laying it down at the king's feet. After this a prayer was repeated
by the priests, who held in their hands several tufts of red feathers,
and also a plume of ostrich feathers, which I had given to Otoo on my
first arrival, and had been consecrated to this use. When the priests
had made an end of the prayer, they changed their station, placing
themselves between us and the _morai_; and one of them, the same
person who had acted the principal part the day before, began another
prayer, which lasted about half an hour. During the continuance of
this, the tufts of feathers were, one by one, carried and laid upon
the ark of the _Eatooa_.

Some little time after, four pigs were produced, one of which was
immediately killed, and the others were taken to a sty hard by,
probably reserved for some future occasion of sacrifice. One of the
bundles was now untied; and it was found, as I have before observed,
to contain the _maro_, with which these people invest their kings,
and which seems to answer, in some degree, to the European ensigns
of royalty, it was carefully taken out of the cloth, in which, it had
been wrapped up, and spread at full length upon the ground before the
priests. It is a girdle, about five yards long; and fifteen inches
broad; and, from its name, seems to be put on in the same manner as
is the common _maro_, or piece of cloth, used by these people to wrap
round the waist. It was ornamented with red and yellow feathers, but
mostly with the latter, taken from a dove found upon the island. The
one end was bordered with eight pieces, each about the size and shape
of a horse-shoe, having their edges fringed with black feathers. The
other end was forked, and the points were of different lengths.
The feathers were in square compartments, ranged in two rows, and
otherwise so disposed, as to produce a pleasing effect. They had been
first pasted or fixed upon some of their own country cloth, and