The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-01-23
WILL Walk
ONCE MORE
Papa Ita Will! Perform
Again.
SOME POINTED QUESTIONS
Fire Walking on the Fiji Islands as
Witnessed by EngIishmen
of Note.

noon repeat his firewalking perform, /
ance.
The Tahitian offers $500 to any man
who will walk across the stones when |
everything is in readiness for the
event. The man must walk through |
the oven before Papa tia, and not af-
forwards.
A correspondent who signs himself as
"Medicus Jr. pronounces the entire
performance fake" and propounds
some interesting questions:
Editor Advertiser: In regard to the
much discussed Papa tia and his fire.
walking being fake will you allow me
to say a few words? AS amateur con-
juror, 1 would be the last one to expose
such a performance, provided it was given
as performance" pure and simple; but
when it is given as a religious ceremony,
or one caused by the protection of spir-
it's think that is taking undue advan-
tage of the credulity of the public.
Walking on hot stones or even on red
hot iron is nothing new in the conjuring
world Here is an extract from THE
Art of Modern Conjuring," Henri Care
rue, pages 153-154:
dissolve one ounce of camphor in two
ounces of aqua vitae; now add one ounce
VI
silver; take two ounces of hematis and
beat into a powder and mix all the in
gradients together. Anoint your feet and
hands well with this mixture and you
! will be enabled to hold red-hot iron in
your hands and bend it, and also to
walk barefoot on red-hot iron."
| OF course don't mean to say that this
| is what is used by Papa tia. but if there
is one protective there may be others.
lAgain, If 1t is due to the protection or
1.-The spirits that Papa tia is able to walk
lon the red-hot stones, why is 1t, as he
says himself. he can not do 1t when 1t
| is raining?
a wetting, because the rain washes
the preparation off his feet?
| Also, has it not struck anybody as pc
culiar that he clothes himself in Il
LEAVES? We all know that fish, ETC., are
wrapped in ii leaves and cooked in the
ii1nu and are apparently not much the
|worse for it, but that does not SO much
matter. BY soaking ordinary clothes in
a solution of alum he could make them
Ifire-proof. MEDlCUS, JR-
| FireWalking was not an unknown art
in the Hawaiian Islands in ages gone
by When the missionaries first arriv-
ed in the Islands they heard OF natives
who walked upon heated lava In the
craters Of the Island of Hawaii. Kali
IL, ID
la, or kahuna, who has the gift OF
second sight, and was famed for his
/ prophecies, lived in the carry part or
this century.
| He resided with the Rev. Mr.. Coan,
who has described his walking over the
burning lava of the crater OF Hale
maumau. When he walked across the
bosom of Pele it was to make his offer
lings to the Goddess of Fire. consisting
of poi, ava, dogs, pigs. and special
kind of fish.
Rev Mr.Coan often demonstrated with
1 Kaiwinui to forego his performance
upon the burning lava, saying that 1t
was a pagan rite, and he was leading
the natives away from the teachings
of the missionaries. There are many
stories told of this man and his pow
ers of kahunaism. One was that he
had power to command the flames to
rise up to any height, and these would
: burst in the air like thunder. There
are people yet living in the Islands
who saw this great kahuna perform
The following article clipped from the
h Youths Companion of January 3, an
swers many of the objections made by
the above correspondent:
F'ire-walking is an ancient Orienta
custom, the origin of which is apparently
unknown. 1t still survives in India, ia
ipan and some of the South Sea Islands
4
with incantations conducted by priest!
and followed by feast, consists IL
walking barefoot over a bed of stone:
which have been made red or white-ho
by fire. DR.. II. M. Hocken thus describe
the ceremony as he witnessed it on on,
of the Fiji Islands:
Through the cooperation of civil Off
GERS and steamship company, the small
clan on the island was persuaded to Civ
an exhibition, and several whites, includ
ing Doctor Hocken, went to witness it
One of them, a government meteorolo
gist, carried thermometer which woul'
register up to four hundred degrees Fair
lenhet.
When the guests arrived they foun'
hundreds of natives assembled. The ovel
twas twenty-five or thirty feet long an
Eight feet broad, and was shaped like
saucer. The deepest part of the depres
sion was fifteen feet in length. The prep
arations had been undertaken lon
enough in advance to avert any delay
and the visitors saw the stones still Gov
cred with embers. which were remove
: in their presence by means of long pole
ibearing loops of green withes.
Walking beside the pit before this wa
done, the man with the thermometer re
corded a temperature of one hundre
and fourteen degrees. After the stone
were uncovered he hung his instrumer
j fleet above the stones, whereupon tn
mercury rose to two hundred and eight,
two degrees. The solder was melting
and the instrument was likely to
~ ruined If left in that position longer.
What the temperature was on II
stones themselves can only be conjectu
ed Doctor Hocken says that they we
''white-hot,'' and that low flames fro
small Goals between the stones could
seen leaping up around them.
Two of the men who were to wa
across the oven were examined by Do
tor Hocken before their daring act. TIL
wore garlands about the neck and wais
Their feet and legs were entirely baI
The soles were soft and flexible, showil
that they had not been rendered perm
Enently callous in any way.
In order to detect the presence Of chez
icaIs which might have been applied
the occasion. Doctor Hocken did not he
itate 10 lick the natives feet! But
scientific zeal awaited nothing.
Finally, at a signal, the seven or Gig
natives who took part in the exhibit
came down in single file to the oven a
walked across the stones from one e
to the other of the pit. They spent !,
thar half minute there.
Immediately after they emerged, d,
tor Hocken again inspected their fe
i