The first of These are Calld Tahowwa Morai and their business is to make the offerings at the Morai and have the Charge of the Holy place; their prayers or Hymns they Chant out in an unknown tongue which the Natives or at least such as are not of their profession do not understand nor do many of the Chiefs, tho they are all considered as Priests and they seldom Officiate but on particular occasions when they are forced to assist for want of others, but as they are Plenty they are seldom under such Necessity.

The others are Calld Tawra tooa and pretend to Devine Inspiration, and are Consulted on all Occasions, whether in War, Sickness or otherwise and through them the Will and Pleasure of the Deity is known; few of them pretend to be inspired by the same Deity and those who claim the Superior ones are Men of Great Art and address, and from their Skill in their Art make themselves of great Consequence. They never attempt to apply to their Deity, but when a Chief is taken sick, or to know the event of any War which they may have in hand and as they are well acquainted with most of the Circumstances before they begin they Can tell events of this kind to a Certainty. If their skill proves ineffectual in sickness they never fail to accuse the Friends and relations of the sick for their want of Relegion and Neglect of their Duty in the performance of it, but should he recover while under their care their Charracter is firmly establishd, and tho’ of the lowest Class become the Bosom friends of the Chief or Party in whose behalf they used their skill, and are sent for on all Occasions and Carress’d, even tho their skill should afterwards fail.

When they are Consulted with respect to the Event of War &c. they dress themselves in a fantastical form and decorate themselves with Red and Black Feathers, of which they suppose the Deity to be imoderately fond as he always makes use of Birds when he decends on earth and having his Head bound with Rowavva he goes into a close place screend in near the Morai for that purpose, or into some thick bush where he remains a few Minutes, and comes out sneezing two or three times, when he begins to look wild, his eyes staring, and his body distorted into many forms and in a moment he seems to have undergone a most amazing Change — these postures they attribute to the contest between their own soul, and that of the Deity endeavouring to take its habitation

Indigenous Histories