June,
fupreme perfection, Gods and goddeffes then became innumerable,
and one error ftill gave birth to many more,
Man, in the courfe of education, received from his father
the knowledge of a God ; and a fpontaneous principle
within him cherifhed this idea. Population encreafed, the
diftinctions of ranks took place, and proportionately influenced
the gratification of the fenfes. In every fociety,
fome individual or other took advantage o f the general pro-
penlity to adore, endeavoured to captivate the judgment
of the multitude, and by mifreprefenting and feparating the
qualities of the Almighty, converted the filial affection of
mankind towards their benefactor into a jealous dread of
his anger. At the Society Iflands I apprehend this to be
the cafe : they adore divinities of all forts and qualities ;
but what is mod Angular, every ifland has a feparate theo-
gony. This will appear more clearly by comparing the
following account with the obfervations on their religion
in captain Gook’ s firft voyage.*,; Tootavai began with
telling us, that in every ifland of this group, they gave the
fupreme God, creator of earth and Ikies, a different name ;
or, to exprefs it more clearly, that in every ifland they, believe
a different deity, though always one of thofe which
are known to them all, to hold the firft rank. Thus ,at
Taheiteeand Eimeo, they fay the Supreme Being is O-Rooa*
* See Hawkefworth, vol. II. p. 237, &.c.
hattoo ;
hattoo ; at Huahine they maintain that it is Tane ; at j’74£>
Raietea, O Rod ; at O-Taha, Orra ; at Bolabola, Taodtoo; at
Mowrua, O-Too ; and at Tabbooa-mannoo (Sir Charles Saunders’s
Ifland) Tarda. Thirteen divinities prefide over the
fea, and govern it ; viz. 1. Ooroohaddoo. 2, Tama-ooee-
3. Ta-apee. 4. O Tooareednoo. 5. Taneea. 6. Tahou-
meonna. 7,- Ora-mauwe. 8. OWhai. '9. O-Whatta.
10. Tahdoa. 1 1. Te-ootya. 12. O-Mahooroo.. 13. O-
Whaddoo. But notwithftanding all thefe governors, a different
divinity, Oo-marreo, is faid to have created the fea.
The fame cafe exifts with regard to the fun, which was
created by O-Mauwee, a powerful god, who caufes earthquakes.
The divinity which refides in, and governs the
fun, is called Tootoomo-hororirree. They have ventured
to attribute to this deity a beautiful human form, whofe
hair defcends down to his feet. They afiert, that the de-
ceafed go thither to dwell with him, and are continually
feafted there with bread-fruit and pork, which need no
preparation from the fire. They believe every man to
have a feparate being within him, named Tee, which aifts
in confequence of the impreffion of the fenfes, and combines
ideas into thoughts *. This being, which we would
call the foul, exifts after death, and lodges in the wooden
images, which are placed round the burying-places, and;
* The natives call thoughts- p a rou no. te obo t, which literally, f ig n ify - words h i
the belly.
which.