Court Ceremonial

The high position of the prince is expressed in a number of ceremonies, putting him on a level with the gods. External insignia are reserved for him in the first place. In Hawaii feather-mantles and necklaces of whales' teeth; in the Admiralty Islands double chains of shells; in the Solomons arm-rings of shell, shell trumpets, fly-whisks, and other things. Passers-by had to throw themselves in the dust, to bare their shoulders or strip altogether; the king could only be addressed when sitting, and replied through a special orator. He was greeted by having his hands and feet smelt; in Hawaii, a special court-language was used around the prince, which had to remain unknown to the people, otherwise the chiefs changed it. Samoa also had its court language.¹ In Micronesia, since the name of a chief may not be uttered, he takes when entering upon his dignities a name by way of title. In Kasaie, this name denotes nothing else than god; anything recalling former names is sedulously avoided.

A chief cannot eat or drink out of the dish of another, nor may his vessels be used by others, or his house be entered by any one uninvited. Not only have the commons to observe all this in regard to the chiefs, but the chiefs also in regard to their superiors. In the Solomon Islands, any one who steps on a chiefs shadow incurs death, or at least a severe pecuniary penalty, the parallel to the Polynesian exaggeration of taboo. From Polynesia, too, comes the practice among Fijian chiefs, of keeping court barbers, who by reason of their right of touching the sacred hair, come within taboo, so that others have to feed them. The heralds of princes are inviolable even in war. Many obscure practices are no doubt connected with the chiefs position as priests. Why does the first chief in Erromango receive a stone with a round hole in it? Why does the consecration of the chief in Anaiteum consist in being drawn round a newly felled tree with his crown on?

The whole existence of nobles and princes on this earth is often regarded as something only transitory, an earthly episode in the lives of these sons of the gods. They come from heaven, and destiny holds them fast; they return only as souls to Bolotu; the threads of their existence are attached on high. What wonder then if the same grade of holiness was ascribed to the kings as to gods, and to the other nobles in a ratio diminishing according to their rank? The king, as the bearer of taboo, attains an altitude which is dangerous to himself. Originally, he could not enter any house belonging to a subject, since otherwise it would be forfeited to him. In Tahiti he had himself carried over land which he was too sacred to touch. The South Sea races have, however, discovered means of averting, at least in some measure, the evil consequences which must have resulted from this system.

Of all those around the king, his brothers stand nearest to him. Occasionally, when he entrusts a commission to a son, he gives him his staff and whisk as credentials; otherwise, the king's messenger carries a green bough. A prime minister, who, where things are on a small scale, will probably be the commander-in-chief, forms a necessary supplement to the sacred sovereign. This post is also held by a priest, as in Hawaii. There, without any definite intention to that effect, royalty assumed a character with two aspects, which found expression also in court ceremonies. Thus it occurred that even when European political ideas began to make their way into Hawaii, the constitutional notion of a leading and responsible minister was not wholly strange.

To the king's suite belong also the keepers of the regalia. In Tahiti, the feather girdle and fillet are guarded by officials. In Nukahiva the chief is accompanied by his fire-lighter. Kamehameha compelled the chiefs of the subject islands to live near his palace, and go about with him. The value attached to genealogy made the custodians of tradition an important element of the court. In New Zealand, this office was entrusted to hump-backed men, in order that if both chiefs, father and son, should fall together in battle, the custody of the legends might be safe in the hands of those who were compelled to stay at home.

The exuberant development of trade and finance, especially in East Melanesia and Micronesia, was all the more closely allied with politics, from the fact that the king used to have a monopoly of the only two sources of wealth - the manufacture ,of coin and trade. Here, as on the west coast of Africa, trade enriched the chief, and raised him to a far higher power than he would otherwise have acquired.

Respect for Law

Image on right
Coco-palm leaf, as a token of peace, from Venus Hook in New Guinea; and paddle-shaped spoon 8 feet (2440mm) in length, for stirring food at feasts, carved with a maori design, from the Normanby islands. (Finsch Collection, Berlin.) - [Click on image for higher resolution]

Breaches of law are rare. In their fundamental character they were formerly breaches of divine ordinances. For this reason, the penalties are extraordinarily severe, and ordeals of every kind play the chief part in judicial proceedings. In later times, the opposite came about; money penalties became universal, and formed the chief sources of revenue for the king and the chiefs. But besides this, an offence against the laws involved a certain dishonour; boys and old men were not punished, as being foolish people. New laws are announced to the people with a flourish of the war trumpet; a prohibition to enter upon land, or to pluck fruit, is signified by spears stuck in the ground, or bundles of leaves tied to branches. For private injuries in the Solomon Islands, every man exacts the best penalty he can with his own fist; but if the relatives intervene, the strife is in many cases appeased, after long speeches and ferocious gestures, by the payment of a fine. In New Caledonia, an adulteress is strangled by one of her own and one of her husband's relations. Persons convicted of magic are painted black, adorned with flowers, and made to jump into the sea.

Intercourse between one tribe and another is conducted through inviolable heralds, old women for choice. These also act as trade intermediaries on 'Change. On these occasions the chief gives knotted cords of rattan and reeds, - as many as the articles included in the commission, while the length of the reeds indicates their importance. White and green, in streamers or boughs, are signs of peace; black and red, in colours or feathers, signify war and death. In New Guinea, the leaflets of a coco-palm leaf are partly taken off, then the stem is halved, and the halves handed to the parties in token of peace. Individual tribes form alliances for other objects; those of the Fijians are very expensive, for the allies have not only to be fed, but they have a full right to give their orders as lords throughout the territory of their friends.

The intercourse of daily life is strictly formal; in Pelew, the word mugul, that is, "bad form," is so all-powerful, that only the equivalent for taboo can dispute supremacy with it. As with the Malays and other races, it is mugul to ask anybody "what is your name?" though a greeting may quite well take the form "who are you?" The standing question by way of opening a conversation is, "no news?" or "give your news." At parting they say simply, "I'm off." In general, these customs are very like those of the Polynesians, and in former times perhaps were still more so. Thus the ancient form of greeting among the Pelew Islanders, of rubbing your face with the hand or foot of the person to be greeted, recurs in the Hervey Islands, together with the Polynesian rubbing of noses. So again does the reception of friends, with words recited sing-song fashion in chorus. In all circumstances, custom is more powerful than morality. It is optimism to take for morality the indignation shown by Micronesian girls at trifling violations of custom.

¹ ["For the real noble a whole private dialect is set apart. The common names for an axe, for blood, for bamboo, a bamboo knife, a pig, food, entrails, and an oven are taboo in his presence." - Stevenson, A Footnote to History.]