542 



REMARKS ON the 



f 



RELIGION. Gen f turn: one of them, called Orometooa, is of a malignant 



difpofition, refides chiefly near the Marais and Toopapous (places 



in or near the boxes, or little chefls, including the 



/ 



of burial) and in or near 



heads of their deceafed friends, each of which 



that 



r 



called 'Te-wharre no te Orometooa, the houfe of the evil genius 

 Orometooa » The people at Taheitee are of opinion, that if their 

 priefts invoke this evil genius, he vv^ill kill, by a fudden death, the 

 perfon on whom they intend to bring down the vengeance of this 



. Their priefts are, I fuppofe, not the moft confcientious 

 pcrfons, and, if bribed, will not fcruple to poifon the man who is 

 devoted to deftrudion, and afterwards afcribe the fudden death of 



■ 



fuch a perfon to the malignity of Orometooa -, and this feems to be 



I 



the more probable, as I was told with the flrongeft afleveration, that 



1 



it was not uncommon to fee the prayers of the priefts to their Oro~ 



r 



metooa fulfilled. I heard likewife of another genius, or inferior di- 



J 



r 



vini'ty, called Gromehouhouwe, who had the fame power of 

 killing men, with this difference only, that he was not addreffed by 

 prayer, but is only worfhipped by hifling.* The lafl kind of ge- 



nius 



-I 



» 



^ It IS remarkable that this mode of worfhipping the deity or a genius by hiffing was like- 

 wife adopted by the Egyptian Priefts according to the teftimony of Nicomachtjs Gerasenus 



Harmoh. Man 



1. 



Me, 



Antiqiioe Mujic 



I. /, 37-; 



Af^oK« awoTfiXi* S'^otnxa^ ^vva/^stj jiat nXsrifcx^ rm ^B\m. ^io oy'^av fA,eiKircx. o^ OigivoJ (lege fifo^jpi) 



^Qvrah <7hy(/.oi<; re x«> erngSgotj xat cc<rvu((>mQ\^ jk^ojj 



KahQvnsu 



