470 CANNIBALISM. 



a sort of unholy sacrament. This is proved by the fact that, 

 after a battle, the bodies which they preferred were not those 

 of plump young men or tender damsels, but of the most cele- 

 brated chiefs, however old and dry they might be.* In fact, 

 they believed that it was not only the material substance 

 which they thus appropriated, but also the spirit, the ability, 

 and the glory of him whom they devoured. The greater the 

 number of corpses they had eaten, the higher they thought 

 would be their position in the world to come. The Fans of 

 Central Africa are said to entertain a similar idea. Under 

 such a creed, there is a certain dignity about the habit, which 

 is, at any rate, far removed from the sensuality of ordinary 

 cannibalism. To be eaten was, on the other hand, the greatest 

 misfortune that could happen to a New Zealander ; since he 

 believed that the soul was thus destroyed as well as the body. 

 The chief who could both kill and devour his enemy had 

 nothing more to fear from him either in this world or the 

 next ; on the contrary, the strength, ability, and prestige 

 against which he had had to contend, were not only con- 

 quered, but, by this dreadful process, incorporated with and 

 added to his own. 



In other cases, slaves were killed and eaten in honour of 

 the gods. The New Zealanders declared that criminals alone 

 were thus treated. The celebrated chief, E'hongui, evidently 

 considered that the whole analogy of nature was in favour of 

 cannibalism. He was surprised at the horror of it felt by 

 D'Urville. Big fish, he said, eat little fish ; insects devour 

 insects ; large birds feed upon small ones ; it is in accordance 

 with the whole analogy of nature that men should eat their 



enemies.-f 



Tahiti. 



Tahiti, the queen of islands, has excited the wonder and 

 admiration of almost all those by whom it has been visited. 



* D'Urville, vol. ii. p. 547. t Ibid. p. 548. 



