454 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



and nobody else but chiefs, have 

 the privilee;e of freeing- people 

 fi"oni the taboo, under circum- 

 stances, and in the manner related 

 in the above paragraph. Tooiton- 

 ga and ^'eachi may easily be con- 

 ceived the source of nobility, on 

 accoimt of their supposed divine 

 original, and the How because he 

 holds the reins of government, and 

 is invested with power. The 

 family of Finow, vvlio is the pre- 

 sent HoWj say, that they descended 

 neither from Tooitonga nor Vea- 

 chi, but are altogether a distinct 

 I'ace : the fact, probably, is, that 

 Fiuow's family is a distant branch 

 of one of the others ; but having 

 at length ascended the throne, it 

 drew its rank and consequence 

 more from this circumstance tlian 

 from such distant relationshij). 

 The present Finow' s father was 

 the first of his family that came to 

 the throne, which he did by usur- 

 pation and expulsion of the then 

 reigning family. (Vide vol. i. 

 p. 77-) The Hows before that 

 time, as far back as they have cre- 

 dible records, which is not more 

 than about four, or at most, five 

 generations, were all relations of 

 Tooitonga. At all events, this is 

 certain, tliat tlie present acknow- 

 ledged fountain? of nobility are 

 Tooitonga, Veachi, and the king, in 

 the order in ^vhich they here stand. 

 In every family nobility descends 

 by the female line ; for where the 

 mother is not a noble, the children 

 are not nobles ; but supposing the 

 father and mother to be nearly 

 equal by birth, the following is 

 the order in which 'he individuals 

 of the family are to be ranked, 

 viz. the father, the mother, the 

 eldest son, the eldest daughter, the 

 second son, the second daughter. 



&c. or, if there be no children, the 

 next brother to the man, then the 

 sister, the second brother, the se- 

 cond sister, &c. But if the woman 

 is more noble than the man, then 

 her relations, in like order, take 

 precedence in rank, but they do 

 not inhei it his property, as will be 

 seen in another place. AU the 

 children of a female noble are, 

 without exception, nobles. 



The Matabooles rank next to 

 the chiefs ; they are a sort of 

 honourable attendants upon chiefs, 

 are their companions, counsellors, 

 and advisers 3 they see that the 

 orders and wishes of their chiefs 

 are duly executed, and may not 

 improperly be called their minis- 

 ters, and are more or less regard- 

 ed according to the rank of the 

 chief to whom they are attached. 

 They have the management of all 

 ceremonies. Their rank is from 

 inheritance ; and they are sup- 

 posed to have been, originally, dis- 

 tant relations of the nobles, or to 

 have descended from persons emi- 

 nent for experience and wisdom, 

 and whose acquaintance and friend • 

 ship on that accoimt became valu- 

 able to tlie king, and other great 

 chiefs. As no man can assume 

 the rank and title of mataboole 

 till his father be dead, the greater 

 part of them are beyond the mid- 

 dle age of life, and, as it is their 

 business to make themselves ac- 

 quainted with all rites and cere- 

 monies, and with the manners, 

 customs, and affairs of Tonga, they 

 are always looked up to as men of 

 experience and superior informa- 

 tion. Some of the matabooles are 

 adepts also at some art or profes- 

 sion, such as canoe-building, or 

 su[)crintending funeral rites : this 

 last, though a ceremony the gene- 

 rality 



