to their last resting-place.
They were never disembowelled for the purpose of embalming, but some
were desiccated by being kept for about a month and daily anointed with
coco-nut oil. A few were buried in the earth within the precincts of a
sacred grove (_marae_); but by far the greater number were hidden in
caves which were regarded as the private property of certain families.
The bodies of warriors were in general carefully concealed by their
friends, lest foes should find and burn them in revenge. If a body were
buried in the earth, it was always laid face downwards, with chin and
knees meeting, and the limbs well secured with coco-nut fibre. A thin
covering of earth was spread over the corpse, and large heavy stones
were piled on the grave. "The intention," we are informed, "was to
render it impossible for the dead to rise up and injure the living." The
head of the corpse was always turned to the rising sun. It was customary
to bury with the dead some article of value: a woman would have her
cloth-mallet laid by her side, while a man would enjoin his friends to
bury with him a favourite stone adze or a beautiful white shell (_Ovula
ovum_, Linn.) which he had worn in the dance. Such articles were never
afterwards touched by the living. Many people were buried in easily
accessible caves, that their relatives might visit the mouldering
remains from time to time. On such visits the corpse might be again
exposed to the sun, anointed afresh with oil, and wrapt in new cloth.
But as the sorrow of the survivors abated, these visits became less and
less frequent, and finally ceased.[47]

[47] W. W. Gill, _Life in the Southern Isles_, pp. 72-76; _id._,
"Mangaia (Hervey Islands)," _op. cit._ p. 343.

A death in a family was the signal for a change of names among the near
relatives of the deceased. The greatest ingenuity was exercised in
devising new appellations. Sometimes these names were most offensive to
good taste. This custom of changing names after the death of a relative
has survived the conversion of the natives to Christianity;[48] probably
it originated in a desire to avoid the unwelcome attentions of the
ghost, who might be thought to be attracted by the sound of the familiar
names.[49]

[48] W. W. Gill, _Life in the Southern Isles_, pp. 78 _sq._;
_id._, "Mangaia (Hervey Islands)," _op. cit._ p. 344.

[49] See _The Golden Bough_, Part II., _Taboo and the Perils of
the Soul_, pp. 356 _sqq._