Fifthly, Terreeoboo, the present king of Owhyhee, had a son, named Teewarro, by Rora-rora, the widow of Maiha-maiha, late king of Mowee; and this son has married Roaho, his half-sister, in whose right he claims Mowee and its appendages.
Taheeterree, the brother of the late king, supported by a considerable party, who were not willing that the possessions should go into another family, took up arms, and opposed the rights of his niece.
When we were first off Mowee, Terreeoboo was there with his warriors, to support the claims of his wife, his son, and daughter-in-law, and had fought a battle with the opposite party, in which Taheeterree was worsted. We afterwards understood that matters had been compromised, and that Taheeterree is to have the possession of the three neighbouring islands during his life; that Teewarro is acknowledged the chief of Mowee, and will also succeed to the kingdom of Owhyhee on the death of Terreeoboo; and also to the sovereignty of the three Islands contiguous to Mowee, on the death of Taheeterree. Teewarro has been lately married to his half-sister, and, should he die without issue, the government of these islands descends to Maiha-maiha, whom we have often had occasion to mention, he being the son of Kaihooa, the deceased brother of Terreeoboo. Should he also die without issue, they could not tell who would succeed; for the two youngest sons of Terreeoboo, one of whom he appears to be exceedingly fond of, being born of a woman of no rank, would, from this circumstance, be debarred all right of succession. We had not an opportunity of seeing queen Rora-rora, whom Terreeoboo had left behind at Mowee; but we have already had occasion to take notice, that he was accompanied by Kanee-kabareea, the mother of the two youths, to whom he was much attached.
From this account of the genealogy of the Owhyhee and Mowee monarchs, it is pretty clear that the government is hereditary; which also makes it very probable, that the inferior titles, and property itself, descend in the same course. With regard to Perreeorannee, we could only learn that he is an Ere-taboo; that he was invading the possession of Taheeterree, but on what pretence we were not informed; and that his grandsons governed the islands to leeward.
The power of the Erees over the inferior classes of people appears to be very absolute. Many instances of this occurred daily during our stay amongst them, and have been already related. The people, on the other hand, pay them the most implicit obedience; and this state of servility has manifestly had a great effect in debasing both their minds and bodies. It is, however, remarkable, that the chiefs were never guilty, as far at least as came within my knowledge, of any acts of cruelty or injustice, or even of insolent behaviour toward them; though, at the same time, they exercised their power over one another in the most haughty and oppressive manner. Of this I shall give two instances. A chief of the lower order had behaved with great civility to the master of the ship, when he went to examine Karakakooa Bay, the day before the ship first arrived there; and, in return, I afterward carried him on board, and introduced him to Captain Cook, who invited him to dine with us. While we were at table, Pareea entered, whose face but too plainly manifested his indignation at seeing our guest in so honourable a situation. He immediately seized him by the hair of the head, and was proceeding to drag him out of the cabin, when the captain interfered, and, after a great deal of altercation, all the indulgence we could obtain, without coming to a quarrel with Pareea, was, that our guest should be suffered to remain, being seated upon the floor, whilst Pareea filled his place at the table. At another time, when Terreeoboo first came on board the Resolution, Maiha-maiha, who attended him, finding Pareea on deck, turned him out of the ship in the most ignominious manner; and yet Pareea we certainly knew to be a man of the first consequence.
How far the property of the lower class is secured against the rapacity and despotism of the great chiefs, I cannot say, but it should seem that it is sufficiently protected against private theft, or mutual depredation; for not only their plantations, which are spread over the whole country, but also their houses, their hogs, and their cloth, were left unguarded, without the smallest apprehensions. I have already remarked, that they not only separate their possessions by walls in the plain country, but that, in the woods likewise, wherever the horse-plantains grow, they make use of small white flags, in the same manner, and for the same purpose of discriminating property, as they do bunches of leaves at Otaheite. All which circumstances, if they do not amount to proofs, are strong indications that the power of the chiefs, where property is concerned, is not arbitrary, but at least so far circumscribed and ascertained, as to make it worth the while for the inferior orders to cultivate the soil, and to occupy their possessions distinct from each other.
With respect to the administration of justice, all the information we could collect was very imperfect and confined. Whenever any of the lowest class of people had a quarrel amongst themselves, the matter in dispute was referred to the decision of some chief, probably the chief of the district, or the person to whom they appertained. If an inferior chief had given cause of offence to one of a higher rank, the feelings of the latter at the moment seemed the only measure of his punishment. If he had the good fortune to escape the first transports of his superior's rage, he generally found means, through the mediation of some third person, to compound for his crime by a part or the whole of his property and effects. These were the only facts that came to our knowledge on this head.
The religion of these people resembles, in most of its principal features, that of the Society and Friendly Islands. Their morais, their whattas, their idols, their sacrifices, and their sacred songs, all of which they have in common with each other, are convincing proofs that their religious notions are derived from the same source. In the length and number of their ceremonies, this branch indeed far exceeds the rest; and though in all these countries there is a certain class of men, to whose care the performance of their religious rites is committed, yet we never met with a regular society of priests, till we discovered the cloisters of Kakooa in Karakakooa Bay. The head of this order was called Orono; a title which we imagined to imply something highly sacred, and which, in the person of Omeeah, was honoured almost to adoration. It is probable, that the privilege of entering into this order (at least as to the principal offices in it) is limited to certain families. Omeeah, the Orono, was the son of Kaoo, and the uncle of Kaireekeea, which last presided, during the absence of his grandfather, in all religious ceremonies at the morai. It was also remarked, that the child of Omeeah, an only son, about five years old, was never suffered to appear without a number of attendants, and such other marks of care and solicitude as we saw no other like instance of. This seemed to indicate that his life was an object of the greatest moment, and that he was destined to succeed to the high rank of his father.
It has been mentioned, that the title of Orono, with all its honours, was given to Captain Cook; and it is also certain that they regarded us generally as a race of people superior to themselves, and used often to say that great Eatoua dwelled in our country. The little image, which we have before described as the favourite idol on the morai in Karakakooa Bay, they call Koonooraekaiee, and said it was Terreeoboo's god, and that he also resided amongst us.
There are found an infinite variety of these images both on the morais, and within and without their houses, to which they give different names; but it soon became obvious to us in how little estimation they were held, from their frequent expressions of contempt of them, and from their even offering them to sale for trifles. At the same time there seldom failed to be some one particular figure in favour, to which, whilst this preference lasted, all their adoration was addressed. This consisted in arraying it in red cloth, beating their drums, and singing hymns before it, laying bunches of red feathers, and different sorts of vegetables, at its feet, and exposing a pig or a dog to rot on the whatta, that stood near it.