Evening star., 1894-03-17

been written. II Is spread all over Poly
nesia. where It has held control for many
centuries, dominating the people with the
ave Of religious dread.
IT can best explain the system by describ-
tag its operation. In New Zealand formerly
a chief was always a parsonage greatly
revered- All his goods, the place where he
stayed. and anything he handled became
tabu-that is to say. sacred. When at home.
he was surrounded by a charmed circle,
Into which only his most intimate friends
were permitted to enter y express invita-
ton No one could eat n his house or take
a light from his fire. No woman was al
lowed to enter his <el.idg until a cere-
mony had been gone through. The great
man could not carry food, lest to do so
should cause his death by destroying his
tabu. The chief could not blow fire with his
mouth The sacred breath would communi-
cate his sanctity to the flames and brand
might possibly be taken by a slave or man
OF another tribe. which would cause the
death OF the grea- His food was al
ways served sepG-atery. and once set apart
II became tabu- NJ one would think Of eat
ing with him or OF touching any food left
by him. Such leavings we always thrown
away into one OF the sacrei places. and woe
be to the pig which broke into one Of these
forbidden garbage repositories. The animal
was at once killed and thrown away for its
iEnpiety. This custom has become so far
modified that nowadays only the snout and
feet are thrown away. those being the parts
which have come into contact with the holy
ground The carcass Is eaten-a much more
economical pan.
A Skcptic as to Oysters.
Such notions seem very abxIrd but IL
must be realized that they constituted a
quAsi-religious faith. The belief in them
Was absolute. Andrew Lang. in his Romance
Of the FIRST Radical tells how WHY -WAy,
a cave-dgeiling youth Of 100000 years ago
oS. the shore c: the Maditerranear, was In
formed by the wise men OF hiB tribe that
s~inet2ing horrible would happen IL he ate
an oys Those nIOllusils were tabu, as
the PC!yEesians would say. Nevertheless
being OF "A sksIt!Ga and incuiriag turn of
mind. Es decided to test the question vheth-
er or not there any truth IN this no.
TON He Cid eat aE oyster and no.hing hap.
penet, the result being that from this time
forth he refused TO believe things without
personal inv s~,scz -iS1.
Not macy people are gie.ed with Why
v hy's courage in s;I-h eaters. We laugh
az this Polynesian S.-l>ll of superstition
out We nave %ret: raay tabus OF cur
own. which We dare nc ofrcnge To show
how strong belief in q { Al used to be in
New Iceland, there w.re ,uankss where
natives ate The food of chief by accident
and. on being informed as to what thew had
done. they became suddenly Ill and died
In a fe< hours as y from poison To such n
point Will Imagination go. Very little of
this notion now remains. The New Zealand
chier Is still a great man. particularly in
time or war. but he IS approac chable by the
common People. and his friends and follow
ers DO not hesitate to take food with him.
As things used to be, a powerful chief might
break through the tabu Of a minor one
1he system afforded a convenient means of
hppropriatinS any article coveted The
chief had only to call il his backbone or to
taken possession of for him by his people
II ne wished to prevent 4 person from going
10 certain place or by a certain road he
had onIE 10 make one or the other tabu II
drop OF his blood fell rlncn anytbinp +ba
latter az once hecar-s ta)p On one .cca-
sion the great CHIEF - He.,'. 4 was stennins
INTO very fine new ca1se belona~s.- 10
another man. He ran a sr,ttIter into his foot
ana blood flowed t.. oxncr irnmediateIv
rnoored his canoe In front of Te Henken:s
mouse and left it there.
usefai Supcrstitions.
The system was sometimes a usaF,,I ons
Places were made tabu for certain nariods
for example. rivers until the fishing was
ended. districts until the hunting of rats
and the catching Of birds were done woods
unul the berries were gathered and cultt-
waited nelds until the harvest was finished.
All me laborers employed IN planting be-
came tabu, so that they could not leovs
the helds until their work was finished.
n
ctety until the tabu was removed from
them by suitable and elaborate ceremonies
Ihe tabu sometimes served a good purpose
by preserving life. Prisoners of war yera
often saved from death as was AR Cot
tsrin IN the famous Wai-an massacre of
1S4;- A bloodthirsty chief had one hand
on his shoulder and with the other was
raising hatchet to brain him, when an
other man of Influence Jumped forward
and threw his mat over .he captive This
action rendered the latter tabu. so that
nat ha ~
OF tabu was death. Every I.tensII enonloyad
by person defunct all the clothes he wore
and even the house he died in were In nbu
IF a prominent man died his house was
never used again. II was shut up snd
everything fl IL was left TO rot. This cus-
tom remains In force today in New Zealand
TO considerable extent Some of the
natives OF the interior build a small str1,c-
lure over the grave. in which they hang
up the clothing and other portable prom.
erty OF the deceased. leaving them 10 be
destroyed by time Sometimes when a chic,
dies all Of his property is burned A very
peculiar practice is the disin termsnt of the
bones Of the dead for reburiai In a final
resting place. This used to be one of the
most important ceremonies among the na-
ttves. but It Is now disappearing
Custom of Opening Graves.
Some time before the ceremony a notjce
is sent around stating that on a certain
day there Will be a 'hahunga' of so-and- SOS
remains. When the relatives and friends !
are gathered together the bones of the de-
funct are dug up and tied n a bundle. II
decay has not made them clean thew arc
scraped. An elaborate performance follows
and finally one OF the family takes IN.
bones and deposits them secretly I'm soma
place known only {, himself, such an a
cave or the top of & rsee tn. object bs,ro
that they may never be found II is ~
the utmost Importance that they shall not
saH into the hands Of enemies who wouId
desecrate and ill-use them with ieers anJ
curses. The skull might be utilized as q
d:sh for food or placed on n stake TO he
daily reviled- The bones OF the body might
be employed for fish hooks or dining forks I
The reason now assigned for keeping mn
this strange custom is fear lest the homes
foH into the hands OF Euroosans TO be
ground up for manure
T.i=-e was case knew CT WHARF a mis-
sionary attempted to beautirv an unattrac
i've native graveyard by planting in n
some rntmosa trees. Bees. likewise intro
''rced by him. fed on the flowers OF the
lees The natives complained The, said
Tat The bees were feeding on the flesh Of
t'2 dead. inasmuch the trees derived
i''sir nutrtment from the bodies Inferred in
- ground The clergyman paying no at
;sn'i31. they cut down the rninnosls The
rjs9.6nsry was a shrewd man. and had
f5-r1 II best to combat the aboriginal s1I-
-'e-Su:i3ns by means Of strataSein lie dis
sTtStGfci among sOrn,- OF the DafiysS