. R E M A R K S o n flip h e
undecayed. I am far from thinking that the people in the Saiith
Sea derived their fepulchral rites, and their opinions relative -to -the
foul from Egypt, for I have frequently obferved that the fame
■ cuftoms are obferved at very diftant places. - It is therefore poflible
that mankind may have accidentally employed upon certain occa-
lions the fame -cuftoms without having an -opportunity o f borrowing
them from places fo very remote.
In the Friendly ides, (though we-t-wiee vifited them) we made
a very fhori flay:,- fo that we could not make many obfervatiofts -on
their religion and the rites and Ceremonies that are-in ariy -ways
related to religion; however we find they -fifed-the Word 'Bafo’oca,
we faw one o f their priefts perform feme -rites, and heard him
repeat a long prayer, oppofite to one o f their burying places,
called by them A ff-a y e t o o c a ..#; I ;was -told that they buried: the
remains o f their deceafed friends within the houfe' or \dffayeiobca,
which was filled with pieces of. coral ftone, I found in the houfe
two rude figures o f a man fimilar to the Techee at Taheitee. I
inquired whether they called it an Batobca,- they faid .no; I again
alked how they called it, and I was : told Teeghee; I inquired
whether they prayed to it, this they denied, and kicked the figures
with their feet, to £hew that they did not pay the le.aft refpedl- to
■ them ,. ’ In
* The name Ajfayeiooca feems to fignify the houfe o f God', for farre Is <1 houfe in'the
Iriendly-ifles and E-atooca\i the .name of God, which would form the wórd E-fmre-tpoca or
E-ffaye-tooca.
H U M A N S P E C I E S . 567
In New-Zeeland, the people were very ignorant in regard to r e l ig io n ..
religion, however they had the names o f Katooca and Teeghee,.
which latter they reprefented by a fmall ill lhapen figure o f a man,
cut in the-green nephritic ftone, and this they commonly wore on
a firing round their necks: for as they .have no fixed place of -
abode, but are eonftantly removing, they cannot erefl a figure o f a
Teeghee on a certain place, left it fhonld be dellroyed. by feme
hoflile party : another reafon for doing fo is„becaufe they never-bury
the corpfes o f their deceafed relations, but fink them with Hones
in' the fea; it is therefore impoffible to rife any other monuments
to the memory o f their friends, than fuch as- they can wear
and carry along with them. Th e y likewife wear in commemoration
o f their, deceafed relations fome o f their teeth about their
neck ; I have feen-fome men and women wearing whole firings or'
necklaces o f teeth about their necks.
In Eafter-ifland they bury their dead near the ranges o f gigantic
ftone. figures,- which ferve in lieu of the wooden' Taheiteaft.
Teehees, (becaufe wood is extremely fcarce on their ifland) for I
was told that thefe figures reprefented their deceafed- chiefs or
hareekees I obferved many, human, bones: fcattered on the furface
of the ftone parapet wherein the ftone pillars were ereited. I
meafured a thigh bone by my own and found them nearly of the
feme length,
, - - At: ■