THE FIRE WALK CEREMONY IN TAHITI.'^ 



Bv S. P. Langley. 



The very remarkable description of the tire walk collected by Mr. 

 Andrew Lang- and others had aroused a curiosity in me to witness the 

 original ceremony, which I have lately been able to gratify in a visit 

 to Tahiti. 



Among these notable accounts is one by Colonel Gudgeon, British 

 resident at Raratonga, describing the experiment by a man from 

 Raiatea, and also a like account of the Fiji lire ceremony from Dr. T. 

 ]\I. Hocken, whose article is also quoted in Mr. Lang's paper on the 

 '• Fire Walk," in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical 

 Research, February, 1900. This extraordinary rite is also described 

 by Mr. Eraser in the Golden Bough, and by others. 



I had heard that it was performed in Tahiti in 1897, and several 

 persons there assured me of their having seen it, and one of them of 

 his having walked through the fire himself under the guidance of the 

 priest, Papa-Ita, who is said to be one of the last remnants of a cer- 

 tain order of the priesthood of Raiatea, and who had also performed 

 the rite at the island of Hawaii some time in the present 3 ear, of 

 which circumstantial newspaper accounts were given, agreeing in all 

 essential particulars with those in the accounts already cited. Accord- 

 ing to these, a pit was dug in which large stones were heated red-hot 

 by a fire which had been burning many hours. The upper stones 

 were pushed away just before the ceremon}', so as to leave the lower 

 stones to tread upon, and over these, "glowing red-hot" (according 

 to the newspaper accounts), Papa-Ita had walked with naked feet, 

 exciting such enthusiasm that he was treated with great consideration 

 by the whites, and b}' the natives as a god. I found it commonly 

 believed in Tahiti that anyone who chose to walk after him. European 

 or native, could do so in safet}', secure in the magic which he exer- 

 cises, if his instructions were exactly followed. Here in Tahiti, where 

 he had " walked" four years l)efore, it was generally believed among 

 the natives, and even among the Europeans present who had seen the 

 ceremony, that if anyone turned around to look back he immediately 



"Reprinted from Nature, London, August 22, 1901. 



539 



