ped his fingers, with some sneering words, as he passed; till reaching the central figure, which was covered with red cloth, he prostrated himself, and kissed it, which the Captain at his desire also did. From thence he led the Captain to a sunk area in the morai, where he seated him between two wooden idols, Koah supporting his right hand, while Lieutenant King supported the left. At this time, a second procession of natives arrived, with a baked hog, a pudding, and some fruits; and Kaireekeea, heading the procession, presented the pig before Capt. Cook, with solemn chanting, to which the rest made responses, closing with the name Orono. The natives then sat down, fronting the Captain and his supporters; and while some cut up the baked hog, and prepare! the vegetables, others engaged in brewing ava: and when the ava had been handed round, and tasted, morsels of the flesh were distributed also. Pareea fed Mr. King, and Koah tried to feed Captain Cook; but the latter, remembering the putrid hog, could not swallow a morsel, especially as the old man did him the honour to chew it for him.—This closed the ceremony; and the Captain, after distributing some trifling presents among the natives, which pleased them much, returned on board, attended to the beach by the men with wands, and honoured by the prostrations of all whom he met.
It is easy to see from this narrative, that the natives ranked our navigator among their gods; regarding him as the god Orono, a deified King and hero, belonging to the fabulous age of their chronology. This Orono (or Rono), as Mr. Ellis states, had, according to their traditions, set sail for a foreign country, in a singularly shaped canoe.
