as the voice of an
indwelling deity, he delivered his message of exhortation or warning, of
menace, or comfort, or hope.[123]

[123] J. B. Stair, p. 223; G. Brown, _Melanesians and
Polynesians_, pp. 228, 246 _sq._

Spirit-houses (_fale-aitu_) or temples were erected for some, but not
all, of the class of deities (_aitu_) which we are now considering. It
was chiefly the war gods who were thus honoured. Such temples were built
with the same materials and in the same style as the houses of men, with
nothing to distinguish them from ordinary dwellings, except that they
almost always stood on platforms of stones, which varied in height and
size with the respect felt for the particular deity. They were usually
situated on the principal public place or green (_malae_) of the village
and surrounded by a low fence. Sometimes they were mere huts; yet being
viewed as the abode of gods they were held sacred and regarded with
great veneration by the Samoans in the olden time. Whatever emblems of
deity were in possession of the village were always placed in these
houses under the watchful care of keepers.[124] In one temple, for
instance, might be seen a conch shell hung from the roof in a basket.
This shell the god was supposed to blow when he wished the people to go
to war. In another a cup made of the shell of a coco-nut was suspended
from the roof, and before it prayers were uttered and offerings
presented. The cup was also used in an ordeal for the detection of
theft. In a trial before chiefs the cup would be sent for, and each of
the suspected culprits would lay his hand on it and say, "With my hand
on this cup, may the god look upon me, and send swift destruction, if I
took the thing which has been stolen." They firmly believed that it
would be death to touch the cup and tell a lie.[125]

[124] J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp. 226-228.

[125] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 19.

The temples were always built by the united exertions of a whole family,
village, or district.[126] For example, when the inhabitants of a
village whose god was the cuttle-fish erected a new temple to that
deity, every man, woman, and child in the village contributed something
to it, if it was only a stick or a reed of thatch. While some of the
villagers were drafted off to put up the house, the rest engaged in a
free fight, which appears to have been considered as a necessary part of
the proceedings. On this occasion many old scores were sett