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PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
must be greater than theirs. Had a catholic priest been with me 
at the moment, he might have made converts of every individual 
in the valley. It is difficult to obtain a correct idea of their reli¬ 
gion; I do not believe that one native in a thousand can explain 
the nature of it; the priests themselves appear much at a loss. 
Tawattaa. attached himself to Mr. Adams, having learnt that he 
was our priest. Mr. Adams endeavoured to collect from him 
some notions of his religion, and among other things inquired of 
him whether, according to their belief, the body was translated to 
the other world or only the spirit; the priest, after a considerable 
pause, at length replied, that the flesh and bones went to the 
earth, but that all within went to the sky: from his manner, how¬ 
ever, the question seemed greatly to embarrass him, and it ap¬ 
peared as though a new field was opened to his view. 
I believe, from what I have seen and learnt of these people, 
that their religion is the same as that of the Society and Sandwich 
Islands; a religion that not only perplexed captain Cook, but all 
the learned men who accompanied him to find out, and as may 
be naturally supposed has greatly perplexed me. Their priests 
are their oracles; they are considered but little inferior to their 
Gods; to some they are greatly superior, and after their death they 
rank with the chief divinity. Besides the gods at the burying- 
place, or morai, for so it is called by them, they have their house¬ 
hold gods, as well as small gods, which are hung round their 
necks, generally made of human bones, and others, which are 
carved on the handles of their fans, on their stilts, their canes, and 
more particularly on their war clubs; but those gods are not held 
In any estimation, they are sold, exchanged, and given away with 
the same indifference as any other object, and indeed the most 
precious relic, the skulls and other bones of their relations, are 
disposed of with equal indifference. 
When we were at war with the Typees, the Happahs and 
Tayeehs made a strict search in the houses of the enemy for the 
skulls of their ancestors, who had been slain in battle (knowing 
where they were deposited); many were found, and the posses¬ 
sors seemed rejoiced that they had recovered from the enemy 
so inestimable a relic. Dr. Hoffman seeing a man with three or 
four skulls strung round his waist, asked him for them, and they 
