POLITICAL HEADS CHIEFS, KINGS, ETC. 349 



it was said that the heaven belonged only to the chief of that 

 place.&quot; These facts yield a definite interpretation of others, 

 like the following, which show that the authority of the ter 

 restrial ruler is increased by his alleged relation to the celestial 

 ruler ; be the celestial ruler the ghost of the remotest known 

 ancestor who founded the society, or of a conquering invader, 

 or of a superior stranger. 



Of the chiefs among the Kukis, who are descendants of 

 Hindoo adventurers, we read : 



&quot;All these Eajahs are supposed to have sprung from the same stock, 

 which it is believed originally had connection with the gods them 

 selves; their persons are therefore looked upon with the greatest 

 respect and almost superstitious veneration, and their commands are in 

 every case law.&quot; 



Of the Tahitians Ellis says : 



&quot; The god and the king were generally supposed to share the authority 

 over the mass of mankind between them. The latter sometimes imper 

 sonated the former. . . . The kings, in some of the islands, were sup 

 posed to have descended from the gods. Their persons were always sacred. 7 



According to Mariner, &quot; Toritonga and Veachi (hereditary 

 divine chiefs in Tonga,) are both acknowledged descendants 

 of chief gods who formerly visited the islands of Tonga.&quot; 

 And, in ancient Peru &quot; the Ynca gave them [his vassals] to 

 understand that all he did with regard to them was by an 

 order and revelation of his father, the Sun.&quot; 



This re-inforcement of natural power by supernatural 

 power, becomes extreme where the ruler is at once a descend 

 ant of the gods and himself a god : a union which is familiar 

 among peoples who do not distinguish the divine from the 

 human as we do. It was thus in the case just instanced 

 that of the Peruvians. It was thus with the ancient Egyp 

 tians : the monarch &quot; was the representative of the Divinity 

 on earth, and of the same substance.&quot; Not only did he in 

 many cases become a god after death, but he was worshipped 

 as a god during life ; as witness this prayer to Eameses II. 

 &quot; &quot;When they had come before the king . . . they fell down to the 

 ground, and with their hands they prayed to the king. They praised 

 this divine benefactor . . . speaking thus : We are come before 



