The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead Volume Ii Part 42

The great Polynesian G.o.d or hero Maui was known in Hawaii, where the stories told of him resembled those current in other parts of the Pacific. He is said to have dragged up the islands on his fis.h.i.+ng-hook from the depths of the ocean, and to have brought men their first fire.[56] One day, when his wife was making bark-cloth and had not time to finish it before night, Maui laid his hand on the sun and prevented it from going down till the work was completed.[57]

[56] E. Tregear, _Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary_, p.

236, _s.v._ "Maui"; A. Marcuse, _Die Haiwaiischen Inseln_, p.

98.

[57] Tyerman and Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 433; J. J. Jarves, _op.

cit._ p. 26.

The national war-G.o.d of Hawaii was named Tairi (Kaili). In the evening he used to be seen flitting about near his temple in the form of a sort of luminous vapour, like a flame or the tail of a comet. A similar appearance is also occasionally seen in the Society Islands, where the terrified natives formerly identified it with their G.o.d Tane, and supposed that the meteor was the deity flying from temple to temple or seeking whom he might destroy.[58] The image of the war-G.o.d Tairi used to be carried to battle by the priest, who held it aloft above the ranks. It was four or five feet high; the upper part was of wicker-work, covered with red feathers; the face grinned hideously; the mouth displayed triple rows of dog's or shark's teeth; the eyes gleamed with mother of pearl; and the head was crowned with a helmet crested with long tresses of human hair. In the battle the priest used to distort his face into a variety of frightful grimaces and to utter appalling yells, which were supposed to proceed from the G.o.d whom he bore or attended.

But the national war-G.o.d was not the only deity whose image was borne to battle. Other chiefs of rank had their war-G.o.ds carried near them by their priests; and if the king or chief was killed or taken, the G.o.d himself was usually captured also. The presence of their deities inspired the warriors with courage; for they imagined the divine influence to be essential to victory.[59] The diviners were consulted immediately before a battle. They slew the victims, and noticed the face of the heavens, the pa.s.sage of clouds over the sun, and the appearance of a rainbow. If the omens were favourable, the image of the princ.i.p.al war-G.o.d was brought out in front of the whole army and placed near the king. The priest then prayed to the G.o.ds, beseeching them to prove themselves stronger than the G.o.ds of the enemy in the ensuing engagement, and promising them hecatombs of victims in the event of victory. The bodies of foes slain in the battle were dragged to the king or priest, who offered them as victims to his G.o.ds.[60]

[58] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 119.

[59] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 158 _sq._

[60] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 157 _sq._, 159.

The G.o.ds of Hawaii fell into two cla.s.ses, according as they were believed to have been primaeval deities born of Night (Po), or the souls of men who had been deified after death. For it was believed to be possible to detain the soul of a beloved or honoured person at death by keeping his clothes or his bones; and the soul could thereafter be invoked and could speak through the mouth of the person into whom it had entered. Both cla.s.ses of deities, the primaeval and the human, were credited with the power of making people ill.[61] One way of obtaining a guardian deity for a family was to take the body of a still-born child and throw it into the sea or bury it in the earth; in the former case the embryo was supposed to turn into a shark, in the latter case into a gra.s.shopper. When it was deemed necessary to obtain the help of a deity (_akua_) for a special purpose, such as success in fis.h.i.+ng or in canoe-building, the divine spirit could be conjured into an image (_kii_), and could thereafter appear in a dream to his wors.h.i.+pper and reveal to him what food he desired to have dedicated to him, and what accordingly the wors.h.i.+pper must abstain from eating. Often the G.o.d showed himself to the dreamer in the shape of a stone or other object; and on awakening the man was bound to procure the object, whatever it was, and to honour it with prayer and sacrifice, in order to ensure the protection of the deity. Prayers addressed to private G.o.ds were usually the property of the owner, who was commonly also their author; whereas prayers addressed to a public G.o.d, such as Kane, had to be learned from a priest or other adept.[62]

[61] A. Bastian, _Inselgruppen in Oceanien_, pp. 269 _sq._

[62] A. Bastian, _Inselgruppen in Oceanien_, pp. 271 _sq._

Among the deities who had once been men would seem to have been the G.o.d of medicine, the Hawaiian Aesculapius. It is said that many generations ago a certain man named Koreamoku received all medicinal herbs from the G.o.ds, who also taught him the use of them. After his death he was deified, and a wooden image of him was placed in a large temple at Kairua, to which offerings of hogs, fish, and coco-nuts were frequently presented. Oronopuha and Makanuiairomo, two friends and disciples of Koreamoku, continued to practise the healing art after the death of their master, and they too were deified after death, particularly because they were often successful in driving away the evil spirits which afflicted the people and threatened them with death. To these deified men the priests addressed their prayers when they administered medicine to the sick.[63]

[63] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 335 _sq._; J. J. Jarves, _op.

cit._ p. 71.

Of all the deities of Hawaii the most dreaded was Pele, the G.o.ddess of the volcanic fire, whose home was in the great and ever active volcano of Kilauea. There she dwelt with the other members of her family, brothers and sisters. They were all said to have come to Hawaii from a foreign country called Tahiti after the great deluge had subsided. The cones which rise like islands from the vast sea of boiling lava, vomiting columns of smoke or pyramids of flame, were the houses where these volcanic deities lived and amused themselves by playing at draughts: the crackling of the flames and the roaring of the furnaces were the music of their dance; and the red flaming surge was the surf wherein they sported, swimming on the rolling fiery waves.[64] The filaments of volcanic gla.s.s, of a dark olive colour and as fine as human hair, some straight, some crimped or frizzled, which are to be seen abundantly on the sides of the crater, and on the plain for miles round, are called by the natives "Pele's hair"; in some places they lie so thick as to resemble cobwebs covering the surface of the ground.[65]

Near the crater grow bushes bearing cl.u.s.ters of red and yellow berries resembling large currants; of these the natives formerly would never eat till they had thrown some of the cl.u.s.ters into the thickest of the smoke and vapour as an offering to the G.o.ddess of the volcano.[66] Vast numbers of hogs, some alive, others cooked, used to be cast into the craters when they were in action or when they threatened an eruption; and when they boiled over, the animals were flung into the rolling torrent of lava to appease the G.o.ds and arrest the progress of the fiery stream. For the whole island had to pay tribute to the G.o.ds of the volcano and to furnish provisions for the support of their ministers; and whenever the chiefs or people failed to send the proper offerings or incurred the displeasure of the dreadful beings by insulting them or their ministers, or by breaking the taboos which had to be observed in the vicinity of the craters, the angry deities would spout lava from the mountain or march by subterranean pa.s.sages to the abode of the culprits and overwhelm them under a flood of molten matter. And if the fishermen did not offer them enough fish, they would rush down, kill the fish with fire, and, filling up the shoals, destroy the fis.h.i.+ng-grounds entirely.[67] People who pa.s.sed by the volcano of Kilauea often presented locks of hair to Pele by throwing them into the crater with an appropriate address to the deity.[68] On one occasion, when a river of lava threatened destruction to the people of the neighbourhood, and the sacrifice of many hogs, cast alive into the stream, had not availed to stay its devastating course, King Kamehameha cut off some of his own sacred locks and threw them into the torrent, with the result that in a day or two the lava ceased to flow.[69] In the pleasant and verdant valley of Kaua there used to be a temple of the G.o.ddess, where the inhabitants of Hamakua, a district of Hawaii, formerly celebrated an annual festival designed to propitiate the dread divinity and to secure their country from earthquakes and floods of lava. On such occasions large offerings of hogs, dogs, and fruit were made, and the priests performed certain rites.[70] Wors.h.i.+ppers of Pele also threw some of the bones of their dead into the volcano, in the belief that the spirits of the deceased would then be admitted to the society of the volcanic deities, and that their influence would preserve the survivors from the ravages of volcanic fire.[71] Nevertheless the apprehensions uniformly entertained by the natives of the fearful consequences of Pele's anger prevented them from paying very frequent visits to the vicinity of the volcano; and when on their inland journeys they had occasion to approach the mountain, they were scrupulously attentive to every injunction of her priests, and regarded with a degree of superst.i.tious veneration and awe the appalling spectacle which the crater, with its sea of molten and flaming lava, presented to their eyes.[72] They even requested strangers not to dig or scratch the sand in its neighbourhood for fear of displeasing the G.o.ddess and provoking her to manifest her displeasure by an eruption.[73]

[64] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 237, 246-249; J. J. Jarves, _op.

cit._ pp. 42 _sq._

[65] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 363 _sq._; Ch. Wilkes, _op. cit._ iv. 129.

[66] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 234-236.

[67] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 250.

[68] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 350.

[69] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 59. _sq._

[70] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 350.

[71] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 361.

[72] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 275.

[73] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 239.

The service of Pele was regularly cared for by an hereditary steward (_kahu_) and an hereditary priestess. The duty of the steward was to provide the materials for the public sacrifices, including the food and raiment for the G.o.ddess; it was for him to furnish the hogs and fowls, to cultivate the taro, sweet potatoes, and sugar-cane which were to serve her for nourishment, to tend the plants from which her garments were to be made, and to have all things in readiness for the offerings at the appointed seasons. Of the plantations sacred to this use, one was on the sea-sh.o.r.e, and another in the broken ground within the precincts of the crater; and the steward with his family resided sometimes in the one place and sometimes in the other. When the time came for offering the sacrifice, the priestess descended into the depths of the volcano, and there approaching as near as possible to the spot where the fire burned most furiously, she cast into it her gifts, saying, "Here, Pele, is food for you, and here is cloth," whereby she mentioned each article as she flung it into the flames.[74] Sometimes the priestess claimed to be inspired by Pele and even to be the G.o.ddess in person. One of the priestesses, in an interview with the missionary William Ellis, a.s.sumed a haughty air and declared, "I am Pele; I shall never die; and those who follow me, when they die, if part of their bones be taken to Kilauea, will live with me in the bright fires there." In a song she gave a long account of the deeds and honours of the G.o.ddess, who, she said, dwelt in the volcano and had come in former times from the land beyond the sky.

This song she chanted or recited in a rapid and vociferous manner, accompanied by extravagant gestures, working herself up to a state of excitement in which she appeared to lose all self-command. She also claimed to be able to heal the sick through the indwelling spirit of the G.o.ddess.[75] But the G.o.ddess was served also by priests. We read of one such who offered prayers to her and a.s.sured the people that thereafter she would do them no harm.[76]

[74] C. S. Stewart, _A Visit to the South Seas_ (London, 1832), ii. 104.

[75] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 309-311. For other interviews with priestesses of the G.o.ddess see _id._, iv. 275 _sq._; C. S.

Stewart, _Visit to the South Seas_, ii. 100-103.

[76] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 378.

The Hawaiians also paid religious reverence to certain birds, fish, and animals. In a village Captain King saw two tame ravens which the people told him were _eatooas_ (_atuas_, _akuas_), that is, G.o.ds or spirits, cautioning him at the same time not to hurt or offend them.[77] The native authors of a work on the history of Hawaii, speaking of the ancient religion of their people, tell us that "birds served some as idols; if it was a fowl, the fowl was taboo for the wors.h.i.+ppers, and the same for all the birds which were deified. The idol of another was a four-footed animal, and if it was a pig, the pig was taboo for him. So with all the animals who became G.o.ds. Another had a stone for his idol; it became taboo, and he could not sit upon the stone. The idol of another was a fish, and if it was a shark, the shark was taboo for him.

So with all the fish, and so they deified all things in earth and heaven, and all the bones of men."[78] Further, the same writers observe that "the trees were idols for the people and for the chiefs. If a man had for his idol the _ohia_ tree, the _ohia_ was taboo for him; if the bread-fruit tree was the idol of another, the bread-fruit tree was taboo for him. The taboo existed likewise for all the trees out of which men had made divine images, and it was the same also for food. If taro was a person's idol, taro was taboo for him. It was the same for all the eatables of which they had made G.o.ds."[79] This deification of birds, fish, animals, plants, and inanimate objects resembles the Samoan system and may, like it, be a relic of totemism.[80] Among the living creatures to which they thus accorded divine honours were lizards, rats, and owls.[81]

[77] J. Cook, _Voyages_, vii. 144.

[78] J. Remy, _op. cit._ p. 165.

[79] J. Remy, _op. cit._ pp. 163, 165.

[80] See above, pp. 182 _sqq._, 200 _sqq._

[81] L. de Freycinet, _Voyage autour du Monde, Historique_, ii.

594.

Among the deified fishes it would seem that the shark held a foremost place. On almost every cape jutting out into the sea, a temple used to be built for the wors.h.i.+p of the shark. The first fish of each kind, taken by the fishermen, were always carried to the temple and offered to the G.o.d, who was supposed to have driven them towards the sh.o.r.e.[82]

When the king or the priests imagined that the shark wanted food, they sallied forth with their attendants, one of whom carried a rope with a running noose. On coming to a group or crowd of people, they threw the rope among them, and whoever happened to be taken in the snare, whether man, woman, or child, was strangled on the spot, the body cut in pieces, and flung into the sea, to be bolted by the ravenous monsters.[83]

Fishermen sometimes wrapped their dead in red native cloth, and threw them into the sea to be devoured by the sharks. They thought that the soul of the deceased would animate the shark which had eaten his body, and that the sharks would therefore spare the survivors in the event of a mishap at sea.[84] It was especially stillborn children that were thus disposed of. The wors.h.i.+pper of the shark would lay the body of the infant on a mat, and having placed beside it two roots of taro, one of kava, and a piece of sugar-cane, he would recite some prayers, and then throw the whole bundle into the sea, fully persuaded that by means of this offering the transmigration of the soul of the child into the body of a shark would be effected, and that thenceforth the formidable monster would be ready to spare such members of the family as might afterwards be exposed to his attack. In the temples dedicated to sharks there were priests who, at sunrise and sunset, addressed their prayers to the image which represented the shark; and they rubbed themselves constantly with water and salt, which, drying on their skin, made it appear covered with scales. They also dressed in red cloth, uttered piercing yells, and leaped over the wall of the sacred enclosure; moreover they persuaded the islanders that they knew the exact moment when the children that had been thrown into the sea were transformed into sharks, and for this discovery they were rewarded by the happy parents with liberal presents of little pigs, roots of kava, coco-nuts, and so forth.[85] The priests also professed to be inspired by sharks and in that condition to foretell future events. Many people accepted these professions in good faith and contributed to support the professors by their offerings.[86]

[82] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 90; compare _id._, pp. 129 _sq._

[83] Tyerman and Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 422 _sq._; J. J. Jarves, _op. cit._ p. 45.

[84] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 361.

[85] L. de Freycinet, _Voyage autour du Monde, Historique_, ii.

595 _sq._

[86] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ ii. 65.

From the foregoing account it appears that some at least of the wors.h.i.+pful sharks were supposed to be animated by the souls of the dead. Whether the wors.h.i.+p of other sacred animals in Hawaii was in like manner combined with a theory of transmigration, there seems to be no evidence to decide. We have seen that a similar doubt rests on the wors.h.i.+p of animals in Tonga.[87]

[87] See above, pp. 92 _sqq._

-- 6. _Priests, Sorcerers, Diviners_

The priesthood formed a numerous and powerful body. Their office was hereditary. They owned much property in people and lands, which were heavily taxed for their support. Each chief had his family priest, who followed him to battle, carried his war-G.o.d, and superintended all the sacred rites of his household. The priests took rank from their G.o.ds and chiefs. The keeper of the national war-G.o.d, who was immediately attached to the person of the king, was the high priest.[88] In the inner court of the great temple dedicated to Tairi, the war-G.o.d, stood a lofty frame of wicker-work, in shape something like an obelisk, hollow within and measuring four or five feet square at the base. Within this framework the priest stood and gave oracles in the name of the G.o.d, whenever the king came to consult the deity on any matter of importance, such as a declaration of war or the conclusion of peace; for the war-G.o.d was also the king's oracle. The oracular answer, given by the priest in a distinct and audible voice, was afterwards reported by the king, publicly proclaimed, and generally acted upon.[89] When the villages failed to pay their tribute punctually to the king, he used to send forth a priest bearing the image of the great G.o.d Rono, who scoured the country of the defaulters for twenty-three days and obliged them to pay double tribute. The priest who bore the image was strictly tabooed; during his peregrination he might not touch anything with his hands; his food had to be put into his mouth either by the chiefs of the villages where he halted or by the king himself, who accompanied him.[90]