360 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
occupied by his throne, when placed in the temple by 
the , side of the deities, but it pervaded the terms used 
in reference to his whole establishment. His houses 
were called the aorai, the clouds of heaven; aniianua, 
the rainbow, was the name of the canoe in which he 
voyaged; his voice was called thunder ; the glare of the 
torches in his dv/elling was denominated lightning; and 
when the people saw them in the evening, as they 
passed near his abode, instead of saying the torches were 
burning in the palace, they would observe that the light¬ 
ning was flashing in the clouds of heavens. When he 
passed from one district to another on the shoulders of 
his bearers, instead of speaking of his travelling from 
one place to another, they always used the word mahuta, 
which signifies to fly 5 and hence described his journey 
by saying, that the king was flying from one district of 
the island to another. 
The establishment and habits of the king often exhi¬ 
bited the most striking contrast; at one time he was 
seen surrounded by the priests, and invested with the 
insignia of royalty, and divinity itself; or appeared in 
public on the shoulders of his bearers, while the people 
expressed every indication of superstitious reverence 
and fear. At other times, he might be seen on terms 
of the greatest familiarity with his attendants and 
domestics. 
He never wore a crown, or any badge of dignity, and, 
in general, there was no difference between his dress and 
that of the chiefs by whom he was surrounded, excepting 
that the fine cloth and matting, called vane, with which 
he was often arrayed, were more rare and valuable than 
the dress worn by others. His raiment frequently con¬ 
sisted' of the ordinary pareu, or ahu pu, in quality often 
