Ancestor worship was undoubtedly the original religion of the New Hebrideans, and in many islands the present form of worship is based upon it. According to Mr. Macdonald, a resident in Exate, the followers of it believe that after death the soul passes through six stages before it finally dies. When its earthly life is over it goes to the gate of Hades, which is situated at Tukitaki, at the western extremity of the island. Here it meets Seritan the cannibal executioner, and his two assistants Vanas and Maxi. Certain questions are then put by them to the soul, and if it does not answer them satisfactorily it is passed on to Maseasi, who cuts out its tongue, splits its head open, and twists it back. If the questions asked by these officials at the gate are well answered, then the {154} soul is permitted to go on in peace through its various stages. Seritan in olden days was a noted cannibal chief, hence his work now in Hades seems particularly suitable to his past experience. This idea of the hereafter has a faint resemblance to the Maori beliefs; they hold that there are certain stages to be gone through, and the same belief of questions being asked is adhered to—though their final end, if they be worthy men and true, is not annihilation, as far as I could gather from the older chiefs, but a life of pleasure. The trouble is, however, that they have undoubtedly got their ideas mixed up—a fault one finds with nearly all the savage races of to-day. In Efaté there are certain classes of people who are allowed to pass unquestioned into Hades—those belonging to the Namtaku tribe, and others who have certain figures carved on their bodies. Why they don’t all go through this operation and escape the chance of having their necks broken is a mystery, but they are not the only believers in certain religious rites who do not bother about testing them. [Illustration 51: THE “M’AKI” GROUND AND THE JAWS OF THE SACRED PIGS, NEW HEBRIDES] Modifications of the above belief are also held in other islands, and in Malekula it is supposed {155} that three stages only are gone through before the perfect spiritual condition is reached, and that the soul then fades away into nothingness. The sacred men of these islands will tell you that they periodically visit the first stopping-place of the departed souls, and they say it is a long way under the ground. In this place all the important affairs of the world are discussed and arranged, and it is from here that the spirits work and punish those who do not follow the dictates of the sacred men. These priests or sacred men in this way have gained a tremendous control over their fellow-men, for superstition is strong and no native dare disobey a sacred man.