SOMU-SOMU. 157 
actual king, is held much in awe by the people. The regulations, 
after a full explanation of their objects, were signed, or rather they 
made their mark, for the first time, on paper. The old king has 
always been friendly to the whites, but his son is considered quite 
unfriendly towards them; and it is thought, by the missionaries, that 
were it not for the old man, and the fear of punishment by a man-of- 
war, they would not be safe. 
Messrs. Hunt and Lythe acted as interpreters on this occasion, but 
not until after the one I had chosen was unable to make them under- 
stand. This was intentional on my part, for I did not wish the king 
and natives to think that the missionaries had had any part in the pro- 
ceeding; and they did not undertake the office until the king and 
chiefs desired their assistance. Besides the signing, we had the clap- 
ping of hands and thighs, and the three audible grunts of satisfaction 
from the audience. The meeting broke up with a distribution of 
presents, and all, I believe, went away satisfied. 
The ceremony attending the ava drinking of the king, at Somu- 
somu, is peculiar. Early in the morning, the first thing heard is the 
king’s herald, or orator, crying out, in front of his house, “ Yango-na 
ei ava,” somewhat like a muezzin in Turkey, though not from the 
housetop. To this the people answer, from all parts of the koro, 
“Mama,” (prepare ava.) The principal men and chiefs immediately 
assemble together from all quarters, bringing their ava-bowl and ava- 
root to the mbure, where they seat themselves to talanoa, or to con- 
verse on the affairs of the day, while the younger proceed to prepare 
the ava. ‘Those who prepare the ava are required to have clean and 
undecayed teeth, and are not allowed to swallow any of the juice, on 
pain of punishment. As soon as the ava-root is chewed, it is thrown 
into the ava-bowl, where water is poured on it with great forma- 
lity. The king’s herald, with a peculiar drawling whine, then cries, 
“ Sevu-rui-a-na,” (make the offering.) After this, a considerable time 
is spent in straining the ava through cocoa-nut husks; and when this 
is done, the herald repeats, with still more ceremony, his command, 
“ Sevu-rui-a-na.” When he has chaunted it several times, the other 
chiefs join him, and they all sing, “ Mana endina sendina le.” A 
person is then commanded to get up and take the king his ava, after 
which the singing again goes on. The orator then invokes their prin- 
cipal god, Tava-Sava, and they repeat the names of their departed 
friends, asking them to watch over and be gracious to them. They 
then pray for rain, for the life of the king, the arrival of wangara 
Papalangi (foreign ships), that they may have riches and live to enjoy 
them. This prayer is followed by a most earnest response, “ Mana 
