They imagine that their punctual performance of religious offices procures for them every temporal blessing. And as they believe, that the animating and powerful influence of the divine spirit is every where diffused, it is no wonder that they join to this many superstitious opinions about its operations. Accordingly, they believe that sudden deaths, and all other accidents, are effected by the immediate action of some divinity. If a man only stumble against a stone, and hurt his toe, they impute it to an Eatooa; so that they may be literally said, agreeable to their system, to tread enchanted ground. They are startled, in the night, on approaching a toopapaoo, where the dead are exposed, in the same manner that many of our ignorant and superstitious people are with the apprehensions of ghosts, and at the sight of a church-yard; and they have an equal confidence in dreams, which they suppose to be communications either from their god, or from the spirits of their departed friends, enabling those favoured with them to foretel future events; but this kind of knowledge is confined to particular people. Omai pretended to have this gift. He told us, that the soul of his father had intimated to him in a dream, on the 26th of July, 1776, that he should go on shore, at some place, within three days; but he was unfortunate in this first attempt to persuade us that he was a prophet; for it was the 1st of August before we got into Teneriffe. Amongst them, however, the dreamers possess a reputation little inferior to that of their inspired priests and priestesses, whose predictions they implicitly believe, and are determined by them in all undertakings of consequence. The priestess who persuaded Opoony to invade Ulietea, is much respected by him; and he never goes to war without consulting her. They also, in some degree, maintain our old doctrine of planetary influence; at least, they are sometimes regulated, in their public counsels, by certain appearances of the moon; particularly when lying horizontally, or much inclined on the convex part, on its first appearance after the change, they are encouraged to engage in war, with confidence of success.
They have traditions concerning the creation, which, as might be expected, are complex, and clouded with obscurity. They say, that a goddess, having a lump or mass of earth suspended in a cord, gave it a swing, and scattered about pieces of land, thus constituting Otaheite, and the neighbouring islands, which were all peopled by a man and a woman originally fixed at Otaheite. This, however, only respects their own immediate creation; for they have notions of an universal one before this; and of lands, of which they have now no other knowledge than what is mentioned in the tradition. Their most remote account reaches to Tatooma and Tapuppa, male and female stones or rocks, who support the congeries of land and water, or our globe underneath. These produced Totorro, who was killed, and divided into land; and, after him, Otaia and Oroo were begotten, who were afterward married, and produced, first land, and then a race of gods. Otai is killed, and Oroo marries a god, her son, called Teorraha, whom she orders to create more land, the animals, and all sorts of food upon the earth; as also the sky, which is supported by men called Teeferei. The spots observed in the moon, are supposed to be groves of a sort of trees which once grew in Otaheite, and being destroyed by some accident, their seeds were carried up thither by doves, where they now flourish.
They have also many legends, both religious and historical; one of which latter, relative to the practice of eating human flesh, I shall give the substance of, as a specimen of their method. A long time since, there lived in Otaheite two men called Taheeai; the only name they yet have for cannibals. None knew from whence they came, or in what manner they arrived at the island. Their habitation was in the mountains, from whence they used to issue, and kill many of the natives, whom they afterwards devoured, and by that means prevented the progress of population. Two brothers, determined to rid their country of such a formidable enemy, used a stratagem for their destruction with success. These still lived farther upward than the Taheeai, and in such a situation, that they could speak with them without greatly hazarding their own safety. They invited them to accept of an entertainment that should be provided for them, to which these readily consented. The brothers then taking some stones, heated them in a fire, and thrusting them into pieces of mahee, desired one of the Taheeai to open his mouth. On which, one of these pieces was dropped in, and some water poured down, which made a boiling or hissing noise in quenching the stone, and killed him. They intreated the other to do the same; but he declined it, representing the consequences of his companion’s eating. However, they assured him that the food was excellent, and its effects only temporary; for that the other would soon recover. His credulity was such, that he swallowed the bait, and shared the fate of the first. The natives then cut them in pieces, which they buried; and conferred the government of the island on the brothers, as a reward for delivering them from such monsters. Their residence was in the district called Whapaeenoo; and, to this day, there remains a bread-fruit tree, once the property of the Taheeais. They had also a woman, who lived with them, and had two teeth of a prodigious size. After they were killed, she lived at the island Otaha, and, when dead, was ranked amongst their deities. She did not eat human flesh, as the men; but, from the size of her teeth, the natives still call any animal that has a fierce appearance, or is represented with large tusks, Taheeai.
Every one must allow, that this story is just as natural as that of Hercules destroying the Hydra, or the more modern one of Jack the giant-killer. But I do not find, that there is any moral couched under it, any more than under most old fables of the same kind, which have been received as truths only during the prevalence of the same ignorance that marked the character of the ages in which they were invented. It, however, has not been improperly introduced, as serving to express the horror and detestation entertained here against those who feed upon human flesh. And yet, from some circumstances, I have been led to think, that the natives of these isles were formerly cannibals. Upon asking Omai, he denied it stoutly; yet mentioned a fact, within his own knowledge, which almost confirms such an opinion. When the people of Bolabola, one time, defeated those of Huaheine, a great number of his kinsmen were slain. But one of his relations had, afterward, an opportunity of revenging himself, when the Bolabola men were worsted in their turn, and cutting a piece out of the thigh of one of his enemies, he broiled and eat it. I have also frequently considered the offering of the person’s eye who is sacrificed, to the chief, as a vestige of a custom which once really existed to a greater extent, and is still commemorated by this emblematical ceremony.
The being invested with the maro, and the presiding at human sacrifices, seem to be the peculiar characteristics of the sovereign. To these, perhaps, may be added, the blowing a conch-shell, which produces a very loud sound. On hearing it, all his subjects are obliged to bring food of every sort to his royal residence in proportion to their abilities. On some other occasions, they carry their veneration for his very name to an extravagant and very destructive pitch. For if, on his accession to the maro, any words in their language be found to have a resemblance to it in sound, they are changed for others; and if any man be bold enough not to comply, and continue to use those words, not only he, but all his relations, are immediately put to death. The same severity is exercised toward those who shall presume to apply this sacred name to any animal. And, agreeably to this custom of his countrymen, Omai used to express his indignation, that the English should give the names of prince or princess to their favourite horses or dogs. But while death is the punishment for making free with the name of their sovereign, if abuse be only levelled at his government, the offender escapes with the forfeiture of land and houses.
The king never enters the house of any of his subjects; but has, in every district, where he visits, houses belonging to himself. And if, at any time, he should be obliged by accident to deviate from this rule, the house thus honoured with his presence, and every part of its furniture, is burnt. His subjects not only uncover to him, when present, down to the waist; but if he be at any particular place, a pole, having a piece of cloth tied to it, is set up somewhere near, to which they pay the same honours. His brothers are also intitled to the first part of the ceremony; but the women only uncover to the females of the royal family. In short, they seem even superstitious in their respect to him, and esteem his person little less than sacred. And it is, perhaps, to these circumstances, that he owes the quiet possession of his dominions. For even the people of Tiaraboo allow him the same honours as his right; though, at the time, they look upon their own chief as more powerful; and say, that he would succeed to the government of the whole island, should the present reigning family become extinct. This is the more likely, as Waheiadooa not only possesses Tiaraboo, but many districts of Opooreanoo. His territories, therefore, are almost equal in extent to those of Otoo; and he has besides the advantage of a more populous and fertile part of the island. His subjects, also, have given proofs of their superiority, by frequent victories over those of Otaheite-nooe, whom they affect to speak of as contemptible warriors, easily to be worsted, if, at any time, their chief should wish to put it to the test.
The ranks of people, besides the Eree de hoi, and his family, are the Erees, or powerful chiefs; the Manahoone, or vassals; and the Teou, or Toutou, servants, or rather slaves. The men of each of these, according to the regular institution, form their connections with women of their respective ranks; but if with any inferior one, which frequently happens, and a child be born, it is preserved, and has the rank of the father, unless he happens to be an Eree, in which case it is killed. If a woman of condition should choose an inferior person to officiate as a husband, the children he has by her are killed. And if a Teou be caught in an intrigue with a woman of the blood royal, he is put to death. The son of the Eree de hoi succeeds his father in title and honours as soon as he is born; but if he should have no children, the brother assumes the government at his death. In other families, possessions always descend to the eldest son; but he is obliged to maintain his brothers and sisters, who are allowed houses on his estates.
The boundaries of the several districts into which Otaheite is divided, are, generally, either rivulets, or low hills, which, in many places, jut out into the sea. But the subdivisions into particular property are marked by large stones, which have remained from one generation to another. The removal of any of these gives rise to quarrels, which are decided by arms; each party bringing his friends into the field. But if any one complain to the Eree de hoi, he terminates the difference amicably. This is an offence, however, not common; and long custom seems to secure property here as effectually as the most severe laws do in other countries. In conformity also to ancient practice established amongst them, crimes of a less general nature are left to be punished by the sufferer, without referring them to a superior. In this case, they seem to think that the injured person will judge as equitably as those who are totally unconcerned; and as long custom has allotted certain punishments for crimes of different sorts, he is allowed to inflict them, without being amenable to any other person. Thus, if any one be caught stealing, which is commonly done in the night, the proprietor of the goods may put the thief instantly to death; and if any one should enquire of him after the deceased, it is sufficient to acquit him, if he only inform them of the provocation he had to kill him. But so severe a punishment is seldom inflicted, unless the articles that are stolen be reckoned very valuable; such as breast-plates and plaited hair. If only cloth, or even hogs be stolen, and the thief escape, upon his being afterward discovered, if he promise to return the same number of pieces of cloth, or of hogs, no farther punishment is inflicted. Sometimes, after keeping out of the way for a few days, he is forgiven, or, at most, gets a slight beating. If a person kill another in a quarrel, the friends of the deceased assemble, and engage the survivor and his adherents. If they conquer, they take possession of the house, lands, and goods of the other party; but if conquered, the reverse takes place. If a Manahoone kill the Toutou, or slave of a chief, the latter sends people to take possession of the lands and house of the former, who flies either to some other part of the island, or to some of the neighbouring islands. After some months he returns, and finding his stock of hogs much increased, he offers a large present of those, with some red feathers, and other valuable articles, to the Toutou’s master, who generally accepts the compensation, and permits him to repossess his house and lands. This practice is the height of venality and injustice; and the slayer of the slave seems to be under no farther necessity of absconding, than to impose upon the lower class of people who are the sufferers. For it does not appear, that the chief has the least power to punish this Manahoone; but the whole management marks a collusion between him and his superior, to gratify the revenge of the former, and the avarice of the latter. Indeed, we need not wonder that the killing of a man should be considered as so venial an offence, amongst a people who do not consider it as any crime at all, to murder their own children. When talking to them about such instances of unnatural cruelty, and asking, whether the chiefs, or principal people were not angry, and did not punish them? I was told, that the chief neither could nor would interfere in such cases; and that every one had a right to do with his own child what he pleased.
Though the productions, the people, and the customs and manners of all the islands in the neighbourhood, may, in general, be reckoned the same as at Otaheite, there are a few differences which should be mentioned, as this may lead to an enquiry about more material ones hereafter, if such there be, of which we are now ignorant.
With regard to the little island Mataia, or Osnaburgh Island, which lies twenty leagues east of Otaheite, and belongs to a chief of that place, who gets from thence a kind of tribute, a different dialect from that of Otaheite is there spoken. The men of Mataia also wear their hair very long, and when they fight, cover their arms with a substance which is beset with sharks’ teeth, and their bodies with a sort of shagreen, being skin of fishes. At the same time, they are ornamented with polished pearl shells, which make a prodigious glittering in the sun; and they have a very large one that covers them before like a shield or breast-plate.