e of safety.[102] In like
manner omens were drawn from the flight of herons, kingfishers, the
_Porphyris Samoensis_, and flying-foxes, where these creatures were
supposed to incarnate the war god.[103] People who saw their war god in
the lizard used to take omens from a lizard before they went forth to
fight. They watched the movements of a lizard in a bundle of spears. If
the creature ran about the outside of the bundle and the points of the
spears, the omen was favourable; but if it crept into the bundle for
concealment, it was an evil sign.[104] The inhabitants of several
villages looked upon dogs, especially white dogs, as the incarnation of
their war god; accordingly if the dog wagged his tail, barked, and
dashed ahead in sight of the enemy, it was a good omen; but if he
retreated or howled, their hearts failed them.[105] Again, where the
cuttle-fish was the war god, the movements of that fish at sea were
anxiously observed in time of war. If the fish swam inshore while the
people were mustering for battle, it augured victory; but if it swam far
away, it portended defeat.[106]

[100] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 25 _sq._

[101] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 60.

[102] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 52, 61, 65.

[103] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 35, 51, 54 _sq._, 64.

[104] G. Turner, pp. 46 _sq._

[105] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 49.

[106] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 29.

When a god was supposed to dwell in some inanimate object, the art of
divination was similarly employed to elicit a knowledge of the future
from an observation of the object, whatever it might be. In several
villages, for example, the people viewed a rainbow as the representative
of their war god. If, when they were going to battle by land or sea, a
rainbow appeared in the sky right in front of them, with the arch, as it
were, straddling across the line of march or the course that the fleet
was steering, it was a warning to turn back. But if the bow shone on the
right or left of the army or of the fleet, it meant that the god was
marching with them, and cheering on the advance.[107] Another village
revered its god in the lightning. When lightning flashed frequently in
time of war, it was believed that the god had come to help and direct
his people. A constant play of lightning over a particular spot was a
warning that the enemy was lurking there in ambush. A rapid succession
of flashes in front meant that the foe was being driven back; but i