THROUGH HAWAII. 
143 
In addition to the helmet and cloak, the high chiefs 
occasionally wore a paraoa, or other ornament, like a 
breastplate, suspended from the neck by finely braided 
strings of human hair. 
The diviners were consulted immediately before they 
engaged; they slew their victims, noticed also the face 
of the heavens, the passage of clouds over the sun, the 
appearance of the rainbow; and, if they augured well, 
the principal war-god was brought out in the front of 
the whole army, and placed near the king. The priest 
then addressed a prayer to the gods, urged them to 
exercise their power, and prove themselves, in the 
ensuing engagement, mightier than the gods of their 
enemies; promising, at the same time, hecatombs of 
victims in the event of victory. The king, or com- 
in and cT-in-chief, now addressed the assembled war¬ 
riors ; and if they were to attack, gave the signal for 
tiie hoouta, or onset, and they rushed to hui, or mix in 
They did not employ any banners or colours, but in 
their warlike expeditions were attended by their idols. 
The national war-god was elevated above the ranks, 
and carried by the priest near the person of the king, 
or commander-in-chief. Nor was this the only idol 
borne to the battle: other chiefs of rank had their war- 
gods carried near them by their priest; and if the king 
or chief was killed or taken, the god himself was usu¬ 
ally captured also. The presence of their deities in¬ 
spired the warriors with courage, who supposed their 
influence essential to victory. A description of Tairi 
has already been given, and he may be taken as a 
sample; the image was four or five feet high, the upper 
part wicker-work, covered with red feathers, the face a 
