The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 18, 1900, Page 1

- | £~ FE wh holds the lightning in he? ! s s sal that menr mAay = n 4 not be burned u T has been going or ces of “she who holds the I islands In Polynesia m of fire- One 1s the little Benga), one n Suva latea, not forty e home c2 - ar priests, Taero and are the only ones living who can ¢ ceremony. ey tell you plainly that if they were ~stianity they would lose t faith m e en. gofless t her enemies,™ wk 2 wers she gives the power ass through firs unharmed le to A she made an exception, . he case of some skeptical » ° sts aving placed fire-wulkers under . pst condition imaginable, some of a ers determined to tread gh t themselves. y consumed Cregar hority em things Polyne- »ia answer to & Question conceramng w nothing of its origin nor does = ing As to what it is at present a few ged travelers know Th e me will mot forget gots - and arge saplings £ gree r ng trees. a all work at . 1 ek s il The w ed then v e ige 2 fle e of . & white - e last ceremony the fire en had been left to watch It s was not accord m, but who were s sed to be on & ired and had given their x elg mps apiece as as to sit up. sbands were sa ¥ 4 hands, so they went the women followed their ex- wrole four were stretched g on the ground beside the cooling » in the night one of the men woks, fire! The fire is going out!" he fraid of the divine would the goddess of the g. the goddess of all fire say when rned that her blage had died down? ced. The women were less wrath than of the One of them shrieked helplessiy. er rose to the occesion. divinity epoke to us while you she explained. “She said “This fire The wood is too dry. r husbands, when they waks, n wood from the other side of nem not delay or I will nsume them in oone rk and chilly, but the the time the other e there was a snapping, . P of fresh wood blazing in goddess who holds the hands, They heard the nessage and the~ flocked & the green wood RED HOT /TO ON~ = ——— > 2 S wesses offering prayers to their goddess N the deep booming of the distant break- ¢ ~Give, O.give us the token, *“The ti that will go with thee and me o-morrow, “When In the heat of the oven “And In the redness of the oven “Thou wilt hold up the footsteps of thy servants.” Thus chanting suddenly they notice ona “t1” bush in contrast to the surrounding pn quivering as though imbued with life, shaking the tiny drops of dew away to fall like dlamonds on the grass. Reverently they bow their heads. Thelir goddess has heard their supplication. Carefuily the palsied bushes are borne to the village, where, all being In readt- ness, the ceremony begins. Strangers may take part in it. They do not often desire to, but the grittiest vis- ftors have sometimes passed through the oven. Before jolning the ceremony they are taught three iron-clad rules. *“You must not look backward,” say the priests, “neither must you stand still for even one moment. And you must have faith in our ability to carry you safely through the Umu.” When ail {8 In readinesss a procession is formed, there being no restriction on the number of persons to participats. The patives are barefooted and decorated with parlands of flowers, and the Europeans clad In heavy boots. The priests lead the way, bearing the sacred tl plant, with which they occa- slonally beat the ground befors them, while murmuring mystic words in old Tahitian. Then stepping down upon the hot stones which form the floor of the pit, the company marches across the fiery furnace, the priests praying, the na- tive followers chanting an old “himine,” while the Europeans are anxlously wo: dering what the outcome will be. During the month of July, 1899, a party witnessing the Umu T! at Ralatea tried to get snapshots of the affalr, but aim- culty was met In the denseness of the steam. A falr photo was obtained of the Aai- rector of the U. 8. 8. Company walking through the Umu Ti. He sald afterward that the only discomfort he felt was the intense heat on his face—as groat as he could bear. “My boots were heavy,” he said, “but I do not see how they could have saved my feet from blistering. I have walked over sidewalks In the Eastern States when the sun heat upon the planks was so great that it pained my feet at every step. And In this fire-walking propo: tion the stones are red hot; no, they are white hot. ‘Why was it that they didn’t hurt? It's more than I know. ““To be sure, I did try to have faith in the priests, but T am not certaln that I succeeded. It seems to me that tn my heart of hearts I really expected to be burned all the time. “My boots seemed very little the worse for wear when I came out of the fur- Taerd and Tupea are eagerly seeking - “O great God-woman, who holds the nace. In fact, nothing seemed damaged over the more than I kn one ahead of putting down his feet squarely, without & sign of wincing.” At the con casses of pigs, w were placed two hours spread was s stones were hot. The natives gathersd around, big and little,. all greedil One might have t that fire walking than any other fo The pigs ar and fulcy when they ware served natives showed very good ma: helping taeir guest 1t they tell enously when rt camae those stones was barefooted WhsN oles of thetr the foast that was clent cvidence that the and taro were left for the most part to asts had not them, for the European been educated to “I never ate be lte, these “In fact It beyinning re not a3 g» and fowls much a ¢ attves came barefcoted when t party ex- air faces.” pression on all ® ‘Where did the ceremony originate? to-day 8s the The mystery is as grea e 4 whan Tnero biblical legends o and Tupea pass away #c will the Umi,” unlees the power is bequesthed io their descend: by “she who holds the & Ragehorse That Flas Morg Trunks Than the Summgzr Girl HEN a raceborse distingwishes himself by winning sese Impes- tant contests, one of e fret provisions made for him iy an i dividual trunk contaming am omtfit of clothing and toflet appilances of all sovta Besides this, special attendants are se- lected to look after his comfort and elean- linezs, says the Horseman. The grooming of the horse on any frst-class track im one of the Interesting morning happen- ings, and gives one a clearer ilea of the value of these animals than thetr per- formances on the track can present, how- ever br be. When one ob- recelve and the serves nicety w y are washed, dried, nd the watchful pon them as they feed, one real represent themselves and in thousands of their possible w Every great trotting h as many but the average horse has as trunk. ter has al 2 summer girl, ne trunk, with his tal lock. pans and ers. These are mark are kept titully Tke about in h travel and , are kept t rted by admirers. of articles of wear, su. ished in silver and and mounted hal tings and combs handsome sty rarely used, a value, are pever kept on v Y f the owners:and trainers, but are invarlably carried about in the s trunk, ac- companying him When travels at home, there are c. ceptacies for th The horses trav ly constructed fort, are tended and are almost trainers and s their disposition g 1 tempered racehorse is t Loe . the general rule. When win u S race they are petted “nd fHattered to suen speclal re- es are engaged prepar- and looking for her signal. Deep silence ers dashing om the reef, naught is heard among the motioniess ti plants for the MNghtning in her hands; but my face It smarted from the heat . 1 \ " Taero and Tupea, the relgns over them, for they are away from but their own welrd chant, sung in a low sign while singing their prayer, of which “Q great God-woman, who lights the that rose. priests, are wandering in mountain fast- the nolsy mirth of the village, and save monotone. the following is & translatioms fires in the sky: an extent that were it not for their pro- verbial horse sense their heads would “Every one of the natives that walked be completely turned