153 SAMOAN GROUP. 



sure of the naked body to the sun ; flogging ; cutting off the ears 

 and nose ; confiscation of property ; and the compulsory eating of 

 noxious herbs. 



When a murder has been committed, the friends of the person 

 slain unite to avenge his death ; and the punishment does not fall 

 upon the guilty party alone, but on his friends and relatives, who with 

 their property are made the subjects of retaliation. If any delay in 

 seeking redress in this manner occurs, it is received as an intimation 

 that the injured party, whether the family, the friends, the village, or 

 whole district to which the murdered person belonged, are willing to 

 accept an equivalent for the wrong they have sustained. The 

 friends of the murderer then collect what they hope may be suffi- 

 cient to avert retribution, and a negotiation is entered into to fix the 

 amount of compensation. When this is agreed upon, it is offered to 

 the nearest relative of the deceased, and the parties who present it 

 perform at the same time an act of submission, by prostrating them- 

 selves before him. This closes the affair. 



For some crimes nothing but the death of the offender could atone. 

 Among these was adultery ; and when the wives of chiefs eloped 

 with men of another district, it generally produced a war. This 

 was one of the causes of the wars waged by Malietoa. 



There existed, however, means by which the code was rendered 

 less bloody, in places of refuge for offenders, such as the tombs of 

 chiefs, which were held sacred and inviolate. 



Wars were frequent among the Samoans before the introduction of 

 the gospel, and scarcely a month passed without quarrels being 

 avenged, and with blows. The last and perhaps the most bloody 

 war that has ever occurred on these islands, was about the time of 

 the first visit of Mr. Williams, the missionary, in 1830, when the in- 

 habitants of one of the finest districts, that of Aana, in the western 

 part of Upolu, were almost exterminated. This war continued for 

 eight months, and only those were saved who escaped to the olos, or 

 inaccessible places of refuge, or were protected by the " Malo," the 

 ruling or conquering party. 



When the missionaries arrived in 1836, and for upwards of a 

 year afterwards, Aana was without a single inhabitant; but through 

 their influence upon the Malo party, it was agreed at a large 

 "fono" to restore the exiles to their lands. Aana is again (in 1839) 

 the finest part of the island, and will be in a few years quite a 

 garden. 



