ed in tombs,
constructed of blocks of sandstone, cut from suitable localities by the
seashore, where, at a little depth from the surface, layers of hard and
durable sandstone are found, even on many of the coralline islands. In
several of the ancient burial-places, similar stones, arranged in
terraces, surround the whole enclosure. Some of these are of immense
size, and seem to indicate the possession, on the part of former
inhabitants, either of greater energy than the present race, or of
better tools and appliances. The burial-places of the Tonguese are
always surrounded by the most imposing foliage of the tropics, and
placed in sequestered spots. A mound of earth is raised, of dimensions
varying with the necessities of the place; and, whenever a grave is
opened within the limits of this mound, it is always filled up with
beautiful white sand, and never contains more than one body. No particle
of clay or earthy mould is allowed to touch the remains of the dead. The
sand is brought in baskets by the chief mourners, who sometimes sail or
journey many miles to procure it; and each person pours the contents
into the grave until it is sufficiently filled up. The top of the grave
is, afterwards, carefully tended and decorated with black pebbles and
red coral, arranged in various devices, which have a very pretty effect.
Small houses are also placed over the tombs of the chiefs and
gentry."[158]

[158] Thomas West, _Ten Years in South-Central Polynesia_
(London, 1865), pp. 268 _sq._

In more recent years the tombs of the Tooitongas at Mooa have been
visited by Sir Basil Thomson, who has described and discussed them.[159]
From an anonymous pamphlet called _The Wairarapa Wilderness_, written by
the passengers of the s.s. _Wairarapa_ and published in 1884, Sir Basil
Thomson quotes a passage containing a description of the tombs, with
measurements which, he tells us, are accurate as far as they go. From it
I will extract a few particulars. The writers inform us that the tombs
are built of blocks of coral which vary in length and thickness; some of
the largest they found to be from fifteen to eighteen feet long and from
one and a half to two feet thick. The largest measured by them is
twenty-two feet long and two feet thick and stands between seven and
eight feet above the ground. This great stone, now split in two, is at
the middle of the lowest step of one of the pyramidal tombs. The height
of the steps varies much in