Note 20 — PREFACE.

After this all the people and all the chiefs went to their houses, praising the feather gods and all other smaller idols of the people. In the evening, the king and the priests were with the idols, and all the chiefs prostrated themselves, conforming to the ordinance of the temple, the priests and all the chiefs offering prayers. From evening to darkness of night they bowed down, earnestly desiring a rainfall during the night,20 and when it did rain, the people gave praise unto the deities. In the morning they all assembled—the people, the chiefs and the priests—in the presence of the deities, praying before the temple shrine and the feather idols. After prayers the people arose with the idols in their hands, and also the chiefs and all the priests, and went up to the lord-of-the-ohia’s, which was (to furnish) a wooden deity. The king called to his stewards, saying: “Take about ten pigs for the deity and for the people and for myself also.” And when they came nigh unto the ohia forests, away up in the mountains; and the ohia tree which stood forward of the others which the priest pronounced to be the idol, saying: “This is the deity which relishes the pig, as it is in advance of the others,” the king assented and commanded the priests to offer their prayers to the tree, which they did, while it was yet standing in leaf.