156 cook's voyage to dec 



who were afterward married, and produced, first 

 land, and then a race of gods. Otai is killed, and 

 Oroo marries a god, her son, called Teorraha, whom 

 she orders to create more land, the animals, and ali 

 sorts of food upon the earth ; as also the sky, which 

 is supported by men called Teeferei. The spots ob- 

 served in the moon, are supposed to be groves of a 

 sort of trees which once grew in Otaheite, and being 

 destroyed by some accident, their seeds were carried 

 up thither by doves, where they now flourish. 



They have also many legends, both religious and 

 historical ; one of which latter, relative to the practice 

 of eating human flesh, I shall give the substance of, 

 as a specimen of their method. A long time since, 

 there lived in Otaheite two men called Taheeai; the 

 only name they yet have for cannibals. None knew 

 from whence they came, or in what manner they ar- 

 rived at the island. Their habitation was in the moun- 

 tains, from whence they used to issue, and kill many 

 of the natives, whom they afterwards devoured, and 

 by that means prevented the progress of population. 

 Two brothers, determined to rid their country of 

 such a formidable enemy, used a stratagem for their 

 destruction w 7 ith success. These still lived farther 

 upward than the Taheeai, and in such a situation, 

 that they could speak with them without greatly 

 hazarding their own safety. They invited them to 

 accept of an entertainment that should be pro- 

 vided for them, to which these readily consented. 

 The brothers then taking some stones, heated them 

 in a fire, and thrusting them into pieces of mahee, 

 desired one of the Taheeai to open his mouth. On 

 which, one of these pieces was dropped in, and some 

 water poured down, which made a boiling or hissing- 

 noise in quenching the stone, and killed him. They 

 intreated the other to do the same ; but he declined 

 it, representing the consequences of his companion's 

 eating. However, they assured him that the food 

 was excellent, and its effects only temporary ; foi 





