South Sea Islands
Index
Search
Contact us
by any but preists, and as the highest degree of shame follows the wanting either the people are as much necessitated to make use of them as if bound by the highest ties of Religion, of which both customs are totaly independent. For the first they give no reason but that their ancestors did the same, for the other Cleanliness in hot climates always will be a sufficient reason. For both these operations they are paid by every one according to his abilities in the same manner as weddings Christnings &c &c. are paid for in Europe.
Their places of publick worship, which they call Marai, are square enclosures of very different sizes, from 10 to 100 yards in diameter; at one end of these is a heap or built up pile of stones near which the bones of the principal people are interrd, those of their dependants laying all round on the outside of the wall. Near or in these enclosures are often placd planks carvd into different figures and very frequently images of many men standing
 |
Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol.1) 429, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-182.html