Cook's Descriptions of Places, Ulietea, Otaha and Bolabola, page 42

Page 42

Cook's Description of Places

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Ulietea, Otaha and Bolabola (continued)

shape of a Coffin oppen at one end, they are laid upon a number of small wooden Arches which are framed and fasten'd together _^ ^{like the roof of a house} and these are generally supported about 3 or 4 feet above the ground by posts; over the box is a small roof or shade made of Palmeto thatch in this Box are deposited the oblations of the Gods such as peices of Cloth, Human Bones &C ^a and these places they hold sacred and some are place'd in their Maries. and some not. They have a Custom in preserving the Sculls and _^ ^under jaw-bones of the dead but whether of their friends or enimies I can not pretend to say; several of the sculls we observed were broke, and its very probable that the owners of thim had been killd in battle as some of their weapons are well calculated for breaking of heads, and from what we could learn it is a custom with them to cut out the lower jaw of their enemies, but I believe not before they are kill'd. and these they keep as trophies and are sometimes hung up in their Houses —

The Cheif or King of Bolabola hath of late years usurped the Sovereignty of the other two, and the

Voyaging Accounts

© Transcribed from National Library of Australia Manuscript 1 page 104, 2004
Published by South Seas
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/cook_remarks-042