ties,
with presents of hogs and cloth; and if they be poor, their relations
are liberal on the occasion.

Their religious system is extensive, and, in many instances, singular;
but few of the common people have a perfect knowledge of it; that
being confined chiefly to their priests, who are pretty numerous. They
do not seem to pay respect to one god, as possessing pre-eminence; but
believe in a plurality of divinities, who are all very powerful; and
in this case, as different parts of the island, and the other islands
in the neighbourhood, have different ones, the inhabitants of each, no
doubt, think that they have chosen the most eminent, or, at least, one
who is invested with power sufficient to protect them, and to supply
all their wants. If he should not answer their expectations, they
think it no impiety to change; as has very lately happened in
Tiarabooa, where, in the room of the two divinities formerly honoured
there, Oraa,[4] god of Bolabola, had been adopted, I should suppose,
because he is the protector of a people who have been victorious in
war; and as, since they have made this change, they have been very
successful themselves against the inhabitants of _Otaheite-nooe_, they
impute it entirely to _Oraa_, who, as they literally say, fights their
battles.

[Footnote 4: We have another instance of the same word being
differently pronounced by our people. Captain Cook, as appears above,
speaks of _Olla_ as the Bolabola god.--D.]

Their assiduity in serving their gods is remarkably conspicuous. Not
only the _whattas_, or offering-places of the _morais_, are commonly
loaded with fruits and animals, but there are few houses where you do
not meet with a small place of the same sort near them. Many of them
are so rigidly scrupulous, that they will not begin a meal without
first laying aside a morsel for the _Eatooa_; and we had an
opportunity, during this voyage, of seeing their superstitious
zeal carried to a most pernicious height, in the instance of human
sacrifices; the occasions of offering which, I doubt, are too
frequent. Perhaps they have recourse to them when misfortunes occur;
for they asked, if one of our men, who happened to be confined, when
we were detained by a contrary wind, was _taboo_? Their prayers are
also very frequent, which they chaunt, much after the manner of their
songs in their festive entertainments. And the women, as in other
cases, are also obliged to shew their inferiority in reli