OTA 
of an enormous fize. The language of Otaheite, though 
radically the fame with that of _ Zealand and the Friendly 
Mlands, is deftitute of that guttural pronunciation, and of 
fome confonants, with which thefe latter dialects abound. 
manners of the inhabitants, the language has thus 
It abou ied with beautiful and 
guages that are Suck iced for their warm and be Id 
im 
Sen ming connections with the females, they have cuf- 
= ar are hed eemed capricious and licentious. If a young 
from mutual choice, cohabit, the man 
=o ane nee of the a fuch things as are neceffary in 
common life, as hogs, cloth, or canoes, in proportion to the 
e they are together ; and if he thinks he has not been fuf- 
cient paid for his daughter, he makes no fcruple of forc- 
ing her to leave her friend, and to cohabit with another 
perfon, who may be more liberal. The man is always at 
liberty to make a new choice, but fhould his confort become 
pregnant, he may kill the child; and after that continue 
his conne&tion with the mother, or leave her. It is thought 
no crime in the man to joina more youthful partner to his 
firft wife, and to live with both. But the cuftom of chang- 
i n, and is poker of with 
} + 
aming about and changin 
ae agree nae is this hae pi of life to their difpofition, 
that the moft beautiful of both fexes thus {pend their youth- 
f | days, habituated to the practice of enormities that would 
difgrace the mott favae cee ; but are peculiar ly fhocking 
anongit a people, whofe general charater, in other re{pets, 
has stage traces of the prevalence of humane and tender 
feelin When an ‘“ Erreoe’? woman is delivered of a 
child, a | piece of cloth, dipped in water, is applied to the 
mouth and nofe, alien fuffocates it e€ women are fre- 
quently treated with harfhnefs and even brutality. 
is more common than to fee t 
mercy. Cutting or —— - ey hes (not salar tent 
is a practice adopte ong t rom a notion eanli- 
© apply reproachful appellations o thofe 
ote that cultom 
s to their ious fyftem, it is extenfive and in many 
ar; but ft 
men, as in 
in; are ad ema of the power om 
inaufpicious being to hurt t ey fay, that ‘* Etee”’ 
is an evil fpirjt, who eal ine does them mifchief 5 and to 
But 
it flutters about the lips during the pangs of death, and 
that then it afcends, and mix s ‘with, or ey exprefs it, 
‘In this ftate it remains for fom 
is 
then departs to a certain place, deftined for 
the reception of the on is men, where it exifts in eternal 
OTA 
the deity are extravagantly abfurd ; 3 th at he is 
fubject to be deftroyed by fpirits to ‘whom 
iftence, and that afterwards he has the power tof re-creatin 
himfelf. They maintain, among other ge ele that 
not only all other animals, but trees, fruit, a n ftones, 
have fouls, which at death, on being coined or rene 
afcend to the divinity, with whom they firit mix, and after- 
wards pafs into the manfion allotted for each. They be. 
lieve that fudden death, and all other oe are effected 
They have con- 
od, or from the fpirits of ther 
prea friends,. enabling thofe favoured with them to fore- 
tell future events; but this kind of knowledge is contined 
to particular people. Omai pretended to have this gift. 
They have traditions concerning the creation, which, as we 
may ‘ual imagine, are complex, and clouded with ob- 
fcurity. They have all many legends, both religious and 
hiftorical. 
he boundaries of the feveral diftri€ts, into which Ota- 
heite is naa are, generally, either a or Tow hills, 
which in many places jet out into the But the fub- 
divifions ito particular Property are faded by large ftones, 
which have remained fr e generation to another. The 
removal of any of ne ae rife to quarrels, which are 
decided by arms; each party bringing his friends into the 
eld. But if any one ee o the ‘ Eree de hai,”” he 
terminates the difference am y: 
e care of inhabit in isa penin{fulas of Otaheite 
pulatio 
particulars ote the difpofition and character, the 
manners an oms, the occupations and amufements of 
the Oraeiteans, as they do not materially differ from thofe of 
his affociates, we be to the appendix 
f the Miffionary Voyage, 4'0. 
ee sf ATA, or Wencouea. fignifying little 
of the South Pacific ocean, about three 
af 
can 
a cont ce quantity of 
with a few other fmall 
numbers . a 
a ak. forbidding afpect, though fmall, 
running up a — ree; and many of another fort were feen. 
The 
