On the outside are placed several images made of wood, as ugly as can be well imagined, having their mouths all stuck round with dog’s teeth.
Their holidays took place about four times a month, and the ceremonies lasted from sunset on the day preceding, to sunrise on the following day; during which no person was permitted to pass the bounds of the morai. This time was spent in prayer, in sacrificing pigs, in eating the sacrifices, and in conversation. I attended only once, and was not, at that time, sufficiently master of the language to understand the purport of the prayers.
The priest continued nearly three hours, in a very solemn manner, during which the most profound silence was observed; indeed, the smallest noise of any kind, either within the morai or in the neighbourhood, would have been a proof that the deity was offended, and the prayer must have ceased; a proclamation was, therefore, made by the public crier, whenever the king entered the morai, ordering every animal near it to be confined, otherwise they should be seized and offered up as sacrifices. Those present stood with their arms extended towards heaven for about three quarters of an hour at the beginning of the prayer, and the same length of time at its conclusion. I was not required to perform this part of the ceremony.
The number present did not exceed forty, and were all of the higher rank. Women are never permitted to attend on these occasions.
Human sacrifices are offered upon their going to war; but nothing of the kind took place during my stay; unless in the case already mentioned, of the man punished for breaking the taboo, and whose body was exposed before the idol.
During the period called Macaheite, which lasts a whole month, and takes place in November, the priests are employed in collecting the taxes, which are paid by the chiefs in proportion to the extent of their territories; they consist of mats, feathers, and the produce of the country. The people celebrate this festival by dancing, wrestling, and other amusements.
The king remains in the morai for the whole period; before entering it, a singular ceremony takes place. He is obliged to stand till three spears are darted at him: He must catch the first with his hand, and with it ward off the other two. This is not a mere formality. The spear is thrown with the utmost force, and should the king lose his life, there is no help for it.[27]
At the Macaheite, which happened when I was on the island, the eldest son of Tamaahmaah, a youth about fifteen, was invested with royal honours, and entitled to the same marks of respect as his father. What share he had in the government I did not learn; but I observed no alteration in the exercise of the king’s authority.
The houses of the natives are of the simplest form; they are oblong, with very low side-walls, and high-thatched roofs; within, they are not divided into separate apartments, nor have they any tables or seats.