THROUGH HAWAII. 
135 
and, after the war-god had revealed his will by a vision 
or dream, or some other supernatural means, they com¬ 
municated it to the king and warriors, and war was 
either determined or relinquished accordingly. 
If the expedition in contemplation was of any mag¬ 
nitude or importance, or the danger which threatened 
imminent, human sacrifices were offered, to ensure the 
co-operation of the war-gods in the destruction of their 
enemies. They do not appear to have imagined these 
gods exerted any protecting influence over their de¬ 
votees, but that their presence and their power destroy¬ 
ed the courage and strength of their enemies, and filled 
their hearts with terror and dismay. Sometimes the 
priests proposed that human victims should be slain ; 
sometimes the gods themselves were said to require 
them, to promise victory on condition of their being 
offered, and at other times they were slain after having 
consulted the gods as their oracle, and not having re¬ 
ceived a favourable answer, they were desirous to con¬ 
sult them again before they abandoned the enterprise. 
If any of their enemies had been taken captive, the 
victims were selected from among their number ; if not, 
individuals who had broken tabu, or rendered them¬ 
selves obnoxious to the chiefs, were fixed upon. A 
message was sent to the chief under whose authority 
they were, and at the appointed time he sent his men, 
who generally despatched them with a stone or club, 
without any notice, and then carried them away to the 
temple ; sometimes they were bound and taken alive 
to the heiau, and slain in the outer court, imme¬ 
diately before being placed on the altar. It does not 
appear that they were slain in the idol’s presence, or 
within the temple, but either on the outside or at the 
