POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
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cocoa-nut leaves through a shallow part of the sea, and 
usually detached small fragments of coral from the bot¬ 
tom, which were brought to the shore. These were 
denominated fish, and were delivered to the priest, who 
conveyed them to the temple, and deposited them on the 
altar, offering at the same time an uhu or prayer, to in- 
duce the gods to cleanse the land from pollution, that 
it might be pure as the coral fresh from the sea. It was 
now supposed safe to abide on the soil, and appropriate 
its produce to the purposes of support; but had not this 
ceremony been performed, death would have been anti¬ 
cipated. 
The maui fata^ altar-raising, was connected with the 
preceding rites. No human victim was slain, but numbers 
of pigs, with abundance of plantains, &c.were placed upon 
the altars, which were newly ornamented with branches 
of the sacred mero, and yellow leaves of the cocoa-nut 
tree. These rites extended to every marae in the island, 
and were designed to secure rain and fertility for the 
country gained by conquest, or recovered from invasion. 
Besides these, the chief occasional services were those 
connected with the illness of their rulers. This was sup¬ 
posed to be inflicted by the gods for some offence of the 
chiefs or people. Long and frequent prayers were offered, 
to avert their anger, and prevent death. But, supposing 
the gods were always influenced by the same motives 
as themselves, they imagined that the efficacy of their 
prayers would be in exact proportion to the value of the 
offerings with which they were accompanied. Hence, 
when the symptoms of disease were violent and alarming, 
if the sufferer was a chief of rank, the fruits of whole 
fields of plantains, and a hundred or more pigs, have 
been taken to the marae, and frequently, besides these, a 
