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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 Excerpt: ...in order to entice back the spirit to its old tenement. The women assisted by a low whistling, supposed to be irresistibly attractive to exile spirits. After a time the entire procession proceeded towards the dwelling of the sick person, flutes playing and the women whistling all the time, leading back the truant spirit I To prevent its possible escape, with their palms open, they seemingly drove it along with gentle violence and coaxing. On approaching the village they danced and shouted, We have brought back the spirit of so and so! Then would succeed loud laughter and vociferations of delight at the cleverness of their leader, the spiritdoctor. On entering the dwelling of the patient the vagrant spirit was ordered in loud tones at once to enter the body of the sick man, who, as might be supposed, would not be a little moved by the entire procedure. A good feasting would be provided by the relatives of the invalid. Sometimes the poor fellow died: the cause assigned by the soul-doctor would be that the spirit had refused to re-inhabit its former dwelling on account of the smallness of the feast. AITUTAKIAN HELL. The priests asserted that at death human spirits descend to the domains of the goddess Miru, whose body is frightfully deformed and her countenance terrible. For unknown ages she had feasted on the spirits of the dead, but at length was checkmated by a brave man named Tekauae, or the-chin. Being apparently near death, he directed his friends, as soon as the breath was out of his body, to get a cocoa-nut, and cautiously cracking it to disengage the round kernel from the shell. This kernel was wrapped up in a piece of cloth and placed next to the stomach of the dead, being completely concealed by the grave coverings. In due time Tekauae d...

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