could offer them no consolation beyond that of kindness, and giving
them some beads and trinkets. After a few minutes they disengaged
their arms, began dancing, laughing, and saluting us occasionally with
a rub of the nose; in the midst of this mirth they would suddenly
relapse into grief, and throw their arms about in a frantic way, until I
began to fear they might injure themselves; but this paroxysm was as
short as that of the mirth by w hich it was succeeded; they again began
to dance, and were afterwards quite cheerful. The only cause to which
we could attribute this extraordinary conduct, or at least for the melancholy
part of it, W'as that they might in some way be connected with
the man who had been w'ounded upon the raft. And if this were the
case, it affords a presumption that the custom of self-mutilation on such
occasions, so common to many of the islands in the Pacific, does not
exist here.
As the sun went down the natives pointed to it, and signified to us
to be gone, exclaiming “ bobo mai.” We got from them a few articles
of manufacture, very similar to those of Pitcairn Islands. In return for
these we made them useful presents, and took our leave w'itli the promise
of “ bobo mai,” which we understood to mean “ come to-morrow.”
YVe rowed round the rest of the island, and soon satisfied ourselves of
its extreme poverty. There were two villages upon its w'estern side,
situated in deep sandy bays, which would form excellent harbours for
shipping, if they could be entered; but this is impracticable from the
many coral knolls on the outside.
Lieutenant Belcher describes a morai, which he visited, in the following
manner. A hut, about twenty feet in length by ten wide, and
seven high, with a thatched roof, of which the eaves were three feet
from the ground, contained the deity. There were only two apertures,
about two feet six inches square, furnished with thatched shutters.
In front of the building, a space-about twenty feet square was paved
with hewn coral slabs, with curbstones at the edges as neatly fitted as
the pavements in England. Along the w'hole length of the interior of
the hut was a trough elevated about three feet from the ground;
in the centre of which was an idol three feet high, neatly carved and
polished; the eyebrows were sculptured, but not the ey e s; and from
the manner in which the muscles were defined it was evident that C H A P ,
these people were not regardless of the anatomy of the figure. It was
placed in an upright position on the trough or manger, and fastened .JaiL.
by the extremities to the side of the h u t; the head was bound with a
piece of white cloth, as were also the loins, and those parts which the
natives themselves never conceal, the aged excepted. In the trough
beneath the image were several paddles, mats, coils of line, and cloth,
offerings which had been made to the deity ; and at his feet was placed
a calabash, which the natives said contained water “ mt/.” On each
side of the image was a stand, having three carved arras, to the hands
of which several articles were suspended, such as carved cocoa-nut shells,
and pieces of bamboo, perhaps musical instruments; but Mr. Belcher
abstained from trespassing on this sacred ground, for fear of giving
offence to the natives, who did not much like this exercise of curiosity.
Indeed, the whole time he was there, the women were anxious to get
him away, and the men looked serious, and were very glad when he left
the place. The females accompanied him to the threshold of the
morai; but the men studiously avoided treading upon the sacred pavement,
and knelt down the whole time he was there, without, however,
any apparent devotion. Mr. Belcher endeavoured to purchase this
idol; but valuable as his offers must have been to these poor people,
the temptation did not prove sufficient. Another image about the
same size was found upon one of the coral islands of the groupe, clothed
in the same way, but more rudely carved, and deficient in the offerings
above-mentioned.
K 2