Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-18
SOUTH SEA ISLANDER
TELLS OF FIREWALKl
SAYS RITE is OLDEST FORM OF
RELIGION
Prince Salmon, Reigning Sovereign
Of Tahiti, Says Feat of Treading
on Hot Stones First Practiced by
Worshipers of Baal

One of the guests at the Hollenbeck
yesterday was the reigning prince of
the Tahitian islands, Prince Tauraatua
Salmon. This man is fine specimen
of the South Sea islander, the oldest
fire worshiperS. In the tribe of which
this quartet of religious enthusiasts are
members the rite of walking in bare
feet over hot stones has been practiced
for centuries, and according to the
prince, applies only to that part of the
world known to be of volcanic origin.
He gives as a reason for this that
ordinary stones when subjected to a
temperature of 400 to 700 degrees would
crack and split and that it is neces-
sary to the fulfillment of the firewalk-
ing rite to subject the stones to an in
tense heat. Stones of volcanic origin
are porous and of lava nature which
make them ideal for the journey which
these simple islanders make across the
bed of white hot rocks. The curious
public asks the question: How in the
world is it done?" and myriadS of times
the answer Nobody knows" has been
given.
is Religious Rite
Prince Salmon states that with the
islanders who do the feat it is question
of religion. They have absolutely no
doubt that in their terrible journey
across the white hot stones they are
under special care of their goddess
Nowadays the Tahitan firewalkers
make no converts, but in the olden
times it is easy to dream and guess
about what must have been the effect
upon strange tribes of the spectacle of
human beings walking through fire as
religious act to show the power of
the god the frewalkers worshiped.
Co oil I,xrC 90 ~
Richards of the steamship Alameda,
who has witnessed these religious acts
of the Tahitians in their native towns,
claims that Priest Puhia and his wife
and their assistants are able to dupli-
cate this feat of the f1rewalkers.
Prince Salmon claims there can be no
doubt that this custom is a survival
of the form of sun worship which was
probably the first cult of primitive man.
Fire worshiping and firewalking,
once practiced by the devotees of Baal
and Moloch, is now almost extinct.
Prince Salmon states that the religious
has been lost in the midst
of ages and even the words used in
the ceremony have lost their meaning
to the participants,
Looks After Travellers
Priest Puhia claims that a special
VI the I1udlllllt is lIt
giving of information through her
priests Of the whereabouts of voyagers
In canoes and of lost property, accredit-
ing the fact to the Sun, 1t being, of
course, all-seeing.
Prime Salmon is cultivated and
clever and takes much pride in the
tribe of which he is the head He
wears clothes of fashionable cut. Priest
Puhia and his friends wear the gar
ments of the native islanders.
This afternoon the entire Tahitian
will appear in islander garb
at Chutes baseball park, where before
savants, ministers physicians and the
general public this uncanny. weird and
puzzlng feat will be performed.
These islanders feet are bare They
have no preparation for the ordeal.
They chant their prayers and as they
near the red-hot stones they whip the
air and the ground three times with
banana leaves and then march across
the awful bed of fiery stuff. No medi-
cinal preparation or material of any
kind is applied and physicians who
have examined the feet find them un-
harmed by the ordeal.