As soon as I got in, I acquainted the gentlemen who had come with me from the ships, with what I had seen; and we took a proper station to watch the result.  The number of people at the fiatooka continued to increase for some time; and, at length, we could see them quit their sitting-posture, and march off in procession.  They walked in pairs, one after another, every pair carrying between them one of the small poles above-mentioned on their shoulders.  We were told, that the small pieces of sticks fastened to the poles were yams; so that probably they were meant to represent this root emblematically.  The hindmost man of each couple, for the most part, placed one of his hands to the middle of the pole, as if, without this additional support, it were not strong enough to carry the weight that hung to it, and under which they all seemed to bend as they walked.  This procession consisted of one hundred and eight pairs, and all or most of them men of rank.  They came close by the fence behind which we stood, so that we had a full view of them.

Having waited here till they had all passed, we then repaired to Poulaho’s house, and saw him going out.  We could not be allowed to follow him, but were forthwith conducted to the place allotted to us, which was behind a fence, adjoining to the area of the fiatooka, where the yams had been deposited in the forenoon.  As we were not the only people who were excluded from being publicly present at this ceremony, but allowed to peep from behind the curtain, we had a good deal of company; and I observed, that all the other inclosures round the place were filled with people.  And yet all imaginable care seemed to be taken, that they should see as little as possible; for the fences had not only been repaired that morning, but in many places raised higher than common, so that the tallest man could not look over them.  To remedy this defect in our station; we took the liberty to cut holes in the fence with our knives, and by this means we could see pretty distinctly every thing that was transacting on the other side.

On our arrival at our station, we found two or three hundred people sitting on the grass, near the end of the road that opened into the area of the morai, and the number continually increased by others joining them.  At length, arrived a few men carrying some small poles, and branches or leaves of the cocoa-nut tree; and, upon their first appearance, an old man seated himself in the road and, with his face toward them, pronounced a long oration in a serious tone.  He then retired back, and the others advancing to the middle of the area, began to erect a small shed, employing for that purpose the materials above-mentioned.  When they had finished their work, they all squatted down for a moment before it, then rose up, and retired to the rest of the company.  Soon after came Poulaho’s son, preceded by four or five men, and they seated themselves a little aside from the shed, and rather