174 • EEPORT— 1875. 



of coral reefs may mark out the position of former continents and islands," the 

 author still thinks Mr. Wallace's inference to be unwarranted ; forj — 



1. Supposing that human beings inhabited this great southern continent at the 

 period of the subsidence, and that a Temnant escaped, the author believes that human 

 life could not under such circumstances be sustained for any considerable time, as 

 usually there is nothing edible on the tops of the Pacific mountains save berries, 

 to say nothing of the difficulty, in most cases, of obtaining water. 



2. The theory is utterly opposed to the native accounts of their own origin, 

 which all point to the north-west. 



3. The spread of the race can be accounted for on the basis of historical facts. 

 In 1862 the author saw on Manua an open boat, which had accidentally drifted from 

 Moorea, a distance of 1250 miles, and no life lost. A few months later on in the 

 same year Elikana and his friends drifted in a canoe from Manibiki to Nukuraaeae, 

 in the Ellice group (lying N.W. of Samoa), a distance of some 1.360 miles. Half 

 the party on board perished from want of food and water. In both these instances 

 the drifting was fr-om east to west, before the trade-winds. A far more remarkable 

 event occurred in January 1858, during the prevalence of the tcesterly winds, when 

 a numerous family of natives drifted from Fakaofo, in the Union group, north of 

 Samoa, to Nassau Island, thence to Palmerston's Island, and finally to Mangaia, 

 altogether a distance of 1250 mUes in a south-easterly direction. 



4. The colour, hair, general physiognomy, habits, character, and especially the 

 language of the Polynesians, indicate a Malay origin. This cannot be accidental. 

 It would be easy to give a long list of words identical or nearly so in Malay and 

 Polynesian. The author believes that long ages ago the progenitors of the present 

 race entered the Pacific from the south-eastern fork of New Guinea, but were 

 driven to the eastward by the fierce Negi'ito race. The greatest distance from land 

 to land, as they proceed eastward, would be from Samoa to the Hervey group, 

 about 706 miles, which has been successfully traversed by natives in their fi-agile 

 barks within the author's own observation. 



Some Traditions of the Hervey Islanders. By the Eev. "W. "Wtatt Gill, B.A. 



The classical word in the dialect of the Hervey group for " nether-world " is 

 " Ayaiki." The universe is conceived of as the hollow of a vast cocoa-nut shell, in 

 the interior of which are many lands, the abode of gods and imhappy ghosts. Near 

 the top of this vast shell, on the outside, are located their island homes. Rising 

 one above another into immensity are at least ten separate heavens. Origin- 

 ally mankind and the natives of Avaiki interchanged visits through the opening 

 atthe top, which is now closed on accoimt of the ceaseless depredations of the 

 fairies. 



The esoteric doctrine of the priests was, that souls leave the body ere breath has 

 quite gone, and travel on to the edge of a cliff facing the setting sun. A large 

 wave now approaches the base of the cliff, and a gigantic bua-tree covered with 

 fragrant blossoms springs up fi-om Avaiki to receive on its limbs human spirits, 

 who are mysteriously impelled to cluster on its far-spreading branches. 'When at 

 length the mystic tree is covered with ghosts it goes down with its living freight 

 to nether-world. These unhappy ghosts are caught in a net, nearly drowned in a 

 neighbom-ing stream, and then emptied out, shivering and terrified, in the presence 

 of ugly Miru, mistress of the invisible world. Each newcomer to the shades is 

 Im'ed to drink a bowl of "kava" {Piper mythistimm), becomes stupified, and is then 

 cooked and eaten by the hag Miru and her companions. 



Such was believed to be the inevitable fate of cowards and of all who died a 

 natural death. A nobler fate awaited warrior-spfrits ; their pleasant home was in 

 the azure sky. In the month of August, when the coral-ti-ee is in blossom, they 

 assemble at the edge of a clilF overlooking the marae of the war-god. A mountain 

 now springs up at their feet ; the road to its summit is built of the clubs, spears, and 

 stones with which they met their fate. They ascend with pleasure, and from the 

 top leap mto the expanse, where they float about as specks. Covered with garlands 

 of sweet-scented flowers, they spend their time in dancing the war-dance and in 

 reciting oyer and over again the brave deeds performed in life. 



