CUSTOMS OF THE FEEJEE GROUP. 97 
death to escape decrepitude, or immolate themselves with a similar 
view, but families have such a repugnance to having deformed or 
maimed persons among them, that those who have met with such 
misfortunes, are almost always destroyed. An instance of this sort 
was related to me, when a boy whose leg had been bitten off by a 
shark was strangled, although he had been taken care of by one of the 
white residents, and there was every prospect of his recovery. No 
other reason was assigned by the perpetrators of the deed, than that if 
he had lived he would have been a disgrace to his family, in conse- 
quence of his having only one leg. 
When a native, whether man, woman, or child, is sick of a linger- 
ing disease, their relatives will either wring their heads off, or strangle 
them. Mr. Hunt stated that this was a frequent custom, and cited a 
case where he had with difficulty saved a servant of his own from 
such a fate, who afterwards recovered his health. 
Formal human sacrifices are frequent. The victims are usually 
taken from a distant tribe, and when not supplied by war or violence, 
they are at times obtained by negotiation. After being selected for 
this purpose, they are often kept for a time to be fattened. When 
about to be sacrificed, they are compelled to sit upon the ground, with 
their feet drawn under their thighs, and their arms placed close before 
them. In this posture they are bound so tightly that they cannot stir, 
or move a joint. They are then placed in the usual oven, upon hot 
stones, and covered with leaves and earth, where they are roasted 
alive. When the body is cooked, it is taken from the oven, and the 
face painted black, as is done by the natives on festal occasions. It is 
then carried to the mbure, where it is offered to the gods, and is after- 
wards removed to be cut up and distributed, to be eaten by the people. 
Women are not allowed to enter the mbure, or to eat human flesh. 
Human sacrifices are a preliminary to almost all their undertakings. 
When a new mbure is built, a party goes out and seizes the first person 
they meet, whom they sacrifice to the gods; when a large canoe is 
launched, the first person, man or woman, whom they encounter, is 
laid hold of and carried home for a feast. 
When Tanoa launches a canoe, ten or more men are slaughtered on 
the deck, in order that it may be washed with human blood. 
Human sacrifices are also among the rites performed at the funerals 
of chiefs, when slaves are in some instances put to death. Their 
bodies are first placed in the grave, and upon them those of the chief 
and his wives are laid. 
The ceremonies attendant on the death and burial of a great chief, 
were described to me by persons who had witnessed them. When his 
VOL. TII. 13 
