An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands/Chapter X

by William Mariner

THE TONGA ISLANDS, 307 CHAPTER X. Cow Mooala's narrative — His early residence at the Fiji islands — Is drifted to Fotoona on his return to Tonga- Particular customs of Fotoona — Arrives at Lotoomai on his return to Fiji— Character; of the people—Popular tale of two giants — Arrives at Navihi Levoo, one of the Fiji islands— Character of the people — Their cannibalism — Observations — Sails for the island of Pau, the most im- portant of the Fiji islands: its traffic — Account of an European vessel wrecked there — Anecdote of a gigantic lizard, (probably a crocodile) which did much mischief at a neighbouring isle: stratagem used to destroy it — Far- ther account of Pau — Description of several customs of the Fiji islands—Description of the island of Chichia, and its strong fortress: some account of its war with Pau — De- scription of a cannibal feast — Feast given by Finow on Cow IMooala's return to Tonga. Cow MooALA went out to the Fiji islands with a number of young men, for the sake of an ex;- cursion, and to mingle in the wars of those people; sometimes at one island, sometimes at another, from the same motives probably as actuated Tool Hala Fatai: (see p. 68). After having been absent about two years, he set sail on his return home, and having arrived within sight of Vavaoo, the wind became unfavourable to land, and the sea running very high, he was X 2 obliged to change his course, and make for Hamoa, (the Navigator's islands;) but the wind soon increasing to a heavy gale, drifted him to the island of Fotoona, situated to the north-west of Hamoa. A& soon as the natives of this place observed his approach, a number of small canoes (for they were not in possession of sailing canoes) came from the shore to meet him ; and, consistently with the laws and cus- toms of the island, took possession of his canoe, and all his property. It forms an important part of the religion of this island to consider every thing that arrives there, whether of great or little value, as the property of their gods ; no matter whether it be a large canoe, or a log of wood. It is first offered to the gods by the priest, with an appropriate address*, and is afterwards shared out among the chiefs. This spoliation is believed to be necessary for the welfare of the country ; lest the gods should send a sickness among them, and cut them off, for infringing upon this great doctrine of their religion. This seems a very arbitrary law, and likely to have been invented for the purpose of plundering strangers, under the mask of reli-

• This is the method of making offerings to the gods in

Tonga; and, as Cow Mooala made no piention of any thing particular in this ceremony, among the people of Fotoona, it is presumed to be conducted in the same way. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 309 gion ; this, however, is not absolutely the case ; for although they strip all strangers, without distinction, that come within their power, yet in return they fit them out with other canoes, (en- tirely at the expense of the chiefs who shared the plunder;) and supply them with so much of the produce of the island as may be necessary to support them in their way home ; together with presents of their gnatoo, mats, tortoise-shell, &c. : and withal behave very kindly: but not one single article that has been taken from them, however small the value, is again return- ed, even with the most earnest entreaty. Cow Mooala's canoe was laden with sandal wood*, esteemed a very rich commodity at Tonga, but not one splinter of it was ever returned to him ; although the natives of Fotoona could make no use of it, not having adopted the practice of oiling themselves. His canoe was dragged on shore, broken to pieces, and offered up to the gods ; afterward the planks were shared out among the chiefs, who devoted them to the

• Sandal wood is of the growth of one of the Fiji islands,

called Pau, and of only one spot upon this island, called Vooia. It has, indeed, been planted upon other of the Fiji islands, but without coining to any state of perfection. It has also been transplanted to the Tonga islands, but with as little success : for the wood thus produced possesses little or no scent, and consequently is unfit for their purpose, viz. to perfume the oil with which they anoint themselves. purpose of building smaller canoes, one large canoe making four small ones. They seem to have no inclination to visit distant islands, and never therefore build large canoes for them- selves ; and consequently have no personal knowledge of any country but their own, except a few individuals among them, who have gone away with strangers from motives of curiosity, in large canoes built for the purpose. Cow Mooala described their method of fight- ing, (for it appears they cannot do without civil wars) which is conducted, according to his ac- count, in two different modes, that is to say, with spears and with shark's teeth. When a man pierces his enemy with a pike, he endea- vours to lift him up from the ground on one end of it, or if opportunity will allow, he calls some of his comrades to his assistance, who thrusting their pikes also into him, they lift him high in the air, and carry him in triumph. The mode of fighting with shark's teeth is as follows : the teeth being fixed in three rows on the palm and fingers of a species of glove ittade of the plaited bark of the hedho, and both hands being armed in this manner, every man endeavours to come to a close scufile with his antagonist, and to tear open his bowels with these horrid weapons. The supreme chief in Cow Mooala's time was a man of remarkable THE TONGA ISLANDS. 311 bodily strength, and was always accustomed to fight with this sort of gauntlet in preference to the pike, not however to tear open the bowels of his enemy, but merely to catch a firmer hold of him whilst he threw him on his face ; he would then place his foot upon the small of his back> and, seizing fast hold of the hair of his head, so bend his spine as to break it : with little men or boys, however, he would not take so much trouble, but laying them across his knee, as one would a stick, break their backs without farther ceremony ! By way of defence from the pikes of their adversaries, they wear on the left side a species of armour made of the husk of the cocoa-nut plaited thick, and stuffed and quilted on the inside with the loose husk, picked fine : this reaches from the axilla down to the hip. Their wars generally originate in quarrels about hereditary right, or the exaction of tribute. Some time before Cow Mooala arrived, an European vessel, according to their description, (or an American) came to an anchor there. The natives as usual put off in their canoes, with a view to take possession of her according to the authority with which they were invested by the gods. The crew readily allowed them to come on board, supposing them to be governed by -the usual spirit of curiosity; but shewed verv strong symptoms of opposition when they began, without ceremony, to plunder, and opened such peals of thunder on them that they were obliged to jump overboard and swim to their canoes with all expedition, sustaining the loss of 40 men. If this account be true, it would argue that they had not seen a ship before, or they certainly would have known her power, and not have made such an attempt. There is no as- certaining the point of time when this happened, for the natives keep no account of years, much less of months. Mr Mariner does not know how long Cow 'Mooala remained at Fotoona, but it must have been at least a twelvemonth, to have afforded him time to build another large canoe fit for his voyage : which having at length accomplished, he again set sail with presents of gnatoo, mats, &c. and a sufficient quantity of provisions for his voyage, and directed his course for the Fiji islands, for the purpose of laying in another cargo of sandal wood. He had now on board thirty-five of his own people, including fourteen or fifteen Tonga women, besides whom he had four male natives of Fotoona, who begged to go with him that they might visit distant coun- tries. In his way he touched at the island of Lotooraa (about a day's sail from Fotoona), a place noted for the peaceable disposition of the inhabitants, and where he was received with an uncommon degree of respect. As they were little accustomed to the appearance of strangers, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 313 they were greatly surprised at the sight of so large a canoe, and considered this chief and his men as hotooas (gods) or superior beings, and would not suffer them to land, till they had spread on the ground a large roll of gnatoo, which extended about fifty yards, reaching from the shore to the house prepared for them. At this island Cow iMooala remained but a short time : during his stay, however, the natives treated him with very great respect, and took him to see some bones which were supposed to have belonged once to an immense giant ; about whom they relate a marvellous account, which is current at Tonga as well as at Lotooma. At a period before men of common stature lived at Tonga, tv/o enormous giants resided there, who happening on some occasion to of- fend their god, he punished them by causing a scarcity on all the Tonga islands, which obliged them to go and seek food elsewhere. As they were vastly above the ordinary size of the sons of men now-a-days, they were-^able, with the greatest imaginable ease, to stride from one island to another, provided the distance was not more than about a couple of miles ; at all events their stature enabled them to wade through the sea without danger, the water in general not coming higher than their knees, and in the deepest places not higher than their hips. Thus situated, no alternative was left them but to splash through the water in search of a more plentiful soil. At length they came in sight of the island of Lotooma, and viewing it at a distance with hungry eyes, one of them bethought himself that if this small island was ever so fruitful it could not supply more food than would be sufficient for himself at one meal; he resolved therefore wisely, out of pure consideration for his own stomach, to make an end of his companion: this he accordingly did, but by what means, whether by drowning him, strangling him, or giving him a blow on the head, tradition does not say. When he arrived at Lotooma he was no doubt very hungry, but at the same time he felt himself so sleepy that he was resolved to lie down and take a nap, particularly as night was fast approaching, and to satisfy his hunger the next morning: and very lucky it was for the poor natives that he did so, (for it appears this island was inhabited at that time). He accordingly made a pillow of the island of Lotooma, and not choosing to lie in the water, he stretched his legs (for so the story goes) over to the island of Fotoona, making a sort of bridge from one place to the other. By and by he snored to such a degree that both islands, particularly Lotooma, were shaken as if by an earthquake, so as greatly to disturb the peaceable inhabitants. The people of the latter island being roused from their slumbers were greatly alarmed, and well they might be, at this unseasonable and extraordinary noise. Having repaired to the place where his head lay, and discovering that it was an immense gigantic being fast asleep, they held a consultation what was best to be done; and came at length to a resolution of killing him, if possible, before he awoke, lest he might eat them all up. With this intention every man armed himself with an axe, and at a signal given they all struck his head at the same moment; up started the giant with a tremendous roar, and recovering his feet he stood aloft on the island of Lotooma, but being stunned with the blows, he staggered and fell again, with his head and body in the sea, and being unable to recover himself, he was drowned, his feet remaining upon dry land; and thus the great enemy was destroyed."

As a proof of these facts they shew two enormous bones, which, as they say, belonged to this giant, and the natives in general believe it. The people of Tonga, however, are not quite so credulous with respect to this story, which they generally tell in a jocose way. Mr. Mariner asked Cow Mooala what sort of bones they were; he replied that they were enormously large, he could not well describe their shape,— that he was sure they were bones, though they were not at all like any human bones, and he supposed they must have belonged to some fish. To any new coiner from Lo- tooma the first question is, " have you seen the "giant's bones?" But it would appear that com- munications with Lotooma were not very fre- quent, since the inhabitants made so sad a mistake as to think Gow Mooala and his fol- lowers gods.

Cow Mooala shortly took his departure from Lofooma, with three of the native women on board, in addition to his other followers, and sailed for the Fiji islands. Owing to the wind he deviated a little from his course, but at length arrived safe at Navihi Levoo, (as the natives call it, meaning large Fiji : the word Navihi is corrupted by the Tonga people to Fiji,) one of the Fiji islands, to the north-west. Here Cow Mooala took up his residence with the chief of the island, where he remained*a considerable length of time, assisting in the ' war with other islands. The inhabitants of Navihi Levoo are much more ferocious than those of most of the other Fiji islands ; this, however, is not stated merely upon the authority of Cow Mooala, who occasionally was apt to exaggerate a little, as will by and by be seen, but upon that of Mr. Mariner, who frequently saw and conTHE TONGA ISLANDS. 31"^ versed with some of its natives, as well as with those of the other islands, who were at Tonga in his time ; besides which he has since been at Pan, one of the Fiji islands, and consequently is able to form some judgment. The inhabit- ants of Navihi Levoo are not only more fero- cious, but they are much better skilled in war than those of the other islands, and are there- fore much dreaded by them: to give them- selves a fiercer appearance, they bore a hole through the soft part of the septum of the nose, through which, in time of war, they stick a couple of feathers, nine or twelve inches long, which spread out over each side of the face, like immense mustaches, giving them a very formidable appearance. The worst feature of their barbarism is the horrible practice of eating human flesh, which they carry to a greater extent than any of the other Fiji people. The chief of the island was reported to have a re- markable appetite in this way, we must not take him therefore as a sample for the rest ; for he was not in the habit of sacrificing his pri- soners immediately, (finding them perhaps too tough for his delicate stomach,) but of actually ordering them to be operated on, and put in such a state as to get both fat and tender, after- wards to be killed as he might want them. The hands and feet, particularly the latter, are con- sidered the choicest parts.. 318 TRANSACTIONS AT It may liere be remarked, that' cannibalism is more or less practised on all the Fiji islands, and has its origin, no doubt, in the constant wars in which the people are engaged : not that war among savage nations universally gives oc- casion to so horrid a custom, (for indeed we have many instances to the contrary;) but in those uncultivated nations, where a spirit of na- tional hatred and thirst of revenge, on some ex*- traordinary occasions, run very high, it appears to be an instinct of uncultivated nature, to crown the catastrophe by a feast at which ci- vilized humanity revolts*, particularly where a scarcity of provisions exists at the same time^ At the Fiji islands war and devastation are much more frequent than at the Tonga islands, con- sequently scarcity is also much more frequent, and cannibalism accordingly much more prac- tised. The island of Navihi Levoo is more troubled by intestine war than the other Fiji

• Mr. Mariner had from good authority a circumstance that

may be mentioned here as illustrative of the point in ques- tion, A certain man at Tonga had a violent hatred to another, whom he sought an opportunity of killing in battle j at length he succeeded; and, cutting open the body, dissected off the liver, and took it home to his house. He tied the liver up in a piece of gnatoo, and whenever he wanted to drink water or cocoa-nut milk, he would dip it in, and then squeezing out some of the juice into his beverage, drink it off to satisfy his revenge: this fact was universally known and spoken of, but with much disgust. The cause of his enmity was the ill usage which his wife had received on being taken prisoner by the other. Mr. Mariner knew the man. THE TONGA ISLANDS. islands, and the people are greater cannibals. At the Tonga islands in particular, it may be remar ked, that the island of Tonga (properly so called) is constantly in a state of war, and scarcity consequently is much more common there than at Vavaoo andthe Hapai islands, and cannibalism, therefore, much less shuddered at. At the island of Tonga, indeed, this inhuman habit is by no means so general as at the Fiji islands, but then it has not been the scene of warfare for more than about twenty years, whereas the latter nation has been familiar, more or less, with this scourge of the human race, from time immemorial. Now we are upon this subject, we may men- tion, that at Tonga, the natives report that some time before Mr. Mariner's arrival among them, an European ship touched there, the boat of which, on landing near Mafanga, had a quarrel with some of the natives, in consequence of which, three of her crew were killed and dragged up the country. These the natives embo welled and dressed the same as pork, and several ate ^ heartily of them ; but shortly afterwards they were all taken very ill, being attacked with nausea and vomiting to a violent degree, and three of them actually died. Some of the na* tives attributed this circumstance to an un-^ wholesome quality in white man's flesh, others 320 TRANSACTIONS AT to the superior power of the gods of England, in the way of revenge for killing white men. They were strongly corroborated in their opi- nion of the superiority of the gods of England, by the circumstance that almost every man who had been actively concerned in the conspiracy against the Port au Prince happened either to be killed in battle or to die of disease, during the time Mr. Mariner remained at these islands ; and they would often question him whether it were not owing to the interference of the En- glish gods as a punishment ; to which he al- ways answered them in the affirmative, with a view to his own safety, and to inspire them with respect for the invisible powers, which, accord- ing to their notions, presided over the welfare of England 'and of Englishmen. Some of the natives, in joke, used to say, that they w^ouldkill Mr. Mariner, to see if the hotooas (gods) of England would revenge his death, alleging their disbelief in the unsolicited agency of the En- glish hotooas, and their opinion rather that Mr. Mariner himself had been the cause of their death by his prayers, soliciting his gods to re- venge the* death of his countrymen. This, however, was a notion chiefly of the lower orders : the higher classes were of opinion, that the hotooas of England operated of their own accord, without any intervention or prayer. l^HE TONGA ISLANDS. 321 Finow was strongly of this opinion, observing that it was but fair to sappose that, in the same proportion as the white men were superior to them in knowledge, so were the hotooas of white men superior to their hotooas in divine power. But to return from this digression. Cow Mooala, after remaining a considerable time at Navihi Levoo, sailed with his people for Tacownove, which is a district on the western side of Pau, the largest of the Fiji islands. Pau is much resorted to by American vessels, and vessels from Port Jackson, for sandal-wood, which grows to perfection only at a certain part of the island, called Vooi'a. The principal market for this article is China ; and the demand for it is so great, in proportion to the smallness of the place which produces it, that it is now growing scarce, and, consequently, dearer. For- merly they would give a considerable quantity for a few nails, but now they demand axes and chisels, and those, too, of the best quality, for they have gradually become judges of such things : wlaales' teeth are also given in exchange for it. The chiefs of the Fiji islands very seldom oil themselves, and, consequently, require very little of this wood, the principal use of it being to scent the oil. The natives of the Tonga islands, however, who require a considerable quantity of it for the above purpose, complain VOL. I. Y TRANSACTIONS AT heavily of its scarcity; and what renders the matter still worse for them, is, that the Fiji people, demanding a greater number of axes and chisels for a given quantity of the wood, these implements are growing very scarce at the Tonga islands, and plentiful at Fiji. Before the Tonga people acquired iron implements, they usually gave whales* teeth, gnatoo, mats for sails, and platt ; but whales' teeth are ex- ceedingly scarce, and the other articles are too bulky for ready exportation. The sting of the fish called stingray was also occasionally given^ but these stings, which they use for the points of spears, are by no means plentiful. This fish is found in the greatest quantity at an island called Ooea, which lies about mid-way between Vavaoo and Hamoa. Another article of ex- change is a peculiar species of shell, which they find only at Vavaoo, and is also scarce. It has already been remarked that the sandal-wood tree will not bear to be transplanted to Tonga. During the time Cow Mooala was at Pau, a vessel was wrecked on a reef off that island. All the crew, except a couple, perished. The wreck was taken possession of by the natives they got out of her a number of dollars, and a quantity of muslins, with some other East India commodities. From these circumstances it would appear that she was an American smuggler on TilE TONGA ISLANDS, 3^3 her return from Peru, with part of her original cargo undisposed of. One of the men was after* Wards killed in a quarrel with the other. Mr* Mariner could not learn the name of the vessel. The people of Pau gave Cow Mooala an ac- count of an enormous lizard, which they sup- posed must have come from Bolotoo, and sent by the gods. They stated that, late one even-* ing, a canoe put in at a neighbouring small island, to remain there for the night, being on her way to some more distant island. The weather being very hot, and the crew much fatigued, they resolved to sleep out the night upon the open beach. When they had been asleep some time, they were awakened on a sudden by the loud cries of one of their com- panions; starting up, they observed by the light of the moon, with the utmost astonishment, a prodigious lizard (as they termed it), plunge into the water. At this they were greatly alarmed, and, missing a man, they went farther up the country for safety. Early in the morn- ing, one of them (a young lad) went into the lea to bathe, and was also snatched away by the monster. The whole island was soon in a state of alarm ; every body, on hearing the news, flocked to the beach, but no lizard was to be seen. In the course of the day, they who be- longed to the canoe took their departure. A Y 2 few days elapsed, during which the prodigy was no where to be found, and they supposed it was gone away altogether,, imagining it to have been a visitation from a god for some crime they had committed. One evening, however, while a woman Wa& washing some talo root in a salt water lake, about a quarter of a mile from the beach, surrounded by thick rushes, the monster suddenly made his appearance, and, seizing the unfortunate woman, plunged with her into the lake. The people of the neighbouring houses having given the alarm, all the inhabitants of the island were soon up in arms, and, running to the spot, uttered loud exclamations, and threw stones and various things into the lake ; in consequence of which, the animal, being dis- turbed, rushed out, and made towards the sea, pursued by a number of men, who threw spears at Jiim ; but these were of no avail, his hard scales proved impenetrable to such weapons, and this circumstance, filling them with increased alarm and wonder, made them dreadfully afraid of him, and confirmed them in the opinion that it mustb^ a god, for they saw him escape unhurt into the sea. In this way he had destroyed nine people at different places, partly on this island, and partly on another small island, clo'se in the neighbourhood, when an old man, who had ob- served that he came on shore every morning at THE TONGA ISLANDS. S25 OTie particular place near the lake, in which he afterwards, concealed himself, boldly devised a method to destroy him. Between the beach and the lake was a la^i'ge feU tree; and the old man's plan was- this:— to procure a long rope, and, passing it over a strong branch of this tree, to let one end, at which there was a run- ning noose, hang near the ground, whilst the other end was to be . in the possession of about fourteen or fifteen strong men, concealed at a little distance in high grass. The old. man, .who was a staunch warrior, and well fitted .for such a perilous task, having engaged the solemn pro- mise of his confederates to act theu parts with steadiness and fidelity, undertook to walk about on the beach at the time the monster was to be expected, and, at his approach, to recede be- hind the noose, through which the animal must necessarily pass his head to lay hold of him; at which moment he would call out to them to puH the rope, and noose him tight. Matters being thus adjusted, the expected enemy made his appearance, and ran towards the old man, who took his station behind the noose, and, the moment the animal put his jaws through it, he sprang back, and gave the appointed signal; instantly the cord was drawn tight, and their prey was caught with his head and one paw through the noosje; they soon se cured. the ropc^ and, running up, beat him about the head, and pierced him wherever they could, till, at length, after much hard work, they killed him. When their toil was over, the first thing they thought of (for these people have a strange genius), was, to try if he was good to eat : they accord- ingly cut him up, and, selecting those parts which they thought the tenderest, they baked a sufficient quantity, and, finding it very good, made a hearty meal. Cow Mooala saw the bones of this animal, from the description of .which, as well as what he had heard concerning the living animal, Mr. Mariner supposes that it must have been a crocodile that, by some acci^ dent, had made its way from the East Indies ; and, as it was the first animal of the kind the natives had ever seen, or ever heard of, we need not wonder that they supposed it to be a superr natural lizard, sent by the gods from Bolotoo, as a punishment for their offences. Pau is decidedly the largest of the Fiji islands, and much larger than Vav^oo: but Cow Mooala gave an exaggerated account of its size, describing it to be so large, that many of the people in its interior had pever seen the sea, owing to their distance from it ; and that the people living on the mountains, and who constantly resided there to avoid the frequent wars and disturbances on the plains below. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 327 veiy seldom came down ; and when they did, and saw fish for the first time, would not be- lieve but what they were hotooas, (gods,) and wondered very much to see people eat them. The mountains on the western side, called Ta- cownove, are the highest On the base of one of these mountains are two hot springs, situated near together, at which a neighbouring garri- son generally boil their yams and plantains, by putting them into a vessel with holes in the side, and suffering the boiling water to pass through it*. The natives of the Fiji islands are much more curly headed than those of the Tonga islands ; and all of them, both men and wo- men, powder their hair with the ashes of the bread-fruit leaf, or with powdered lime, pre- pared from the coral, or else with soot col- lected from the smoke of the tooi-tooi. The pulverized lime is only worn now and then with a view to stiffen their hair, which it does remarkably well. In using either of these sub- stances, they plentifully diffuse it through water, in which they dip their heads ; and when the hair is dry they dip again, repeating this operation three or four times : the hair be-

• Jeremiah Higgins, who was at these islands thirteen

weeks, saw the steam arising from these springs, but lie had aaot an opportunity of approaching the spot. coming now replete with the powder, when quite dry they work it up with great care and attention, occupying three or four hours in frizzing it out with a sort of comb, to a consi- derable distance from the head, resembling an immense wig, from four to nine inches thick, being raised equally from the head, at the top,, back, and sides. Like the Tonga people, they generally go bareheaded ; but to preserve this fine hiead-dress from being injured by the dews of the night, they usually cover it with about a square yard of white gnatoo^ beaten out very fine, so as to appear the more light and ele- gant; and this is quite sufficient to keep off the moisture : they tie it on with remarkable neatness. At the Fiji islands the boys and girls go quite naked, the girls till they are about ten years old, the boys till they are about fourteen : after which periods the girls wear the usual dress of the women, which consists merely in a sort of circular apron, about a foot or fourteen inches broad, worn quite round the waist : when they grow old, it is increased to about a foot and a half in breadth. At the age of fourteen , the boy begins to wear the mahi, or usual dress of the men, which has been accurately de- scribed by Captain Cook, as seen by him at the Sandwich islands, where they use the same, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 329 though at the Fiji islands it is of much greater length, being wrapped round the body many times : one end of it passes between the legs, so as to represent^ when adjusted, what in sur- gery is called a T bandage *. Children are married by their parents (or rather betrothed to each other) when they are three or four years old. This circumstance gives rise to the complaint usually made by the natives of Tonga who visit Fiji, that they can find no woman but who is under the pro- tection of a jealous husband. This Cow Mooala sadly complained of ; and it leads us to the inference, that the women there are very faithful to their husbands. A man may have several wives ; but the greatest chief, that is, she who is of the best family, is the principal wife ; and in respect to her,— if her husband die first, she must be strangled on the day of his death, and afterwards buried with him. Mr, Mariner knows this fact from what hap- pened at Vavaoo, a short time after the peace with Toe Oomoo; and as it was not men- tioned at that time, the present is a fit oppor-

• At these islands they perform circumcision at fourteen

years of age, after the Judaic method, i. e. by drawing for- ward the praeputium, and cutting off a section. At the Tonga islands they only make a longitudinal incision of the upper part of the praeputiu;m. 530 TRANSACTIONS AT lunity to relate it. Among Finow's followers, there was a certain chief, a native of Fiji, who about that period fell ill and died : his wife, who was also a native of Fiji, in accordance with the religious notions in which she had been brought up, considered it a breach of duty to outlive him ; she therefore desired to be strangled. All her Tonga friends endea- voured to dissuade her from what appeared to them so unnecessary and useless an act ; but nol she was determined, she said, to fulfil her duty, in defect of which she should never be happy in her mind, — the hotooas of Fiji would punish her; and thus, by living, she should only incur fresh miseries. Her friends, finding all remonstrances in vain, allowed her to do as she pleased: she accordingly laid herself down on the ground, by the side of her deceased hus- "band, with her face upwards ; and desiring a couple of Fiji men to perform their duty, they put a band of gnatoo round her neck, and pull- jng at each end, soon ended her existence *. In the evening they were buried together in the same grave, in a sitting posture, according to the Fiji custom. Mr. Mariner happened not to be present when she was strangled, but

• It used to be the custom at Tonga, when the divine

chief, Tooitonga, died, to strangle his chief wife 5 but this absurd practice was left off during Mv. Mariner's time. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 331 arrived in time to see them buried, and to hear the account of the recent event from those who had been eye-witnesses. Both sexes at the Fiji islands adopt the cus- tom of making an incision in the lobe of each ear, and introducing a piece, >bout an inch long, of the mid-rib of the plantain leaf, to keep it distended : when healed, they introduce a thicker piece, and afterwards a still larger piece of the wood of the tree itself, so as to cause the lobe of the ear to spread and hang down considerably. This practice, as it is con- sidered ornamental, the women carry to a much greater extent than the men ; and at length in- troduce such large pieces, that the lobe of the ear hangs down almost as low as the shoulder, the opening thus made being about ten inches in circumference. Frequently, by overstiretch- ing the lobe, it splits ; and there are many wo- men seen with it hanging down in two slips ! ! Their skins are by no means so smooth and sleek as those of the Tonga people, owing, pro- bably, to the circumstance of their not oiling themselves. The gods are consulted in much the same way as at Tonga : there are, indeed, some few trifling differences in the ceremony, but these Mr. Mariner is not sufficiently acquainted with to state accurately: although he was after332 TRANSACTIONS AT wards at Pau, he had not an opportunity of seeing this ceremony. Close to Pau lies a very small island, called Chichia, which is in itself a fortress almost im- pregnable. The nearest part is not more than a hundred yards from Pau; and, at low water, joins it by a ridge of sand. At the place where this ridge joins Chichia, there is a high rock, almost perforated by nature, and which art has rendered completely so. This rock is con- verted into a strong fortress, commanding the whole island, which, indeed, is rendered inac- cessible in every part, by a heavy surf and dan- gerous rocks, except just to the left of the large rock, and that part is defended by a high fenc- ing. On this small" but strong island several natives of Tonga resided, for the chief was partial to them, because his wife was a native, of that place; he therefore readily admitted Cow Mooala and his men to come also and re- side with him. Cow Mooala took an active part with the chief of Chichia in his war against the people of Pau. This war had been kept up for a long time, the people of Cliichia constantly committing depredations on the people of Pau, without these being at all able to retaliate. From time to time they had taken a great number of pri- soners, which were kept apart for a purpose THE TONGA ISLANDS. 333 directly to be mentioned. A few days before the period that Cow Mooala had fixed on for his return to Vavaoo, the chief of Chichia made a sortie from his strong hold, and gave a ge- neral battle to the people of Pan. The men of Chichia were victorious, and returned in triumph to their little island. The chief, elated by these victories, resolved now to have an ex- traordinary feast before the departure of Cow Mooala. On the following day, therefore, a grand warlike dance was performed by the men, witl^ bracelets of fringed bark under their knees, and of shells round their arms. Their bodies and faces were painted with various configurations, in black and yellow^ producing, no doubt, a strange appearance. Each man was armed with a club and spear ; and, thus equipped, the whole body of them exhibited various warlike attitudes, such as throwing the spear, striking with the club, &c. — shouting and singing alternately. When they had finished their dancing, they sat down to drink cava ; after which the chief gave orders to his cooks to bring forward the feast : immediately ■ they advanced two and two, each couple bear- ing on their shoulders a basket, in which was the body of a man barbacued like a hog. The bodies were placed before the chief, who w^as »eated at the head of his company, on a large 334 TRANSACTIONS AT green. When all these victims *^ere placed on the ground, hogs were brought in like manner 5 after that, baskets of yams, on each of which W^as a baked fowl. These being deposited in like manner, the number of dishes was counted, and announced aloud to the chief, when there appeared to be two hundred human bodies, two hundred hogs, two hundred baskets of yams, and a like number of fowls. The provisions were then divided into various portions, and each declared to be the portion of such a god ; after which they were given to the care of as many principal chiefs, who shared them out to all their dependants, so that every man and woman in the island had a portion of each of these articles, whether they chose to eat them or not. It would be perhaps increasing the horror of this picture beyond the truth to state that every person present partook of human flesh : these unfortunate victims were sacrificed and cooked more for a matter of [form, probably, than any thing else ; but it must be confessed that the chiefs, warriors, and more ferocious part of the company, partook of this inhuman diet, and several of them feasted on it. Such, at least, was the account of Cow Mooala; and Mr. Mariner has too much reason to think it true, because he afterwards heard the same acTHE TONGA ISLANDS. 336 count from several of the natives of Chichia who visited Tonga. A few days aftei-wards Cow Mooala set sail for Vavaoo, where he arrived safe with about fifty attendants, as formerly noted, consisting of Tonga people, natives of Fiji, and others. As soon as his arrival was made known to Finow, he issued orders to the owners of the different plantations of Vavaoo to bring to the maldi at Neafoo whatever they could afford, as presents to Cow Mooala and his companions *. On this occasion there were wrestling, fight- ing with clubs, cava drinking, &c., as formerly described. It must be remarked, however, that when these great exhibitions of wrestling and fighting are shown on account of the ar- rival of visitors or persons who have been long absent, it is customary for the new comers to be challenged by any one or every one of the island who chooses, so that in the end they are pretty certain of getting a thorough beating. No man, however, is obliged to accept the challenge, nor is it thought dishonourable to refuse it : in short, as they merely beat one another in a friendly way, it is considered a sport for general entertainment, in which any • It is always customary to make presents in this way to any newly arrived party, particularly to persons much re^ spected, as was Cow Mooala, or who have been long absent. man may take an active part, if he feels himself at all so disposed. In these encounters they frequently get their arms broken; but this gives no one any concern, scarcely even the party who suffers, who immediately gets it set by any one in the company, (and they are all tolerably expert at this from frequent practice,) and bound up with bandages of gnatoo, using splints made from the cocoa-nut tree.