MYTHOLOGY. 
91 
They had a number of sea gods, besides those, 
who, they imagined, directed the shoals of fishes 
to their shores. They had also gods who con¬ 
trolled the winds, and changed the weather. 
During a storm, or other season of danger at sea, 
they offered up their paro , or pule kurana , a par¬ 
ticular kind of prayer ; but I did not learn to what 
idol they addressed it. On these occasions, their 
dread of perishing at sea frequently led them to 
make vows to some favourite deity; and if they 
ever reached the land, it was their first business to 
repair to the temple, and fulfil their vows. These 
vows were generally considered most sacred en¬ 
gagements ; and it was expected that, sooner or 
later, some judgment would overtake those who 
failed to perform them. It is not improbable, that 
the priests of those idols, in order to maintain 
their influence over the people, either poisoned 
the delinquents, or caused them to sustain some 
other injury. 
Karaipahoa was also a famous idol, originally 
belonging to Morokai. It was a middling-sized 
wooden image, curiously carved ; the arms were 
extended, the fingers spread out, the head was 
ornamented with human hair, and the widely 
extended mouth was armed with rows of shark’s 
teeth. 
The wood of which the image was made was so 
poisonous, that if a small piece of it was chipped 
into a dish of poe, or steeped in water, whoever 
ate the poe, or drank the water, the natives re¬ 
ported, would certainly die in less than twenty- 
four hours afterwards. We were never able to 
procure a sight of this image, though we have 
been repeatedly informed that it still exists, not 
indeed in one compact figure, as it was divided in 
