The religious belief of the Fijii apportioned merely the souls of their human victims to the gods, who were thought to be enormous eaters; while the fleshy parts were consumed by the worshipers. In verity cannibalism was a part of the Fijiian religion, and although their gods were supposed to delight in human flesh, still the horrors of Fijiian anthropophagy were attributable more to sensual gratification than to any devout motive. The Fijiians were of the opinion that many of the gods resided in or are personified by particular animals, such as rats, sharks, dogs, and even the human person. Accordingly, he whose particular guardian-god dwelt in any one of these animals, refrained from eating the flesh of the same, lest he might offend his divinity. Again, from some motive—selfish or superstitious—no female children were allowed to eat human flesh. Every significant event among them was celebrated by a feast of human flesh, and this diet was considered so important that a wooden fork was used to convey it to the mouth, instead of the fingers, as in partaking of other kinds of food. Williams, who visited these islands and wrote a volume referring to the habits and practices of these natives, observes that these savages gratified their cannibalistic appetites to an enormous extent, and they were particularly careful that no sailor lucklessly cast upon their shores should escape their attention and final disposition. Human bones constituted part of the furniture of their houses, and human hair was used as an ornament in most of their implements of war. The European missionaries who have lived on the islands declare that these people devoured most of the bodies of the slain; and though implicit dependence cannot always be placed on the tales of seamen, it is well to remember that Longsdorf was told by a Frenchman who had resided on one of the islands, that the priests often regaled themselves on human flesh simply from the pleasure derived from its use. At this hour they act as if under the influence of inspiration, and after various contortions of the body, appear to fall asleep. On awakening they relate what the spirit has declared to them in their dreams. The communication made known sometimes is that a woman or a man, a tattooed or an untattooed man, a fat or lean man, an old man or a young man from the next valley or border of the next stream, must be seized and brought to them. Those to whom this revelation comes immediately conceal themselves near a footpath or river, and the first passer-by bearing any resemblance to the description given, is taken and eaten by the priests.