362 
MISSIONARY TOUR 
committed their dead to the earth in a most singular 
manner. After death, they raised the upper part of 
the body, bent the face forwards to the knees, the 
hands were next put under the hams, and passed up 
between the knees, when the head, hands, and knees 
were bound together with cinet or cord. The body was 
afterwards wrapped in a coarse mat, and buried the 
first or second day after its decease. 
They preferred natural graves whenever available, 
and selected for this purpose caves in the sides of their 
steep rocks, or large subterranean caverns. Some¬ 
times the inhabitants of a village deposited their dead 
in one large cavern, but in general each family had a 
distinct sepulchral cave. Their artificial graves were 
either simple pits dug in the earth, or large enclosures. 
One of the latter, which we saw at Keahou, was a 
space surrounded with high stone walls, appearing* 
much like an ancient heiau or temple. We proposed 
to several natives of the village to accompany us on a 
visit to it, and give us an outline of its history; but 
they appeared startled at the thought, said it was a 
wahi ino , (place evil,) filled with dead bodies, and ob¬ 
jected so strongly to our approaching it, that we 
deemed it inexpedient to make our intended visit. Oc¬ 
casionally they buried their dead in sequestered places, 
at a short distance from their habitations, but fre¬ 
quently in their gardens, and sometimes in their houses. 
Their graves were not deep, and the bodies were usu¬ 
ally placed in them in a sitting posture. 
No prayer was offered at the grave, except occa¬ 
sionally by the inhabitants of Oahu. All their inter¬ 
ments are conducted without any ceremony, and are 
usually managed with great secrecy. We have often 
