They Make an Offering of their First fruits to the Chiefs besides those Made to the Deity. This Ceremony is Calld Eehee Aree and is thus performd — the Fruits being ripe the Towha or Lord of the Manner informs the Ratirra or Squires that on such a Day the Offering is to be made & it is Proclaimed through the District by a Cryer to inform their respective Tennants, the Mattaeynas or Mannahoune’s, who on the day appointed each gather some of evry species and having put them into a Basket, which is hung round with a piece of Cloth, [it] is tied to a pole, which is ballanced on their Shoulder by a sucking pig hung by one foot to the other end, and repair to the House of their respective Ratirra who then heads his own people and proceeds to the House of The Towha, who with His priest and Orator heads the Whole and the procession proceeds to [the] House of the Chief, somtimes four or five Hundred in a body, where being arrived the Towha by Means of His Priest and Orator (who always attend on such occasions) makes a Peace offering of [a] Young Pig, a Plantain tree & a small tuft of red Feathers; these the Priest offers as usual and the Orator makes a long speech in behalf of the Towha & Ratirras expressing their loyalty and the love they have for their Chief. The Ratirras having by Means of their Priests (each Family having One or More in or depending on it) made their Peace Offering, the Fruits are deposited before the Chief and they retire and return home. When this Ceremony is performd to the King the Chiefs of the District always head the procession.

This Ceremony is then performd by the Ratirras to their respective Towha and afterwards by the Tennants to their Ratirras, after which they Carry in as Much Bread as they think will be sufficient, putting it in large Baskets made of Cocoa Nut leaves which when filld are as Much as two Men Can Carry — with each of which they send a small Fish, intimating that they do not offer bread alone, with this a Baked hog and several small baskets of Bread, Tarro, Cocoa Nuts With the Husks peeld off, Plantains &c. are Carried to the House of the Chief, Towha or Ratirra each in their due proportion.

Such Presents as this they are Continually Making to their Chiefs &c. — and never send a Fish, Hog or Fowle without a proper quantity of Vegetables with them and When the Bread is Scarce they

Indigenous Histories