# An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands/Chapter XIII

CHAPTER XIII.
Ceremony of Finow's burial—Grief of his widows—Self inflictions of the mourners—Funeral procession to Felletoa—The policy of the prince—Description of the grave, and ceremony of interment—Ceremonies after burial—Respect paid by persons in passing the grave—The prince's intimation to Voona that he should exile himself—The prince receives authority as How at a cava party—His noble speech on this occasion—Farther exhortations to his chiefs and matabooles respecting the cultivation of the country—Half mourning commences—The ceremony of the twentieth day after burial—The dance called Meetoo Buggi—Heroic behaviour of two boys at the grave—The late How's fishermen exhibit proofs of their affection for the deceased—Moral and political character of the late How—His personal character—A brief comparison between the characters of the late and present How.
All the chiefs and matabooles were now assembled on the malai at Neafoo. Among the rest was Voona, to whom the prince went up, and intimated the necessity of removing the body of his father to Félletóa. It would have been thought very disrespectful if he had not mentioned this to Voona before he issued orders respecting it, because Voona was a very great chief, even greater than Finow himself, and such a reserve on such a public occasion, towards a superior, would have been an act offen​sive to the gods. It may appear strange that Voona was a greater chief than the son of the Ising, yet it is a frequent occurrence, that the king is chosen from a family not of the highest rank, on account of his superior wisdom or mi- litary skill, and this was the case with the pre- sent royal family; so that the king is often obliged to pay a certain ceremonious respect (hereafter to be noticed) towards niany other chiefs (even little children), who are greater nobles than he. The company were now all seated, habited in mats, waiting for the body of the deceased king to be brought forth. The mourners (who are always women, consisting of the female re- lations, widows, mistresses, and servants of the deceased, and such other females of some rank, who choose, out of respect, to officiate on the occasion), were assembled in the house, and seated round the corpse, which still lay out on the bales of. gnatoo. They were all habited in large, old, ragged mats, the more ragged, the more fit for the occasion, as being more em- blematical of a spirit broken down, or, as it were, torn to pieces by grief. Their appearance was calculated to excite pity and sorrow in the heart of any one, whether accustomed or not to such a scene : their eyes were swollen with the last night's frequent flood of grief, and still 9 ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 381 weeping genuine tears of regret ; the upper part of their cheeks perfectly black, and swollen so that they could hardly see, with the con- stant blows they had infiicted on themselves with their fists ; and their breasts, also, were equally bruised with their own misplaced and untimely rage. Among the chiefs and matabooles who were seated on the maldh all those who were particu- larly attached to the late king, or to his cause, evinced their sorrow by a conduct, usual, in- deed, among these people at the death of a re- lation, or of a great chief (unless it be that of Tooitonga, or any of his family), but which, to us, may well appear barbarous in the extreme ; that is to say, the custom of cutting and wounding themselves with clubs, stones, knives, or sharp shells : one at a time, or two or three together, would run into the middle of the circle, formed by the spectators, to give these proofs of their extreme sorrow for the death, and great respect for the memory of their departed friend. The sentiments expressed by these victims of popular superstition were to the following purpose : Finow ! I know well your mind ; " you have departed to Bolotoo '^, and left your
TRANSACTIONS AT " people under suspicion that I, or some of " those about you, were unfaithful; but where "is the proof of infidelity? where is a single "instance of disrespect?" Then, inflicting violent blows, and deep cuts in the head with a club, stone, or knife, would again exclaim, at intervals, " Is this not a proof of my fidelity? " does this not evince loyalty and attachment " to the memory of the departed warrior?*' Then, perhaps, two or three would run up, and endeavour to seize the same club, saying, with a furious tone of voice, " Behold! the land is " torn with strife! it is smitten to pieces! it is " split by revolts! how my blood boils! let us " haste and die! I no longer wish to live! your " death, Finow, shall be mine! but why did I " wish hitherto to live, it was for you alone! " it was in your service and defence, only, that
" country is ruined! Peace and happiness are "at an end! your death has insured ours! " henceforth war and destruction alone can " prosper." These speeches were accompa- nied with a wild and frantic agitation of the body, whilst the parties cut and bruised their heads every two or three words, with the knife or club they held in their hands. Others somewhat more calm and moderate in their grief, would parade up and down with ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 383 rather a wild and agitated step, spinning and whirling the club about, striking themselves with the edge of it two ©r three times violently upon the top or back of the head*, and then, suddenly stopping, and looking stedfastly at the instrument, spattered with blood, exclaim,. " Alas ! my club, who could have said that you " would have done this kind office for me, and " have enabled me thus to evince a testimony of " my respect for Finow 1 Never, no, never, can " you again tear open the brains of his ene- " mies ! Alas ! what a great and mighty warrior " has fallen ! Oh ! Finow, cease to suspect my " loyalty ; be convinced of my fidelity ! But
* ' what absurdity am I talking ! if. I had ap-
* ' peared treacherous in your sight, I should
" have met the fate of those numerous warriors " who have fallen victims to your just revenge: " but do not think, Finow, that I reproach
" innocence, for who, that has thoughts of " harming his chiefs, shall grow white-headed
" some of the old men). O cruel gods ! to de- prive us of our father, of our only hope, for " whom alone we wished to live ! We have, in- " deed, other chiefs, but they are only chiefs
tion of the larger arteries. ​8^J4 TRANSACTIONS AT " in rank, and not like you, alas! great and " mighty in war !'* Such were their sentiments and conduct on this mournful occasion. Some, more violent than others, cut their heads to the skull with such strong and frequent blows, that they caused themselves to reel, producing after- wards a temporary loss of reason. It is diffi- cult to say to what length this extravagance would have been carried, particularly by one old man, if the prince had not ordered Mr. Mariner to go up and take away the club from him, as well as two others that were engaged at the same time. It is customary on such oc- casions, when a man takes a club from another, to use it himself in the same way about his own head ; but Mr. Mariner, being a foreigner, was not expected to do this j he therefore went up, and, after some hesitation and struggle, secured the clubs, one after another, and returned with them to his seat, when, after a while, they were taken by others who used them in like manner. After these savage expressions of sorrow had been continued for nearly three hours, the prince, having first signified his intentions to Voona, for reasons before stated, gave orders that the body of his father should be taken to Felletoa to be buried. In the first place, a bale ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 385 ofgnatoo was put on a kind of hurdle, and the body laid on the bale : the prince then ordered that, as his father was the first who introduced guns in the wars of Tonga, the two carronades should be loaded and fired twice* before the procession set out, and twice after it had passed out of the maldi j he gave directions also that the body of Finow*s daughter, lately deceased, should be taken out of the fi/loca, in the model of a canoe, and carried after the corpse of her father ; that during his life as he wished always to have her body in his neighbourhood, she might now at length be buried with him. Matters being thus arranged, Mr. Mariner loaded the guns, and fired four times with blank cartridge. The procession then went forward ; the wives of the deceased and women attendants pro- ceeded first in silent sorrow, next followed the body of Finow, the body of his daughter, the matabooles, and lastly the young prince and his retinue. When the procession had got out of the fortress, (the ma/di of which we are speak- ing, being in the middle of the fortress of Neafoo) and had passed the place where the • It should be mentioned that the young prince had now in his possession only two carronades, the other two being at the Hapai islands with Toobo Toa. But then Toobo Toa had only half a barrel of gunpowder, and no iron shot, whereas the prince had seven or eight barrels, and a consi- derable number of balls. VOL. I. C C ​386 TRANSACTIONS AT guns were drawn up, Mr. Mariner fired two more rounds, then loaded them with canister shot, lighted a match, to be in readiness in case of need, and ordered the guns to follow the procession, whilst hp went last to see that they were properly drawn. It was not the prince's intention to order another salute, but he had previously told Mr. Mariner to load them again, not with blank cartridge but with ■shot, and to carry a lighted match in his haridj for, " perhaps," said he, " we may have need of it." This, it may be easily seen, was a measure of policy ; he ordered them to be fired that he might have a plea for carrying them in the procession along with him, and he ordered them to be loaded a third time, as if they were to be in readiness for another salute at the gi-ave, but in fact for his own safeguard, lest certain .chiefs should take th« opportunity to revolt. Tn the course of two hours they arrived at Felletoa, where the body was laid in a house on the maldi at some distance from the grave, till another and smaller house could be brought close to it* ; and this was done in the course f The body is always placed in a house in front of futoca during the time the grave is digging : if there be nft house near, a small one is immediately bcought for the puiv pose, which, from the construction of their houses, is, read.iljf done by the aid of 50 or 60 men. ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 387 of an hour, the corner posts being taken up, the four pieces which compose the building (a kind of shed in a pyramidal form, the eaves reaching within four feet of the ground) were brought by a sufficient number of men, and put. together at the place where it was wantedf*. This being done, the body was brought on the. same hurdle or hand-barrow to the newly erected building, (if it may be so termed) and then being taken off the hurdle it was laid within, on the bale of gnatooj and the house was- hung round with black gnatoo, reaching from! the eaves to the ground *. The women, whc» were now all assembled and seated round the body, began a most dismal lamentation, similar to that at Neafoo ; in the mean time a number of people, whose business it jwas to prepare graves, were digging the place of interment within ihefyioca, under the direction of Lanagi, a mataboole whose office was to superintend such affiiirs. Having dug about ten feet, they came to the large stone vault, such as was de- scribed in the note p. 144 j a rope being then
having a deep brown ground with black stripes, is not chosen on account of its colour, but because it is coarse and common (emblematical of poverty and sadness). They have a kind oi gnatoo of very superior quality, but of the same colour and pattern, and this is used on occasions of re- joicing. C C 2 ​fastened double round one end of the stone, which always remains a little raised for this purpose by means of certain bodies placed un- derneath ; it was elevated by the main strength of 150 or 200 men, pulling at the two ends of the rope, towards the opposite edge of the grave, till it was brought up on eiid. The body, being oiled with sandal-wood oil and then wrapped in Hamoa mats, was handed down on a large bale of gnatoo into the grave ; the bale of gnatoo was then, as is customary, taken by the before-mentioned mataboole as his perquisite. Next, the body of his daughter, in the model of a canoe, was let down in like manner and placed by his side *. The great stone was then lowered down with a loud shout. Immediately certain matabooles and warriors ran like men frantic round and about the fytocay exclaiming, " Alas ! how great is " our loss ! Finow ! you are departed ; witness
cious enough to hold thirty bodies. Two bodies which Mr. Mariner saw there, and which were in a very dry but perfect state, had been buried, as he was told by old men, when they were boys, and consequently must have been there up- wards of forty years ; while several others, of which nothing remained but the bones, had not been buried so long : this circumstance the natives suppose to be owing to different kinds of constitution, though, in all probability, to the kind or duration of disease of which they died. ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 389 " this proof of our love and loyalty !'* At the same time 4;hey cut and bruised their own heads with clubs, knives, axes, &c. The whole company now formed themselves into a single line, the women first and aftecr wards the men, but without any particular order as to rank, and proceeded towards Lico (or the back of the island, as they term it, be- cause there is no opening for large canoes), for the purpose (as customary) of getting a quan- tity of sand in small baskets, for the use di- rectly to be described. The guns were not however taken in the procession, a« the young prince considered the measure now unneces- sary, every thing appearing perfectly quiet, for if any party had intended to revolt, they would have done it on their way from Neafoo to the grave, whilst they had clubs and spears in their possession, and not during the ceremony of burial, before which every man, according to custom, deposits his arms in the neighbouring houses. It is true they might afterwards have taken up their arms again and planned mis- chief, but the prince, who had always his spies about, neither perceiving nor hearing of any symptoms of disturbance, did not wish to seem fearful of revolt, which would have been the case had he taken the guns with him to the back of the island, and which he could not ​have done with any plausible pretence, such as he had for bringing them to Felletoa. In their road to the back of the island they sang loudly the whole way, as a signal to all who might be in the road or adjacent fields to hide themselves as quickly as possible, for it is sacrilegious for any body to be seen abroad by the procession during this part of the cere- mony ; and if any man had unfortunately made his appearance, he would undoubtedly have been pursued by one of the party, and soon dispatched with the club. So strictly is this attended to, that nobody in Mr. Mariner's time recollected a breach of a law so well icnown. Even if a common man were to be fcuried, and Finow himself were to be upon the road, or in the neighbourhood of the proces- sion, whilst going to get sand at the back of the island, he would immediately hide himself; not that they would knock out the king's brains on such an occasion, but it would be thought sacrilegious and unlucky, the gods of Bolotoo being supposed to be present at the time. The chiefs are particularly careful not to in- fringe upon sacred laws, lest they should set an example of disobedience to the people. The song on this occasion, which is very short, is sung first by the men, and then by the women, and so on alternately, and intimates (though ​THiE TONGA ISLANDS. 391 Mr. Manner has forgotten the exact words) that iQj'ala (which is the name of this part of the ceremony) is coming, and that every body must get out of the way. When they arrived at the back of the island, where any body may be present to see them, and, on this occasion, it Was at the part called Mofooe, every one proceeded to make a small basket of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree, hold- ing about two quarts, and to fill it with sand : this being done, each of the men carried two upon a stick across the shoulder, one at each end — while the women only carried one, pressed, in general, against the left hip, or rather upon it, by the hand of the same side, and supported by the hand of the opposite side/ brought backwards across the loins, Vhich they consider the easiest mode for women to carry small burdens *; they then proceeded back the same way, and with the same ceremony, to the gtave. By this time the grave above the vault was nearly filled with the earth lately dug out, the remaining small space being left to be filled up by the sand, which is always more than enough for this purpose, that the mount,
which the men use, as just described, dmo ; carrying in the^ hand by the side, taggi-laggi ; — ^whilst the general term for any mode of carrying is fooa. ​of which thefyfoca consists, may be strewed in like manner, it being considered a great embel- lishment to a grave to have it thus covered, and is thought to appear very well from a dis- tance, where the clean sand may be seen on the outside of the fytoca ; besides which, it is the custom, and nobody can explain the reason why, — which is the case with several of their customs. This being done, the temporary house is taken to pieces, and thrown behind the fyloca in the hole,, out of which the earth was originally dug to raise the mount on which the fytoca stands * : in this hole also are thrown all the baskets in which the sand was brought, as well as the remaining quantity of earth not used in filling up the grave. The ground within the fytoca is now covered with mats, similar to what are commonly used in the houses, and which are made of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree. During the whole of this time the company was seated on the green be- fore the fytoca^ still clothed in mats, and their necks strung with the leaves of the ifi tree : after this they arose and went to their respective ha- bitations, where they shaved their heads, and burnt their cheeks with a small lighted roll of • Or rather the house upon the fytoca, for the latter is a term given merely to the mount and the grave within it ; they have several Jytocas which have no houses on them. ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 393 tdpa*y by applying it once upon each cheek bone J after which, the place was rubbed with the astringent berry of the matchi^ which oc- casions it to bleed, and with the blood they smeared about the wound, in a circular form, to nearly two inches in diameter, giving them- selves a very unseemly appearance |. They re- peat this friction with the berry every day, making the wound bleed afresh : and the men, in the mean time, neglect to shave, and to oil themselves during the day; they do, however, at night, for the comfort which this operation affords. After having, in the first place, burnt their cheeks and shaved their heads, they built for themselves small temporary .huts, for their own accommodation during the time of mourn- ing, which lasts twenty days. The women, who have become tabooed by touching the dead body, remain constantly in the fytoca, except when they want food, for which they retire to one or other of these temporary houses, to be fed as mentioned in the note, p. 141, but they sleep in
stamped or imprinted with any pattern. t Those whose love for the deceased is very great, or who wish it to be thought so, instead of burning their cheeks in the way mentioned, rub off the cuticle by beating and rub- bing their cheeks with platt wound round their hands, made of the husk of the cocoa-nut 3 and this is a most painful operation. ​394 TRANSACTIONS AT the fytoca. The 'provisions with which these tabooed women and mourners in general are pro- vided were sent, on this occasion, with bales of gnatoo, first to the young prince, by the differ- ent chiefs and matabooles ; the prince then or- dered the greater part of them to be sent to the tabooed women : and they were accordingly carried and placed on the ground, at some dis- tance from the grave, or else laid down before the temporary house, to which the chief of the tabooed women retires to be fed ; and she orders them to be distributed to the different chiefs and matabooles, who again share them out in the usual way. The fifth and tenth days of such a ceremony are, however, marked by a greater quantity of provision than ordinary being sent, for which they give no reason but that of custom. On the twentieth day there is also an unusually large quantity sent ; and this is by way of finishing the funeral ceremony. With these provisions they also send every day a supply of tomes*, to light up theft/ toca during the night : these tomes are held by a woman, who, when fatigued with this office, is relieved by another : those who take the light into their charge are of the lower ranks. They, as well as the others, when not oppressed by sleep, in general spend their time in talking upon in*
396 diflferent subjects. During these twenty days also, if any one pass the fytoca, he must not proceed in his ordinary careless way, swinging his arms, but with a slow pace, his head bowed down, and his hands elapsed before him, if he have no burden ; and if he have, he must lower it, (from his shoulder for instance,) and carry it in his hands, or upon his bended arms : — but if he can conveniently do it, he will go a circuitous route, to avoid the grave. Here it may be ob* served, that, on all occasions, when a man with a burden passes a great chief, or the grave of a great chief, particularly if there be any one near to see him, he lowers his burden out of respect. Every day also, one or more approach, and sit before the grave for two or three hours, beating their faces with their fists ; sometimes they bruise their heads with clubs, in which case they stand up*. These are the uniform and essential circumstances which always take place during this part of the ceremony of burying chiefs,— we now come to speak of those which were peculiar to this particular instance. On the day after the deceased How was put
attended by her women, cut the grass short before the grave with knives and sharp shells, sweeping away leaves and loose blades with brooms made of the mid rib of the cocoa-nut leaf : they also procured sweet-scented plants, principally the jidle, and planted them before the grave. ​in the ground, the principal chiefs and mata- booles requested the prince to intimate to Voona and certain other chiefs, their wish that they should go to the Hapai islands : this he did j but, at the same time, gave them liberty to stop till the funeral ceremony was concluded. Voona received this intimation in a becoming man- ner, acknowledging the impropriety of his stay, if the people were any way jealous of his pre- sence. The prince apologized for this step, urging the will of his people as his sol^ motive; and expressed, with great warmth, his wish that he who had been so long his friend and com- panion could still remain his associate. The following day, at a general assembly of the chiefs and matabooles, after the cava was prepared, and the two first cups handed out, the third, which, according to custom, is pre- sented to the chief who presides, was next filled ; and when an attendant, as usual, de^ clared aloud that the cup was filled, all eyes were fixed on the prince, whilst the mataboole who sat next to him exclaimed, " Give it to rinow!"-^and it was accordingly handed to him, whilst he preserved an appearance of per- fect unconcern at the name by which, for the first time, he was called*. And this was a matter of no small importance ; for had he ap.
peared elated at this circumstance, he would have been thought a man of a weak mind, little calculated to be a supreme chief: whereas the character of such a personage should be, m their estimation, (and very rightly too,) that of superiority over the influence of petty passions, and such trifling emotions as are fit only for the vulgar tribe of mankind. As soon as all the cava was served out and drunk, Finow addressed the company to the following purport. « Listen to me, chiefs and warriors! If " any among you are discontented with the " present state of affairs,— now is the time to go " to Hapai; for no man shall remain at Vavaoo « with a mind discontented and wandering to other places. I have seen with sorrow the " wide destruction occasioned by the unceasing
'malai: we have indeed been doing a great
* deal, but what is the result?— the land is de-
* populated 1 it is overgrown with weeds, and
«* there is nobody to cultivate it: had we re- " mained peaceful, it would have been populous " still: the principal chiefs and warriors are « fallen, and we must be contented with the
" is not life already too short? Is it not a noble " characteristic in a man to remain happy and peaceful in his station? What folly then to It ​TRANSACTIONS AT seek for war to shorten that which is already too short ! Who is there among us who car* say, <■ I wish to die— I am weary of life?* Have we not then been acting Hke those of no "understanding? Have we not been madly seizing the very thing which deprives us of
" banish all thoughts of fighting ! If any power approach us with the front of battle, and at. " tempt to invade our rights, our fury and « bravery shall be excited more, in proportion " as we have more possessions to defend. Let " us therefore confine ourselves to agriculture, " for that is truly guarding our country. Why " should we be anxious for an increase of ter- " ritory? Our land i» quite large enough to " supply us with food,— we shall not even be " able to devour all its produce ! But perhaps I " am not speaking to you wisely! the oldmata- " booles are present ; I beg them to teU me if I am wrong. I am yet but a youth, and, on " that account, should be unfit to govern, if my mind, like that of the deceased chief, sought " not the advice of others : for your loyalty and fidelity towards him, however, I return you « my sincere thinks. Finow Fiji, who is pre-
" quent inquir'ies concerning the good of our " government : do not then say, wherefore do ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 399 «' we listen to the idle talk of a hoy? HecoUect, whilst I speak to you, my voice is the echo « pf the sentiments of Toe Oomoo, and Oooloo- ^* valoo, and Afoo, and Fotoo, and Alo, and all
Listen to me ! I remind you that if there be ^* any among you discontented with this state « of affairs, the present is the only opportunity
« sion, and not at all shall we communicate " with Hapai. Choose therefore your dwelling- " places ; there is Fiji, there is Hamoa, there is Tonga, there is Hapai, there is Fotoona and Lotooma l—Those men in particular having " minds unanimous, loving to dwell in constant " peace, — they alone shall remain at Vavaioo " ^nd its neighbouring isles. Yet will I not
w :— Behold ! the islands of Tonga and Fiji ^re constantly at war ; let him there display his courage. Arise ! go to your respective ha- bitations ; and recollect, that to-morrow the canoes depart for Hapai*."
tipn, see the latter part of the grammar. Mr. Mariner had in a manner learnt it off by heart, for it was so universally ad- mired that it was in every body's mouth for a long time after. The above version will be found somewhat different from the one in the first edition, and the reason is I did not at that time feel so well the force and strength of the Tonga idiom. ​400 TRANSACTIONS AT Finow, having finished his -speech, arose and went to his house, accompanied by the sons of his chiefs and matabooles, who, together with his warriors, formed his retinue. After a re- past, provided beforehand *, he again made an addi'ess, but in a more familiar and conversa- tional way, on the advantages of cultivating land for one's own food, and eating the produce of one's own labour ; and to strengthen his ar- gument, he observed, that, hitherto in Tonga, it had been the custom for those who formed the retinue of chiefs to subsist on the provision which those chiefs thought proper to share out to them from their own store : and during the great famine (which happened many years be- fore, while he was yet but a boy), he had re- marked that more of these men (chiefs' depend- ents) had died than of the lower orders, who tilled the ground for their own support, as well ^s that of their chiefs, because they always found means to reserve food for themselves, however great might be the tax ; while those who depended on the bounty of their chiefs got but a very scanty allowance. He then went on, " You do not know how much pleasure such
was the case with that where he made the above speech; those who are fond of cava seldom eat much with it, con- ceiving that food destroys its genuine taste, and prevents its due eflFect upon the system. ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 401 " men feel when they view the work of their " own hands thriving daily: and, whilst eating, '* when they reflect that their labour has been " repaid by the increase of their stores : there-
" apply ourselves, as we have nothing else to
" will order a piece of ground to be cleared, " and, during the next rain, I will assist in planting it with hiabo." No other circumstances worthy of note hap- pened during the twenty days concluding the burial ceremony. On the tentli day, those who were not relations of the deceased, nor consti- tuted his household, wore a sort of half mourn- ing ; that is to say, under their mats they wore a piece of gnatoo, not to be seen, but merely to be more comfortable to the skin than the mats, which, on these occasions, are not of the finest texture. After the twentieth day they wore their ordinary dress, and went to their proper habitations ; so did also the relations of the de- ceased, but then these wore mats for about two months afterwards, though with gnaloo under them. We now come to speak of the transactions of the twentieth day, which concludes the whole ceremony. Early in the morning of this day, all the rela- VOL. I. p D ​402 TRANSACTIONS AT tions of the deceased chief, togetlier with those who formed his household, and also the women who were tabooed by having touched his dead body, whilst oiling and preparing it, went to the back of the island (without any particular order or ceremony) to procure a number of flat peb- bles, principally white, but a few black, for which they made baskets on the spot to carry them in as before mentioned, when they went to procure sand. With these they returned to the grave, and strewed the inside of the house with the white ones, and also the outside about the fytoca, as a decoration to it: the black pebbles they strewed only upon those white ones, which covered the ground directly over the body, to about the length and breadth of a man, in the form of a very eccentric ellip- sis. After this, the house over the, fytoca was closed up at both ends with a reed fencing, reaching from the eaves to the ground, and, at the front and back, with a sort of basket-work, made of the young branches of the cocoa-nut tree, split and interwoven in a very curious and ornamental way, to remain till the next burial, when they are to be taken down, and, after the conclusion of the ceremony, new ones are to be put up in like manner. A large quantity of provisions vas now sent to the maldi by the chiefs of the different districts of the island, ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 493 ready prepared and cooked ; and also a consider- able quantity prepared by Finow's own house- hold : among these provisions was a good suj^ply of cava root. After the chiefs, matabooles, and others, were all assembled, the provisions and cava were served out in the usual way. During this time no speech was made, nor did any par- ticular occurrence take place. The company afterwards repaired each to his respective house, and got ready for a grand wrestling-match and entertainment of dancing the Mee too Buggi (literally, the dance, standing up with paddles. See second volume.) During the intervals of the dances, several matabooles, warriors, and others, ran before the grave, bruising and cutting their heads with clubs, axes, &c., as proofs of their fidelity to the late chief : among them, two boys, one about twelve, the other about fourteen years of age (sons of matabooles), made themselves very conspicuous in this kind of self infliction ; the youngest in particular, whose father was killed in the service of the late chief, during the great revolution at Tonga, after having given his head two or three hard knocks, ran up to the grave in a fit of enthusiasm, and dashing his club with all his force against the ground, exclaimed, " Finow ! why should I attempt " thus to express my love and fidelity towards D D 2 ​
" permit me to live long enough to prove my " fidelity to your son he then again raised his club, and, running about, bruised and cut his little head in so many places, that he was covered with streams of blood. This demon- stration on the part of the young hero was thought very highly of by every one present, though, according to custom, nothing at that time was said in his praise ; agreeably to their maxim, that praise raises a man's opinions of his own merit too high, and fills him with self- conceit. The late How's fishermen now ad- vanced forward, to shew their love for their deceased master in the usual way ; though, in- stea,d of a club or axe, each bore the paddle of a canoe, with which he beat and bruised h'is head at intervals, making similar exclamations to those so often related. In one respect, however, they were somewhat singular ; that is, in having three arrows stuck through eack cheek, in a slanting direction, so that, while their points came quite through the cheek into the mouth, the other ends went over their shoulders, and were kept in that situation by another arrow, the point of which was tied to the ends of the arrows passing over one shoulder, and the other end to those of the arrows passing over the other shoulder, so as to ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 405 form a triangle; and with this horrible equip- ment they walked round the grave, beating their fiices and heads, as before stated, with the paddles, or pinching up the skin of the breast, and sticking a spear quite through; all this, to prove their love and affection for the deceased chief. After these exhibitions of cruelty were over, this day's ceremony (which altogether lasted about six hours) was finished by a grand wrest- ling-match, which being ended, every one re- tired to his respective house or occupation; and thus terminated the ceremony of burying the king of the Tonga islands. ■ Finow's character, as a politician, at least in point of ambition and design, may vie with that of any member of more civilized society; he wanted only education and a larger field of action, to make himself a thousand times more powerful than he was. Gifted by nature with that amazing grasp of mind which seizes every thing within its reach, and then, dissatisfied with what it has obtained, is ever restless in the endeavour to obtain more, how dull and irksome must have been to him the dominion of a few islands, which he did not dare to leave to conquer others, lest he should be dispos- sessed of them by the treachery of chiefs, and the fickleness of an undisciplined army. His ​ever restless and ambitious spirit would fre- quently vent itself in such expressions as the following : " Oh, that the gods would make 'i'-me king of England ! there is not an island " in the whole world, however small, but what " I would then subject to my power : the king " of England does not deserve the dominion " he enjoys j possessed of so many great ships,
* ' why does he suffer such petty islands as those
* ' of Tonga continually to insult his people
" with acts of treachery? Were I he, would I
" would come with the front of battle'^; and
" who ought to be chief. None but men of " enterprising spirit should be in possession of
* ' guns ; let such rule the earth, and be those
* ' their vassals who can bear to submit to such
* ' insults unrevenged !" With such sentiments
as these would he now and then break forth > in presence of Mr. Mariner, after conversing on the power of the king of England. Hence his character, as to ambition, is drawn by himself with bold arid decided lines. As to intrigue
of battle^ is a very uSual expression among them. f The expression they use for the noise of guns : the Avord Britain they Cannot pronounce in any other way than Bolotdne. ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 407 and design, the reader may refer to the history of his conduct in the revolution of Tonga, (p. 71) where he suffered Toob6 Nuha's revenge to be the tool of his ambition, pretending to have no strong wish for the death of Toogoo Ahoo ; hence Toobo Nuha took upon himself the charge of assassination, whilst Finow re- mained on the outside of the house with his men waiting the result : thus he did not draw upon himself the odium of any one, as an actual murderer of Toogoo Ahoo ; all which fell upon the shoulders of Toob6 Nuha, equally as great and brave, but a more honest and a worthier man.- For a more striking instance, look to his deep design in the history of the as- sassination of his brother Toobo Nuha, who had been his own ally, and was then his most faith- ful servant (see p. 132) ; here again he made use of another man's revenge to effect his pur- pose ; and mark the admirable caution with which he steps in this affair throughout. He acknowledges that he promised Toobo Toa his assistance, but then states, as his reason, that he did it with the view of putting off Tooba Toa's intention for a time, under the false pre- tence, he says, that it was not yet a fit oppor- tunity; but in reality, as he tells the Vavaoo people, that he might find an occasion to pre- vent the mischief altogether ! But who can ​doubt, after having observed closely the features of that transaction, but that Finow meant to bring about the murder ofTooba Nuba that very night, else why did he tell Mr. Mariner not to bring his whaling knife with him ? was it not that he wished to be unarmed, that he might not have an opportunity of de- fending Toobo Nuha ? Again, he did not, be- fore he set out from his house, send for Toobo Nuha to accompany hiip, but 'when he had got half way on his road he stopped to bathe, and in the mean while, as if it were a second and a casual thought, he sent for his victim to ac- company him to the old chief's house, where they remained above two hours. Toobo Toa was not present, and Toobo Toa's men were getting ready a canoe for him to escape, in case he were unsuccessful. When the first blow was given, Finow could not defend Toobo Nuha, because he was purposelij unarmed, and because Toobo Toa's men held him, which they would not have dared to have done had they not been so ordered by their chief. Need any more be said to shew his policy? — Once more notice him, when he wishes to make a peace with the Vavaoo people, after he had kept up for some time a fruitless contest (p. 220). To have ex- pressed this wish might have weakened him in the opinion of his enemies j what does he in ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 409 this case?— he takes frequent opportunity to converse with the priests: he does not tell them that he wishes for peace, but he observes that peace would be much more advantageous for his subjects ; lamenting, at the same time» that the disobedience of the Vavaoo people obliges him to have recourse to warlike mea- sures : the minds of the priests, however, be^ coming strongly impressed with the advan-, tages of peace, when inspired they advise him to make a peace ; he, pretending to do as the gods admonish him, yields to the solicitation, and permits his priests to make overtures, as if this step was originally designed by them, or rather by the gods, and that he consented merely because it was a point of religious duty to do so. Thus we find him an admirable po- litician, although the picture is occasionally marked with traits which do no honour to his character as a man. Farther instances of this kind may be noticed, such as his cruelty to- wards his conquered enemies, by starving his prisoners to death in the shocking manner re- lated p. 78, for which he could have no excuse, unless to deter others from rebellion. As to his seizing several of the Vavaoo chiefs at a cava ring (p. 276), and ordering them to be killed, it may perhaps be that they were medi- tating an insurrection, as he was informed ; ​hence such strong measures became almost necessary in a state of society like that *. But it would be rather severe to consider cruelty so great a crime among these people as it would be among us : the evil to society may be per- haps quite as great, but the demerit certainly falls not so heavy upon the perpetrator, nor does the victim, in all probability, feel it so much. To return to the subject, Finow was by no means destitute of the spark of humanity : it was remarkable in him that, although he was rather arbitrary, he hated to see oppression in others, and would frequently take the part of the oppressed, against those who were punish- ing them harshly ; and this Mr. Mariner is con- fident did not arise from caprice, nor from pride, as- willing to make himself ^the only per- son to be feared, but from far better motives. As a proof of his sentiments in this respect, the following anecdote is worthy of notice : When Mr. Mariner was first able to explain himself in their language, young chiefs and warriors would frequently flock about him, (particularly
duct j on the other hand, I should be sorry to represent him a worse man than he really was. His character no doubt was a very extraordinary one, and I have endeavoured to weigh duly and without prejudice every circumstance that might tend to throw a light upon it. ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 411 those who were active in taking the Port au Prince,) and question him upon the use of va- rious things they had seen on board that vessel, and then they would describe the difficulty they had in killing some of the men, mentioning, at the same time, who killed such a one and who killed another, and expressed, by their actions, how much such a man was convulsed when he died, and how deeply he groaned. Whilst talking upon such subjects, Finow passing that way, and overhearing the discourse, would com- mand them not to talk upon a matter which must be so disagreeable to Mr. Mariner's feel- ings ; that the fate of his companions was too serious a subject to be thus slightly spoken of: to which some of the chiefs replied, " but he " does not make that a subject of considera- " tion, for none of them were his relations.*' —
rejoined Finow, " they were nevertheless his " countrymfen." Remarks like these, if not made out of pride, or from a spii'it of contra- diction, (and Mr. Mariner firmly believes they were not,) may very well serv^e to convince us that Finow 's mind was by no means destitute of humanity ; and though he was at times cruelly severe vnih his prisoners, in putting tliem to death by ways not the least painful, still this was perhaps on all occasions, to a cer​tain degree, justifiable, as examples to keep others in terror : a method undoubtedly not the best, but such as may be easily overlooked in a state of society like that in which he lived *. As another example to throw into the
Ahoo : his severe sentences were thought necessary, by others as well as himself, to place his new authority as king upon a secure foundation. It is Mr. Mariner's opinion, in the impartiality of which I have reason to place the utmost confidence, that had Finow been less watchful, bold, decided, and severe, Toobo Toa would soon have shortened his reign j or, if he had not, Voona would probably have dethroned him, on his return from Hamoa,. in revenge for his former loss of Vavaoo : but his conduct was so unsearchable, his discovery of conspiracies was in a manner so instinctive, and his revenge so prompt, bold, and decisive, that the peo- ple looked up to him with extraordinary admiration, and pronounced him to be truly a great chief, worthy to be a king. The most judicious of the natives,, while they con- sidered his conduct as severe, declared it to be dictated by true policy. If therefore his severity, instead of being con- sidered either criminal or cruel by his own people, was on the contrary thought worthy of admiration as becoming a great, politic, and wise chief so circumstanced, I think I am warranted in saying that it " was perhaps on all occasions to a certain degree justifiable." Finow, beyond all doubt, was greatly to be condemned, but not for his cruel severity : it was his disrespect for the gods that constituted his great crime, — a crime of such a magnitude that his people were astonished to see the gods favour his enterprizes. It is ex- ceedingly difficult to judge of such a character without enter- ing fully into the Tonga sentiments and habits. These re- marks are made in consequence of some observations on the above passage in the Quarterly Review, No. 33, p. 25. ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. scal<i in favour of Fiiiow's humanity and discri- minative justice, we may quote the instance of pardon granted to the two boys of the Port au Prince, who, notwithstanding they were guilty of theft and sacrilege, were excused on account of their supposed ignorance of the extent of their crime j whilst a native would have been executed upon the spot. (See p. 1 63.) His conduct towards Mr. Mariner must also be no- ticed at - the time when the Hope, Captain Chace, arrived at Vavaoo. (See p. 303.) It should here moreover be observed, that Pinow's temper was uncommonly irritable ; when once excited into anger, his rage was terrible : this he acknowledged himself, and would frequently say that his quick temper was the infliction sent him from Bolotoo*': and in some measure to obviate its ill effects, he frequently charged his matabooles to hold him whenever they saw him -getting violently angry ! This they always did, and in about ten minutes or a quarter of
either in his mental or bodily constitution, sent him by the gods ; but for which they assign no other reason than the delight they take in punishing mankind: this last opinion is however by no means universal, the generality of the na- tives do not pretend to assign any reason ; and upon mature consideration Mr. Mariner is convinced that the malignancy of the gods is not a Tonga doctrine, except as far as regards the Hotooa Pow hereafter to be spoken of. ​414 TRANSACTIONS AT an hour lie would become quite calm, and thank them for their interference. This admira- ble conduct is, no doubt, a beautiful trait in the character of a savage : and there is perhaps at this time many a man living at the Tonga islands who owes his present existence to this circumstance j whose head would undoubtedly have been cleaved long ago, but for this lauda- ble artifice on the part of their chief. Nor was he on all occasions unable to master his temper without these secondary means ; for if we ob- serve him when he approached the shores of Vavaoo, to address the people with the view of persuading them to amicable measures, we shall see that all the scoffs and insults of his enemies did not in the least ruffle his temper, contrary to the expectation of his friends. But, how- ever, his temper was no doubt very irritable, and with such a temper, and in such a state of society, it is not to be wondered at that he should occasionally be very harsh in his mea- sures towards those who rebelled against him. As to his moral character in general, not much can be said in his favour ; he was sus- pected of harbouring revengeful designs against individuals for years, and would wreak his ven- geance at a fit opportunity and kill them, as if from a momentary impulse of passion, when nobody was near to restrain him. His revenge ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 415 in this way was sometimes wreaked upon chiefs, who, as he imagined, did not pay him so much tribute as their plantations could have afforded; at least such was supposed to be his motive, by those who knew him best. In describing the character of an extraordi- nary man, the picture is unfinished unless we furnish also a portraiture of his person, and of his personal manners ; otherwise the imagina- tion of the reader is sure to describe for itself a body, as a substratum on which all these mental qualifications are superinduced; and hence, incongruities are mingled together; the harmony of the picture weakened, if not quite destroyed ; and an imperfect artificial con- struction is substituted for a perfect natural production. To give an example of the pro- priety, if not the necessity of this, — one might imagine from the character above given of Fi- now that he was of a very vindictive and cruel disposition, because we have given a few in- stances in confirmation of it: one might be- lieve him therefore to have a countenance harsh and severe, a lowering, sullen brow, a haughty deportment, &c. — But nothing can be more re- mote from his true personal character; — and we are surprised to hear that his countenance was indeed energetic, yet mild ; his brow pro- minent and bold, without suUenness; his d6​416 TRANSACTIONS AT portment manly and erect, without pride. Without the knowledge of these facts, we sup- pose him to have been cruel and malevolent ; zvith the knowledge of them, we rather suppose him to have been severe ; but that his severity, where it degenerated into harshness, was occa- sioned sometimes by hastiness of temper; some- times by misconception of the crime which he punished ; at other times, (and perhaps partly at all times,) by the habits of the society in which he lived, these habits occasioning him to view acts of real cruelty in a light less atro- cious than we should. — If, on the other hand, we were to find that his countenance spoke the same harsh language that his actions appeared to speak, we might, without much fear of error, set him down as being often capable of malig- nant and atrocious actions*. Finow, the sole and arbitrary monarch of Vavaoo, and the Hapai islands, was in stature six feet two inches ; in bulk and strength, stout and muscular ; his head erect and bold ; his shoidders broad and well made ; his limbs well
least the most inhuman, viz. the assassination of his brother Toobo Nuha, was always an inexplicable puzzle to those who might be considered impartial ; but they all seemed per- fectly convinced that he would not have done it without some strong reason. ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 417 set, strong, and graceful in action; his body- not corpulent, but muscular; his hair of a jet black, and curly, yet agreeably so, without being woolly ; his forehead remarkably high j his brow bold and intelligent, with a little au- sterity; his eye large and penetrating, yet joined to an expression of mildness ; his nose aquiline and large ; his lips well made and expressive ; his teeth remarkably large, white, and regular ; his lower jaw rather prominent; his cheek bones also rather prominent, compared with those of Europeans. — All his features were well developed, and declared a strong and energetic mind, with that sort of intellectual expression which belongs not so much to the sage as to the warlike chieftain : ambition sat high on his front, and guided all his energies : his deep and penetrating eye, and his firm and masculine deportment, while they inspired his adherents with confidence, struck awe to the minds of conspirators : his actions were, for the most part, steady and determined, and directed to some well studied purpose ; his resolve was fate, and those who obeyed him with reluct- ance trembled, not without reason. He ap- peared, almost constantly, in deep thought, and did not often smile ; — when he spoke, in mat- ters of some importance, it was not without first holding up_ the balance in his mind, to weigh VOL. I. EE ​418 TRANSACTIONS AT well what he had to say: persuasion hung upon his lip, and the liow of his eloquence was such, that many of his enemies were afraid to listen to him, lest they should be led to view the sub- ject in a light prejudicial to their interests. Although, in matters of consequence, he always seemed to weigh well what he had to say, in subjects of minor importance he was very quick in reply : his voice was loud, not harsh but mellow, and his pronunciation re- markably distinct. When he laughed, which was not on trifling occasions, it was so loud as to be heard at an incredible distance ; and with a very strange noise preceding it, as if he were hallooing after somebody a long way off, and the same kind of noise as he always made when in a passion : and this was peculiar to him. When in his house, however, giving orders about his domestic arrangements, his voice was uncommonly mild, and very low. In regard to his sentiments of religion and policy, they may be pretty well gathered from sundry passages in the narrative : — with respect to his religion in particular, it is difficult to say whether he had any : it is'certain that he dis- believed most of the oracles delivered by the priests ; for although he conceived that they were really inspired, when they appeared to be so, yet he thought that frequently a great deal ​THE TONGA ISLANDS. 419 of what they declared to be the sentiments of the god was their own invention ; and this par- ticularly in regard to what did not suit his own sentiments. He never, however, declared his opinion of these things in public j though he expressed them, very decidedly, to Mr. Mari- ner, and some of his intimate friends. He used to say that the gods would always favour that party in war, in which there were the greatest chiefs and warriors. He did not believe that the gods paid much attention in other respects to the affairs of mankind ; nor did he think they could have any reason for doing so, — no more than man could have any reason or inte- rest in attending to the affairs of the gods. He believed in the doctrine of a future state, agree- ably to the notions entertained by his country- men ; that is, that chiefs and matabooles, hav- ing souls, exist hereafter in Bolotoo, according to their rank in this world ; but that the com- mon people, having no souls, or those only that die with their bodies, are without any hope of a future existence. Such was the character of the late How of the Tonga islands, — a character not without a considerable share of merit ; in some respects not unworthy imitation, and in every respect highly interesting. — We have pourtrayed it at some length, because such characters do not E £ 2 ​often come under our observation ; and it is proper that we should know what men are and may be in a savage state, if we wish to judge with tolerable accuracy of the human character in a civilized state, that, by comparison of the two together,we may arrive at a better knowledge of human nature in the abstract ; a science of all sciences the most truly interesting j a science to which all others are but auxiliary ; and with- out which all others would be but vain subtle- ties, fatiguing in the pursuit, and unsatisfactory in the possession. We come now to view the island of Vavaoo under the dominion of a man of a very different turn of mind ; of one whose intellect was of a very superior kind; and who, unlike his late father, was void of inordinate political ambition, and sought the happiness of his people, not the extension of his own power ; an admirer of the arts, a philosopher among savages ! But to shew better the contrast between the two, we need only mention, that, when the late king was not at his house, and it was necessary to seek for him, be was generally to be found at some public place, at some other chief's house, or at the maldi ; if the present king was wanted, he was to be found at the houses of carpenters, or canoe-builders, or else up in the country, in- specting some ground to be cultivated.