Human sacrifice for a new home

Here we have a barbarous custom as old as the days of human superstition and human folly. The custom of sacrificing a human being for the erection of a new house or fortress is very old; much information on this subject can be found in Tylor's Primitive Culture, and the works of Andrew Lang and other writers. Foundation stones and beams have been laid in human blood all over the world, and this abominable custom was only practiced centuries ago in Europe. 

Survivals of it are still known, as when we place coins or other objects under a foundation stone. As such savage customs grew distasteful, substitutes for human sacrifice were used, until we were reduced to the coins mentioned. Among the Takitumu of the eastern coast of our North Island, the practice of killing human beings was perhaps less evident than among other tribes. 

In the well-known tradition of Taraia, we are told that he had his own child buried at the foot of a post in his new house; but in one version we are informed that the condemned child has been saved, and a substitute in the form of a child of a slave woman has been put in his place.

The general belief connected with this practice seems to have been that such a sacrifice was necessary to ensure the stability and durability of the building, whether it was a house, a fort or a bridge. The victim was buried under a main post or foundation stone so he could support it. 

In some cases they were buried alive, or the living person was immured in a stone wall; in others, a person was placed in a hole or foundation and killed by having a huge pole or foundation stones placed on top of them. Truly, man's inhumanity to man has been marked by ingenious devilry.

Apparently human sacrifice for a new home was by no means a common custom in New Zealand. It was certainly not universal and related only to the higher type of house, houses carefully framed in wrought wood, usually adorned with carvings and painted decorative designs, such as those belonging only to important chiefs. No such function has ever marked the construction of ordinary residential houses. 

Again, it is often difficult to distinguish between a ceremonial human sacrifice, with regard only to ritual observances, such as burying the victim at the foot of a pole, and the mere killing of a slave. to lend prestige to the event, or serve as the most important part of a feast. In many cases, we are simply told that a person was killed for a certain chief's new house, a certain young woman's tattoo, or the baptism of a high-ranking person's child. 

Such a remark could be made regarding the formal sacrifice of a human being in order to influence the gods, or the killing of a person in order to give glamor to an office, or the mere killing of a slave to serve of main course at a housewarming party.

The term raukakai, applied to a human sacrifice, is found in ancient stories. Thus, at p. 38 of vol. 7 of the Polynesian Society Journal we find this sentence, He raukakai ka tukua hei tohi i te whare me ka oti; of which a translation is given – “A living sacrifice is given to dedicate a building of importance to its completion. The importance of the house is implied but not stated in the original.

The ceremony performed on such a new house is usually called kawanga, while the word tohi is used to refer to ceremonies performed on people. Some additional notes on this subject can be found on p. 153 of vol. 5 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society.

Tutakangahau of the Tuhoe tribe informed me that his tribesmen would occasionally sacrifice a human being when building a major new house. The body of the unfortunate victim was buried at the base of the central post supporting the ridge; there is no evidence that he was buried alive. A victim eliminated in this way was called a whatu. 

Even if a stone was thus buried at the base of the post, or a bird, or a lizard, it was called a whatu, a word used for this purpose apparently in its sense of "kernel"; it acted as a sort of talisman that safeguarded the well-being of the people to whom the house belonged. This human body, lizard, bird or stone represented the vitality and general well-being of the house, lands and people, as they were preserved and guarded by the gods. They were manea, or ika purapura, that is to say mauri, and all preserved from the fearsome effects of black magic. 

Among some tribes, these talismanic objects were buried at the base of the back post, in the back wall of the house, as was the case among the Takitumu.

In the published account of Sir G. Grey's visit to Taupo in 1850, we are told that two Ngati-Awa natives had been killed there about two years previously during the opening ceremony of a new house. In this case, however, the killing appears to have been at least partially motivated by a desire for revenge.

Human sacrifice was also known among the relatives of the Maoris living on the islands of Polynesia. HAS Mangaia, they were made to Rongo and other gods, as Reverend W. Gill tells us. Such offerings were made in connection with both war and peace. Certain families had to provide the human sacrifices necessary for the interest of the community.

A curious incident relating to the custom of human sacrifice on the island of Mangaia, Cook's group, was reported to the writer by Colonel Gudgeon. When a land court was held on this island a few years ago, a certain native came forward and claimed ownership rights to some land. This claim was received in dead silence; no one spoke, until an old man came forward and said to the asker: 

" You are dead. Neither you nor your children can claim land. You have been dead for generations. He then explained to the Court that the plaintiff's grandfather had long since been chosen as a human sacrifice to the gods, but had refused to be so sacrificed, and so his brother had voluntarily taken his place. The first tried to find refuge with another tribe, but these people refused to receive him, whereupon he retired to a remote or wild part of the island, and lived there the rest of his days. 

He was banished and also considered dead. Neither he nor his descendants could own land or possess any rights, while the brother's descendants possessed all tribal rights.

TO Rarotonga, a human being was sacrificed at the birth of a child of the main chief. Reverend M. Gill tells us that “At the birth of the first-born son of the reigning King Makea, a previously fixed human victim was slain. The royal baby was placed on the corpse in an attempt to cut the navel chain. , thus indicating the absolute hold he would exercise over the lives of his subjects by succeeding to the throne of his father. »

Ellis states that at Tahiti, a human sacrifice was made during the erection of a temple. He adds: “I have been informed by several inhabitants of Maeva that the foundations of some of the buildings intended for the abode of their gods have in fact been laid as human sacrifices; that at least the central pillar supporting the roof of one of Maeva's sacred places was planted on the body of a man... 

The unfortunates selected were either captives made in war or individuals who had made themselves odious to the chief or the priests. When they were sought, a stone was, at the request of the priest, sent by the king to the chief of the district from which the victims were required. If the stone was received, it was an indication of an intention to comply with the requisition.

The same writer tells us that a similar offering was made to the gods in time of war. These victims, considered tapu offerings, were called amo'a tapu, as an offering to the gods was called Amonga tapu in New Zealand. In both places, too, human beings dedicated to this purpose were referred to as "fish." 

Cook wrote quite extensively on this custom in Tahiti, but the material given can hardly be considered satisfactory considering that his knowledge of the native language must have been very poor.

Human sacrifices to the gods were also made in the Hawaiian Islands and other Polynesian groups and islands. In Fiji, we have evidence of living human beings being buried at the base of house posts. 

Thus, Sir E. Im Thurn said that "when a Fijian chief built a house, some of his dependents, whom the great man reprimanded for this purpose, willingly descended into the holes which had been dug for the poles of the house, and remained there while the earth was filled upon them, and continued thereafter as permanent supports of the house. »

Mr. Coleman Wall, writing in 1916, remarked of this custom of the Fijians: “They buried men standing under the post of temples and houses of chiefs. Later, the victims appear to have been bludgeoned first. »

In Gordon Cumming's At Home in Fiji we find the following account: "A series of large holes were dug to receive the main posts of the house, and as soon as they were raised a number of wretched men were led to the spot, and one was obliged to go down into each hole, and to stand there with his arms crossed around him. 

The earth was then filled in, and the wretched victims were thus buried alive, taking all the comfort they could in the belief that the task thus assigned to them was one of great honour, as it secured the stability of the chief's house. .

We can now see that this barbaric custom was ancient in the Pacific region. It may have been introduced here, in a modified form, from Fiji, or it may have been brought from Polynesia. We find among the customs, arts, etc. Maoris, curious resemblances with similars in Melanesia, while in certain cases one does not find parallels in Polynesia where one would naturally look for them.

A note in vol. 23 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society states that in Sarawak, Borneo, "the custom of driving the main post of a new building through the body of a slave was widespread among the natives of Sarawak until recent years" . In H. Ling Roth's work The Natives of Sarawak there is an account of this custom, showing that the girl was placed in the hole and the huge pole fell on her body. 

In the past, human sacrifices were made in ceremonies related to burials and peacemaking. Thus, we find that this ancient custom of human sacrifice for a new home has taken hold in many countries.