138 
A VOYAGE TO 
1 777’ This perpetual Hate of war, and definitive method of eon-* 
February., c } U( qj n g ^ operates fo ftrongly in producing habitual cir- 
cumfpedtion, that one hardly ever finds a New Zealander 
off his guard, either by night or by day. Indeed, no other 
man can have fuch powerful motives to be vigilant, as the 
prefervation both of body and of foul depends upon it. 
For, according to their fyftem of belief, the foul of the man 
whofe flelli is devoured by the enemy, is doomed to a per¬ 
petual fire, while the foul of the man whofe body has been 
refcued from thofe who killed him, as well as the fouls of 
all who die a natural death, afcend to the habitations of the 
Gods. I afked, Whether they eat the flefii of fuch of their 
friends as had been killed in war, but whofe bodies were 
faved from falling into the enemy’s hands ? They feemed 
furprized at the queftion, which they anfwered in the ne¬ 
gative, exprefling lome abhorrence at the very idea. Their 
common method of difpofing of their dead, is by depofit- 
ing their bodies in the earth; but if they have more of 
their flaughtered enemies than they can eat, they throw 
them into the fea. 
They have no fuch thing as morals , or other places of 
public worfhip; nor do they ever afiemble together with 
this view. But they have Priefts, who alone addrefs the 
Gods in prayers, for the profperity of their temporal af¬ 
fairs ; fuch as an enterprife againft a hoftile tribe, a filhing 
party, or the like. 
Whatever the principles of their religion may be, of 
which we remain very ignorant, its inftrudtions are very 
ftrongly inculcated into them from their very infancy. 
Of this I faw a remarkable inftance, in the youth who 
was firft deftined to accompany Taweiharooa. He re¬ 
frained from eating the great eft part of the day, on ac- 
1 count 
