446 MYSTIC ISLES 



of ancestry, and of state. He must recite without hesi- 

 tation these various records before the marae in the 

 middle of an immense crowd. The orero cultivated 

 their memories marvelously. They were usually sons 

 of oreros or priests, and trained by years of study to 

 retain volumes, as actors do parts. The oiipou or 

 haerepo were youths, neophytes, intended for the priest- 

 hood, and assisted the ordinary priests ; but their special 

 duties were singular and interesting. They were the 

 couriers of the night, the spies of their districts upon 

 neighboring clans. In war-time their work was arduous 

 and most important, and their calling very honorable. 

 Kings' sons sometimes were oripou. The idol-carriers 

 were tabu. Their persons might not be touched nor 

 their food. 



The sorcerers, ecstatics, and demoniacs were not regu- 

 larly organized into a caste. When a man fancied him- 

 self possessed by a god, he became a recognized saint. 

 He was tabu. He ascended to the altar and danced or 

 gyrated as he pleased. The old missionaries, who be- 

 heved these sorcerers inhabited by devils, record in- 

 credible deeds by them. Often the spirit forsook them, 

 and they became common clay, but when primed with the 

 deity's power, they would ascend vertical rocks of great 

 height by touching the smooth surface with tiny idols 

 which they held in their hands, and without any contact 

 by their feet. These demoniacs recall the oracles of 

 ancient nations, and especially Simon Magus, the pre- 

 cursor of innumerable fathers of new rehgions, who by 

 the power of the "Christian God" fell to a horrible death 

 when he tried to fly before the Roman emperor on the 

 wings of the devil. 



