ACCOUNT

OF THE

TONGA ISLANDS.

CHAPTER I.

Soon after the burial of the late king, Finow Fiji proposed to his nephew to rebuild the large garrison at Felletoa, which might serve as a strong and impenetrable fortification, in case of attack from a foreign enemy; besides which, he justly observed, being rebuilt, it would serve as a place of residence for all the chiefs and great warriors. This measure was in itself highly political, as it would prevent the seditious from forming cabals and parties, which they could more easily do whilst living at a distance up the country, than under the eyes of the king. It was not proposed, however, that they should reside constantly at the garrison, and, by that means, neglect their plantations, but that each should have a house with the usual conveniences for his wife and family, built within the fencing, to reside in at night,

or to retire to wholly, in case of invasion, civil commotion, or whenever the king should order him to do so. This proposal of Finow Fiji being assented to by the king, the former requested permission to have the sole management of laying out the plan, and to see it carried into effect, which the latter readily agreed to.

During the time the garrison was rebuilding, a circumstance happened which seemed to indicate that a conspiracy was on the eve of being formed, if not actually begun; and, as the circumstance alluded to is connected with a certain superstitious ceremony worthy of detail, we shall be particular in giving the account of it exactly as it happened.

Foonagi, the wife of Finow Fiji, and formerly the wife of Tymomangnoongoo (a great warrior, who was a party concerned in taking the Port au Prince), was a woman of uncommon penetration and discernment, and, on that account, as well as from the circumstance of her being the daughter of a chief who was a friend of his father, she was highly regarded by the late king; who indeed had attached himself to her so much, it is supposed she lived with him as his mistress during the time she was actually the wife of her first husband. She was extremely religious, and universally respected, on account of her accurate knowledge of religious ceremonies, on which subject she was frequently consulted by the chiefs; and, upon political matters, Finow himself often applied to her; for in this also she stood eminent in the esteem of every one. To Finow she seemed as much attached as he to her; and, after his death, she mourned his loss with a sorrow beyond the reach of comfort. She, above all others, was most attentive in decorating with

the

flowers planted by her own hand, and with the utmost solicitude keeping in order, the fytoca where lay the body of her deceased friend. For of six months this faithful mourner scarcespace ly ever slept but on his grave, watering it with her tears, and disturbing the silence of the night with her sighs. One day she went to the house of Mo-oonga Toobó, widow of the deceased chief, to communicate what had happened to her at the fytoca during several nights, and which caused her the greatest anxiety. She related having dreamed that the late How appeared to her, and, with a countenance full of disappointment, asked why there yet remained at Vavaoo so many evil designing persons; for that, since he had been at Bolotoo, his spirit had been disturbed by the evil machinations of wicked men conspiring against his son; but he declared that "the youth" should not be molested, nor his power shaken by the spirit of rebellion; that therefore he came to her with a warning voice, to prevent such disastrous consequences. The apparition next desired her to place in order the pebble-stones upon his grave,* and pay every attention to the fytoca; then disappeared. Mo-oonga Toobó, upon hearing this account, thought it expedient to search the fytoca, to see if the charm of tattao had not been practised in regard to

* It must here be recollected, that mourners were accustomed to smooth the graves of their departed friends, and cover them with black and white pebbles.

The charm of tattao consists in hiding upon the grave, or in any part of the fyloca, some portion of the wearing apparel of an inferior relation of the deceased, in consequence of which that relation will sicken and die; or, it may be buried in the house consecrated to the tutelar god of the family. This charm is not supposed to have

the present Finow. They accordingly went to-gether to the grave, and, after accurate examination, they discovered several bits of gnatoo, and a wreath of flowers curiously formed in a peculiar manner, invented by one of the wives of the king, and which they recollected to have seen him wear round his neck a few days before.

This circumstance being communicated to Finow, and coming to the ears of his chiefs, and of the matabooles of the late How, produced considerable consternation among many of them. Finow, however, with that cool presence of mind which marked his character, issued orders to his chiefs to keep a vigilant look out; and, without discovering the least alarm, did every thing in the way of preparation against the worst that might happen. He kept Mr Mariner constantly near him, that they might not be accidentally separated in case of any public disturbance, On all occasions he endeavoured to make the conspirators (if any such there were) believe that he was perfectly off his guard, and in conscious security, and, the better to convince them of this, he feigned to imagine that the bits of buried gnatoo, &c. must have been hidden there by some dogs in their play. All this precaution, however, and studied policy, were unnecessary, as no signs of conspiracy became evident, and perhaps no conspiracy existed. In the mean time, the building and fortifying the garrison with extra ditches went on with despatch, and, in a short time, was completed to the perfect satisfaction of Finow.

the desired effect when the grave of a deceased person is made use of, unless the deceased was of superior rank to the person on whom the charm is practised.

Shortly after the fortress was finished, a canoe arrived from the Hapai Islands with Tonga-mana, a chief of the line of Tooitonga, who came from Toobó Toa, with a request to know how the inachi * was to be sent to Tooitonga, seeing Finow had declared that no communication whatever was to be kept up with Hapai. As all on board were habited in mats, with leaves of the ifi tree round their necks, as a token of submission, and that they came upon a religious duty, they were permitted to land. After having presented cava to several consecrated houses, they came before Finow, and presented some to him; then opened the subject of their mission. They came they said with a request from Toobó Toa, that Finow would grant him permission to present himself at Vavaoo, to pay his last respects to the memory of the late king, by performing the usual ceremonies at his grave; hoping that, although he seemed determined to cut off all communication with the Hapai Islands, he would not carry his decree' to such an extent as to form an insuperable bar to the performance of a religious duty; for that he (Toobó Toa) wished to take his last farewell of a great chief, who, while living, he so highly esteemed, and whose memory he had now so much reason to respect. After Finow had heard the subject of the embassy, he said in reply, that he should consult his chiefs and matabooles as to what measures he ought to take, and would return a definitive answer as soon as possible. Tonga-mana and his party then rose up and went down to the

* The annual tribute of the first fruits of each island, to Tooitonga.