hundred gods; but there was
one, already mentioned as their national god, whom they regarded as far
greater than any of the others, "as a great chief from the top of the
sky down to the bottom of the earth" (Mariner, vol. ii. p. 106). He
was also god of war, and the tutelar deity of the royal family, whoever
happened to be the incumbent of the royal office for the time being. He
had no priest except the king himself, and his visits, even to
royalty, were few and far between. The name of this supreme deity was
Ta-li-y-Tooboo, the literal meaning of which is said to be "Wait there,
Tooboo," from which it would appear that the peculiar characteristic
of Ta-li-y-Tooboo, in the eyes of his worshippers, was persistence of
duration. And it is curious to notice, in relation to this circumstance,
that many Hebrew philologers have thought the meaning of Jahveh to be
best expressed by the word "Eternal." It would probably be difficult to
express the notion of an eternal being, in a dialect so little fitted
to convey abstract conceptions as Tongan, better than by that of one who
always "waits there."

The characteristics of the gods in Tongan theology are exactly those
of men whose shape they are supposed to possess, only they have more
intelligence and greater power. The Tongan belief that, after death, the
human Atua more readily distinguishes good from evil, runs parallel with
the old Israelitic conception of Elohim expressed in Genesis, "Ye shall
be as Elohim, knowing good from evil." They further agreed with the old
Israelites, that "all rewards for virtue and punishments for vice happen
to men in this world only, and come immediately from the gods" (vol. ii.
p. 100). Moreover, they were of opinion that though the gods approve of
some kinds of virtue, are displeased with some kinds of vice, and, to a
certain extent, protect or forsake their worshippers according to
their moral conduct, yet neglect to pay due respect to the deities, and
forgetfulness to keep them in good humour, might be visited with even
worse consequences than moral delinquency. And those who will carefully
study the so-called "Mosaic code" contained in the books of Exodus,
Leviticus, and Numbers, will see that, though Jahveh's prohibitions of
certain forms of immorality are strict and sweeping, his wrath is quite
as strongly kindled against infractions of ritual ordinances. Accidental
homicide may go unpunished, and reparation may be made for wilful theft.