Samoa, A Hundred Years Ago And Long Before by George Turner
page 65 of 222 (29%)
page 65 of 222 (29%)
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3. ASOMUA--_First Day._ This was a household god, and particularly useful to the family in detecting and telling out the name of the thief when anything was missed. He was called _first day_, as it was supposed that he existed in the world before mortals. 4. LEATUALOA--_The long god, or the centipede._ This was the name of a god seen in the centipede. A tree near the house was the residence of the creature. When any one of the family was ill, he went out with a fine mat and spread it under the tree, and there waited for the centipede to come down. If it came down and crawled _under_ the mat, that was a sign that the sick person was to be covered over with mats and buried. If, however, it crawled on the top of the mat, that was a sign of recovery. 5. O LE AUMÄ--_The red liver._ This family god was seen, or incarnate, in the wild pigeon. If any visitor happened to roast a pigeon while staying there, some member of the household would pay the penalty by being done up in leaves, as if ready to be baked, and carried and laid in the _cool_ oven for a time, as an offering to show their unabated regard to AumÄ. The use of the reddish-seared bread-fruit leaf for any purpose was also insulting to this deity. Such leaves were in common use as |
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