Volume Xv Part 50 (2/2)
Their long and general mourning proves that they consider death as a very great evil. And this is confirmed by a very odd custom which they practise to avert it. When I first visited these islands, during my last voyage, I observed that many of the inhabitants had one or both of their little fingers cut off, and we could not then receive any satisfactory account of the reason of this mutilation.[187] But we now learned, that this operation is performed when they labour under some grievous disease, and think themselves in danger of dying. They suppose, that the Deity will accept of the little finger, as a sort of sacrifice efficacious enough to procure the recovery of their health. They cut it off with one of their stone hatchets. There was scarcely one in ten of them whom we did not find thus mutilated in one or both hands, which has a disagreeable effect, especially as they sometimes cut so close, that they encroach upon the bone of the hand, which joins to the amputated finger.[188]
[Footnote 187: Cantova's account of the practice of the Caroline Islands, is as follows: ”Lorsqu'il meurt quelque personne d'un rang distmgue, ou qui leur est chere par d'autres endroits, ses obseques se font avec pompe. Il y eu a qui renferment le corps da defunct dans un pet.i.t edifice de pierre, qu'ils gardent au-dedans de leur maisons.
D'autres les enterrent loin de leurs habitations.”--_Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses_, tom. xv. p. 308, 309.--D.]
[Footnote 188: It may be proper to mention here, on the authority of Captain King, that it is common for the inferior people to cut off a joint of their little finger, on account of the sickness of the chiefs to whom they belong.--D.]
From the rigid severity with which some of these mourning and religious ceremonies are executed, one would expect to find, that they meant thereby to secure to themselves felicity beyond the grave; but their princ.i.p.al object relates to things merely temporal. For they seem to have little conception of future punishment for faults committed in this life. They believe, however, that they are justly punished upon earth; and consequently use every method to render their divinities propitious.
The Supreme Author of most things they call _Kallafootonga_, who, they say, is a female residing in the sky, and directing the thunder, wind, rain, and, in general, all the changes of weather. They believe, that when she is angry with them, the productions of the earth are blasted; that many things are destroyed by lightning; and that they themselves are afflicted with sickness and death, as well as their hogs and other animals. When this anger abates, they suppose that every thing is restored to its natural order; and it should seem that they have a great reliance on the efficacy of their endeavours to appease their offended divinity. They also admit a plurality of deities, though all inferior to _Kallafootonga_. Amongst them, they mention _Toofooa-boolootoo_, G.o.d of the clouds and fog; _Talleteboo_, and some others, residing in the heavens. The first in rank and power, who has the government of the sea, and its productions., is called _Futtafaihe_, or, as it was sometimes p.r.o.nounced, _Footafooa_, who, they say, is a male, and has for his wife _Fykava kajeea_; and here, as in heaven, there are several inferior potentates, such as _Vahaa fonooa, Tareeava, Mattaba, Evaroo_, and others. The same religious system, however, does not extend all over the cl.u.s.ter of the Friendly Isles; for the supreme G.o.d of _Hepaee_, for instance, is called _Alo Alo_; and other isles have two or three of different names. But their notions of the power and other attributes of these beings are so very absurd, that they suppose they have no farther concern with them after death.
They have, however, very proper sentiments about the immateriality and the immortality of the soul. They call it life, the living principle, or, what is more agreeable to their notions of it, an _Otooa_, that is, a divinity, or invisible being. They say, that immediately upon death, the souls of their chiefs separate from their bodies, and go to a place called _Boolootoo_, the chief, or G.o.d, of which is _Gooleho_. This _Gooleho_ seems to be a personification of death; for they used to say to us, ”You, and the men of Feejee (by this junction meaning to pay a compliment, expressive of their confession of our superiority over themselves), are also subject to the power and dominion of _Gooleho_.”
His country, the general receptacle of the dead, according to their mythology, was never seen by any person; and yet, it seems, they know that it lies to the westward of Feejee; and that they who are once transported thither, live for ever; or, to use their own expression, are not subject to death again, but feast upon all the favourite products of their own country, with which this everlasting abode is supposed to abound. As to the souls of the lower sort of people, they undergo a sort of transmigration; or, as they say, are eat by a bird called _loata_, which walks upon their graves for that purpose.
I think I may venture to a.s.sert, that they do not wors.h.i.+p any thing that is the work of their own hands or any visible part of the creation. They do not make offerings of hogs, dogs, and fruit, as at Otaheite, unless it be emblematically; for their _morais_ were perfectly free from every thing of the kind. But that they offer real human sacrifices, is, with me, beyond a doubt. Their _morais_ or _fiatookas_, (for they are called by both names, but mostly by the latter), are, as at Otaheite, and many other parts of the world, burying-grounds, and places of wors.h.i.+p; though some of them seemed to be only appropriated to the first purpose; but these were small, and, in every other respect, inferior to the others.
Of the nature of their government, we know no more than the general outline. A subordination is established among them, that resembles the feudal system of our progenitors in Europe. But of its subdivisions, of the const.i.tuent parts, and in what manner they are connected, so as to form a body politic, I confess myself totally ignorant. Some of them told us, that the power of the king is unlimited, and that the life and property of the subject is at his disposal. But the few circ.u.mstances that fell under our observation, rather contradicted than confirmed the idea of a despotic government. Mareewagee, old Toobou, and Feenou, acted each like petty sovereigns, and frequently thwarted the measures of the king, of which he often complained. Neither was his court more splendid than those of the two first, who are the most powerful chiefs in the islands; and, next to them, Feenou, Mareewagee's son, seemed to stand highest in authority. But, however independent on the despotic power of the king the great men may be, we saw instances enough to prove, that the lower order of people have no property, nor safety for their persons, but at the will of the chiefs to whom they respectively belong.
Tongataboo is divided into many districts; of above thirty of which we learned the names. Each of these has its particular chief, who decides differences, and distributes justice within his own district. But we could not form any satisfactory judgment about the extent of their power in general, or their mode of proportioning punishments to crimes. Most of these chiefs have possessions in other islands from whence they draw supplies. At least, we know this is so with respect to the king, who, at certain established times, receives the product of his distant domains at Tongataboo, which is not only the princ.i.p.al place of his residence, but seemingly of all the people of consequence amongst these isles. Its inhabitants, in common conversation, call it the Land of Chiefs, while the subordinate isles are distinguished by the appellation of Lands of Servants.
These chiefs are, by the people, styled not only lords of the earth, but of the sun and sky; and the king's family a.s.sume the name of Futtafaihe, from the G.o.d so called, who is probably their tutelary patron, and perhaps their common ancestor. The sovereign's peculiar earthly t.i.tle is however, simply _Tooee Tunga_.
There is a decorum observed in the presence of their princ.i.p.al men, and particularly of their king, that is truly admirable. Whenever he sits, down, whether it be in an house, or without, all the attendants seat themselves at the same time, in a semicircle before him, leaving always a convenient s.p.a.ce between him and them, into which no one attempts to come, unless he has some particular business. Neither is any one allowed to pa.s.s, or sit behind him, nor even near him, without his order or permission, so that our having been indulged with this privilege, was a significant proof of the great respect that was paid us. When any one wants to speak with the king, he advances and sits down before him, delivers what he has to say in a few words, and, having received his answer, retires again to the circle. But if the king speaks to any one, that person answers from his seat, unless he is to receive some order, in which case he gets up from his place, and sits down before the chief with his legs across, which is a posture to which they are so much accustomed, that any other mode of sitting is disagreeable to them.[189]
To speak to the king standing, would be accounted here as a striking mark of rudeness, as it would be with us, for one to sit down and put on his hat, when he addresses himself to his superior, and that superior on his feet and uncovered.
[Footnote 189: This is peculiar to the men; the women always sitting with both legs thrown a little on one side. We owe this remark to Captain King.--D]
It does not, indeed, appear that any of the most civilized nations have ever exceeded this people in the great order observed on all occasions, in ready compliance with the commands of their chiefs; and in the harmony that subsists throughout all ranks, and unites them, as if they were all one man, informed with, and directed by the same principle.
Such a behaviour is remarkably obvious, whenever it is requisite that their chiefs should harangue any body of them collected together, which is frequently done. The most profound silence and attention is observed during the harangue, even to a much greater degree than is practised amongst us, on the most interesting and serious deliberations of our most respectable a.s.semblies. And whatever might have been the subject of the speech delivered, we never saw an instance, when any individual present shewed signs of his being displeased, or that indicated the least inclination to dispute the declared will of a person who had a right to command. Nay, such is the force of these verbal laws, as I may call them, that I have seen one of their chiefs express his being astonished, at a person's having acted contrary to such orders, though it appeared, that the poor man could not possibly have been informed in time to have observed them.[190]
[Footnote 190: Cantava gives us the same account of the profound submission of the Caroline islanders, to the orders of the _Tamole_.
”Ils recoivent ses ordres avec le plus profond respect. Ses paroles sont autant d'oracles, qu' on revere.”--_Lettres Edifiantes & Curieuses_, tom. xv. p. 312.--D.]
Though some of the more potent chiefs may vie with the king in point of actual possessions, they fall very short in rank, and in certain marks of respect, which the collective body have agreed to pay the monarch. It is a particular privilege annexed to his sovereignty, not to be punctured nor circ.u.mcised, as all his subjects are. Whenever he walks out, every one whom he meets must sit down till he has pa.s.sed. No one is allowed to be over his head; on the contrary, all must come under his feet, for there cannot be a greater outward mark of submission, than that which is paid to the sovereign, and other great people of these islands, by their inferiors. The method is this; the person who is to pay obeisance, squats down before the chief, and bows the head to the sole of his foot, which, when he sits, is so placed, that it can be easily come at, and having tapped, or touched it with the under and upper side of the fingers of both hands, he rises up and retires. It should seem that the king cannot refuse any one who chooses to pay him this homage, which is called _moe moea_; for the common people would frequently take it into their heads to do it when he was walking, and he was always obliged to stop, and hold up one of his feet behind him, till they had performed the ceremony. This, to a heavy unwieldy man, like Poulaho, must be attended with some trouble and pain; and I have sometimes seen him make a run, though very unable, to get out of the way, or to reach a place where he might conveniently sit down. The hands, after this application of them to the chief's feet, are, in some cases, rendered useless for a time; for, until they be washed, they must not touch any kind of food. This interdiction, in a country where water is so scarce, would seem to be attended with some inconvenience, but they are never at a loss for a succedaneum; and a piece of any juicy plant, which they can easily procure immediately, being rubbed upon them, this serves for the purpose of purification, as well as was.h.i.+ng them with water. When the hands are in this state, they call it _taboo rema_. _Taboo_, in general, signifies forbidden, and _rema_ is their word for hand.
When the _taboo_ is incurred, by paying obeisance to a great personage, it is thus easily washed off. But, in some other cases, it must necessarily continue for a certain time. We have frequently seen women, who have been _taboo rema_, fed by others. At the expiration of the time, the interdicted person washes herself in one of their baths, which are dirty holes, for the most part, of brackish water. She then waits upon the king, and, after making her obeisance in the usual way, lays hold of his foot and applies it to her breast, shoulders, and other parts of her body. He then embraces her on each shoulder, after which she retires, purified from her uncleanness. I do not know that it is always necessary to come to the king for this purpose, though Omai a.s.sured me it was. If this be so, it may be one reason why he is, for the most part, travelling from island to island. I saw this ceremony performed by him two or three times, and once by Feenou, to one of his own women; but as Omai was not then with me, I could not ask the occasion.
_Taboo_, as I have before observed, is a word of an extensive signification. Human sacrifices are called _tangata taboo_; and when any thing is forbidden to be eat, or made use of, they say, that is _taboo_.
They tell us, that if the king should happen to go into a house belonging to a subject, that house would be _taboo_, and could never be more inhabited by the owner; so that wherever he travels, there are particular houses for his reception. Old Toobou at this time presided over the _taboo_, that is, if Omai comprehended the matter rightly, he and his deputies inspected all the produce of the island, taking care that every man should cultivate and plant his quota, and ordering what should he eat, and what not. By this wise regulation, they effectually guard against a famine; a sufficient quant.i.ty of ground is employed in raising provisions, and every article thus raised, is secured from unnecessary waste.
By another prudent regulation in their government, they have an officer over the police, or something like it. This department, when we were amongst them, was administered by Feenou, whose business, we were told, it was to punish all offenders, whether against the state, or against individuals. He was also generalissimo, and commanded the warriors when called out upon service; but by all accounts this is very seldom. The king frequently took some pains to inform us of Feenou's office; and, among other things, told us, that if he himself should become a bad man, Feenou would kill him. What I understood by this expression of being a bad man, was, that if he did not govern according to law, or custom, Feenou would be ordered, by the other great men, or the people at large, to put him to death. There should seem to be no doubt, that a sovereign thus liable to be controuled, and punished for an abuse of power, cannot be called a despotic monarch.
When we consider the number of islands that compose this little state, and the distance at which some of them lie from the seat of government, attempts to throw off the yoke, and to acquire independency, it should seem, might be apprehended. But they tell us that this never happens.
One reason why they are not thus disturbed, by domestic quarrels, may be this: That all the powerful chiefs, as we have already mentioned, reside at Tongataboo. They also secure the dependence of the other islands, by the celerity of their operations; for if, at any time, a troublesome and popular man should start up in any of them, Feenou, or whoever holds his office, is immediately dispatched thither to kill him. By this means, they crush a rebellion in its very infancy.
The orders, or cla.s.ses, amongst their chiefs, or those who call themselves such, seemed to be almost as numerous as amongst us; but there are few, in comparison, that are lords of large districts of territory, the rest holding their lands under those princ.i.p.al barons, as they may be called. I was indeed told, that when a man of property dies, everything he leaves behind him falls to the king; but that it is usual to give it to the eldest son of the deceased, with an obligation to make a provision out of it for the rest of the children. It is not the custom here, as at Otaheite, for the son, the moment he is born, to take from the father the homage and t.i.tle, but he succeeds to them at his decease, so that their form of government is not only monarchical, but hereditary.
The order of succession to the crown has not been of late interrupted; for we know, from a particular circ.u.mstance, that the Futtafaihes (Poulaho being only an addition to distinguish the king from the rest of the family) have reigned in a direct line, for at least one hundred and thirty-five years. Upon enquiring, whether any account had been preserved amongst them, of the arrival of Tasman's s.h.i.+ps, we found that this history had been handed down to them from their ancestors, with an accuracy which marks, that oral tradition may sometimes be depended upon. For they described the two s.h.i.+ps as resembling ours, mentioning the place where they had anch.o.r.ed, their having staid but a few days, and their moving from that station to Annamooka. And by way of informing us how long ago this had happened, they told us the name of the Futtafaihe who was then king, and of those who had succeeded, down to Poulaho, who is the fifth since that period, the first being an old man at the time of the arrival of the s.h.i.+ps.
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