The body was now moved away to the foot of one of the small Morais, the two bundles of cloth being placed on the Morai at its head and the tufts of feathers at its feet, the priests surrounding the body and the people gathering in closer.  More speeches were made, and a second lock of hair plucked from the head and placed on the Morai.  Then the red feathers were placed on the cloth bundles, which were carried over to the great Morai and laid against a pile of stones, to which the body was also brought, and the attendants proceeded to dig a grave, whilst the priests continued their recitations.  The body was then buried, and a dog Towha had sent over (a very poor one, says Cook) was partially cooked and presented to the priests, who called on Eatua to come and see what was prepared for him, at the same time putting it on a small altar on which were the remains of two dogs and three pigs, which smelt so intolerably that the white men were compelled to move further away than they wished.  This ended the ceremony for the day.

The king’s Maro.

Next morning they all returned to the Morai; a pig was sacrificed and placed on the same altar, and about eight o’clock the priests, Otoo, and a great number of people assembled.  The two bundles were still in the same place as on the previous night, but two drums were now standing in front of them between which Otoo and Cook seated themselves.  The priests, placing a plantain tree in front of the king, resumed their praying, each having his bunch of feathers in his hand.  They then moved off to a place between the Morai and the king and placed the feathers bunch by bunch on the bundles, the prayers still going on.  Four pigs were then produced, one immediately killed, and the others put in a sty for future use.  The bundle containing the king’s Maro was now untied and spread carefully on the ground before the priests.  The Maro was about five yards long by fifteen inches broad, composed of red and yellow feathers, chiefly yellow.  At one end was a border of eight pieces about the size and shape of horse-shoes fringed with black pigeon’s feathers; the other end was forked, the ends being of unequal length.  The feathers were arranged in two rows and had a very good effect.  They were fastened on a piece of native cloth, and then sewn to the English pendant which Wallis left flying when he sailed from Matavai Bay.  After the priests had repeated another prayer, the emblem of royalty was carefully folded up and replaced on the Morai, and then one end of what Cook called the Ark of the Eatua was opened, but the visitors were not permitted to see what it contained.  The entrails of the pig were then prayed over, and one of the priests stirred them gently with a stick, evidently trying to draw a favourable omen from their movements.  They were then thrown on the fire, the partly-cooked pig was deposited on the altar, and when the bunches of feathers that had been used had been placed in the Ark, the ceremony was over.