e occasionally taboo for several months,
during which neither men nor women might eat them.[29] The predecessor
of Kamehameha, king of Hawaii, "was taboo to such a degree that he was
not allowed to be seen by day. He only showed himself in the night: if
any person had but accidentally seen him by daylight he was immediately
put to death; a sacred law, the fulfilment of which nothing could
prevent."[30]

[29] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 387.

[30] O. von Kotzebue, _Voyage of Discovery into the South Sea
and Beering's Straits_ (London, 1821), iii. 247.

The seasons generally kept taboo were on the approach of some great
religious ceremony, immediately before going to war, and during the
sickness of chiefs. Their duration was various, and much longer in
ancient than in modern times. Tradition tells of a taboo which lasted
thirty years, during which men might not trim their beards and were
subject to other restrictions. Another was kept for five years. Before
the reign of Kamehameha forty days was the usual period; but in his time
the period was shortened to ten or five days, or even to a single day.
The taboo seasons might be either common or strict. During a common
taboo the men were only required to abstain from their usual avocations,
and to attend morning and evening prayers at the temple. But during a
strict taboo every fire and light in the district or island must be
extinguished; no canoe might be launched; no person might bathe or even
appear out of doors, unless his attendance was required at the temple;
no dog might bark, no pig grunt, and no cock crow; for if any of these
things were to happen the taboo would be broken and fail to accomplish
its object. To prevent this disaster the mouths of dogs and pigs were
tied up, and fowls were put under a calabash, or a cloth was fastened
over their eyes.[31]

[31] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 387 _sq._

The prohibitions of the taboo were strictly enforced; every breach of
them was punished with death, unless the delinquent had powerful friends
among the priests or chiefs, who could save him. The culprits were
generally offered in sacrifice, being either strangled or clubbed at the
temple; according to one account, they were burnt.[32]

[32] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 389. As to the taboo in Hawaii,
see also J. Cook, _Voyages_, vii. 146 _sq._; L. de Freycinet,
_Voyage autour du Monde, Historique_, ii. 597; C. S. Stewart,
_Residence in the San