An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands/Chapter IV
CHAPTER III.
Finow being arrived with the whole of his fleet off Nioocalofa, and having with him, besides Mr. Mariner, fifteen other Englishmen, eight of whom were armed with muskets, he proceeded to land his troops under cover of a fire of musketry, which speedily drove almost all the enemy who had sallied forth back into the garrison. The first fire killed three, and wounded several; and a repetition of it threw them into such dismay, that in five minutes only forty of the bravest remained to molest them; and these began to retire, as the forces of Finow increased on the beach. In the mean while, the carronades were dismounted from their carriages, slung on poles, and conveyed over a shallow reef to the shore. The whole army being landed, and the guns again mounted, the latter were drawn up before the garrison, and a regular fire was commenced. Finow took his station on the reef, seated in an English chair, (from the Port au Prince) for his chiefs would not allow him to expose his person on shore. The fire of the carronades was kept up for about an hour: in the mean while, as it did not appear to do all the mischief to the exterior of the fortress, owing to the yielding nature of its materials, that the king expected, he sent for Mr. Mariner, and expressed his disappointment: the latter replied, that no doubt there was mischief enough done on the inside of the fort, wherever there were resisting bodies, such as canoes, the posts and beams of houses, &c.; and that it was already very evident the besieged had no reason to think slightly of the effect of the artillery, seeing that they had already greatly slackened their exertions, not half the number of arrows being now discharged from the fort; arising, in all probability, from the number of the slain, or of those who had fled up into the country. It was now resolved to set fire to the place; for which purpose a number of torches were prepared and lighted, and an attack was made upon the outer fencing; it was found, however, but weakly defended, and was soon taken: for the door-posts being shot away, an easy entrance was obtained. A considerable portion of the inner fencing was now found undefended, and towards this place a party rushed with lighted torches, whilst the enemy were kept in play elsewhere: the conflagration spread rapidly on every side; and, as the besieged endeavoured to make their escape, their brains were knocked out by a party of the besiegers, stationed at the back of the fort for the purpose. During this time the guns kept up a regular fire with blank cartridges, merely to intimidate the enemy. The conquerors, club in hand, entered the place in several quarters, and slew all they met, men, women, and children. The scene was truly horrible. The war-whoop shouted by the combatants, the heart-rending screams of the women and children, the groans of the wounded, the number of the dead, and the fierceness of the conflagration, formed a picture almost too distracting and awful for the mind steadily to contemplate. Some, with a kind of sullen and stupid resignation, offered no resistance, but waited for the hand of fate to dispatch them, no matter in what mode: others, that were already lying on the ground wounded, were stuck with spears, and beaten about with clubs by boys who followed the expedition to be trained to the horrors of war, and who delighted in the opportunity of gratifying their ferocious and cruel disposition. Every house that was not on fire was plundered of its contents; and the conquerors made a considerable booty of bales of gnatoo, mats, &c.[1]
In a few hours, the fortress of Nioocalofa, which had obstinately and bravely defended every attack for eleven years, or more, was thus completely destroyed. When Finow arrived upon the place, and saw several canoes which had been hauled up in the garrison, shattered to pieces by the shot, and discovered a number of legs and arms lying around, and about three hundred and fifty bodies stretched upon the ground, he expressed his wonder and astonishment at the dreadful effect of the guns. He thanked his men for their bravery, and Mr. Mariner and his companions in particular, for the great assistance rendered by them.A few of the enemy, who had escaped the general slaughter, were taken prisoners. They gave a curious description of the effect of the guns. They declared, that, when a ball entered a house, it did not proceed straight forward, but went all round the place, as if seeking for men to kill; it then passed out of the house and entered another, still in search of food for its vengeance, and so on to a third, &c.; sometimes it would strike the corner-post of a house, and bring it all down together. The chiefs, seeing all this dreadful mischief going forward, rendered still more tremendous by their own imaginations, sat in consultation, upon one of the large canoes just mentioned, and came to a determination to rush out upon the white men, and take possession of the guns: this was scarcely resolved upon, when a shot struck the canoe on which they were sitting, and shattered it to pieces. This so damped their courage, that they ran for security to one of the inner houses of the garrison, when their distress was much increased by finding their men deserting the place, and running up into the country. Thus every thing was going to destruction within, although, without, the damage appeared in Finow's eyes so inconsiderable; but he had formed his judgment of the effect of the guns by their effect upon the fencing.
The king, having finished this affair, began to think of returning to Pangaimotoo: Mr. Mariner, indeed, endeavoured to persuade him to follow up the advantages of his victory by immediately laying siege to another fortress, which, no doubt, would soon have fallen into their hands; and the whole island, being struck with dismay, would readily have submitted to his government. But, it seems, Finow was not yet the complete warrior; or he thought, perhaps, that, having such powerful weapons in his possession, he could reduce the island at any future time.
Pangaimotoo is not more than three quarters of a mile distant from the island of Tonga, separated from it only by a long narrow reef. To this place Finow returned with all his men, intending to go back to Tonga another day. As soon as they landed, they sat down to eat, not having taken any refreshment since morning, with the exception of some of the men, whose stomachs not being the most delicate, had partaken of some yams and plantains that they found roasting along with the bodies of the dead in the general conflagration at Nioocalofa.
They remained several days at this island, during which time several canoes were sent to an uninhabited part of Tonga for the purpose of procuring reeds to rebuild the fortress of Nioocalofa. This step was taken by the admonition of the gods, who were consulted on the occasion through the medium of the priests.
As the invocation of the gods, and inspiration of the priests, are circumstances that will often occur in the course of this work, it will be well to take the present opportunity of describing them.
The night previous to the consultation of the oracle, the chief orders his cooks to kill and prepare a hog, and to procure a basket of yams, and two bunches of ripe plantains. These things being got ready, the next morning they are carried to the place where the priest resides, or wherever he may be at that time: the priest is sometimes previously apprised of the circumstance, at other times not. The chiefs and matabooles clothe themselves in mats, and repair to the place where the priest is to be found: if it be at a house, the priest seats himself just within the eaves[2]; if at a distance, he seats himself on any convenient spot of ground, and the matabooles seat themselves on either hand, so as would form a circle, or rather an ellipsis, if there were not a considerable vacant space left opposite the priest. In this space, at the bottom of the circle, sits the man who prepares the cava, the root being previously chewed by the cooks, attendants, and others, who sit behind him: behind these again sit the chiefs indiscriminately among the people. The chiefs take this retired and humble station on account of the sacredness of the occasion, conceiving that such modest demeanour must be acceptable to the gods.
As soon as they are all seated, the priest is considered as inspired, the god being supposed to exist within him from that moment. He remains for a considerable time in silence, with his hands clasped before him; his eyes are cast down, and he rests perfectly still. During the time that the victuals are being shared out, and the cava preparing, the matabooles sometimes begin to consult him; sometimes he answers them, at other times not; in either case he remains with his eyes cast down. Frequently he will not utter a word till the repast is finished, and the cava too. When he speaks, he generally begins in a low and very altered tone of voice, which gradually rises to nearly its natural pitch, though sometimes a little above it. All that he says is supposed to be the declaration of the god, and he accordingly speaks in the first person as if he were the god. All this is done generally without any apparent inward emotion or outward agitation; but on some occasions his countenance becomes fierce, and, as it were, inflamed, and his whole frame agitated with inward feeling; he is seized with an universal trembling; the perspiration breaks out on his forehead, and his lips, turning black, are convulsed; at length, tears start in floods from his eyes, his breast heaves with great emotion, and his utterance is choked. These symptoms gradually subside. Before this paroxysm comes on, and after it is over, he often eats as much as four hungry men, under other circumstances, could devour. The fit being now gone off, he remains for some time calm, and then takes up a club that is placed by him for the purpose, turns it over and regards it attentively; he then looks up earnestly, now to the right, now to the left, and now again at the club; afterwards he looks up again, and about him in like manner, and then again fixes his eyes upon his club, and so on, for several times: at length he suddenly raises the club, and, after a moment's pause, strikes the ground, or the adjacent part of the house, with considerable force: immediately the god leaves him, and he rises up and retires to the back of the ring among the people. If the company now wish for any more cava, Finow, or the greatest chief present, goes and sits at the head of the ring.
It might be supposed that this violent agitation on the part of the priest is merely an assumed appearance for the purpose of popular deception; but Mr. Mariner has no reason at all to think so. There can be little doubt, however, but that the priest, on such occasions, often summons into action the deepest feelings of devotion of which he is susceptible, and by a voluntary act disposes his mind, as much as possible, to be powerfully affected: till at length, what began by volition proceeds by involuntary effort, and the whole mind and body become subjected to the overruling emotion. But there is nothing new in all this: ancient times, as well as modern, afford numerous instances of this nature; and savage nations, as well as civilized, display ample testimony that false religions, and false notions of religion, act upon some minds with such extraordinary impulses, that they are mistaken for divine inspirations.
It happens in the Tonga Islands, that persons, who are not priests, are often visited by the gods, particularly females, but who are never affected in the manner above described: they are generally low spirited and thoughtful, as if some heavy misfortune had befallen them, and, as the symptom increases, they generally shed a profusion of tears; they sometimes swoon away for a few minutes: the height of the paroxysm generally lasts from a quarter to half an hour. These are also called fits of inspiration, and are firmly believed to be visitations from some god who accuses the party of neglect of religious duty, not by an apparent audible warning, but by an inward compunction of conscience. But these things are also common enough in all parts of the world, at home as well as abroad. Some of the natives are such adepts at this sort of mysterious conversation with the divinities, that they can bring on a fit of inspiration whenever they feel their mind at all so disposed. Mr. Mariner, indeed, did once witness a rare instance of a man who was disappointed in this particular: finding himself, as he thought, about to be inspired, some cava was brought to him (as is usual on such occasions), but, in a little while, he was obliged to acknowledge that the god would not visit; at which all present were greatly surprised, and so the cava was taken away again.
These imaginations, however, have sometimes produced very serious consequences: to give an instance; on one occasion a certain chief, a very handsome young man, became inspired, but did not yet know by whom; on a sudden he felt himself exceedingly low spirited, and shortly afterwards swooned away; when recovered from this, still finding himself very ill, he was taken to the house of a priest[3] who told the sick chief that it was a woman, mentioning her name, who had died two years before, and was now in Bolotoo[4], that had inspired him; that she was deeply in love with him, and wished him to die (which event was to happen in a few days,) that she might have him near her: the chief replied that he had seen the figure of a female two or three successive nights in his sleep, and had begun to suspect he was inspired by her, though he could not tell who she was. He died two days afterwards. Mr. Mariner visited the sick chief three or four times, at the house of the priest, and heard the latter foretel his death and the occasion of it.
Now we are upon this subject it may not be amiss to mention that Finow's son, who at this period of our history was at the Navigator's, islands, used to be inspired by the spirit[5] of THE TONGA ISL/VNDS. lOS Toogoo Ahoo, the late king of Tonga, who it may^'be recollected was assassinated by Finow and Toobo Nuha. AVhen this young chief re- turned to Hapai, Mr. Mariner, who was upon a footing of great friendship with him, one day asked him how he felt himself, when the spirit of Toogoo Ahoo visited him ; he replied that he could not well describe his feelings, but the best he could say of it was, that he felt himself all over in a glow of heat and quite restless and uncomfortable, and did not feel his owji per- sonal identity as it were, but seemed to have a mind different from his own natural mind, his thoughts wandering upon strange and unusual subjects, although perfectly sensible of sur- rounding objects. He next asked him how he knew it was the spirit of Toogoo Ahoo ? his answer was, " there's a fool ! how can I tell you how T knew it ; I felt and knew it was so by a kind of consciousness ; my mind told me that it was Toogoo Ahoo." Finow used occa-- sionally to be inspired by the ghost of Moomooi, a former king of Tonga. We must now return to Finow and his army at the island of Pangaimotoo. A sufficient quantity of reeds and stakes hav- ing been procured, Finow and his army left Pangaimotoo and landed at Nioocalofa, for the purpose of rebuilding the colo (or fortress.) The plan was marked out somewhat different from the former, and larger, as being judged more suitable to their views j a vast number of hands were employed, and in two days the building was finished: a few alterations and additions were afterwards made as occasion and conveni- ence required. During the time this was about, several of the men got dangerously wounded by falling into the lovosds and sokies *, of which there were several on the land side of the colo. They were also much annoyed by the smell of the dead bodies that lay every where about, but which they did not take the trouble to bury, as they were enemies, and none of them their rela- tions f. The , canoes were now hauled up on the beach, and a strong fencing of stakes driven round them. The four guns were drawn into the fortress, and one placed at each door. A few days afterwards a small party who went up into the country according to their daily custom, for the purpose of gathering
- Lovosas are pit-falls, dug five feet deep and four broad;
several stakes of bamboo are driven into the bottom and sharpened. Sokies are smaller holes, with one stake in=, and large enough to admit a man's leg. These lovosas and sokies are covered over with slender sticks concealed from sight by plantain leaves and earth. f The bodies that were found within the confines of the fortress they were of course obliged to remove, and these were thrown for the most part into the sea, which occasioned a greater number of sharks to frequent the place for a time. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 1Q7 cocoa nuts, were attacked by a larger party of the enemy, when one man was killed, but the rest escaped back to the colo. Upon this, a body of two hundred set out, (Mr. Mariner among them,) in pursuit of the enemy : they found them, and were kept at a running fight, till they were decoyed beyond a place where another party lay concealed, who immediately rose, attacked them in the rear, and killed about thirty. The Hapai people now began to run, and Mr. Mariner with four of the natives who were engaged with another party, found it necessary to decamp also : in crossing a field of high grass, Mr. Mariner fell into a hole six feet deep ; his four faithful friends were resolved to save him, and three defended the place with their spears, while one helped him out : one of the three was killed on the spot. Being extri- cated from his perilous situation, and finding a large body of the enemy close upon them, they resolved to sell their lives to the utmost advan- tage. At this moment, their own party looking round and seeing these four bravely make a stand, came up with all speed to their assist- ance, and a general battle took place, which was obstinately fought for some time, but at length the enemy was completely put to the rout. Whilst this was going forward, a Hapai chief at some distance from their friends met a Tonga chief under the same circumstances: they immediately engaged with their clubs; one however being soon disarmed, and the Other having broken his club, they fought a long time with their fists ; and when they were so weak that they could not strike, they grap- pled with each other, and both fell to the ground exhausted with fatigue : the Tonga chief, incapable of injuring his antagonist in any other way, got his fingers into his mouth, and gnawed them dreadfully : after having thus laid for a long time looking at each other, they gathered a little fresh strength, and by mutual agreement each crawled home to his respective fort. The Hapai men, on their way back to Nioo- calofa, found several of their friends in different parts of the road, who were unable to proceed on account of their wounds. But they were too weak themselves to carry them, and were obliged to leave them to the mercy of the ene- my. They at length arrived at the ro/o, tired and fatigued beyond conception, with about fifteen prisoners. The following day, some of the younger chiefs, who had contracted the Fiji habits, pro- posed to kill the prisoners, lest they should make their escape, and then to roast and eat them. This proposal was readily agreed to, by THE TONGA ISLANDS. 109 some, because they liked this sort of diet, and by others because they wanted to try it, think- ing it a manly and warlike habit : there was also another motive, viz. a great scarcity of provi- sions 5 for some canoes which had been sent to the Hapai islands in quest of provisions were unaccountably detained, and the garrison was already threatened with distress. Some of the prisoners were soon dispatched : their flesh was cut up into small portions, washed with sea- water, wrapped up in plantain leaves, and roast- ed under hot stones : two or three were embow- elled and baked whole the same as a pig *. Mr. Mariner was not tempted to partake of this kind of diet, though the smell of it, when cook- ed, was exceedingly delicious. A few days now elapsed without any signs of the canoes from Hapai, and the distress of those who did not choose to eat human flesh was very great. Mr. Mariner had been two days and a half without eating any thing ; when, passing by a house where they were cooking something, he walked in, with the pleasing hope of getting something that his stomach would bear, if it were only a piece of a rat ; on enquiry, he was told, they had got some pork, and a man offered him a piece of liver, which he eagerly accepted, and
- For their different methods of cooking, reference must be
made to the second volume of the work. was raising to his mouth, when he saw, by the smile on the countenance of the man, that it was human liver j overcome by disgust, he threw it in the man's face, who only laughed, and asked him if it were not better to eat good meat than die of hunger. When Captain Cook visited these islands, cannibalism was scarcely thought of amongst them : but the Fiji people soon taught them this, as well as the art of war; and a famine, which happened some time afterwards, render- ed the expedient for a time almost necessary. On this occasion they way-laid and murdered one another to supply themselves with food; and they still tell an anecdote of four brothers, who, in this time of scarcity, invited their aunt to come and partake of a large yam, which they said they had secretly procured : the poor wo- man, glad of the idea of getting something to eat, and pleased with the kindness of her nephews, went to their house, where they soon dispatched her, and she herself formed the ma- terials of a repast. Since that period, there was a great scarcity at one of the for- tresses on the island of Tonga, called Nookoo Nookoo : two daughters of a chief of this place agreed to play at the game of lafo* against two
- This game will be described in the second volume of
the work. THE TONGA ISLANDS. Ill young chiefs belonging to the same place, upon the following conditions : if the girls won the game, they were to divide a yam, which they had in their possession, and give half to the young chiefs ; but if, on the contrary, these won the game, they were still to have half the yam, but were to go out and kill a man, and give half his body to the girls : the result was, that the latter won the game, and giving half their yam to the two chiefs, waited for the per- formance of their agreement. The two young men set out, under cover of the darkness of the night, and concealed themselves near an ene- my's fortress. Early in the morning, a man came out of the fencing to fetch some salt wa- ter from the shore in cocoa-nut shells, which he carried with him jfor the purpose. When he approached the place where the two lay con- cealed, they started out upon him, killed him with their clubs, and, at the risk of their lives, brought his body to Nookoo Nookoo, where they divided it in half, and faithfully performed their promise with the young women. It was more than a fortnight before the ca- noes returned from the Hapai islands with a supply of provisions, owing to the bad state of the weather. Shortly after, the garrison of Nookoo Nookoo sent to request leave to bury the dead bodies of their relations who had fallen during the siege. This being granted, they came and singled out half a dozen, from the 350 that lay about, whom they knew, from particular circumstances, to be their relations. These they took home to Nookoo Nookoo, leav- ing all the rest where they found them. Every day a number of deserters from dif- ferent garrisons came over to Finow : they all brought intelligence that Finow might shortly expect an attack from one or other of them : but the fortress of Nioocalofa was now well prepared to receive them. . In the meanwhile, the chief of a fortress called Bea, about four miles to the eastward, entered into an alliance with Finow, or rather submitted to his domi- nion, acknowledging him king of Tonga. The name of this chief was Tarky'. Having remained a fortnight or three weeks in daily expectation of an attack from an ene- my, and seeing yet no signs of it, Finow be- came exceedingly impatient ; for he was desir- ous of returning to the Hapai islands to per- form an indispensable ceremony of a religious nature, which we shall now explain. At the death of Tooitonga, (their great divine chief) there is such a constant feasting for nearly a month, as to threaten a future scarcity of cer- tain kinds of provisions : to prevent which evil, a prohibition, or taboo, is afterwards laid upon THE TONGA ISLANDS. 113 hogs, fowls, and cocoa-nuts, so that nobody but great chiefs may use them for food, under pain of death. This taboo lasts about eight months: AVlien Mr. Mariner first arrived at these islands, Tooitonga, the predecessor of the present Tooi- tonga, had just died, and the ceremony of his burial was being performed ; though this gen- tleman had not the opportunity of witnessing it. All the feasting consequent upon this event being over, the taboo was imposed upon the ar- ticles above named ; and now, after the lapse of eight months, comes the period to take it off,' and the accomplishment of this constitutes the ceremony in question. It must be mentioned, by the way, that two or three plantations are not subject to this taboo, to the end that hogs, fowls, and cocoa-nuts, may be furnished for oc- casional religious rites, and for the consumption of the higher order of chiefs. If the removal of the taboo were not performed in due time^ it is supposed that the Gods would become exceed- ingly angry, and revenge themselves by the death of some of their great chiefs. Finow, as before stated, seeing no appearance of an enemy, and being anxious to return to Hapai for the performance of this ceremony, con- sulted the Gods, and was admonished by them to proceed to the Hapai islands as soon as pos- sible. With this view, he at first intended to VOL. I. I , make some further arrangements with Tarky', and to leave a hundred of his men to garrison Nioocalofa till his return : but being advised not to do so, lest this chief should prove trea- ^herous, and put his hundred men to death, he resolved to give the fortress wholly up to Tarky"s possession, and not run the risk of losing his' men. He accordingly ordered the canoes to be launched, and stored with provisions ; and hav- ing given up Nioocalofa to Tarky^'s chiefs, upon their faithful promise to take all due care of it, he went on board with all his army the same afternoon, and landed at Pangaimotoo, intend- ing to sail the following morning for the Hapai islands. During the night, a great fire was seen at Tonga, towards Nioocalofa, and the fortress it- self was suspected to be on fire ; but whether from accident, or the treachery of Tarky', Fi- now was resolved to learn as soon as possible. Before sunrise, therefore, he sent out a canoe ta make inquiry: it soon returned with the inform- ation, received from a well disposed subject of Tarky', that the place was burnt by arder of that chief, whilst Finow was in sight, on pur- pose to vex and irritate him. At this insult^ Finow was so enraged, that he resolved to go back immediately, and exterminate Tarky' and all his family: but the priests persuaded him THE TONGA ISLANDS. 115 not, reminding him of the admonition of the Gods. This circumstance so affected him, that it prevented his departure till the following morning. In the mean time, a Tonga chief, Filimoeatoo, and his family, having obtained permission from the superior chief of his gar- rison (that of Hihifo) to join Finow, as he was his relation, arrived at Pangaimotoo, and en- tered into the king's service. During the day, another circumstance occurred which amused Finow, and served to quiet the ruffled state of his temper. Mr. Mariner, having heard that European ships more frequently touched at Tonga than at any of the other islands, had written, while yet at Tonga, an English letter (with a solution of gunpowder and a little mu- cilage for ink), on some paper which one of the natives had had a long time in his possession, and addressed it to whomsoever it might be, stating the circumstances of his situation, an4 that of his companions. This letter he had con- fided to the care of the chief of Mafanga, (the consecrated place formerly mentioned) with di- rections to give it to the captain of any ship that might arrive at Tonga. Tooi Tooi (the Sandwich islander) having somehow heard of this letter, mentioned it to Finow, and repre- sented it to be a notice to European ships of the fate of the Port au Prince, and a request to take I 2 tevenge for the destruction of her crew. Finow immediately sent for the letter and obtained it, under some specious pretext, fro-m the chief of Mafanga. When it was put into his hands* he looked at it on all sides ; but not being able to make any thing of it, he gave it to Jeremiah Higgins, who was at hand, and ordered him to say what it meant : Mr. Mariner was not pre- sent. Higgins took the letter, and translating part of it into the Tonga language, judiciously represented it to be merely a request to any English captain that might arrive to interfere with Finow for the liberty of Mr. Mariner and his countrymen : stating that they had been kindly treated by the natives, but, nevertheless, wished to return, if possible, to their native country. This was not indeed the true sub- stance of the letter, but it was what was least likely to give offence : and the chief accordingly remarked that it was very natural for these poor fellows to- wish to go back to their native coun-> try and friends*.
- The letter in fact was an advice to European ships to ga
to the Hapai Islands in preference to the Island of Tonga, as being a better place for victualling: advising at the same time, not to suffer many of the natives to be on board at once, lest they should meet vi'ith the same fate as the Port au Prince, but, if possible, to make some of the chiefs prisoners and keep them as hostages^ till Mr. Mariner and his companions were delivered up. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 117 This mode of communicating sentiments wa« -an inexplicable puzzle to Finow ; he took the Aletter again and examined it, but it afforded him no information. He considered the matter a 'little within himself; but his thoughts reflected •no light upon the subject. At length ;1ie. sent for Mr. Mai'iner, and desired him to write down something : the latter asked what lie would choose to have written ; he replied, put down me: he accordingly wrote " Feenow'* (^si^eWing it according to the strict English orthography) : .the chief then sent for another Englishman who had not been present, and commanding Mr. Ma- riner to turn his back and look another way, he vgave the man the paper, and desired ;him to tell what that was : he accordingly pronounced aloud the name of the king, upon which Finow snatched •the paper from his hand, and, with astonish- ment, looked at it, turned it round, and exa- mined dt in all directions : at length he ex- (claimed, '* This is neither like myself nor any body else ! where are my legs ? how do you know it to be I?" and then, without stopping for any attempt at an explanation, :he impatiently ■ ordered Mr. Mariner to write something else, and thus employed him for three or four hours in putting down the names of different persons, 4)laces, and things, and making the other man read them. This .afforded extraordinary diyer^ sion to Finow, and to all the men and women present,^ particularly as he now and then whis- pered a little love anecdote, which was strictly written down, and audibly read by the other, not a little to the confusion of one or pther of the ladies present : but it was all taken in good humour, for curiosity and astonishment were the prevailing passions. How their names and cir- cumstances could be communicated through so mysterious a channel, was altogether past their comprehension. Finow had long ago formed his opinion of books and papers (see p. 60), and this as much resembled witchcraft as any thing he had ever seen or heard of. Mr. Mariner in vain attempted to explain. He had yet too slender a knowledge of their language to make himself clearly understood: and, indeed, it would not have been an easy matter to have ex- plained the composition of elementary sounds, and of arbitrary signs expressive of them, to a people whose minds were already formed to other modes of thinking, and whose language had few expressions but what concerned the or- dinary affairs of life. The only rational mode would have been, to have invented a system of spelling, and to have gone through the usual routine of teaching it. Finow, at length, thought he had got a notion of it, and explained to those about him that it was very possible to put THE TONGA ISLANDS. down a mark or sign of something that had been seen both by the writer and reader, and which should be mutually understood by them : but Mr. Mariner immediately informed him, that he could write down any thing that he had never seen : the king directly whispered to him to put Toogoo Ahoo (the king of Tonga, whom he and Toobo Nuha had assassinated many years before Mr. Mariner's arrival). This was accordingly done, and the other read it ; when Finow was yet more astonished, and declared it to be the most wonderful thing he had ever heard of. He then desired him to write " Tar- kyV (the chief of the garrison of Bea, whom Mr. Mariner and his companions had not yet seen ; this chief was blind in one eye). When " Tarky " was read, Finow inquired whether he was blind or not ; this was putting writing to an unfair testl and Mr. Mariner told him that he had only written down the sign standing for the sound of his name, and not for the descrip- tion of liis person. He was then ordered in a whisper to write, " Tark^, blind in his left €i/e," which was done, and read by the other man to the increased astonishment of every body. Mr.. Mariner then told him that, in several parts of the world, messages were sent to great distances through the same medium, and, being folded and fastened up, the bearer could know nothing of the contents ; and that the histories of whole nations were thus handed down to posterity, without spoiling by being kept (as he chose to express himself). Finow acknowledged this to be a most noble invention, but added, that it would not at all do for the Tonga islands, that there would be nothing but disturbances and conspiracies, and he should not be sure of his life, perhaps, another month. He said, however, jocosely, that he should like to know it himself, and for all the women to know it, that he might make love with less risk of discovery, and not so much chance of incur- ring the vengeance of their husbands. This circumstance served greatly to amuse and interest Finow and all his chiefs during their day's stay at Pangaimotoo. The foJlow- ing morning they again embarked, and sailing with a favourable wind for the Hapai islands, they arrived at Namooca, and ultimately at Le- fooga. Orders were now issued, and preparations were speedily made for the ceremony of annulling the eight months taboo. The places appro- priated for this purpose were two mnldis, and the grave of Tooitonga. For distinction's sake, we shall call the first- Tooitonga's, and the second Finow's. Tooitonga's maldi h near his own residence, and on this were erected four columns of yams in the following manner: four poles, about eighteen feet long, were fixed upright in the ground, to the depth of a few feet, at about four feet distance from each other in a quadrangular form; the spaces between them, all the way to the top, being crossed by smaller poles about six inches distant from each other, and lashed on by the bark of the fow (species of the Hibiscus); the interior of this erection being filled up as they proceeded with yams; and afterwards other upright poles were lashed on to the top with cross pieces in like manner, still piling up the yams; then a third set of poles, &c., till the column of yams was about fifty or sixty feet high, when on the top of all was placed a cold baked pig. Four such columns were erected, one at each corner of the malái, the day before the ceremony, and three or four hundred hogs were killed, and about half baked. The following day the hogs were carried to the king's malái, about a quarter of a mile off, and placed upon the ground before the house, as well as four or five wooden cars or sledges full of yams, each holding about five hundred. While this was doing, and the people assembling from all quarters, those who were already arrived sat themselves down round the king's malái. Occasionally some of them got up to amuse themselves and the rest of the company by wrestling with one another. The king and his chiefs, all dressed in plaited gnatoo, were already seated in the house, viewing what was going forward. The company being, at length, all arrived, and having seated themselves, the king gave notice that the ceremony was to begin. The young chiefs and warriors, and those who prided themselves in their strength, then got up singly, and endeavoured in turns to carry off the largest hog: when one failed, another tried; then a third, and so on, till every one that chose had made a trial of his strength. To carry one of the largest hogs is not a thing easy to be done, on account of its greasiness as well as its weight; but it affords a considerable share of diversion to see a man embracing a large fat baked hog, and endeavouring to raise it on his shoulder. As the hog was found too heavy for one man's strength, it was carried away by two, whilst a third followed with its liver. They were deposited on the ground near Tooitonga's malái, where the men waited till the other hogs were brought. In the mean time the trial was going on with the second hog, which being also found too heavy for one man, was carried away by two in like manner; and so on with the third, fourth, &c., the largest being carried away first, and the least last. The second, third, fourth, &c. afforded more sport than the first, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 123 as being a nearer counterbalance with a man's strength. Sometimes he had got it nearly upon his shoulder, when his greasy burden slipped through his arms, and, in his endeavour to save it, brought him down after it. It is an honour to attempt these things, and even the king, sometimes, puts his hand to it*. The small hogs and pigs afforded no diversion, as they were easily lifted and carried away, each by one man, and deposited, not at the outside of Tooitonga's viaMi along with the largest hogs, but carried at once into it, where the cars of yams were also dragged one at a time. When every thing was thus cleared from the king's maldi, the company got up and proceeded to the other, where they again seated themselves, whilst Tooitonga presided, and the king and his chiefs, out of respect, sat on the outside of the ring among the great body of the people. The large hogs which had been deposited in the neighbourhood of this maldi were now to be brought in, each by one man, and, as it had been found that one man's strength was not sufficient to raise any of them upon his shoulders, two others were allowed to lift the hog. and place it upon his shoulders for him, and then he tottered in with his load, followed by another
- Nevertheless, as will be seen hereafter, they are a very
cleanly people. man with the liver; and in this manner all the hogs and their livers were carried in and deposited in two or three rows before Tooitonga. Their number was then counted by the head cooks of Tooitonga and Finow, and announced aloud to Tooitonga by his own head cook; the number of cars and piles of yams was also announced at the same time. This being done, about twenty of the largest hogs were carried to Tooitonga's burying-place, nearly an hundred yards distant: those which were too heavy for one man to lift being put upon his shoulders by two others, &c., as before, and deposited near the grave; one car of yams was also taken and left in like manner. This portion of pork and yam being disposed of, the remainder was shared out in the following manner: one column of yams was allotted to the king, to be removed in the afternoon, and to be disposed of as he pleased: (he always shares it among his chiefs and fighting men:) another column was allotted to Veachi* and two or three other chiefs: the third was given to the gods; (the priests always take care of this portion;) and the fourth Tooitonga claimed for his own share. As to the cars of yams, they
- Veachi, like Tooitonga, is a divine chief, that is descended from a god; he is, however, inferior to Tooitonga, but higher in rank than the king: see second volume of the work. THE TONGA ISLANDS.
125 were never inquired after : Tooitonga generally takes care of them, and appropriates them to his own use, and that of his numerous household, not that he has any legal right to them beyond custom and silent consent. The hogs were dis- posed of in like manner : the greatest quantity to the greatest chiefs, who share them out to the chiefs immediately below them in rank, and these again to their dependants, till every man in the island gets at least a mouthful of pork and yam. The ceremony now concluded with dancing, wrestling, &c. after which, every per- son present having secured his portion, retired to his home to share it with his family. From this moment the taboo, or prohibition upon hogs, fowls, and cocoa-nuts, was null and void. The hogs and yams left at Tooitonga's grave, having remained there several days, (till the pork stunk,) were shared out, by order of Tooi- tonga, to all who chose to apply for a portion.. They belong indeed properly to the principal chiefs ; but as they are accustomed to feed upon meat in a better state of preservation, they forego their claims, and allow the lower orders to eat it for them. Mr. Mariner could not learn why the pork was thus left till it was scarcely eatable — the only answer he could get was, that such was the ancient custom. It may perhaps be considered an offering to Tooitonga*a ancestors, which it would be sacrilegious to take away while it was good for any thing.
Finow had three daughters, the eldest of whom, now about eighteen years of age, had been long betrothed to Tooitonga, who having expressed his wish that the marriage should take place, Finow gave orders for the necessary preparations, about five days after the above-mentioned ceremony. Tooitonga was now about forty years of age. The particulars of this chief's marriage, which was somewhat different from those of other chiefs, shall be here described.
The young lady having been profusely anointed with cocoa-nut oil, scented with sandal-wood, was dressed in the choicest mats of the Navigator's islands, of the finest texture, and as soft as silk; so many of these costly mats were wrapped round her, perhaps more than forty yards, that her arms stuck out from her body in a ludicrous manner; and she could not, strictly speaking, sit down, but was obliged to bend in a sort of half-sitting posture, leaning upon her female attendants, who were under the necessity of again raising her when she required it. A young girl, about five years of age, was also dressed out in a similar manner, to be her immediate and particular handmaid. Four other young virgins, about sixteen years of age, were also her followers, and were dressed in a manner nearly similar, but not with quite so many mats. The lady and her five companions being all ready, proceeded to the malái of Tooitonga, who was there, waiting for their arrival, together with a number of other chiefs, two matabooles sitting before him. The lady and her attendants being arrived, seated themselves on the green before Tooitonga. After the lapse of a little time a woman entered the circle with her face covered up with white gnatoo; she went into the house of the malái, and proceeded towards the upper end, where there sat another woman in waiting with a large roll of gnatoo, a wooden pillow[6], and a basket containing bottles of oil. The woman, whose face was veiled, took the gnatoo from the other, wrapped herself up in it, and laying her head upon the wooden pillow, went, or pretended to go, fast asleep. No sooner was this done than Tooitonga rose up, and taking his bride by her hand, led her into the house, and seated her on his left hand. Twenty baked hogs were now brought into the circle of the malài, and a number of expert cooks came with knives (procured from European ships; formerly they used bamboo) to try their skill in carving with speed and dexterity, which is considered a great recommendation. A considerable part was shared out to the chiefs, each taking his portion and putting it in his bosom[7]. The remainder of the pork was then heaped up and scrambled for at an appointed signal. The woman who had laid herself down, covered over with gnatoo, now rose up and went away, taking with her the gnatoo, and the basket containing the bottles of oil, as her perquisites. Tooitonga then took his bride by her left hand, and led her to his dwelling, followed by the little girl and the other four attendants. The people now dispersed, each to his home. Tooitonga being arrived with his bride at his residence, accompanied her into the house appropriated for her[8], where he left her to have her mats taken off, and her usual dress put on; after which she amused herself in conversation with the women. In the mean time a feast was prepared for the evening, of pigs, fowls, yams, &c. and cava: this was got ready on the malái, where, about dusk, Tooitonga presiding, the company sat down to receive their portions, which the generality reserved to take home with them; the lower orders, indeed, who had but a small quantity, consumed theirs on the spot. After this the cava was shared out and drunk. The musicians (if so they can be called) next sat down at the bottom of the ring, opposite to Tooitonga, in the middle of a circle of flambeaus, held by men who also held baskets of sand to receive the ashes. The musical instruments consisted of seven or eight bamboos of different lengths and sizes, (from three to six feet long) so as to produce, held by the middle, and one end being struck on the ground, different notes according to the intended tune (all the knots being cut out of the bamboo, and one end plugged up with soft wood). The only other instrument was a piece of split bamboo, on which a man struck with two sticks, one in each hand, to regulate the time. The music was an accompaniment to dancing, which was kept up a considerable time[9]. The dancing being over, one of the old matabooles addressed the company, making a moral discourse on the subject of chastity,—advising the young men to respect, in all cases, the wives of their neighbours, and never to take liberties even with an unmarried woman against her free consent. The company then rose, and dispersed to their respective homes. The bride was not present at this entertainment. Tooitonga being arrived at his house, sent for the bride, who immediately obeyed the summons. The moment they retired together the lights were extinguished, and a man, appointed at the door for the purpose, announced it to the people by three hideous yells, (similar to the war whoop,) which he followed up immediately by the loud and repeated sound of the conch.
- ↑ In this affair one of Finow's men, a native of Fiji, had made himself a sort of breast-plate of an earthenware fish- strainer, such as is laid in the bottom of dishes when fish is brought to table, which he had procured from the Port au Prince; but unluckily it happened that an arrow pierced him directly through the hole, which is commonly in the middle of such strainers: the wound laid him up eight months, and he never afterwards, in Mr. Mariner's time, was able to hold himself perfectly erect.
- ↑ Their houses are built somewhat in form of a shed, open all round, and the eaves coming within about four feet of the ground.
- ↑ It is customary to take sick persons to the house of a priest, that the will of the gods may be known. The priest becomes immediately inspired, and remains almost constantly in that state while the sick person is with him. If he does not get better in two or three days he is taken to another priest, &c.
- ↑ Bolotoo is the name they give to their paradise, and is supposed to be an island to the north-westward.
- ↑ The souls of deceased nobles become gods of the second rank in Bolotoo.
- ↑ A pillow to sleep on in these islands consists merely of a rod of wood about an inch in diameter, and a foot and a half long, and raised about half a foot by two diverging pieces at each end: the nape of the neck rests upon this.
- ↑ It is a peculiar religious injunction in this ceremony, that the chiefs should put their pork in their bosoms, for they never eat it themselves: and as it is tabooed by touching them, no other native of the Tonga islands may eat it: so that it generally falls ultimately to the lot of the natives of the Fiji islands, or other foreigners present, who are not subject to the taboo of Tonga. For the nature of the taboo, reference must be made to the second volume of the work.
- ↑ It must be noticed that every great chief has within his fencing several houses, one or more of which always belongs to his wives. He seldom goes to their house to sleep: he generally sends for one to sleep with him; at least, this is always the case with Tooitonga, for nobody can eat, drink, or sleep, in the same house with him without being tabooed (see Taboo.)
- ↑ Their dances have already been described by Captain Cook and others, the account is therefore omitted here not to interrupt the narrative: for further particulars see the second volume.