400 MYSTIC ISLES 



and by these names those holding their offices were 

 known until they were abolished. 



When called together by their chief, the members of 

 the order made a round of visits throughout the archi- 

 pelago, in as many as seventy great canoes, carrj^ing 

 with them their costumes and musical instruments and 

 their servants. They were usually welcomed enthusi- 

 astically at their landing, and pigs, fruits, and kava 

 prepared for their delectation. They were gorgeous- 

 looking performers in their pantomimes, for besides 

 tattooinsc, which marked their rank, they were deco- 

 rated with charcoal and the scarlet dye mati, and wore 

 girdles of yellow fz-leaves, or vests of ripe, golden plan- 

 tain-leaves. Their heads were wreathed in the yellow 

 and red leaves of the huiu, and perhaps behind an ear 

 they wore a flower of brilliant hue. 



They had seven ranks, like the chairs of a secret order 

 in Europe or in the United States nowadays. The first, 

 the highest, was the Avae parai, painted leg. The Arioi 

 of this class was tattooed solidty from the knees down. 

 The second, Otiore, had both arms tattooed; the third, 

 Harotea, both sides of the body; the fourth, Hua, 

 marked shoulders ; the fifth, Atoro, a small stripe on the 

 left side ; the sixth, Ohemara, a small circle around each 

 ankle, and the seventh, Poo, were uninked. They were 

 the neophytes, and had to do the heavy work of the or- 

 der, though servants, not members, termed fauaunau, 

 were part of the corps. These were sworn not to have 

 any offspring. 



The Arioi kept the records of the Tahitian nation. 

 In their plays they reenacted all the chief events in the 

 history of the race, and as there was no written account, 



