priest. This
god had his principal shrine at Boha in the eastern part of Tongataboo:
the district was of old the centre of government and the residence of
the Tooitonga.[114] Another god, whose name was the King of the tribe or
clan of Fonua (_Tui-Haafakafonua_), had for his sacred animal a lizard,
and for the convenience of his departure, and presumably arrival, a tree
or post was always provided for him to crawl along. A handy post or
tree-stump was a regular part of his temple furnishings.[115] Another
god, whose name signifies "Proud Boastfulness of the Season"
(_Mofuta-ae-ta'u_), had for his sacred animal a great sea-eel, which
dwelt in an opening of the reef opposite the village. This deity used to
take it very ill if anybody appeared on the beach near his abode wearing
a turban or whitened with lime; and should a man rashly disregard the
feelings of the divine eel in these respects, it was believed that the
deity would carry him off to his hole in the rock.[116] Another god,
named Haele-feke, used to manifest himself in the form of an octopus
(_feke_). Whenever an octopus appeared in a certain pool, it was at once
recognised as the god, and the priestess immediately went and awaited
him at the shrine, which seems to have been a small raised platform.
Thither the people presently resorted, bringing bunches of coco-nuts and
coco-nut leaves and earth. The priestess thereupon spoke as in the
person of the octopus, and apparently imitated the creature, presumably
by sprawling in the ungainly manner of an octopus. The worshippers of
this deity abstained from eating the flesh of the octopus, and even from
approaching a place where other people were eating it. If any of them
transgressed the taboo, he was afflicted with complete baldness. Should
any of the worshippers find a dead octopus, they buried it with all due
ceremony in Teekiu, their principal village.[117] The rail bird
(_kalae_) was worshipped by some people, who used to tie bunches of the
birds together and carry them about with them when they travelled; and
the priest had a bunch of the sacred birds tattooed as a badge on his
throat.[118] The clan Fainga'a had for its sacred animal the mullet; and
it is said that young mullets were tabooed to the men of the clan.[119]
A family group in Haapai had the owl for their sacred creature; if an
owl hooted near a house in the afternoon, it was a sign that there was a
pregnant woman in the household.[120] The god of Uih