The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1863-08-27

originate with the chief, the heads of families
would be concocting something. and marking
out tine daughter of some one as the object OF the
next fine mat speculation. The chief would
Weld 10 them, have the usual round of ceremo-
nies, but without the remotest idea Of living
with that person as his wife. In this way Il chief
IN the course Of his lifetime, might be married
well on 10 fifty times he would not, however,
probably have more than two living with him
st the anne time. As the heads of families were
on the lookout To have the Suns and daughters Of
the chief married az often as they could also, it
can be imagined that the main connecting links
between the heads OF families and their chief,
and that which marked him out most prominent
ly as a superior, was this marriage, or rather
pOlygamy business.
At the very outset Of missionary work, this
was one of the things which occasioned great
practical difficulty. If a chief became a true
follower Of Christ, he had constant ANNOYANCE
from the dissatisfied heads of families, who could
not, as formerly, make Il tool OF him To get pro-
perty. Or, If the head of "a family wished 10 act
consistently with the Word OF God, and oppose
the adulterUus schemes of an ungUdly chief, he,
too, WAS subjected 10 all sorts of ridicule and
petty annoyance. Ii served, however, as a test
of character and we have had many noble in
stances in which Il person has thrown up his
title. from a desire To- be eminent in conformity
To- the law of God, rather than in the reckless
violation of Gods will.
The land in Samoa is owned alike by the chiefs
and these heads of families. The land belonging
to each family Is we'll known, and the person
who, for the time being, holds the title Of the
family head, has the right to disuuse of 1t. 1t is
the same with the chiefs. There are certain
tracts vi land which belong to them. The I'M
cultivated bush IL claimed by those who own the
land ON its borders. The lagoon also, as far as
,e reef, is consid' red the property of those off
whose village II Is situated. Although the
power of selling land, and doing other things of
Importance affecting all the members oil the
family, is vested in the titled head of the family,
yet tie said responsible party dare not do any
thing without formally consulting all concerned.
Were he to persist in attempting to do other
wise, they would take his title from him, and
give it to another. The members of a family
can thus take the title from their head, and
heads of families can unite and take the title
from their chief. and give it TO his brother, or
uncle, or some other member Of the chief family,
who, they think, will act more in accordance
with their wishes.
The chief Of the village and the heads of fami-
lies formed, and still form, the legislative body
of the place, and the common court of appeal in
all cases Of difficulty. One oil these heads of
families is the sort of Prime Minister Of the
chief. IL is his special business to call a meet
ing, and 1t is also his province to send notice to
the other heads of families, on the arrival Of a
party of strangers, ard to say what each is to
provide towards entertaining Hospitality the viii
Iage guests. Having no written language, of
course they had no written laws; still, az for
back rs we can trace, they had well understood
Laws for the prevention of theft, adultery, assault,
and murder. together with many other minor
things, such as disresrectIul language to Il chief;
calling him Il pig. for instance, rude behavior to
strangers, pulling down Il fence, or maliciuusly
cutting Il fruit-tree. Nor had they only the
mere laws the further back We 60 in their his
tory, we find that their penalties were all the
more severe. Death was the usual punishment
for murder and adultery and, as the injured par
" was Ut liberty 10 seek revenge on the brother,
son, or any member of the family to which
the guilty belonged. these crimes were all the
more dreaded and rare. In Il case of murder,
the culpTit, and all belonging to him, fed To
sUne other village of the district, or perhaps TO
another district: in either case it was IL city OF
refuge. While they remained away, it was sell
dom any one dared to pursue them, and risk
hOstilitIes with tie village which protected them.
They might hear, however, that their houses had
been burned, their plantations and land taken
from them, and they themselves prohibited, by
the united voice of the chief and heads of fam
lilies, from ever again returning to the Place.
Fines of large quantities OF food, which provided
a feast for the entire village, were common but
there were frequently cases In which II was con-
sidered right to make the punishment fall exclu-
siyciy ON the culprit himself. For adultery, the
eyes were sometimes taken out, or the nose and
ears bitten off. For other crimes they had some
such punlshments as tying the hands of the Gull
prit behind his back, and marching him along
naked, something like the ancient French law of
:. amende honorable ;" or, tying him hand to
hand and foot to foot, and then carrying him
FROM Il prickly pole, run through be-
tween the tied hands and feet, and laying him
down before the family or village against whom
he had tranSgressed, as if he were Il pig to be
killed and cooked com ceiling the culrrit TO
sit naked for hours in the brpIling sun To be
hung up by the heels or to beat the head with
stones till the face was covered with blood or to
play at hand-ball with the prickly sea-urchin
or To take five bites of Il pungent root, which was
like filling the mouth five times with Cayenne
pepper. lie was considered c~owardly to shrink
from the punishment on which the village court
might decide, and so the young man would go
boldly forward, sit down before the chiefs, bite
the root five times, get up and walk away with
his mouth on fire. but these barbarous penalties
are done away with, and fines now are generally
levied in food and property. In cases of murder
and adultery, however, the old law of indiscrim-
mate revenge is still at times carried out.
Should two families in Il village quarrel, and
wish to fight. the other heads of families and the
chief step in and forbid and it is at the peril of
either party TO carry on the strife, contrary to
the decided voice of public opinion.
These village communities. of from two to five
hundred people, consider themselves perfectly
distinct from each other, quite independent, and
at liberty t. act as they please on their own
ground, and in their own affairs.
Then, again, these villages, in numbers of eight
or ten, unite by common consent, and form a
district, or state, for mutual protection. Some
particular village is known as the capital of the
district and it was common of old TO have n
higher chief than any of the rest. as the head
of that village. and who bore the title of King.
j ust as in the individual villages, the chief and
heads of families unite in suppresSing strife when
two parties quarrel So it Is in the event Of a
between any two villages of the dis
trIct- the combined chiefs and heads of families