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POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
he had placed it, they alighted on the world near the 
base of the red-ridged mountain, and soon perceived 
their brother and his wife in their terrestrial habitation. 
Ashamed to offer their salutations to him and his bride 
without a present, one of them was transformed on the 
spot into a pig, and a bunch of ura^ or red feathers. 
These acceptable presents the other offered to the inmates 
of the dwelling, as a gift of congratulation. Oro and his 
wife expressed their satisfaction at the present; the pig 
and the feathers remained the same, but the brother of 
the god assumed his original form. 
Such a mark of attention, on such an occasion, was 
considered by Oro to require some expression of his 
commendation. He accordingly made them gods, and 
constituted them Areois, saying, Mi Areoi orua i ie ao nei, 
ia noaa ta orua tuhaa: Be you two Areois in this world, 
that you may love your portion, (in the government, &c.) 
In the commemoration of this ludicrous fable of the pig 
and the feathers, the Areois, in all the taupiti, and public 
festivals, carried a young pig to the temple; strangled 
it, bound it in the ahu haio, (a loose open kind of cloth,) 
and placed it on the altar. They also offered the 
red feathers, which they called the uru maru no te Areoi ; 
the shadowy uru of the Areoi, or the red feathers of the 
party of the Areoi. 
It has been already stated that the brothers, who were 
made gods and kings of the Areois, lived in celibacy; 
consequently they had no descendants. On this ac¬ 
count, although they did not enjoin celibacy upon their 
devotees, they prohibited their having any offspring. 
Hence, one of the standing regulations of this in¬ 
stitution was, the murder of their children. The first 
company, the legend states, were nominated, ac- 
