Easter Island. 



77 



as the idols of a heathen race. The wooden images are of com- 

 paratively recent date. They are divided into three classes — the 

 male, the female and the ribbed. The stone images are very 

 rudely carved and are of earlier date than those of wood. 



There are three stone idols, however, of higher rank than 

 these— nothing less than that of stone gods. These are the fish 

 god, called by the natives ' Mea Ika;' the bonit's god, called 

 1 Mea Kahi;' the fowl god, called 'Mea Moa.' These are all 

 ill-shaped and apparently without distinguishing characteristics, 

 but they are considered worthy of worship by the natives. While 

 the various other images were intended as effigies of chiefs or 

 other persons of importance, these received a profound religious 

 homage. 



These gods were never 

 common and were pos- 

 sessed by communities or 

 clans, and never by indi- 

 viduals The legends all 

 claim that they were 

 brought to the island by 

 the first settlers. An espe- 

 cial god being set apart 

 for the bonits, as distinct 

 from the other fish, is at- 

 tributed to the fact that 

 fish has always been abund- 

 ant and highly prized as 

 food. Fish always consti- 

 tuted an important article 

 of diet with the natives, 

 and the abundance in which 

 they were found is ascribed 

 to the faithful and constant 

 adoration to the stone fish 

 gods. The fowl god was 

 chiefs ^Nobelieved to ward off evil 

 influences by being placed at night near where the chickens were 

 accustomed to roost. It was moved about from one house to 

 the other as the necessity for its services was felt. These stone 

 gods show no attempt at carving in their construction. 



The primitive sinkers and fishing hooks of these islanders 

 shown in the collection are of stone. Some of the sinkers are 

 fastened in a network of twine, while others are attached to the 

 fishing line by means of a hole bored in the stone. The hook is 

 a crude sort of contrivance, forming about three-quarters of a 

 circle, the security of the hold when a fish is caught depending 

 upon the inward turn at the point. The manufacture of one of 

 these hooks was an immense labor. Other hooks are made of a 

 man's thigh bone. Tradition on the island describes how the 



