52 FUNAFUTI ATOLL. 



possible The four new arrivals were marched to 



the place where the representatives of their gods were, and there 

 a number of prayers were offered by the priests. These were to 

 deprecate the wrath of the gods on account of the arrival of a 

 foreign ship, and especially this ship of the foreigner's God. 

 They also prayed that no disease might be brought by the ship 

 to their island ; but if disease was on board that it might be 

 taken to Fiji. And as they are suffering at the present time 

 from drought, they also prayed the gods to send them plenty of 

 rain, and plenty of food. These prayers were repeated at the 

 shrines of the different gods (and they seem to be very numerous), 

 and were followed by an offering of a large quantity of coconuts, 

 which the people themselves eat after they have been presented 

 to the gods. Then they marched around the gods in single file, 

 and marched around the strangers, and afterwards joined in a 



dance I was told by Tavita there was no fear of a 



repetition of the previous days ceremonies, as they were vicarious, 

 and gave all on board the freedom of the island while our ship 

 remained. Had any other vessel arrived while we were there, 

 those on board of her would have been free also, but for one 

 arriving after we were out of sight the ceremonies must be 

 repeated." 



In describing the same rite, Turner says :* " Meat offerings 

 were also laid on the altars, accompanied by songs and dances in 

 honour of the god. While these ceremonies were going on all 

 the population, except the priests and their attendants, kept out 

 of sight." 



Gill writesf of Nanomana under date August 13, 1872 : "We 

 were the first visitors fortunate enough to escape being ' devilled ' 

 whilst the heathen performed incantations to prevent the intro- 

 duction of disease."f 



BURIAL. 



As in New Guinea the dead are buried in the village streets 

 near the houses of their relatives. A few small cemetries, or 

 groups of a dozen graves, occur besides close to the village. 

 Whitmee's description is as correct of the Funafuti fashion of 

 to-day as it was at the time of his visit. "Their dead are 

 interred in the earth, and their graves are surrounded by a 

 border of large stones with a covering of small pieces of broken 

 coral in the middle. These are generally very carefully kept in 

 order. In the case of a chief, a mound is raised for two to four 

 feet high over the grave, and all around is kept free from weeds." 



* Turner loc. cit. p. 292. f Gill loc. cit., p. 19. 



J Admiral Moresby has described a like exorcism which he as a visitor 

 underwent in the New Hebrides. New Guinea, 1876, p. 102. 

 Whitmee loc. cit., p. 27. 



