'.V.c 1 ^ -mvrr.i Schenkung des Vulkaninstituts Immanuel Friedlander 89 % *3 ■rrrr™ a*»' ■ ■ .-*- 'ft?.* • ifc i:*' •jjljsp ACCOUNT OF THE TONGA ISLANDS. uife ’ymsti&tt- i. . u-5 1 . * *m wr<5v:k' T. BAYLSON, LOMBARD-STREET, WHITEFEIAHS, LOKDOK iV 'VV-'IWJWP* ,^CH HI& * i ifoiuhet' ywj>y £ragg so. BBS 'tsmsssi. sJassMS P8P§1 §§n M?Mamwiejr h* tine Costume of tie Tonga Isjlanbs. Zarufon Felt, 2 ’, ISJS'lv-7Murray.A£bf?n47'7*->)'ti\?st. AN ACCOUNT OF THE NATIVES OF THE TONGA ISLANDS, IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN. WITH AN ORIGINAL GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE. COMPILE AND ARRANGED FROM THE EXTENSIVE COMMUNICATIONS OF MR. WILLIAM MARINER, SEVERAL YEARS RESIDENT IN THOSE ISLANDS. BY JOHN MARTIN, M. D. “ The savages of America inspire less interest.... since celebrated navigators “ have made known to us the inhabitants of the islands of the South Sea .... The “ state of half-civilization in which those islanders are found gives a peculiar “ charm to the description of their manners .... Such pictures, no doubt, have “ more attraction than those which pourtray the solemn gravity of the inhabitant M of the banks of the Missouri or the Maranon.” Prrface to Humboldt's Personal Narrative, IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. SECOND EDITION, WITH ADDITION: LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET 8P 1818 , TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOSEPH BANKS, BART.G.C.B. PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, &c. &c. &c. , THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNT OF THE NATIVES OF THE TONGA ISLANDS, IN WHICH IT IS ATTEMPTED PARTICULARLY TO SET FORTH THEIR MANNERS, CUSTOMS, RELIGION, AND LANGUAGE, FROM THE ORAL DESCRIPTIONS OF AN ENGLISHMAN LONG RESIDENT THERE, IS MOST WILLINGLY INSCRIBED AS A SMALL, YET APPROPRIATE TRIBUTE OF RESPECT, BY HIS VERY OBEDIENT AND DEVOTED HUMBLE SERVANT, JOHN MARTIN. mm PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. Tin; flattering reception with which the present work has already been honoured by a liberal public, and the appearance of a French translation of it at Paris, in November last, are convincing proofs of the interest, at least, which the subject has excited. Whilst preparing this second edition, it has been my good fortune to meet with an additional weight of testimony in favour of the facts related ; and not to detain the reader with unnecessary matter, I shall at once lay open the source of this new proof of the strict fidelity of Mr. Mariner’s representations. Jeremiah Higgins, Vlll PREFACE. a young man belonging to the crew of the Port au Prince *, made his escape from the Tonga Islands about thirteen months before Mr. Mariner, that is to say, after a residence there of two years and eleven months. Being very young, he was one of the first who acquired a tolerable knowledge of the language ; he practised their dances, and learned their songs ;—and although he had not the advantage of those better opportunities which fell in Mr. Mariner’s way, and consequently is not so intimately acquainted, in certain points of view, with the political sentiments, and moral notions and habits especially of the higher classes of the natives, which the superior education of the latter, as well as his relative condition among the Tonga chiefs, rendered him more apt to acquire ; —still, the information obtained from Higgins must undoubtedly be considered valuable, if only regarded as generally corroborative, and in a few instances * He served on board this vessel in the capacity of what is technically termed a landsman, and was then about fifteen or sixteen years of age. PREFACE. IX somewhat corrective of Mr. Mariner’s statements. For three or four years (until December last) Jeremiah resided with his father, an old inhabitant of the town of Aylesbury, a man well known, and much respected; and in the employ of many farmers in the county as a hay-binder. Some time after the publication of the first edition of the present work, a copy was sent to Jeremiah, with a request, that he would particularly remark and make a memorandum of whatever he conceived not to be correctly stated. In the month of November last, Mr. Higgins, the father, happening to be in town upon some business, called to inform me, that his son had been exceed- ingly pleased with the perusal of the work, particularly as it served to corroborate many things Avhich he had previously related to his friends and neighbours, and to Avhich he had reason to think they did not always give the credit that was due; insomuch that he began to be heartily tired of answering their numerous inquiries. Among those to whom he had given the X PREFACE. most information prior to the publication of the work was Mr. T. Woodman, a very respectable and intelligent farmer, residing at Stone, near Aylesbury. As this gentleman had also read the book, I wrote to him to request the favour of his sentiments, with regard to the two unconnected sources of information, which had fallen in his way. From the answer which he obligingly sent me, dated Stone, 4th December, 1817,1 beg leave to extract the following paragraph, as bearing immediately upon the subject. “ I most certainly have many times, be- “ fore your publication appeared in the “ world, asked Jeremiah Higgins many “ questions respecting the inhabitants of “ the Tonga islands; but as he is a “ young man of a reserved disposition, the “ communications he made were always “ desultory, unconnected, and confined. “ Yet I cannot have the least doubt, or the “ least hesitation in saying, that in the ac- “ counts he gave, he spoke of the very “ same people, and of the very same inci- “ dents, which are related by Mr. Mariner, “ in the work you have recently publish- PREFACE. xi “ ed. He spoke to me of the capture of “ the vessel he sailed in : of the siege and “ reduction of the Tonga great fortress : of the effects of the great guns : of the pa- “ nic and consternation thence produced : “ of their religious and political convoca- “ tions, &c. &c., which are events so expect, and he trusted that they would submit to his rule and government as formerly. To this, some of the Vavaoo chiefs replied, that they, should be willing enough to acknowledge him king, as formerly, provided he would reside altogether at Vavaoo, and interdict all communication with the Hapai people, among whom there were many designing chiefs, of whose treacherous policy they had good reason to be afraid : or, if he did not choose to remain altogether at Vavaoo, he might reside at Hapai, and they would send him annual tribute, as usual, upon condition that neither he, nor his chiefs, nor any of the people of Hapai, would visit Vavaoo under any pretext whatsoever; for, as they were quite tired of disturbances and insurrections, they heartily wished to keep away all who were promoters of discord, all ambitious and discontented chiefs; all, in short, whose tempers were too fickle to love a peaceful and quiet life : and, as to the large fortress, they declared it had been constructed merely for the purpose of self defence. Finow then took up the discourse, stating, that he could not give his consent to terms which were inconsistent with his dignity, as supreme governor both of Hapai and Vavaoo, and that it was exceedingly hard he should suffer for the rashness si' 172 TRANSACTIONS AT and impolicy of others, and that they should cease to put that confidence in his wisdom and justice which he hoped he had always merited. He then repeated the arguments in favour of his innocence, and, in conclusion, urged a proof of his love and affection for the people ofVa- vaoo, by reminding them of the readiness with which he formerly joined their late beloved chief, in the assassination of Toogoo Ahoo, and, by this means, freed Yavaoo and all the Tonga islands of a tyrant; and of the ardour with which he fought in alliance with that great hero, in the memorable battle of Tonga ; and, although afterwards they (the Vavaoo people) opposed (from a mistaken notion) his progress in the same good cause, yet how T happy they had been since their submission to him, and had received from his authority a good and wise chief (Toob6 Nuha), and now that this great man had fallen a sacrifice to the ambition or malice of others, was it on that account that they ought to forego their reliance on the love and affection which he had hitherto so conspicuously shewn them ? “ But, as you seem “ disposed,” said he, “ to live in idleness and “ luxury, I will go and reside among a more “ manly people, and prosecute war against the “ island of Tonga.” In reply to all this, they again assured him of their love and respect THE TONGA ISLANDS. 173 for him as an individual, but, as they were determined to live free, they would neither propose nor accept of any other terms. The king then ordered his matabooles to conduct him to his canoe, and, turning towards the Vavaoo people, said, “ Live, then, among yourselves “ in idleness, and we will return to Ilapai.” During the time that Finow was addressing the Vavaoo people, the matabooles and warriors that surrounded his canoe (among whom was Mr. Mariner) appeared much moved, and several shed tears, for his powers of persuasion were such, that, in defending his own cause, he seemed to be the most worthy, the most innocent, and the most unjustly used : on this account the greater chiefs and old matabooles of Vavaoo remained in the fortress, fearing to listen to his arguments, lest, being drawn aside by the power of his eloquence, they might mistake that for true which w T as not, and even lead the young and ardent warriors into an error, by persuading them that what he said was reasonable and just. The fortress, on the top of a steep rising ground, as seen from the ernoes, presented a most formidable and warlike appearance: its extent seemed enormous, ard the tops of the white reeds, which were seen at a distance above the banks of red clay, the w’hole being 174 TRANSACTIONS AT strongly illuminated by the sun, represented to the imagination of Mr. Mariner the spears and javelins of ancient heroes, drawn up in battle array. On the top of the banks a number of warriors, armed with clubs and spears, were running to and fro, with fine light streamers,* full thirteen feet long, attached to their heads and arms, which, floating in the wind, produced a most romantic effect. The king and his matabooles being now returned to their canoe, the expedition proceeded out of the inlet, and arrived shortly at a small island, on which they landed, and stripped it of almost all its cava root. It is here proper to mention, that all the islands adjacent to Yavaoo were deserted by order of Toe Oomoo, that the people might be more safely situated in or near the fortress, in case of an invasion. The three canoes afterwards proceeded a little farther onward, and put in for the night at a small island, called Hoonga, about two miles from Vavaoo. The next morning they resumed their voyage, and arrived at Haano, the nearest of the Hapai islands, in the afternoon. * These streamers consist of the fine membrane stripped off from the under side of the cocoa-nut leaf. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 175 CHAP! Ell VI. Finow embarks again with all his army for Vavaoo, and arrives at Neafoo—Alarm in the night—Presence of mind in one of Finow’s men—Plan of attack—Siege commences—An armistice—Accident to Mr. Mariner, which causes the battle to be renewed—Audacity of a Vavaoo warrior—Finow forbids the guns to be used—Sortie of the enemy—Bravery of Chioolooa—Wonderful escape of Latoo Ila—Conduct of the llapai women—Finow’s army returns to Neafoo, and builds a fortress there—Alarm in the night—Revolt of a young chief to the enemy, and the consequences—Slaughter of the enemy by an ambuscade —Sixty bodies offered to the gods—Cannibalism—Supposed treachery of Lioofau—The king returns thanks to his tutelar god—Hints of his priest—Apprehension and punishment of Map pa Haano—Regulations respecting deserters—Cruelties exercised upon four of the enemy— Desertion of Toobo Boogoo from the enemy—One of Finow’s canoes surprised by an attack from Maccapapa at the island of Taoonga—Finow sends out an expedition against Maccapapa’s canoes, and takes ten—Attack on the enemy’s field of yams.—Mr. Mariner wounded—An attempt to secure the enemy's hogs. The day after the return of the expedition, the gods were invoked in the usual way, and the oracular answer was, to proceed immediately to war against Vavaoo. All things being in readiness, the following morning the king embarked with the whole of his forces, about 5t)00 men, besides 1000 women, in fifty large canoes, 176 TRANSACTIONS AT with the four carronades, ammunition, and every thing necessary for a vigorous attack upon the strong fortress ofVavaoo. Towards evening, the fleet arrived at Fonnooi-fooa (one of the small islands in the neighbourhood of Vavaoo), whence Finow dispatched four canoes, manned with select warriors, up the inlet, towards the fortress, with orders to kill whomsoever they could. They succeeded in killing three men, and severely wounding a fourth., whom, with the three dead bodies, they brought to Finow. Killing these three men, in the first attempt upon the enemy, was' by no means to be considered a trifling advantage, for it was supposed to augur the protection of the gods, and great future successes. Early in the morning, the Hapai fleet proceeded up the inlet to Neafoo (the consecrated spot formerly mentioned), where they landed safely, leaving the women in the canoes. The four carronades were planted opposite the house of a neighbouring malai, ready to be drawn up the following morning to the fortress, which was about three miles off. The day was spent in settling and arranging sundry matters. During the night, which was exceedingly dark, a considerable degree of alarm was excited by two or three of the enemy, who approached, and threw a spear among a number of Finow’s THE TONGA ISLANDS. 177 people, asleep near the house; it happened, however, to strike a bundle of spears that was placed upright against a tree, and, thi'owing it down, occasioned such a noise, that several of the men were awakened by it, who, thinking that the main body of the enemy was coming down upon them, began to run away; at this moment, one of them, more courageous than the rest, snatching up a piece of lighted wood, applied it to the touch-hole of one of the guns, which instantly went off, and produced such an effect on the enemy, that no more was heard of him that night. This certainly was a bold act for a man who had never before fired a gun in his life, and might in the worst case have been productive of the best effects, for, if the enemy had come in considerable numbers, as was at the moment falsely imagined, and this man had not had such presence of mind, all Know's army might have been put completely to the rout, their guns taken from them, and a vast number of them slain: as it was, the report of the gun, awakening all who were yet asleep, induced such a degree of consternation as is scarcely to be conceived; they ran in all directions, but most of them to the canoes, and it was some time before their fears were sufficiently calmed for them to be induced to return. The man who performed this exploit received VOL. I. N 178 TRANSACTIONS AT much praise and respect for his bravery; as to promotion, it is a thing not known among them, for no man can hold a rank in society which he is not born to (see second volume); and as to other modes of reward, the merit of a good or brave action is considered its best reward, together with the admiration and respect which it creates, unless the party makes a point to boast of it, and then his merit is set almost at nought. Early the following morning Finow divided his army into three grand divisions: the right wing was commanded by Toob6 T6a, the left by Lioofau, chief of Haano, and the centre by Finow himself: the guns were allotted, two to the centre, and one to each flank, and were managed by seven Englishmen, besides Mr. Mariner and a black native of South America, taken by the Port au Prince in one of her prizes. Matters being thus arranged, and Finow having repeated the orders he had formerly issued, viz. that his men should keep themselves perfectly steady, and not attack the enemy till they were quite close to them,—the army began its march towards the garrison. After four or five hours interrupted progress, owing chiefly to the weight of the guns and the badness of the road, they arrived before the fortress, on the banks of which a vast number of THE TONGA ISLANDS. 179 the enemy were assembled. As they approached, a shower of arrows was discharged upon them; but Finow ordered a mataboole to advance forward and request an armistice, that each party might take leave of what friends and relations they might have among their opponents * ; which being granted, a number came out of the garrison to take a farewell of their relatives,—perhaps the last farewell of those who were about to fight against them. Here ensued a moving scene ; many tears were shed on both sides, and many a last embrace exchanged. This affecting spectacle had lasted about two hours, when a circumstance accidentally occurred, unfortunate enough in its consequences, but which might have turned out still more so. One of the enemy, upon the outer bank of the fortress, wantonly shot an arrow at Mr. Mariner, but which fortunately missed him, and stuck in a tree close at his * In a civil war at these islands, as well as at other places, it often happens that sons have to fight against their fathers, and brothers against their brothers; but what renders this circumstance still more common at Tonga, is the adherence to an old established custom, which binds every man in honour to join the cause of that chief on whose island he happens to be at the time the war is declared, unless some circumstance, as particular relationship between great men, engages the chief of the island, upon earnest request, to give him liberty to depart. 180 TRANSACTIONS AT elbow; lie immediately turned about, and dis. Covering the man who discharged it, levelled his musket, on the impulse of the moment, and shot him dead upon the spot: instantly the enemy sounded the war-whoop, and all was uproar and confusion* The king, not understanding the cause, was in a most violent rage with Mr. Mariner, and would forthwith have dispatched him with his club, had he been near enough: his matabooles did all they could to calm his temper, but he was not easily pacified : he sent a man to Mr. Mariner to demand his musket, but the latter, feeling himself aggrieved, peremptorily refused: Finow, by this time, becoming somewhat more calm, and learning the true cause of the disaster, was speedily reconciled. In the mean time the enemy, conceiving this to be a piece of treachery, returned to their entrenchments, and assailed the besiegers with showers of arrows. The king now ordered the great guns to open a fire upon the fort, but they seemed to do little or no injury to the works, owing to the height of the place and the strength of the embankment; several, how. ever, were killed who ventured outside of it. The firing had lasted, with occasional intermissions, during six or seven hours, when a considerable number of the enemy were perceived coming out of the fencing, and sheltering THE TONGA ISLANDS. 181 themselves behind the banks, with the evident intention of sallying forth, Upon this the king ordered all his men to sit down, and to remain perfectly quiet and steady, although the enemy should advance quite close to them, till they received his further orders to rise up and rush upon them. They accordingly sat down. A party of fifteen or sixteen now came down from the fort, and seven or eight of the Hapai people ran forward to skirmish with them- One of the advanced patty of the enemy came up to within fifteen or sixteen yards of the carronade, of which Mr. Mariner had the charge, and there stood, brandishing his spear in a threaten,- ing attitude : Mr. Mariner immediately fired the gun at him, but the moment the match was applied the man fell flat on his face, and the shot missed him : the moment after he sprung up again, and advanced forward to within ten paces of the gun, dancing and making sundry warlike gesticulations; he then brandished and threw his spear, intending it to enter the gun, but it struck against the muzzle. Mr. Mariner, astonished at the boldness and presumption of this warrior, was determined to punish him for his rashness, and accordingly levelled his musket, but just as he was pulling the trig r ger, an arrow struck the barrel of the piece, and caused him to miss his aim, The warrinr 182 TRANSACTIONS AT then shouted aloud, and returned with all speed to the fortress. Here the reader will no doubt recollect the bravado of a man who assumed the name of Fanna Fonnooa (p. 149), and declared that he would advance boldly up to a gun and throw his spear into the mouth of it, by way of expressing his contempt for this instrument of warfare. This warrior was the man ; and he no doubt would have shared a severer fate, had Mr. Mariner been prepared for him, but having treated that threat as an idle boast, he had altogether forgotten the circumstance, and did not again reflect on it till after it was over. The main body of the enemy was still stationed behind the banks, upon places cut for them to stand on, so that they were defended breast high, and thus had an opportunity of discharging their arrows in abundance, without much risk of receiving a shot in return. After a time, however, they came forth from their strong hold, and assembled on the outside, forming themselves quickly into three divisions, the same as Finow’s army. Most of 'the greatest and bravest warriors stationed themselves in the left wing, with the view of descending, with all their concentrated power, on Finow’s right wing, commanded by Toobo Toa, along with whom were the other principal THE TONGA ISLANDS. 183 men that had assassinated Toob6 Nuha, six or seven in number : against each of these twenty of the enemy’s left wing had orders to throw their spears, at a signal to be given, without directing their attention particularly to any one else, each party of twenty having singled out its man. These matters having been arranged, and having stationed themselves outside the bank as above stated, the whole advanced slowly and steadily forward. Finow’s men stilt remained seated on the ground, according to the orders that had been given them, except a few who danced before them, by way of showing their contempt for the enemy, and of provoking them to hostilities. Mr. Mariner requested Finow to order these men in, that a cannonade might be opened upon the enemy but the king objected, stating that as they ventured forward in an open body he would receive their attack, and fight them upon equal terms; that these guns gave him too great an advantage, such as he scorned to take ; that it was more honourable to fight them man to man than to use against them arms that were rather fitted for the hostilities of spirits than of men # ; * The use of artillery seems to have conveyed to the imagination of Finow the same idea of tremendous warfare as is inspired by the expression of our great poet— “ Battle dangerous to less than gods.” 184 TRANSACTIONS AT at the same time he returned his thanks for the advantages formerly derived from the use of these weapons, which he thought well calculated for the destruction of forts. The enemy now advanced within thirty paces, and threw their spears: instantly the Hapai army, too eager to remain longer quiet, sprang up, and rushing upon their foes, a close engagement commenced, which was obstinately maintained for about an hour, when the enemy were repulsed, and beaten completely back into their fortress. It was now twilight, but the Hapai warriors pursued them to their very doors. One chief in particular, Chioolooa, although he was wounded in the breast by a five- barbed spear, the shaft of which he had broken off, rushed even within the banks of their fortress, and there knocked out a man’s brains ; in making his retreat, however, he was wounded in the back by another spear, which, not being barbed, he drew out, and ran back to his own party; but the wound was mortal, and he lingered till the next day. This was the same chief, who, on the day of Toobo Nuha’s burial, challenged any of the Vavaoo people to fight him (p. 145 ) : he came to battle, he said, with a kind of presentiment that he should be killed, and was determined, therefore, to sell his life as dearly as possible. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 185 It is not at all extraordinary that most of those who had assisted in the assassination of Toobo Nuha should fall victims, in this battle, to the vengeance of the enemy ; but it is very extraordinary that one among them, viz. Latoo Ila, (who, as may be remembered, insulted the body of Toob6 Nuha, and upbraided him with the murder of his father), should altogether escape without a single wound or hurt worth mentioning; although he, like the rest of the assassins, was the object of the vengeance of twenty men combined against him. This circumstance gave rise to the general opinion that he was defended by the gods. He certainly fought with uncommon bravery, and this was the first time that he had distinguished himself ; but it must be kept in recollection, that he was fighting against a party whose late chief had slain his own father. During this battle several of the Hapai women came to the scene of action, that they might be near their husbands to assist them if wounded. One ofjthem, the wife of Toobo Toa, (Toob6 Aho M£e,) was taken prisoner by the enemy, but extremely well used by them ; and about three weeks afterwards she was sent back, from motives of respect, because she was a great egi (chief) of the family of Tooitonga (vide Rank in society, second volume): had 186 TRANSACTIONS AT she been of the king’s family, she would no doubt have been retained a prisoner. Night was now set in, but, by I mow’s orders, a firing was kept up, merely with stones, to avoid a waste of shot, because no good aim could be taken : this lasted for about an hour. The king’s matabooles then made several speeches to the garrison, soliciting the Vavaoo chiefs to submit to the government of Finow, but they objected, under the apprehension that they should be afterwards killed by the treachery of the king or of Toobo Toa. Finow then addressed them, threatening to remain there the whole night, and the next day to set about building a fort opposite theirs, and to keep up the war until they either yielded or were destroyed. Shortly after this, however, he gave orders to his men to repair as silently and as speedily as possible to Neafoo. He deceived the enemy in this way, to prevent them proceeding by another road, and cutting off' his retreat. The guns were given in charge to some of the principal warriors, with men under their command to drag them along. The labour of doing this for three miles was by no means trifling, particularly as the road was very uneven : they swore heartily at all guns, and all Englishmen for making them, and wanted to know why they THE TONGA ISLANDS. 187 could not construct them a little lighter ; or at least, as they had ingenuity enough to make the guns, they ought to have, they said, the ingenuity also to make legs for them to walk with. Being arrived at Neafoo, the king, his chiefs, matabooles, Mr. Mariner, and some of the Englishmen, went on board the canoes to pass the night. Mr. Mariner now, as well as in numerous other instances, found the advantage of having an adopted mother, by whom he was provided with plenty of good food, consisting of cooked yams, ripe bananas, and raw fish. They had partaken of no food all the day, and even now not above thirty or forty, consisting of chiefs and matabooles, got any thing to eat, for the time was too far advanced, and the common men too fatigued, to cook yams enough for themselves that night; and as to raw fish, it was considered too good, and at that time too scarce, to give to them *. * The idea of eating raw fish is not one of the least revolting to the imagination ; and we are too readily disposed to believe, that nothing but excessive hunger could render this species of food at all palatable: hence voyagers, on witnessing this act among the natives of these islands, have reasonably supposed them to be some of the lower orders much distressed forwant of food(videLabillardiere’svoyage)j but the fact is, raw fish is a very palatable diet, and is accordingly eaten as a matter of choice, not of necessity. Being strongly assured of this fact by Mr. Mariner, I made the trial, and repeated it several times upon mackarel, salmon, 188 TRANSACTIONS AT The next morning, after the men had refreshed themselves, armed parties were sent out to cut reeds, for the purpose of building a fortress at Neafoo : Finow and his principal chiefs remained to lay out the plan, whilst others were employed in digging a ditch about fourteen feet wide and ten feet deep. The spot on which this fortress was planned out was so situated, that one side was close upon the sea-shore, on a steep rocky bank, and therefore required no further defence, for the enemy had no large canoes, having broken up all they had to make small ones, and with these it would be imprudent to venture as far as Neafoo, lest their retreat should be cut off' by Finow’s larger and swifter canoes. In the course of the day the fencing and ditch were tolerably well completed, so that the following night the greater part of the army slept on shore ; but they were not without alarm, for about midnight, a small party of the enemy having come down to reconnoitre, looked through the openings of some part of the fencing that was not quite finished, and seeing several of the men sitting round a and turbot, and found the assertion perfectly correct: all the preparation necessary, is to take off the skin, and wash the fish with a little salt water ; it will then taste as relishing as the oyster, and very similar to it. If we eat the oyster raw, why not other fish ? THE TONGA ISLANDS. 189 fire conversing together, they threw several spears at them, which wounded many, and struck all with a panic : the whole garrison was instantly in a state of confusion; and a great number so far lost their presence of mind as to endeavour to make their escape on board the canoes ; in this attempt, forgetting that it was low water, they leapt from off the banks, and fell upon the shelf of rocks below, in consequence of which several of them had broken arms and legs, and sundry contusions, which, together with the fright, producing universal spasm (tetanus *) in some of them, caused their death a day or two afterwards. In about a quarter of an hour the alarm perfectly subsided, and they passed the rest of the night quietly. During the following day the fencing was completed, and a second ditch was planned round the former; this, however, was to be without any fencing, that the guns might be brought to bear more readily upon the enemy, in case they should make a descent upon Nea- foo. This ditch was to be eighteen feet wide, and about ten deep. In three days it was dug, and the fortress completed. In the mean time the canoes were hauled up within the fencing, but no active operations were effected on either * Their mode of treating this disease, and their success in sometimes curing it, will be related under its proper head. 190 TRANSACTIONS AT side. Four or five women, however, revolted from the enemy, and brought information that the chiefs of Vavaoo, having now revenged themselves on most of Toobo Nuha’s murderers, had come to the resolution of waiting a little time without having recourse to any offensive measures, with a view of ascertaining what Finow’s real intentions were. The fortress being now quite completed, and the guns stationed one at each of the four entrances, of which there were two in front (on the inland side) and one on each of the other two sides ; Finow gave orders that a strong party should go forth early in the morning, towards the enemy’s fortress, and destroy all the plantations they could come at, but in case of an attack, they should make their retreat as speedily as possible. In the afternoon they returned laden with yams, plantains, &c. but having met with a sudden attack from the enemy, had lost several of their men. They brought intelligence that they had discovered a large field of fine yams nearly full grown, but it was so well defended that they could not with prudence make an attack upon it. Finow resolved to remain quiet the following night, lest the enemy should be lying in wait for him, but the night after that to proceed with a large and strong party to plunder and destroy this planta- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 191 tion. In the mean time a young chief revolted to the enemy, and communicated Finow’s intentions with certain additional details, which, however false, served to raise him in the opinion of the enemy, and establish his credit with them. He informed them, over and above the actual truth, that his own father Lioofau was to remain behind in the colo (fortress) with a small party to defend it, but that being' secretly an enemy to Finow, he would without doubt readily yield up the place to them. Upon the strength of this information they laid their plan accordingly : a large party of warriors, well armed, were to conceal themselves in a thick wood at no great distance from the field of yams, through which wood passed a road leading from Finow’s colo • they were to lie down on the ground and cover themselves with branches, &c. that as soon as Finow’s army had passed, they might be able to cut off their retreat: at the same time another strong party was to advance upon Neafoo, and take advantage of the supposed treacherous disposition of Lioofau. Finow having arranged his plan, set off very early in the morning with the far larger part of his men, leaving the remainder under the command of Lioofau to take care of the colo. Very fortunately for Finow, before he had advanced 192 TRANSACTIONS AT far, he met a man who had deserted from the enemy, and who informed him of their knowledge of his expedition, their plan of frustrating his object, as well as the alleged treachery of Lioofau. The king upon hearing this, before he advanced a step farther, ordered Lioofau into immediate confinement, with a strong guard over him. This being done, he proceeded towards the fortress of Felletoa, and taking advantage of the information given him by the deserter, actually hemmed in the very party that would otherwise have done the same to him. These, finding themselves, contrary to their expectations, surrounded by Finow’s army, and seeing no other resource than to endeavour to force their way through, made the attempt, and succeeded, after a hard struggle, attended by great slaughter: sixty of the enemy were killed, and fourteen or fifteen of the Hapai people also fell. The enemy now retreated towards the field of yams, to join those who were stationed there for its defence ; and Finow, thinking it hazardous to make a farther attack, retired back upon Neafoo, taking with him the sixty dead bodies. The other party of the enemy that had, in the mean while, advanced to Neafoo, finding the place not under the command of Lioofau, suspected some deception, and made a speedy retreat. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 193 The king and his army being arrived at their fortress, the sixty bodies were shared ont to the different gods that had houses dedicated to them within the place. In performing this ceremony the people formed a large circle on the ground, with the king at the upper end. The bodies being placed in a row before Finow, a man rose up, and counting the bodies, declared aloud their number. The king then ordered that so many should be allotted to such a god, and so many to such another, and so of the rest. The names of these gods were Tali y Toobo, Tooi fooa Bolotoo, Lau file Tonga,Too- bo lalo Tonga, and Chenitacala : the two first only are imaginary beings, the others are souls of departed chiefs ; the last of all is a goddess, the soul of a female chief of that name. This being done, the bodies were carried away, and laid before the houses of the different gods to whom they were allotted: where, after they had remained three or four hours, those who had left relations among the garrison of Neafoo were carried away and buried ; and the remainr der, which were only nine or ten in number, were conveyed to the water side, and there disposed of in different ways : two or three were hung up on a tree; a couple were burnt; three were cut open from motives of curiosity to see vol. r. o 194 TRANSACTIONS AT whether their insides were sound and entire*, and to practise surgical operations upon, hereafter to be described ; and lastly, two or three were cut up to be cooked and eaten, of which about forty men partook. This was the second instance of cannibalism that Mr. Mariner witnessed, but the natives of these islands are not to be called cannibals on this account: so far from its being a general practice, it is on the contrary generally held in abhorrence, and where it is occasionally done, it is only by young warriors, who do it in imitation of the Fiji islanders, attaching to it an idea that there is something in it designating a fierce, warlike, and manly spirit. When they returned to Neafoo after their inhuman repast, most persons who knew it, particularly women, avoided them, saying, “ Ia-whe moe ky-tanga- ta,” away! you are a man-eater. The bodies being thus all disposed of, Finow began to make enquiries respecting the alleged treason of Lioofau, and finding no one capable * It is a firm belief with the people that if a man infringes upon the Taboo (seep. 141) or commits any sacrilege, his liver or some other viscus is liable to become enlarged and schirrous : they therefore often open dead bodies out of curiosity, to see if they have been sacrilegious in their lifetime. The natives of these islands are particularly subject to schirrous tumours. TIIE TONGA ISLANDS. ]‘)5 of urging any thing against him, and he solemnly declaring his innocence, and stating that his son must have invented this tale to answer some purpose with the enemy; moreover, having always borne a good character and been well beloved by his men, and believed to have been always firmly attached to the interests of Finow, he was set at liberty and restored to his post. The day after this chief was reinstated, Finow ordered the ceremony of drinking cava to the priest of his tutelar god Toobo Totai, by way of gratitude for the late victory. This ceremony is exactly the same as that of invoking a god through the medium of his priest; and consists merely in the customary form of sitting down to make cava in the presence of a priest, (he presiding at the head of the ring). In this instance, after the cava, pork, &c. had been served out, one of the matabooles, in a few words, thanlked the god in the person of the priest for the late signal victories. The priest in answer, after waiting for another dish of cava, declared that Finow would at length succeed in his war against Felletoa, but that this fortress was not the strongest power he had to contend with, for the seeds of insurrection were already sown in his own army, and although Lioofau was perfectly innocent of what had been al- 193 TRANSACTIONS AT leged against him, yet there was one at no great distance from him for whom so much could not be said. The god having condescended to declare this, left his priest, and the latter arose and went away; the company then broke up. Know pretended to take no notice of what the priest declared, not wishing the circumstance to be much noticed by others. The following day an adopted son of Know brought him secret intelligence that he had heard that several men had been sent off at different times, by Mappa Haano, to the fortress of Felletoa, to concert with the enemy on the subject of revolt, and that this chief had the intention of doing what Lioofau had been unjustly accused of and imprisoned for. The king immediately sent for Mappa Haano, who obeyed the summons, and came drest up in mats, with green leaves round his neck, (marks of humiliation and fear) attended by a priest. When they arrived opposite Know’s house they sat down before it; then the priest rose and advancing nearer to Know, who was seated just within the eaves of the house, he again sat down before him, and stated that Mappa Haano had requested his intermediation, to express for him the sentiments of self-accusation with which he felt himself oppressed, and his acknowledgment of the justice of his fate, if Fi- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 197 now should think proper to take away his life. The king replied, that he did not mean to take away his life, for that it was not the custom at Tonga to kill those of whom one has no reason to be afraid, and that he did not think it worth his while to destroy a mere butterfly, (an insignificant being) but that he should take other measures of punishment not less exemplary. He then desired the culprit to consider himself for the future as divested of all power and rank,' no longer to be the commander of men, but a single and unprotected individual; that his chiefship from that moment was null, and that consequently he was never more to take his seat as a chief, at his cava ceremonies*. A certain chief, who was present, observed to Fi- now that if he suffered this man to live, although he was deprived of power, he might nevertheless by pernicious counsel inspire other chiefs with sentiments derogatory to the welfare of Finow’s government. To which the king replied, that this was not a war between men, in whose success or ill success the gods took no interest, but one in which his tutelar god, Toobo Totai, presided in a particular manner * One who is born a chief is always a chief, and all who associate with him must, as a point of religious duty, shew him the customary forms of respect; but in consequence of this sentence, nobody would associate with Mappa Haano. 198 TRANSACTIONS AT over his fortune and welfare, and that this god would take care that such pernicious attempts, on the part of the disgraced chief, should not affect the other chiefs of his army, or if they did, that he should be made acquainted with it by the priest.—The company now dispersed. After this period Mappa Haano always wore mats as significant of his degraded state. He seldom attended any public ceremonies or assemblies, because it obliged him to sit along with the common people, and he could not brook, on such occasions, to feel so much his inferiority to other chiefs who formerly were his equals. It must not be supposed that he always wore these mats from pure humility, but rather from fear, for had he appeared without them, Finow might have been angry, and death might have been the consequence. There being now every day some desertion or another from either army to the opposite one, the king issued orders that every deserter from the enemy should be put to death, the same as if he had been a deserter from himself. This he did the better to avoid all communication between the two contending armies. For some time past several of Finow’s men had been killed in different instances, by three or four of the enemy, under the command of a warrior named Moteita, a most expert and THE TONGA ISLANDS. 199 daring fellow, who often ventured by night and early in the morning close up to the colo of Neafoo to kill any stragglers they could meet with. One morning a party of Finow’s men, twelve or fourteen in number, among whom was Mr. Mariner, being out on a little excursion, surprised four of the enemy, who were busily employed digging ma* in a pit; these they immediately laid hold of, and dragged out, to take them hom,e prisoners. Imagining they had got Moteita and his followers who had so often committed depredations upon them, they resolved to make a signal example of their prisoners. A young chief, however, objected to this measure, and proposed that it would be better to decapitate them at once, and take their heads home. This plan was immediately assented to, but some one observing that they had no knives with them, another casting his eyes upon the ground, remarked, there was something that would do as well; and taking up a shell from a neighbouring spot, where some persons had been eating large pearl oysters, he proposed to proceed to work with oyster- shells as substitutes for knives: this was immediately approved of, and the four unfortunate * Ma is a species of prepared food, consisting of breadfruit, or plantains, or bananas; buried for a considerable time under ground, in order to ferment. 200 TRANSACTIONS AT victims were taken in hand. It was in vain that they begged their lives, protesting that they were not the persons they had taken them for: in vain did Mr. Mariner point out the cruelty of the act, urging them at least to kill them first speedily, and cut off their heads afterwards : to this remonstrance they answered that their prisoners deserved to be severely punished for the many atrocities they had committed; and as to killing them first, and cutting off their heads afterwards, they thought it unnecessary trouble. This horrible piece of cruelty -was accordingly committed on the spot. They began the operation, (after having stripped themselves, to prevent their garments from getting bloody,) by haggling at the back of the neck; they then cut gradually round the throat, till they had got through every thing but the spine, which they divided by turning the head down, and giving it a violent twist. This being done, they washed themselves, resumed their gnatoos, and proceeded with the four heads to the garrison. It was still early when they arrived, and they found the king sitting with his friends on the maldi drinking cava. The four heads were brought to him by different men, and placed in the middle of the circle upright with their faces towards Finow, who returned his thanks (as customary) to those who had killed them. M r. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 201 Mariner having seated himself near Finow, the latter asked him why they did not kill them at once, without cutting off their heads: this question he asked partly from motives of humanity, and partly to know why they took so much trouble about them. A few days after this event, Tooboo Boogoo, a certain priest, belonging to the colo of Felle- toa, and who was a relation of Finow, having been consulted, regarding some matters of policy, gave advice which appeared to the Vavaoo chiefs more consonant to Finow’s interests than their own, and they accordingly objected to it, declaring that he wanted to act a treacherous part in thus befriending his relation: upon which he told them that if they could place no credit in his word, nor confidence in his honesty, he was of no use to them, and therefore they had better kill him at once, or at least confine him ;—or if they had a mind to behave generously towards him, permit him to go away and live with Finow: the chiefs replied that they should take a little time to consider of it. He did not think proper, however, to wait for their decision, but made his escape early one morning, and took refuge with Finow, whom he informed of a design the enemy had of besieging him. In consequence of this information every preparation was made to put the fortress in the best possible state of defence. 202 TRANSACTIONS AT Some time now elapsed in expectation of the enemy’s approach; but there were no signs of them. Finow, in the mean while, came to a determination of making Yavaoo his place of constant residence. This he did for two reasons, first, because it was the largest and most fruitful of all his islands; and secondly, because by his presence he could better govern a people who appeared to be so little attached to his interests. It was now the scarce time of the year, and his stock of provisions began to grow short: it was necessary therefore to dispatch canoes to the Hapai islands for a fresh supply, that might last them till the season had so far advanced as to provide them with the vegetable produce of the surrounding country. A large canoe was therefore got ready, with orders to return with yams and ma ; she had an additional number of hands on board, with which to man another canoe that they were to bring back with them, laden in like manner. Several women and children also took this opportunity of going to Hapai to see their friends. One morning the canoe set sail for one of the Va- vaoo islands, called Taoonga, with the intention of remaining there during the night, and of departing again very early the following morning, to prosecute the voyage. Whilst here, however, the wind unfortunately changed, and they were under the necessity of remaining at Ta- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 203 oonga several days. For the first two or three days they kept a good look-out, lest they should be surprised by the enemy, and at night slept on board the canoe ; but not finding themselves disturbed by any one, they at length relaxed their vigilance, and slept on shore by large fires; in consequence of which they met with a sad disaster. On the fifth night they had lighted their fires as usual, and the greater part had fallen asleep, when forty or fifty of the enemy’s choicest warriors, commanded by Mac- capapa, rushed suddenly upon them. The enemy had heard from some stragglers, that this expedition to Hapai had been obliged to remain at Taoonga; they accordingly put to sea in their small canoes, and arrived at the opposite side of the island after dark: great part of them landed, and being guided by the fires, fell upon those who were reposing in imaginary security, and with their clubs made an end of about eight and twenty: the remainder escaped to the canoe, but not without much difficulty; for some of their companions who had remained to take care of it, being alarmed by the uproar of this sudden attack on shore, had pushed offinto deep water; so that those who made their escape from the beach were obliged to swim, and several of them were much wounded by spears thrown at them. Under cover of the 204 TRANSACTIONS AT darkness they got off to a neighbouring island; and early in the morning, the wind becoming more favourable, they proceeded on their voyage. In the mean while a man ran away from the enemy’s garrison, and brought information of the departure of Maccapapa to attack the Hapai expedition. Finow ordered several large canoes to put to sea immediately, in pursuit of them. This was speedily accomplished, and in the course of a few hours they came up with Mac- capapa’s canoes, and took ten of them. Many attempted to make their escape to the shore; but being prevented by the large canoes from proceeding to the regular landing-places, they were under the necessity of venturing their necks by climbing up steep rocks that rose almost perpendicularly from the water. In this attempt some fell and were killed. Thus were Finow’s men revenged. A fortnight now elapsed without any material circumstance occurring: almost every day, however, there was some little skirmish with the enemy; but which led to no particular result. At the end of this time, the canoes from Hapai not being yet returned, Finow began to turn his thoughts more seriously than ever towards the large field of yams before spoken of. He made preparations therefore for an at- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 205 tack upon it: hoping that if he did not succeed in procuring some yams, he should at least be able to bring the enemy to a general engagement. With this view he picked out some of the choicest of his men, about eighty in number, and gave them orders to conceal themselves, during the night, in a thicket close to the enemy’s fortress, and on one side of the road. Finow in the mean while proceeded with a party of six hundred towards Felletoa. When he arrived within a quarter of a mile of the fort, it being yet dark, he took up his station in a field of high grass, situated in a valley, which could not be seen by the enemy. He then dispatched a hundred men to dig up the yams, and fifty more, under the coirrnand of Hala Api Api, (an adopted son of die late Toobo Nuha,) to the fortress, with a riew of enticing the enemy out, and leading t/iem beyond the ambuscade. The enemy, however, kept close within his entrenchments. Tie fact was, there were not many men in the place, at least not great Avarriors, the rest having gone to another part of the island to launch p large canoe, for the purpose of bringing it rodnd to the garrison to break up and make smal soon as the enemy discover they sent down to their counanions at the further side of the island, to inform them of what ones of. But as d Hala Api Api, 206 TRANSACTIONS AT was going forward. They came as soon as they possibly could, but too late to save the yams. As soon as they arrived at the fort and saw the field of yams completely despoiled, they became dreadfully enraged, and rushed out in a body upon Hala Api Api, who immediately retreated, with a design of drawing them on beyond the two ambuscades. In this, for the most part, he succeeded to his wishes; for the enemy were so blinded by their rage, and pushed on by desire of revenge, that they did not reflect on the probability that there was some stratagem. They continued to follow, and he to retreat, till they passed the first ambush, where Fnow lay concealed, and were fast advancing towards the second, when Finow’s men, too eager for conquest, rose up and attacked them ir the rear: the second ambush, hearing the noise of this attack, immediately started up, and joining Hala Api Api, a hard and close fight Mas kept up for about a quarter of an hour; when the enemy finding themselves too strongly opposed, retreated towards the fortress, in which they took shelter, being pursued close up to their doors by the Hapai warriors. Having recoverec themselves a little from their consternation, they prepared to renew the combat, and again salied forth, and commenced a general engagement with spears and arrows, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 207 which lasted about three quarters of an hour; when they again took shelter within their walls. In the first engagement the enemy had forty men killed, and Finow only two: in the last attack they had only one man killed, and Finow none, though several died afterwards of their wounds; but this was only an engagement with arrows and spears, which they are very dexterous in avoiding: clubs were not used; for the enemy were upon a higher ground, and it would not have been prudent to have attacked them with the club, and risk the loss of their former advantages; and the enemy were too much discouraged to venture into the plain for this purpose. The day was so rainy that no muskets could be well used. In the last affair Mr. Mariner received an arrow in his foot, which passed quite through the broadest part of it: luckily it was not a bearded arrow ; but the wound was, nevertheless, a very bad one; for the weapon being made of a short, splintering wood, it broke in, and consequently he was afterwards disabled for several months; for the Tonga surgeons have not the best instruments in the world, and the pieces of wood they took out from time to time, by no better means than cutting down upon them with sharp shells, or bamboo; which rendered the affair very tedious and painful. 208 TRANSACTIONS AT The Hapai army being returned to Neafoo, Finow gave orders that no man should venture out for sometime, lest, the vigilance and anger of the enemy being now so strongly excited, some should fall a prey to their rashness. About a week afterwards, a warrior, named Havili, requested leave of Finow to permit him to go in a large canoe, with an armed party, to the north-west part of the island, to secure a number of hogs, which the' enemy kept there in a fencing, observing, that it would be but proper to relish the Yavaoo yams with a little Vavaoo pork! Havili was a man remarkable for laying hold of every opportunity of undertaking secret expeditions by night; and he was thought to have killed more men in his time than any other warrior. The king having granted him leave, he went on board a canoe, with forty stout men, and proceeded towards the place. The enemy, however, had previously sent an additional force to take care of their hogs, thinking, very justly, that Finow might be encouraged to turn his attention to that quarter, from having met with such success in the field of yams. It happened, one night, that part of this guard, sauntering about upon the beach, perceived a large canoe coming towards them. They immediately sent word to their companions, and, se- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 209 parating into two parties, concealed themselves on either side of the road leading to the fencing* The canoe having reached the shore, half the men landed with Havili at their head, and proceeded towards the place where the hogs were kept* They had no sooner passed the spot where the enemy lay concealed, than the latter rushed out, and attacked them in the rear so suddenly, and with such effect, that fifteen Were quickly dispatched, the enemy only losing one man, who was killed by Havili. This warrior and his four remaining men effected their escape to thfeir companions in the canoe, and pushed from the shore as quickly as possible. As they were paddling off, the enemy called out to them in derision, “ What! you wanted “ some pork, did you?—how do you like your “ treat ?—but stay, here are some fine pigs for “ you, ready killed” (alluding to the dead bodies), “ why don’t you come and take them “ away?”—but Havili and his men, sorely discomfited, returned home without making any farther attempt. £ ■& VOL. i. * TRANSACTIONS AT 210 CHAPTER VII, Desertion of one of Finow’s wives* and the wife of the prinee —Rencontre between one of the fugitives and Mr. Mariner—Attempt to take the enemy’s women while gathering shell-fish—Dispute about the female prisoners—Return Of the Hapai canoes with provisions—Palavali’s attack upon a party of the enemy, and killing a man within a sacred fencing—Strangling a child as an atonement for this sacrilege—Death of Palavali—Finow, growing tired of the war, in an artful manner negotiates a peace—Finow’s apology for the conduct of the Vavao® people at an entertainment given them—Entertainment given by the Vavaoo chiefs to Finow and his chiefs—Sentiments respecting praise, bravery, &c.—New regulations of Finow—Toobo Toa' deputed tributary governor of the Hapai islands—His arrival at the Hapai islands, accompanied by the prince and Mr. Mariner. A few days after Havili’s unsuccessful attempt to secure the enemy’s hogs, one of Finow’s wives ran away from Neafoo; being shortly missed by the rest of the women, in searching for her, it was found that one of his son’s wives had taken the same step, and it was supposed they had gone together. When this was made known to the king, he left the fortress instantly, accompanied by five or six men, and directed his course along the main road leading to Fel- letoa, but without any success. He returned THE TONGA ISLANDS, 211 very much dejected, and sent to his aunt, Toe Oomoo (the chief of the enemy), requesting to have his wife returned, stating, that it was a War between men, and not women ; but his remonstrances had no effect. These women both laboured under the jealousy and tyrannic influence of Moonga Toobo, Finow’s favourite wife: partly to rid themselves of this, and partly to visit and live with relations they had in the opposite garrison, they made their escape, and took a by road near the sea-shore. On the morning of their departure, Mr. Mariner was at some distance from Neafoo, gathering shaddocks in a thicket: for, although his wound did not allow him to use any active exertions, yet he now and then went abroad by the help of a stick, which, no doubt, was one cause that rendered the cure very tedious. Being up in a tree, he heard a rustling noise in the bushes below, and, directing his attention to the spot, was surprised to see one of Finow’s wives. Prompted by curiosity, he came quickly down, and, seizing her by the arm, inquired what caused her to stray so far from the fortress, and to expose her person and her life to the insults and cruelty of the enemy: she replied, that she had only come out for a walk, and was going shortly to return. To this account he objected, that it was too far, and too dangerous a walk v 2 212 TRANSACTIONS AT for her to take alone, with the risk of meeting^ Moteita and his followers, who often concealed- themselves in those woods, and declared his suspicion that she intended to run away. She immediately fell on her knees, clasped her hands, and begged and intreated most earnestly, that he would not prevent her flight from the dominion of tyranny to the bosom of her relations, and appealed most pathetically to his own feelings and affections towards his mother, or whatever relatives he might have in his own country, and represented how hard and cruelly severe it would be for any one to prevent him flying to them, if it were otherwise in his power. Being moved by the earnestness of her manner, and the unfortunate circumstances of her situation, he raised her up, and promised not to interfere in her escape, nor to divulge the matter to any one, and gave her full liberty to proceed whichever way she thought proper. Finow had, for a long time past, entertained the idea of seizing upon several of the enemy’s women, who were in the habit of assembling at a certain part of the inlet, to gather shell-fish, and now, that his wife had run away, he was more than ever encouraged to do this, by way of retaliation upon Toe Oomoo, for the detention of her. The place where they procured this sort erf fish, was upon a shelf of rocks (about THE TONGA ISLANDS. 213 a foot and a half deep at low water), that ran across the inlet at no great distance from Fel- letoa. Upon this shelf they were accustomed to fish every day, wading through the water. On these occasions,' 1 several men of their own party had frequently alarmed them by rushing out upon them, pretending to be the enemy, and had repeated this so often, that, at length, they only laughed at the joke, and ridiculed the idea of running away. One evening a party of Fi- now’s men, who had formed themselves for the express purpose of making an attack upon these women, set out in a canoe, and sailed to a part of the island where they could land unobserved, and proceed to the spot where they were fishing, without any danger of discovery, on account of the high bushes that were there in abundance. Being arrived on the spot, at an appointed signal they rushed out upon the women, who immediately set up a hearty laugh, taking them for their old friends, so fond of a joke; but, when they saw two or three knocked down with clubs, they ran away as fast as their strength and the resistance of the water would let them, and the men after them in full pursuit. There were thirty of them, of which number five were killed, and thirteen taken prisoners, the other twelve escaping safe to the opposite shore. In this affair the wife of Finow’s son was very 214 TRANSACTIONS AT nearly retaken; she ran so exceedingly swift through the water, knee-deep, and the young chief in pursuit of her exerted himself so much to overtake her, although he was near enough to knock her down with his club, that he actually fell through fatigue. It must, however, be said in favour of the chief, that the weight of his club was a great disadvantage, whereas his lovely fugitive ran without any incumbrance, for, in her endeavour to quicken her pace, her gnatoo (dress) became loose, and fell from her waist; this was the only time that she looked back, from a sense of modesty, to see if it was recoverable, but she was under the necessity of pursuing her flight without it. The thirteen prisoners were conducted to Neafoo*, though Finow had given orders that all that should be taken should be killed on the spot. The captors saved their lives, however, partly from motives of humanity, and partly * They were obliged, however, by the way, to submit to the will of their captors, for this is always considered athing of course, and not at all an act of brutality. These transactions are generally conducted in neighbouring woods, and by no means in an open, public, or outrageous way. In short, notions of delicacy, in respect to the female sex, have a much higher influence in the Tonga islands than what would be commonly understood from the accounts of some travellers : among the lower orders, of course, there are abuses every where, but these do not constitute the legal customs of a country. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 215 from those of profit (as they could employ them in making gnatoo, &c.) When they arrived at Neafoo, there happened a strong dispute between several relations of the prisoners, and those who had taken them ; the former arguing that they had a claim to the women, according to the old Tonga custom, which decrees, that all persons shall be in the service of their older and superior relations, if those relations think proper to employ them: the captors, on the other hand, strenuously grounded their claims on the right of conquest. The dispute ran very high, and they referred it to Finow, who replied, that he should not interfere in it, and they might settle it themselves as well as they could, for they had no right to bring the prisoners there to create disturbances, but should have dispatched them according to his orders. At length he condescended to give his opinion, viz. that the most proper method would be, under these circumstances, to cut each woman in tw T o, and give one half to her relation, and the other to the captor. The affair, however, was amicably settled, without having recourse to such bloody measures ; some being given up to. their relatives, and others retained, upon terms mutually agreeable to all parties. About this time the two long expected canoes arrived from Hapai, laden with provisions: they 216 TRANSACTIONS AT had been detained partly by contrary winds, and partly by the people going to visit their relatives at different islands. It has already been mentioned, more than once, that places, which have been consecrated either by express declaration, or by the burial of great chiefs, are forbidden to be the scene of war, and that it would be highly sacrilegious to attaek an enemy, or spill his blood within their confines. This circumstance, however, occurred a few days after the dispute about the female prisoners ; the particulars of it are as follow : Palavali (brother of Havili), went out one day on a foraging party with six men in two small canoes, and landed near a consecrated inclosure, called Griacao, one of the most fertile places in the whole island. Here they met with four of the enemy, who, perceiving their inferiority, made an endeavour to get into the consecrated place, where they would have been perfectly safe : Palavali, however, seeing their intention, got between them and the fencing, when one of the enemy made a bold push to pass his antagonist, and scramble over the reed-work, and had actually got one leg over, when Palavali struck him a furious blow on the head, and felled him dead within the place; seeing now what he had done, he was struck with fear, and yan away to the canoes, followed by his men. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 217 As soon as he arrived at the, fortress, he communicated to Finow what had passed, saying, in his defence, that he was so eager in pursuit, as to be out of’all self command. The king immediately ordered cava to be taken to the priest of his own tutelar god, that the divinity might be consulted as to what atonement was proper to be made for so heinous a sacrilege. The priest being inspired, made answer, that it was necessary a child should be strangled to appease the anger of the gods *. The chiefs, then, held a consultation, and came to the determination of sacrificing a child of Toobo Toa, by one of his female attendants f. Toobo Toa was present, and gave his consent that his child (about two years old) should be immolated to appease the anger of the gods, and turn aside their vengeance for the sacrilegious crime committed. The child was accordingly sought for; but its mother, thinking her child might be demanded, had concealed it; being, at length, found by * This is perfectly consistent with the Tonga custom, whenever the divinities are supposed to be exceedingly offended. It is a piece of superstition far from being uncommon in the history of mankind. Unpleasant truths as well as agreeable ones must be sought out and related, if we wish to arrive at a true knowledge of our own nature. f On such occasions, the child of a male chief is always chosen, as being worthier than others, and a child by an inferior female attendant, because it is not a chief j only those children being chiefs whose mothers are chiefs. 218 TRANSACTIONS AT one of the men who were in search of it, he took it up in his arms, smiling with delight at being taken notice of. Its poor mother wanted to follow, but was held back by those about her; on hearing its mother’s voice it began to cry, but, when it arrived at the fatal place of its execution, it was pleased and delighted with the band of gnatoo that was put round its neck, and, looking up in the face of the man who was about to destroy it, displayed in its beautiful countenance a smile of ineffable pleasure ; such a sight inspired pity in the breast of every one : but veneration and fear of the gods was a sentiment superior to every other, and its destroyer could not help exclaiming, as he put on the fatal bandage, 0 iaooe chi vale! (poor little innocent !) Two men then tightened the cord by pulling at each end, and the guiltless and unsuspecting victim was quickly relieved of its painful struggles. The body was then placed upon a sort of hand-barrow, supported upon the shoulders of four men, and carried in a procession of priests, chiefs, and matabooles clothed in mats, with wreaths of green leaves round their necks. In this manner it w r as conveyed to various houses consecrated to different gods, before each of which it was placed on the ground, all the company sitting behind it, except One priest, who sat beside it, and prayed THE TONGA ISLANDS. 219 aloud to the god that he would be pleased to accept of this sacrifice as an atonement for the heinous sacrilege committed, and that punishment might accordingly be withheld from the people. When this had been done before all the consecrated houses in the fortress, the body was given up to its relations, to be buried in the usual manner. About four or five days after the above horrible immolation, this same Palavali was killed in a skirmish with the enemy. He went out again on a foraging excursion with about 30 or 40 men, not professed warriors, but men on whose courage and honour no reliance could be placed. They met with a smaller body of the enemy, but who were all staunch fighting men j in a very short time Palavali’s men turned about to run away; he vainly endeavoured to rally them, and facing the enemy again to set them the example, he received several wounds and fell. At this moment his men also faced about, and seeing the perilous situation of their chief, became animated with courage, and drove the enemy a few paces back, whilst two or three picked him up and carried him to the fortress. When they arrived they proceeded to take out four spears which had pierced him, but he desired them to desist from so useless a task, as he was certain the gods had decreed his 220 TRANSACTIONS AT death as a punishment for his late offence. This too was the general opinion of the people, and was the subject of their conversation for a long time afterwards, contributing to spread a considerable gloom throughout the garrison. Pa- lavali died about half an hour after he was brought home. Finow already began to grow tired of the war: it was a kind of conflict not suited to his genius, he loved rather a few hard fought engagements and a speedy conquest. The enemy shewed no disposition to come forth from their strong hold and attack him ; and he had found by experience, that even the guns produced no sensible effect upon their fortification, situated upon an eminence, and defended by walls of clay*. He heartily wished for a peace, but he did not choose that his wish should be known, lest it should be attributed to fear or any other unworthy motive; in short, he wanted to bring about a peace, without being thought to wish for it; and the difficulty was to accomplish this. * Mr. Mariner could easily have devised a method to set the enemy’s fortress on fire; but he considered Toe Oomoo’s cause quite as just as that of Finow, and although the latter was his friend and benefactor, yet he had more than half assisted in the assassination of a man of admirable character (Toobo Nulia) who was also Mr. Mariner’s friend; besides, he did not choose to be the means of dealing out destruction upon a number of innocent women and children. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 221 He was, however, by no means deficient in policy, and he soon thought of a method. From time to time he held secret conferences with the priests, chiefly either upon religious subjects or upon political matters, as connected with the will of the gods. He spoke of his determination to remain at Vavaoo and prosecute the war till his enemies were destroyed; then on a sudden, as if his heart for the moment relented, he painted in the most striking colours the evils of war, and how sorry he was that the necessity of the case obliged him to punish his rebellious subjects with so dire an evil. He then represented, in the most lively colours, the blessings of peace, and on this side of the prospect touched his hearers so with the beauty of the description that they entreated him to endeavour to make a peace. He then pretended to be inexorable, but always threw in something in favour of the Vavaoo people, so that the priests at length thought there was no question at all about the propriety and honour of making a peace, and that it was their duty to persuade him to do it, for when they were inspired they had the same sentiment, and of course they considered it to be the sentiment of the gods, and represented it to him as such ; when he, pretending to submit only because it was the divine will, left the matter entirely to 222 TRANSACTIONS AT them to negotiate, and if they succeeded, it would afford him, he said, at least one great gratification, viz. the opportunity of again renewing his friendship with his aunt Toe Oo- moo, and paying her that respect which her superior relationship required. The day after the last conference, the priests accordingly dressed themselves in mats, with wreaths of green leaves round their necks as tokens of humility, not towards the enemy, but the gods, as fulfilling a commission sacred in its nature. Thus equipped, they set out on their way to Felletoa. In the mean time, Finow gave orders that none of his men, if they met with a party of the enemy, should commit any act of hostility, but should endeavour on all occasions to avoid them by as speedy a retreat as possible, for as the gods had admonished him to endeavour to make a peace, and the priests were actually fulfilling that endeavour, any act of hostility might defeat their purpose. The priests went four or five different times to hold conferences with the chiefs of Felletoa before they could bring about a reconciliation- For although the old men seemed willing enough to listen to terms of accommodation, influenced perhaps by their prejudice in favour of Finow as their lawful king, yet the young and spirited warriors, who saw clearly enough THE TONGA ISLANDS. 223 into the artful character of Finow, with much less of the above prejudice, constantly objected to make peace with a man on whose honour and integrity they thought it impossible to rely with any degree of certainty, and who would again give room for a quarrel with the Vavaoo people whenever it suited his purpose. This was their real thought, and perhaps a just one : though they did not express their sentiments with such latitude to the priests: to these they merely objected their apprehensions, that in the event of a peace, Finow would, at some fit opportunity, wreak his vengeance upon them personally for having fought against him. At length, however, they said that as their lives were not a matter of so much consequence as the peace and happiness of Toe Oomoo and her people generally, they were willing to withdraw their objections, that the affair might be speedily settled according to the wishes of the older chiefs. The priests now returned to Neafoo with the warmest assurances from the chiefs of Felletoa, that they would pay Finow an amicable visit the following day. The next morning the chiefs and warriors of Felletoa, with several women, were seen coming towards Neafoo, advancing two and two, all armed, painted and decorated with streamers, forming altogether a very beautiful and ro- 224 TRANSACTIONS AT mantic procession, bringing with them abundance of gnatoo, yams, &c. as presents to their relations. In this way they entered the fortress of Finow, and came into the king’s presence on the malai, where he was seated with his chiefs and matabooles. The Vavaoo people then laid down their spears, which were afterwards shared out to three of Finow’s principal chiefs, who again shared them out to all those below them in rank*. They seated themselves round the f malai, and cava was prepared, the young chiefs | and warriors of Felletoa waiting on the com- $ panyf. All this time Finow’s men were un- | armed J, (agreeably to the custom on such oc- | casions) but by his orders the greater part re- I mained at their houses where their arms were | deposited, for he was upon his guard lest his i guests had some stratagem to play : but he had j merely signified to his men, that it would be i better for them to remain at their houses, as it | * Mr. Mariner believes this to be always the case on such occasions; but this was the only instance of a peace formally established, that ever happened while he was there. t It is an honourable office to assist at cava parties, it is therefore generally filled by young chiefs. J The visitors come armed for the sake of parade, giving up their arms afterwards as presents ; those that receive them must be unarmed as a proof of their amicable disposition, and that they do not mean to get them in their power by stratagem. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 225 would inspire the Vavaoo chiefs with more confidence than if they were present in a body. During the time the cava was being served out, the king made a speech, addressed principally to the chiefs of Felletoa, in which he acknowledged that they were not to be blamed for their fears and apprehensions as long as they believed him to be the treacherous character which his enemies had represented him to be ; but he hoped that these calumnies were now at an end. He was willing, he said, to excuse them for having fought in honour of the memory of their late chief Toobo Nuha, against his murderers, for if they had not done so, he should have considered them cowards; but as most of these murderers had now by their death expiated their crime, and as he himself, as he solemnly assured them, was perfectly innocent of that affair, the present peace, he was convinced, was a most honourable one to all parties. He then made the most solemn protestations of the sincerity of .his intentions towards them, and as a proof of his wish to avoid all future occasions of quarrel, he should send back all his people to the Hapai islands, except a few matabooles, who were to remain with him at Vavaoo, which, for the future, he should make his place of residence, out of the love and respect he had for them; whilst he should con- VOL. i. o 226 TRANSACTIONS AT sign the government of the Hapai islands to Toob6 Toa, who was to send him annual tribute. When the cava was finished the company rose up, and the Vavaoo party returned to Fel- letoa, to prepare an entertainment for the Hapai people the following day. Early the next morning all the chiefs, mata- booles, and-warriors of Neafoo, painted and decorated themselves with streamers, and put on mats, in token of Einow’s inferiority as a relation to his aunt Toe Oomoo, chief of the fortress of Felletoa. They took spears in their hands, and, thus equipped, marched out of Neafoo, two and two, with Finow at their head, carrying with them presents for their relations in the opposite garrison. In this order they entered Felletoa, and proceeded to the maldi, where all the chiefs and matabooles of Toe Oomoo were seated ready to receive them. A quantity of hogs, yams, and fowls, were deposited in the middle of the circle, at the upper end of which a place was left vacant for the king to preside in, for, his aunt not being there, he was the greatest chief present. Flad Toe Oomoo been also present, she must have presided, at the head of the circle, and the king, as her inferior relation, must have seated himself opposite to her, on the outside of the cir- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 227 cle, among the common people ; for no two relations of different rank can sit in the same circle together*. On this account, and out of respect to Finow, he being sovereign, Toe Oomoo did not make her appearance. Finow being seated, his men, as they came in, deposited their spears in the middle, of the circle, to be afterwards shared out in the same manner as was done by the Vavaoo people at Neafoo the day before; they then retired to the outside of the circle, ready to wait upon the company. A large root of cava was then split into pieces, and distributed to be chewed as usual. While the cava was preparing, the provisions were shared out, ready to be eaten after the cava was drunk, This being done, and the provisions consumed, a second course of cava was prepared and served out, of which Finow having drunk a small quantity, retired to pay a visit to his aunt. When he arrived in her presence he went up to her, and, with great respect, kissed her hand, and she, in return, kissed his forehead t. He then sat down to * An accurate and full description of the ceremonious regulations of a cava party will be given in the second volume. f When a person salutes a superior relation, he kisses the hand of the party; if a very superior relation, he kisses the foot: the superior in return kisses the forehead. There may be some doubt as to the propriety of the term to kiss in this ceremony, for it is not performed by the lips after our Q 2 228 TRANSACTIONS AT drink cava with her and her attendants, and, as she presided, he of course sat outside, facing her. When the cava was finished, he walked out to view the fortifications, on which occasion the matabooles of Toe Oomoo waited on him, and pointed out every thing worthy of notice. They descanted on the excellence of the plan, and then gave him anecdotes of the war, telling him where such a chief was killed, where another lost his arm or his leg, where a cannon-ball had struck, &c.; and, as they viewed the outside of the works, they pointed out where the different murderers of Toob6 Nuha met their fate. All this, however, they told him in answer to his queries ; for it is a thing very remarkable in the character of the people of Tonga, that they never exult in any feats of bravery they may have performed, but, t»n the contrary, take every opportunity of praising their adversaries ; and this a man will do, although his adversary may be plainly a coward, and will make an excuse for him, such usual mode, but rather by the application of the upper lip and the nostrils, and has more the appearance of smelling. When two equals are about to salute, each applies his upper lip and nostrils to the forehead of the other, or he applies his lips to the lips of the other, but without any movement of them, or smack, as in our mode. Our kiss they never adopt, not even between the sexes, but, on the contrary, always ridicule it, and term it the inhite man’s kiss. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 229 as the unfavourableness of the opportunity, or great fatigue, or ill state of health, or badness of his ground, &c. In their games of wrestling they act up to the same principle, never to speak ill of their antagonist afterwords, but always to praise him. As an illustration of this character it may be remarked, that the man who called himself Fanna Fonnooa, (a great gun,) who ventured his life in his hazardous approach to Mr. Mariner, and threw his spear at the muzzle of his carronade, never afterwards boasted of it, nor appeared to think he had done any thing extraordinary, or at least worthy of after-notice. Their notions of true bravery seem to be very correct, and the light in which they viewed this act of Fanna Fonnooa serves for an example : they considered it in short a rash action, and unworthy a great and brave mind, that never risks any danger but with a moral certainty, or at least reasonable expectation, of doing some service to his cause. In these respects they accuse Europeans of a great deal of vanity and selfishness, and unfortunately with too much justice. It must be remarked, however, that these noble sentiments belong to chiefs, matabooles, and professed warriors; not much to the lowest orders, many of whom will knock a dead man about the head with a club till they have 250 TRANSACTIONS AT notched and blooded it a good deal, and pretend it was done in the battle against a living foe ; but such things are always suspected, and held in ridicule. Finow having for a considerable time inspected the fortification, praising every where the judgment with which it was planned, retired to the house which had formerly belonged to Toobo Nuha, where he passed the night. The following morning he summoned a general meeting of all the inhabitants ofVavaoo, which w r as soon accomplished, as the people were all at one or other of the two fortresses. He then gave directions to all the principal men respecting the cultivation of the country, which the late war had reduced to a sad state. He commanded that every one should be as frugal as possible in his food, that the present scarcity might be recompensed with future abundance. He ordered his fishermen to supply him and his ehiefs with plenty of fish, that the consumption of pork might be lessened. Having settled these matters, he next gave orders that the large fortress of Felletoa should be taken down, its fencing carried away by any body who might want it, its banks levelled with the ground, and its ditches filled up; urging, as his reason, that there was no necessity for a garrisoned place in time of peace, particularly THE TONGA ISLANDS. 231 in a spot which could be so much better employed for building an additional number of more commodious dwellings. The fortress of Neafoo, he said, might remain, for it was a place not convenient to live at, and therefore it was not worth while to take any trouble about it. These were his ostensible reasons, but his real motives were easy to be seen into: he was apprehensive, that, in the event of another insurrection, his enemies -might again possess themselves of this strong hold; but as to the other fortress, if he did not succeed in securing it for himself, he could easily dispossess his enemies of it, by destroying it with his carronades whenever he thought proper. These orders were begun immediately to be put into execution, under the inspection of the chiefs of the different districts of the island. The following day the king gave orders to Toobo Toa to proceed back to the Hapai islands, of which he constituted him tributary chief5 the tributes* were to be sent to Vavaoo * The tribute generally consists of yams, mats, gnatoo, dried fish, live birds, &c.; and is levied upon every man’s property in proportion as he can spare. The quantity is sometimes determined by the chief of each district, though generally by the will of each individual, who will always take care to send quite as much as he can well afford, lest the superior chief should be offended with him, and deprive him of all that he has. This tribute is paid twice a year; once 232 TRANSACTIONS AT half-yearly, as usual: at the same time, all the natives of Hapai, who had come to the war, were to return with their chief. On this occasion the young prince (Finow’s son, Moegnag- nongo) went with Toobo Toa to the Hapai islands, as he wished to look over his lands on the island of Foa; and Mr. Mariner accompanied the prince, as he preferred his character and habits to those of his father. They arrived safe at this island after a quick passage of about nine hours. at the ceremony of Inachi, or offering the first fruits of the season to the gods, in or about the beginning of October j and again, at some other time of the year, when the tributary chief may think proper, and is generally done when some article is in great plenty. The tribute levied at the time of the Inachi is general and absolute; that which is paid on the other occasion comes more in form of a present, but is so established by old custom, that, if it were omitted, it would amount to little less than an act of rebellion. It may here with propriety be observed, that the practice of making presents to superior chiefs is very general and frequent. The higher class of chiefs generally make a present to the king, of hogs or yams, about once a fortnight: these chiefs, about the same time, receive presents from those below them, and these last from others, and so on, down to the common people. The principle on which all this is grounded is of course fear, but it is termed respect (of a ). THE TONGA ISLANDS 233 CHAPTER VIII. Arrival of Filimoeatoo at Foa—Description of the sport called fanna kalai—Treaty of Filimoeatoo with the chief of Hihifo, respecting the bird kalai, for Finow—Desertion of several chiefs and warriors to Tonga—Island ofTofooa, and restrictions respecting cutting down the Toa tree (Casuarina)—Volcano on this island—Certain principles among the Fiji islanders alluded to—Grave of John Norton, of Captain Bligh’s boat, with some account of him— .Extract from Bligh’s narrative—Remarks upon the subject—Some account of a ship arriving at the island of Tonga from Botany Bay—Account given of Botany Bay by a Tonga chief and his wife, who had returned from there —Finow’s ideas respecting the value and circulation of money—General slaughter of the dogs at Vavaoo, on account of their destroying the game—Their flesh cooked and eaten by several chiefs—Finow’s first essay at the sport of fanna kalai with the bird from Tonga. Shortly after the arrival of the prince, with Toobo Toa and Mr. Mariner, at the island of Foa, there came a canoe from Vavaoo with the Tonga chief Filimoeatoo, who, it will be recollected, was a relation of Finow, and had joined his cause at Pangaimotoo, leaving the island of Tonga for that purpose, by leave of his superior, the chief of Hihifo. Filimoeatoo was now on his return to the island of Tonga, with a 234 TRANSACTIONS AT commission from Finow to treat with the chief of Hihifo respecting a particular bird of the species called kalai (trained for sport). This latter chief, although belonging to the island of Tonga, was never professedly Finow’s enemy, otherwise than as Finow had been associated with the late Toobo Nuha, whom the chief of Hihifo mortally hated*; but as Toob6 Nuha was now dead, and consequently all cause of enmity removed, Finow was in hopes he should be able to prevail upon the chief of Hihifo to make him a present of one of the first and best trained birds, of the kind in question, that ever was known, and which this chief had trained up with great care, and had long had in his possession, though it was the envy of every chief that had seen it. This particular bird Finow was ardently desirous of, to practise the sport called fanna kalai, of which we shall give a description. The sportsman, armed with a bow and arrows, conceals himself within a large cage, made of a sort of wicker-work, covered over with green leaves, but not so much but what he may see his game: on the top of this cage is the cock bird tied by the leg, who makes a noise, and flaps his wings, as if calling other birds to come and fight him : * The cause of this enmity, Mr. Mariner is not well acquainted with. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 235 within is a smaller cage, in which there is the hen bird, who also makes a peculiar noise, as if in answer to the one on the outside; but be this as it may, both cock birds and hens are attracted towards the spot, and are shot by the sportsman. This sport is practised by none but the king and very great chiefs, for training and keeping these birds require exceeding great care as well as great expense. One man is appointed to each pair of birds, and he has nothing else to do but to attend to the management of them; and, if this is not done with great skill, they will not make the noise necessary to attract others. So much attention, in short, is paid to these birds, that their keepers are authorised to go and demand plantains for them, of whomsoever it may be, and howsoever scarce may be this article of food, even if there were a famine, and the people almost starving : if a keeper, even on such occasions, sees a fine bunch of plantains, he will go and taboo it, which he does by sticking a reed in the tree, and telling the proprietor that those plantains are tabooed for the use of the birds. These keepers live well, and are, in general, very insolent fellows, sometimes committing very great depredations, under frivolous pretensions of procuring food for their birds. The sufferer sometimes makes a complaint to the king, or 236 TRANSACTIONS AT whatever chief the keeper belongs to; and if the chief thinks the offence really outrageous, he orders the man a severe beating, which is usually done by inflicting heavy slaps with the open hand upon his bare back, or striking him about the head and face with the fist. Filimoeatoo soon departed from Foa, on his way to Hihifo, and arrived at this place without any accident. He was not, however, so successful in the object of his journey as he expected to be ; for the chief of Hihifo was by no means willing to part with a bird, which, he said, had cost great hazard to himself, and the loss of many lives, to preserve; for he had sustained wars with so many other chiefs, who had quarrelled with him on account of his refusing to give it them, that he felt, he said, more than ever resolved to keep it: but, however, as Fi- now had so strong a desire for an excellent and well trained bird of that kind, he would make him a present of a pair, which, although not quite so good as the one in question, yet would be found exceedingly valuable. Before parting, however, he qualified His refusal of the rare bird by saying, that if he ever did give it away, it must be after very mature deliberation, for it had already cost him a vast deal, and was certainly the best bird that had ever been trained. He was heartily glad to hear of the death of THE TONGA ISLANDS. 237 Toobo Nuha, and declared that no personal enmity existed on his part towards Finow; but, on the contrary, he felt so great an attachment for him, that he would most willingly return with Filimdeatoo to Vavaoo to pay a visit to Finow, but that his matabooles would not allow him. Filimoeatoo having remained a day and a night with this chief, returned with the two birds to Finow, and gave him an account of his interview with the chief of Hihifo. Finow received the present, but was by no means well pleased with the refusal of the bird, on which he had so much set his heart. The following morning, however, he went out to try his success with these two, and which so far exceeded his expectations, that he wanted more than ever to have the excellent bird, and he immediately set about to obtain it by rich presents. He accordingly got ready sea-horses’ teeth, beads, axes, a looking-glass, several iron bolts, and a grinding stone, all of which he had procured from European ships, and chiefly from the Port au Prince. Besides these things, he ordered to be got ready several bales of Vavaoo gnatoo, fine Hamoa mats, and a large quantity of cava ; the whole of which he gave in charge to Filimoeatoo to take immediately to Hihifo, and present them to the chief, except some of the cava, which he was to distribute among the 238 TRANSACTIONS AT lower chiefs and matabooles, to engage them more readily in his interest. Finow himself accompanied Filimoeatoo as far as Haano, (one of the Hapai islands,) and took many of his principal chiefs along with him, with a view of lessening the consumption of food at Vavaoo. On this expedition there were five canoes, all of which arrived safe at Haano ; and from this island Filimoeatoo proceeded in one canoe with thirty men to Hihifo, where he also arrived safe, and distributed his presents. The chief of Hihifo, on this second urgent application from Finow, after some consideration, answered, that as he could not make any use of the bird himself, his time being so much taken up in constant warfare with his neighbours, and as it would not be consistent with the character of a chief* to retain from another that which he could not use himself, he would, at once, resign the bird to Finow, notwithstanding the high value he placed on it, and the immense care and trouble it had cost him. This famous bird was accordingly consigned to the charge of Filimoeatoo, who returned with all convenient speed to tell the king the success of his journey. Finow was still at the * The chiefs, among themselves, use this sort of expression,—as in civilized countries one would say, it is net acting like a gentleman. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 239 ' Hapai islands, when he received his long wished-for present; but he made no use of it till about three weeks afterwards, when he had returned to Yavaoo. In the mean time Mac- capapa, Lolo hea Bibigi, and three others, all chiefs and warriors, secretly left Vavaoo, and sailed for Tonga, to join Taky', chief of the fortress of Bea (who formerly burnt Finow’s fortress of Nioocalofa in so treacherous a manner)- They took this step, being apprehensive that the king might hereafter wreak his vengeance on them for fighting against him: the sequel will show how far their apprehensions were well grounded. Whilst Finow was yet at the Hapai islands, Mr. Mariner accompanied the prince to the island of Tofooa, to procure iron-wood, which is found there in great abundance. The prince first obtained leave from Tooitonga, (the divine chief,) for this island is his property, and therefore considered sacred; besides, it is supposed to be the residence of the sea gods, and on this account the people firmly believe that no sharks will hurt a man who is swimming near upon its coast, but, on the contrary, swim round him, and even pass so close as to toueh him, without shewing the least hungry disposition. Mr. Mariner, however, never had an 240 TRANSACTIONS AT opportunity of witnessing the miraculous abstinence of this sort of fish. On the island of Tofooa there is a small volcano, situated near the northern extremity, from which smoke almost constantly issues, and pumice-stones are very frequently thrown out. An eruption of flame takes place, sometimes twice or thrice a week, and at other times scarcely once in two months, and generally lasts from one to two or three days. The way to the top is extremely difficult; but Mr. Mariner, taking one of the natives of the island for a guide, resolved to ascend it. They began the ascent early in the morning, and, although their progress was much impeded by the quantity of loose pumice-stone, and often rendered yery dangerous, they reached the top in about four hours. There was at this time no eruption of flame, which had ceased a few hours before, after having lasted three days j smoke there was, however, in abundance, but which did not much annoy them, as they were on the windward side: sundry explosions were also heard from within, like the noise of water being thrown upon burning pitch. The crater was about thirty feet diameter. Whilst they were here, Mr. Mariner took care not to let his companion approach too near, lest he might THE TONGA ISLANDS. 2 41 have some sinister intent: such precaution was by no means unnecessary, as this species of treachery, when it can be performed secretly, is not unusual, particularly among great warriors, when they have some petty interest to consult. This, however, is not to be considered the natural disposition of the Tonga people, but a practice which, along with that of war, they have learned from the natives of the Fiji islands, where a man seldom goes out, even perhaps with his greatest friend, without being armed, and cautiously upon his guard. Mr. Mariner had, therefore, provided himself with a pistol, as a defence against any violent measures on the part of his companion. On their return down the mountain, he told his companion that he might have shot him dead, and nobody would have been the wiser, to which the man replied, “ I see you are loto boto*, like “ the Fiji people meaning that he possessed policy and caution against treachery; and added, “as lam unarmed, it is a proof that I “ had no ill design, and therefore did not sus- “ pect any in you.” Whilst on this island, Mr. Mariner went to see the grave of an Englishman, John Norton, belonging to the boat of the Bounty, Captain Bligh, whose crew had mutinied. He was led * Of a wise mind. VOL. I. R 242 TRANSACTIONS AT to visit this spot from a motive of curiosity, excited by the account which the natives had given him of the death of this man. Lest, however, the reader may have forgotten this particular circumstance in the narrative of Captain Bligh, we shall first give the accoun as related by this gentleman. Having put into this island for supplies, and after having remained a few days, he discovered that the natives had a design against him ; in consequence of which he made the best of his way with his men to the boat: the narrative then proceeds in the following words : “ When I came to the boat, and was seeing the people embark, Nageete wanted me to stay to speak to Eefow; but I found he was encouraging them to the attack, and I determined, had it then begun, to have killed him for his treacherous behaviour. I ordered the carpenter not to quit me until the other people were in the boat. Nageete, finding I would not stay, loosed himself from my hold, and went off, and we all got into the boat, except one man, who, while I was getting on board, quitted it, and ran up the beach to cast the stern-fast off, notwithstanding the master and others calling him to return, while they were hauling me out of the water. “ I was no sooner in the boat than the attack THE TONGA ISLANDS. 243 began by about two hundred men ; the unfortunate poor man, who had run up the beach,- was knocked down, and the stones flew like a shower of shot. Many Indians got hold of the stern rope, and were near hauling us on shore, and would certainly have done it, if I had not had a knife in my pocket, with which I cut the rope. We then hauled off to the grapnel, every one being more or less hurt. At this time I saw five of the natives about the poor man they had killed, and two of them were beating him about the head with stones in their hands. “We had no time to reflect, before, to my surprise, they filled their canoes with stones, and twelve men came off after us to renew the attack, which they did so effectually as nearly to disable all of us. Our grapnel was foul, but Providence here assisted us j the fluke broke, and we got to our oars and pulled to sea. They, however, could paddle round us, so that we were obliged to sustain the attack without being able to return it, except with such stones as lodged in the boat, and in this I found we -were very inferior to them. We could not close, because our boat was lumbered and heavy, and that they knew very well: I therefore adopted the expedient of throwing overboard some clothes, which they lost time in picking 244 TRANSACTIONS AT up ; and, as it was now almost dark, they gave over the attack, and returned towards the shore, leaving us to reflect on our unhappy situation. “ The poor man I lost was John Norton: this was his second voyage with me as quartermaster, and his worthy character made me lament his loss very much. He has left an aged parent, I am told, whom he supported.” The account the natives gave was to the following purport. Part of Captain Bligh’s crew had been on shore to procure water, and had all returned into their boat, except one man who was making the best of his way after his companions, with an axe in his hand; some of the natives, perceiving the axe, resolved to possess themselves of it, particularly one of them, who was a carpenter; they accordingly pursued him, and this carpenter, throwing a stone at him, knocked him down, and, coming up, beat him on the head with stones till he was dead. They then stripped the body, and dragged it up the country towards a malai, where they left it exposed two or three days, and afterwards buried it near the spot. They said very little about a general attack, merely stating, that some of the natives threw stones at Captain Bligh’s boat; and Mr. Mariner, at that time, not having read the narrative, did THE TONGA ISLANDS. 245 not enquire into such particulars as he otherwise would have done : but the most wonderful part of the story is, that the whole track of ground through which the body was dragged had ever since been destitute of grass, as well as the spot on which it lay for two or three days. It w r as this circumstance, principally, that engaged Mr. Mariner to visit the place, and there, indeed, he found the bare track of ground from the beach to near the place where they say he was buried ; nor has it much the appearance of a beaten path, besides that it leads to and from places, where there are but few inhabitants: at the termination of this track there is a bare place, lying transversely, about the length and breadth of a man. However trivial such relations may appear in themselves, they are worth mentioning, with a view to contrast them with the accounts given by credible travellers, that they may tend to prove how far the statements of the natives may be depended on ; besides which, in some instances, as in the present, they shew what kind of superstitions they are subject to (for another instance of this kind, see the affair of the missionaries, p. 61). As to the bare track, although it may not now have much the appearance of a beaten path, owing to the grass having grown irregularly on either side, yet there 246 TRANSACTIONS AT is every probability that, some years back, it was such, in a great degree, though now little trod : but those who are willing to keep up the spirit of the wonderful have attributed it to this supernatural cause. Superstitions, in all countries, are much of the same kind; we have similar ones in our own; but, whilst men of cultivated minds disregard them, the vulgar in general most firmly give their belief, particularly where there is some sensible object that appears to corroborate the tale *. Whilst Finow was yet at the Hapai islands, he often held conversations at his cava parties with Filimoeatoo, respecting the state of affairs at Tonga. Among other things, this chief related, that a ship from Botany Bay had touched there about a week before he arrived, on board of which there was a Tonga chief, Paloo Mata Moigna, and his wife, Fatafbhi, both of whom had formerly left Tonga (before the death of Toogoo Ahoo), and had resided some years at the Fiji islands, from which place they afterwards went along with one Selly (as they * I observe that some readers have looked upon the above explanation as if I had considered it perfectly satisfactory in regard to all the phenomena: this I did not intend : I have merely ventured to state what I consider to be the probable cause of the long track. As to the short transverse one, suffice it to say, that I do not believe it to have been occasioned by poor Norton’s body. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 247 pronounced it), or, probably, Selby, an Englishman, in a vessel belonging to Botany Bay, to reside there. At this latter place be and his wife remained about two years, and now, on their return to Tonga, finding the island in such an unsettled state, they chose rather, (notwithstanding the earnest entreaties of their friends) to go back again to Botany Bay. The account they gave of the English customs at this place, and the treatment they at first met with, it may be worth while to mention. The first thing that he and his wife had to do, when they arrived at the governor’s house, where they went to reside, was to sweep out a large court yard, and clean down a great pair of stairs; in vain they endeavoured to explain, that in their own country they were chiefs, and, being accustomed to be waited on, were quite unused to such employments : their expostulations were taken no notice of, and work they must. At first their life was so uncomfortable, that they wished to die ; no one seemed to protect them ; all the houses were shut against them ; if they saw any body eating, they were not invited to partake : nothing was to be got without money, of which they could not comprehend the value, nor how this same money was to be obtained in any quantity; if they asked for it, nobody would give them any, unless they worked for it, and *248 TRANSACTIONS AT then it was so small in quantity, that they could not get one tenth part of what they wanted with it. One day, whilst sauntering about, the chief fixed his. eyes upon a cook’s shop, and, seeing several people enter, and others, again, coming out with victuals, he made sure that they were sharing out food, according to the old Tonga fashion, and in he went, glad enough of the occasion, expecting to get some pork ; after waiting some time, with anxiety to be helped to his share, the master of the shop asked him what he wanted, and, being answered in an unknown language, straightway kicked him out, taking him for a thief, that only wanted an opportunity to steal. Thus, he said, even being a chief did not prevent him being used ill, for, when he told them he was a chief, they gave him to understand, that money made a man a chief. After a time, however, he acknowledged that he got better used, in proportion as he became acquainted with the customs and language. He expressed his astonishment at the perseverance with which the white people worked from morning till night, to get money: he could not conceive how they were able to endure so much labour. After having heard this account, Know asked several questions respecting the nature of money : what is it made of?—is it like iron ? can THE TONGA ISLANDS. 249 it be fashioned like iron into various useful instruments ? if not, why cannot people procure what they want in the way of barter ?—but where is money to be got ?—if it be made, then every man ought to spend his time in making money; that when he has got plenty, he may be able afterwards to obtain whatever else he wants. In answer to the last observation, Mr. Mariner replied that the material of which money was made was very scarce and difficult to be got, and that only chiefs and great men could procure readily a large quantity of it; and this either by being inheritors of plantations or houses, which they allowed others to have, for paying them so much tribute in money every year ; or by their public services; or by paying small sums of money for things when they were in plenty, and afterwards letting others have them for larger sums, when they were scarce: and as to the lower classes of people, they worked hard, and got paid by their employers in small quantities of money, as the reward of their labour: &c. That the king was the only person that was allowed to make (to coin) money, and that he put his mark upon all that he made, that it might be known to be true ; that no person could readily procure the material of which it was made, without paying money for it; and if contrary to the taboo of 250 TRANSACTIONS AT the king, he turned this material into money, he would scarcely have made as much as he had given for it. Mr. Mariner was then going- on to shew the convenience of money as a medium of exchange, when Filimoeatoo interrupted him, saying to Finow, I understand how it is;— money is less cumbersome than goods, and it is very convenient for a man to exchange away his goods for money; which, at any other time, he can exchange again for the same or any other goods that he may want; whereas the goods themselves may perhaps spoil by keeping (particularly if provisions) but the money he supposed would not spoil; and although it was of no true value itself, yet being scarce and difficult to be got without giving something useful and really valuable for it, it -was imagined to be of value; and if every body considered it so, and would readily give their goods for it, he did not see but what it was of a sort of real value to all who possessed it, as long as their neighbours chose to take it in the same way. Mr. Mariner found he could not give a better explanation, he therefore told Filimdeatoo that his notion of the nature of money was a just one. After a pause of some length, Finow replied that the explanation did not satisfy him : he still thought it a foolish thing that people should place a value on money, when they THE TONGA ISLANDS. 251 either could not or would not apply it to any useful (physical) purpose : “if,” said he, “ it “ were made of iron, and could be converted “ into knives, axes, and chisels, there would be “ some sense in placing a value on it; but as it “ is, I see none: if a man,” he added, “ has more “ yams than lie wants, let him exchange some “ of them away for pork or gnatoo; certainly “ money is much handier, and more convenient, “ but then as it will not spoil by being kept, “ people will store it up, instead of sharing it “ out, as a chief ought to do, and thus become “ selfish ; whereas, if provision were the prin- “ cipal property of a man, and it ought to be, “ as being both the most useful and the most “ necessary, he could not store it up, for it “ would spoil, and so he would be obliged either “ to exchange it away for something else useful, “ or share it out to his neighbours, and inferior “ chiefs and dependants, for nothing.” He concluded by saying, “ I understand now very “ well what it is that makes the Papalangis so “ selfish ;—it is this money ! ” When Mr. Mariner informed Finow that dollars were money, he was greatly surprised, having always taken them for paanga*, and * Paanga is the name they give to a certain kind of bear whieh is used in one of their games (see Laffb among the 252 TRANSACTIONS AT things of little value; and he was exceedingly sorry he had not secured all the dollars out of the Port au Prince, before he had ordered her to be burnt: “ I had always thought,” said he, that your ship belonged to some poor fellow, “ perhaps to king George’s cook*; for captain “ Cook’s ship, which belonged to the king, had “ plenty of beads, axes, and looking-glasses on “ board, whilst yours had nothing but iron “ hoops, oil, skins, and twelve thousand paanga “ as I thought: but if every one of these was “ money, your ship must have belonged to a “ very great chief indeed.” Finow and his chiefs having now remained at the Hapai islands nearly six weeks, resolved to return to Vavaoo, and the following day set sail: the prince and Mr. Mariner accompanying them. As soon as they arrived at Vavaoo, the king gave orders that all the dogs in the island, except a few that belonged to chiefs, should be killed, because they destroyed the game, particularly the kalai; after which he promised himself great sport with his favourite bird. As the breed of dogs was scarce at these islands, there were not more than fifty or sixty killed on games at the end of the second volume) : they supposed dollars to be used among us for a similar purpose. * At these islands a cook is considered one of the lowest of mankind in point of rank. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 253 the occasion; but on these several of the chiefs made, a hearty repast. Finow was particularly fond of dog’s flesh, but he ordered it to be called pork; because women and many men had a degree of abhorrence at this sort of diet. The parts of the dog in most esteem are the neck and hinder quarters. The animal is killed by blows on the head, and cooked in the same manner as a hog: Mr. Mariner has frequently partaken of it, and found it very good ; the fat is considered excellent. At the Sandwich islands the practice was almost universal in Mr. Mariner’s time, so that more dog’s flesh was eaten than pork: the hogs being preserved to be used as a trading commodity with European and American vessels. At these last mentioned islands most of the male dogs are operated upon, and afterwards fattened for the express purpose ; and Mr. Mariner thinks their flesh is nearly as good and tender as that of a sucking pig. Finow having ordered all things to be got ready, went out early in the morning after his arrival, to try the excellence of his bird; and had very great sport. The day following he went out again ; but the bird, from some cause or another, would not make any noise; and this made him so angry that he knocked it on the ground, and beat it with an arrow, 254 TRANSACTIONS AT and, after having almost killed it, gave it away to one of his chiefs, declaring how vexatious it was to have a bird that would not speak after having had so much trouble with it. He afterwards used the two birds that were first sent to him, and was tolerably well satisfied with them. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 255 CHAP. IX. Island of Hoonga—Curious cavern there, and how first discovered—Anecdote of the person who first discovered the cavern—Description of the sport of shooting rats—Popular tale of the origin of the Tonga islands—Finow’s return to Vavaoo—General Juno, and seizure of several chiefs —Stratagem used to secure Cacahoo—Several of the prisoners taken out to sea to be sunk; their conversation on the way—Conduct of Cacahoo whilst sinking—Conduct of the widows of the deceased, particularly of the widow of Now Fahoo—Description of the plantation cfMahe Boogoo—Popular tale of what happened at this plantation in former times—Tonga song—Abundance of a peculiar fish found here—This plantation given up by Mahe Boogoo, and conferred on Mr. Mariner by Finow—Mr. Mariner’s providential escape from a shark—A dead spermaceti whale found off one of the islands—Their method of making ornaments with its teeth—Anecdote exemplifying the high estimation in which whale’s teeth are held —Still greater value of them at the Fiji islands—Arrival of Cow Mooala from the Fiji islands. Finow, having at this time no business of importance on which to employ his attention, resolved to go to the island of Hoonga, lying at a small distance to the southward of Vavaoo, in order to inspect the plantations there, and to recreate himself a little with the sport of shooting birds and rats, Mr. Mariner, as usual, formed one of the party. On this island 256 TRANSACTIONS AT there is a peculiar cavern, situated on the western coast, the entrance to which is some feet beneath the surface of the sea even at low water ; and was first discovered by a young chief, whilst diving after a turtle. The nature of this cavern will be better understood if we imagine a hollow rock rising sixty feet or more above the surface of the water ; into the cavity of which there is no known entrance but one, and that is on the side of the rock, several feet under the water, which flows into it; and consequently the base of the cavern may be said to be the sea itself*. Finow and his friends, being on this part of the island, proposed one afternoon on a sudden thought, to go into this cavern, and drink cava. Mr. Mariner was not with them at the time the proposal was made ; but happening to come down a little while after to the shore, and seeing some of the young chiefs diving into the water, one after another, and not rise again, he was a little surprised, and enquired of the last, who was just preparing to take the same step, what they were * The depth of the entrance below the surface differs of course with the different heights of the tide: when Mr. Mariner entered, it was about six feet below the surface: Jeremiah Higgins says it was two or three feet when he went in, at nearly low water, at which period it is very difficult to enter, on account of the swell. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 257 about? “ Follow me,” said he, “ and I will " take-you where you have never been before ; “ and where Finow, and his chiefs and mata- “ booles, are now assembled.” Mr. Mariner, supposing it to be the famous cavern of which he had heard some account, without any further hesitation, prepared* himself to follow his companion, who dived into the water, and he after him, and, guided by the light reflected from his heels, entered the opening in the rock, and having dived through the passage, which is about eight or nine feet in letigth, rose into the cavern. Fie was no sooner above the surface of the water than, sure enough, he heard the voices of the king and his friends: being directed by his guide, he climbed upon a jutting portion of rock, and sat down. All the light that came into this place was reflected from the bottom, and was sufficient, after remaining about five minutes, to show objects with some little distinctness ; at least he could * It is proper to mention that in presence of a superior chief, it is considered very disrespectful to be undrest: under such circumstances as the present, therefore, every one retires a little, and as soon as he has divested himself of his usual dress, slips on an apron made of the leaves of the chi tree, or of matting called gie : the same, respect is shewn if it be necessary to undress near a chief’s grave; because some hotooa or god may be present. VOL. I. S 258 TRANSACTIONS AT discover, being directed by the voice, Finow and the rest of the company, seated like himself. Nevertheless, as it was desirable to have a stronger illumination, Mr. Mariner dived out again, and procuring his pistol, primed it well, tied plenty of gnatoo tight round it, and wrapped the whole up in a plaintain leaf: he directed an attendant to bring a torch in the same way. Thus prepared, he re-entered the cavern as speedily as possible, unwrapped the gnatoo, a great portion of which was perfectly dry, fired it by the flash of the powder, and lighted the torch. The place was now illuminated tolerably well, for the first time, perhaps, since its existence. It appeared (by guess) to be about 40 feet wide in the main part, but which branched off, on one side, in two narrower portions. The medium height seemed also about 40 feet*. The roof was hung with stalactites in a very curious way, resembling, upon a cursory view, the gothic arches and ornaments of an old church. After having examined the place, they drank cava, and passed away the time in conversation upon different subjects. Among other things, an * Jeremiah Higgins thinks it was not near so high: he had the light of the sun setting opposite to the entrance, and refracted through the water. Mr. Mariner had a superior light, from his torch. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 259 old mataboole, after having mentioned how the cavern was discovered, viz. by a young chief in the act of diving after a turtle, related an interesting account of the use which this chief made of his accidental discovery. The circumstances are as follow. In former times there lived a tooi (governor) of Vavaoo, who exercised a very tyrannical deportment towards his people ; at length, when it was no longer to be borne, a certain chief meditated a plan of insurrection, and was resolved to free his countrymen from such odious slavery, or to be sacrificed himself in the attempt : being however treacherously deceived by one of his own party, the tyrant became acquainted with his plan, and immediately had him arrested. He was condemned to be taken out to sea and drowned, and all his family and relations were ordered to be massacred, that none of his race might remain. One of his daughters, a beautiful girl, young and interesting, had been reserved to be the wife of a chief of considerable rank, and she also would have sunk, the victim of the merciless destroyer, had it not been for the generous exertions of another young chief, who a short time before had discovered the cavern of Hoonga. This discovery he had kept within his breast a pro-, found secret, reserving it as a place of retreat s 2 260 TRANSACTIONS AT for himself, in case he should be unsuccessful in a plan of revolt which he also had in view. He had long been enamoured of this beautiful young maiden, but had never dared to make her acquainted with the soft emotions of his heart, knowing that she was betrothed to a chief of higher rank and greater power. But now the dreadful moment arrived when she was about to be cruelly sacrificed to the rancour of a man, to whom he was a most deadly enemy. No time was to be lost; he flew to her abode, communicated in a few short words the decree of the tyrant, declared himself her deliverer if she would trust to his honour, and, with eyes speaking the most tender affections, he waited with breathless expectation for an answer. Soon her consenting hand was clasped in his: the shades of evening favoured their escape ; whilst the wood, the covert, or the grove, afforded her concealment, till her lover had brought a small canoe to a lonely part of the beach. In this they speedily embarked, and as he paddled her across the smooth wave, he related his discovery of the cavern destined to be her asylum till an opportunity offered of conveying her to the Fiji islands. She, who had entrusted her personal safety entirely to his care, hesitated not to consent to- whatever plan he might think promotive of THE TONGA ISLANDS. 2G1 their ultimate escape: her heart being full of gratitude, love and confidence found an easy access. They soon arrived at the rock, he leaped into the water, and she, instructed by him, followed close after: they rose into the cavern, and rested from their fears and their fatigue, partaking of some refreshment which he had brought there for himself, little thinking, at the time, of the happiness that was in store for him. Early in the morning he returned to Vavaoo to avoid suspicion : but did not fail, in the course of the day, to repair again to the place which held all that was dear to him; he brought her mats to lie on, the finest gnatoo for a change of dress, the best of food for her support, sandal wood oil, cocoa nuts, and every thing he could think of to render her life as comfortable as possible. He gave her as much of his company as prudence would allow, and at the most appropriate times, lest the prying eye of curiosity should find out his retreat. He pleaded his tale of love with the most impassioned eloquence, half of which would have been sufficient to have won her warmest affections, for she owed her life to his prompt and generous exertions at the risk of his own: and how much was he delighted when he heard the confession from her own lips, that she had long regarded him with a 262 TRANSACTIONS AT favourable eye, but a sense of duty had catised her to smother the growing fondness, till the late sad misfortune of her family, and the circumstances attending her escape, had revived all her latent affections, to bestow them wholly upon a man to whom they were so justly due. How happy were they in this solitary retreat! tyrannic power now no longer reached them : shut out from the world and all its cares and perplexities;—secure from all the eventful changes attending upon greatness, cruelty, and ambition;—themselves were the only powers they served, and they were infinitely delighted with this simple form of government. But although this asylum was their great security in their happiest moments, they could not always enjoy each other’s company; it was equally necessary to their safety that he should be often absent from her, and frequently for a length of time together, lest his conduct should be watched. The young chief therefore panted for an opportunity to convey her to happier scenes, where his ardent imagination pictured to him the means of procuring for her every enjoyment and comfort, which her amiable qualifications so well entitled her to : nor was it a great while before, an opportunity offering, he devised the means of restoring her with safety to the cheerful light of day. He signi- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 263 tied to his inferior chiefs and matabooles, that it was his intention to go to the Fiji islands, and he wished them to accompany him with their wives and female attendants, but he desired them on no account to mention to the latter the place of their destination, lest they should inadvertently betray their intention, and the governing chief prevent their departure. A large canoe was soon got ready, and every necessary preparation made for the voyage. As they were on the point of departure, they asked him if he would not take a Tonga wife with him. He replied, no ! but he should probably find one by the way: this they thought a joke, but in obedience to his orders they said no more, and, every body being on board, they put to sea. As they approached the shores of Hoonga, he directed them to steer to a certain point, and having come close to a rock, accord* ing to his orders, he got up, and desired them to wait there while he went into the sea to fetch his wife; and without staying to be asked any questions, he sprang into the water from that side of the canoe farthest from the rock, swam under the canoe, and proceeded forward into the sanctuary which had so well concealed his greatest and dearest treasure. Every body on board was exceedingly surprised at his strange conduct, and began to think him in- 264 TRANSACTIONS AT sane: and after a little lapse of time, not seeing him come up, they were greatly alarmed for his safety, imagining a shark must have seized him. Whilst they were all in the utmost concern, debating what was best to be done, whether they ought to dive down after him, or wait according to his orders, for that perhaps he had only swum round and was come up in some niche of the rock, intending to surprise them,—their wonder was increased beyond all powers of expression, on seeing him rise to the surface of the water, and come into the canoe with a beautiful female. At first they mistook her for a goddess, and their astonishment was not lessened when they recognised her countenance, and found her to be a person, whom they had no doubt was killed in the general massacre of her family ; and this they thought must be her apparition. But how agreeably was their wonder softened down into the most interesting feelings, when the young chief related to them the discovery of the cavern and the whole circumstance of her escape. All the young men on board could not refrain envying him his happiness in the possession of so lovely and interesting a creature. They arrived safe at one of the Fiji islands, and resided with a certain chief during two years: at the end of which time, hearing of the death of the tyrant THE TONGA ISLANDS. 265 of Vavaoo, the young chief returned with his wife to the last mentioned island, and lived long in peace and happiness. Such, as to matter of fact, is the substance of the account given by the old mataboole. There was one thing however stated, which might appear in opposition to probability, viz. that the chief’s daughter remained in the cavern two or three months, before her lover found an opportunity of taking her to the Fiji islands : if this be true, there must have been some other concealed opening in the cavern to have afforded a fresh supply of air. • With a view to ascertain this, Mr. Mariner swam with the torch in his hand up both the avenues before spoken of, but without discovering any opening; he also climbed every accessible place, with as little success. At the time Jeremiah Higgins was in this cavern it was nearly low water. He felt a draught of air coming from the left, and on examining the source of it found a hole which he thinks was more than a foot diameter, from which proceeded a tolerably strong and steady breeze, but not the least glimmer of light. This opening he guesses to have been about four feet above the surface of the water at that time. When Mr. Mariner was there, it must have been nearly high water, and the hqle 266 TRANSACTIONS AT probably covered : and even if it were not concealed it would transmit no current of air inwardly unless the tide were going out, which he thinks was not the case. At the time Higgins was there the weather Avas perfectly calm, not a breath of wind stirring ; consequently, the influx of air must have been occasioned by the descent of the surface of water within : on the other hand, when the water rises the air must rush out. This cavern therefore may be said to respire like an animal; the rise and fall of the tide acting as a diaphragm, and the above-mentioned narrow passage as a breathing hole. Jeremiah Higgins also heard the story of the young chief and his mistress, which perfectly accorded in all the material points with what is told above: it appears from his narration as well as from Mr. Mariner’s, that the natives give this account of the two lovers as a piece of true history, not a romance. There is a sort of shelf at the farther end of the cavern and high up, Avhich is pointed out as having been used for a bed-place. Finow and his party having finished their cava, dived out of the cavern, and resumed their proper dress : after which they proceeded across the country, and got into the public roads, to amuse themselves with the sport of shooting rats. These animals are not so large THE TONGA ISLANDS. 267 as in our parts of the world, but rather between the size of a mouse and a rat, and much of the same colour: they live chiefly upon such vegetable substances as sugar-cane, bread-fruit, &c.: they constitute an article of food with the lower orders of people, but who are not allowed to make a sport of shooting them, this privilege being reserved for chiefs, matabooles, and mooas *. The plan and regulations of the game of fanna gooma (rat-shooting) are as follow. A party of chiefs and others having resolved to go rat-shooting, some of their attendants are ordered to procure and roast some cocoa-nut, which being done, and the chiefs having informed them what road they mean to take, they proceed along the appointed road, chewing the roasted nut very finely as they go, and spitting, or rather blowing, a little of it at a time out of their mouths with considerable force, but so as not to scatter the particles far from each other; for if they were widely distributed, the rat would not be tempted to stop and pick them up, and if the pieces were too large, he would run away with one piece instead of stopping to eat his fill. The bait is thus distributed, at moderate distances, on each side of the road, * For a description of these ranks in society, sec the subject in the second volume. 268 TRANSACTIONS AT and the men proceed till they arrive at the place appointed for them to stop at. If in their way they come to any cross roads, they stick a reed in the ground in the middle of such cross roads, as a taboo or mark of prohibition for any one to come down that way, and disturb the rats while the chiefs are shooting : and this no one will do ; for even if a considerable chief be passing that way, on seeing the taboo he will stof> at a distance, and sit down on the ground, out of respect or politeness to his fellow chiefs, and wait patiently till the shooting party has gone by : a petty chief, or one of the lower orders, would not dare to infringe upon this tiiboo at the risk of his life. The distributors of the bait being arrived at the place appointed for them :o stop at, sit down to prepare cava, having previously given the orders of their chiefs to the owners of the neighbouring plantations to send a supply of refreshments, such as pork, yams, fowls, and ripe plantains. The company of chiefs having divided themselves into two parties, set out about ten minutes after the boohi, (or company that distributes the bait) and follow one another closely in a row along the middle of the road, armed with bows and arrows. It must be noticed, however, that the two parties are mixed ; the greatest chief, in general, proceeding first, her THE TONGA ISLANDS. 269 hind him one of the opposite party, then one of the same party with the first, and behind him again one of the other party, and so on alternately. The rules of the game are these : no one may shoot a rat that is in advance of him, except he who happens to be first in the row (for their situations change, as will directly be seen); but any one may shoot a rat that is either abreast of him or behind him. As soon as a man has shot, whether he hits the rat or not, he changes his situation with the man behind him, so that it may happen that the last man, if he have not shot so often as the others, % may come to be first, and vice versa, the first come to be last: and for the same reason, two or three, or more, of the same party, may come to be immediately behind one another. Whichever party kills ten rats first, wins the game. If there be plenty of rats, they generally play three or four games. As soon as they arrive at any cross roads they pull up the reeds placed as a taboo, that passengers coming afterwards may not be interrupted in their progress. When they have arrived at the place where the boohi are waiting, they sit down and partake of what is prepared for them ; afterwards, if they are disposed to pursue their diversion, they send the boohi on to prepare another portion of the road: the length of road prepared at a 270 TRANSACTIONS AT time is generally about a quarter of a mile. Ifj during the game, any one of either party set a fair shot at a bird, he may take aim at it; if he kill it, it counts the same as a rat, but whether he hit it or not, if he venture a shot, he changes place with the one behind him. Every now and then they stop and make a peculiar noise with the lips, like the squeaking of a rat, which frequently brings them out of the bushes, and they sit upright on their haunches, as if in the attitude of listening. If a rat is alarmed by their approach, and is running away, one or more cry out too ! (stop !) with a sudden percussion of the tongue, and is a term used, we may suppose, on account of the sharp and sudden tone with which it may be pronounced. This lias generally the effect of making the rat stop, when he sits up, and appears too much frightened to attempt his escape. When he is in the act of running away, the squeaking noise with the lips, instead of stopping him, would cause him to run faster. They frequently also use- another sound, similar to what ive use when we wish to answer in the affirmative without opening the lips, consisting in a sort of humming noise, sounding through the nostrils, but more loud, short, and sudden. The arrows used on these oecasions are nearly six feet long, (the waf-arrows being about three THE TONGA ISLANDS. 271 feet,) made of reed, headed with iron-wood: they are not feathered, and their great length is requisite, that they may go straight enough to hit a small object; besides which, it is advantageous in taking an aim through a thick bush. Each individual in the party has only two arrows, for, as soon as he has discharged one from his bow, it is immediately brought to him by one of the attendants who follow the party. The bows also are rather longer than those used in war, being about six feet, the war- bows being about four feet and a half; nor are they so strong, lest the difficulty of bending them should occasion a slight trembling of the hand, which would render the aim less certain. Finow and his friends having finished their shooting excursion, and taken some refreshment, directed their walk at random across the island, and arrived near a rock, noted by the natives as being (in their estimation) the immediate cause of the origin of all the Tonga islands. It happened once (before these islands were in existence) that one of their gods (Tan- galoa) went out fishing with line and hook : it chanced, however, that the hook got fixed in a rock at the bottom of the sea, and, in consequence of the god pulling in his line, he drew up all the Tonga islands, which, they say, would have formed one great land ; but the 272 TRANSACTIONS AT line accidentally breaking, the act was incomplete, and matters were left as they now are. They show a hole in the rock, about two feet diameter, which quite perforates it, and in which Tangaloa’s hook got fixed. It is moreover said that Tooitonga (the divine chief) had, till within a few years, this very hook in his possession, which had been handed down to him by his forefathers ; but, unfortunately, his house catching fire, the basket in which the hook was kept got burnt w r ith its contents. Mr. Mariner once asked Tooitonga what sort of a hook it was, and was told that it was made of tortoise-shell, strengthened by a piece of the bone of a whale : in size and shape it was just like a large albacore hook, measuring six or seven inches long, from the curve to the part where the line was attached, and an inch and a half between the barb and the stem. Mr. Mariner objected that such a hook must have been too weak for the purpose; Oh no, said Tooitonga, you must recollect that it was a god’s hook, and could not break ;—how came then the line to break ? was it not also the property of a god ?—I do not know how that was, replied Tooitonga ; but such is the account they give, and I know nothing farther about it. A few days after this excursion, Finow having portioned out several of the smaller THE TONGA ISLANDS. 273 islands to the government of certain of his chiefs and matabooles, returned with his party to Vavaoo. As soon as he arrived at Felletoa, he issued orders for a general assembly of the people, to be present on an appointed day, at a general jono, or harangue, to be addressed to them in regard to the affairs of agriculture, and to remind them of their duty towards their chiefs, and how they ought to behave at all public ceremonies ; in short, upon such subjects as were more or less connected with agriculture, or with moral and political duty. These Jonos are frequently held, and often upon subjects of a minor importance, such, for instance, as the expediency of repairing Finow’s canoe : on such an occasion, the owner of a certain plantation would be appointed to provide the carpenters with provisions, another to provide them with canoe-timber, a third with a peculiar kind of wood for wedges, a fourth with plait, &c.—the same with more extensive matters, as constructing a large house, planting of yams or bananas, supplying provisions for feasts, burials, &c. so that in all these matters a tax is laid upon the people, every principal owner of land providing his share. The jono now about to be held was of a general nature, to be addressed to all the people, or at least to the petty chiefs : but the petty chiefs themselves often address T VOL. i. 274 TRANSACTIONS AT fonos to their own dependants, when they want any thing done. It must be observed, that in all these fonos , whether general or 'partial, the labour and care fall entirely upon the [lower order of the people ; for although in the general fono the petty chiefs take the care ostensibly to themselves, yet afterwards, by a minor fono, each confers it on his dependants. Notwithstanding all this, the lower classes have time enough on their hands, and means enough in their possession, to live comfortably; that is to say, they have food sufficient for themselves and their children, however large their families, and enough clothing; and withal need never be in want of a house, for that is easily built: in short, real poverty is not known among them. A fono, although it may regard some affair of a public nature, is not always upon a subject where a tax is necessary to be levied, but frequently upon some matter connected with civil policy; as for instance,—when a piece of ground is laid waste by war, certain persons are appointed to cultivate it; and the chiefs are ordered not to oppress them with taxes, or with visits on their plantations, before they can supply means. It not unfrequently happens that young chiefs molest women whom they meet on the road ; then their husbands, if they are married women, make complaints to THE TONGA ISLANDS. 275 the older chiefs and matabooles, and Finow, in consequence, orders a fono to be addressed to the people, in which the impropriety of the conduct of the young chiefs is pointed out: the offenders receive a suitable admonition, and are ordered to desist from such ill behaviour for the future. From one cause or another, there is usually a fono, either general or partial, every fourteen or twenty days. It will be easily understood that addresses of this kind are absolutely and frequently necessary, for the preservation of tolerable decency and good order, among a people who have no knowledge of any means of graphic communication. The speech is generally made by some old and principal mataboole *, as it was on this occasion, when the ceremony was held at Macave, about two miles and a half from Felletoa ; after which, as usual, a large bowl of cava was provided. The chiefs and warriors ofVavaoo took a very active part in the preparation of the cava, to demonstrate to Finow their attention and loyalty. After the first bowl was drunk, while all were in expectation that the king would give out some * The reader will recollect that the matabooles hold a rank in society next below chiefs ; they are the ministers, as it were, and counsellors of chiefs: it is their duty also to attend to public ceremonies, and to keep an eye upon the morals and general conduct of the people. T 2 276 TRANSACTIONS AT more cava root to be prepared,—on a sadden he pronounced aloud the word boogi (hold or arrest). Instantly all the chiefs and warriors that had been particularly active against him in the late war were seized by men previously appointed: their hands were tied fast behind them ; and they were taken down to the beach, where, with the club, several were immediately dispatched; and the x-emainder were reserved till the afternoon, for what is considered a more signal punishment, viz. to be taken out to sea, and sunk in old leaky canoes. This transaction seemed to show how little was to be trusted to the honour of Finow, and how well founded were the suspicions of those Vavaoo chiefs, who had said that no reliance was to be placed in him; and that there was little doubt but that he would take an early opportunity of exercis* ing his revenger they therefore acted a wise part, who, as soon as the peace was concluded, fled at the earliest opportunity, some to the island of Tonga, others to the Fiji islands. It must, however, be acknowledged that Finow had received information of a conspiracy which these chiefs were designing against him ; and if this be true, his conduct was certainly less reproachable *. Finow being apprehensive * It must be remarked that their innocence was never positively asserted ; nobody supposed that they had actually THE TONGA ISLANDS. 277 that this attempt might fail, or that the Vavaoo people, in consequence, might again rise up against him, had previously sent a canoe to the Hapai islands, with orders to Toobo Toa that he and his chiefs should hold themselves in readiness to repair to his assistance at a moment’s notice. There proved, however, to be no necessity for their intervention, the conspiracy succeeding in a degree equal to his expectation. Some difficulty, however, was found in securing Cacahoo, a very great and brave warrior and mataboole, amazingly courageous and strong, although he was highly diseased with scrofula ; and, like most great warriors, was always (according to the Fiji practice) upon his guard against treachery. They had therefore recourse to stratagem on this occasion : Mr. Mariner’s services were required as the means, for he was present at the consultation of Finow and his chiefs upon the subject, and he conisented, being informed that the king’s intentions were merely to confine him as a prisoner till some parts of his conduct were examined into; and had it not been for the entered into any plan of conspiracy, but most persons suspected that they had held discourses upon the subject; and it was generally acknowledged that if a revolt were to take place, these would be the men likely to head it. Such is the summary way of managing matters in this state of society. 278 TRANSACTIONS AT part which this gentleman was appointed to act in the business, two or three no doubt would have been killed, and several wounded, in the attempt. It must be mentioned that Cacahoo, 'owing to his diseased appearance, was not present at the cava party after the fono (indeed, he was seldom present on any public occasion, except to fight:) it was resolved, therefore, that a young warrior, in company with Mr. Mariner and others, should go and present him with cava at his residence, as soon as the above chiefs were seized. Mr. Mariner was to sit next to him, and was to ask him for his spear, as if to look at it from curiosity ; for this spear was a remarkably good one, headed with the bones of the tail of the fy, (sting-ray,) and which he always carried about with him : Mr. Mariner could take this liberty better than any one else, as he was more or less acquainted with him ; and being a foreigner, his curiosity would appear more plausible, and less subject to suspicion : having got it into his hands, he was to throw it away, and this was to be the signal for the seizure. Before Cacahoo had time to hear of what was going forward at Ma- cave, the appointed party arrived at his house, and presented him cava. * Mr. Mariner took * Mr. Mariner was not, in many instances, a voluntary supporter of Finow’s conduct: but as necessity has no law, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 279 his seat next to him: and, after a while, asked him for his spear, that he might examine the head of it; which having got into his possession, he watched an opportunity, and threw it suddenly away : in a moment his enemies were upon him; but he sprang from the ground like an enraged lion, and burst away from them repeatedly, with such prodigious strength, that it was with the greatest difficulty they COuld bind and secure him. They then took their prisoner down to the sea-coast, and put him on board a canoe, to be drowned with the rest in the afternoon. These transactions happened between (about) eight and ten in the morning; after which ajl in some cases he was obliged to conform, where he would willingly have been excused, upon the principle, that of two evils the least is to be chosen. To an honest mind it is always an ungrateful task to use any species of deception. Mr. Mariner was in the service of the king: the latter thought proper to secure certain persons, among whom was one who could not easily have been taken without Mr. Mariner’s assistance; that is to say, without bloodshed and a loss of lives. The king was on all occasions his friend and protector; he felt it therefore his duty to conform to his views, where there appeared nothing intrinsically bad. Had he known what would have been the fate of Cacahoo, viz. to be condemned without trial,—let the consequences be what they might, he would not have submitted ; and, in that case, by losing Finow’s friendship, and incurring his displeasure, he would not, in all probability, have lived for us to have heard of him. 280 TRANSACTIONS AT the Hapai chiefs and warriors, that were with the king, appeared under arms, as also a certain Yavaoo chief, named Paoonga, a relation and confidant of Finow; all the rest of the Vavaoo chiefs and matabooles remaining unarmed, lest they might excite in Finow a suspicion that they meant to take hostile measures. About mid-day, or a little after, the large canoe, in which were the prisoners, lashed hand and foot, pushed out to sea, under the command of Lolo Hea Malohi, an adopted son of Finow. They had on board three old small canoes, in a very leaky, rotten state, in which the prisoners were destined to be put, and thus to be allowed gradually to sink, leaving the victims to reflect on their approaching dissolution, without having it in their power to help themselves. The distance they had to go was about two leagues : the weather being calm, the canoe was obliged to be paddled most of the way. In the mean while, some conversation passed between the prisoners, particularly between Now- faho and Booboonoo. Nowfaho observed to Booboonoo, that it would have been much better if they had never made a peace with Finow, and, to a certain degree, he upbraided Booboonoo with not having followed his advice in this particular : to this the latter replied, that he THE TONGA ISLANDS. 281 ilid not at all regret the late peace with Finow, for, being his- relation, he felt himself attached to his interests, and as to his own life, he thought it of no value, since the king did not think his services worth having. Nowfaho stated, that he had a presentiment of his fate that very morning ; for, as he was going along the road from Felletoa to Macave, he met a native woman of Hapai, and as he passed, he felt a strong inclination, he knew not from what cause, to kill her; and this bias of his mind was so powerful, that he could not help turning back and effecting his purpose ; at the same time he felt a secret presentiment that he was going to die, and this murder that he had committed appeared now to be a piece of vengeance on the Hapai people, weak, indeed, in itself, yet better than no revenge at all. Nowfaho, among other things, lamented that his friend Booboonoo had not repaired to the Fiji islands when peace was first made, and, by that means, have preserved his life : as to his own safety, he said it was not a matter of much consequence ; he only lamented that he was not about to die in an honourable way. Booboonoo expressed sentiments to the same purpose. Cacahoo now and then joined in the conversation, remarking, that he only lamented hig death inasmuch as no opportunity had been 282 TRANSACTIONS AT afforded him of revenging himself upon his enemies, by sacrificing a few of them. They were eighteen prisoners on board, of whom the greater part, before they arrived at the place where they were to be sunk, begged that the manner of their death might be changed to the more expeditious one of having their brains knocked out with a club, or their heads cleaved with an axe: this was granted them, and the work of execution was immediately begun. Having dispatched three in this way, it was proposed, for the sake of convenience, that the remainder, who begged to be thus favoured, should be taken to a neighbouring small island to be executed; which being agreed on, they disputed by the way who should kill such a one, and who another. Such was the conversation, not of warriors, for knocking out brains was no new thing to them, but of others not so well versed in the art of destruction, who were heartily glad of this opportunity of exercising their skill without danger ; for, coward-like, they did not dare to attempt it in the field of battle. The victims being brought on shore, nine were dispatched at nearly the same time, which, with the three killed in the canoe, made twelve, who desired this form of death. The remaining six being chiefs, and staunch warriors of superior THE TONGA ISLANDS. 283 bravery, scorned to beg any favour of their enemies, and were accordingly taken out to sea, lashed in two rotten canoes, which they had on board, three in each, and left to reflect on their fate; in the mean time their destroyers remained at a little distance to see them sink. Booboonoo, whilst in this situation, said, that he only died unhappy on account of his infant son, who would be left friendless and unprotected ; but, calling to a young chief in the larger canoe, of the name of Talo, begged, for the sake of their gods, that he would befriend his child, and never see him want either clothes or food suitable to the son of a chief ,; upon which Talo made a solemn promise to take the most attentive care of him, and Booboonoo seemed quite satisfied. Nowfaho lamented the sad disasters of that day, saying how many great and brave men were dying an ignominious death, who, some time before, were able to make the whole army of Finow tremble : he lamented, moreover, that he had ever retreated from his enemies, and wished that, on such an occasion, he had faced about, however inferior in strength, and sold his life at a high price, instead of living a little longer, to die thus a shameful death : he earnestly requested them to remember him in the most affectionate manner to his wife. Cacahoo swore heartily fit Fi- 284 TRANSACTIONS AT now, and all the chiefs of Hapai, cursing them in the most bitter manner *, and their fathers for begetting them, and heaping maledictions upon all their generation $ he went on in this manner, cursing and swearing at his enemies, till the water came up to his mouth, and, even then, he actually threw back his head for the opportunity of uttering another curse, spluttering the water forth from his lips, till it bereft him for ever of the power of speech. They were about twenty minutes sinking, after which the large canoe returned immediately to Va- vaoo. Booboonoo and Nowfaho were both men that bore a most amiable character : in time of war they were brave and enterprising; in time of peace, gentle and humane. The conduct of Nowfaho, in killing the poor Hapai woman, seems to make much against his humanity; * The curses used among the Tonga people are very numerous; but, for the most part, they are rather horrible commands than curses, and are, generally, in regard to maltreating one’s relations, or eating one’s superior relations ; for it is considered a crime to eat food which a superior relation has touched ; how much more, therefore, to eat that relation himself! For a sample ;—“ Bake your grandfather till his skin turns to cracknel, and gnaw his skull for your share !”—“ Go, and ravish your own sister!’’—“ Dig up your father by moonlight, and make soup of his bones,” &c. &c. Many of their sayings, in this way, are too indelicate to mention. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 285 but, as it was so contrary to his general sentiments and conduct, we ought to have the liberality to suppose, that it was a sudden frenzy of the mind, which, at the moment, he could no more help, than a man in convulsions can help the violent agitation of the body. Let this, however, be as it may, it is certain that he and Booboonoo were both admired for their mild and benevolent disposition, and were gaining every day, more and more, the love of the people, which, no doubt, caused the king to be jealous of them, lest their increasing power should ultimately annihilate his. Nowfaho’s desire of revenge was, of course, considered (in their state of society) a virtuous and manly sentiment. If we attend to their conversation at the approach of death, we shall find them both expressing sentiments of disinterested friendship for each other : Booboonoo is quite unhappy at leaving his infant son, and recommends him strongly to the care of Talo by all that is sacred and religious; Nowfaho desires to be affectionately remembered to his wife; these are not sentiments that belong to gross and savage minds. As to Cacahoo, he certainly was not so much famed for his benevolence, as for his prodigious strength and great personal courage ; yet still he was much beloved and respected; and several of the En- 286 TRANSACTIONS AT islimen were much indebted to him, as well as to the other two, for many acts of kindness. Mr. Mariner heard the foregoing relation from Talo, and two or three others that were in the large canoe, and considers it strictly consonant with the truth. The widows of those who were executed on the beach in the morning, and of those who were dispatched at the small island in their way out to sea, petitioned Finow to grant them leave to perform the usual rites of burial in behalf of their deceased husbands, which the king readily acceded to : and they accomplished the ceremony with every mark of unfeigned sorrow and regret. When the last affectionate remembrances of Nowfaho were made to his widow, she appeared greatly moved; for, though she scarcely wept, her countenance betrayed marks of violent inward agitation : she retired to her house, and, arming herself with a spear and club, went about to seek for the other widows, who had lost their husbands in the same way, and urged them to take up arms, as she had done, and go forth to revenge their husbands’ death, by destroying the wives of Finow, and his principal chiefs; finding, at length, that none of the others were willing to follow her example, she THE TONGA ISLANDS. 287 was obliged to give up the design altogether. It was suspected that Finow would have been, very angry on hearing her intention, but, on the contrary, he praised it much, and approved of it, as being not only a meritorious act of bravery, but a convincing proof that her affection for her deceased husband was great and genuine. After this transaction all the Vavaoo chiefs paid remarkable attention to Finow, not failing to send him frequent presents of cava, gnatoo, &c., and this they were the more anxious to do, as, being the richest men in the island, they were apprehensive that, in case their conduct displeased Finow, he might form another conspiracy against them, with a view to deprive them of their possessions; for they now found by woful experience, that he w T as not a man to be trifled with, and that his honour was not safely to be trusted to. The king now spent a considerable portion of his time in country excursions, for the purpose of shooting calai, of which sport a description has already been given. About this time a canoe was dispatched to the Hapai islands, for the purpose of procuring a quantity of fish, several species being there found in much greater abundance than at Vavaoo, or, at least, there is a much better opportunity of 288 TRANSACTIONS AT catching them, owing to the greater number of reefs and shelves. With this canoe, a certain chief, named Mahe Boogoo, departed for Ha- pai, where he possessed a large property, on which lie was desirous to reside for the future. He had also a plantation at Vavaoo, situated on the northern coast, about a mile and a half long, and half a mile broad, one end of which ran down close to the water’s edge: this property lie made a present of to the king. It will be proper to give a description of this plantation, because it includes, near the sea, the most romantic spot in all the Tonga islands ; which constitutes the subject of many of their songs, and is a place of resort to the young and old of both sexes, who wish to enjoy, for a few hours, the luxury of romantic scenery: it is famous, also, for having been, at a former epoch, the scene of an enterprising action on the part of some young chiefs, who took refuge there from their adversaries, and obstinately held their position for six months. It happens that nature has assembled in this spot, not only the wildest profusion of the vegetable kingdom, over which the lofty toa tree stands pre-eminent, but also objects of another description, overhanging rocks, hollow-sounding caverns, and steep precipices, calculated to give an aspect as bold and sublime as the ima- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 289 gination can well conceive, and constituting a species of scenery, which, in proportion as it is more rare, is more admired by the natives. To this retired spot you proceed along a road which runs through the whole length of the plantation, till you arrive at a thick wood of tamanoo and toa trees, situated on a very steep descent, down which the road becomes a narrow path, winding from side to side, and beset on either hand with the myile and jidle, and other shrubs, planted by the liberal hand of nature, whose variegated flowers perfume the air with the most delightful aromatic fragrance; whilst, from the lofty branches of the trees, the ear is soothed with the soft and plaintive voice of the wood-pigeon calling to his mate. Having proceeded with slow and lingering step along this winding path, for about five hundred yards, a flat plantation of cocoa-nut trees presents itself, through which, at a little distance, a beautiful prospect of the sea suddenly bursts upon the view. On each side a steep and lofty ridge of rocks, in the form of a crescent, extends into the water, forming a sort of bay. The ridge of rocks on the left hand are, for the most part, the highest, but, at the termination of that on the right, one, loftier than the rest, extends upwards to a great height, like the turret of some ancient battlement. VOL. i. u 290 TRANSACTIONS AT On this rock in former times, as popular tradition records, a band of young chiefs, the heads of a conspiracy, took refuge from the rage of their adversaries, and held the place during six months*; it being quite inaccessible, except by one narrow path, exceedingly steep and dangerous, not wide enough to allow two persons to pass up abreast. This passage was, of course, perfectly under the command of those above, who, by rolling large stones down, could, at any time, hurl destruction upon whomsoever might rashly attempt to ascend. Here they remained in security, as long as their stock of provisions lasted, and even when this was expended, they refused to yield, till famine and raging thirst had destroyed all but three, who, being tempted by a promise of pardon, gave themselves up to their adversaries. Scarcely was this done when they were taken before the king, who cruelly ordered them to be massacred in his presence. The number of those who died upon the rock were five, and they were buried on the spot: three of the graves are still very apparent; the other two are pointed out, but they are not in so distinct a state. The natives, now and then, ascend this rock, to enjoy the sublime beauty of the * They had supplied the place beforehand with ma, on which they lived during the whole time. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 291 surrounding scenery, or to reflect on the fate of those rebellious men, who, so long ago, departed from the scene of public tumult, by dying in an unsuccessful attempt to change the order of things. Here the moral reflections of the natives are sometimes heard in the following strain ; “ Where now are those men who “ once held up their heads in defiance of their “ chiefs? where now is the proud boast of su- “ periority ? Their bodies lie here mingled “ with the dust, and their names are almost “forgotten*!—But their souls! how are they “ affected ? are they now the same ambitious “ spirits in Bolotoo, as they were once in “ Tonga, when they animated this silent dust “ which is now all that remains of them ?—are “ they still the partizans of sedition, tumult, “ and war ?—but no ! in Bolotoo they are all “ gods, and see with a clear understanding “ what is right, without the folly of fighting !” Such are the reflections of those who visit this spot and view the lonesome habitations of the dead j but it is not often that such visits are made, owing to the difficulty of the ascent, * The names of some of these chiefs are still known to a few of the old matabooles, who have been at the pains of inquiring particulars from their fathers 5 but the cause in which they suffered is very imperfectly understood, and, no doubt, mixed up with a great deal of invention and surmise. u 2 292 TRANSACTIONS AT and the toil and trouble which it necessarily occasions. In the estimation of the romantic, however, this trouble is amply repaid by the rich and extensive scenery on every side, whilst the murmuring of the waves, breaking upon the rocks below, soothes the mind with a pleasing melancholy easier to be conceived than described. The effect which this works upon the minds of the natives will be more easily understood when we see a sample of their descriptive songs, which in language, like that of Ossian, are plaintive and pathetic. In the first place, however, it is necessary to state a few particulars relative to this romantic and diversified spot, that certain passages of the ensuing song may be better understood. On the right of the wood of tamanoo trees there is another wood, consisting almost wholly of toA trees : here the natives frequently resort to rinse themselves with the fresh water found in the hollows, between the junctions of the large branches or limbs that come off immediately from the trunk, after having bathed themselves in the sea: for the salt water,, without using such rinsing afterwards, is apt to produce, in hot climates, a cutaneous eruption: besides which, the fresh water washing prevents that uneasy sensation of heat in the skin, upon a little exertion, attended with a clamminess ; THE TONGA ISLANDS. 293 and sometimes, on the contrary, with a profuse perspiration. Here also they plait flowers which they have gathered at Matawto, (about a mile farther along the beach,) which the women put round their necks or take home to the mooa, and present to their lovers or their friends, or to superior chiefs. The following song is very often sung by them, or, to speak perhaps more correctly, is given in a sort of recitative by either sex ; and in the Tonga language has neither rhymes nor regular measure, although some of their songs have both. It is perhaps a curious circumstance that love and war seldom form the subjects of their poetical compositions, but mostly scenery and moral reflections. SONG. Whilst we were talking of Vavaoo tooa Licoo, the women said to us, let us repair to the back of the island to contemplate the setting sun : there let us listen to the warbling of the birds and the cooing of the wood-pigeon. We will gather flowers from the burying-place at Matawto, and partake of refreshments prepared for us at Licoo One: we will then bathe in the sea, and rinse ourselves in the Vdoo A’ca; we will anoint our skins in the sun with sweet scented oil, and will plait in wreaths the flowers gathered at Matawto. And now as we stand motionless on the eminence over Ana Manoo, the whistling of the wind among the branches of the lofty toa shall fill us with a pleasing melancholy; or our minds shall be seized with astonishment as we behold the roaring surf below, endeavouring but in vain to tear away the firm rocks. 294 TRANSACTIONS AT Oh! how much happier shall we be thus employed, than when engaged in the troublesome and insipid affairs of life. Now as night comes on, we must return to the Mooa :— but hark!—hear you not the sound of the mats?—they are practising a bo-ool<> * to he performed to-night on die maldi at Tanea ; let us also go there. How will that scene of rejoicing call to our minds the many festivals held there, befor® Vavaoo was torn to pieces by war. Alas ! how destructive is war!—Behold! how it has rendered the land productive of weeds, and opened untimely graves for departed heroes! Our chiefs can now no longer enjoy the sweet pleasure of wandering alone by moonlight in search of their mistresses: but let us banish sorrow from our hearts : since we are at war, we must think and act like the natives of Fiji, who first taught us this destructive art. Let us therefore enjoy the present time, for to-morrow perhaps or the next day we may die. We will dress ourselves with chi coola, and put bands of white tappa round our waists; we will plait thick wreaths of jiale for our heads, and prepare strings of Aoom for our necks, that their whiteness may shew off the colour of our skins. Mark how the uncultivated spectators are profuse of their applause !—But now the dance is over: let us remain here to-night, and feast and be cheerful, and to-morrow we will depart for the Mooa. How troublesome are the young men, begging for our wreaths of flowers, while they say in their flattery, “ See how charming these young girls look “ coming from Licooi —how beautiful are their skins, dif- " fusing around a fragrance like the flowery precipice of “ Mataloco —Let us also visit Licoo; we will depart tomorrow. The beautiful plantation, of which the above song is partly descriptive, is famed for the great fertility of its fields: the liberal hand of nature has there planted the bread-fruit and A kind of dance performed by torch-light. . THE TONGA ISLANDS. 296 cocoa-nut trees in abundance ; the soil is also highly favourable for the cultivation of yams, which grow there larger than in most other places. The water which terminates it at one end is noted for the vast abundance of a peculiar fish which resort to the shores of Vavaoo about the month of July. This fish they call Ooloo Caoo, and is about the size of the common sprat, and of much the same shape and hue. The common people consider it a great delicacy, but there is considerable danger of being poisoned by eating them promiscuously, for here and there is found one which, on eating, produces the most alarming and sometimes the most fatal effects*; and as there is no mark by which these poisonous ones may be known, it is always dangerous to eat of them, unless they be procured in the rocky bay of this plantation, where, they say, they never found any poisonous, and therefore partake of them without any reserve: the chiefs however seldom touch them, unless perhaps there is a scarcity of other fish. The time when they are best and in the greatest plenty is in the latter end of the * The symptoms produced are headach, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, with violent pains in the bowels, to which death generally succeeds in the course of four or five hours. The only remedy they use (which very seldom succeeds) is to cause the patient to drink abundantly of water, or, what is considered still better, the milk of young cocoa-nuts. 296 TRANSACTIONS AT month of July, when the natives flock to this plantation for the purpose of catching them, where having procured a quantity, they take them home to their families in baskets made of plaited leaves of the cocoa-nut tree. Mahe Boogoo, the chief to whom this valuable piece of ground belonged, being about to go and reside at the Hapai islands, made a present of this delightful spot to the king. Mr. Mariner, having now nothing particular in which to employ himself, the war being at an end, begged of the king to give up this plantation to him, that he might amuse himself by seeing it properly cultivated : to this the king, after a little hesitation, consented; when Mr. Mariner requested the farther favour that he might be exempt from all taxes, that no chief might despoil his plantation, under pretext of levying any species of contribution; and this exemption, he observed, would be no more than what was consistent with the Tonga custom, which exacts no contribution from foreigners, unless indeed it be upon some sacred occasion, as the ceremony of indchi, he. To this also the king gave his assent, upon mutual agreement, that the whole plantation was to be considered at Finow’s service, as being the father and protector of Mr. Mariner, but that he would not take any thing nor trespass upon it THE TONGA ISLANDS. 297 in any way without Mr. Mariner’s consent, who was to regulate every thing regarding it just as he pleased, and was henceforth to con- sider it as his property, together with all the persons who worked on it, consisting of thirteen men and eight women. To these the king gave orders they should pay the same attention and respect to Mr. Mariner as to himself or their former chief; he moreover informed the matooa, or overseer, that he had invested Mr. Mariner with full power to dispatch any of them with the club that failed in their duty, or neglected in any respect to shew proper attention to their new master. To this, in the usual form, they all returned thanks to the king for the new chief he had been pleased to appoint over them, and expressed their hopes that they should never deserve punishment by any want of respect towards the “ stranger chief.” As soon as Mr. Mariner entered upon his new possessions, he gave orders to get ready a large bale of gnatoo, which he sent to Finow as a present. About this time Mr. Mariner was very near being devoured by a shark. One of his servants that worked upon the plantation had laid pots about four feet deep in the water for the purpose of catching cray-fish, and Mr. Mariner one afternoon dived down to examine them, in 29S TRANSACTIONS AT hopes that he should be able to fulfil a promise he had made to Toobo mo Lakdpa the Prince’s favourite wife (whose situation required a few indulgences) to bring her some of this sort of fish. The spot was just upon the perpendicular declivity of a shelf of rocks. Having come up to take breath with the intention of going down a second time, he saw with terror the dorsal fin of a shark gliding swiftly along the surface of the water directly towards him ; he instantly clambered upon the reef and sprung on one side; in a moment after the deadly enemy, coming with impetuosity, rushed upon the shelf (in a foot and a half water) within a yard of him, and had some difficulty to get off" again. As soon as he had recovered from his consternation, for at first he scarcely knew where he was, he quickly got off" the reef, making very strong resolutions to avoid for the future a personal search after cray-fish in such situations. About a month after this a canoe came from one of the neighbouring small islands, bringing intelligence that a large dead spermaceti whale had drifted on a reef, off Vavaoo. Immediately all the chiefs ordered their canoes to be launched, that they might witness this unusual sight; and Mr. Mariner went along with them. They found the whale in a very bad state, half THE TONGA ISLANDS. 299 decayed, and sending forth no very agreeable odour: this however was a circumstance they did not much regard, their object being the teeth, of the substance of which they make a kind of necklace, by cutting it into smaller pieces, each preserving the shape of a whale’s tooth, from an inch to four inches long, having a hole in the broadest part, through which they are closely strung, and put round the neck; the largest being in front, and the others decreasing in size on each side, up to the back of the neck •, so that, when drawn close, their pointed extremities spread out, and form a very agreeable ornament upon their brown skins, and is much prized by them, on account of its scarcity as well as beauty. This has given rise to the accounts which voyagers have given that they wear teeth round their necks, whereas they are only forms of teeth cut out of the tooth of the whale ; and it is astonishing with what neatness they do this, making as little waste as would be possible to do with much better instruments than what they possess; which is nothing, in general, but a common shaped European chisel, or a piece of a saw, or in defect of these, a flattened nail rendered sharp : before they procured iron from European ships, they made use of a sharp stone. This kind of ivory they also use to inlay their 300 TRANSACTIONS AT clubs with, as well as their wooden pillows (see p. 127:) the high price set upon these ornaments will be exemplified in the following account, which Finow, on this occasion, gave to Mr. Mariner. A short time after the revolt at Tonga, when Finow first became sovereign of Hapai and Va- vaoo, news was brought him of a large dead whale being drifted on a reef, off a small island, inhabited only by one man and his wife ; who had the cultivation of a small plantation there. Finow immediately sailed for this place, and finding the teeth taken from the whale, questioned the man about them, who thereupon went to his house, and taking down a basket from the roof presented it to him,, but in it were only two teeth. The man protested that he put them all there, and knew nothing more about them ; and taxing his wife with having concealed them, she acknowledged that she had secreted one, and brought it to him, from a place in which no others were found; but this she assured him was all she had taken. The man defended 'his innocence on the plea that the teeth would be of no use to him ; for being poor, he could not sell them for any thing else, since every chief who could afford to give their value would question his right to them, and take them from him: and, for the THE TONGA ISLANDS. 301 same reason, he could not wear them. Finow was not satisfied with this plea, and being unable to make them confess by fair means, he threatened them both with death : the man still protesting his innocence, Finow ordered him to be immediately dispatched with a club j which being done, he again threatened the woman, and she as strongly protested her innocence : but when the club which had just ended the life of her husband was raised over her own head, she acknowledged that she had concealed another tooth, and accordingly brought it from a different place ; and being unable or unwilling to produce any more, she shared the same fate. Finow’s conduct here seems very cruel; but however, we are to place a great deal to the account of the state of society in which he lived ; and at the same time, we must consider that robbery is punished with death in other countries, as well as in Tonga. But what is most worthy of reflection is the strong hold which that ridiculous passion avarice takes of the human mind, which sometimes disposes a man to suffer death rather than part with what he cannot or will not ever make use of. Both the man and woman, in all probability, were guilty; the woman certainly was ; and yet she could bear to see her husband sacrificed befgre her face rather than confess all she knew of the 302 TRANSACTIONS AT matter, and entreat mercy for him at least, if not for herself. The remainder of these teeth were discovered a long time afterwards, by the particular intervention (as the natives will have it) of the gods. A few years had elapsed, when there being occasion to build and consecrate a house to some god, on the island of Lefooga, it was taken into consideration what valuable article should be deposited beneath its foundation, according to the custom on such occasions. They were about to get ready a large bale of gnatoo for this purpose, when the inspired priest of the god declared it to be the wish of the divinity to have some whale’s teeth ; and that there were several buried together on the small island just spoken of, in such a particular spot: which place being referred to and dug up, the teeth were found in a perfect state. This discovery was most firmly and most piously believed to have been made by the sacred interposition of the god himself, who inspired his favourite priest with the requisite knowledge to make it. In the Fiji islands, whales’ teeth are held, if possible, in still greater estimation, for it would be dangerous there for a man, unless he be a jgreat chief, and even then, if he were a foreigner, to be known to have a whale’s tooth about him j the personal possession of such a THE TONGA ISLANDS. 303 valuable property would endanger his life: the axe, or the club, on some unlucky occasion, would deprive him of it for ever, and of his life too. The whale of which we have been speaking as just found was, for the most part, in a very corrupted state; there were, however, some places where it was not quite so bad; and as whale’s flesh was rather a novelty, (and as novelty is often a provocative of appetite) the lower orders managed to make a meal of it. About this time a ship arrived off the northwest coast of Vavaoo. She proved tobetheHope, Captain Chase, of New York. When Mr. Mariner heard the agreeable intelligence of her arrival, he was with Finow at the small island of Ofoo, on the eastern coast of Vavaoo. He immediately asked the king leave to go on board, who very readily and very kindly gave his permission. Several matabooles were with him, one of whom whispered something to the king, which Mr. Mariner imagining to be prejudicial to himself, endeavoured to distract Finow’s attention by repeatedly thanking him for his liberal conduct towards him, and expressing the grateful sense he entertained of his long continued friendship and protection; assuring him that he had no other wish to leave the islands but what was prompted by the natural desire 304 TRANSACTIONS AT of returning to his native country, and the bosom of his friends. In the mean time he very distinctly heard the king say to the mataboole, “ but why should I keep him ?” and shortly after, his order to a fisherman to get ready instantly a certain canoe, and paddle Mr. Mariner on board, removed from his mind a load of anxiety. He again and again thanked his benefactor ; and, taking an affectionate leave of him, got into the canoe, and pushed off from the beach. There were three men to paddle, who after four or five hours hard pulling came up alongside the vessel. He saw upon the deck, Jeremiah Higgins, John Parish, and Hugh Williams. He hailed the ship; when the captain, or the mate, looked over the quarter, and said, “ We “ can’t take you, young man: we have more “ hands than we know what to do with.” Mr. Mariner could hardly believe the evidence of his senses;—not take him ! when he saw three of his companions already on board. He began to expostulate :—“ It is no use your saying any “ thing, we can’t take you,” replied the other. He then offered to procure whatever provisions the ship might want, but the unfeeling miscreant turned his back, and gave no answer. Thus, in one minute, from the elevation of hope his soul sunk into despair ; what to say,—what to do,— he knew not. Besides suffering the acute pain THE TONGA ISLANDS. 305 of disappointment, lie found himself in a very awkward dilemma. If the natives knew that the captain had refused to take him, it would hurt his reputation greatly in their esteem, as they would look upon him to be a low-born tooa, without friends or consideration in his own country. During this time the men in the canoe were too much occupied in viewing the appearance of the ship, to pay much attention to him. Having at length a little recovered himself by resisting the disagreeable ideas that were crowding in upon his mind, he endeavoured to assume a cheerful countenance; and informed the men that unfortunately the ship was bound to a country as far from his, as his was from Tonga; and although the captain wished him to come on board, he had determined to remain at Vavaoo until some British ship should arrive.— With feelings that almost choked his utterance he now ordered them to return to Ofoo. Every body wondered to see him return : his storv however was readily believed; but it seemed strange that he had brought them no presents from on board. “ What a number of axes he has “ got for us,” said one ironically: “ And what “ a heap of looking-glasses,” said another. “ Beads will now become quite common,” said a third; “ for Togi is going to give necklaces to all the girls in Vavaoo.” These jokes were vol. r. X TRANSACTIONS AT 30G exceedingly mortifying, and nothing could he* worse timed. He endeavoured to laugh at their humour; and by way of apology for his neglect, he told them that he was so disappointed at not finding the ship bound for his own country, that he had forgotten to ask for some presents : and besides, that he knew she had very few of those things on board, as she came from a country where they were scarce. Finow endeavoured to console him for his disappointment, assuring him in the kindest manner that he should go by the next ship bound to his own country. Some women informed Mr. Mariner that the matabooles had endeavoured to persuade Finow to retain him; but the king replied, that he and his companions had already suffered enough in having the ship taken from them, and being themselves kept so long from their native country, and that he did not think as the matabooles did, that it was the disposition of the Papalangis to return and take revenge! Another month now elapsed without any important circumstance occurring, when there arrived from the Fiji islands four canoes, bringing a Tonga mataboole, named Cow Mooala and his retinue, who had been absent from Tonga many years: but a narrative of this person’s adventures in foreign islands will best form a chapter of itself. 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 Lotooma 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 important 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—Farther 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—Description of a cannibal feast—Feast given by Finow on Cow Mooala’s return to Tonga. Cow Mooala went out to the Fiji islands with a number of young men, for the sake of an excursion, and to mingle in the wars of those people; sometimes at one island, sometimes at another, from the same motives probably as actuated Tooi 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 2 308 TRANSACTIONS AT 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. As 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 customs 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 Mooida made no mention 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 lit them out with other canoes, (entirely 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, kc .: and withal behave very kindly: but not one single article that has been taken from them, however small the value, is again returned, 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 f 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 coming 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. 310 TRANSACTIONS AT 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 themselves ; 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 fighting, (for it appears they cannot do without civil wars) which is conducted, according to his account, 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 endeavours 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 made of the plaited bark of the hedbo, and both hands being armed in this manner, every man endeavours to come to a close scuffle 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 312 TRANSACTIONS AT 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 ascertaining 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 countries. In his way he touched at the island of Lotooma (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 Mooala 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, two enormous giants resided there, who happening on some occasion to offend 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. 314 TRANSACTIONS AT 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 peace- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 315 able 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,— 316 TRANSACTIONS AT 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 comer from Lo- tooma the first question is, “ have you seen the “ giant’s bones?” But it would appear that communications with Lotooma were not very frequent, since the inhabitants made so sad a mistake as to think Cow Mooala and his followers gods. Cow Mooala shortly took his departure from Lotooma, with three of the native women on board, in addition to his other follow'ers, 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 con- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 317 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 Pail, one of the Fiji islands, and consequently is able to form some judgment. The inhabitants of Navihi Levoo are not only more ferocious, but they are much better skilled in war than those of the other islands, and are therefore much dreaded by them: to give themselves a fiercer appearance, they bore a hole through the soft part of the septum of the nose, through w'hich, 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 remarkable 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 prisoners 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, afterwards to be killed as he might want them. The hands and feet, particularly the latter, are considered the choicest parts. 318 TRANSACTIONS AT It may here be remarked, that' cannibalism is more or less practised on all the Piji 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 occasion to so horrid a custom, (for indeed we have many instances to the contrary;) but in those uncultivated nations, where a spirit of national hatred and thirst of revenge, on sonje extraordinary occasions, run very high, it appears to be an instinct of uncultivated nature, to crown the catastrophe by a feast at which civilized 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, consequently scarcity is also much more frequent, and cannibalism accordingly much more practised. 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 question. A certain man at Tonga had a violent hatred to another, whom he sought an opportunity of killing in battle; 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. dig islands, and the people are greater cannibals. At the Tonga islands in particular, it may be remarked, 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 and the 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 mention, 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 embowelled 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 natives attributed this circumstance to an unwholesome 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 opinion 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 English gods as a punishment; to which he always answered them in the affirmative, with a view to his own safety, and to inspire them with respect for the invisible powers, which, according to their notions, presided over the welfare of England and of Englishmen. Some of the natives, in joke, used to say, that they would kill Mr. Mariner, to see if the hotooas (gods) of England would revenge his death, alleging their disbelief in the unsolicited agency of the English hotooas, and their opinion rather that Mr. Mariner himself had been the cause of their death by his prayers, soliciting his gods to revenge 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. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 321 Finow was strongly of this opinion, observing that it was but fair to suppose 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. Formerly 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 : whales’ 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 von. i. Y 322 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 exceedingly 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 exchange 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 THE TONGA ISLANDS. 323 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 account of an enormous lizard, which they supposed must have come from Bolotoo, and sent by the gods. They stated that, late one evening, a canoe put in at a neighbouring small island, to remain there for the night, being on her way to some more distant island. Tire 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 cgm- 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 morning, one of them (a young lad) went into the sea to bathe, and was also snatched away by the inonster. 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 belonged to the canoe took their departure. A 324 transactions at 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 was 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 j in consequence of which, the animal, being disturbed, rushed out, and made towards the sea, pursued by a number of men, who threw spears at .him ; 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 must be 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, close in the neighbourhood, when an old man, who had observed that he came on shore every morning at THE TONGA ISLANDS. 325 one 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 large j'ehi 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 running 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 promise of his confederates to act their 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 behind 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 pull 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 noose; they soon secured the rope. 326 TRANSACTIONS AT 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 accordingly 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 accident, 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 super-? 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 Vavaoo: 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 never seen the sea, owing to their distance from it; and that the people living on the mountains, and wffio constantly resided there to avoid the frequent wars and disturbances on the plains below, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 327 -very seldom came down; and when they did, and saw fish for the first time, would not believe but what they were hotooas, (gods,) and wondered very much to see people eat them. The mountains on the western side, called Ta- eownove, are the highest. On the base of one of these mountains are two hot springs, situated near together, at which a neighbouring garrison 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 women, powder their hair with the ashes of the bread-fruit leaf, or with powdered lime, prepared from the coral, or else with soot collected from the smoke of the tooi-tooL 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 substances, 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 he had sot an opportunity of approaching the spot. 328 TRANSACTIONS AT 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 considerable 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 head-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 elegant; 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 surgery 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 protection 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 5 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 happened at Vavaoo, a short time after the peace with Toe Oomoo; and as it was not mentioned 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 forward the praeputium, and cutting off a section. At the Tonga islands they only make a longitudinal incision of the upper part of tfie prseputium, 330 TRANSACTIONS AT tunity 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 endeavoured to dissuade her from what appeared to them so unnecessary and useless an act; but no! 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 husband, 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 pulling 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 ; but this absurd practice was left off during Mr. 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 custom of making an incision in the lobe of each ear, and introducing a piece, 'about 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 considered ornamental, the women carry to a much greater extent than the men ; and at length introduce 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 hi circumference. Frequently, by overstretching the lobe, it Splits ; and there are many women 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, probably, to the circumstance of their not oiling thfemselves. 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 after- 332 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 impregnable. 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 converted into a strong fortress, commanding the whole island, which, indeed, is rendered inaccessible in every part, by a heavy surf and dangerous rocks, except just to the left of the large rock, and that part is defended by a high fencing. 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 reside 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 Chichia constantly committing depredations on the people of Pau, without these being at all able to retaliate. Prom time to time they had taken a great number of prisoners, 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 general 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 extraordinary feast before the departure of Cow Mooala. On the following day, therefore, a grand warlike dance was performed by the men, with 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 bearing 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 was seated at the head of his company, on a large 334 transactions at green. When all these victims were placed on the ground, hogs were brought in like manner $ xjdter that, baskets of yams, on each of which was 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 ma«y 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 pot. 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 ac- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 335 count from several of the natives of Chichia who visited Tonga. A few days afterwards 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 malid at Neafoo whatever they could afford, as presents to Cow Mooala and his companions *. On this occasion there were wrestling, fighting with clubs, cava drinking, he., as formerly described. It must be remarked, however, that when these great exhibitions of wrestling and fighting are shown on account of the arrival 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 respected, as was Cow Mooala, or who have been long absent. 336 TRANSACTIONS AT 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. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 337 CHAPTER XI. Arrival of a canoe from the island of Tonga, bringing a chief and two young matabooles, with a petition from Toobo Malohi: they give an account of the late transactions there, viz. Teoo Cava, chief of Hihifo, being joined by the chiefs and men that formerly belonged to Niooca- lofa, makes an attack on the fortress of Nookoo-No6koo, and takes it: the enemy return in the night, and set fire to it—Teoo Cava, making his escape, is stopped and killed by a Fiji islander—Conduct of Ata in the defence of Hihifo, and the bravery of Mdccapapa—Grief of Teoo Cava’s widows for his loss—Reference to an anecdote in the missionary voyage respecting Eliza Mosey (note)—Petition of Toobo Malohi and his chiefs to Finow : their reception by him, and ceremony of pardon—Toobo Malohi’s conversation with Finow, and his ultimate departure for the Hapai islands. Soon after Cow Mooala’s arrival from the Fiji islands, Finow received intelligence from Toobo Toa (chief of the Hapai islands) that a canoe had arrived at Lefooga, from the island of Tonga, with a chief, and two young matabooles. They came to petition Finow for pardon, in behalf of a great chief, named Toob6 Malohi, elder brother of Toobo Toa, who had been long resident at the island of Tonga, and had defended the cause of Finow’s enemies. As this chief brought very interesting information of all the recent events at the island of VOL. i. z 338 TRANSACTIONS AT Tonga, we shall give, an account of these transactions in the order in which they happened, and conclude with the ceremony of pardon, granted by Finow to Toobo Malohi and his followers. The reader will recollect, perfectly well, the fortress of Nioocalofa, on the island of Tonga, which Finow besieged with the four carronades, and afterwards burnt to the ground, with great slaughter of the garrison. Toobo Malohi was chief of this fortress at the time ; and in consequence of Finow’s vigorous attack, he left it, with such of his followers as could save themselves, and fled up the country, to seek refuge in some other fortress. This chief had all along been unfortunate : at the time of the great revolution of Tonga, and the early success of Finow, he had fled to the Fiji islands with his followers, and had resided there some time ; gaining experience in the art of war. On his return to Tonga, he built the fortress of Nioocalofa ; from which he was afterwards driven by Finow, as just related : he next took refuge in some other fortress; from which, owing to the jealousy of the chief, or some other cause, he was obliged to depart, and seek shelter in a third; from whence he was driven by some untoward circumstance ; and thus he became, in fact, quite a refugee; nobody being willing to receive him in a sincere and friendly way : till THE TONGA ISLANDS. 339 at length, however, he considered himself to have found a permanent asylum in the fortress of Hihifo, with Teoo Cava, the chief who had made Finow a present of the extraordinary well trained bird. Teoo Cava received him and his followers in a very cordial manner, considering them a great acquisition to his strength j for they had the reputation of being all great war- rior§, well schooled in the military practices of Fiji. Teoo Cava, at length finding that no enemy thought proper to attack him, resolved to lay siege to the garrison of Nookoo Nookoo: he was successful in his attack, and took it with an inconsiderable loss of men. This being done, he determined, contrary to the advice of his matabooles, to garrison both fortresses. The reason the matabooles gave for the impolicy of this conduct, was the readiness with which the enemy made their retreat; which they thought argued their intentions of returning speedily, with fresh strength. Ambition, and desire of larger possessions, blinding him, however, to his own proper interests, he neglected sage counsel; and, dividing his forces, reserved the choicest half for his own personal safety in the garrison of Nookoo Nookoo, and commissioned the rest to defend Hihifo. He had with him Toobo Malolii and his z 2 340 TRANSACTIONS AT warriors. In the course of the following night, the enemy came down again, and made a desperate attack upon them : having resolved to burn the place to the ground, they had appointed four hundred men to effect their purpose, each of whom was armed with a spear, and a lighted torch fixed at about a foot from the point of it. At a signal every man threw his flaming weapon at the fencing, or into the garrison, and, by the aid of this new invention, the place was set fire to, in several points at once. The besieged, with the view of rendering themselves more secure, had removed all the draw-bridges over the dry ditch round the fencing, except one; there was no ready means of escape, therefore, from the conflagration, which soon spread far and wide, except by one narrow path : hundreds consequently were compelled to leap into the ditch, the sides of which were too steep to climb. Among these was Teoo Cava, who, with several other great chiefs and warriors, managed to get out, by climbing up the backs of those whose fidelity prompted them to lend their superiors this friendly assistance at the utmost peril of their own lives. Teoo Cava, Having thus got out of the ditch, was making the best of his way unarmed to Hihifo, when he was met by a native of Fiji, belonging to the enemy’s party, who THE TONGA ISLANDS. 341 gave him the watch-word, which he was unable to answer; instantly the Fiji 'warrior struck him so violent a blow on the head with his club, that he buried it in his brains: the club had got so locked into the broken skull, that he could not immediately withdraw it; and he probably would have left it there, but discovering what a great chief he had killed, his club from that moment became exceedingly valuable to him ; the pledge as it were of future great successes, as long as he kept it in his possession : the triumph of his feelings, therefore, prevented him from seeing or hearing another man, who was fast approaching ; and whilst he was in the act of disengaging his club, his own brains were knocked out, and his speculations as suddenly destroyed, by one of Teoo Cava’s men, whose swiftness of foot brought him just in time to revenge his fallen chief, by laying his enemy prostrate by his side: but dangers were thickening round him, and he was compelled to leave the body of Teoo Cava on the field, and secure his own existence by a speedy flight to Hihifo; where all who succeeded in making their escape quickly arrived. The body of Teoo Cava was soon found by the enemy; it was conveyed to their fortress, cut to pieces, and (must it again be said !) dressed for food. Among the garrison of Hihifo there was a 842 TRANSACTIONS AT chief named Ata; he was not an old man, but he had a great reputation for political wisdom, and military skill. He was a native of the island, but at the time of the revolution his friends and acquaintance had all gone over to the Hapai islands for peace and safety. He however resolved to remain for the sake of his oldest and most sincere friend, Teoo Cava, and to assist and stand by him to the last; (for Ata was endowed also with some of the best qualities of the human heart). As Teoo Cava was now no more, Ata, conscious of his skill in war, and the confidence which all the men placed in him, proposed to take upon himself the command of the garrison; and his offers were gladly accepted. The other garrisons of the island soon hearing of the death of Teoo Cava, and the great losses he had sustained, several of them entered into league against Hihifo, and shortly commenced a siege, which lasted fourteen days; but at length, quarrelling among themselves, and finding the besieged hold out so manfully, and withal being struck with awful astonishment, at the extraordinary bravery of Maccapapa*, who was said to be invincible by the immediate protection of the gods;—they raised the siege, and each party * It will be recollected that Maccapapa was formerly in the service of Toe Oomoo ; but at the peace he left Vavaoo, apprehensive that Know might play him some treachery. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 343 repaired as quickly as possible to its own fortress, lest it should be taken possession of by some enemy. During the siege, all the women made themselves remarkable by their resolute assistance in the defence of the place ; lest, for want of men, it should be taken by the enemy. The widows of Teoo Cava*, however, were so afflicted at his loss, that many of them, it is said, strangled themselves At this time, Toobo Malohi sent word to his * Speaking of Teoo Cava calls to mind a circumstance, mentioned in the second missionary voyage, respecting Eliza Mosey and a black woman, both belonging to the American ship Duke of Portland, Captain Lovat Melon; the date is not mentioned. Through the treachery of Teoo Cava, (who from mistake of pronunciation they call Ducava,) the crew were all murdered, excepting three or four persons, among whom were Eliza Mosey, and the black woman. The latter was still at the Hapai islands when Mr. Mariner left ; she latterly became insane, but lived as a sort of domestic, (being harmless,) with a certain female chief, who treated her kindly. Eliza Mosey became one of the wives of Teoo Cava, who was much envied by the other chiefs on that account, she being a white woman. She made her escape afterwards, in the Union of New York, and arrived at Port Jackson, where she remained. Mr. Mariner has since accidentally heard from a woman who had been at Port Jackson, that Eliza Mosey returned afterwards to Tonga, with a ship that went for the purpose of laying in a cargo of pork, but which was shortly afterwards wrecked among the Fiji islands. f Mr. Mariner is not quite certain whether this report be correct: for it is an undoubted fact, that suicide is exceedingly rare among them. 344 TRANSACTIONS AT brother Toobo Toa, (chief of the Hapai islands,) that being weary of his unquiet and harassing life at Tonga, and being desirous to settle at Hapai, he wished his brother to petition the king in his behalf; and to obtain, if possible, his pardon for having fought against him at Nioocalofa, and to procure leave for himself and his chiefs and matabooles to reside at Hapai, and be henceforth tributary to him. This message was brought to Toobo Toa by a chief and two young matabooles, as before stated. Toobo Toa having communicated this request of his brother and his followers to the king, the latter, after a little consideration, gave his consent that they should reside at the Hapai islands, upon condition that Toobo Toa would keep a strict eye upon his brother’s conduct, and be answerable for him, which was immediately agreed to. Toobo Toa thereupon got ready a large canoe, and proceeded to Hihifo to receive his brother, who came on board with all his chiefs and choice warriors; the remainder of his attendants followed afterwards in another canoe. Having touched, in their way, at the Hapai islands, they proceeded on to Vavaoo, to pay their respects to Finow, and to receive his pardon. As soon as the king heard of their arrival at Vavaoo, he repaired with all his chiefs and ma- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 345 tabooles to the house on the maldi at Neafoo, having, besides their usual dress, small mats round the middle, significant of its being a solemn occasion, and out of respect, too, for Toobo Malohi (although he came as an humble suppliant), for he was a very great chief, superior even to Toobo Toa, as being his elder brother. Toobo Malohi being informed that the king was already seated in the large house on the maldi , ready to receive him, he and his followers, being all dressed in large mats, expressive of their very great respect, with leaves of the ifi tree round their necks as a mark of submission, went forth, with due sentiments, thus habited, and accompanied by a priest, to a house dedicated to Tali-y Toobo, and sat down before it. The priest then addressed the divine spirit that was supposed to reside there, to the following purpose : “ Here thou seest the “ men who have come from Tonga to implore “ thy pardon for their crimes; they have been “ rebels against those chiefs who hold power “ from divine authority, but, being sorry for “ what they have done, they hope that thou “ wilt be pleased to extend thy protection to- “ wards them for the future.” The priest then rose up, and laid a piece of cava root under the eaves of the house : after which he proceeded towards Finow, with the suppliants all follow- 346 TRANSACTIONS AT ing him, one close after another in the order of their rank, their heads bowed down, and their hands clasped before them, and, entering the house on the side opposite the king, they seated themselves before him and his matabooles, their hands still clasped together, and their heads bowed down almost to touch the ground. After a little time, the priest, who sat between them and the king, addressed the latter to the following purpose: “ You here see Toobo Malohi, “ and his chiefs and followers, who have been “ to implore the pardon of Tali-y Toobo, and “ are now come to humiliate themselves before “ you: not that they expect you will pardon “ them after so obstinate a rebellion, but they *• come to endeavour to convince you of their “ sorrow for so great and heinous a crime: “ they have no expectation but to die, there- “ fore your will be done*.” After a short pause, the priest again said, “ pass your sen- “ tence, Finowhe then rose up, and retired among the people. In a little time, Finow said to the supplicants, “ Toogood he lo ifi Take off' the ifi leaves (which is a sign of pardon) : of which command they took no notice, as if unwilling to believe so great a mercy was shewn to them. Finow again said, “ Toogood * This speech of the priest is to be considered more a matter of form than the real sentiments of the suppliants. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 347 “ he lo ifi” upon which each took off his ifi leaves, but they all remained in the same posture. Before we go further it must be observed, that there were vacant places left among Finow’s chiefs and matabooles for Toobo Malohi and his principal followers, who were of sufficient rank, to be called to after they had received their pardon; but for a great chief, circumstanced as was Toobo Malohi, to obey this summons (which is always pronounced by the mataboole sitting next to Finow) would neither be so respectful nor so prudent as to remain where he was, and take no notice of it, as if altogether unworthy of being so exalted; whilst a chief of less noble rank would not hesitate to obey the command, and take the seat appointed for him. All this is done upon the principle, that a great chief, so offending, ought to keep himself as humble as possible, lest, having great power and authority, he might be suspected of intentions to equalize himself with his superiors, and ultimately to revolt: whereas minor chiefs, having but little power, are not liable to excite jealousies : besides which, these minor chiefs, being governed by their superior, are thought to be less criminal than he who leads them astray by his authority. This formed a subject of dispute, beforehand, among the company: 348 TRANSACTIONS AT some thought that Tooho Malohi would in* stantly obey the order to take his appointed seat, conscious of his exalted rank, and fearless of the jealousy of Finow: the greater part, however, were of opinion, that he would remain where he was, knowing well the revengeful disposition of the How, and his promptitude to sacrifice those whom he suspected. In a little time this matter was put out of dispute. The mataboole on Finow’s right hand exclaimed aloud, “ Toobo Malohi! here is a “ place for you.” The chief seemed not to hear the summons, keeping his head bowed down to the earth : the mataboole again said, “ Toob6 Malohi! here is a place for you but his ears were still shut, and he preserved the same humble posture. The mataboole then said to the others successively (mentioning their names in the order of their rank), “ here is a place for you j” and they accordingly seated themselves as their names were called over, in the places appointed for their (i. e. those who were of sufficient rank to sit in the circle, the others retiring among the people), leaving Toobo Malohi seated by him self in the mieldle of the ring. Cava was now prepared, and served out to the company, eacl in his turn, according to his rank, not except ing Toobo Malohi, who, in this case, wa.‘ THE TONGA ISLANDS. 349 served the fourth : when the cava was presented to him, he neither took it nor raised up his head, but speaking to somebody who sat a little behind him, that person stretched his arms forward, and, receiving it for him, took it away, reserving it for Toobo Malohi, to drink after the cava party should be dissolved. The company, having finished their cava* di§pfrsed, and Toobo Malohi retired to take his. This chief and his followers remained at t Vavaoo about a fortnight before they sailed to the Hapai islands; during which time he entertained Finow with an account of different transactions at Tonga, relating what conspiracies had been devised, what battles had been fought, what brave chiefs and warriors had fallen. Every time he mentioned the death of a hero, Finow struck his breast with his fist, exclaiming, “ What a warrior has fallen in a “ useless war!” or something to that purpose. Before Toobo Malohi and his chiefs took their departure, Finow repeated his orders to Toobo Toa to keep a watchful eye upon them, and to give him the earliest information, if he discovered any symptoms of conspiracy, for he said he expected something of the kind, as they were all choice warriors, and had been well experienced at the Fiji islands. 350 TRANSACTIONS AT CHAPTER XIL Finow’s younger daughter falls? sick—Petitions to the gods —Farther account of the inode of invocation—Finow’s illness—Debate among the gods respecting Finow—This debate causes thunder and lightning—Supposed effect of Finow’s illness and recovery on his daughter—His daughter conveyed to the island of Ofoo—Her death— Ceremony of her burial—Strange custom of the people of Hamoa—Finow’s illness—Petitions to the gods—Strangu- lation of a child in the way of sacrifice—Finow’s death— Political state of the Tonga islands, occasioned by this event—Grief of Finow’s daughter—Mr. Mariner rebuked by the .prince for his grief at Finow’s death—Suspicious conduct of Voona—Consultation of the god Toobo Toty'— Report of what had been Finow’s intentions previous tc his death—The prince consults with his uncle on matters of political government relative to his succession. Shortly after Toobo Malohi and his followers had departed for the Hapai islands, Finow’s younger daughter, named Sdw-aw mat Loldngi (which, in the Hamoa language, means descended from the sky), about six or seven years of age, fell sick; on which occasion she was removed from her father’s house to another inside a fencing, consecrated to Tali-y-Toobo, the patron god of the Hows . Almost every morning a hog was killed, dressed, and pre- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 351 sented before the house, as an offering to the god, that he might spare her life for the sake of Finow. On these occasions, one or other of the matabooles, and sometimes two or three in succession, made an address to the invoked divinity (for he had no priest), to the following purpose: “ Here thou seest assembled Finow “ and his chiefs, and the principal matabooles “ of thy favoured land” (the Tonga islands, taken collectively), “ thou seest them humbled “ before thee. We pray thee not to be mer- “ ciless, but spare the life of the woman* for “ the sake of her father, who has always been “attentive to every religious ceremonyf: but “ if thy anger is justly excited by some crime “ or misdemeanor committed by any other of “ us who are here assembled, we entreat thee “ to inflict on the guilty one the punishment “ which he merits, and not to let go thy ven- “ geance on one who was born but as yester- “ day. For our own parts, why do we wish to “ live but for the sake of Finow; but if his “ family is afflicted, we are all afflicted, inno- * On such occasions they call the person for whom they intercede, however young, either a man, or woman, according to the sex, although they have appropriate words to express boy, girl, and child. f Finow was noted for his want of religion: the above words, therefore, were used as mere form, and because no one dared to say otherwise. 352 TRANSACTIONS AT “ cent as well as guilty. How canst thou be “ merciless! dost thou not see here Findw ,— “ and is not A'j'oo here, who descended from “ ancient Tonga chiefs now in Bolotoo ;—and “ is not Fotoo here, and did he not descend from “ Moomode formerly How of Tonga;—and is “ not A’lo here, arid Niucdpoo ,and Toobo !—then '• why art thou merciless ?” (spoken in rather an impatient and peremptory tone) “ have regard “ for Finow, and save the life of his daughter.” Every morning, as before stated, for about a fortnight, a hog was killed and offered to the god, and addresses were made similar to the above, and repeated five, six, or seven times £ day, but the god seemed to hearken not to theii petition, and the child daily got worse. Ir about fourteen or sixteen days, finding theii prayers unavailing, they took her to anothei fencing in the neighbourhood, consecrated t< Too’ifoo'a Bolo'too. Here the same ceremonie were practised for about a week, with as littli good result. Finow, finding his daughter get ting worse instead of better, ordered his largt canoes to be launched, and his wives, chiefs matabooles, in short his whole household, to g« on board. His sick daughter was conveyec into the canoe which he and his wives occupied Mr. Mariner also being on board. They se sail for the island of Hoonga, which belongei THE TONGA ISLANDS. 353 to a priest called Toobd Tea, who was accustomed to be inspired by Finow’s tutelar god Toobd Total. On this island several enclosures or fencings are consecrated to this god : to one of which his daughter was carried, and the same offering and same kind of address was frequently made; but in this case, not before the consecrated house where the sick child lay, but where- ever the priest happened to be, which was generally at his own house or at Finow’s. It must here be remarked that those gods who have priests are invoked in the person of the inspired priest wherever he may happen to be: those who have no priest are invoked at the consecrated house by a mataboole, as was the case in the late instance with Tali-y-Toobd, who has no priest. Toobd Total was thus invoked every day, in the person of his priest, during a fortnight or three weeks. Seated at the head of the cava ring*, he seemed much affected, and generally shed a profusion of tears. To their earnest entreaties he scarcely, ever made any answer, and when he did, it was, for the most part, to the following effect; “ Why do you weary your- “ selves with entreating me?” (speaking as if he were the god) “ if the power to restore the “ woman rested solely with me, I would do it: “ be assured it is all done by the will of the * See the form of invocation, p. 99. VOX. I. A A 354 TRANSACTIONS AT “ gods of Bolotoo.” Every day he visited the sick girl, occasionally sat down by her, took her hand and shed tears. During this time the ma- tabooles frequently repaired to the house of the priest, and laying cava before him, consulted him privately. On one of these occasions, Fi- now not being present, he told them that if they knew why the child was sick they would not come thus to invoke him : he then declared, in general terms, that it was for the common good. Finow, being informed of this, addressed the priest at the consultation on the following morning, asking him (or rather the god within him) what he meant by the general good ? “ If “ my spirits are oppressed, are not those of all “ my subjects so likewise ? but if the gods have “ any resentment against us, let the whole “ weight of vengeance fall on my head : I fear “ not their vengeance,—but spare my child; “ and I earnestly entreat you, Toobo Totdi , to “ exert all your influence with the other gods, “ that I alone may suffer all the punishment “ they desire to inflict.” To this the god returned no answer, and the priest retiring among the people, the company separated. As soon as Finow arrived at his house, his spirits no doubt much agitated, and his pride, in all probability, much hurt, he laid down on his mat, and felt himself much indisposed. His THE TONGA ISLANDS. 355 illness hourly increased, and feeling, as he said, a secret presentiment of approaching death, hia female attendants ran out and informed his chiefs and matabooles, who in consequence immediately repaired to his house, and found him unable to speak ; for as soon as he saw them he endeavoured in vain to give utterance to his ideas, and seemed choked by the vehemence of his inward emotions. At length a flood of tears coming to his relief, he acknowledged the justice of the gods, but lamented greatly that he was about to meet his death on a bed of sickness instead of going to brave it in the field of battle. After a little pause, he said in a calm but firm tone of voice, “ I tremble at the approaching “ fate of my country: for I perceive plainly, “ that after my death the state of affairs will “ be much altered for the worse. I have had “ daily proofs that the obedience of my subjects “ is not excited by their love but by their “ fears.” Several chiefs and matabooles who, owing to the crowd, were not able to get into the house, but overheard what passed, went immediately to the priest of Toobo Totai, and presenting him cava root, sat down before him. An old mataboole then addressed him, stating that they had firm belief in the power which the gods possessed of inflicting what punishment A a 2 356 TRANSACTIONS AT they chose upon mortals : but he entreated the god to use his influence with the other powers of Bolotoo, that they might not take offence at what Finow had said in the morning, which was merely spoken on the impulse of the moment, when warmly agitated with sentiments of affection for his daughter, and not from any real disrespect to the gods: he supplicated him also to have regard to the general good of the islands, and not by depriving them of Finow, to involve the whole nation in anarchy and confusion. The priest remained some time in silence, and was much affected : at length he announced that the gods of Bolotoo had, for a long time past, debated among themselves with regard to the punishment they should inflict upon Finow, for the many instances he had shewn of disobedience to religious precepts, and of exceeding disrespect for divine power ; that they had at first resolved upon his death, but that he (Toobo Totai) having repeatedly interceded in his behalf, some of the other gods also took his part; in consequence of which there arose very violent dissensions in Bolotoo ; not, as he explained to them, by actual fight- .ing'T for gods are immortal, and can neither be killed, wounded, nor hurt, but by urgent and potent arguments, which had occasioned, he said, the late high winds and tremendous thun- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 357 der. That they had consequently come to a resolution of saving his life, seeing that his death would be a greater evil to his people than to himself, and of punishing him in another and perhaps more severe way, viz. by the death of his most dear ahd beloved daughter, who must therefore be inevitably taken from him : for as it had been decreed, beyond all revocation, that either he or his daughter must die, her life could not be saved without taking away his. As a sort of proof of this decree, he bade them remark that whilst Finow was at this time ill, his daughter was much better, and comparatively full of life and spirits, (which was actually the case.) To-morrow, he said, her father would be tolerably well, for the gods had not decreed his immediate death, but only ?a temporary illness, to impress on his mind a sense of their power, and then his daughter would relapse, and become as bad or worse than ever. The priest being now silent, the chiefs and matabooles left him, with a strong belief of the truths he had been telling them. When they arrived at Finow’s house they found him somewhat better, but did not communicate what they had heard from his priest. This however was soon rumoured among the other chiefs and matabooles, in the king’s cook-house, where 358 TRANSACTIONS AT they generally resort for cava, and which from custom has become a sort of rendezvous to pick up or retail news. Mr. Mariner, who had been with Finow (his patron, father, and protector,) during his illness, coming to the cook - house and hearing what the priest lad said, went out of curiosity to Finow’s daughter, and was surprised to find her sitting up, eating ripe bananas, and in very good spirits, talking at intervals to her female attendants. In the evening Finow, feeling himself for the most part recovered, visited his daughter, and found her much worse than, as he was informed, she had been in the morning. He now expressed his intention of passing the night at her house, which he accordingly did. When he awoke in the morning he felt himself perfectly recovered; but going to his daughter’s mat, he found, to his utmost grief, that she was worse than ever. In the course of the morning he went down to the sea-shore, to give some orders respecting an alteration he designed in the sail of his canoe, in which he also employed himself (to distract his thoughts probably) the greater part of the day. At night he again slept at the house of his daughter; and very early the following morning gave orders for all |iis chiefs, matabooles, and attendants, to go on board his canoes, and gave directions for his THE TONGA ISLANDS. 359 daughter also to be carried on board ; then following himself, made sail for the island of Ofoo, with intention of consulting Alai Valoo, the tutelar god of his aunt Toe Oomoo. They arrived after two hours sail; and immediately, on landing, went and presented cava root to the priest of that god (the name of the priest Mr. Mariner has forgotten). In the mean time the sick child was taken to the god’s consecrated house. The company being seated in the presence of the priest, a bowl of cava was presented to him,—when the god said—“ It is “ in vain that you come here to invoke me “ upon a subject on which you have obtained “ ell the information that it is necessary for “ you to know. Toobo Total 1ms already in- “ structed you in the will of the gods, and I “ can communicate nothing farther.” The priest having said this, Finow and his attendants rose up and went their way. In the course of the afternoon the supposed victim of divine vengeance was removed to several other consecrated houses in the same island, and was suffered to remain about half an hour or an hour in each, with the hope that she would derive benefit from the auspices of either of the deities, who were imagined to reside in those places. Removal, however, appeared to make her worse; and at length she was almost 360 TRANSACTIONS AT speechless. During the night her father, with anxious solicitude, sat by the side of her mat, ■matching, with sighs and tears, the progress of her disorder. The next morning, which brought no sign of returning health to enliven the hopes of an afflicted parent,—Finow gave directions to proceed to Macave, the place at Vavaoo where (as the reader will recollect) Booboonoo, Cacahoo, and several other great warriors, were seized by Finow’s orders. By the time they had got a little more than half way to Vavaoo, the poor child died. Immediately all the female attendants began to lament in a most woful strain, beating their breasts with violent agitation, and exhibiting every mark of sorrow and despair ;—but Finow sat in silence and dejection, weeping for the fate of his daughter. In a little time they reached the coast of Vavaoo, and took the body to a large house, called Boono, (six posts,) on the malai at Neafoo, followed by Finow, his wives, chiefs, matabooles, and attendants, all habited in mats. The body was laid out on a fine and beautiful Hamoa mat, and then washed over with a mixture of oil and water : after which it was anointed with sandal-wood oil. It must be here noticed, that the king had determined, in the event of his daughter’s death, not to bury her exactly after the Tonga THE TONGA ISLANDS. 361 fashion, but partly according to that, partly agreeably to the custom of Hamoa, and partly according to a fancy of his own. After the body was washed and anointed with oil, it was wrapped up in fourteen or fifteen yards of fine East India embroidered muslin, which had formerly belonged to one of the officers of the Port au Prince. It was next laid in a large cedar chest, which had been made on board the same ship, for the use of Mr. Brown, out of some cedar planks taken in a prize. Over the body were strewed wreaths of flowers, made for the purpose by her female attendants. Orders were now issued by Finow, that nobody should wear mats, (although it was customary on such solemn occasions,) but should dress themselves in new tapas (this is the Hamoa custom) ; and instead of ifi leaves round their necks, he ordered that they should wear wreaths of Bowers, (this was an idea of his own,) as if dressed for some occasion of rejoicing. The chest was placed on two large bales of gnatoo, in the middle of the house, and the body laid thus in state for the space of twenty days ; during which time Mooonga Toobo, Fi- now’s principal wife, and all her female attendants, remained constantly with the body. In the course of the first night the mourners broke out in a kind of recitative, like that on occasion 362 TRANSACTIONS AT of the death of Toobo Nuha, (p. 143,) but in a very imperfect way, because Finow had ordered that no appearance of sorrow or sound of lamentation should be made; but, in spite of this injunction, they occasionally could not restrain their grief, beating their breasts with every mark of deepfelt anguish. It is difficult to conceive the reason of Finow’s whimsical conduct on this occasion, unless it were (as generally interpreted) an impious and revengeful endeavour to insult the gods, by ordering those ceremonies not to be performed which were considered objects of religious duty on such sacred occasions. Every morning and evening provisions and cava were brought for the entertainment of those who attended on the body. On the nineteenth day it was removed from the cedar chest, and deposited in the model of a canoe, about three feet and a half long, made for the express purpose, and nicely polished by one of Finow’s carpenters (this is the Hamoa custom). By this time the body had become much inflated, and extremely offensive; but the office of removing it was performed by some foreigners, natives of Hamoa, who were accustomed to such tasks *. During the whole * At Hamoa (the Navigator’s island) it is the custom to keep the dead above ground for a considerable length of time, as above related : as the body, during this period, is THE TONGA ISLANDS. 363 of this day, and the following night, the body inclosed in the canoe, with the lid closely fastened down, remained in the house : in the mean time Know issued orders for a general assembly of all the inhabitants of the island, to take place the ensuing morning before the house, and nobody to be absent under any pretext whatsoever, not even that of illness. Early the following day all the people, according to Finow’s orders, assembled before the house, where there was a large supply of provisions and cava for the conclusion of the ceremony. In the mean time the body was conveyed to the Fytoca, where it was deposited, inside the house, without any pomp or form, not within the grave, but on the top of it, that Finow might see the coffin whenever he pleased, and take it away with him whenever he went to a distance. On this extraordinary occasion, which the caprice of Finow rendered a scene of rejoicing rather than of mourning, after the provisions apt to become very inflated, it is the duty of a relation to prevent this happening to a great extent, by the practice of a most disgusting operation, viz. making a hole in some part of the abdomen, and, the mouth being applied, sucking out the putrescent fluids, and spitting them into a dish : and this is done out of love and affection for the deceased, without any apparent signs of disgust! Mr. Mariner had this from several natives of Hamoa. 364 TRANSACTIONS AT and cava were shared out, they began the entertainments of wrestling and boxing as usual at festivals. After the men had shown their strength and dexterity in these feats by single engagements, the king gave orders that all the women who resided north of the mooa should arrange themselves on one side, ready to combat all the women who resided south of the mooa, who were to arrange themselves on the other. It was not a very rare occurrence for women to fight in pairs on occasions of rejoicing; but a general engagement like this, with about fifteen hundred women on each side, was a thing altogether new, and beyond all precedent, and quite unexpected at a funeral ceremony. The women, however, readily engaged, and kept up the contest, with obstinate bravery, for about an hour, without a foot of ground being lost or gained on either side ; nor would the battle have subsided then, if Finow, seeing the persevering courage of these heroines, had not ordered them to desist, the battle having cost them several sprained ancles and broken arms. They fought with a great deal of steadiness, and gave fair hits, without pulling one another’s hair. The men now divided themselves in like manner into two parties, and began a general engagement, which was persisted in a considerable time with much THE TONGA ISLANDS. 3G5 fury, till at length that party which belonged to the side of the island on which Finow dwelt began to give way : instantly he rushed from the house in which he was seated, to reanimate his men by his presence and exertions, which he effected to such a degree, that the opposite party in their turn fell back, and were completely beaten off'the ground. This contest being now ended, the company dispersed, each to his respective home, whilst Finow retired to a small house, which had been built since his daughter’s death, near Bdono (the large house on the malai) ; and there, feeling himself much exhausted, he laid down to rest from his fatigue. He had not been long in this posture before he found himself very ill: his respiration became difficult: he turned himself repeatedly from side to side ; his lips became purple, and his under jaw seemed convulsed: from time to time he groaned deeply and most horribly : all the bystanders were much affected, the women shed a profusion of tears, and the men were occupied no doubt with the thoughts of what commotion might happen in the event of his death, what blood might be spilt, and what battles won and lost. The king, in the meanwhile, seemed perfectly sensible of his situation : he attempted to speak, but the power of utterance 366 TRANSACTIONS AT was almost denied to him j one word alone could be clearly distinguished, fonnooa (land or country): hence it was supposed that he meant to express his anxiety respecting the mischiefs and disturbances that might happen to the country in the event of his death. After waiting a little time, finding he did not get better, the prince, and a young chief named Voogi, went out to procure one of Finow’s children by a female attendant, to sacrifice it to the gods, that their anger might be appeased, and the health of its father restored*. They found the child in a neighbouring house, uncon* sciously sleeping in its mother’s lap : they took it away by force, and retiring with it behind an adjacent Fyt6ca, strangled it, as quickly as possible, with a band of gnatoo : they then carried it, with all speed, before two consecrated houses and a grave, at each place hurrying over a short but appropriate prayer to the god to interfere with the other gods in behalf of Finow, and to accept of this sacrifice as an atonement for his crimes. This being done, they returned to the place where Finow lay, but found him with scarcely any signs of life, * For further particulars respecting this ceremony, see p. 217. The younger Finow used often to express his regret that the gods were so relentless as to require such cruel sacrifices. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 367 speechless and motionless;—his heart, however, could be just felt to beat. In the mean while he was placed on a sort of liand-barrow r , which had been made on purpose, during the time the child was strangled. Fancying there were still some hopes of his recovery, his friends carried him on this bier to different consecrated houses, although he had, almost beyond a doubt, breathed his last with violent Struggles, about ten minutes before. He was first carried to the house dedicated to Tali-y- Toobo, where an appropriate prayer to the god w r as hurried over as quickly as possible: the corpse (for it was now perhaps nothing more, for there was no pulse at the wrist; and Mr. Mariner, applying his hand to the region of the heart, found it had ceased sensibly to beat) was conveyed to the house of the god Tobi-foo'a- Bolbtoo, where a similar prayer was preferred. Not contented with this, they next carried it to the grave of a female chief named Chinita- cala, and her spirit was in like manner invoked. Some hope still remained; and his body was carried a mile and a half up the country, on the road towards Felletoa, to the residence of Tooitonga, their great divine chief, at Nioo Lolo. When arrived here, the body was conveyed to Tooitonga’s cook-house, and placed over the hole in the ground where the fire is 368 TRANSACTIONS AT lighted to dress victuals: this was thought to be acceptable to the gods, as being a mark of extreme humiliation, that the great chief of all the Hapai islands, and Vavaoo, should be laid where the meanest class of mankind, the cooks, were accustomed to operate. All this time Tooitonga remained in his own house, for his high character, as a descendant of the gods, rendered it altogether unnecessary, and even degrading and improper, that he should interfere in this matter. By this time, his friends losing all hopes, and being convinced that he was really dead, brought the body back to Neafoo, where it was placed in the large house on the maldi , called Boono. In the mean while, many chiefs and warriors secretly repaired to their spears, (which were tied up in bundles,) and put them loose, ready to be seized at a moment’s notice ; and selecting out their clubs, arranged them, in order to be used on the urgency of occasion ; expecting every moment the shout of war from one quarter or another: and if we just take a cursory view of the state of affairs, at this critical juncture, we shall find that such apprehensions were by no means groundless. No sooner was the late How deceased, than all those principal chiefs who had, or imagined THE TONGA ISLANDS. 369 that they had some just claims to the government of Vavaoo, were expected to take up arms to assert their cause. Among these was Voona Lahi, otherwise Tooa Calao; who, it may be recollected, returned from Hdmoa with the late king’s son (see p. 151), and was chief of Vavaoo at the period of the Tonga revolution $ but was afterwards dispossessed of his island by the late How.'—Toobo Toa was another chief who it was thought would lay claim on this occasion, on account of his great strength in fighting men, and for having killed the late chief of Vavaoo (Toobo Nuha). A third chief was Fi* now Fiji, the late How’s brother, who perhaps had a greater claim than either of the two before mentioned, on account of his relationship; he was also a brave warrior, and considered to be a man of great prudence and wisdom : by some it was not supposed that he would lay any claim; for, although he was a brave warrior, when occasions called forth his courage, he was still a very peaceable man, remarkable for sage counsel, and for strong aversion against every kind of conspiracy or disturbance whatsoever. It was the prince and his party who entertained this high idea of his moderation; two other chiefs and their dependents thought otherwise of Fi- now Fiji, and expected he would prove a very VOL. i. B B 370 TRANSACTIONS AT powerful claimant*. Apprehensions were also entertained respecting the young chief Voogi, who assisted in strangling the child, for though it was not supposed he would lay claim to the sovereignty, yet being known to be strongly in the interest of Toobo Toa, his conduct required to be strictly watched. These were the chiefs, whose behaviour at this moment the young prince had to notice with a watchful eye. He had considerable confidence, however, in the sincerity of his uncle : Toobo Toa was at the Ha- pai islands :—Voona and Voogi therefore were the two whose designs he had most immediately to be apprehensive of. Such was the state of political affairs at the time of Finow’s death. As soon as his body was deposited on the bales of gnatoo, as before mentioned, one of his daughters, a beautiful girl of about fifteen, who stood by at the time, went almost frantic with excess of sorrow. The expressions of her grief were at first in loud and * Finow originally had two brothers, viz. Finow Fiji, and Toobo Nuha, but by different mothers. Finow’s lengthened name was Finow Ooloocalala. The proper family name is Finow, but no member of the royal family is allowed to assume the family name till his appointment to the sovereignty, unless his father choose to give it him as a sort of first name, to which his own proper name is attached, as was the case with Finow’s brother, who was called Finow Fiji. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 371 frequent screams, or in broken exclamations: Oyaooe'! ecoo tammy* e’! Oyaooe! Alas!—Oh! my father !—alas !—Her sorrow was so great that, at times, she appeared quite bereft of reason ; and her truly pathetic expressions of it, joined to those of the widows, and female attendants of the late king, all beating their breasts, and screaming from time to time, rendered the house truly a house of mourning, beyond the power of the imagination to picture. The place was lighted up at night, by lamps with cocoa-nut oil, (used only on such occasions) presenting a scene, if possible, still more affecting than that which happened on the occasion of Toobo Nuha’s death. In the course of the night, Mr. Mariner went into the house several times, partly out of curiosity indeed, but principally moved by feelings of regret for the loss of his great and kind patron ;—'for though he could not in every point of view admire him as a man,—yet he could not but esteem him and reverence him as a benefactor : he had received from him great and numerous favours: and notwithstanding his faults, there was a something essential in his character which commanded respect; and Mr- Mariner felt that, in losing him, he had sustained a very great loss. The prince checked him in these frequent visits to the house ; urg- b b 2 372 TRANSACTIONS AT ing, that as he was a man, he ought to feel as a man, and not mingle his sorrows with those of women; but if he wished to express his love for Finow, who had adopted him as his son, and had given him the name of a son whom he had lost some years before*, he should demonstrate that love and respect for the memory of so good a father, by engaging his attentions in the interests of his family, particularly in those of himself, who was his lawful heir ;—arid not show his affliction by a silly profusion of tears and sighs, which was beneath the exalted character of a warrior. About the middle of the night, no actual disturbance had taken place, but some of the prince’s confidents, who were dispersed about to be on the watch, brought intelligence that Vootia was holding secret conferences with some of the natives of Vavaoo- The prince, however, thought it advisable not to take any active measures, nor to appear to notice it: he therefore * The name of this son was Togi Oocummea, (an iron axe) which was also the name of one of the gods of the sea : for as they only obtain iron axes from across the sea, they naturally attribute the advantages which they possess, in having such a useful intrument, to the bounty of a sea god, whom they have accordingly designated by this name. Finow’s- son, who was so called, was a great favourite of his father, who, when he adopted Mr. Mariner, gave him the same name, as a proof of his real esteem. Mr. M. always went by this name, or for shortness sake, Togi. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 373 merely ordered his spies to keep a strict eye upon their proceedings, and to obtain all the farther information they well could, without incurring suspicion. At the same time he resolved in his own mind, as soon as the consent of the people should establish his authority, to banish all suspicious chiefs to the Hapai islands. About an hour afterwards, he learnt that Voogi the preceding day had ordered sundry parties of his men to post themselves behind the bushes, on each side the road to Nioo Lalo, during the time that Finow’s body was being carried there, with orders to rush out and kill all who accompanied the body, in case a fit opportunity presented itself: but no such opportunity having offered, his men had assembled armed along with him, at a house near the water side, with his canoe close at hand, and had been there all the preceding part of the night. The prince ordered that no notice should be taken of his hostile position, but that all his own men should keep themselves well armed, and in perfect readiness to meet the enemy in case of a revolt; he also dispatched men to watch as narrowly as possible other chiefs, whom he began to think might be connected with Voogi. During the remainder of the night, no disturbance took place. In the morning, as soon as it was light, the people began to assemble on the malki , out 374 • TRANSACTIONS AT of respect to the departed chief; and sat on the ground, waiting for the commencement of the ceremonies usual on such extraordinary occasions. In the mean time, the prince, and his uncle, Finow Fiji, prepared cava at a neighbouring house, and presented it there to the priest of Toobo Totai, out of respect to that god, who was now become the tutelar deity of the young prince. By the mouth of his priest the god desired him not to fear rebellion ; for who should dare to rebel against a chief who was the peculiar care of the powers of Bolotoo ? He commanded him moreover to reflect on the circumstances of his father’s death, as a salutary lesson to himself: “ Your father,” said the divinity, “ is now no more ;—but why did he die ?—be- “ cause he was disrespectful to the gods! ” The conference here ended. A short time after, the prince, whilst reflecting on the words of the oracle, was addressed by a woman, who was sitting behind him in waiting, and who was much respected by the late king and his family, on account of her having given him some information respecting a real or supposed conspiracy, on the part of the Vavaoo chiefs ; (Booboono, Cacahoo, and others, who were seized in consequence at Macave, and afterwards put to death: see p. 276.) This woman remarked to the prince THE TONGA ISLANDS. 375 that his father, just before he was taken ill, had sent two men to her to procure a rope, (she having the care of a store-house,) with orders to bring it to him secretly. These two men, whose names were Toohengi and Boboto, (the former the son of Toobo Boogoo a priest, the latter a cook,) happening now to be present, the prince turned to them, and asked if they knew the purpose for which his father wanted this rope;—whom he meant to bind with it ?—Hearing this question, Mr. Mariner, who was sitting close to him, exclaimed “What! “ did you not know that he intended to bind “ and afterwards to kill Toobo Tea, the priest “ of Toobo Totai, to be revenged on this god “ for not bringing about his daughter’s re- “ covery*?” This fact was afterwards confirmed by other persons, and particularly by certain warriors, who had actually received orders to seize Toobo Tea, and murder him. Thus was a plan of sacrilegious wickedness brought to light, which made all those who now heard it for the first time shudder at the mere thought: “ No wonder! ” (for such was the general ex- * This intention of the king had only been cautiously whispered about, among a few chiefs and matabooles, that were constantly with him ; and his sudden sickness and speedy death, which prevented him putting his threats into execution, had so occupied every body’s thoughts, that the circumstance for a time was forgotten. 376 TRANSACTIONS AT elamation) “ no wonder that he died! a chief “ with such dreadful intentions ! ” Mr. Mariner then stated, in addition, that he had heard the king say more than once, (a few days before he died,) “ How unmindful are the gods of my “ welfare !—-but no ! it is not the decree of the “ gods in general y —it is to that vexatious Too- “ bo Totai, that I owe my misfortunes; he “ does not exert himself for my good: but wait “ a little, I’ll be revenged! his priest shall not “ live long*!” The prince and his uncle, Finow Fiji, next held a consultation together respecting their mode of conduct, particularly in regard to certain chiefs, who were suspected of not being well disposed towards their family. Finow Fiji, for his own part, said, that he had no other wish than to coincide in whatever should seem likely to establish the peace and welfare of Hqfooloo Hozv (the name given to Yavaoo and all its neighbouring small islands, taken collectively), and that the only method of doing this would * Finow had often stated to Mr. Mariner his doubts that there were such beings as the gods:—he thought that men were fools to believe what the priests told them. Mr. Mariner expressed his wonder that he should doubt their exist* ence, when he acknowledged that he had more than once felt himself inspired by the spirit of Moomoe (a former How of Tonga): “ True!" replied the king, “ there may be gods; but what the priests tell us about their power over mankind^ I believe to be all false.’’ THE TONGA ISLANDS. 377 be to send all those chiefs, who pretended to have a right to the sovereignty, or who were suspected of such pretensions, away to the Hapai islands. As to his nephew, he said, that there could not well arise any dispute to his right of succession (except on the part of ill disposed chiefs), inasmuch as he was the late king’s heir, and was well beloved by the Vavaoo people, on account of his having been the adopted son of the late Toobo Nuha, and also because he was born at Vavaoo, and brought up there. The prince agreed with his uncle on the propriety of sending the pretenders to the Hapai islands, particularly Voona, who was of the line of those chiefs who governed Vavaoo before the revolt of Tonga; and also Voogi, who was at the head of a strong party of men, and was known to be in the interest of Toob6 Toa. The prince concluded by saying, “ But let us wait “ as quietly as possible, till the burial of my “ father, and then we shall have a different “ scene in the affairs of Vavaoo: when all pro- “ moters of civil discord are banished, the land “ shall be cultivated, and shall appear again “flourishing; for we have had war enough!” To which every body present replied, “ ’Tis all “ we wish for.” From the above sentiments of the two chiefs, it will appear to be their intention to confine 378 TRANSACTIONS AT the new sovereignty to the island of Vavaoo, and its neighbouring isles, without receiving tribute (unless voluntarily paid, which was not at all likely to be the case,) from the Hapai islands, now in possession of Toobo Toa, against whom the prince had no intention of waging a new war, and shedding more blood for the mere purpose of obliging him to continue that tribute as heretofore. The conference being ended, the two chiefs turned their attention to the removal of the body of the late How to Felletoa to be buried, as there were no fytocas at Neafoo but such as belonged to the family of Tooitonga; and it would have been contrary to custom to have buried an individual of the How’s family in a grave belonging to that of Tooitonga. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 379 CHAPTER XIII. Ceremony of Finow’s burial—Grief of his widows—Self inflictions of the mourners—Funeral procession to Felletoa— The policy of the prince—Description of the grave, and ceremony of interment—Ceremonies after burial—Respect paid by persons in passing the grave—The prince’s intimation to Voona that he should exile himself—The prince receives authority as Hotu at a cava party—His noble speech on this occasion—Farther exhortations to his chiefs and matabooles respecting the cultivation of the country—Half mourning commences—The ceremony of the twentieth day after burial—The dance called Mee too Buggi —Heroic behaviour of two boys at the grave—The late How’s fishermen exhibit proofs of their affection for the deceased —Moral and political character of the late How—His personal character—A brief comparison between the characters of the late and present How. All the chiefs and matabooles were now assembled on the malai at Neafoo. Among the rest was Voona, to whom the prince went up, and intimated the necessity of removing the body of his father to F611etoa. It would have been thought very disrespectful if he had not mentioned this to Voona before he issued orders respecting it, because Voona was a very great chief, even greater than Finow himself, and such a reserve on such a public occasion, towards a superior, would have been an act offen- 390 TRANSACTIONS AT sive to the gods. It may appear strange that Voona was a greater chief than the son of the king, yet it is a frequent occurrence, that the king is chosen from a family not of the highest rank, on account of his superior wisdom or military skill, and this was the case with the present royal family; so that the king is often obliged to pay a certain ceremonious respect (hereafter to be noticed) towards many other chiefs (even little children), who are greater nobles than he. The company were now all seated, habited in mats, waiting for the body of the deceased king to he brought forth. The mourners (who are always women, consisting of the female relations, widows, mistresses, and servants of the deceased, and such other females of some rank, who choose, out of respect, to officiate on the occasion), were assembled in the house, and seated round the corpse, which still lay out on the bales of gnatoo. They were all habited in large, old, ragged mats, the more ragged, the more fit for the occasion, as being more emblematical of a spirit broken down, or, as it were, torn to pieces by grief. Their appearance was calculated to excite pity and sorrow in the heart of any one, whether accustomed or not to such a scene : their eyes were swollen with the last night’s frequent flood of grief, and still THE TONGA ISLANDS. 381 weeping genuine tears of regret; the upper part of their cheeks perfectly black, and swollen so that they could hardly see, with the constant blows they had inflicted on themselves with their fists ; and their breasts, also, were equally bruised with their own misplaced and untimely rage. Among the chiefs and matabooles who were seated on the malai, all those who were particularly attached to the late king, or to his cause, evinced their sorrow by a conduct, usual, indeed, among these people at the death of a relation, or of a great chief (unless it be that of Tooitonga, or any of his family), but which, to us, may well appear barbarous in the extreme; that is to say, the custom of cutting and wounding themselves with clubs, stones, knives, or sharp shells : one at a time, or two or three together, would run into the middle of the circle, formed by the spectators, to give these proofs of their extreme sorrow for the death, and great respect for the memory of their departed friend. The sentiments expressed by these victims of popular superstition were to the following purpose : “ Finow! I know well your mind ; “ you have departed to Bolotoo*, and left your • Paradise. 382 TRANSACTIONS AT “ people under suspicion that I, or some of “ those about you, were unfaithful; but where “ is the proof of infidelity ? where is a single “ instance of disrespect ?” Then, inflicting, violent blows, and deep cuts in the head with a club, stone, or knife, would again exclaim, at intervals, “ Is this not a proof of my fidelity ? “ does this not evince loyalty and attachment “to the memory of the departed warrior?” Then, perhaps, two or three would run up, and endeavour to seize the same club, saying, with a furious tone of voice, “ Behold! the land is “ torn with strife ! it is smitten to pieces! it is “ split by revolts ! how my blood boils ! let us “ haste and die ! I no longer wish to live ! your “ death, Finow, shall be mine! but why did I “ wish hitherto to live, it was for you alone! “ it was in your service and defence, only, that “ I wished to breathe! but now, alas, the “ country is ruined! Peace and happiness are “at an end! your death has insured ours! “ henceforth war and destruction alone can “ prosper.” These speeches were accompanied with a wild and frantic agitation of the body, whilst the parties cut and bruised their heads every two or three words, with the knife or club they held in their hands. Others somewhat more calm and moderate in their grief, would parade up and down with THE TONGA ISLANDS. 383 father a wild and agitated step, spinning and whirling the club about, striking themselves with the edge of it two or three times violently upon the top or back of the head*, and then, suddenly stopping, and looking stedfastly at the instrument, spattered with blood, exclaim, “ Alas! my club, who could have said that you “ would have done this kind office for me, and “ have enabled me thus to evince a testimony of “ my respect for Finow! Never, no, never, can “ you again tear open the brains of his ene- “ mies ! Alas ! what a great and mighty warrior “ has fallen ! Oh ! Finow, cease to suspect my “ loyalty; be convinced of my fidelity ! But “ what absurdity am I talking! if I had ap- “ peared treacherous in your sight, I should “ have met the fate of those numerous warriors “ who have fallen victims to your just revenget “ but do not think, Finow, that I reproach “ you; no ! I wish only to convince you of my “ iniHupence, for who, that has thoughts of M harming his chiefs, shall grow white-headed “ like me ? (an expression made use of by “ some of the old men). O cruel gods! to de- *' prive us of our father, of our only hope, for “ whom alone we wished to live! We have, in- “ deed, other chiefs, but they are only chiefs * They understand tolerably well how to avoid the situation of the larger arteries. .384 TRANSACTIONS AT “in rank, and not like you, alas! great and “ mighty in war Such were their sentiments and conduct on this mournful occasion. Some, more violent than others, cut their heads to the skull with such strong and frequent blows, that they caused themselves to reel, producing afterwards a temporary loss of reason. It is difficult to say to what length this extravagance would have been carried, particularly by one old man, if the prince had not ordered Mr. Mariner to go up and take away the club from him, as well as two others that were engaged at the same time. It is customary on such occasions, when a man takes a club from another, to use it himself in the same way about his own head ; but Mr. Mariner, being a foreigner, was not expected to do this; he therefore went up, and, after some hesitation and struggle, secured the clubs, one after another, and returned with them to his seat, when, after a whil<^ they were taken by others who used them m like manner. After these savage expressions of sorrow had been continued for nearly three hours, the prince, having first signified his intentions to Voona, for reasons before stated, gave orders that the body of his father should be taken to Felletoa to be buried. In the first place, a bale THE TONGA ISLANDS. 385 of gnatoo was put on a kind of hurdle, and the body laid on the bale: the prince then ordered that, as his father was the first who introduced guns in the wars of Tonga, the two carronades should be loaded and fired twice* before the procession set out, and twice after it had passed out of the maldi ; he gave directions also that the body of Finow’s daughter, lately deceased, should be taken out of th efytoca, in the model of a canoe, and carried after the corpse of her father; that during his life as he wished always to have her body in his neighbourhood, she might now at length be buried with him. Matters being thus arranged, Mr. Mariner loaded the guns, and fired four times with blank cartridge. The procession then went forward; the wives of the deceased and women attendants proceeded first in silent sorrow, next followed the body of Finow, the body of his daughter, the matabooles, and lastly the young prince and his retinue. When the procession had got out of the fortress, (the maldi , of which we are speaking, being in the middle of the fortress of Neafoo) and had passed the place where the * It should be mentioned that the young prince had now in his possession only two carronades, the other two being at the Hapai islands with Toobo Toa. But then Toobo Toa had only half a barrel of gunpowder, and no iron shot, whereas the prince had seven or eight barrels, and a considerable number of balls. C C VOL. I. 386 TRANSACTIONS AT guns were drawn up, Mr. Mariner fired two more rounds, then loaded them with canister shot, lighted a match, to be in readiness in case of need, and ordered the guns to follow the procession, whilst he went last to see that they were properly drawn. It was not the prince’s intention to order another salute, but he had previously told Mr. Mariner to load them again, not with blank cartridge but with shot, and to carry a lighted match in his hand, for, “ perhaps,” said he, “ we may have need “ of it.” This, it may be easily seen, was a measure of policy; he ordered them to be fired that he might have a plea for carrying them in the procession along with him, and he ordered them to be loaded a third time, as if they wefe to be in readiness for another salute at the grave, but in fact for his own safeguard, lest certain chiefs should take the opportunity to revolt. In the course of two hours they arrived at Felletoa, where the body was laid in a house on the maldi at some distance from the grave, till another and smaller house could be brought close to it* 5 and this was done in the course * The body is always placed in a house in front of the fytoca during the time the grave is digging : if there be no house near, a small one is immediately brought for the purpose, which, from the construction of their houses, is readily done by the aid of 50 or 60 men. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 387 of an hour, the corner posts being taken up, the four pieces which compose the building (a kind of shed in a pyramidal form, the eaves reaching within four feet of the ground) were brought by a sufficient number of men, and put together at the place where it was wanted. This being done, the body was brought on the same hurdle or hand-barrow to the newly erected building, (if it may be so termed) and then being taken off the hurdle it was laid within, on the bale of gnatoo, and the house was hung round with black gnatoo , reaching from the eaves to the ground *. The women, who were now all assembled and seated round the body, began a most dismal lamentation, similar to that at Neafoo ; in the mean time a number of people, whose business it was to prepare graves, were digging the place of interment within the Jytoca, under the direction of Lanagi, a mataboole whose office was to superintend such affairs. Having dug about ten feet, they came to the large stone vault, such as was described in the note p. 144 ; a rope being then * This black gnatoo, or rather gnatoo of a dark colour, having a deep brown ground with black stripes, is not chosen on account of its colour, but because it is coarse and common (emblematical of poverty and sadness). They have a kind of gnatoo of very superior quality, but of the same colour and pattern, and this is used on occasions of rejoicing. C C 2 3S8 TRANSACTIONS AT fastened double round one end of the stone, which always remains a little raised for this purpose by means of certain bodies placed underneath ; it was elevated by the main strength of 150 or 200 men, pulling at the two ends of the rope, towards the opposite edge of the grave, till it was brought up on end. The body, being oiled with sandal-wood oil and then wrapped in Hamoa mats, was handed down on a large bale of gnatoo into the grave; the bale of gnatoo was then, as is customary, taken by the before-mentioned mataboole as his perquisite. Next, the body of his daughter, in the model of a canoe, was let down in like manner and placed by his side *. The great stone was then lowered down with a loud shout. Immediately certain matabooles and warriors ran like men frantic round and about the fytoca, exclaiming, “ Alas ! how great is “ our loss ! Finow ! you are departed ; witness * This grave, which was considered a large one, is capacious enough to hold thirty bodies. Two bodies which Mr. Mariner saw there, and which were in a very dry but perfect state, had been buried, as he was told by old men, when they were boys, and consequently must have been there upwards of forty years ; whije several others, of which nothing remained but the bones, had not been buried so long : this circumstance the natives suppose to be owing to different kinds of constitution, though, in all probability, to the kind or duration of disease of which they died. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 389 “ this proof of our love and loyalty!” At the same time they cut and bruised their own heads with clubs, knives, axes, &c. The whole company now formed themselves into a single line, the women first and afterwards the men, but without any particular order as to rank, and proceeded towards Lico (or the back of the island, as they term it, because there is no opening for large canoes), for the purpose (as customary) of getting a quantity of sand in small baskets, for the use directly to be described. The guns were not however taken in the procession, as the young prince considered the measure now unnecessary, every thing appearing perfectly quiet, for if any party had intended to revolt, they would have done it on their w 7 ay from Neafoo to the grave, whilst they had clubs and spears in their possession, and not during the ceremony of burial, before which every man, according to custom, deposits his arms in the neighbouring houses. It is true they might afterwards have taken up their arms again and planned mischief, but the prince, who had always his spies about, neither perceiving nor hearing of any symptoms of disturbance, did not wish to seem fearful of revolt, which would have been the case had he taken the guns with him to the bapk of the island, and which he could not 390 TRANSACTIONS AT have done with any plausible pretence, such as he had for bringing them to Felletoa. In their road to the back of the island they sang loudly the whole way, as a signal to all who might be in the road or adjacent fields to hide themselves as quickly as possible, for it is sacrilegious for any body to be seen abroad by the procession during this part of the ceremony ; and if any man had unfortunately made his appearance, he would undoubtedly have been pursued by one of the party, and soon dispatched with the club. So strictly is this f attended to, that nobody in Mr. Mariner’s time recollected a breach of a law so well known. Even if a common man were to be buried, and Finow himself were to be upon the road, or in the neighbourhood of the procession, whilst going to get sand at the back of the island, he would immediately hide himself; not that they would knock out the king’s brains on such an occasion, but it would be thought sacrilegious and unlucky, the gods of Bolotoo being supposed to be present at the time. The chiefs are particularly careful not to infringe upon sacred laws, lest they should set an example of disobedience to the people. The song on this occasion, which is very short, is sung first by the men, and then by the women, and so on alternately, and intimates (though THE TONGA ISLANDS. 391 Mr- Mariner has forgotten the exact words) that th efala (which is the name of this part of the ceremony) is coming, and that every body mnst get out of the way. When they arrived at the back of the island, where any body may be present to see them, and, on this occasion, it was at the part called Mofooe, every one proceeded to make a small basket of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree, holding about two quarts, and to fill it with sand: this being done, each of the men carried two upon a stick across the shoulder, one at each end—while the women only carried one, pressed, in general, against the left hip, or rather upon it, by the hand of the same side, and supported by the hand of the opposite side, brought backwards across the loins, which they consider the easiest mode for women to carry small burdens *; they then proceeded back the same way, and with the same ceremony, to the grave. By this time the grave above the vault was nearly filled with the earth lately dug out, the remaining small space being left to be filled up by the sand, which is always more than enough for this purpose, that the mount, * This mode, which the women use, is called fafa; that which the men use, as just described, dmo ; carrying in the hand by the side, taggi-taggi ;—whilst the general term for any mode of carrying is fooa. 392 TRANSACTIONS AT of which the fytoca consists, may be strewed in like manner, it being considered a great embellishment to a grave to have it thus covered, and is thought to appear very well from a distance, where the clean sand may be seen on the outside of the fytoca ; besides which, it is the custom, and nobody can explain the reason why,—which is the case with several of their customs. This being done, the temporary house is taken to pieces, and thrown behind the fytoca in the hole, out of which the earth was originally dug to raise the mount on which the fytoca stands * : in this hole also are thrown all the baskets in which the sand was brought, as well as the remaining quantity of earth not used in filling up the grave. The ground within the fytoca is now covered with mats, similar to what are commonly used in the houses, and which are made of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree. During the whole of this time the company was seated on the green before the fytoca , still clothed in mats, and their necks strung with the leaves of the ifi tree : after this they arose and went to their respective habitations, where they shaved their heads, and burnt their cheeks with a small lighted roll of * Or rather the house upon the fytoca, for the latter is a term given merely to the mount and the grave within it; they have several fytocas which have no houses on thijm, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 393 tapa*, by applying it once upon each cheek bone ; after which, the place was rubbed with the astringent berry of the matchi, which occasions it to bleed, and with the blood they smeared about the wound, in a circular form, to nearly two inches in diameter, giving themselves a very unseemly appearance f. They repeat this friction with the berry every day, making the wound bleed afresh : and the men, in the mean time, neglect to shave, and to oil themselves during the day; they do, however, at night, for the comfort which this operation affords. After having, in the first place, burnt their cheeks and shaved their heads, they built for themselves small temporary .huts, for their own accommodation during the time of mourning, which lasts twenty days. The women, who have become tabooed by touching the dead body, remain constantly in th ejytoca, except when they want food, for which they retire to one or other of these temporary houses, to be fed as mentioned in the note, p. 141, but they sleep in * Tdpa differs from gnatoo merely by its not being stamped or imprinted with any pattern. f Those whose love for the deceased is very great, or who wish it to be thought so, instead of burning their cheeks in the way mentioned, rub off the cuticle by beating and rubbing their cheeks with platt wound round their hands, made of the husk of the cocoa-nutj and this is a most painful operation. % 394 TRANSACTIONS AT the fytoca. The 'provisions with which these tabooed women and mourners in general are provided were sent, on this occasion, with bales of gnatoo, first to the young prince, by the different chiefs and matabooles ; the prince then ordered the greater part of them to be sent to the tabooed women : and they were accordingly carried and placed on the ground, at some distance from the grave, or else laid down before the temporary house, to which the chief of the tabooed women retires to be fed ; and she orders them to be distributed to the different, chiefs and matabooles, who again share them out in the usual way. The fifth and tenth days of such a ceremony are, however, marked by a greater quantity of provision than ordinary being sent, for which they give no reason but that of custom. On the twentieth day there is also an unusually large quantity sent; and this is by way of finishing the funeral ceremony. With these provisions they also send every day a supply of tomes*, to light up the fytoca during the night: these tomes are held by a woman, who, when fatigued > with this office, is relieved by another : those who take the light into their charge are of the lower ranks. They, as well as the others, when not oppressed by sleep, in general spend their time in talking upon in. * The tome is a sort of torch. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 395 different subjects. During these twenty days also, if any one pass th ejytoca, he must not proceed in his ordinary careless way, swinging his arms, but with a slow pace, his head bowed down, and his hands elapsed before him, if he have no burden ; and if he have, he must lower it, (from his shoulder for instance,) and carry it in his hands, or upon his bended arms :—but if he can conveniently do it, he will go a circuitous route, to avoid the grave. Here it may be observed, that, on all occasions, when a man with a burden passes a great chief, or the grave of a great chief, particularly if there be any one near to see him, he lowers his burden out of respect. Every day also, one or more approach, and sit before the grave for two or three hours, beating their faces with their fists; sometimes they bruise their heads with clubs, in which case they stand up*. These are the uniform and essential circumstances which always take place during this part of the ceremony of burying chiefs,—we now come to speak of those which were peculiar to this particular instance. On the day after the deceased How was put * Finow’s chief widow, Mooonga Toobo, every morning, attended by her women, cut the grass short before the grave with knives and sharp shells, sweeping away leaves and loose blades with brooms made of the mid rib of the cocoa-nut leaf: they also procured sweet-scented plants, principally the jidle, and planted them before the grave. 396 TRANSACTIONS AT in the ground, the principal chiefs and mata- booles requested the prince to intimate to Voona and certain other chiefs, their wish that they should go to the Hapai islands: this he did ; but, at the same time, gave them liberty to stop till the funeral ceremony was concluded. Voona received this intimation in a becoming manner, acknowledging the impropriety of his stay, if the people were any way jealous of his presence. The prince apologized for this step, urging the will of his people as his sole motive ; and expressed, with great warmth, his wish that he who had been so long his friend and companion could still remain his associate. The following day, at a general assembly of the chiefs and matabooles, after the cava was prepared, and the two first cups handed out, the third, which, according to custom, is presented to the chief who presides, was next filled; and when an attendant, As usual, declared aloud that the cup was filled, all eyes were fixed on the prince, whilst the mataboole who sat next to him exclaimed, “ Give it to Finow! ”—and it was accordingly handed to him, whilst he preserved an appearance of perfect unconcern at the name by which, for the first time, he was called*. And this was a matter of no small importance ; for had he ap- * See note, p. 370. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 397 peared elated at this circumstance, he would have been thought a man of a weak mind, little calculated to be a supreme chief: whereas the character of such a personage should be, in their estimation, (and very rightly too,) that of superiority over the influence of petty passions, and such trifling emotions as are fit only for the vulgar tribe of mankind. As soon as all the cava was served out and drunk, Finow addressed the company to the following purport. “ Listen to me, chiefs and warriors!-If “ any among you are discontented with the “ present state of affairs,—now is the time to go “ to Hapai; for no man shall x’emain at Vavaoo “ with a mind discontented and wandering to “ other places. I have seen with sorrow the “ wide destruction occasioned by the unceasing " war carried on by the chief now lying in the “ malcii: we have indeed been doing a great “ deal, but what is the result?—the land is de- “ populated! it is overgrown with weeds, and “ there is nobody to cultivate it: had we re- “ mained peaceful, it would have been populous “ still: the principal chiefs and warriors are “ fallen, and we must be contented with the “ society of the lower class. What madness ! “ is not life already too short ? Is it not a noble “ characteristic in a man to remain happy and “ peaceful in his station ? What folly then to 398 TRANSACTIONS AT “ seek for war to shorten that which is already “ too short! Who is there among us who can “ say, ‘ I wish to die—I am weary of life?’ “ Have we not then been acting like those of no “understanding? Have we not been madly “ seizing the very thing which deprives us of “ what we really want? Not that we ought to “ banish all thoughts of fighting ! If any power “ approach us with the front of battle, and at- “ tempt to invade our rights, our fury and “ bravery shall be excited more, in proportion “ as we have more possessions to defend. Let “ us therefore confine ourselves to agriculture, “ for that is truly guarding our country. Why “ should we be anxious for an increase of ter- “ ritory? Our land is quite large enough to “ supply us with food,—we shall not even be “ able to devour all its produce ! But perhaps I “ am not speaking to you wisely! the old mata- “ booles are present \ I beg them to tell me if “I am wrong. I am yet but a youth, and, on “ that account, should be unfit to govern, if my “ mind, like that of the deceased chief, sought “ not the advice of others: for your loyalty and “ fidelity towards him, however, I return you “ my sincere thinks. Finow Fiji, who is pre- “ sent, and the matabooles, know well my fre- “ quent inquiries concerning the good of our “ government: do not then say, wherefore do THE TONGA ISLANDS. 399 “ zve listen to the idle talk of a boy ? Recollect, “ whilst I speak to you, my voice is the echo “ of the sentiments of Toe Oomoo, and Oooloo- “ valoo, and Afoo, and Fotoo, and Alo, and all “ the high chiefs and matabooles of Vavaoo.— “ Listen to me ! I remind you that if there be “ any among you discontented with this state “ of affairs, the present is the only opportunity “ I will give to depart: for let pass this occa- “ sion, and not at all shall we communicate “ with Hapai. Choose therefore your dwelling- “ places; there is Fiji, there is Hamoa, there is “ Tonga, there is Hapai, there is Fotoona and “ Lotooma!—Those men in particular having “ minds unanimous, loving to dwell in constant “ peace,—they alone shall remain at Vavaoo “ and its neighbouring isles. Yet will I not “ suppress the bravery of any one warlike spi- “ rit:—Behold ! the islands of Tonga and Fiji “ are constantly at war; let him there display “ his courage. Arise ! go to your respective ha- “ bitations; and recollect, that to-morrow the “ canoes depart for Hapai*.” * For the original of this fine speech, and a literal translation, see the latter part of the grammar. Mr. Mariner had in a manner learnt it off by heart, for it was so universally admired that it was in every body’s mouth for a long time after. The above version will be found somewhat different from the one in the first edition, and the reason is I did not at that time feel so well the force and strength of the Tonga idiom. 400 TRANSACTIONS AT Finow, having finished his -speech, arose am went to his house, accompanied by the sons o' his chiefs and matabooles, who, together witl his warriors, formed his retinue. After a re past, provided beforehand*, he again made ai address, but in a more familiar and conversa tional way, on the advantages of cultivating land for one’s own food, and eating the product of one’s own labour; and to strengthen his ar gument, he observed, that, hitherto in Tonga it had been the custom for those who formed the retinue of chiefs to subsist on the provision which those chiefs thought proper to share out to them from their own store : and during the great famine (which happened many years before, while he was yet but a boy), he had re- marked that more of these men (chiefs’ dependents) had died than of the lower orders, who tilled the ground for their own support, as well as that of their chiefs, because they always found means to reserve food for themselves, however great might be the tax; while those who depended on the bounty of their chiefs got but a very scanty allowance. He then went on, “You do not know how much pleasure such * They often have cava parties where little is eaten, which was the case with that where he made the above speech ; those who are fond of cava seldom eat much with it, conceiving that food destroys its genuine taste, and prevents its due effect upon the system, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 401 “ men feel when they view the work of their “ own hands thriving daily: and, whilst eating, “ when they reflect that their labour has been “ repaid by the increase of their stores : there- “ fore let us (chiefs and attendants of chiefs) “ apply ourselves, as we have nothing else to “ do, to agriculture: follow my example; I “ will order a piece of ground to be cleared, “ and, during the next rain, I will assist in “ planting it with hiabo.” No other circumstances worthy of note happened during the twenty days concluding the burial ceremony. On the tenth day, those who were not relations of the deceased, nor constituted his household, wore a sort of half mourning ; that is to say, under their mats they wore a piece of gnatoo, not to be seen, but merely to be more comfortable to the skin than the mats, which, on these occasions, are not of the finest texture. After the twentieth day they wore their ordinary dress, and went to their proper habitations ; so did also the relations of the deceased, but then these wore mats for about two months afterwards, though with gnatoo under them. We now come to speak of the transactions of the twentieth day, which concludes the whole ceremony. Early in the morning of this day, all the rela- VOL. I. D D 402 TRANSACTIONS AT tions of the deceased chief, together with those who formed his household, and also the women who were tabooed by having touched his dead body, whilst oiling and preparing it, went to the back of the island (without any particular order or ceremony) to procure a number of flat pebbles, principally white, but a few black, for which they made baskets on the spot to carry them in as before mentioned, when they went to procure sand. With these they returned to the grave, and strewed the inside of the house with the white ones, and also the outside about the fytuca, as a decoration to it: the black pebbles they strewed only upon those white ones, which covered the ground directly over the body, to about the length and breadth of a man, in the form of a very eccentric ellipsis. After this, the house over the fytoca was closed up at both ends with a reed fencing, reaching from the eaves to the ground, and, at the front and back, with a sort of basket-work, made of the young branches of the cocoa-nut tree, split and interwoven in a very curious and ornamental way, to remain till the next burial, when they are to be taken down, and, after the conclusion of the ceremony, new ones are to be put up in like manner. A large quantity of provisions was now sent to the malai by the chiefs of the different districts of the island, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 403 ready prepared and cooked ; and also a considerable quantity prepared by Finow’s own household : among these provisions was a good supply of cava root. After the chiefs, matabooles, and others, were all assembled, the provisions and cava were served out in the usual way. During this time no speech was made, nor did any particular occurrence take place. The company afterwards repaired each to his respective house, and got ready for a grand wrestling-match and entertainment of dancing the Mee too Buggi (literally, the dance, standing up with paddles. See second volume.) During the intervals of the dances, several matabooles, warriors, and others, ran before the grave, bruising and cutting their heads with clubs, axes, &c., as proofs of their fidelity to the late chief: among them, two boys, one about twelve, the other about fourteen years of age (sons of matabooles), made themselves very conspicuous in this kind of self infliction ; the youngest in particular, whose father was killed in the service of the late chief, during the great revolution at Tonga, after having 'given his head two or three hard knocks, ran up to the grave in a fit of enthusiasm, and dashing his club with all his force against the ground, exclaimed, “ Finow! why should I attempt “ thus to express my love and fidelity towards d d 2 404 TRANSACTIONS AT “ you ? my wish is, that the gods of Bolotoo “ permit me to live long enough to prove my “ fidelity to your sonhe then again raised his club, and, running about, bruised and cut his little head in so many places, that he was covered with streams of blood. This demonstration on the part of the young hero was thought very highly of by every one present, though, according to custom, nothing at that time was said in his praise ; agreeably to their maxim, that praise raises a man’s opinions of his own merit too high, and fills him with self- conceit. The late How’s fishermen now advanced forward, to shew their love for their deceased master in the usual way ; though, instead of a club or axe, each bore the paddle of a canoe, with which he beat and bruised his head at intervals, making similar exclamations to those so often related. In one respect, however, they were somewhat singular; that is, in having three arrows stuck through each cheek, in a slanting direction, so that, while their points came quite through the cheek into the mouth, the other ends went over their shoulders, and were kept in that situation by another arrow, the point of which was tied to the ends of the arrows passing over one shoulder, and the other end to those of the arrows passing over the other shoulder, so as to THE TONGA ISLANDS. 405 form a triangle; and with this horrible equipment they walked round the grave, beating their faces and heads, as before stated, with the paddles, or pinching up the skin of the breast, and sticking a spear quite through ; all this, to prove their love and affection for the deceased chief. After these exhibitions of cruelty were over, this day’s ceremony (which altogether lasted about six hours) was finished by a grand wrestling-match, which being ended, every one retired to his respective house or occupation; and thus terminated the ceremony of burying the king of the Tonga islands. Finow’s character, as a politician, at least in point of ambition and design, may vie with that of any member of more civilized society; he wanted only education and a larger field of action, to make himself a thousand times more powerful than he was. Gifted by nature with that amazing grasp of mind which seizes every thing within its reach, and then, dissatisfied with what it has obtained, is ever restless in the endeavour to obtain more, how dull and irksome must ( have been to him the dominion of a few islands, which he did not dare to leave to conquer others, lest he should be dispossessed of them by the treachery of chiefs, and the fickleness of an undisciplined army. His 406 TRANSACTIONS AT ever restless and ambitious spirit would frequently vent itself in such expressions as the following: Oh, that the gods would make ‘S~me king of England! there is not an island “ in the whole world, however small, but what “ I would then subject to my power: the king “ of England does not deserve the dominion “ he enjoys ; possessed of so many great ships, “ why does he suffer such petty islands as those “ of Tonga continually to insult his people “ with acts of treachery? Were I he, would I “ send tamely to ash for yams and pigs ? No, I “ would come with the front of battle *; and “ with the thunder ofBolotane t I would shew “ who ought to be chief. None but men of “ enterprising spirit should be in possession of “ guns ; let such rule the earth, and be those “ their vassals who can bear to submit to such “ insults unrevenged!” With such sentiments as these would he now and then break forth in presence of Mr. Mariner, after conversing on the power of the king of England. Hence his character, as to ambition, is drawn by himself with bold and decided lines. As to intrigue * Mooa totv, which literally means the front or fore-part of battle, is a very usual expression among them. f The expression they use for the noise of guns; the word Britain they cannot pronounce in any other way than Bolot&ne. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 407 and design, the reader may refer to the history of his conduct in the revolution of Tonga, (p. 7l) where he suffered Toobo Nuha’s revenge to be the tool of his ambition, pretending to have no strong wish for the death ofToogoo Ahoo; hence Toobo Nuha took upon himself the charge of assassination, whilst Finow remained on the outside of the house with his men waiting the result: thus he did not draw upon himself the odium of any one, as an actual murderer of Toogoo Ahoo; all which fell upon the shoulders of Toob6 Nuha, equally as great and brave, but a more honest arjd a worthier man. For a more striking instance, look to his deep design in the history of thb assassination of his brother Toobo Nuha, who had been his own ally, and was then his most faithful servant (see p. 132); here again he made - use of another man’s revenge to effect his purpose ; and mark the admirable caution with which he steps in this affair throughout. He acknowledges that he promised Toobo Toa his assistance, but then states, as his reason, that he did it with the view of putting off Toobo Toa’s intention for a time, under the false pretence, he says, that it was not yet a fit opportunity; but in reality, as he tells the Vavaoo people , that he might find an occasion to prevent the mischief altogether! But who can 408 TRANSACTIONS AT doubt, after having observed closely the features of that transaction, but that Finow meant to bring about the murder ofToobo Nuba that very night, else why did he tell Mr. Mariner not to bring his whaling knife with him ? was it not that he wished to be unarmed, that lie might not have an opportunity of defending Toobo Nuba? Again, he did not, before he set out from his house, send for Toobo Nuha to accompany him, but when he had got half way on his road he stopped to bathe, and in the mean while, as if it were a second and a casual thought, he sent for his victim to accompany him to the old chief’s house, where they remained above two hours. Toobo Toa was not present, and Toobo Toa’s men were getting ready a canoe for him to escape, in case he were unsuccessful. When the first blow was given, Finow could not defend Toobo Nuha, because he was purposely unarmed, and because Toobo Toa’s men held him, which they would not have dared to have done had they not been so ordered by their chief. Need any more be said to shew his policy?—Once more notice him, when he wishes to make a peace with the Vavaoo people, after he had kept up for some time a fruitless contest (p. 220). To have expressed this wish might have weakened him in the opinion of his enemies; what does he in THE TONGA ISLANDS. 409 this case?—he takes frequent opportunity to converse with the priests: he does not tell them that he wishes for peace, but he observes that peace would be much more advantageous for his subjects; lamenting, at the same time, that the disobedience of the Vavaoo peojtle obliges him to have recourse to warlike measures : the minds of the priests, however, becoming strongly impressed with the advantages of peace, when inspired they advise him to make a peace ; he, pretending to do as the gods admonish him, yields to the solicitation, and permits his priests to make overtures, as if this step was originally designed by them, or rather by the gods, and that he consented merely because it was a point of religious duty to do so. Thus we find him an admirable politician, although the picture is occasionally marked with traits which do no honour to his character as a man. Farther instances of this kind may be noticed, such as his cruelty towards his conquered enemies, by starving his prisoners to death in the shocking manner related p. 78, for which he could have no excuse, unless to deter others from rebellion. As to his seizing several of the Vavaoo chiefs at a cava ring (p. 276), and ordering them to be killed, it may perhaps be that they were meditating an insurrection, as he was informed; 410 TRANSACTIONS AT hence such strong measures became almost necessary in a state of society like that *. But it would be rather severe to consider cruelty so great a crime among these people as it would be among us: the evil to society may be perhaps quite as great, but the demerit certainly falls not so heavy upon the perpetrator, nor does the victim, in all probability, feel it so much. To return to the subject, Finow was by no means destitute of the spark of humanity : it was remarkable in him that, although he was rather arbitrary, he hated to see oppression in others, and would frequently take the part of the oppressed, against those who were punishing them harshly; and this Mr. Mariner is confident did not arise from caprice, nor from pride, as willing to make himself L the only person to be feared, but from far better motives. As a proof of his sentiments in this respect, the following anecdote is worthy of notice : When Mr. Mariner was first able to explain himself in their language, young chiefs and warriors would frequently flock about him, (particularly * It is very far from my wish to extenuate Finow’s con - duct ; on the other hand, I should be sorry to represent him a worse man than he really was. His character no doubt was a very extraordinary one, and I have endeavoured to weigh duly and without prejudice every circumstance that might tend to throw a light upon it. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 411 those who were active in taking the Port au Prince,) and question him upon the use of various things they had seen on board that vessel, and then they would describe the difficulty they had in killing some of the men, mentioning, at the same time, who killed such a one and who killed another, and expressed, by their actions, how much such a man was convulsed when he died, and how deeply he groaned. Whilst talking upon such subjects, Finow passing that way, and overhearing the discourse, would command them not to talk upon a matter which must be so disagreeable to Mr. Mariner’s feelings ; that the fate of his companions was too serious a subject to be thus slightly spoken of: to which some of the chiefs replied, “ but he “ does not make that a subject of considera- “ tion, for none of them were his relations.”— “ Though none perhaps were his relations,” rejoined Finow, “ they were nevertheless his “ countrymen.” Remarks like these, if not made out of pride, or from a spirit of contradiction, (and Mr. Mariner firmly believes they were not,) may very well serve to convince us that Finow’s mind was by no means destitute of humanity; and though he was at times cruelly severe with his prisoners, in putting them to death by ways not the least painful, still this was perhaps on all occasions, to a cer- 412 TRANSACTIONS AT, tain degree, justifiable, as examples to keep others in terror: a method undoubtedly not the best, but such as may be easily overlooked in a state of society like that in which he lived *. As another example to throw into the * Finow was not considered wantonly cruel, like Toogoo Ahoo : his severe sentences were thought necessary, by others as well as himself, to place his new authority as king upon a secure foundation. It is Mr. Mariner’s opinion, in the impartiality of which I have reason to place the utmost confidence, that had Finow been less watchful, bold, decided, and severe, Toobo Toa would soon have shortened his reign ; or, if he had not, Voona would probably have dethroned him, on his return from Hamoa, in revenge for his former loss of Vavaoo : but his conduct was so unsearchable, his discovery of conspiracies was in a manner so instinctive, and his revenge so prompt, bold, and decisive, that the people looked up to him with extraordinary admiration, and pronounced him to be truly a great chief, worthy to be a king. The most judicious of the natives, while they considered his conduct as severe, declared it to be dictated by true policy. If therefore his severity, instead of being considered either criminal or cruel by his own people, was on the contrary thought worthy of admiration as becoming a great, politic, and wise chief so circumstanced, I think I am warranted in saying that it “ was perhaps on all occasions to a certain degree justifiable.” Finow, beyond all doubt, was greatly to be condemned, but not for his cruel severity: it was his disrespect for the gods that constituted his great crime,—a crime of such a magnitude that his people were astonished to see the gods favour his enterprizes. It is exceedingly difficult to judge of such a character without entering fully into the Tonga sentiments and habits. These remarks are made in consequence of some observations on the above passage in the Quarterly Review, No. 33, p. 25. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 413 scale in favour of Finow’s humanity and discriminative justice, we may quote the instance of pardon granted to the two boys of the Port au Prince, who, notwithstanding they were guilty of theft and sacrilege, were excused on account of their supposed ignorance of the extent of their crime; whilst a native would have been executed upon the spot. (See p. l63.) His conduct towards Mr. Mariner must also be noticed at the time when the Hope, Captain Chace, arrived at Yavaoo. (See p. 303.) It should here moreover be observed, that Finow’s temper w r as uncommonly irritable ; when once excited into anger, his rage was terrible: this he acknowledged himself, and would frequently say that his quick temper was the infliction sent him from Bolotoo *: and in some measure to obviate its ill effects, he frequently charged his matabooles to hold him whenever they saw him getting violently angry ! This they always did, and in about ten minutes or a quarter of * They believe that every man has some deep-seated evil, either in his mental or bodily constitution, sent him by the gods; but for which they assign no other reason than the delight they take in punishing mankind : this last opinion is however by no means universal, the generality of the natives do not pretend to assign any reason ; and upon mature consideration Mr. Mariner is convinced that the malignancy of the gods is not a Tonga doctrine, except as far as regards the Hotooa Pow hereafter to be spoken of. 414 TRANSACTIONS AT an hour he would become quite calm, and thank them for their interference. This admirable conduct is, no doubt, a beautiful trait in the character of a savage : and there is perhaps at this time many a man living at the Tonga islands who owes his present existence to this circumstance ; whose head would undoubtedly have been cleaved long ago, but for this laudable artifice on the part of their chief. Nor was he on all occasions unable to master his temper without these secondary means; for if we observe him when he approached the shores of Yavaoo, to address the people with the view of persuading them to amicable measures, we shall see that all the scoffs and insults of his enemies did not in the least ruffle his temper, contrary to the expectation of his friends. But, however, his temper was no doubt very irritable, and with such a temper, and in such a state of society, it is not to be wondered at that he should occasionally be very harsh in his measures towards those who rebelled against him. As to his moral character in general, not much can be said in his favour; he was suspected of harbouring revengeful designs against individuals for years, and would wreak his vengeance at a fit opportunity and kill them, as if from a momentary impulse of passion, when nobody was near to restrain him. His revenge THE TONGA ISLANDS. 415 in this way was sometimes wreaked upon chiefs, who, as he imagined, did not pay him so much tribute as their plantations could have afforded; at least such was supposed to be his motive, by those who knew him best. In describing the character of an extraordinary man, the picture is unfinished unless we furnish also a portraiture of his person, and of his personal manners; otherwise the imagination of the reader is sure to describe for itself a body, as a substratum on which all these mental qualifications are superinduced; and hence, incongruities are mingled together; the harmony of the picture weakened, if not quite destroyed; and an imperfect artificial construction is substituted for a perfect natural production. To give an example of the propriety, if not the necessity of this,—one might imagine from the character above given of Fi- now that he was of a very vindictive and cruel disposition, because we have given a few instances in confirmation of it: one might believe him therefore to have a countenance harsh and severe, a lowering, sullen brow, a haughty deportment, &c.—But nothing can be more remote from his true personal characterand we are surprised to hear that his countenance was indeed energetic, yet mild ; his brow prominent and bold, without sullenness; his dfc- 416 TRANSACTIONS AT portment manly and erect, without pride. Without the knowledge of these facts, we suppose him to have been cruel and malevolent; with the knowledge of them, we rather suppose him to have been severe ; but that his severity, where it degenerated into harshness, was occasioned sometimes by hastiness of temper; sometimes by misconception of the crime which he punished; at other times, (and perhaps partly at all times,) by the habits of the society in which he lived, these habits occasioning him to view acts of real cruelty in a light less atrocious than we should.—If, on the other hand, we were to find that his countenance spoke the same harsh language that his actions appeared to speak, we might, without much fear of error, set him. down as being often capable of malignant and atrocious actions*. Finow, the sole and arbitrary monarch of Vavaoo, and the Hapai islands, was in stature six feet two inches; in bulk and strength, stout and muscular; his head erect and bold; his shoulders broad and well made ; his limbs well * That which appears to be the worst of his actions, at least the most inhuman, viz. the assassination of his brother Toobo Nuha, was always an inexplicable puzzle to those who might be considered impartial; but they all seemed perfectly convinced that he would not have done it without some strong reason. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 417 set, strong, and graceful in action; his body not corpulent, but muscular; his hair of a jet black, and curly, yet agreeably so, without being woolly ; his forehead remarkably high j his brow bold and intelligent, with a little austerity; his eye large and penetrating, yet joined to an expression of mildness; his nose aquiline and large ; his lips well made and expressive ; his teeth remarkably large, white, and regular ; his lower jaw rather prominent; his cheek bones also rather prominent, compared with those of Europeans.—All his features were well developed, and declared a strong and energetic mind, with that sort of intellectual expression which belongs not so much to the sage as to the warlike chieftain : ambition sat high on his front, and guided all his energies: his deep and penetrating eye, and his firm and masculine deportment, while they inspired his adherents with confidence, struck awe to the minds of conspirators: his actions were, for the most part, steady and determined, and directed to some well studied purpose: his resolve was fate, and those who obeyed him with reluctance trembled, not without reason. He ap» peared, almost constantly, in deep thought, and did not often smile ;—when he spoke, in matters of some importance, it was not without first holding up the balance in his mind, to weigh VOL. I. E E 418 TRANSACTIONS AT well what he had to say: persuasion hung upon his lip, and the How of his eloquence was such, that many of his enemies were afraid to listen to him, lest they should be led to view the subject in a light prejudicial to their interests. Although, in matters of consequence, he always seemed to weigh well what he had to say, in subjects of minor importance he was very quick in reply: his voice was loud, not harsh but mellow, and his pronunciation remarkably distinct. When he laughed, which was not on trifling occasions, it was so loud as to be heard at an incredible distance; and with a very strange noise preceding it, as if he were hallooing after somebody a long way off, and the same kind of noise as he always made when in a passion: and this was peculiar to him. When in his house, however, giving orders about his domestic arrangements, his voice was** uncommonly mild, and very low. In regard to his sentiments of religion and policy, they may be pretty well gathered from sundry passages in the narrative:—with respect to his religion in particular, it is difficult to say whether he had any: it is certain that he disbelieved most of the oracles delivered by the priests; for although he conceived that they were really inspired, when they appeared to be so, yet he thought that frequently a great deal THE TONGA ISLANDS. 419 of what they declared to be the sentiments of the god was their own invention j and this par* ticularly in regard to what did not suit his own sentiments. He never, however, declared his opinion of these things in public ; though he expressed them, very decidedly, to Mr, Mari* ner, and some of his intimate friends. He used to say that the gods would always favour that party in war, in which there were the greatest chiefs and warriors. He did not believe that the gods paid much attention in other respects to the affairs of mankind ; nor did he think they could have any reason for doing so,-*r-no more than man could have any reason or inter rest in attending to the affairs of the gods. He believed in the doctrine of a future state, agree* ably to the notions entertained by his country* men ; that is, that chiefs and matabooleS, having souls, exist hereafter in Bolotoo, according to their rank in this world; but that the common people, having no souls, or those only that die with their bodies, are without any hope of a future existence. Such was the character of the late How of the Tonga islands,—a character not without a considerable share of merit; in some respects not unworthy imitation, and in every respect highly interesting.-r-We have pourtrayed it at some length, because such characters do not e e 2 420 TRANSACTIONS AT often come under our observation; and it is proper that we should know what men are and may be in a savage state, if we wish to judge with tolerable accuracy of the human character in a civilized state, that, by comparison of the two together,we may arrive at a betterknowledge of human nature in the abstract; a science of all sciences the most truly interesting ; a science to which all others are but auxiliary ; and without which all others would be but vain subtleties, fatiguing in the pursuit, and unsatisfactory in the possession. We come now to view the island of Vavaoo under the dominion of a man of a very different turn of mind; of one whose intellect was of a very superior kind; and who, unlike his late father, was void of inordinate political ambition, and sought the happiness of his people, not the extension of his own power ; an admirer of the arts, a philosopher among savages! But to shew better the contrast between the two, we need only mention, that, when the late king was not at his house, and it was necessary to seek for him, he was generally to be found at some public place, at some other chief’s house, or at the malai ; if the present king was wanted, he was to be found at the houses of carpenters, or canoe-builders, or else up in the country, inspecting some ground to be cultivated. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 421 CHAPTER XIV. The large fortress of Felletoa rebuilt—The late king appears to Foonagi (a female chief) in a dream—The charm of Tattao—Tonga-tnana arrives from the Hapai islands respecting the Inachi—Certain political views arising from this circumstance—Permission granted to Toobo Toa to come to Vavaoo to perform the usual ceremonies at Fi- now’s grave—His conduct on this occasion—His astonishment at the warlike appearance of the new garrison— Arrival of Lalohea cow Kefoo from Hapai—Great storm of thunder and lightning; its effects on the minds of the people—Dreams of a number of women, predicting the death of Tooitonga—Illness of Tooitonga—The fingers of several children cut off as sacrifices to the gods—Several children strangled—Tooitonga’s death—His burial—The king prepares himself to perform the usual ceremonies at his father’s grave—Accident of Mr. Mariner’s sneezing: his quarrel with the king on this account: his after conduct : their reconciliation. Soon after the burial of the late king, Finow Fiji proposed to his nephew (the present king) to rebuild the large garrison at Felletoa, which might serve as a strong and impenetrable fortification, in case of attack from a foreign enemy: besides which, he justly observed, that the garrison being rebuilt, it might serve as a place of residence for all the chiefs and great warriors ; a measure in itself highly political,as it would 422 TRANSACTIONS AT prevent the seditious from forming cabals and parties, which they might more easily do whilst living at a distance up the country, than they could under the eyes of the king. But it was not proposed that they should reside constantly at the garrison, and, by that means, neglect their plantations in the country, but that each should have a house built with the usual conveniences for his wife and family, within the fencing, to reside in at night, visiting his plantations during the day; or to retire to wholly, in case of invasion, civil commotion, and whenever the king should order him to do so. This proposal of Finow Fiji being assented to by the kingi the former requested permission to have the sole management of laying out the plan, and to see it carried into effect, which the latter readily agreed to. During the time the garrison was being rebuilt, a circumstance happened which seemed to indicate that a conspiracy was on the eve of b^ihg formed, if not actually begun, and, as the Circumstance alluded to is connected with a Certain superstitious ceremony worthy of detail, we shall be particular in the description of it, and give the account of it exactly as it happened. Foonagi, the wife of Finow Fiji, and formerly the Wife of Tymomangnoongoo (a great warrior, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 423 who was a party concerned in taking the Port au Prince), was a woman of uncommon penetration and discernment, and, on that account, as well as from the circumstance of her being the daughter of a chief who was a friend of the late Finow’s father, was highly regarded by the late king, and who attached himself to her so much, that it is supposed she lived with him as his mistress during the time that she was actually the wife of her first husband. She was a woman extremely religious, and universally respected, on account of her accurate knowledge with regard to all religious ceremonies, on which subject she was frequently consulted by the chiefs ; and, upon political matters, Finow himself often consulted her, for in this, also, she stood eminent in the esteem of every one. To Finow she seemed as much attached as he to her; and, after his death, mourned his loss with a sorrow beyond the reach of comfort. She, above all others, was most attentive in decorating with flowers planted by her own hand, and, with the utmost solicitude, keeping in order the fytoca where lay the body cf her deceased friend. For the space of six months this faithful mourner scarcely ever slept but on his grave, watering it with her tears, and disturbing the silence of the night with her sighs. One day she went, with the deepest affliction, to the house of Mo-oonga 424 TRANSACTIONS AT Toobo, the widow of the deceased chief, to communicate what had happened to her at the fytoca during several nights, and which caused her the greatest anxiety. She related that she had dreamed that the late How appeared to her, and, with a countenance full of disappointment, asked, why there yet remained at Vavaoo so many evil-designing persons •, for, he declared, that, since he had been at Bolotoo, his spirit had been disturbed by the evil machinations of wicked men conspiring against his son ; but he declared that “ the youth” should not be molested, nor his power shaken by the spirit of rebellion; that therefore he came to her with a warning voice, to prevent such disastrous consequences. The apparition next desired her to place in order the pebble-stones upon his grave *, and pay every attention to the fytoca; he then disappeared. This troublesome dream she had had three or four nights’successively. Mo-oonga Toobo, upon hearing this account, thought it expedient to search the fytoca, to see if the charm of tattao* had not been practised in re- * It must here be recollected, that mourners were accustomed to smooth the graves of their departed friends, and cover them with black and white pebbles. f The charm of tuttao consists in hiding upon the grave, or in any part of the fytoca, some portion of the wearing apparel of an inferior relation of the deceased, in consequence of which that relation will sicken and die j or, it may be bu- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 425 gard to the present Finow. They accordingly went together to the grave, and, after accurate examination, they discovered several bits of giiatoo, and a wreath of flowers curiously formed in a peculiar manner, invented by one of the wives of the king, and which they recollected to have seen him wear round his neck a few days before. This circumstance being communicated to Finow, and coming to the ears of his chiefs, and of the mataboolesof the late How, produced considerable consternation among many of them. Finow, however, with that cool presence of mind which marked his character, issued orders to his chiefs to keep a vigilant look out, and, without discovering the least alarm, did every thing in the way of preparation against the worst that might happen. He kept Mr. Mariner constantly near him, that he might not be accidentally separated from him in case of any public disturbance. On all occasions he endeavoured to make the conspirators (if any such there were) believe that he was perfectly off his guard, and in conscious security, and, ried in the house consecrated to the tutelar god of the family. This charm is not supposed to have the desired effect when the grave of a deceased person is made use of, unless the deceased was of superior rank to the person on whom the charm is practised. TRANSACTIONS AT 420 the better to convince them of this, he feigned to imagine that the bits of buried gnatoo, &c. must have been hidden there by some dogs in their play: by expressing himself in this way, he was in hopes of emboldening the conspirators to proceed with less caution in their plan, under the idea that he was off his guard. All this precaution, however, and studied policy, were unnecessary, as no signs of conspiracy became evident, and, perhaps, no conspiracy existed. In the mean time, the building and fortifying the garrison with extra ditches went on with dispatch, and, in a short time, was completed to the perfect satisfaction of Finow. Shortly after the fortress was finished, a canoe arrived from the Hapai islands with Tonga- mana, a chief of the line of Tooitonga, who came from Toobo Toa, with a request to know how the inachi * was to be sent to Tooitonga, seeing that Finow had declared that no communication whatever was to be kept up with Hapai. As all on board were habited in mats, with leaves of the ifi tree round their necks, as a .token of submission, and that they came upon a religious duty, they were permitted to land. After having presented cava to several consecrated houses, they came before Finow, and * The annual tribute of the first fruits of each island, to Tooitonga. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 427 presented some to him, and then opened to him the subject of their mission, stating that they came with a request from Toobo Toa, that he would grant him permission to present himself at Vavaoo, to pay his last respects to the memory of the late king, by performing the usual ceremonies at his grave; hoping that, although Finow seemed determined to cut off all communication with the Hapai islands, that still he would not carry his decree to such an extent as to form an insuperable bar to the performance of a religious duty, for that he (Toobo Toa) wished to take his last farewell of a great chief, who, while living, he so highly esteemed, and whose memory he had now so much reason to respect. After Finow had heard the subject of the embassy, he said, in reply, that he should consult his chiefs and matabooles as to what measures he ought to take, and would return a definitive answer as soon as possible. Tonga- mana and his party then rose up and went down to the beach, where their canoe was, and passed the night in the canoe-house. Immediately after they had departed, Finow held a council with his chiefs and matabooles, the result of which was, that Toobo Toa should be allowed to send the inachi , provided Tonga- mana’s canoe only was sent, and that this particular canoe should he allowed to come on any ii 428 TRANSACTIONS AT after occasion, upon condition that there were no more men on board than should be sufficient to constitute a crew ; or, if he encroached upon this law, the canoe was never to be allowed to come again : but the question regarding Toobo Toa’s coming was reserved for a future opportunity. This resolution was made, partly from religious motives, and partly to shew the Hapai people that they entertained no fears of them, but-chiefly, perhaps, to demonstrate to Toobo Toa, how well provided and well armed they were against all attacks from a foreign enemy. The following morning, at cava, this resolution respecting the celebration of the inachi, on the part of the Hapai people, was communicated to Tonga-mana, upon which he departed immediately, on his return to the Hapai islands. As soon as Toobo Toa heard the permission granted by Finow, he ordered the tributes from the different islands (intended for the inachi ) to be collected together, and put on board Tonga-mana’s canoe. At the same time, the inhabitants of Tofooa, an island belonging to Tooitonga, eager to send their tribute for the inachi, also dispatched a canoe to accompany that of Toobo Toa; and although this was contrary to Finow’s strict injunction (that only Tonga-mana’s canoe should come on this expedition), still they flattered themselves that, THE TONGA ISLANDS. 429 at it was a canoe from Tooitonga’s own island, it would be overlooked. But in this they were mistaken, for no sooner did the people of Va- vaoo (so jealous were they of any apparent encroachment on their liberties) perceive that two canoes, instead of one, w r ere coming to their shores, than they raised a great clamour, contending that the Hapai people had a mind to be treacherous; that, under the mask of religion, they were coming as spies; and, making these complaints to Finow, they called loudly for orders against such a proceeding, and insisted that one of the canoes should be sent back before the other should be allowed to land. Finow, seeing the conduct of the Hapai people, and hearing the complaints of his own, immediately gave orders that Tooitonga’s canoe should be instantly sent away, else neither of them should be allowed to land. Perceiving, however, afterwards, that Tooitonga’s canoe was laden with part of the tribute, and as it would have been sacrilegious to have sent back any portion of what was intended for the inachi, he ordered it to be landed, and the canoe, with all its men, who, by the by, were choice warriors, to be sent back immediately, without being allowed to set foot on shore. On this occasion, Finow, reflecting how easy it would be for any of the Vavaoo people who chose to 430 TRANSACTIONS AT leave the island on this occasion, and that Tool- tonga’s canoe would readily receive them, because the law which he had previously made extended not to this canoe, but only (according to the manner in which it was expressed), to that of Tonga-mana; reflecting on this, and seeing no way to prevent the evil, he openly proclaimed to the people, that if any wished to go and reside at Hapai, they had the opportunity of going in Tooitonga’s canoe, but that they would not be permitted to return to Va. vaoo. No one, however, thought proper to leave the island. After the ceremony of inachi, the canoe of Tonga-mana was sent away with permission to bring Toobo Toa, and any of his chiefs that thought proper to come, even although they filled more than one canoe, provided they only staid one day at Vavaoo, just to perform the ceremonies at the grave of the late How. For the king began now to consider that it would be had policy to impose too many restrictions on the admission of the Hapai people, as it would indicate want of strength, and a certain degree of apprehension ; and on the other hand, as the fortress was very strong, and able to resist almost any adverse force, he had not so much occasion to be under alarm. In the mean time Finow dispatched several THE TONGA ISLANDS. 431 small canoes to the outer islands of Hafooloo How*, to watch the arrival of Toobo Toa, and to return with immediate notice of this event to Vavaoo, which they did as soon as they saw three canoes which hove in sight. The notice being given to Finow, he sent back several of his own canoes to meet those of Toobo Toa, with orders that the Hapai canoes should not be allowed to advance farther than the neighbouring islands, but that they should bring Toobo Toa and his party along with them up the creek to Felletoa, in the Vavaoo canoes. This was accordingly done, and Toobo Toa, and about sixty of his warriors, were landed near the fortress. They were all dressed in mats ; their heads were shaven, and the leaves of the ifi tree were round their necks, according to the custom at burials. They were followed by several boys bearing a few spears, arrows, and clubs. They proceeded immediately to the grave of the late How, and after having sa* before it a little time, with their heads bowed down, Toobo Toa arose, and taking a sharp club from one of the boys, inflicted several very severe wounds on his own head, calling out to the deceased to witness this proof of his love and fidelity, and declaring aloud that his * The name given to Vavaoo and all its surrounding little inlands. 432 TRANSACTIONS AT sentiments towards his son were the same as those he formerly entertained towards him, notwithstanding that his death had occasioned this seeming breach between himself and his son ; and protesting how much he wished a perfect and friendly understanding with the Va- vaoo people, that he might occasionally have the opportunity of preparing the cava for young Finow; and by such and other assiduities prove his respect and loyalty towards his family: but as he supposed that the chiefs of Bolotoo had decreed otherwise, he should be contented to live at the Hapai islands, and evince his remembrance of the deceased, by sending, in Tonga-mana’s canoe, the produce of his own islands as presents to his son. This speech was followed by those of several of his party, all much in the same sentiment, and then, after bruising their heads, running spears and arrows through their cheeks, thighs, and breasts, they left the grave to attend to the cava of Finow. In the evening Finow, Toobo Toa, and Finow Fiji, had a short conversation together, when Toobo Toa expressed his wish to be tributary to Vavaoo, notwithstanding it might still be thought politic, as long as any of Toobo Nuha’s near relations were living, to keep him and his people at a distance, acknowledging that such a separation was the only THE TONGA ISLANDS. 433 way of preserving peace between the two powers. He stated, moreover, that with the view of keeping his own people from meditating either conspiracies against himself or wars against Vavaoo, (which they would be sure to do if they remained long idle), he should turn his attention to the assistance of the garrison of Hihifo at Tonga, which was upon friendly terms with him, but which he lately heard was very weak, and in great danger of being destroyed by the enemy. To the succour of his friends, therefore, he meant to proceed to Tonga with a strong army as soon as possible. To Toobo Toa’s proposal of still sending a tribute, Finow objected for two reasons, first, because Vavaoo itself yielded quite enough for the maintenance of his people, and secondly, because any tribute received from Toobo Toa might be construed by the people into an act of friendship and alliance, which ill suited with the sentiments they entertained towards the man who had formerly killed their beloved chief Toobo Nuha. As to the annual tribute for the inachi, it could not be dispensed with, because it was a religious act, and was necessary to be performed to ensure the favour of the gods, and to prevent any calamities which might otherwise be inflicted on them. Toobo Toa was obliged to accede to all that Finow VOL. i. v F 434 TRANSACTIONS AT had so reasonably said upon the subject; his pride, however (as it was believed) was much hurt at feeling the necessity of coinciding in the wishes of so young and inexperienced a chief. Whilst Toobo Toa was speaking, the tears ran down his cheeks, influenced probably by the feelings of his heart, for he had a great respect for the late How, a real friendship for him, and felt a sincere regret for his loss. The same evening he took his leave of Finow, by performing the ceremony of moe-moe*, and repaired * A kind of salute paid to the greatest chief present, and consists in bowing the head, (whilst sitting cross-legged before him) so that the forehead touches the sole of the chief s foot, (who sits in like manner) and then touching the sole of the same foot, (which may be either the right or the left) first with the palm and then with the back of each hand. The ceremony is also performed by persons who may have accidentally touched any part of a superior chiefs person, or any thing whatever belonging to him; and unless this ceremony is performed after such contact, they cannot eat without danger (as they suppose) of swelling up and dying. They are very subject to indurations of the liver, and certain forms of scrofula hereafter to be spoken of, and which, as they conceive, frequently happens from a neglect of this ceremony, after touching any thing belonging to a superior chief. They most frequently, however, perform it, without knowing themselves to have occasion for it, merely as a matter of caution. And if a man has eaten any thing without performing this ceremony when he had occasion for it, the chief applies the sole of his foot also to the man’s belly, as a greater security against such swellings. Moe-moe means literally to touch or press. (See note, p, 141.) THE TONGA ISLANDS. 435 with his men to the canoes, in which the following morning he departed for Hapai. Toobo Toa was greatly pleased with the appearance of the garrison, declaring that he had never seen any thing so warlike and formidable, not even at the Fiji islands, where he had lived several years. Finow had indeed given the strictest orders to make every thing appear in as good a state as possible, producing a tasteful display of clubs, spears, and arrows, arranged against the houses, with wreaths of flowers and certain warlike decorations. Upon the whole, when the size and strength of the place, with its situation, was taken into consideration, it was, perhaps, by far the most formidable fortification that had ever been established in any of those clusters of islands, in the midst of the southern ocean. About a month after the departure of Toob6 Toa, during which time nothing particular occurred, a fisherman from one of the neighbouring islands brought word that a small canoe had been seen coming in a direction from Hapai. In a short time the canoe itself arrived, bringing one of Finow’s principal warriors, Lolo Hea Cow Keifoo, and his two brothers, young lads, who had been at the Hapai islands in consequence of the illness of theif father, who had resided there, but was since 436 TRANSACTIONS AT dead. They brought intelligence that Toob6 Toa had ordered all the canoes to be got ready as soon as possible, and put in a state for sea; and all his fighting men to hold themselves in readiness to depart at a moment’s notice. In consequence of this order, Lolo Hea suspected, and indeed it was universally believed, that it was Toob6 Toa’s intention to make a descent upon the island of Vavaoo : hence he took the first opportunity to make his eseape with his two brothers ; for had he stayed to have come with the invading army, he could not in honour have deserted it, and would thus have been obliged to fight against his own countrymen*. Finow, on hearing this intelligence, was not backward in making the most judicious preparations to receive his enemy, and which he did, although he had no idea but that his intention was to land his men at Tonga, with a view to assist the garrison before spoken of; but still he held himself well prepared, according to the Tonga maxim, that is never to suspect any thing without immediately making preparations for the worst. To the rest of the preparations Mr. Mariner * Such is the opinion of the Tonga islanders, that if a man be at any foreign island which is about to wage war with his own, he holds himself obliged to side with the people among whom he is (see p. 179. note.) THE TONGA ISLANDS. 437 got ready a carronade, which had hitherto not been used, on account of its having been spiked. Having nothing wherewith to drill the touch-hole, he collected together a vast quantity of wood, and made a large fire, in the midst of which was the gun, of which, when hot, he readily cleared the touch-hole: it was then mounted upon a carriage. Thus Finow had three guns, six barrels of powder, and plenty of shot, for almost all the shot which had been fired in the former attacks upon the garrison were again found and collected. Finow also sent a canoe to the islands of Togoo, to the N. W. of Vavaoo, to collect a cargo of round black pebbles, which are found there in abundance, to serve as shot. With all this ammunition, Finow was far superior to Toobo Toa, who had only two guns, and was withal very short both of powder and shot. All these preparations, however, were never required, for, shortly after, Tonga Mana’s canoe arrived, bringing intelligence that. Toobo Toa had proceeded with his army to the assistance of the garrison before spoken of in the island of Tonga. About this time there happened a very heavy storm of thunder and lightning, which is always considered ominous by the natives, and esteemed the harbinger of some great event, 4.38 TRANSACTIONS AT such as invasion, death of a great chief, arrival of an European ship, &c. This event therefore produced, as it generally does, considerable anxiety in the minds of the people; and this anxiety was much increased by the dreams of several women. One dreamed that during the time of the inachi, Tooitonga, at the head of a number of hotooas, attacked them, and broke to pieces the consecrated yams ; another, that she had been at Bolotoo, and heard a decree of Higooleo, (one of the principal hotooas,) that Vavaoo should shortly experience some great calamity, because the people had neglected some particular and important ceremonies. In this state of the public mind, parties were sent to the outer islands to keep a perpetual watch, and to bring immediate intelligence of any canoe that might appear. In the course of a little time it was remarked that Tooitonga decreased considerably in size, losing flesh every day, although otherwise in good health ; it was not long, however, before he began to complain of weakness and loss of appetite. His illness beginning thus to be confirmed, occasioned his relations and attendants to have recourse to the usual ceremonies on such melancholy occasions. Accordingly every day one or other of his young relations had a little finger cut oft', as a propitiatory offering to the THE TONGA ISLANDS. 439 gods for the sins of the siclc man *. These sacrifices, however, were found of no avail;— greater, therefore, were soon had recourse to : and accordingly three or four children were strangled, at different times, in the manner which has already been related; and invocations were made to the deities at fytocas, consecrated houses, and in the persons of the priests, but still without effect, for the gods were deaf to their entreaties; and the illness of the sacred chief grew every day more alarming. As a last resource, therefore, to excite the compassion of the deities, they carried the emaciated person of Tooitonga to the place where his provisions were accustomed to be cooked t; * Nothing is more common in these islands than the sacrifice of a little finger on occasion of the illness of a superior relation : insomuch, that there is scarcely a grown-up person (unless a very great chief, who can have but few superior relations) but who has lost the little finger of both hands. Nor is there ever any dispute between two persons with a view to get exempt from this ceremony; on the contrary, Mr. Mariner has witnessed a violent contest between two children of five years of age, each claiming the favour of having the ceremony performed on him, so little do they fear the pain of the operation : the pain indeed is but very trifling, from the mode, probably, in which it is performed, which will be fully described in another place. f It must be recollected that this is an act of great humility, that the high and sacred chief of Tonga should resort to the place where his victuals are cooked. See the account of the death of Finow, p. 368. 440 TRANSACTIONS AT —in the same manner as Know was carried :— but notwithstanding all this, death overtook him in the course of eight days, after six weeks illness. About a month or six weeks after the funeral ceremonies were finished, (which will be described under the head of Religious Ceremonies, in the second volume,) Finow, who had not broken his head (as they call it) at the grave of his father, because perhaps on a public occasion it would have looked in him like an ostentatious display of what might have been thought affected feeling, resolved to perform this ceremony in a more private manner, accompanied only by a few of his warriors, to whom he now signified his intention. Accordingly one morning he and his men began to prepare themselves for this affair, when unfortunately an accident happened, which to us Europeans (in the present times) would not have attracted the slightest attention; but, in the estimation of these people, was a matter pregnant with the most important and serious consequences:—for at this time Mr. Mariner, on entering the house, happened to sneeze!! Immediately every one present threw down his club, for who would proceed on so important an expedition after so dire an omen * ! Finow’s * To sneeze at the moment of setting out on an expedition argues, in their opinion, the most fatal results: even Finow THE TONGA ISLANDS. 441 eyes flashed with the fire of rage;—directing them full on Mr. Mariner, he cursed him with the most bitter curse, “ strike your god!”— and, rising from the ground, he demanded why he came there ?—to which he answered, “ Your father would not have asked me that “ question ; and I am surprised that you are “ so much unlike him, as to believe in such su- £ “ perstitious nonsense.” This was too much for him to bear, particularly before so many of his men ; and snatching up a dub that lay near him, he would have instantly despatched him, if some of the men present had not pushed Mr. Mariner out of the house, while the rest held Finow. Upon this the former wished him good bye *—said that if he wanted him he might send for him, adding, that he did not before know that his presence was so disagreeable. Several men then came out of the house, and hurried Mr. Mariner away, lest Finow, before his passion had time to cool, should pursue him, and effect some desperate revenge: he retired, therefore, to a house near the grave. Shortly after, Finow having consulted with his men upon the subject of Mr. Mariner’s sneezing, resolved that, as he was a foreigner, and who had a superior mind, could not efface from it the depth of the impression. * The expression answering to this in the Tonga language is tea ger nofo, (and you remain,) and is a phrase always used in taking leave of any one. VOL. I. G G 442 TRANSACTIONS AT had different gods, his sneezing was not to be considered of any consequence: they then proceeded to the grave to perform the ceremony of head-breaking, when Finow and all his men, inspired with enthusiasm, cut and bruised their heads in a shocking manner; Finow in particular, not contented with the usual instruments, made use of a saw, the teeth of which he struck against his skull with such vehemence and goodwill, that he staggered as he went home with loss of blood. These scenes need not be further described ; we have already had enough of them. Mr. Mariner, immediately after this, proceeded to his plantation, resolving to remain there, and see how long Finow would be contented without his company. This conduct, according to the manners and customs of Europeans, appears extremely haughty, arrogant, and presumptuous : for although Finow, in this instance, was undoubtedly much to blame in putting himself in such a violent rage, and Mr. Mariner in danger of his life, on the occasion of an accident which might so easily have happened, and might have been so difficult to avoid, yet the latter being so much the inferior, we might suppose it to be his duty first to ask pardon for the offence so unintentionally committed : but this plan would be far from pro- THE TONGA ISLANDS. 443 during a good effect in the Tonga islands : on the contrary, he would have been thought a mean-spirited fellow, ever willing to sink himself below the dignity of a man, to purchase the pardon and friendship of a superior. And had he acted in this way, the king would most Undoubtedly have thought meanly of him, and never again have made him a confidential friend, which always implies something of an equality. In the evening (a few hours after his arrival at his plantation) a girl came with a message from his adopted mother, assuring him that he was perfectly safe, Finow having expressed his extreme sorrow for his own conduct: she advised him, however, not to return to the king till after several invitations, nor even till he came in person to request a renewal of his friendship ; for although it was dangerous in Tonga to be too haughty,—on the other hand, too much submission would be as bad (upon the principle above alluded to) : besides, as she was shortly going to live at the Hapai islands along with her father, she wished beforehand to see Mr. Mariner safe against all future designs and insults from inferior chiefs, by thus counselling him to act with becoming dignity towards even the king himself, whose friendship and sentiments towards Mr. Mariner she well knew. He accordingly took her advice, and remained at the 444 TONGA TRANSACTIONS. plantation ten days, notwithstanding repeated messages from Finow, and entreaties to return; and at last he so intimidated the messengers, by threatening to shoot them if they appeared again with that errand, that Finow at length resolved to fetch him himself; and accordingly one morning entered his house, and having awakened him, saluted him in the kindest and most affectionate manner, begged his pardon for his too hasty conduct, and wept abundantly. After this period they were inseparable friends. During this reconciliation, Finow explained to Mr. Mariner the cause of his unseasonable rage agaist him for sneezing: it was not that he had any superstitious idea of it as a bad omen, but that it might have this effect upon the minds of his men, and thus put off his intended ceremony. END of VOL. I. T. DAVISON, LOMBARD-STREET, WHITEFRIAR9, LONDON .mt>, Ms. ■4sfe*rv JiSS .-~«.-' , <»y,K jig* Vv-m m$m y:mi MM pg^. ,.t.V.^Jfc*L vs^.a;:.a.^: s-.&y . V s * "Marsssi r4**- "S l ~ i rz-. SVww'fj .*-»»» iii*-.