1779- THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 149 



of the vegetables, being deposited at the foot of the 

 image of the Eatooa, and a hymn chanted, their meal 

 commences. A ceremony of much the same kind is 

 also performed by the chiefs, whenever they drink 

 ava, between their meals. 



Human sacrifices are more frequent here, according 

 to the account of the natives themselves, than in 

 any other islands we visited. These horrid rites are 

 not only had recourse to upon the commencement of 

 war and preceding great battles, and other signal 

 enterprizes; but the death of any considerable chief 

 calls for a sacrifice of one or more Toivtows, according 

 to his rank ; and we were told, that ten men were 

 destined to suffer on the death of Terreeoboo. What 

 may (if any thing possibly can) lesson, in some small 

 degree, the horror of this practice, is, that the un- 

 happy victims have not the most distant intimation of 

 their fate. Those who are fixed upon to fall, are set 

 upon with clubs wherever they happen to be; and, 

 after being dispatched, are brought dead to the place 

 where the remainder of the rites are completed. The 

 reader will here call to his remembrance the skulls 

 of the captives, that had been sacrificed at the death 

 of some great chief, and which were fixed on the raita 

 round the top of the Moral at Kakooa. We got a far- 

 ther piece of intelligence upon this subject at the 

 village of Kowrowa; where, on our inquiring into 

 the use of a small piece of ground, inclosed with a 

 stone fence, we were told that it was an Here-eere, 

 or burying-ground of a chief; and there, added our 

 informer, pointing to one of the corners, lie the 

 tangata and waheene taboo, or the man and woman 

 who were sacrificed at his funeral. 



To this class of their customs may also be referred 

 that of knocking out their fore-teeth. Scarce any of 

 the lower people, and very few of the chiefs, were 

 seen, who had not lost one or more of them ; and we 

 always understood, that this voluntary punishment, 

 like the cutting off the joints of the finger at theFriend- 



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