Tyerman and G. Bennet, _Journal of Voyages and
Travels_, i. 322.

Sec. 8. _The Disposal of the Dead_

The heat of the climate, by hastening the decomposition of dead bodies,
rendered it necessary that corpses should be speedily removed or treated
so as to preserve them for a time from decay. As such treatment was
generally too costly for the poor and even the middle ranks of society,
families belonging to these classes were usually obliged to inter their
dead on the first or second day after the decease. During the short
intervening period the body, resting on a bed of fragrant green leaves,
was placed on a sort of bier covered with white cloth and decorated with
wreaths and garlands of sweet-smelling flowers. Round it sat the
relatives, giving vent to their grief in loud and continued
lamentations, and often cutting their temples, faces, and breasts with
shark's teeth, till they were covered with blood from their
self-inflicted wounds. The bodies were frequently committed to the grave
in deep silence; but sometimes a father would deliver a pathetic oration
at the funeral of his son.[200] The grave was generally shallow and the
corpse was deposited in a bent posture, with the hands tied to the knees
or to the legs.[201]

[200] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 399 _sq._

[201] J. A. Moerenhout, _op. cit._ i. 553 _sq._

But in the families of chiefs the custom was to submit the bodies of the
dead to a sort of embalming and to preserve them above ground for a
time.[202] The Tahitians had a tradition of a rude or unpolished period
in their history, when the bodies of the dead were allowed to remain in
the houses in which they lived, and which were still occupied by the
survivors. A kind of stage or altar was erected in the dwelling, and on
it the corpse was deposited. But in a later and more polished age, which
lasted till the advent of Europeans, the practice was introduced of
building separate houses or sheds for the lodgment of corpses.[203]

[202] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 400.

[203] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 404.

These houses or sheds (_tupapows_) were small temporary buildings, often
neatly constructed. The thatched roof rested on wooden pillars, which
were seldom more than six feet high. The body was laid on a bier or
platform raised on posts about three feet from the ground. This bier was
movable, for the purpose of being drawn out, and of exposing the body to
the rays of the sun. The body was u