ne ascended it
but priests, ecstatics, and the man who carried the god. Only he and
the high priest might touch this idol. The demoniacs were usually in
collusion with the priests, willy-nilly.

The idol was the king's or prince's god. Each had his own. A royal
idol was wrapped in precious cloths and adorned with feathers, made
usually of ironwood, and was about six feet long. They diminished in
size with the importance of the owner, and among the commoners might
be put in a pocket or a piece of bamboo, like the pocket saints one
buys in Rome. Besides, every chief and little chief had his own marae,
which might be very small indeed, as family shrines. Of great religious
events the royal maraes were the scenes, and the high priests were
attached to these. The personnel of the marae was:

The king, chief, or master of the temple; all ceremonies were for
his benefit. The high priest and his assistants, the latter ordinary
priests. The high priests served only the maraes of the first rank. The
orero, who were preachers or poets; the oripou, or night runners;
the guardian porters of the idol. The sorcerers or demoniacs.

Thus there were six ranks in the service of the temple. The high
priest was supreme under the king, and decided when a human sacrifice
was demanded by the gods. He was a kind of cardinal or bishop, and
his jurisdiction extended over the maraes in the territory of his
master. The priests' functions were like those of the high priest
except that they were subordinate, and they could not replace him in
certain ceremonies. The orero was the living book of the religion,
the holy chants of tradition, of ancestry, and of state. He must
recite without hesitation these various records before the marae in
the middle of an immense crowd. The orero cultivated their memories
marvelously. They were usually sons of oreros or priests, and trained
by years of study to retain volumes, as actors do parts. The oripou
or haerepo were youths, neophytes, intended for the priesthood, and
assisted the ordinary priests; but their special duties were singular
and interesting. They were the couriers of the night, the spies of
their districts upon neighboring clans. In war-time their work was
arduous and most important, and their calling very honorable. Kings'
sons sometimes were oripou. The idol-carriers were tabu. Their persons
might not be touched nor their food.

The sorcerers, ecstatics, and demoniacs were not regularly organiz