Russian Expedition to Japan. 1 17 



of their enemies, he repHed " No, I have never done so :'* 

 he added, that the sight of others eating it had made him 

 sick : he had killed three enemies, but had exchanged them 

 for swine. The latter circumstance was confirmed by the 

 Englishman. From this it appears that war among these 

 people is a kiiid of amusement, as hunting is among us. 

 Ketenue is very averse to it, but is not able to prevent it. 

 When I asked him why he did not prevent it, Joseph an- 

 swered, When five or six seize an enemy and put him to 

 death, they carry him into the woods and there devour him. 

 How then can Ketenue prevent it? Having spoken so much 

 of their enemies, I must now mention who they are. All 

 the islands in the South Seas are exceedingly mountainous, 

 as is the case with the Marquesas and Nukahivah : the fer- 

 tile and inhabited valleys are separated by high, steep, and 

 barren mountains. Tapeka Ketenue was the chief man at 

 the Bay of Tayohoee, where we lay at anchor; and other 

 valleys are in the possession of other chiefs. With the in- 

 habitants of manv of these valleys the former are in a state 

 of warfare. These are their enemies. The hostile parties 

 are always separated "by high mountains, and at each expe- 

 dition these must be clambeied up. They have few war 

 canoes, for the purpose of undertaking expeditions by water. 

 Ketenue's dHughte;r was married to the chief of another bay, 

 and, as she was conveyed thither by sea, it was agreed that 

 during her life no war should be carried on at sea with the 

 inhabitants of that bay. Should she come to Tayohoae on 

 a visit and die, her spirit would remain there, and no naval 

 battle could be fought between the two bays. Hoos are 

 killed on all their festivals and occasions of solemnity. 

 When any one dies a banquet must be given ; and therefore 

 it is so difficult to procure any of these animals. 



'I'heir god Atua is the body of their deceased priest. The 

 body is first besmeared with coco-nut oil, and toasted in the 

 sun till it becomes hard and dry : it is then wrapped up in 

 a piece of cloth, and being suspended in the priest's house, 

 in ihe moral or wahitaabo, becomes their god. Sometimes 

 it is consulted as an oracle; and .Joseph is still convinced 

 that the answers it gives are infallible. Roberts tirndy be- 

 lieves that the natives here are well acquainted wilh the art 

 of witchcral't. Joseph considers himself as an adept in it, 

 and asserts that bv nnans of certaiti knots he can make a 

 sick person so i!l ihat he must die. 1 had the eourao-e to 

 suffer him to try the experiment on myself ; butuntoitu- 

 nately there is here no moral, where the strinij: with the 

 knots upon It must be buried. When the i)riest dies, war 

 H 3 immeduUely 



