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POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
When these preliminaries were finished, they proceeded 
from the temple in the following order.—Tari-moa, one 
of the priests of the family of Tairi, carried the image of 
Oro. The king followed immediately after the god. Be¬ 
hind him the large bed of Oro was borne by four chiefs. 
The miro-tahua, or orders of priests, with the great drum 
from the temple, the trumpets, and other instruments. 
Each of the priests wore a tapaau, or ornament, on the 
arm, consisting of the braided leaflets of the cocoa-nut 
tree. As soon as the image appeared without the temple, 
the multitude, who were waiting to witness the pageant, 
retired to a respectful distance on each side, leaving a 
wide clear space. The priests sounded their trumpets, 
and beat the sacred drum, as they marched in procession 
fi’om the temple to the sea-shore, where a fleet of canoes, 
previously prepared, was waiting for them. The sacred 
canoe, or state barge of Oro, was distinguished from 
the rest by the tapaau, or sacred ornaments of platted 
cocoa-nut leaves, by which it was surrounded, and which 
were worn by every individual on board, 
j As soon as the procession reached the beach, Oro was 
carried on board, and followed by the priests and instru¬ 
ments of music, while the king took his seat upon the 
sacred sleeping-place of Oro, which was fixed on the 
shore. The chiefs stood around the king, and the priests 
around the god, until, upon a signal given, the king arose 
from his seat, advanced into the sea, and bathed his per¬ 
son. The priest of Oro then descended into the water, 
bearing in his hand a branch of the sacred mero, plucked 
from the tree which grew in the precincts of the temple. 
While the king was bathing, the priest struck him on 
hjs back with the sacred branch, and offered up the pre¬ 
scribed ubu, or invocation to Taaroa. The design of 
