52 Proceeduigs of the Royal Society of Victoria. 



sufficient for our present purpose to merel}^ name them : — 

 (1) At every funeral, every man, woman, and child has a 

 little given to them. If it be the funeral of a wealthy man, 

 the amount given to chiefs is from two to three fathoms, to 

 other adults a quarter to half a fathom, and to lads an eighth 

 to a quarter. (2) All the women present at a birth get a 

 little " tabu," according to the wealth of the father, from 

 two to five fathoms. (8) A marriageable young man is 

 caught, and held down while " tabu " is distributed to the 

 spectators. (4) The poor man, who has been beggared to buy 

 his wife, has a few fathoms given him by his wife's relatives, 

 first for " house-warming," and afterwards at the birth of the 

 first child. As we consider native customs, we shall see that 

 a man is compelled by public opinion to give, if he has it to 

 give, or can borrow it. Truly there is " nothing for nothing " 

 in this country, but anything and everything for " tabu." It 

 will buy a person out of any difficulty ; an adulteress may buy 

 her life for less than ten fathoms ; a few fathoms will secure 

 the death of an adult by secret murder, and less than that 

 by witchcraft ; and ten fathoms will make a whole tribe an 

 ally in war. 



There are no born chiefs here ; money alone constitutes a 

 chief, but of course, some are born wealthy, and in that way 

 may be said to be born chiefs. Wealth is power. A young 

 man borrows from a chief either for his marriage or his 

 initiation into one of the clubs or secret societies, and until 

 the debt with interest is paid he is a vassal to the chief, to 

 run on messages, to dig his land, to paddle his canoe, or fight 

 in his battles. A man who has plenty of " tabu " can buy 

 soldiers by the tribe as long as it lasts. On state occasions 

 it is exhibited, and for this purpose coils of " tabu " are hired 

 for the occasion. 



Two thousand fathoms may be said to constitute a million- 

 aire, and these are not more numerous than in European 

 countries. But wealthy misers are more numerous by far 

 than among Europearis — men who are mean, and who live 

 miserably, for no apparent purpose other than that of dying 

 rich. 



