The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead Volume Ii Part 18

[88] G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, p. 229.

Annual feasts were held in honour of the G.o.ds, and the season of the feast was often in May, but sometimes in April or June.[89] In some cases the feasts were regulated by the appearance of the bird which was believed to be the incarnation of the G.o.d. Whenever the bird was seen, the priest would say that the G.o.d had come, and he would fix upon a day for the entertainment of the deity.[90] At these festivals all the people met in the place of public a.s.sembly, where they had collected heaps of cooked food. First, they made their offerings to the G.o.d and prayed to him to avert calamity and grant prosperity; then they feasted with and before their G.o.d, and after that any strangers present might eat. Some of the festivals included games, such as wrestling, spear-throwing, club exercises, sham-fights, and nocturnal dances; and they lasted for days.[91] At one of these annual festivals held in the month of June, the exercise with clubs a.s.sumed a serious and indeed sanguinary form. All the people, old and young, men, women, and children, took part in it, and battered their scalps till the blood streamed down over their faces and bodies. This proof of their devotion was supposed to be acceptable to the deity, who, gratified by the sight of their flowing blood, would answer their prayers for health, good crops, and victory in war.[92] At the feast of the c.o.c.kle G.o.d in May prayers were offered up to the divine sh.e.l.l-fish that he would be pleased to cure the coughs and other ailments usually prevalent at that season, which in Samoa forms the transition from the wet to the dry months.[93] At the festival of an owl G.o.d, which fell about the month of April, the offerings and prayers were particularly directed towards the removal of caterpillars from the plantations; for these insects were believed to be the servants of the owl G.o.d, who could send them as his ministers of vengeance to lay waste the fields and orchards of the impious.[94] Elsewhere the owl was a war G.o.d, and at the beginning of the annual fish festivals the chiefs and people of the village a.s.sembled round the opening of the first oven and gave the first fish to the G.o.d.[95] A family, who had the eel for their household G.o.d, showed their grat.i.tude to him for his kindness by presenting him with the first fruits of their taro plantation.[96] Another family believed their deity to be incarnate in centipedes; and if a member of the family fell ill or was bitten by a centipede, they would offer the divine reptile a fine mat and a fan, with a prayer for the recovery of the patient.[97] The utility of a fine mat and a fan to a centipede is too obvious to be insisted on. Sometimes offerings were made to a G.o.d, not to persuade him to come, but to induce him to go away. For example, where G.o.ds or spirits were believed to voyage along the coast, offerings of food were often set down on the beach as an inducement to the spirits to take the victuals and pa.s.s on without calling at that particular place.[98]

[89] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 20, 26, 29, 41, 44, 47, 53, 57.

[90] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 20 _sq._

[91] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 20, 26, 29; W. T.

Pritchard, _Polynesian Reminiscences_, p. 123.

[92] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 57.

[93] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 41.

[94] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 47.

[95] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 25 _sq._

[96] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 70 _sq._

[97] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 47 _sq._

[98] G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, p. 229.

Formal prayers were offered to the G.o.d by the head of a family, and public prayer was put up when the men were setting out for war. On such occasions they prayed that stones, stumps of trees, and other obstacles might be taken out of the way of the warriors, and that their path might be wet with the blood of their foes. All their prayers were for temporal benefits, such as protection against enemies, plenty of food, and other desirable objects. They attached great importance to confession of wrongdoing in times of danger, but, so far as appears, they expressed no repentance, promised no amendment, and offered no prayer for forgiveness. If, for example, a canoe, crossing the channel between Savaii and Upolu, were caught in a squall and seemed likely to be swamped, the steersman would head the canoe to the wind, and every man on board would make a clean breast of his sins. One would say, "I stole a fowl at such and such a village." Another would confess an intrigue with a married woman somewhere else; and so on. When all had either confessed their guilt or declared their innocence, the helmsman would put the helm about and scud before the wind, in perfect confidence of bringing the canoe and crew safe to land.[99]

[99] G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, pp. 229 _sq._

When a G.o.d was believed to be incarnate in a species of birds or animals or fish, omens were naturally drawn from the appearance and behaviour of the creatures. This happened particularly in time of war, when hopes and fears were rife among the people. Thus, if their war G.o.d was an owl, and the bird fluttered above the troops on the march, the omen was good; but if the owl flew away in the direction of the enemy, it was an evil omen, the G.o.d had deserted them and joined the foe;[100] if it crossed the path of the warriors or flew back on them, it was a warning to retreat.[101] So in places where the war-G.o.d was a rail-bird, if the bird screeched and flew before the army, the people marched confidently to battle; but if it turned and flew back, they hesitated. If the plumage of the rail showed glossy red, it was a sign to go to war; but if the feathers were dark and dingy, it was a warning to stay at home.

And if the bird were heard chattering or scolding, as they called it, at midnight, it prognosticated an attack next day, and they would at once send off the women and children to a place of safety.[102] In like manner omens were drawn from the flight of herons, kingfishers, the _Porphyris Samoensis_, and flying-foxes, where these creatures were supposed to incarnate the war G.o.d.[103] People who saw their war G.o.d in the lizard used to take omens from a lizard before they went forth to fight. They watched the movements of a lizard in a bundle of spears. If the creature ran about the outside of the bundle and the points of the spears, the omen was favourable; but if it crept into the bundle for concealment, it was an evil sign.[104] The inhabitants of several villages looked upon dogs, especially white dogs, as the incarnation of their war G.o.d; accordingly if the dog wagged his tail, barked, and dashed ahead in sight of the enemy, it was a good omen; but if he retreated or howled, their hearts failed them.[105] Again, where the cuttle-fish was the war G.o.d, the movements of that fish at sea were anxiously observed in time of war. If the fish swam insh.o.r.e while the people were mustering for battle, it augured victory; but if it swam far away, it portended defeat.[106]

[100] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 25 _sq._

[101] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 60.

[102] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 52, 61, 65.

[103] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 35, 51, 54 _sq._, 64.

[104] G. Turner, pp. 46 _sq._

[105] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 49.

[106] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 29.

When a G.o.d was supposed to dwell in some inanimate object, the art of divination was similarly employed to elicit a knowledge of the future from an observation of the object, whatever it might be. In several villages, for example, the people viewed a rainbow as the representative of their war G.o.d. If, when they were going to battle by land or sea, a rainbow appeared in the sky right in front of them, with the arch, as it were, straddling across the line of march or the course that the fleet was steering, it was a warning to turn back. But if the bow shone on the right or left of the army or of the fleet, it meant that the G.o.d was marching with them, and cheering on the advance.[107] Another village revered its G.o.d in the lightning. When lightning flashed frequently in time of war, it was believed that the G.o.d had come to help and direct his people. A constant play of lightning over a particular spot was a warning that the enemy was lurking there in ambush. A rapid succession of flashes in front meant that the foe was being driven back; but if the lightning flashed from front to rear, it was a signal to retreat.[108]

In one large village the war G.o.d resided in two teeth of the sperm whale, which were kept in a cave and observed by a priest in time of war. If the teeth were found lying east and west, it was a good omen; but if they lay north and south, it prognosticated defeat.[109] In another place the war G.o.d was present in a bundle of shark's teeth, and the people consulted the bundle before they went out to fight. If the bundle felt heavy, it foreboded ill; but if it was light, it was an omen of victory, and the troops marched with hearts correspondingly light.[110]

[107] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 35; compare p. 43.

[108] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 59 _sq._

[109] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 35.

[110] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 55.

When the G.o.d was incarnate in a live creature, it was an obvious advantage to ensure his constant presence and blessing by owning a specimen of his incarnation and feeding it. Hence some folk kept a tame G.o.d on their premises. For instance, some people possessed a war G.o.d in the shape of a pet owl;[111] others had a divine pigeon, which was carefully kept and fed by the different members of the family in turn.[112] Yet others were so fortunate as to capture the thunder G.o.d and to keep him in durance, which effectually prevented him from doing mischief. Having caught him, they tied him up with panda.n.u.s leaves and frightened him by poking firebrands at him. And lest, as an old offender, he should attempt to break prison and relapse into his former career of crime, they filled a basket with panda.n.u.s leaves and charred firebrands and hung it up on a tree _in terrorem_, to signify what he might expect to get if he took it into his head to strike houses again.[113]

[111] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 25 _sq._

[112] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 64.

[113] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 34.

Vegetable G.o.ds were much less plentiful than animal G.o.ds in Samoa. Still they occurred. Thus, the G.o.d of one family lived in a large tree (_Hernandia peltata_); hence no member of the family dared to pluck a leaf or break a branch of that tree.[114] The household deity of another family dwelt in a tree of a different sort (_Conanga odorata_), which has yellow and sweet-scented flowers.[115] In Savaii the special abode of a village G.o.d called Tuifiti or "King of Fiji" was a grove of large and durable trees (_Afzelia bijuga_). No one dared to cut that timber.

It is said that a party of natives from another island once tried to fell one of these trees; but blood flowed from the trunk, and all the sacrilegious strangers fell ill and died.[116] One family saw their G.o.d in the moon. On the appearance of the new moon all the members of the family called out, "Child of the moon, you have come." They a.s.sembled also, presented offerings of food, feasted together, and joined in praying, "Oh, child of the moon! Keep far away disease and death." And they also prayed to the moon before they set out on the war path.[117]

But in Samoa, as in Tonga, there seems to be no record of a wors.h.i.+p of the sun, unless the stories of human sacrifices formerly offered to the great luminary be regarded as reminiscences of sun-wors.h.i.+p.[118]

[114] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 72.

[115] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 71.

[116] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 63.

[117] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 67.

[118] See above, p. 158.

-- 7. _Priests and Temples_

The father of a family acted as the priest of the household G.o.d. He usually offered a short prayer at the evening meal, begging the deity to guard them all from war, sickness, death, and the payment of fines.

Sometimes he would direct the family to hold a feast in honour of their G.o.d, and on these occasions a cup of kava was poured out as a libation to the divinity. Such simple domestic rites were celebrated in the house, where the whole family a.s.sembled; for the G.o.ds were believed to be present with men in a spiritual and invisible form as well as in the material objects which were regarded as their visible embodiments. Often the deity spoke through the father or other members of the family, telling them what to do in order to remove a present evil or avert a threatened one.[119]

[119] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 18. For the offering of kava to the household G.o.d, compare _id._ p. 51.

But while every head of a family might thus act as a domestic priest and mouthpiece of the deity, there was also a professional cla.s.s of priests set apart for the public wors.h.i.+p of the G.o.ds, particularly of the war G.o.ds, who in their nature did not differ essentially from the G.o.ds of families, of villages, and of districts, being commonly embodied either in particular material objects or in cla.s.ses of such objects, especially in various species of birds, animals, and fish, such as owls, rails, kingfishers, dogs, lizards, flying-foxes, and cuttle-fish. Sometimes the ruling chiefs acted as priests; but in general some one man in a particular family claimed the dignity of the priesthood and professed to declare the will of the G.o.d. His office was hereditary. He fixed the days for the annual feasts in honour of the deity, received the offerings, and thanked the people for them. He decided also whether the people might go to war.[120] The priests possessed great authority over the minds of the people, and they often availed themselves of their influence to ama.s.s wealth.[121] The G.o.ds were supposed from time to time to take possession of the priests and to speak through their mouths, answering enquiries and issuing commands. Thus consulted as an oracle the priest, or the G.o.d through him, might complain that the people had been slack in making offerings of food and property, and he would threaten them with vengeance if they did not speedily bring an ample supply to the human representative of the deity. At other times the G.o.d required a whole family to a.s.semble and build him a large canoe or a house, and such a command was always obeyed with alacrity and a humble apology tendered for past neglect. The priests were also consulted oracularly for the healing of the sick, the recovery of stolen property, and the cursing of enemies. Thus they kept the people in constant fear by their threats and impoverished them by their exactions.[122]

[120] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 20. For a full account of the priesthood, see J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp. 220 _sqq._ As to the Samoan war-G.o.ds, see G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 23, 25 _sq._, 27 _sq._, 28, 32, 33, 35, 42, 46 _sq._, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54 _sq._, 55, 57, 60, 61, 64, 65; J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp.

215 _sq._

[121] J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp. 70, 222 _sq._, 225; G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, pp. 228, 246 _sq._

[122] J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp. 223-225; G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, pp. 246 _sq._

The outward signs of divine inspiration or possession were such as priests or prophets have manifested in many lands and ages as conclusive evidence of their being the vehicles of higher powers. The approach or presence of the G.o.d was indicated by the priest beginning to gape, yawn, and clear his throat; but soon his countenance changed, his body underwent violent contortions, and in loud, unearthly tones, which the trembling and awe-stricken hearers interpreted as the voice of an indwelling deity, he delivered his message of exhortation or warning, of menace, or comfort, or hope.[123]

[123] J. B. Stair, p. 223; G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, pp. 228, 246 _sq._