390 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
and degrading force. From its birth, the child, if 
a female, was not allowed to be fed with a particle 
of food that had been kept in the father’s dish, or 
cooked at his fire; and the little boy, after being 
weaned, was fed with his father’s food, and, as 
soon as he was able, sat down to meals with his 
father, while his mother was not only obliged to 
take hers in an outhouse, but was interdicted from 
tasting the kind of which he ate. It is not sur¬ 
prising that the abolition of the tabu, effecting for 
them an emancipation so complete, and an ame¬ 
lioration so important, should be a subject of con¬ 
stant gratulation; and, that every circumstance 
tending, in the smallest degree, to revive the for¬ 
mer tabu, should be viewed with the most dis¬ 
tressing apprehensions. The only tabu they now 
have is the Sabbath, which they call the La tabu 
(day sacred,) and to its extension and perpetuity 
those who understand it seem to have no objection. 
Philanthropy will rejoice, that their fears respecting 
the former are not likely to be realized ; for, should 
Christianity not be embraced by some, and only 
nominally professed by others, so sensible are the 
great body of the people of the miseries endured 
under the tabu system, that it is very improbable it 
will ever be re-established among them. On the 
other hand, there is every reason to hope that pure 
Christianity, which imposes none but moral re¬ 
strictions, and requires no appropriations but such 
as it will conduce to their own happiness to make, 
will eventually pervade every portion of the com¬ 
munity ; and that, while it teaches them to render 
a reasonable homage and obedience to the only 
living and true God, and prepares them for the 
enjoyment of his presence in a future state, it 
