7 
RACES BIBLIOGRAPHY COMMITTEE. 329 
practised. It appears to have been introduced from Tonga by 
the first settlers on Fotuna and Aniwa, who originally drifted 
from that Island. These drift natives have, in most of the islands, 
intermixed with the true Papuans, and propagated their own 
eustoms. The Loyalty Islanders, the natives of New Caledonia, 
and the Northern New Hebrides, who appear to be pure Papuans, 
are reported not to practise circumcision. 
The mythical origin of circumcision at Mangaia runs thus :— 
The god Rongo invented it in order to steal away the affections 
of Taka, the beautiful wife of his twin-brother Tangaroa. In this 
he was but too successful. Unable to endure this new affront 
put upon him by his unscrupulous brother, Tangaroa took flight 
(aecompanied by his other wife) to other lands, where he enjoys the 
supremacy justly due to the eldest-born divinity. Rongo enjoined 
the observance of circumcision upon his worshippers. 
It should be borne in mind that Rongo, tutelar god of Mangaia, 
is the “‘Orono” (or rather Rono) of the Sandwich Islands; the 
“Oro” (or rather Ro’o) of Tahiti and most of the Leeward 
Islands ; “'Terongo” (= fe Rongo) of Atiu; the “Longo” of 
Samoa. In some mythologies he is the soz of Tangaroa, in others 
the ¢win-brother, to indicate equal rank. 
The modus operandi is as follows: a piece of cocoanut shell 
(scraped smooth and thin) is introduced beneath the upper part 
of the prepuce, and a longitudinal slit made. The divided 
prepuce is then drawn underneath into a slight twist. A soothing 
application heals the wound in a few days. The operator 
frequently renews the twist, so that eventually a small lump 
remains underneath the urethra. I asked a venerable deacon the 
motive for this singular custom. Respondit ille: Hoc facere eo 
consilio, cum ne album illud (piapia quam vocant), sub preputio 
exsistat ; tum autem maxime, quo magis femine venerea voluptate 
fruantur. I believe that the statement of my aged friend is 
perfectly correct; indeed, it may serve to explain why Polynesian 
women are far more lascivious than their Melanesian sisters in 
the Western Pacific, where this curious practice was originally 
unknown. 
MARRIAGE, 
Special messengers, of high social rank, are despatched to 
make the proposal and convey presents in ratification of the 
contract ; but the betrothed child usually remains in the custody 
of its parents, now and then paying a visit to the other parties 
with much ceremony and under proper guardianship. 
Marriage never occurs by force or capture. Sometimes a fallen 
tribe or family would endeavour to resuscitate its fortunes by 
giving in marriage the flower of the tribe to some disagreeable 
but powerful old chief. 
The pet daughter of a chief often married into an inferior or 
