POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
91 
but the several adjacent clusters of islands. In Septem¬ 
ber^ 1773, when Captains Cook and Furneux left Huahine, 
the latter was accompanied by a native, who had inti¬ 
mated his desire to proceed in the ship on a visit to Bri¬ 
tain. He was a Raiatean; who, after a defeat which 
his countrymen had sustained in an engagement with 
the daring and warlike natives of Borabora, had taken 
shelter in Huahine. His inducement to undertake a 
voyage, of the incidents and exposures of which he could 
form no idea, does not appear to have resulted so much 
from a wish to gratify a restless and ardent curiosity, as 
from the desire to obtain the means of avenging his 
country, and regaining the hereditary possessions of his 
family, which were now occupied by the victors. 
The name of this individual was Mai^ usually called 
Omai^ from the circumstance of the o being prefixed in 
the native language to nouns in the nominative case. 
Mai is the name of the present king of Borabora, 
though I am not certain of his having descended from 
the same family. The Mai who accompanied Captain 
Furneux does not appear to have been connected by 
birth or rank with the regal or sacerdotal class, although, 
among other accounts circulated respecting him while 
in England, it was stated that he was a priest of the 
sun, an office and title unknown in his native islands. 
He represented himself as a hoa^ friend or attendant, 
on the king. In person he was tall and thin, easy 
and engaging in his manners, and polite in his address; 
but in symmetry of form, expression of countenance, 
general outline of feature, and darkness of complexion, 
inferior to the majority of his countrymen. His con¬ 
versation was said to be lively and facetious. He 
reached England when the interest of Captain Cook’s 
