40 DIVORCE. [PART i 



bourhood the termination of a skirmish, or on the 

 field itself incites the men to combat. 



Divorce scarcely ever takes place except in cases 

 of adultery. Widows are " tapu " until the bones 

 of the husband have been scraped and brought to 

 their ultimate resting-place : the same is the case 

 with the widower. After this ceremony they be- 

 come "noa," or free. Widows of arikis, or here- 

 ditary chiefs, hold for life the highest influence over 

 the tribe, or convey this influence to the chief whom 

 they may marry. Instances of suicide at the death 

 of a husband, especially if he was a " great man," 

 are not uncommon ; and hanging seems to be the 

 favourite mode of exit. 



It is well known that girls, before they are mar- 

 ried, can dispense their favours as they like a per- 

 mission which, as long as they lived in their primi- 

 tive state, was perhaps not abused, as the liaison was 

 binding, for the time being, even with Europeans. 

 Afterwards girls became an article of trade with 

 the chiefs in shipping places, who regarded selling 

 their women as the easiest method of getting com- 

 modities. But it must be admitted that parents, 

 relations, and the females themselves, are very anx- 

 ious to unite in legal matrimonial ties with the 

 whites, and that licentiousness is not an inherent 

 part of their character. If these ties are in any way 

 iixed, they are maintained on the part of the female 

 with affection and faithfulness. Infanticide is then 

 uncommon. I know as many as six children of 



