284 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
finely-braided cinet; the aperture was rendered air-tight 
by cementing the outsides of it with a resinous gum 
from the bread-fruit tree. These shells were blown 
when any procession marched to the temple^ at the in¬ 
auguration of the king, during the worship at the 
temple, or when a tabu, or restriction, was imposed in 
the name of the gods. We have sometimes heard them 
blown. The sound is extremely loud, but the most 
monotonous and dismal that it is possible to imagine. 
The ihara was another exceedingly noisy instrument. 
It was formed from the single joint of a large bamboo 
cane, cut off a short distance beyond the two ends or 
joints. In the centre, a long aperture was made from 
one joint towards the other. The ihara, when used, 
was placed horizontally on the ground, and beaten with 
sticks. It was not used in their worship, but simply as 
an amusement | its sounds were harsh and discordant. 
The vivo^ or flute, was the most agreeable instrument 
the Tahitians appear to have been acquainted with. 
It was usually a bamboo cane, about an inch in diameter, 
and twelve or eighteen inches long. The joint in the 
