The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-12-18


heated stones. There was not even
the smell of fire on their garments"
| Another account is given by a mem
Der of a party who witnessed fire.
walking ceremony in South India. One
of the ladies put her handkerchief on
the shoulder Of one of the performers
! rs was entering the oven. The
handkerchief turned brown, and
would have burned up, being of deli
cate lace, had it not been snatched
by another member of the party. This
was given as an example of the in
tensity of the heat arising from the
stones, and which appeared not to af-
feet the performers in the least.
Another eyewitness in an article in
the Journal says: 81 interviewed a
few of those who took part in the
ceremony as to whether they felt any
pain in walking over the fire. or
whether they protected their feet by
rubbing them with any juice of plants
as asserted by people who find it diff
cult to believe thu possibility OF walk
ing over fire without be rg burnt. My
suggestion was received with resent
ment and was cons Ide.ed profane. One
young man questioned me in aston
ishment as to what & elt ter protection
could be needed than the protection
OF the goddess, in whose saving power
he had the highest ld.Jh. He explain
ed, however, that the time of actual
walking the majority of the perform
ers are beside themselves with relig
ious fervor, and feel absolutely no
burning sensation while crossing the
fire, and all the after effects amount
J., 30 -;,~ 90 tL.4 a
by being pricked with a pin.
/ am entirely satisfied that this fire.
walking is no fraud perpetrated by
professional people. In the first place
there can be absolutely no unworthy
motive for so many people of different
castles and families combining together
for such dangerous performance as
this. Besides, people of all ages from
eight to seventy and more, take part
in it, circumstance which makes a
combination of the kind at all events
improbable, If not impossible"
Another writer refers to firewalking
the the "Raiatean Ceremony" having
closely studied the performances at
Rata. This strange ceremony con-
nected with the ti-oven," he writes, I
FUSED to be practiced by the heather
priests. 1t consists in causing people
to walk barefooted and unprotected
over the heated stones unframed, not
even the skin being blistered. 1t is
rarely performed nowadays, but was
recently witnessed by all the white
residents of the place, as well as the
French officers who were present to
see the ceremony. walking at the
feasts, alleged to be by the power OF
protecting spirits, is still frequently !
practiced in New Zealand
Much has been said and written of
and many theories have
been advanced as to how it is done,
but so far there has been no satisfac-
tory explanation offered. There is no
doubt but that the feat has been done,
and is still being done among the ma
lives of the Tahitian Islands, in South
India and other places, and it offers
an entertaining task to materialists
and scientists, in the unraveling of the ;
mystery. The weirdness of the mean
.ations, the ignorance and superstition
If the performers, and theJmiraculous
wonder of the feat surrounds the per-
'ormance with a strangeness and mys-
.ery that stands out in the lucid at
mosphere of the nineteenth century,
)affling and ineXplicable.
Papa lta is now preparing for the
ordeal The coming event has aroused
the people of Hawaii to an intense
bitch of interest. In many years moth
ng like it has been performed here !
approaching the wonder of the propos-
I'd exhibition, and Papa tia promises
% out-kahuna the kahunas. Papa TIA
,faims that his preparations are very 3
simple, so far as physical training is +
His troubles are as to ar q
for his oven and accom-
for his audience. t
The widespread excitement caused
~ the promised exhibition has made c
Papa tia and his sorcery a common |
opic of conversation, and the occasion t
If the exhibition will probably bring |
ogether concourse greater in number !
han any event for number of years. '