TlIK HAWAIIAN I'HOI'LH. 53 



the, priests aeeoiupaiiyiii^- tlic armies, l)eariii^' tiicii- idols alol't thai the Ixxlic^s 

 of the first slain in battle mi^ht be properly olTci-cd lo the <iuds. Tlieir idols 

 took the place of hjiiiiiers. During- the heat of halllc ihey would be advanced 

 in the midst of the warriors, while the priests, siipporl iiig' them, to cheer their 

 followers and spread terror in llic hearts of the enemy, would aive blood cui-dling 

 >('lls accompanying' Ihciii with frightful grimaces, all ol whii-li were supposed to 

 come from the images themselves, and to be an unmistakahle token that the 

 gods were in their midst. 



In opening the attack-, it is i-elated. a single wai'ri(»r would sometinu^s ad- 

 vance from the ranks, armed only with a fan and when within hailing distance 

 would proceed to blackguard the enemy, daring them to attack him single-handed. 

 This exasperating challenge would l)e answered by a nund)er of spears being 

 hurled at the taunting warrior, who would nimbly avoic^l tiiem or seize them in 

 his hands and hurl them back at the enemy. Such incendiar\' manoeuvers were 

 well calculated to precipitate trouble and not infrequently they resulted in the 

 death of the intrepid warrior. A fierce struggle would tlien follow to gaiit 

 possession of his body. 



Their battles were often almost hand to hand encounters, lasting some- 

 times for days. However, they do not seem to have been very fatal. Often 

 they resulted in routing one party or the other, the conquerors taking possession 

 of the land and portioning it out among the victorious chiefs. A heap of stones 

 was made over the bodies of tlie victorious dead, v/hile the vanquished slain were 

 left unburied. Captured wai-riors were occasionally allowed tlieir freedom, but 

 more frequently they were put to death or kept as future sacrifices. The 

 women and children of the captured were made slaves and hound to the soil. 



When peace was sought a ])raneli of ki leaves or a young banana plant was 

 borne aloft b\' the ambassadors as a flag of truce. When terms were arrived at 

 a pig was sacrificed and its ])lood poured on the ground as an emblem of the fat<^ 

 of the party to the treaty who shoul'l break its conditions. The leaders of both 

 armies would then braid a lei of maile and deposit it in a temple as a peace 

 offering. The heralds were then sent running in all dii-ections to announce 



Descriptiox of Pl.\te. 



1. Typical Hawaiian burial caw. The coininon pcoiilc after dcatli were usually secreted 

 in caves in the neighliorhood ; the burial took place durinu' the iiiyht. tireat care was taken, 

 however, to hide the bones in secret places to prevent them fniin being used for fish hooks and 

 arrow points. The important bones of the kings, including the skull, leg and arm bones, were 

 gathered from the decayed flesh, collected into a ))undle, wrapped with ta])a and bound up with 

 cord; the bundle was tlien deified by elaborate ceremonii's before the bonces were placed in tlie 

 mo,st secret and inacc;ssible caves, often being carried from uiie island to another. The bones 

 of a high chief were preserved in vaultdike caves in the idiffs and nut infrequently were laid 

 at rest in the warrior's canoe together with other precious possessions belonging to the departed. 

 2. An aged kahuna. 3. Kukailinn)ku, the god of war; taken from a figure in ( 'ook 's 

 Voyages; other representations of this go<l are on exliil)ition in the i^)isho]) .M\iseum. 4. Burial 

 cave (near view of fig. 1) showing a ''transition" burial in a eollin hewn from a log. 

 5. Burial cave showing portion of a cano(>, mats, tapa, etc. li. Ancient wooden idol. Prior 

 to the landing of the missionaries idolatry was abolished and the idtils df the nation hidden 

 away in caves; later many of them were collected ami burned. A number, however, were 

 preserved and are now in museums in Hawaii, America and Europe. 



