ly driven his ghost to the mountains, and in some way,
as it would seem, further placated or influenced the ghost by the
subsequent pig-killing over or by his grave at the funeral feast, there
is no method of which I could gain information by which the people can
actually keep him there, or prevent his periodic returns to the village
and gardens for food, or his return from a mountain home with which
he is dissatisfied; and there are apparently no prayers, incantations
or other ceremonies for the purpose of placating, or intimidating, or
in any way influencing the ghost. This statement is subject, however,
to the existence of the practice of pig-killing at the various other
ceremonies before described (always apparently done under or by or
on the site of a chiefs grave), which is evidently superstitious in
character, and must have reference to the ghosts of the departed chiefs
and notables, being intended, or having originally been intended,
to placate or influence them in some way or other; and especially it
would seem that this must be so as regards the dipping of the mourner's
string necklace in dead pigs' blood at the mourning-removal ceremony,
and as regards the pig-killing at the big feast, at which the skulls
and bones of all the then departed chiefs and notables are carefully
collected, and made the objects of ceremonious dipping in blood, or
touching with bones so dipped, and after which these skulls and bones
may be thrown away, as not requiring further ceremony. And concerning
all these ceremonies, if we bear in mind the special fear which many
primitive people seem to have of the ghosts of their great men, as
distinguished from those of the unimportant ones, it seems, I think,
to be natural that the graves and the skulls and bones of the great
ones should be those which are specially dealt with, and the dealing
with which may possibly, so far as the big feasts are concerned,
have been the original purpose for which the feasts were held.

The mental attitude and conduct of the people towards ghosts may have
originated in some form of ancestor worship, but I found nothing now
existing to indicate this; and in particular I could learn nothing
of any recognition of, or ceremonial observances with reference to,
the individual ghosts of known persons, as distinguished from the
ghosts generally.

I could find no direct information as to any belief in ghosts of
animals or plants; but the fact that the living edible