IDEAS OF HEAVEN. 
397 
different parts of the human spirit were scraped 
with a kind of serrated shell, at different times ; 
that the ancestors or relatives of the deceased per¬ 
formed this operation ; that the spirit thus passed 
through the god, and if it underwent this process 
of being eaten, &c. three different times, it became 
a deified or imperishable spirit, might visit the 
world, and inspire others. 
They had a kind of heaven, which they called 
Miru. The heaven most familiar, especially in 
the Leeward Islands, is Rohutu noanoa , sweet- 
scented Rohutu. This was situated near Tama - 
hani unauna , glorious Tamahani, the resort of 
departed spirits, a celebrated mountain on the 
north-west side of Raiatea. The perfumed Rohu¬ 
tu, though invisible but to spirits, was somewhere 
between the former settlement and the district of 
Tipaehapa on the north side of Raiatea. It was 
described as a beautiful place, quite an Elysium, 
where the air was remarkably salubrious, plants and 
shrubs abundant, highly odoriferous, and in perpe¬ 
tual bloom. Here the Areois, and others raised to 
this state, followed all the amusements and pur¬ 
suits to which they had been accustomed in the 
world, without intermission or end. Here was 
food in abundance, and every indulgence. It is 
worthy of remark, that the misery of the one, and 
enjoyments of the other, debasing as they were, 
were the destiny of individuals, altogether irre¬ 
spective of their moral character and virtuous 
conduct. The only crimes that were visited by 
the displeasure of their deities were the neglect of 
some rite or ceremony, or the failing to furnish 
required offerings. I have often, in conversations 
with the people, and sometimes with the priests, 
endeavoured to ascertain whether they had any 
