42 cook's voyage to SEPT. 



king, holding it to his mouth, which he desires him 

 to open ; but, instead of putting it in, immediately 

 withdraws it. This they call " eating the man," or, 

 " food for the chief;" and, perhaps, we may observe 

 here some traces of former times, when the dead 

 body was really feasted upon. 



But not to insist upon this ; it is certain, that hu- 

 man sacrifices are not the only barbarous custom we 

 iind still prevailing amongst this benevolent, humane 

 people. For, besides cutting out the jaw-bones of 

 their enemies slain in battle, which they carry about 

 as trophies, they, in some measure, offer their dead 

 bodies as a sacrifice to the Eatooa. Soon after a 

 battle, in which they have been victors, they collect 

 all the dead that have fallen into their hands, and 

 bring them to the morai, where, with a great deal of 

 ceremony, they dig a hole, and bury them all in it, 

 as so many offerings to the gods ; but then: skulls are 

 never after taken up. 



Their own great chiefs, that fall in battle, are treated 

 in a different manner. We were informed, that their 

 late king Tootaha, Tubourai-tamaide, and another 

 chief, who fell with them in the battle, fought with 

 those of Tiaraboo, and were brought to this moral, at 

 Attahooroo. There their bowels were cut out by the 

 priests, before the great altar, and the bodies after- 

 wards buried in three different places, which were 

 pointed out to us, in the great pile of stones, that com- 

 pose the most conspicuous part of this moral. And 

 their common men, who also fell in this battle, were 

 all buried in one hole, at the foot of the pile. This, 

 Omai, who was present, told me was done the day 

 after the battle, with much pomp and ceremony, and 

 in the midst of a great concourse of people, as a 

 thanksgiving-offering to the Eatooa, for the victory 

 they had obtained ; while the vanquished had taken 

 refuge in the mountains. There they remained a 

 week, or ten days, till the fury of the victors was 

 over, and a treaty set on foot, by which it was 



3 



