2.  But Sepo in many places was a household god.  In an inland village family in Upolu he was called the “Lord of the mountain,” and incarnate in the domestic fowl and the pigeon.  In another family he was seen in a very small fish which is difficult to catch; and by another family he was supposed to be in the prickly sea-urchin (Echinus).  The penalty of eating this incarnation was death from a supposed growth of a prickly sea-urchin inside the body.

29.  SIULEO—­Tail of the voice, or echo.

This was the name of a village god in Savaii.  Said to have come from Tonga, and able to walk on the sea.  He was the fisherman’s god.  He had a fisherman’s hut erected for him on the sea-shore, and was supposed to preside over a certain division of coast.

30.  TAAFANUA—­Walk the land.

This was the name of a war god of one of the islands in the east end of the group.  It was incarnate in the Ve’a, or rail (Rallus Pectoralis). When the bird screeched and flew before, the people went to battle; but if it turned and flew back, they hesitated.

31.  TANGALOA LANGI—­Tangaloa of the heavens.

The derivation of Tangaloa is uncertain.  Loa means long, and tanga, a bag; or, as an adjective, freedom from restriction.  The unrestricted, or unconditioned, may therefore fairly be regarded as the name of this Samoan Jupiter.  Tangaloa langi tuavalu, Tangaloa of the eighth heaven; Tangaloa faatupu nuu, Tangaloa the creator of lands; Tangaloa asiasi nuu, Tangaloa the visitor of lands; Tangaloa lafoai nuu, Tangaloa the abandoner of lands—­these were some of the names by which this god superior was known.

1.  At one place he was seen in the moon, and principally worshipped in the month of May.  He was also incarnate in the Turi, or snipe.  At the stated time of worship no one went from home, and no strangers were allowed to pass through the land.  Only men were allowed to partake in the offerings of food; women and children were excluded from any share.

2.  At another place his image was a large wooden bowl, said to have come from Fiji.  He was also supposed to be present in a hollow stone.  A temple was built for him there, and called “The house of the gods.”  It was carefully shut up all round; thinking that if it was not so, the gods would get out and in too easily, and be all the more destructive.  Offerings were presented on war occasions; and he was also presented with gifts, and had prayers offered to him, before going to fish, before planting some fresh section of bush land, and also in times of sickness or special epidemic.  It was firmly believed that if there was no prayer to Tangaloa there could be no blessing.  Thunder was a sign that the prayer was heard.  Slight tremulous reverberation, however, was a sign rather of rejected prayer and threatened punishment.

3.  In another district Tangaloa was said to have come along the ocean in a canoe, with seven of a crew, and to have taken up his abode in the bush inland of the settlement.  Confused noises from the bush there were supposed to be the murmurs of the gods, and a cause of death in the village.