OCEANIC MIGRATIONS. 137 



the east, these being, it will be remarked, the sides facing towards 

 their respective countries. To this day the people of the former divi- 

 sion are called Ngati-Karika, and those of the latter Ngati or Nga- 

 Tangiia. We have seen in New Zealand (ante, p. 32), a similar use 

 of this prefix, ngati, to express a clan descended from a common 

 ancestor. 



It is said farther, that " the superior chieftainship is still vested in 

 the Karika family ; for although the Ngati-Karika have been beaten 

 many times, indeed generally, by the descendants of Tangiia, yet the 

 conquerors agree in allowing them the supremacy which they have 

 possessed from time immemorial." In confirmation of this account, 

 it is stated that the Tahitians have traditions respecting Tangiia, his 

 birth-place, family, &c., and that he was a great traveller. It also 

 appears (p. 47), that in former times, the intercourse between Raro- 

 tonga and the Society Group was very frequent, or, as the natives 

 express it, that the islands were joined together. Mr. Williams sup- 

 poses that Manuka is the same as Manu'a, one of the Navigator 

 Islands, which there seems no reason to doubt. 



On the chart of Tupaia, Rarotoa (the Tahitian pronunciation of 

 Rarotongra) is laid down to the southwest of Tahiti, amid several 

 other islands, the names of which cannot be identified, but which are 

 probably intended for the rest of the group. Most of the South Sea 

 Islands have two names, as loretea and Raiatea, Aimeo and Moorea, 

 Salafaii and Savaii, and some of those given by Tupaia, being derived 

 from tradition, may be at present out of use. Adeeha, however, which 

 is laid down somewhat farther to the east, was probably intended for 

 Atiu. 



The signification of the word Rarotonga deserves notice. Raro 

 means below, and hence leervar d and westward; tonga means south, 

 and from its position must be here an adjective. We may therefore 

 render it the "southern leeward country," or the "southwestern 

 land," which expresses very well its position relative to Tahiti. 



It is proper to inquire whether the language of the Rarotongans 

 offers any evidence to confirm this duplex origin of the people. What 

 first strikes us, in looking over the vocabulary, is the peculiarity of 

 the alphabet. It has the k and ng (or #), the former of which is 

 wanting in both the Samoan and Tahitian, and the latter in the Tahi- 

 tian alone. But there is every reason to believe that the rejection of 

 these two consonants from those languages is a matter of compara- 

 tively late occurrence. On the other hand, the Rarotongan lacks the 



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