THROUGH HAWAII. 
393 
other kinds of fish, cocoa-nuts, and almost every thing 
offered in sacrifice, were tabu to the use of the gods 
and the men; hence the women were, except in 
cases of particular indulgence, restricted from using 
them. Particular places, as those frequented by the 
king for bathing, were also rendered permanently 
tabu . 
Sometimes an island or a district was tabued, when 
no canoe or person was allowed to approach it. Par¬ 
ticular fruits, animals, and the fish of certain places, 
were occasionally tabu for several months from both 
men and women. 
The seasons generally kept tabu were, on the ap¬ 
proach of some great religious ceremony; immediately 
before going to war; and during the sickness of chiefs. 
Their duration was various, and much longer in an¬ 
cient than modem times. Tradition states, that in the 
days of Umi there was a tabu kept thirty years, during 
which the men were not allowed to trim their beards, 
&c. Subsequently there was one kept five years. Be¬ 
fore the reign of Tamehameha, forty days was the 
usual period ; during it, ten or five days, and some- 
only times one day. 
The tabu seasons were either common or strict. 
During a common tabu, the men were only required to 
abstain from their usual avocations, and attend at the 
heiau when the prayers were offered every morning 
and evening. But during the season of strict tabu, 
every fire and light on the island or district must be 
extinguished; no canoe must be launched on the 
water, no person must bathe; and, except those whose 
attendance was required at the temple, no individual 
must be seen out of doors; no dog must bark, no pig 
3 E 
