The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead Volume Ii Part 30

[152] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 344 _sq._

Human victims were sacrificed on many occasions, as in time of war, at great national festivals, during the illness of their rulers, and at the building of a temple. William Ellis was told that the foundations of some of their sacred edifices were laid in human sacrifices, and that at least the central pillar, which supported the roof of one of the sacred houses at Maeva, had been planted on the body of a man. The victims were either captives taken in war or persons who had rendered themselves obnoxious to the chiefs or the priests. In the technical language of the priests they were called "fish." When once a man had been chosen for sacrifice, the family to which he belonged was regarded as taboo or devoted to the altar, and when another victim was wanted, he was more frequently taken from that family than from any other. Similarly, a district which had once furnished victims was thenceforth devoted.

Hence, at the approach of ceremonies which were usually accompanied by human sacrifices, the members of certain families and the inhabitants of certain districts used to flee to the mountains and hide in caves till the ceremony was over. But the doomed man was seldom apprised of his fate beforehand. A sudden blow with a club or a stone on the nape of the neck was the usual way of despatching him, lest the body should be mangled or a bone broken. If the blow had only stunned him, he was soon killed, and the corpse, placed in a long basket of coco-nut leaves, was carried to the temple and offered to the G.o.d by being set before the idol. In dedicating it the priest took out one of the eyes and handed it on a leaf to the king, who made as if he would swallow it, but pa.s.sed it on to a priest or attendant. After the ceremony the body, still wrapt in coco-nut leaves, was often deposited on the branches of a neighbouring tree, where it remained some time. Finally, the bones were taken down and buried under the pavement of the temple (_marae_).[153]

[153] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 345-348. Compare J. Cook, _Voyages_, iii. 168 _sqq._ vi. 28-41; J. Wilson, _op. cit._ pp.

350 _sq._; D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 549, ii. 38 _sq._

In the family, according to patriarchal usage, the father was the priest, but the priests of the national temples formed a distinct cla.s.s; their office was hereditary. The high priesthood was often held by a member of the royal family, and sometimes the king himself acted as the national priest. The duties of the priests were to recite prayers, to present offerings, and to sacrifice victims. Their prayers, usually uttered in shrill, chanting tones, were often exceedingly long and full of repet.i.tions.[154] They had plenty of employment, being called in to officiate on all occasions, whether at birth or at death, at feasts or in sickness; for they were the physicians as well as the clergy of the country. They professed to possess extraordinary powers, such as to promote conception or to effect abortion, to cause or to heal disease, to pray the evil spirit into food, and even to kill men outright. Hence they were greatly feared.[155] Of the little knowledge that existed in the islands the priests are reported to have possessed the largest share, but it consisted chiefly in an acquaintance with the names and ranks of the various subordinate deities (_atuas_); however, according to Captain Cook, they excelled the rest of the people in their knowledge of navigation and astronomy: indeed, the very name for priest (_tahowa_) signified nothing more than a man of knowledge.[156] In the island of Huahine the priest whose duty it was to carry the image of the G.o.d Tani (Tane) "was a personage of such superhuman sanct.i.ty that everything which he touched became sacred; he was, therefore, not suffered to marry, as the honour of being his wife was too much for any mortal woman. But this was not all; he would himself be so defiled by such a connection that he would be disqualified for his office, and must immediately resign it; nay, if he did not repent, and return with a great peace-offering to Tani's house, he might expect to be first struck blind, and afterwards strangled in his sleep. He was not allowed to climb a cocoa tree, because, if he did, it would be so hallowed that n.o.body else durst afterwards ascend it."[157]

[154] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 342 _sq._ Compare J. R. Forster, _Observations made during a Voyage round the World_, pp. 545 _sqq._; J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 474 _sqq._

[155] J. Wilson, _op. cit._ p. 348.

[156] J. Cook, _Voyages_, i. 223.

[157] D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 279.

One of the most important functions of the priests was to act as mouthpieces of the G.o.ds. In the discharge of this duty they were believed to be inspired and possessed by the deity, who spoke through them to the people. When the time came for them to consult the G.o.d, they a.s.sumed an odd fantastic dress, enriched with red and black feathers, to which the deity was so partial, that when the priests approached him in this array, he descended to earth at their call in one of the sacred birds that frequented the temples (_morais_) and fed on the sacrifices.

As soon as the bird lighted on the sacred edifice, the G.o.d left the fowl and entered into the priest. The holy man, thus inspired, now stretched himself, yawned, and rubbed his arms, legs, and body, which began to be inflated, as if the skin of the abdomen would burst; the eyes of the seer were thrown into various contortions, now staring wide, now half-shut and sinking into stupor, while at other times the whole frame was convulsed and appeared to have undergone a sudden and surprising change. The voice sank to a low pitch, and grew squeaky and broken; but at times it would suddenly rise to an astonis.h.i.+ng height. The words uttered by the possessed man were regarded as oracular, and nothing that he asked for the G.o.d or for himself in this state was ever refused him.

Of all this the priest himself affected to be entirely unaware, but a colleague was regularly at hand to record the divine message and the divine requirements, which were often very large. When the deity took his departure from the priest, he did so with such convulsions and violence as to leave the man lying motionless and exhausted on the ground, and the oracle was so timed that this happened at the very moment when the sacred bird, the vehicle of the G.o.d, flew away from the temple. On coming to himself the priest uttered a loud shriek and seemed to wake as from a profound sleep, unconscious of everything that had pa.s.sed.[158] Sometimes, however, the priest continued to be possessed by the deity for two or three days; at such times he wore a piece of native cloth, of a peculiar sort, round one arm as a sign of his inspiration.

His acts during this period were deemed to be those of the G.o.d; hence the greatest attention was paid to his expressions and to the whole of his deportment. Indeed, so long as the fit of inspiration lasted he was called a G.o.d (_atua_); but when it was over, he resumed his ordinary t.i.tle of priest.[159]

[158] J. Wilson, _op. cit._ pp. 349 _sq._

[159] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 373-375.

We are told that in his fine frenzy the priest "often rolled on the earth, foaming at the mouth, as if labouring under the influence of the divinity, by whom he was possessed, and, in shrill cries, and violent and often indistinct sounds, revealed the will of the G.o.d."[160] It would probably be a mistake to a.s.sume that on such occasions the frantic behaviour was deliberately a.s.sumed and the wild whirling words were consciously uttered for the purpose of deceiving the people; in short, that the whole performance was a mere piece of acting, a bare-faced imposture. It is far more likely that, bred from childhood to believe in the reality of divine inspiration, the priest often sincerely imagined himself to be possessed by a deity, and that, under the excitement which such an imagination was calculated to produce, he honestly mistook his own thick-coming fancies for a revelation from the G.o.ds. A chief, who had formerly been a prophet of the G.o.d Oro, a.s.sured the missionaries "that although he sometimes feigned his fits of inspiration, to deceive the credulous mult.i.tude, yet, at other times, they came upon him involuntarily and irresistibly. Something seemed to rush through his whole frame, and overpower his spirit, in a manner which he could not describe. Then he frothed at the mouth, gnashed his teeth, and distorted his limbs with such violence that it required five or six strong men to hold him. At these times his words were deemed oracles, and whatever he advised respecting state affairs, or other matters, was implicitly observed by king and chiefs."[161] Thus on the ravings of these crazy fanatics or deliberate impostors often hung the issues of life or death, of war or peace.[162] It appears to have been especially the priests of Oro who laid claim to inspiration and contrived to shape the destinies of their country through the powerful sway which they exercised over the mind of the king. In their fits of fanatical frenzy, while they delivered their oracles, they insisted on the sovereign's implicit compliance with their mandates, denouncing the most dreadful judgments on him if he should prove refractory.[163]

[160] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 373 _sq._

[161] D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 124.

[162] D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 114 _sq._

[163] D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 121.

Apart from the priests there was a cla.s.s of men whose business it was to preserve and hand down to their successors the lists of the G.o.ds, the liturgical prayers, and the sacred traditions. As these liturgies and legends were often very lengthy and couched in a metaphorical and obscure language, a prodigious memory and long practice were indispensable for their preservation and transmission among a people to whom the art of writing was unknown. Since the slightest mistake in the recitation of a liturgy was deemed the worst of omens and necessitated the suspension of the religious service, however costly and important the service might be, the sacred recorders, as we may call them, were obliged, for the sake of their credit, to practise continually the recitation of the prayers, legends, and traditions of which they were the depositories. To aid them in their task they made use of bundles of little sticks of different sizes, one of which they drew from a bundle at the conclusion of each prayer. It was their duty on solemn occasions to recite these liturgies or sacred poems while they paced slowly by night round the temples (_morais_) and other holy places; hence they went by the name of _harepo_, which means "Walkers by night." We are told that if at these times they made a mistake in a single word or hesitated for a moment, they stopped and returned home; and if the subject of their prayers chanced to be some enterprise in which they desired to enlist the favour of the G.o.ds, such a mistake or hesitation was enough to cause the undertaking to be abandoned irretrievably, since success in it was believed to be impossible. Nothing, it is said, could be more astonis.h.i.+ng than the memory displayed by these men, while they recited, word for word, and for nights together, the ancient traditions of which the mutilated and mangled remains would demand the a.s.siduous study of several years. The office of sacred recorder (_harepo_) was hereditary in the male line; the sons were trained in the duties from their earliest years, but only such as were endowed with an excellent memory could satisfy the requirements of the profession. They believed that a good memory was a gift of the G.o.ds.[164]

[164] J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 504-507.

-- 6. _The Doctrine of the Human Soul_

Of the Society Islanders we are informed that "they believe every man to have a separate being within him, named _tee_, which acts in consequence of the impression of the senses, and combines ideas into thoughts. This being, which we would call the soul, exists after death, and lodges in the wooden images which are placed round the burying-places, and which are called by the same name, _tee_."[165] When they were asked in what part of the body the soul resides, they always answered that it was seated in the belly or in the bowels (_I roto te obou_). They would not admit that the brain could be the seat of thought or the heart of the affections; and in support of their opinion they alleged the agitation of the bowels in strong emotion, such as fear and desire.[166] Hence, too, they called thoughts by a phrase which signifies "words in the belly" (_parou no te oboo_).[167]

[165] G. Forster, _Voyage round the World_, ii. 151 _sq._ Compare J. R. Forster, _Observations made during a Voyage round the World_, pp. 534 _sq._, 542 _sq._, where the word for soul is given as _E-teehee_ or _Teehee_.

[166] J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 431.

[167] G. Forster, _op. cit._ ii. 151 note *.

But the Society Islanders did not regard the possession of a soul as a privilege peculiar to humanity. According to Captain Cook, "they maintain that not only all other animals, but trees, fruit, and even stones, have souls, which at death, or upon being consumed or broken, ascend to the divinity, with whom they first mix, and afterwards pa.s.s into the mansion allotted to each."[168] Their word for soul was _varoua_, according to Moerenhout, who adds that, "It appears that they accorded this _varoua_ (spirit, soul) not only to man, but even in addition to the animals, to plants, to everything that vegetates, grows or moves on the earth."[169]

[168] J. Cook, _op. cit._ vi. 151.

[169] J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 430.

They thought that the soul of man could be separated for a time from the body during life without causing immediate death. Thus, like many other peoples, they explained dreams by the supposed absence of the soul during slumber. We are told that "they put great confidence in dreams, and suppose in sleep the soul leaves the body under the care of the guardian angel, and moves at large through the regions of spirits. Thus they say, My soul was such a night in such a place, and saw such a spirit. When a person dies, they say his soul is fled away, _h[=a]rre p[=o]_, gone to night."[170] But they also believed that a man's soul or spirit could be conjured out of his body by magic art or demoniacal agency. Thus, when people had been robbed, they would sometimes call in the help of a priest to ascertain the thief. In such a case the priest, after offering prayers to his demon, would direct them to dig a hole in the floor of the house and to fill it with water; then, taking a young plantain in his hand, he would stand over the hole and pray to the G.o.d, whom he invoked, and who, if he were propitious, was supposed to conduct the spirit of the thief to the house and to place it over the water. The image of the spirit, which they believed to resemble the person of the man, was, according to their account, reflected in the water and perceived by the priest, who was thus able to identify the thief, alleging that the G.o.d had shown him the reflection of the culprit in the water.[171] From this it appears that in the opinion of the Society Islanders, as of many other peoples, a man's soul or spirit is a faithful image of his body.[172]

[170] J. Wilson, _op. cit._ p. 346. In the Polynesian languages _po_ is the word both for "night" and for "the shades," the primaeval darkness from which all forms of life were evolved, and to which the souls of the dead return. See E. Tregear, _Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary_, p. 342, _s.v._ "po."

[171] W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, i. 378 _sq._

[172] Compare W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 396, "What their precise ideas of a spirit were, it is not easy to ascertain. They appear, however, to have imagined the shape or form resembled that of the human body, in which they sometimes appeared in dreams to the survivors."

They believed that in the pangs of death the soul keeps fluttering about the lips, and that, when all is over, it ascends and mixes with or, as they expressed it, is eaten by the deity.[173] When one of their sacred recorders (_harepo_), who had been famous in his life for his knowledge of the ancient traditions, was at the point of death, it was customary for his son and successor to place his mouth over the mouth of the dying man, as if to inhale the parting soul at the moment of quitting the body; for in this way he was supposed to inherit the lore of his father.

The natives, it is said, were convinced that these sages owed their learning to this expedient, though none the less they studied day and night to perfect themselves in their profession.[174]

[173] J. Cook, _op. cit._ vi. 150.

[174] J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 507.

-- 7. _Disease, Death, and Mourning_

Every disease was supposed to be the result of direct supernatural agency, and to be inflicted by the G.o.ds for some crime committed against the law of taboo of which the sufferer had been guilty; or it might have been brought upon him by an enemy, who had compa.s.sed his destruction by means of an offering. They explained death in like manner: according to them, it was invariably caused by the direct influence of the G.o.ds.[175]

They acknowledged, indeed, that they possessed poisons which, taken with food, produced convulsions and death, but these effects they traced to the anger of the G.o.ds, who employed the drugs as their material agents or secondary causes. Even when a man was killed in battle, they still saw in his death the hand of a G.o.d, who had actually entered into the weapon that inflicted the fatal blow.[176]

[175] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 395; J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 433, 538 _sqq._

[176] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 395 _sq._

The G.o.ds who were thus supposed to afflict human life with sickness and disease and to bring it to an untimely termination in death were not always nor perhaps usually the high primaeval deities; often they were the souls of the dead, who ranked among the domestic divinities (_oromatuas_). And, like the Maoris,[177] the natives of the Society Islands are said to have stood in particular fear of the souls of dead infants, who, angered at their mother for their too early death, took their revenge by sending sickness on the surviving members of the family. Hence when a woman was ill-treated by her husband, she would often threaten to insult the ghost of a dead baby; and this threat, with the deplorable consequences which it was calculated to entail, seldom failed to bring the husband to a better frame of mind; or if he happened to prove recalcitrant, the other members of the family, who might be involved in the calamity, would intercede and restore peace in the household. Thus we are told that among these islanders the fear of the dead supplied in some measure the place of natural affection and tenderness in softening and humanising the general manners.[178]

[177] See above, p. 49.

[178] J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 538 _sq._

Disease and death were also attributed to the malignant charms of sorcerers, who, hired by an enemy of the sufferer, procured for the purpose the clipped hair or the spittle of their intended victim, the flowers or garment he had worn, or any object which had touched his person. But the real agents who were thought to give effect to the charms were the minor deities, whom the sorcerer employed to accomplish his nefarious ends. For this purpose he put the hair or other personal refuse of the victim in a bag along with the images and symbols of the petty divinities, and buried the bag and its contents in a hole which he had dug in the ground. There he left it until, applying his ear to the hole, he could hear the soul of the sufferer whimpering down below, which proved that the charm was taking effect. If the intended victim got wind of these machinations, it was always in his power to render them abortive, either by sacrificing to the G.o.ds or by sending a present to the sorcerer, who thus was feed by both sides at the same time.[179]

[179] J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 539-541. Compare W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 363 _sqq._

However, most cases of sickness apparently were set down not to the wiles of sorcerers, but to the displeasure of the deified spirits of the dead.[180] On this point the evidence of the early missionaries is explicit. Speaking of the Society Islanders, they say that "they regard the spirits of their ancestors, male and female, as exalted into _eatooas_ [_atuas_, deities], and their favour to be secured by prayers and offerings. Every sickness and untoward accident they esteem as the hand of judgment for some offence committed; and therefore, if they have injured any person, they send their peace-offering, and make the matter up: and if sick, send for the priest to offer up prayers and sacrifices to pacify the offended _eatooa_; giving anything the priests ask, as being very reluctant to die."[181] "As it is their fixed opinion, that no disease affects them but as a punishment inflicted by their _eatooa_ [_atua_] for some offence, and never brought on themselves by intemperance or imprudence, they trust more to the prayers of their priests than to any medicine."[182]

[180] J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 543.

[181] J. Wilson, _op. cit._ p. 345.