Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1909-05-05
WORSHIP THE SHARKS
South Sea islanders Fear Them
as the Abode of Ghosts.
HOLD SOULS OF THEIR DEAD.

The Natives Offer GIFTS ano rooo'
Sometimes Human, TO Appesse tho
Man Eaters--The Hawaiisns Used TO
Feed Their Dead 70 the Monsters
In view OF the wide distribution OF
sharks and their strength and ferocity.
qualities which appealed TO the savage
mind. Il is not strange that the cult or
shark worship should have arisen. Thfs
worship is especially common In the
south seas. where sharks are very nu-
merous. says the Detroit Free Press.
In the Solomon islands living sacred
objects are chiefly sharks. alligators,
snakes, etc. Sharks are In all these is
lands very often thought to be the
abode OF ghosts. as natives will ut
times before their death aLIounce that
they will appear as sharks. Afterward
any shark remarkable for size or color
which is observed TO haunt n certain
shore or rock Is taken 60 be some ones
ghost. and the name Of the deceased Is
given to Il.
Such one was Sautahimatawa at
I li1NA. NiNtltNO NbA'as ~ W haN ~
offerings of porpolse teeth were made.
At Saa certain food, such as cocoanuts
from certain trees. is reserved TO feed
such a ghost shark. and there are GER
tain men Of whom II Is known that
after death they Will be In sharks.
These. therefore. are allowed to eat
such food I'm the sacred place. In Saa
and Ulawa II a sacred shark had at
tempted To seize man and he had
escaped the people would be SO much
afraid OF the sharks anger that they
would throw the man back In the sea
10 be drowned. These sharks also were
thought To- aid in catching the bonito.
for taking which supernatural power
was necessary.
In the Banks islands a shark may
be n kangaroo. sort OF familiar spirit
or the abode of one. Some years ago
Manurwar. son OF Mala. the chief man
I'm Wanna Lava. had such shark. He
had given money 10 n Manwo man to
send II to him. II was very tame and
would come up Co him when he went
down to the beach at Nawono and
follow along I'm the surf as he walked
along the shore in the New Hebrides
some men have the power. the natives
believe. OF changing themselves into
sharks.
The Samoan native believed that his
gods appeared I'm some visible incar.
nation. and the particular thing in
which IL was I'm the habit OF appear
ing was To him an object OF venera-
! ton Many worshiped the shark In
, this way. and while they would freely
+ partake of the gods OF others they
felt that death would he the penalty
should they eat their own god. The
4 Soj was supposed to avenge the In.
suit by taking up his abode I'm the
offenders body and causing to gen.
crate there the very thing which be
had eaten until it produced death. In
one village Taema. the war god. was
/ present In bundle OF sharks teeth
These curiosities were done no in a
piece OF native cloth and consulted be.
/ fore going TO battle. II the bundle
felt heavy that was a bad omen, but
II light the sign was good. and or they
went TO the fight
In the FL. islands. Viavia and other
gods claim the shark as their abode
and their devotees must never eat OF
that fish, for II they did they would be
/ partaklng Of the god himself
II was In the Hawaiian Islands, how,
ever. that shark worship reached its
I greatest perfection. Its worship was
quite common on the islands. each one
having a special shark rs his ances-
| tral god. The worship OF sharks was
due largely 90 the fact that the belief
In the transmigration OF souls is quite
general among the Polynesians, and
4 the Hawaiians would feed their dead
/ 10 the sharks under the supposition
that I'm this way the soul OF the dead
would enter the sharks and so animate
the latter as TO incline them 20 respect
the bodies OF the living.
Several OF the African coast tribes
worship the shark. Three or four times
In the year they celebrate the festival
/ OF the shark. which Is done In this
wise: They all row out in their boats
10 the middle OF the river. where they
invoke, with the strangest ceremonies,
the protection OF the great shark. They
offer TO him poultry and goats I'm order
to satisfy his sacred appetite. But this
is nothing. An infant is every year
sacrificed TO the monster. which has
been feted and nourished for the sac.
rifice from it's birth TO the age of ten.
On the day OF the fete il is bound to a
post on 4 sandy point at low water
As the tide rises the child may utter
cries OF terror. but they are OF no
avail, as IL is abandoned 10 the waves,
and the sharks soon arrive to finish its
agony and thus permit 1t to enter into
| heaven.
The Polynesians have an ancient IA
BILE treating of the flight OF Ina. the
daughter OF Vaitoringa and Ngaetna,
10 the sacred isle. After the sole
dumped her at the edge Of the break
ers with such disastrous results to IT,
self from the angry princess the latter
summoned the shark and by its help
succeeded in reaching the sacred IS
land. Feeling thirsty during the voy-
age, Ina cracked n cocoanuI on the
sharks forehead. and this accounts for
the bump now found on the forehead
Of all sharks.
Absolutely Hopeless.