386 
POIANESIAN RESEARCHES. 
ami tabu , chiefs sacred, from their supposed con¬ 
nexion with the gods; and a temple is called a 
wahi tabu , place sacred, because devoted exclu¬ 
sively to the abode and worship of the gods. It 
is a distinct word from rahui, to prohibit, as the 
ohelo berries at Kirauea were said to be prohibited, 
being tabu na Pele , sacred for Pele, and is op¬ 
posed to the word noa , which means general or 
common. Hence, the system which prohibited 
females from eating with the men, and from 
eating, except on special occasions, any fruits or 
animals ever offered in sacrifice to the gods, while 
it allowed the men to partake of them, was called 
the Ai tabu , eating sacred; but the present state of 
things is called the Ai noa , eating generally, or 
having food in common. 
This appears to be the legitimate meaning of 
the word tabu, though the natives, when talking 
with foreigners, use it more extensively, applying 
it to every thing prohibited or improper. This, 
however, is only to accommodate the latter, as 
they use kaukau (a word of Chinese origin) in¬ 
stead of the native word for eat, and pikaninny , 
for small, supposing they are thereby better under¬ 
stood. 
The tabu separating whatever it was applied to 
from common use, and devoting it to the above 
purposes, was one of the most remarkable institu¬ 
tions among the South Sea Islanders; and though 
it prevailed, with slight variations, in the different 
groups of the Pacific, it has not been met with in any 
other part of the world. Although employed for 
civil as well as sacred purposes, the tabu was en¬ 
tirely a religious ceremony, and could be imposed 
only by the priests. A religious motive was al¬ 
ways assigned for laying it on, though it was often 
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