»727= to their god', as the y now have o f feeding, corporeally, on *
^ te° btr-. human fleih themfelves. And, yet, we have great reafon
to believe, that there was a time w hen they were cannibals.
W e were told (and indeed partly faw it), that it is a necef-
fary ceremony, when a poor wre tch is facrifieed, fo r the
prieft to take out the left eye. T h is he prefents toth e k in g ,-
holding it to his mouth, w h ich h e defires him to open ; bur,
inftead o f putting it in, immediately withdraws it. T his
they call “ eating the man,” or “ food fo r the C h ie f and,
perhaps, w e may obferve here fome t r a c e s o f former times,,
when the dead body was really feafted upon.
But not to infill upon this ; it is certain, that human fa-
erifices are not the only barbarous c u t a w e find itill prev
a ilin g among!!; this benevolent, h um an e people. For, be-
fides cuttin g out the jaw-bones o f their enemies flain in
battle, w h ich they carry about as trophies, they, in fome
meafure, offer their bodies as a iacrifice to the Eatooa. Soon
a fter a battle, in w hich they have been viitors, they col le ft
a ll the dead that have fallen into their hands, and b rin g
them to the morai, where, w ith a great deal o f ceremony,
th e y dig a hole, and bury them all in it, as fo many offerings
to the g o d s ; but their {culls are never after taken u p .
T h e ir own great Chiefs, that fa ll in battle, are treated in
a different manner. We were informed, that their la te
k in g Tootaha, Tubourai-tamaide, and another Chief, who*
fe ll with them in the battle, fo u gh t with thofe o f Tiaraboo,
and were brou ght to this morai, at Attahooroo. The re th e ir
bowels were cut out b y the priefts, before the great altar t
and the bodies afterward buried in three different places*
w h ich were pointed out to us, in the great pile o f ñones,
that compofe the moft confpicuous part o f this morai. And
their common men, w h o alfo fe ll in this battle, were all
buried
4
buried in one hole, at the foot o f the pile. T his , Omai, w ho September,
was prefent, told me, was done the day after the battle, '— v“— '
w ith much pomp and ceremony, and in the midrt o f a great
concourfe o f people, as a th an k fg iv in g offe rin g to the Eatooa,
for. the v iffo ry th e y had o b ta in ed ; w h ile the van-
quifhed had taken re fu g e in the mountains. There they'
remained a w e e k , or ten days, till the fu r y o f the viffors
was over, and a treaty fet on foot, b y w h ich it was agreed,
that Otoo fhould be declared k in g o f the whole iiland ; and ■
the folemnity o f inverting h im w ith the maro, was performed
at the fame morai, w ith great pomp, in the prefence •
o f all the principal men o f the country.
C H A Pi