1777- T he body was then carried a little way, w ith its head toward
£ 2 ^ the moral, and laid under a tre e ; near w h ich w ere fixed three
broad thin pieces o f wood, differently, but ru dely, carved.
T h e bundles o f cloth were laid on a part o f the moral-, and
the tufts o f red feathers were placed at the feet o f the fa-
c r ific e ; round w h ich the priefts took their ftations ; and
w e were now allowed to go as near as w e pleafed. He w h o
feemed to be the ch ie f prieft fat at a fmall diftance, and
fpoke for a quarter o f an hour, but with different tones
and geftu res; fo that he feemed often to expoftulate with
the dead perfon, to whom he conftantly addreffed h im fe lf ;
and, fometimes, afked feveral queftions, feemingly with re-
fpe ft to the propriety o f his ha vin g been killed. At other
times, heanade feveral demands, as i f the deceafed either
now had power himfelf, or intereft w ith the Divinity, to
engage him to comply w ith fuch requefts. Amongft which,
w e undei'ftood, he aiked him to deliver Eimeo, Maheine its
chief, the hogs, women, and other thin g s o f the ifland,
into their h a n d s ; w h ich was, indeed, the exprefs intention
o f the facrifice. He then chanted a prayer, w h ich laft-
ed near h a lf an hour, in a w hinin g, melancholy tone, accompanied
b y two other priefts; and in which Potatou, and
fome others, joined. In the courfe o f this prayer, fome
more hair was plucked b y a prieft from the head o f the
corpfe, and put upon one o f the bundles. After this, the
chie f prieft prayed alone, holdin g in his hand the feathers
w hich came from Towha. When he had finiihed, he gave
them to another, who prayed in lik e manner. T hen all
the tufts o f feathers were laid upon the bundles o f c lo th ;
w hich clofed the ceremony at this place.
The corpfe was then carried up to the moft confpicuous
part o f the moral, with the feathers, the two bundles o f
+ cloth
+
cloth, and the d rum s ; the laft o f w hich beat flowly. T he „
1 Sep tem b e r .
feathers and bundles were laid againft the pile o f ftones, j .----
and the corpfe at the foot o f them. T he priefts having again
feated themfelves round it, renewed their p ra y e r s ; while
fome o f their attendants d u g a hole about two feet deep,
into w h ich they threw the unhappy v iilim , and covered it
over with earth and ftones. While they were putting him
into the grave, a boy fqueaked aloud, and Omai faid to
me, that it was the Eatooa. Du rin g this time, a fire having
been made, the dog, before mentioned, was produced, and
killed, b y tw illin g his neck, and fuffocating h im. T he hair
was finged off, and the entrails taken out, and thrown in to
the fire, where they were le ft to confume. But the
heart, liver, and kidneys were only roafted, by being laid
on hot ftones fo r a few minutes ; and the body o f the dog,
after being befmeared with the blood, w h ich had been collected
into a cocoa-nut ihe ll, and dried over the fire, was,
with the liver, &c. carried and laid down before the priefts,
w ho fat praying, round the grave. T h e y continued their
ejaculations over the dog, for fome time, while two men,
at intervals, beat on two drums ve ry loud; and a boy
fcreamed, as before, in a loud, ihrill voice, three different
times. This, as we were told, was to invite the Eatooa to feaft
on the banquet that they had prepared for him. As foon as
the priefts had ended their prayers, the carcafe o f the dog,
with what belonged to it, were laid on a -whatta, or fcaffold,
about fix feet h igh , that ftood clofe by, on which la y the
remains o f two other dogs, and o f two pigs, w hich had
lately been facrificed, and, at this time, emitted an intolerable
ftench. This kept us at a greater diftance, than would, i
otherwife, have been required o f us. For; after the victim
was removed from the fea-fide toward the moral, we were
F 3 allowed