royalty, it was carefully taken out of the cloth, in which, it had
been wrapped up, and spread at full length upon the ground before the
priests. It is a girdle, about five yards long; and fifteen inches
broad; and, from its name, seems to be put on in the same manner as
is the common _maro_, or piece of cloth, used by these people to wrap
round the waist. It was ornamented with red and yellow feathers, but
mostly with the latter, taken from a dove found upon the island. The
one end was bordered with eight pieces, each about the size and shape
of a horse-shoe, having their edges fringed with black feathers. The
other end was forked, and the points were of different lengths.
The feathers were in square compartments, ranged in two rows, and
otherwise so disposed, as to produce a pleasing effect. They had been
first pasted or fixed upon some of their own country cloth, and
then sewed to the upper end of the pendant which Captain Wallis had
displayed, and left flying ashore, the first time that he landed at
Matavai. This was what they told us; and we had no reason to doubt it,
as we could easily trace the remains of an English pendant. About six
or eight inches square of the _maro_ was unornamented, there being
no feathers upon that space, except a few that had been sent by
Waheiadooa, as already mentioned. The priests made a long prayer,
relative to this part of the ceremony; and, if I mistook not, they
called it the prayer of the _maro_. When it was finished, the badge
of royalty was carefully folded up, put into the cloth, and deposited
again upon the _morai_.

The other bundle, which I have distinguished by the name of the ark,
was next opened at one end. But we were not allowed to go near enough
to examine its mysterious contents. The information we received was,
that the _Eatooa_, to whom they had been sacrificing, and whose
name is _Ooro_, was concealed in it, or rather what is supposed to
represent him. This sacred repository is made of the twisted fibres
of the husk of the cocoa-nut, shaped somewhat like a large fig, or
sugar-loaf, that is, roundish, with one end much thicker than the
other. We had very often got small ones from different people, but
never knew their use before.

By this time, the pig that had been killed, was cleaned, and the
entrails taken out. These happened to have a considerable share of
those convulsive motions, which often appear, in different parts,
after an animal is killed; and this was