in this furtive manner that mankind first learnt what sort of weapons to make and how to fight with them.

This knowledge was very seasonable. For not long afterwards there arrived at Tamarua, on the south of the island, a fleet of canoes of "Tongans-sailing-through-the-skies" (Tongaitiakareva-moana). The leader of this formidable band was the first high-priest of the god Turanga. The secret of his successful navigation was a vast ball of string which he held in his hand during his long voyage, and which was quite exhausted upon their safe arrival on the southern coast of Mangaia. Hence his name, Teaò-roa, or The-man-of-the-long-string. In those days the now unruly ocean was smooth as the little lake in Veitatei; its surface occasionally disturbed with gentle ripples, so that it was the easiest thing possible to voyage over it at any time and in any direction. But in after ages, ceaseless wars and shedding of blood disturbed the course of the elements, and so gave rise to the fearful storms and cyclones we now suffer from.

A battle ensued between these driftaways from Tonga and the original possessors of the soil, who claimed to have come up out of nether-world. This was the first of the forty-two pitched battles which have been fought on Mangaia. This primary conflict took place at Te-rua-noni-anga," or Valley-of-spoil. Of this battle it is expressly asserted that as men fell in the ranks of Rangi, their places were immediately filled up by new warriors from the shades! Sceptical moderns think their places were filled up from a reserve force hidden behind the rocks. However, the result was that the warlike invaders, who had despised the small army of

1 Until lately was shown the hole in the coral reef where "The-man-of-thelong-string" tied this end of the enormous ball of string! The bit of rock is now destroyed.

Rangi, and who were sure of securing the entire island to themselves, fled in utter disorder. The numerous names of different points of road across the island to the cave of Tautua, where the remnant took shelter, are but so many memorials of those slain in the pursuit.

Of Rangi's victorious force three fell-one out of each of the three original tribes. And thus was established the ancient doctrine (ara taonga), that victory and chieftainship of all degrees can only be secured by first shedding the blood of some of the victorious party, so as to secure the favour of Rongo, the arbiter of the destinies of war.

In the persons of Rangi and Tiaio, but in no other, the secular and spiritual sovereignties were united.

Peace was secured by the offering up on the altar of Rongo a human sacrifice, Vaioeve. Rangi now consented that the unfortunate Tongans should permanently occupy that part of the island where they had so recently landed. The art of war would not, however, have reached perfection but for these Tongan settlers, who had the credit, or discredit, of introducing the iron-wood tree, from the wood of which in after years all weapons of war were manufactured.

The settlement of a Tongan colony on the south, and their first conflict with the earlier inhabitants, are historical facts. Their bravery is universally admitted.

The restless character of these Tongans is indicated in the proverb, "A stone-mouth is needed to exhort the Tongans to keep the peace," i.e. lips that never tire.

When dealing a death-blow it was sometimes said, "Go, eat the stale food of Tukaitaua ;" the food in question being the club and the spear which Tukaitaua loved so well.

CHAPTER XIII.

HUMAN SACRIFICES.

WHY HUMAN SACRIFICES WERE OFFERED.

RANGI's first propitiatory offering to Rongo was a rat laid with great ceremony on the original marae of the god of war. But on descending to the shades to pay a visit to his divine grandfather, Rongo evinced his displeasure by averting his face from Rangi on account of his having been imposed upon with so unworthy a sacrifice. Rangi, who was naturally averse to blood-shedding, now learnt that nothing less than a human sacrifice would give satisfaction.

Upon his return to this upper world, Rangi successfully fought his first battle at a spot ever since called "Teruanoninga," or Valley-of-spoil. In this engagement the newly arrived colony from Tonga received a great check. A fugitive from the battlefield, Vaioeve, was overtaken and slain expressly for sacrifice to the god of War and of Night. Vaioeve was the first human sacrifice ever offered on Mangaia. The place where the victim fell still bears his name.

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The practice once begun was continued until Christianity put a stop to it for ever. The second human sacrifice was Turuia, first priest of Tane on Mangaia, from Iti (Tahiti). Turuia was slain at the instigation of Tamatapu, during the lifetime of Rangi. The tribe of Tane arrived after the Tongans, and from being first regarded as guests, were devoted by the original lords of the soil -who claimed direct descent from the god Rongo-to furnish human sacrifices whenever required.

The successive priests of Tane, viz. Matariki, Tiroa, and Tepunga, were in after times slain and offered in sacrifice by the older tribe. The martial supremacy of Mautara alone saved Tevaki, the last of that devoted race, and from whom the present tribe of Tane is descended. As human sacrifices were indispensable, Mautara reverted to the original tribe of Tongans (in which Teipe was included), from which Rangi had selected the first human sacrifice. It is mournful to think that almost every member of these families was offered in sacrifice; a few of their number being always reserved, and even cherished, for the express purpose of providing future sacrifices.

Later still, the Amai tribe was devoted on account of their complicity in a murder of a chief of the once all-powerful Mautara clan. Thus it became the custom to devote each new band of settlers (with one or two exceptions), on some pretence or other, to the altar. The only tribe never thus treated was the original one who worshipped Rongo and Motoro: the alleged reason being that Rongo would be angry if his own worshippers and so-called children were offered. With perfect consistency, then, it was proposed by the angry heathen, in 1824, to offer up Davida, the first Christian teacher, to the god Rongo. This was with the view of extinguishing Christianity. The plot almost

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succeeded. Providentially, a convert named Mauapa 1 revealed it to Davida, and so set the Christian party on their guard.

The following ancient myth refers to the only instance related of stealing away the sacrifice from Rongo's altar; for it is well known that fish were not offered to that god. His fish were human victims. Three varieties of butterflies are indigenous on Mangaia: a large, velvety, purple beauty; a somewhat smaller one, with red spots; and a small, unattractive, yellow sort.

One day Rongo missed from his altar a fine sword-fish (aku); it had been stolen by the Lizard-god, Matarau, whose marae is at Aumoana,2 at Tamarua. Rongo ordered his swift messengers, the birds, to fly to that marae to see whether it was not hidden there. The birds obeyed, and found the stolen sword-fish in the sacred shade of the marae. Hard by, in a gloomy little recess, the Lizard kept constant watch. Now this Lizard had, as its name Matarau implies, two hundred eyes, besides eight heads and eight tails. So that all that the bird-messengers could do was to look on with awe at a distance, from the branches of the sacred trees. They returned to great Rongo, and told what they had seen. They were chided by Rongo, and bidden to return to the grove of the Lizard-god, and endeavour to bring away the "fish" stolen from his altar. The birds returned, and in their zeal venturing too near the cave of the god possessed of two hundred eyes, were all summarily devoured. Several other bird-messengers shared a similar fate. Rongo now commissioned rich velvety butterflies to attempt the rescue; but they, too, were all snapped up by the Lizard-god. The red butterflies fared no better. At last Rongo,

1 A heathen song in honour of this man is given on p. 257.