th; and as he had good opportunities for
acquainting himself with the Samoan religion during the prolonged stay
of the American Exploring Expedition at Samoa in 1839, when the islands
were as yet but little affected by European influence, I will quote his
account. He says: "All believe in the existence of a large island,
situated far to the north-west called _Pulotu_, which is the residence
of the gods. Some suppose that while the souls of the common people
perish with their bodies, those of the chiefs are received into this
island, which is described as a terrestrial elysium, and become there
inferior divinities. Others hold (according to Mr. Heath) that the
spirits of the departed live and work in a dark subterraneous abode, and
are eaten by the gods. A third, and very common opinion is, that the
souls of all who die on an island, make their way to the western
extremity, where they plunge into the sea; but what then becomes of them
is not stated. The rock from which they leap, in the island of Upolu,
was pointed out to us; the natives term it '_Fatu-asofia_,' which was
rendered the 'jumping-off stone.'"[167]

[167] H. Hale, _Ethnography and Philology of the United
States Exploring Expedition_, p. 27.

Of these various opinions described by Hale the third would seem to have
been by far the most prevalent. It was commonly believed that the
disembodied spirit retained the exact resemblance of its former self, by
which we are probably to understand the exact resemblance of its former
body. Immediately on quitting its earthly tabernacle it began its
solitary journey to Fafa, which was the subterranean abode of the dead,
lying somewhere to the west of Savaii, the most westerly island of the
group. Thus, if a man died in Manua, the most easterly of the islands,
his soul would journey to the western end of that island, then dive into
the sea and swim across to Tutuila. There it would walk along the beach
to the extreme westerly point of the island, when it would again plunge
into the sea and swim across to the next island, and so on to the most
westerly cape of Savaii, where it finally dived into the ocean and
pursued its way to the mysterious Fafa.[168]

[168] J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp. 218 _sq._ Compare
G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 257; S. Ella, _op. cit._ pp. 643 _sq._

At the western end of Savaii, near the village of Falealupo, there are
two circular openings among the rocks, not far from the beach. Down