or fish, considered sacred, dressed with sacred fire within the temple, were offered; the remainder furnished a banquet for the priests and other sacred persons, who were privileged to eat of the sacrifices. Those portions appropriated to the gods were deposited on the fata or altar, which was of wood. Domestic altars, or those erected near the corpse of a departed friend, were small square wicker structures; those in the public temple were large, and usually eight or ten feet high. The surface of the altar was supported by a number of wooden posts or pillars, often curiously carved, and polished. The following is a representation of one of their altars.

Animals, fruits, &c. were not the only articles presented to their idols; the most affecting part of their sacrificing was the frequent immolation of human victims. These, in the technical language of the priests, were called fish. They were offered in seasons of war, at great national festivals, during the illness of their rulers, and on the erection of their temples. The unhappy wretches selected were either captives taken in war, or individuals who had rendered themselves obnoxious to the chiefs or the priests. When they were wanted, a stone was, at the request of the priest, sent by the king to the chief of the district from which the victims were required. If the stone was received, it was an indication of an intention to comply with the requisition. It is a singular fact, that the cruelty of the practice extended not only to individuals, but to families and districts. When an individual has been taken as a sacrifice, the family to which he belonged was regarded as tabu or devoted; and when another was required, it was more frequently taken from that family than any other; and a district from which sacrifices had been taken, was, in the same way, considered as devoted; and hence, when it was known that any ceremonies were near, on which human sacrifices were usually offered, the members of tabu families, or others who had reason to fear they were selected, fled to the mountains, and hid themselves in the caverns till the ceremony was over. In general, the victim was unconscious of his doom, until suddenly stunned by a blow from a club or a

stone, sometimes from the hand of the very chief on whom he was depending as a guest for the rights of hospitality. He was usually murdered on the spot-his body placed in a long basket of cocoa-nut leaves, and carried to the temple. Here it was offered, not by consuming it with fire, but by placing it before the idol. The priest, in dedicating it, took out one of the eyes, placed it on a plantain leaf, and handed it to the king, who raised it to his mouth as if desirous to eat it, but passed it to one of the priests or attendants, stationed near him for the purpose of receiving it. At intervals during the prayers, some of the hair was plucked off, and placed before the god; and when the ceremony was over, the body was wrapped in the basket of cocoa-nut leaves, and frequently deposited on the branches of an adjacent tree. After remaining a considerable time, it was taken down, and the bones were buried beneath the rude pavement of the marae. These horrid rites were not unfrequent, and the number offered at their great festivals was truly appalling.

Religious rites were connected with almost every act of their lives. An ubu or prayer was offered before they ate their food, when they tilled their ground, planted their gardens, built their houses, launched their canoes, cast their nets, and commenced or concluded a journey. The first fish taken periodically on their shores, together with a number of kinds regarded as sacred, were conveyed to the altar. The first fruits of their orchards and gardens were also taumaha, or offered, with a portion of their live stock, which consisted of pigs, dogs, and fowls, as it was supposed death would be inflicted on the owner or the occupant of the land, from which the god should not receive such acknowledgment.

The bure arii, a ceremony in which the king acknowledged the supremacy of the gods, was attended with considerable pomp; but one of the principal stated festivals was the pae atua, which was held every three moons. On these occasions all the idols were brought from their sacred depository, and meheu, or exposed to the sun; the cloth in which they had been kept was removed, and the feathers in the inside of the hollow idols were taken out. The images were then anointed with fragrant oil; new feathers, brought by their worshippers, were deposited in the inside of the hollow idols, and folded in new sacred cloth; after a number of ceremonies, they were carried back to their domitories in the temple. Large quantities of food were provided for the entertainment, which followed the religious rites of the pae atua.

When an individual died, the first object, which was considered eminently important, was to discover the cause of his death, as the ceremonies varied accordingly. When this had been satisfactorily ascertained, and the ceremonies performed, the corpse was to be disposed of. The bodies of the chiefs, and persons of rank and affluence, and those of the middle class, were preserved; the bodies of the lower orders unceremoniously buried, which was called the burial of a dog: when interred, the body was not laid out straight or horizontal, but placed in a sitting posture, with the knees elevated, the face pressed down between the knees, the hands fastened under the legs, and the whole body tied with cord or cinet wound repeatedly round. It was then covered over, and deposited not very deeply in the earth.