This is the name of a large tree (_Hernandia Peltata_). A family god
of the same name was supposed to live in it, and hence no one dared to
pluck a leaf or break a branch.

The same god was also supposed to be incarnate in the octopus, and
also in the land crab. If one of these crabs found its way into the
house, it was a sign that the head of the house was about to die.

12. SAMANI.

This was the name of a family god. It was seen in the turtle, the sea
eel, the octopus, and the garden lizard. Any one eating or injuring
such things had either to be _sham_ baked in an unheated oven, or
drink a quantity of rancid oil as penance and a purgative. This god
predicted that there was a time coming when Samoa would be filled
with foreign gods.

13. SATIA.

1. In one place the member of the family supposed to be the priest of
the god was noted for cannibalism. At times he would cry out furiously
and order those about him to be off and get him some of his "sacred
food." He professed to be doctor as well as demon. A great chief when
ill was once taken to him, and the doctor's bill for a cure was the
erection of a mound of stones, on the top of which a house was to be
built. The bill was paid by the retinue of the chief.

2. In another family it was supposed that their god Satia had the
power to become incarnate in a man or a woman. If he wished to go to a
particular woman, he became a man; and if he desired a man, he changed
into a woman.

14. SENGI VAVE--_Snatch quickly._

An old man named Sengi, or _snatch_, was an incarnation of this
household god. All the fine mats and other valuables were in some
mysterious way under his control. On returning from any kind of daily
work in the bush every one on entering the house had to salute him, as
the representative of the god, in some apologetic phrase, such as "I
beg your pardon." If any one omitted this mark of respect, the
penalty was the disappearance of a fine mat from the family bundle
without any one knowing how it was taken.

15. SOESAI.

This was the name of a household god in some families. In one, the god
was seen in the domestic fowl. In another, the incarnations were the
eel, the octopus, and turtle. Prayers for life and recovery were
offered in cases of great danger, and also at child-birth.

16. SI'U--_Extremity or end._

The family in which this god was worshipped said that he appeared in
the form of a _skull_ once a year, about the month of M