THE HAWAIIAN PEOPLE. 53 



th(? priests accompanyiug tlie armies, l)earing their idols aloft — that the bodies 

 of the first slain in battle might be properly offered to the gods. Their idols 

 took the place of banners. During the heat of battle they would be advanced 

 iu the midst of the warriors, while the priests, supporting them, to cheer their 

 followers and spread terror in the heai'ts of the enemy, would give blood curdling 

 yells accompanying them with frightful grimaces, all of which were sui)])osed to 

 come from the images themselves, and to be an unmistakable token that the 

 gods were in their midst. 



In opening the attacl<, it is related, a single warrior wcudd sometimes ad- 

 vance from the ranks, armed only with a fan and when within hailing distance 

 would proceed to blackguard the enemy, daring them to attack him single-handed. 

 This exasperating challenge M'ould be answered by a nmnber of spears being 

 hurled at the taunting warrior, who would nimbly avoid them or seize them in 

 his hands and hurl them back at the enemy. Such incendiary manoeuvers were 

 well calculated to precipitate trouble and not infrequently they resulted in the 

 death of the intrepid warrior. A fierce .struggle would then folk)w to gain 

 possession of his body. 



Their battles were often almost hand to hand encounters, lasting some- 

 times for days. However, thi'y do not s<'eni to have been very fatal. Often 

 they resulted in routing one party or the other, the conquerors taking possession 

 of the land and portioning it out among the victorious chiefs. A heap of stones 

 was made over the bodies of the victorious dead, while the vanquished slain were 

 left unburied. Captured warriors were occasionally allowed their freedom, but 

 more frequently they were put to death or kept as future sacrifices. The 

 women and children of the captured were made slaves and bound to the soil. 



When peace was sought a brancli of ki leives or a young banana plant was 

 borne aloft by the ambassadors as a flag of truce. When terms were arrived at 

 a pig was sacrificed and its blood poured on the ground as an emblem of the fate 

 of the party to the treaty who shouhl break its eimditions. The leaders of both 

 armies would then braid a lei of made and deposit it iu a temple as a peace 

 oft'ering. The heralds were then sent running in all directions to announce 



Description of Plate. 



1. Typical Hawaiian Ijurial cave. Tlie common people after death were usually secreted 

 in eaves in the neighborhood; the burial took place during the night. Great care was taken, 

 however, to hide the bones in secret places to prevent them from being used for fish hooks and 

 arrow points. The important bones of the kings, including the skull, leg and arm bones, were 

 gathered from the decayed flesh, collected into a bundle, wrapped with tapa and bound up with 

 cord; the bundle was then deified by elaborate ceremonies before the bones were placed in the 

 most secret and inaccessible caves, often being carried from one island to another. The bones 

 of a high chief were preserved in vault-like caves in the cliflls and not infrequently were laid 

 at rest in the warrior's canoe together with other precious possessions belonging to the dejiarted. 

 2. An aged kahuna. 3. Kukailinioku, the god of war; taken from a figure in Cook's 

 Voyages; other representations of this god are on exhibition in the Bishop Museum, i. Burial 

 cave (near view of fig. 1) showing a "transition" burial in a coffin hewn from a log. 

 5. Burial cave showing portion of a canoe, mats, tapa, etc. 6. Ancient wooden idol. Prior 

 to the landing of the missionaries idolatry was abolished and the idcds of tlie nation hiilden 

 away in caves; later many of them were collected and burned. A number, however, were 

 preserved and are now in museums in Hawaii, America and Europe. 



