MELANESIA. 53 



god did not make his appearance till after the islands were peopled, 

 and that he first ruled, in human shape, over some of the towns, a 

 story which reminds us of the Cretan Jove. 



Thus far the creed of all the islanders is the same. All, likewise, 

 hold that Ndengei has a son, who stands at the door of his cave to 

 receive the prayers which are addressed to his father, and to act as 

 mediator between him and the suppliants. But the name given to 

 this son varies in every important district. In Rewa it is Mautu; in 

 Mbau, Komai-navutherethere ; in Ovolau, Rakavonu ; in Mathuata, 

 Rathinathina ; in Somusomu, Komai-natavusara ; and in Lakemba 

 there are supposed to be two, Tokai-rambe and Tui-Lakemba. In 

 fact, except in the circumstance of there being a single supreme ruler 

 over the whole group, the celestial government of the Feejee Islands 

 appears to be modelled after the terrestrial. Each principal state has 

 its own presiding deity, who is usually a son of Ndengei. The infe- 

 rior districts are ruled and protected by subordinate deities, who are 

 commonly grandchildren of the god; while every village has its own 

 tutelar spirit, who is perhaps a still more distant descendant of the 

 supreme divinity, though this is not certain. Furthermore, the same 

 political relations which prevail between the different states, are also 

 found among their governing deities. Thus, Somusomu, though to a 

 certain degree independent, owns a kind of inferiority to Mbau, and 

 may be termed a tributary ally. This the natives ascribe to the fact 

 that at some former period the great spirit of Somusomu (whose 

 polysyllabic name need not be repeated) met the great spirit of Mbau 

 half-way between their respective dominions, fought with him, was 

 conquered, and thereupon proceeded to the mbure, or temple, of his 

 antagonist, and made over to him the town of Somusomu, giving him 

 the tama, or salute, as a superior. This tradition probably refers to 

 some victory gained in early times by the naval forces of Mbau over 

 those of Somusomu. 



Besides the gods of districts and towns, they have others who are 

 the deities of particular classes or professions, as Rokola, the god of 

 carpenters, Rakavonu, of fishermen. They have also mischievous and 

 malignant spirits, who are supposed to be the cause of the petty evils 

 which afflict men. On Lakemba, according to Mr. Cargill, there is 

 an individual known as Mata-kalou, god-seer, whose business it is to 

 discover and thwart the machinations of these spirits. The office is 

 held by but one person at a time, and is hereditary. The natives also 

 pay divine honours to disembodied souls, particularly those of their 



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