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MISSIONARY TOUR 
fire until consumed, when the priest lies down to sleep ; 
and if his prayers are answered, he informs the poor 
sufferer, on awaking, who or what is the cause of his 
sickness. Additional presents are then made to the god, 
and other prayers offered, that the sickness may seize 
the person whose incantations in the first instance 
caused it, or, if in consequence of any delinquency 
towards the god on the part of the sufferer, that he 
would abate his anger, and remove the disease. But 
if, during his sleep, the priest has no revelation or 
dream, he informs his employers, on awaking, that he 
has not succeeded, and that another kuni alii must be 
prepared, before he can satisfy them respecting the 
cause of the sickness. On such occasions the unsuc¬ 
cessful priest is often dismissed, and another sent for, 
to try his influence with the god. 
Different priests employ different prayers or incanta¬ 
tions, and are careful to keep the knowledge of them 
confined to their families, as each one supposes, or 
wishes the people to think, his own form the best; 
hence we have often heard the natives, when talking 
on the subject, say, “ He pule mana ko 7ne,” A power¬ 
ful prayer has such a one :—and the priest or sorcerer 
who is supposed to have most influence with the god, 
is most frequently employed by the people, and hence 
derives the greatest emoluments from his profession. 
Though Uri is the principal god of the sorcerers, each 
tribe has its respective deities for these occasions. 
Thus the poor deluded people are led to imagine that 
the beings they worship are continually exerting their 
power against each other; or that the same god who, 
when a small offering only was presented, would allow 
sickness to continue till death should destroy the vie- 
