Littell's Living Age/Volume 133/Issue 1718/Stone Adzes in the Pacific

From The Leisure Hour.

STONE ADZES IN THE PACIFIC.

The adzes of the Hervey Islanders are frequently hafted with carved pua wood. The carving, which is often admirable, was formerly executed with sharks' teeth, and was primarily intended for the adorning of their gods. The fine-pointed pattern is known as "the sharks' teeth pattern" (nio mango). Other figures are each supposed, by a stretch of imagination, to represent a man squatting down (tiki-tiki tangata). Some patterns are of recent introduction, and being mere imitations of European designs are destitute of the significations which invariably attached to ancient Polynesian carving. The large square holes are known as "eel-borings" (ai tuna) the lateral openings are naturally enough called "clefts" (kavava). To carve was the employment of sacred men. The national gods of Mangaia, with one exception, were carved in ironwood by one man, Rori, who was believed to have been specially assisted by the gods for the purpose. The idols were called "carvings" (tiki in the Hervey group, tiiin the Tahitan and Society groups). The stone adzes were secured to their wooden hafts by means of fine cinet, itself esteemed divine. It was fabled that the peculiar way in which the natives of Mangaia fasten their axes was originally taught them by the gods. A famous god, named Tanemataariki, i.e., Tane-of-royal-face, was considered to be enshrined in a sacred triple axe, which symbolized the three priestly families on the island, without whose aid the gods could not be acceptably worshipped. Tane-of-royal-face was one of the very few much-respected gods not surrendered to the missionaries, but hidden in caves. All trace of this interesting relic of heathen antiquity is now lost. The shape of a god adze differed at the back from those used by artisans in being rounded underneath. These artisans were priests; to use an adze was to be a man of consequence, the skill necessary in using it being invariably referred back to the gods as its source. That the Rev. J. Williams should be able to fell a tree and build a vessel as well as to preach and teach was in perfect harmony with their traditional ideas of a priest-chief. The improved art of carving and plaiting cinet, etc., was long ago introduced from Tahiti by a worshipper of Tane. During these employments songs were chanted in a soft low tone to the gods to aid their work. Some of these stone adzes were intended for despatching their foes. Stone adzes are invariably used laterally, not perpendicularly as with our steel ones. Beds of stone adzes are occasionally discovered. They generally consist of about a dozen adzes, large and small, arranged in a circle, the points being towards the centre. This "treasure-trove" would have been the property of some family exterminated in war. The knowledge of the localities where to find them was of course carefully handed down from one generation to another until the last of the tribe was gone.