106 PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF THE PRIESTESS.

suggestion, sent a messenger to invite her over. She almost immediately came, attended by her household, consisting of eight or ten individuals, male and female. I should judge her to be forty or forty-five years of age; a tall, finely formed, majestic woman, wrapped in a large, black mantle of native cloth, falling in thick folds like the Roman toga, from the bust to the ground. We were much impressed with her appearance, as she entered at the head of her train, and, after receiving our salutations, became seated on a mat in the centre of the apartment, in the attitude of a Turkish female on a divan. style of her face is remarkably noble and commanding-indicative of strong traits of character-with a full, piercing black eye, which I can readily imagine, might be fearfully intimidating to the superstitions, when flashing in the wildness of an imaginary inspiration. There was not only a deep seriousness, but a decided cast of melancholy in her whole aspect, which reminded me, in connection with the strongly marked and superior contour of of her features, of a fine print of the tragic muse, which I recollect to have seen.

The

Perhaps the impression on my mind was deepened, by the recollection of a rencontre, when a resident of Lahaina, with an inferior priestess of the same order, then still holding, or claiming the prerogatives of her class. I unexpectedly met her in an evening walk, followed by a considerable company; some, evidently under the influence of a superstitious feeling in reference to her; and others, as evidently disposed to deride her pretensions. She

INSTANCE OF AFFECTED INSPIRATION.

107

was dressed in a fantastic manner, with dishevelled hair-her eyes flashing in a half-frenzy, from the degree of excitement to which she had wrought herself-and appeared altogether like a maniac: such as I supposed her in reality to be, till undeceived by the exclamations of the crowd, "it is a goddess— it is a goddess!"

-as

As if to intimidate, she approached me with a fierce and daring look; and waving before her a small flag of tapa, appended to a light staff, supported the claim by the declaration, "I am a goddess—a goddess indeed!—the palapala and the pule (letters and religion) are not good: they will destroy the people!" Until then, I was passing without intending to take further notice of her; but, understanding this-in view of the respective causes thus brought forward by her as a kind of challenge, I stopped; and deliberating, for a moment, what course to pursue, fixed my eyes fully on hers, and charged her with falsehood and wickedness, in her attempts to deceive the people, by proclaiming herself a goddess, while conscious that she was an impostor, and that her pretensions to inspiration were a "mea punipuni wale no,"--"a thing of falsehood only." I spoke in a serious and positive tone, and my words had the effect designed. She could not meet the fixedness of my gaze; her eyes wavered and dropt; and becoming greatly embarrassed, she endeavored to turn the whole into a laugh; but I cor.tinued my reproof, till she hurried silently away, followed by the hootings and ridicule of the whole throng.

108

CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY.

This individual was of small figure, and not of striking face, except in the brilliancy and power of a fine eye; yet, in the fit of enthusiasm in which she at first appeared, there was an expression so unnatural, as to be fearful, even to the mind superior to superstitious emotions; and which, irresistibly, reminded me of what I have imagined the looks of a demoniac to have been, in the times, when such possessions were, for wise purposes, permitted..

A lively recollection of the impressions of this incident, connected with the disadvantage in person and feature in the case, compared with the individual now present, enabled me easily to conceive, how fully this chief priestess, from the strength of expression and action of which her face and figure are evidently capable-under the excitement of a supposed inspiration by the goddess whose altar she served, while her

"eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Should glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven,"

might infuse, into a credulous votary, impressions and fears, that would readily be attributed to the power and agency of a supernatural being.

It was by exhibitions of this kind, and the effect produced by them on the populace, that the priests and priestesses, especially those of Pelé, or the goddess of volcanoes, continued their sway over the belief and superstitious feelings of the people.

The priestess is now a firm believer in Christianity, and is one of the most attentive pupils of the station, at which, entirely for the benefit of instruc

FORMER SACRIFICES TO PELE.

109

tion, she has become permanently established. Her convictions of the folly and wickedness of her former vocation is such, that she is reluctant to converse much upon it. Her father was the hereditary kahu, or steward, as she was the priestess, of Pelé. The duty of the kahu was to provide the materials for the general sacrifices-the food and raiment of the supposititious deity: to grow the taro, potatoes, and sugarcane, and the cloth-plant, from which the garments for her were made; to provide the hogs and fowls, &c., and to have all things in readiness for the offerings, at the appointed seasons.

Of the plantations sacred to this use, one was on the seashore, and another within the precincts of the crater-in the broken ground, described as that upon which we first came, in descending from our hut, on our late visit. The kapu and his family resided, part of the time, on the coast; and part, in the neighborhood of the crater.

At the time of sacrifice, the priestess herself descended into the depths of the volcano, and, approaching the place most accessible and most active with fire, cast upon it the gifts, with the exclamation "Here Pelé is food for you"-specifying the article or articles" and here is cloth," mentioning its name and varieties. In answer to the question, whether she was not afraid of the fire which she approached? she said no, for she then believed, that the goddess would defend her from harm-but, that now, when she knew, that there was no such being as Pelé, she should be afraid to go to places where she

110

TOTAL SUBVERSION OF

once did without apprehension, lest she might perish in her temerity.

Such, dear H-, have been the rapid and happy triumphs of Christianity, over the but lately deep-rooted heathenism of this country-and thus, have the shades of superstition and error been dispersed by the mild light of the gospel! Even those who have grown old in the performance of the most favorite rites of idolatry, and who held unbounded influence and distinguished rank from their office, have discarded the whole system; and, conscious of their ignorance and their guilt, are found meekly sitting at the feet of the High Priest of Salvation, to be instructed and redeemed by him!

The inhabitants of this section of Hawaii, as I have before remarked, are among the most primitive and rude of the islanders, still, they are no longer a pagan population, but, from every observation that our ship's company have been able to make, strictly and most conspicuously a Christian people. The description I have given of a sabbath here, will convey some idea of the manner, in which that and other external observances of Christianity are regarded. To it I may add, what I then omitted, that not a canoe-unless it might have been some one or two bringing their proprietors to church-was seen upon the water, nor a single instance observed of labor or amusement. Forty of our crew had liberty on shore on the afternoon of that day; and the report I overheard one and another of them giving to their fellows, was in itself sufficient to satisfy me of