and
upper side of the fingers of both hands, he rises up and retires. It
should seem that the king cannot refuse any one who chooses to pay him
this homage, which is called _moe moea_; for the common people would
frequently take it into their heads to do it when he was walking, and he
was always obliged to stop, and hold up one of his feet behind him, till
they had performed the ceremony. This, to a heavy unwieldy man, like
Poulaho, must be attended with some trouble and pain; and I have
sometimes seen him make a run, though very unable, to get out of the
way, or to reach a place where he might conveniently sit down. The
hands, after this application of them to the chief's feet, are, in some
cases, rendered useless for a time; for, until they be washed, they must
not touch any kind of food. This interdiction, in a country where water
is so scarce, would seem to be attended with some inconvenience, but
they are never at a loss for a succedaneum; and a piece of any juicy
plant, which they can easily procure immediately, being rubbed upon
them, this serves for the purpose of purification, as well as washing
them with water. When the hands are in this state, they call it _taboo
rema_. _Taboo_, in general, signifies forbidden, and _rema_ is their
word for hand.

When the _taboo_ is incurred, by paying obeisance to a great personage,
it is thus easily washed off. But, in some other cases, it must
necessarily continue for a certain time. We have frequently seen women,
who have been _taboo rema_, fed by others. At the expiration of the
time, the interdicted person washes herself in one of their baths, which
are dirty holes, for the most part, of brackish water. She then waits
upon the king, and, after making her obeisance in the usual way, lays
hold of his foot and applies it to her breast, shoulders, and other
parts of her body. He then embraces her on each shoulder, after which
she retires, purified from her uncleanness. I do not know that it is
always necessary to come to the king for this purpose, though Omai
assured me it was. If this be so, it may be one reason why he is, for
the most part, travelling from island to island. I saw this ceremony
performed by him two or three times, and once by Feenou, to one of his
own women; but as Omai was not then with me, I could not ask the
occasion.

_Taboo_, as I have before observed, is a word of an extensive
signification. Human sacrifices are called _tangata taboo_; and when an