402 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
Over this he prayed to the god, by whom it was 
supposed the spirit of the deceased had been 
required. The purport of his prayer was, that all 
the dead man’s sins, and especially that for which 
his soul had been called to the po , might be depo¬ 
sited there, that they might not attach in any 
degree to the survivors, and that the anger of the 
god might be appeased. 
The priest next addressed the corpse, usually 
saying, Ei ia oe na te hara e vai ai , “ With you 
let the guilt now remain.” The pillar or post of 
the corpse, as it was called, was then planted in 
the hole, perhaps designed as a personification of 
the deceased, to exist after his body should have 
decayed—the earth was thrown over, as they 
supposed, the guilt of the departed—and the hole 
filled up. 
At the conclusion of this part of the curious rite, 
the priest proceeded to the side of the corpse, and, 
taking a number of small slips of the fa maia , 
plantain leaf-stalk, fixed two or three pieces under 
each arm, placed a few on the breast,, and then, ad¬ 
dressing the dead body, said, There are your family, 
there is your child, there is your wife, there is your 
father, and there is your mother, Be satisfied 
yonder, (that is, in the world of spirits.) Look 
not towards those who are left in this world.—- 
The concluding parts of the ceremony were de¬ 
signed to impart contentment to the departed, and 
to prevent the spirit from repairing to the places of 
his former resort, and so distressing the survivors. 
This was considered a most important ceremony, 
being a kind of mass for the dead, and necessary 
for the peace of the living, as well as the quiet of 
the deceased. It was seldom omitted by any who 
could procure the accustomed fees for the priest, 
