Part 7

The temples of the Tahitians were the maraes, enclosures of stones, where the offerings were rendered, and on certain occasions human beings were sacrificed. The largest marae ever built in Tahiti is located at Papara and the ruins of it remain to-day. At the time of Captain Cook's visit there were numerous maraes all over the island, which served as places of worship, sacrifice and burial. The supreme chief of the whole island was always housed in a marae and after his death the marae was appropriated to his family and some of the principal people. Such a marae differed little from the common ones, except in extent. Its principal part is a large, oblong pile of stones, lying loosely upon each other, about twelve or fourteen feet high, contracted towards the top, with a square area on each side, loosely packed with pebble stones, under which the bones of the chiefs are buried. At a little distance from the end nearest the sea is the place where the sacrifices are offered, which, for a considerable extent, is also loosely paved. There is here a very large scaffold, or whatta, on which the offerings, and other vegetables, are laid. But the animals are deposited on a smaller one, already mentioned, and the human sacrifices are buried under different parts of the pavement. The marae is the altar of other nations. The skulls of the human sacrifices, after a few months, are exhumed and preserved in the marae.

Captain Cook counted forty-nine such skulls in the marae in which he witnessed the human sacrifice.

Cannibalism did not exist in Tahiti when the island was discovered, but human sacrifices were quite frequently offered as a kind of religious ceremony to appease the anger or displeasure of some offended god. The victims were tramps and persons of no vocation. They were either clubbed or stoned to death by persons designated for this purpose by the priests. On Saturday, August 30, 1777, while Captain Cook was stationed at Matavai for the purpose of observing the transit of Venus, he received a message that on the following day a human sacrifice would be made at Attahura, to Eatooa, to implore the assistance of the deity against the inhabitants of the island of Moorea, who were then in a state of war with Tahiti. Towha, a chief and relative of the then reigning king, had killed a man for the sacrifice. Captain Cook, with several friends, accompanied King Otoo to witness the ceremony, and describes the event in detail:

On our way we landed upon a little island, which lies off Tettaha, where we found Towha and his retinue. After some little conversation between the two chiefs, on the subject of the war, Towha addressed himself to me, asking my assistance. When I excused myself, he seemed angry; thinking it strange I, who had always declared myself to be the friend of their island, should not go and fight against its enemies. Before we parted he gave to Otoo two or three red feathers, tied up in a tuft; and a lean, half-starved dog was put in a canoe that was to accompany us. We then embarked again, taking on board a priest who was to assist at the solemnity. As soon as we landed at Attahura, which was about two o'clock in the afternoon, Otoo expressed his desire that the seamen might be ordered to remain in the boat, and that Mr. Anderson, Mr. Webber and myself might take off our hats as soon as we should come to the marai, to which we immediately proceeded, attended by a great many men, and some boys, but not one woman. We found four priests and their attendants, or assistants, waiting for us.

The dead body, or sacrifice, was in a small canoe that lay on the beach and partly in the water of the sea, fronting the marai. Two of the priests, with some of the attendants, were sitting by the canoe, the others at the marai. Our company stopped about twenty or thirty paces from the priests. Here Otoo placed himself; we, and a few others standing by him, while the bulk of the people remained at a greater distance. The ceremony now began. One of the priest's attendants brought a young plantain tree, and laid it down before Otoo. Another approached with a small tuft of red feathers, twisted on some fibres of the cocoanut husk, with which he touched one of the King's, feet and then retired with it to his companions. One of the priests, seated at the marai, facing those who were upon the beach, now began a long prayer; and, at certain times, sent down young plantain trees, which were laid upon the sacrifice. During this prayer, a man, who stood by the officiating priest, held in his hands two bundles, seemingly of cloth. One of them, as we afterward found, was the royal Maro; and the other, if I may be allowed the expression, was the ark of the Eatooa. As soon as the prayer was ended, the priests at the marai, with their attendants, went and sat down by those upon the beach, carrying with them the two bundles. Here they renewed their prayers, during which the plantain trees were taken, one by one, at different times, from off the sacrifice, which was partly wrapped up in cocoa-leaves and small branches.

It was now taken out of the canoe and laid upon the beach, with the feet to the sea. The priests placed themselves around it, some sitting and others standing; and one, or more of them, repeated sentences for about ten minutes. The dead body was now uncovered, by removing the leaves and branches, and laid in a parallel direction with the seashore. One of the priests then, standing at the feet of it, pronounced a long prayer, in which he was, at times, joined by the others, each holding in his hand a tuft of red feathers. In the course of this prayer, some hair was pulled off the head of the sacrifice, and the left eye taken out; both of which were presented to Otoo, and wrapped up in a green leaf. He did not, however, touch it; but gave, to the man who presented it, the tuft of feathers, which he had received from Towha. This, with the hair and the eye, was carried back to the priests. Soon after, Otoo sent to them another piece of feathers, which he had given me in the morning to keep in my pocket. During some part of this last ceremony, a kingfisher making a noise in the trees, Otoo turned to me saying, "That is the Eatooa;" and seemed to look upon it to be a good omen.

The body was then carried a little way, with its head toward the marai, and laid under a tree, near which were fixed three broad, thin pieces of wood, differently but rudely carved. The bundles of cloth were laid on a part of the marai, and the tufts of red feathers were placed at the feet of the sacrifice, round which the priests took their stations, and we were now allowed to go as near as we pleased. He seemed to be the chief priest who sat at a small distance, and spoke for a quarter of an hour, but with different tones and gestures; so that he seemed often to expostulate with the dead person, to whom he constantly addressed himself, and sometimes asked several questions, seemingly with respect to the propriety of his having been killed. At other times, he made several demands, as if the deceased either now had power himself, or interest with the divinity, to engage him to comply with such requests. Among the petitions we understood, he asked him to deliver Eimeo (Moorea), Maheine its chief, the hogs, women and other things of the island into their hands; which was, indeed, the express intention of the sacrifice. He then chanted a prayer, which lasted nearly half an hour, in whining, melancholy tone, accompanied by two other priests, and in which Potatou and some others joined. In the course of this prayer, some more hair was plucked by a priest from the head of the corpse, and put upon one of the bundles. After this, the chief priest prayed alone, holding in his hand the feathers which came from Towha. When he had finished, he gave them to another, who prayed in like manner. Then all the tufts of the feathers were laid upon the bundles of cloth, which closed the ceremony at this place.

The corpse was then carried up to the most conspicuous part of the marai, with the feathers, the two bundles of cloth, and the drums, the last of which beat slowly. The feathers and bundles were laid against the pile of stones, and the corpse at the foot of them. The priests having again seated themselves round it, renewed their prayers, while some of their attendants dug a hole about two feet deep, into which they threw the unhappy victim, and covered it over with earth and stones. While they were putting him into the grave, a boy squeaked aloud and Omai (Captain Cook's interpreter) said that it was the Eatooa.

The human sacrifice was followed by the offering of dogs and pigs. The many prayers and complicated ceremonies attending human sacrifice stamp it as a religious rite which has undoubtedly been practiced for centuries. In this particular instance it meant a message through the instrumentality of the unfortunate victim to implore Eatooa for assistance in the impending war with Moorea.

It is very interesting indeed to have an account of this ceremony preserved by an eyewitness like Captain Cook, and no apology is necessary here to have it reappear in all its minute details. Another religious ceremony of lesser import is circumcision. How this custom was introduced into Tahiti no one knows. It is more than probable that, in some way it came from the distant Orient in a modified form. It differs from the Jewish rite in that it is not performed on infants, but on boys approaching the age of puberty. Captain Cook gives the following description of the operation as he observed it:

When there are five or six lads pretty well grown up in a neighborhood the father of one of them goes to a Tahoua, or man of knowledge, and lets him know. He goes with the lads to the top of the hills, attended by a servant; and, seating one of them properly, introduces a piece of wood underneath the foreskin, and desires him to look aside at something he pretends is coming. Having thus engaged the young man's attention to another object, he cuts through the skin upon the wood, with a shark's tooth, generally at one stroke. He then separates, or rather turns back, the divided parts; and, having put on a bandage, proceeds to perform the same operation on the other lads. At the end of five days they bathe, and the bandages being taken off, the matter is cleaned away. At the end of five days more they bathe again, and are well; but a thickness of the prepuce, where it was cut, remaining, they go again to the mountains with the Tahoua and servant; and a fire being prepared, and some stones heated, the Tahoua puts the prepuce between two of them, and squeezes it gently, which removes the thickness. They then return home, having their heads and other parts of their bodies, adorned with odoriferous flowers, and the Tahoua is rewarded for his services by their fathers, in proportion to their several abilities, with presents of hogs and cloth; and if they be poor, their relations are liberal on the occasion.

How the wise man managed to keep the boys together during two such painful ordeals is not easy to understand, but as they remained at their posts until all had passed through it speaks volumes for their good behavior and manly courage. That the Tahitians possessed many admirable virtues during their paganism proves only too clearly that

Virtue is shut out from no one; she is open to all, accepts all, invites all, gentlemen, freedmen, slaves, kings and exiles; she selects neither house nor fortune; she is satisfied with a human without adjuncts.

SENECA.

These virtues, the prayers, the sacrifices, the belief in a supreme being and eternity, show that the Tahitians were imbued with a natural religion, for

The existence of God is so many ways manifest and the obedience we owe Him so congruous to the light of reason, that a great part of mankind give testimony to the law of nature.

LOCKE.

The natives had no literature nor any communication with the outside world farther than the neighboring island groups. Their only book was nature, and this was read and studied with eagerness and intelligence. Their ancient history consisted of legendary lore handed down from generation to generation. But

There are books extant which they must needs allow of as proper evidence; even the mighty volumes of visible nature, and the everlasting tables of right reason.

BENTLEY.

From century to century, from generation to generation, these people, without leaving a permanent record of what had happened and without being conscious of art or science, lived and died in a state of happiness and contentment.

For he had no catechism but the creation, needed no study but recollection, and read no book but the volume of the world.

SOUTH.

That ignorance and vice should have existed among this primitive people, so completely isolated from the progressive part of the world, is not strange, as they lived in a land of plenty, fed and clothed, as it were, by the almost unaided resources of nature, conditions largely responsible for their inborn laziness. Ignorance and superstition go hand in hand. The Tahitians have always been extremely superstitious and both civilization and Christianization have been powerless in eradicating this national evil. We must, however, judge them not too severely in this matter, as superstition is by no means uncommon amongst us at the present day. Our best poets are not exempt from it.

I think it is the weakness of mine eyes

That shapes this wondrous apparition:

It comes upon me!

SHAKESPEARE.

Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep.

MILTON.

A person terrified with the imagination of spectres is more reasonable than one who thinks the appearance of spirits fabulous and groundless.

ADDISON.

With the progress and spread of education of the masses, superstition will gradually be starved out here as elsewhere. The greatest vice of the Tahitians is licentiousness, which remains as when Captain Cook visited the island. In speaking of the looseness of the marital relations, he says:

And so agreeable is this licentious plan of life to their disposition, that the most beautiful of both sexes thus commonly spend their youthful days, habituated to the practice of enormities which would disgrace the most savage tribes, but are peculiarly shocking amongst a people whose general character in other respects has evident traces of the prevalence of humane and tender feelings.

The Tahitians have reason to claim that

The vices collected through so many ages for a long time past flow in upon us.

SENECA.

Intemperance among the natives has never had a firm foothold in the island and tobacco is used with moderation. Gambling, such a common vice among the peoples of the Orient, has never been cultivated and practiced to any extent in Tahiti. These ocean-bound people, living in happy and contented isolation, had no desire for national or personal wealth or fame, neither had they any inclination or desire for art or the sciences. They believed in the mottoes:

If you are but content, you have enough to live upon with comfort.

PLAUTUS.

and

Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude.

SIR WALTER SCOTT.

They lived a restful, unselfish life, happy in the companionship of their families, relatives and friends, with no morbid desires to distract them from the full enjoyment of what Nature showered upon them with bountiful never-failing liberality.

Their customs are by Nature wrought; But we, by art, unteach what Nature taught.

DRYDEN.

THE INSIGNIA OF TAHITIAN ROYALTY

Tahitian royalty was hereditary, and women were not excluded. There were chiefs and chiefesses governing tribes, and head chiefs and head chiefesses ruling over several tribes or the whole island. There were no crowns and no sceptres. The insignia of royalty was a belt ornamented with feathers. The red feathers were what the diamonds and other precious stones are in ancient and modern crowns. This belt was called Maro. Captain Cook gives the following description of a maro:

It is a girdle, about five yards long, and fifteen inches broad; and, from its name, seems to be put on in the same manner as is the common maro, or piece of cloth used by these people to wrap round the waist. It was ornamented with red and yellow feathers; but mostly with the latter, taken from a dove found upon the island. The one end was bordered with eight pieces, each about the size and shape of a horseshoe, having their edges fringed with black feathers. The other end was forked, and the points were of different lengths. The feathers were in square compartments, ranged in two rows, and otherwise so disposed to produce a pleasing effect. They had been first pasted or fixed upon some of their own cloth, and then sewed to the upper end of the pendant which Captain Wallis had displayed, and left flying ashore, the first time that he landed at Matavai.

This insignia of office was highly respected by the natives and was handed down from one generation of rulers to the other, carrying with it the sovereignty of the office. One of the civil wars in the island was caused by a failure on the part of one of the chief esses (Purea) to deliver the maro to her legitimate successor.

DISEASES OF TAHITI

Before the Europeans came to Tahiti, the beautiful little island was a sanatorium. The natives were temperate, frugal in their habits, subsisting almost exclusively on fish, fruit and vegetables, and lived practically an outdoor life even in their bamboo huts. They were unencumbered by useless clothing and spent, as they do now, much of their time in sea and fresh-water bathing. They were almost exempt from acute destructive diseases. They were free from the most fatal of acute contagious and infectious diseases, such as smallpox, measles, scarlatina, cholera, etc. Tuberculosis and venereal diseases were unknown before the white man invaded the island. The immediate effect of the European civilization on the health and lives of the natives was frightful. On this subject I will let Ariitaimai speak:

When England and France began to show us the advantages of their civilization, we were, as races then went, a great people. Hawaii, Tahiti, the Marquesas, Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand made a respectable figure on the earth's surface, and contained a population of no small size, better fitted than any other possible community for the condition in which they lived. Tahiti, being the first to come in close contact with the foreigners, was first to suffer. The people, who numbered, according to Cook, two hundred thousand in 1767, numbered less than twenty thousand in 1797, according to the missionaries, and only about five thousand in 1803. This frightful mortality has been often doubted, because Europeans have naturally shrunk from admit ting the horrors of their own work, but no one doubts it who belongs to the native race. Tahiti did not stand alone in misery; what happened there happened everywhere, not only in the great groups of high islands, like Hawaii with three or four hundred thousand people, but in little coral atolls which could only support a few score.

These are strong words, but they are nevertheless only too true. Civilization brings to savage races curses as well as blessings. The primitive people are more receptive of new vices than new virtues.

In 1880 the number of inhabitants had again increased to thirteen thousand five hundred, but since that time it has been reduced to eleven thousand, as shown by the last census. When Captain Cook visited the island he emphasized particularly the absence of acute diseases. In speaking of chronic diseases he remarks:

They only reckon five or six which might be called chronic, or national disorders, amongst which are the dropsy and the _fefai_, or indolent swellings before mentioned as frequent at Tongataboo.

The fearful, swift depopulation of the island was caused by the introduction of new acute infectious and contagious diseases, such as smallpox, measles, whooping-cough, la grippe, etc., which among these people was attended by a frightful mortality. It was only three years ago that an epidemic of measles, a trifling disease with us, claimed several hundred lives, including many adults, and extended to nearly all of the islands of the entire group. The disease that is now threatening the extinction of the race in a short time is pulmonary tuberculosis. The natives are extremely susceptible to this disease, and the small native houses, crowded with large families, are the breeding stations for infection.

The French government has at last recognized the need of taking active measures to improve the sanitary conditions of their colony and protect the natives against the spread of infectious diseases. A corps of three physicians, sent by the French government on this mission, made the voyage from San Francisco to the island on the steamer _Mariposa_ with me. The names of these physicians are: Dr. Grosfillez, surgeon-major of the first class of the colonial troops; Dr. H. Rowan, a graduate of the Pasteur Institute, and Dr. F. Cassiau, of the clinic of Marseilles. The military surgeon receives an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars, the two civil doctors twelve hundred dollars each. They are under contract for five years. They have been given judicial power to enforce all sanitary regulations they see fit to institute. They will be stationed at different points and will establish a requisite number of lazarettos, something which will fill a long-felt and pressing need.

PRESENT PREVAILING DISEASES

The average temperature of the inhabited part of the island, which can not be less than 78 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, has a relaxing influence on the natives and much more so on the small contingent of whites. The Europeans and Americans find it necessary every three to five years to seek for a few months a cooler climate to restore their energies and vigor. The government officials and officers of the small garrison are not obliged to serve for more than the same time consecutively, when they are relieved from their posts and commands. It is this relaxation which, to a certain extent, at least, is responsible for the great mortality of comparatively mild, acute, infectious diseases, and the severity of pulmonary tuberculosis among the natives. Tuberculosis of the lymphatic glands, skin, bones and joints appears to be extremely rare. The moisture-laden atmosphere and the suddenness with which the cool land and ocean breezes set in after the heat of the day, are conducive to the development of rheumatic affections, which are prevalent in all parts of the island, more especially during the rainy season in midwinter. The same can be said of bronchial affections and pneumonia. The free and unrestrained intercourse among natives accounts for the rapid spread of tuberculosis and acute infectious diseases among the entire population and from island to island.