1778. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 229 



may properly be considered as closely connected, has 

 been already mentioned. And as nothing more 

 strongly points out the affinity between the manners 

 of these people and of the Friendly and Society 

 Islands, I must just mention some other circum- 

 stances to place this in a strong point of view, and, at 

 the same time, to show how a few of the infinite modi- 

 fications of which a few leading principles are capable 

 may distinguish any particular nation. The people 

 of Tongataboo inter their dead in a very decent man- 

 ner, and they also inter their human sacrifices ; but 

 they do not offer or expose any other anima or even 

 vegetable to their gods, as far as we know. Those of 

 Otaheite do not inter their dead, but expose them to 

 waste by time and putrefaction, though the bones are 

 afterwards buried ; and, as this is the case, it is very 

 remarkable that they should inter the entire bodies 

 of their human sacrifices. They also offer other 

 animals and vegetables to their gods, but are by no 

 means attentive to the state of the sacred places, where 

 those solemn rites are performed, most erf their morals 

 being in a ruinous condition, and bearing evident 

 marks of neglect. The people of Atooi, again, inter 

 both their common dead and human sacrifices, as at 

 Tongataboo \ but they resemble those of Otaheite in 

 the slovenly state of their religious places, and in 

 offering vegetables and animals to their gods. 



The taboo also prevails in Atooi in its full extent, and 

 seemingly with much more rigour than even at Ton- 

 gataboo. For the people here always asked, with great 

 eagerness and signs of fear to offend, whether any 

 particular thing which they desired to see, or we were 

 unwilling to show, was taboo, or, as they pronounced 

 the word, tafoo ? The maia, raa 9 or forbidden arti- 

 cles at the Society Islands, though doubtless the 

 same thing, did not seem to be so strictly observed 

 by them, except with respect to the dead, about whom 

 we thought them more superstitious than any of the 

 others were. But these are circumstance with 



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