a
district would thus unite for the protection of the local divinity.[77]
For example, it happened that in a village where the first native
Christian teachers settled one of them caught a sea-eel (_Muraena_) and
cooked it, and two of the village lads, who were their servants, ate
some of the eel for their supper. But the eel was the village god, and
when the villagers heard that the lads had eaten the god, they
administered a sound thrashing to the culprits, and dragged them off to
a cooking-house where they laid them down in the oven pit and covered
them with leaves in the usual way, as if the lads had been killed and
were now to be cooked as a peace-offering to avert the wrath of the
deity.[78] When John Williams had caused some Christian natives to kill
a large sea-snake and dry it on the rocks to be preserved as a specimen,
the heathen fishermen of the island at sight of it raised a most
terrific yell, and, seizing their clubs, rushed upon the Christian
natives, saying, "You have killed our god! You have killed our god!" It
was with difficulty that Mr. Williams restrained their violence on
condition that the reptile should be immediately carried back to the
boat from which the missionary had landed.[79] The island in which this
happened belonged to the Tongan group, but precisely the same incident
might have occurred in Samoa. In some parts of Upolu a goddess was
believed to be incarnate in bats, and if a neighbour chanced to kill one
of these creatures, the indignant worshippers of the bat might wage a
war to avenge the insult to their deity.[80] If people who had the
stinging ray fish for the incarnation of their god heard that their
neighbours had caught a fish of that sort, they would go and beg them to
give it up and not to cook it. A refusal to comply with the request
would be followed by a fight.[81]

[77] J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp. 216 _sq._

[78] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 58.

[79] J. Williams, _op. cit._ p. 469.

[80] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 57.

[81] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 75.

Accordingly, when the Samoans were converted to Christianity, they gave
the strongest proof of the genuineness of their conversion by killing
and eating their animal gods. Thus when a chief named Malietoa renounced
heathenism, he caused an eel to be publicly caught, cooked, and eaten by
many persons who had hitherto regarded the eel as their god. His own
sons had a different sort of fish, called _anae_, fo