y accompanied
or preceded by a feast, at which the drinking of kava formed the
principal feature. The priest himself presided at the feast and the
people gathered in a circle round him; or, to be more exact, the people
formed an ellipse, of which the priest occupied the place of honour at
one of the narrow ends; while opposite him, at the other extremity of
the ellipse, sat the man who was charged with the important duty of
brewing the kava. At such sessions the chiefs sat indiscriminately among
the people on account of the sacredness of the occasion, conceiving that
such humble demeanour must be acceptable to the gods. The actual process
of inspiration was often witnessed by Mariner, and is described by him
in his own words as follows:

"As soon as they are all seated, the priest is considered as inspired,
the god being supposed to exist within him from that moment. He remains
for a considerable time in silence, with his hands clasped before him;
his eyes are cast down, and he rests perfectly still. During the time
that the victuals are being shared out, and the cava preparing, the
_matabooles_ sometimes begin to consult him; sometimes he answers them,
at other times not; in either case he remains with his eyes cast down.
Frequently he will not utter a word till the repast is finished, and the
cava too. When he speaks, he generally begins in a low and very altered
tone of voice, which gradually rises to nearly its natural pitch, though
sometimes a little above it. All that he says is supposed to be the
declaration of the god, and he accordingly speaks in the first person as
if he were the god. All this is done generally without any apparent
inward emotion or outward agitation; but on some occasions his
countenance becomes fierce, and, as it were, inflamed, and his whole
frame agitated with inward feeling; he is seized with an universal
trembling; the perspiration breaks out on his forehead, and his lips,
turning black, are convulsed; at length, tears start in floods from his
eyes, his breast heaves with great emotion, and his utterance is choked.
These symptoms gradually subside. Before this paroxysm comes on, and
after it is over, he often eats as much as four hungry men, under other
circumstances, could devour. The fit being now gone off, he remains for
some time calm, and then takes up a club that is placed by him for the
purpose, turns it over and regards it attentively; he then looks up
earnestly, now to the right