rds. Some of the songs or ballads of
a touching nature were much admired and long remembered. Several months
were needed for the preparation of such a performance or "death-talk,"
as it was called. Not only had the songs to be composed and the dresses
made, but a liberal supply of food had to be provided for the
guests.[57]

[57] W. W. Gill, _Myths and Songs from the South Pacific_, pp.
269-271; _id._, "Mangaia (Hervey Islands)," _op. cit._ p. 345.

In general all mourning ceremonies were over within a year of the death.
But we hear of a chief of the island of Atiu who mourned for seven years
for an only child, living all that time in a hut near the grave, and
allowing his hair and nails to grow, and his body to remain unwashed. He
was the wonder of all the islanders.[58]

[58] W. W. Gill, "Mangaia (Hervey Islands)," _op. cit._ p. 345.

Among the caverns in which, in the island of Mangaia, the dead used to
be deposited, two are particularly famous. One of them, at Tamarua, is
the chasm called Raupa or "leafy entrance" on account of the dense
growth of hibiscus which formerly surrounded this supposed entrance to
the shades. It was the ancient burial-place of the Tongan tribe, the
descendants of a band of Tongans, who had landed in Mangaia and settled
there. The chasm is a hundred and fifty feet deep and has two openings,
the smaller of which was used only for chiefs and priests. The other
famous sepulchral cavern, called Auraka, is situated on the western side
of the island. It was the grand depository of the dead of the ruling
families, who claimed to be descended from the great god Rongo. This
chasm is not nearly so deep as Raupa, but, like it, has two entrances;
the one sacred and the other profane; the former was reserved for the
bodies of the nobility, the latter for the bodies of commoners. Besides
these ceremonial entrances there are many natural openings into the vast
subterranean cave, for the rock is everywhere perforated. It is possible
by torchlight to explore the gloomy recesses of the cavern, which in
some places contracts to the narrowest dimensions, while in others it
expands till the roof is almost lost to sight. Hundreds of
well-preserved mummies may be seen lying in rows, some on ledges of
stalactite, others on wooden platforms. Mr. Gill, who thrice visited the
cave, judged that some of the bodies were over fifty years old. The
whole neighbourhood of the great cavern was deemed sacred to