Being unwilling to lose any part of the solemnity, some of us repaired to the scene of action pretty early, but found nothing going forward. However, soon after a pig was sacrificed, and laid upon the same _whatta_ with the others. About eight o'clock, Otoo took us again to the _morai_, where the priests, and a great number of men, were by this time assembled. The two bundles occupied the place in which we had seen them deposited the preceding evening; the two drums stood in the front of the _morai_, but somewhat nearer it than before, and the priests were beyond them. Otoo placed himself between the two drums, and desired me to stand by him. The ceremony began, as usual, with bringing a young plantain-tree, and laying it down at the king's feet. After this a prayer was repeated by the priests, who held in their hands several tufts of red feathers, and also a plume of ostrich feathers, which I had given to Otoo on my first arrival, and had been consecrated to this use. When the priests had made an end of the prayer, they changed their station, placing themselves between us and the _morai_; and one of them, the same person who had acted the principal part the day before, began another prayer, which lasted about half an hour. During the continuance of this, the tufts of feathers were, one by one, carried and laid upon the ark of the _Eatooa_. Some little time after, four pigs were produced, one of which was immediately killed, and the others were taken to a sty hard by, probably reserved for some future occasion of sacrifice. One of the bundles was now untied; and it was found, as I have before observed, to contain the _maro_, with which these people invest their kings, and which seems to answer, in some degree, to the European ensigns of royalty, it was carefully taken out of the cloth, in which, it had been wrapped up, and spread at full length upon the ground before the priests. It is a girdle, about five yards long; and fifteen inches broad; and, from its name, seems to be put on in the same manner as is the common _maro_, or piece of cloth, used by these people to wrap round the waist. It was ornamented with red and yellow feathers, but mostly with the latter, taken from a dove found upon the island. The one end was bordered with eight pieces, each about the size and shape of a horse-shoe, having their edges fringed with black feathers. The other end was forked, and the points were of different lengths. The feathers were in square compartments, ranged in two rows, and otherwise so disposed, as to produce a pleasing effect. They had been first pasted or fixed upon some of their own country cloth, and then sewed to the upper end of the pendant which Captain Wallis had displayed, and left flying ashore, the first time that he landed at Matavai. This was what they told us; and we had no reason to doubt it, as we could easily trace the remains of an English pendant. About six or eight inches square of the _maro_ was unornamented, there being