f the
lightning flashed from front to rear, it was a signal to retreat.[108]
In one large village the war god resided in two teeth of the sperm
whale, which were kept in a cave and observed by a priest in time of
war. If the teeth were found lying east and west, it was a good omen;
but if they lay north and south, it prognosticated defeat.[109] In
another place the war god was present in a bundle of shark's teeth, and
the people consulted the bundle before they went out to fight. If the
bundle felt heavy, it foreboded ill; but if it was light, it was an omen
of victory, and the troops marched with hearts correspondingly
light.[110]

[107] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 35; compare p. 43.

[108] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 59 _sq._

[109] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 35.

[110] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 55.

When the god was incarnate in a live creature, it was an obvious
advantage to ensure his constant presence and blessing by owning a
specimen of his incarnation and feeding it. Hence some folk kept a tame
god on their premises. For instance, some people possessed a war god in
the shape of a pet owl;[111] others had a divine pigeon, which was
carefully kept and fed by the different members of the family in
turn.[112] Yet others were so fortunate as to capture the thunder god
and to keep him in durance, which effectually prevented him from doing
mischief. Having caught him, they tied him up with pandanus leaves and
frightened him by poking firebrands at him. And lest, as an old
offender, he should attempt to break prison and relapse into his former
career of crime, they filled a basket with pandanus leaves and charred
firebrands and hung it up on a tree _in terrorem_, to signify what he
might expect to get if he took it into his head to strike houses
again.[113]

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

[112] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 64.

[113] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 34.

Vegetable gods were much less plentiful than animal gods in Samoa. Still
they occurred. Thus, the god of one family lived in a large tree
(_Hernandia peltata_); hence no member of the family dared to pluck a
leaf or break a branch of that tree.[114] The household deity of another
family dwelt in a tree of a different sort (_Conanga odorata_), which
has yellow and sweet-scented flowers.[115] In Savaii the special abode
of a village god called Tuifiti or "King of Fiji" was a grove of large
and durable trees (_Afzelia bijuga_). No one dare