98 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
On the outside, near the entrance to the inner 
court, was the place of the rere (altar,) on which 
human and other sacrifices were offered. The 
remains of one of the pillars that supported it were 
pointed out by the natives, and the pavement 
around was strewed with bones of men and ani¬ 
mals, the mouldering remains of those numerous 
offerings once presented there. About the centre 
of the terrace was the spot where the king’s sacred 
house stood, in which he resided during the season 
of strict tabu , and at the north end, the place oc-^ 
cupied by the houses of priests, who, with the ex¬ 
ception of the king, were the only persons per¬ 
mitted to dwell within the sacred enclosures. 
Holes were seen on the walls, all around this, as 
well as the lower terraces, where wooden idols of 
varied size and shape formerly stood, casting their 
hideous stare in every direction. Tairi or Kukai - 
rimoku , a large wooden image, crowned with 
a helmet, and covered with red feathers, the 
favourite war-god of Tamehameha, was the prin¬ 
cipal. To him the heiau was dedicated, and for 
his occasional residence it was built. On the day 
in which he was brought within its precincts, vast 
offerings of fruit, hogs, and dogs, were presented, and 
no less than eleven human victims were immolated 
on his altars. And although the huge pile now 
resembles a dismantled fortress, whose frown no 
longer strikes terror through the surrounding 
country, yet it is impossible to walk over such a 
golgotha, or contemplate a spot which must often 
have resembled a pandemonium more than any 
thing on earth, without a strong feeling of horror 
at the recollection of the bloody and infernal rites 
so frequently practised within its walls. Thanks 
be to God, the idols are destroyed ! Thanks to 
