Part 20 (1/2)
I protested, ”That is not the Devil; it is only the body of a serpent”
The ame! He is Teapolo
Heup this hint by many inquiries, then and afterwards, I found that they clearly associated s somehoith the serpent They worshi+ped the Serpent, as a spirit of evil, under the name of Matshi+ktshi+ki; that is to say, they lived in abject terror of his influence, and all their worshi+p was directed towards propitiating his rage against in of their own Aniwa and the adjacent Islands, is much more an outcome of the unaided Native mind They say that Matshi+ktshi+ki fished up these lands out of the sea
And they show the deep print of his foot on the coral rocks, opposite each island, whereon he stood as he strained and lifted the-line round Fotuna, thirty-six miles distant, to draw it close to Aniwa and make them one land; but, as he pulled, the line broke and he fell, where his mark may still be seen upon the rock--so the Islands remain separated unto this day
Matshi+ktshi+ki placed men and women on Aniwa On the southern end of the Island there was a beautiful spring and a freshwater river, with rich land all around, for plantations But the people would not do what Matshi+ktshi+ki wanted thery, and split off the richer part of Aniith the spring and river, and sailed with thelis has since built his beautiful Mission Station To this day, the river there is called ”the water of Aniwa” by the inhabitants of both islands; and it is the ambition of all Aniwans to visit Aneityuh to each other, ”Alas, for the waters of Aniwa!”
Their picture of the Flood is equally grotesque Far back, when the volcano now on Tanna was part of Aniwa, the rain fell and fell from day to day, and the sea rose till it threatened to cover everything All were drowned except the feho climbed up on the volcano mountain The sea had already put out the volcano at the southern end of Aniwa; and Matshi+ktshi+ki, elt in the greater volcano, beco fire too, split it off from Aniith all the land on the southeastern side, and sailed it across to Tanna on the top of the flood There, by his h mountain in Tanna, where it re of the sea, he was unable to transfer his big fire to Aniwa; and so it was reduced to a very small island, without a volcano, and without a river, for the sins of the people long ago
Even where there are no snakes they apply the superstitions about the serpent to a large, black, poisonous lizard called _Kekvau_ They call it Teapolo, and woht of one
One of the darkest and most hideous blots on Heathenism is the practice of Infanticide Only three cases cae on Aniwa; but we publicly denounced the, but the selfish interests of the community for the protection of the children These three were the last that died there by parents'
hands A young husband, who had been jealous of his wife, buried their male child alive as soon as born An old Tanna wo at last a fine healthy boy born to her, threw him into the sea before any one could interfere to save And a savage, in anger with his wife, snatched her baby froht, and returned without the child, refusing to give any explanation, except that he was dead and buried Praise be to God, these three murderers of their own children were by and by touched with the story of Jesus, became members of the Church, and each adopted little orphan children, towards whom they continued to show the most tender affection and care
Wife-iti couple, happy in every respect except that they had no children Thea Heathen, resolved to take home another wife, a ith two children This was naturally opposed by his young wife And, without the slightest warning, while she sat plaiting a basket, he discharged a ball into her froed in her side Everything was done that was in my power to save her life; but on the tenth day tetanus came on, and she soon after passed away Thea Heathen, he insisted that she had no right to oppose his wishes! He was not in any way punished or disrespected by the people of his village, but went out and in ast them as usual, and took home the other woan to attend Church and School regularly with her children; and at last he also ca very e for to train them all for the Lord Jesus, and they take their places ive a wonderful shock, I suppose, to hty to Save” conveys no ideas of reality, to be told that nine or ten convertedwith them the Holy Cohs every motive and circumstance, has perhaps much more reason to be shocked by the presence of some of themselves Penitence opens all the heart of God--”To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise”
CHAPTER LXIV
NELwang'S ELOPEMENT
SOME most absurd and preposterous experiences were forced upon us by the habits and notions of the people A's elopeun, in spare hours, to lay the foundation of two additional rooms for our house, and felt rather uneasy to see a well-known savage hanging around every day with his to me at work He had killed a man, before our arrival on Aniwa; and had also startled st the boxes, and causing her to run for life On seeing hily near, to, do you want to speak to me?”
”Yes, Missi,” he replied; ”if you will help me noill be your friend forever”
I answered, ”I aht me here and keeps me here”
”Yes,” said he very earnestly, ”but I want you to be strong asfor you!”
I replied, ”Well, how can I help you?”
He quickly answered, ”I want to get married, and I need your help”
I protested,--”Nelwang, you know that ht and betrothed to their future husbands How can I interfere? You don't want to bring evil on ht cost us our lives”
”No! no! Missi,” earnestly retorted Nelwang ”No one hears of this, or can hear Only help me now You tell me, if you were my circumstances, hoould you act?”