creed of their
fathers than their more enlightened or more fickle kinsfolk in the
Sandwich Islands. Hence we are obliged to content ourselves with some
more or less meagre and fragmentary notices of the ancient Hawaiian
system of religious belief and practice. But as the Hawaiians are, or
were, pure-blooded Polynesians, we may assume with a fair degree of
probability that in its broad lines their religious system conformed to
the ordinary Polynesian type.

On this subject Captain King, the colleague and successor of Captain
Cook in his last voyage, observes as follows: "The religion of these
people resembles, in most of its principal features, that of the Society
and Friendly Islands. Their _Morais_, their _Whattas_, their idols,
their sacrifices, and their sacred songs, all of which they have in
common with each other, are convincing proofs that their religious
notions are derived from the same source. In the length and number of
their ceremonies this branch indeed far exceeds the rest; and though in
all these countries there is a certain class of men to whose care the
performance of their religious rites is committed, yet we had never met
with a regular society of priests, till we discovered the cloisters of
Kakooa in Karakakooa Bay [in the island of Hawaii]. The head of this
order was called _Orono_; a title which we imagined to imply something
highly sacred, and which, in the person of Omeeah, was honoured almost
to adoration.... It has been mentioned that the title of _Orono_, with
all its honours, was given to Captain Cook; and it is also certain that
they regarded us generally as a race of people superior to themselves;
and used often to say that great _Eatooa_ [_atuas_, spirits] dwelled in
our country. The little image, which we have before described as the
favourite idol on the _Morai_ in Karakakooa Bay, they called
_Koonooraekaiee_, and said it was Terreeoboo's god, and that he also
resided amongst us. There are found an infinite variety of these images
both on the _Morais_, and within and without their houses, to which they
give different names; but it soon became obvious to us in how little
estimation they were held, from their frequent expressions of contempt
of them, and from their even offering them to sale for trifles. At the
same time there seldom failed to be some one particular figure in
favour, to which, whilst this preference lasted, all their adoration was
addressed. This consisted in arraying it