assisted in the conquest. No Raatira could become an Arii; no Arii a
Raatira. The latter were closer to the commoners, and paid the same
respect to the Arii as did the Manahune.

"If an Arii woman wedded a Raatira man, the marriage was said to be
with a taata ino, ino meaning literally bad, and taata man. This term
applied to all not Arii, and indicated the contempt of the Arii for
all below them. The Arii had many words solely for their own use, and
tapu, or prohibited, to all others; they had a hundred privileges. The
Raatira were probably the power broken by the Arii. The Raatira
had conquered the Manahune, and were themselves bested by the Arii,
the newest come."

The chief sighed. He was like an old Irish storyteller recounting
the departed glories of Erin.

I read to him in French Bovis' opinions that the Raatira, defeated,
retained part of their lands, served the new masters, and kept in
subjection the people they had themselves beaten. They attached
themselves to the Arii of their district, fought for them in their
quarrels or wars, and were consulted in assemblies, and allowed to
speak to the crowd. I recalled that this was a privilege dearly prized
by all Polynesians, the lack of reading and writing having, as in
Greece, developed oratory and orators to a remarkable excellence. I
was in Hawaii when the offices of the first legislature under the
American flag were campaigned for, after years of repression by the
sugar planters' oligarchy, and I had heard the natives speak a score
of times, and always with delight and wonder. They valued free speech.

"The Arii were shrewd," said Chief Tetuanui, "and early invented a
plan for keeping the Raatira in subjection. If two Raatira disputed
possession of land, the one who believed himself defrauded could
yield to the king or a member of the royal family the land, to which
he usually had no right at all. The Arii thus got possession of more
and more land from time to time, and the Raatira were loath to contend
among themselves.

"The Manahune owned nothing by law, but they lived on the lands of
Arii and Raatira, and were seldom evicted. They had the fruits of
their labor with a tithe or so for their masters; they left to their
children their accumulations, tentative, but actual, and their service
was pleasant; more in the nature of gifts than rent. The Manahune
could not rise above his caste except by the rare nomination of the
king, but they could become Teuteu