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Anthropology and Religion

Offerings

Offerings

The temporal chief was given presents of food and material goods as a mark of respect and, in like manner, offerings of food or some material object page 20were made to the gods. The gods got their share and through such recognition they were amicably disposed toward their followers. One marked difference existed between the temporal presents and the religious offerings. Since the chiefs ate the food and used the goods, quantity was desirable. The offerings to the gods were purely symbolical, and the act of offering something was all that was needed to insure the favor of the gods. Hence a fisherman on his way to sea placed a coral pebble or a stone on the shrine of a tutelary deity of fish to promote a good catch. On his return, he might place a fish on the shrine as a mark of his gratitude. He shared his catch with his god as well as with his chief or neighbor, and the religious offering followed the pattern of social sharing of food when the occasion warranted. The unsuccessful fisherman placed a stone on the shrine on his return in the hope of better luck next time. In the atolls where vegetable foods were limited, the coconut was all important. The symbolic nature of the offering is exemplified in Tongareva, where a piece of coconut husk was the orthodox offering during the temple ritual. In Mangaia, there was a keeper of the tribal gods that were kept in a god house under his care. Every evening he fed each of the dozen gods with taro cooked in a fire used only for that purpose. The fire was small and only one tuber was page 21heated on the embers. The keeper broke off a small piece of the tuber and, holding it aloft in his hand toward the god house, he addressed one of the gods by name, saying, "O Motoro, here is your food. Eat!" He then threw the piece of taro into the bushes near the house. So, in turn, he fed all the gods with the one small taro. It was of no consequence that the taro was not properly cooked and the portions were small. The gods absorbed the spiritual essence of the food, and it was the symbolic action that satisfied them. In Mangareva, when the people cooked their meals, a small portion was set aside for the gods on a stone table before the family god house. A daily offering was made also in the atolls of Manihiki and Rakahanga but, in most islands, the offerings were made when the god was invoked for a specific purpose or on special occasions, such as the completion of a temple, the gathering of first fruits, the opening of fishing or hunting seasons, and the services that took place in the temples from time to time. In New Zealand, the first fish caught on a closed fishing ground was put back into the sea as an offering to the local god of fish or was taken ashore to hang on a tree or rock that formed the shrine of the deity. Similarly the first pigeon caught on the opening of the season was cast aside into the bushes with a ritual phrase as an offering to the god of the forests. The page 22first fish or bird having been offered to the gods, the people were at liberty to take as many as they could catch. When the Tahitian canoe builders killed a pig ceremonially before they engaged in building an important craft, the first tuft of hair removed in cleaning the pig was held aloft and offered to Tane, the god of canoe builders. When the pig was cooked, the tail was offered to Tane. It may seem that the selection of the parts offered to the god was influenced by economic reasons, and religious zeal did not obscure common sense. The gods enjoyed the spiritual symbol, and the builders enjoyed the material pork.

In the fertile soil of the Society Islands in central Polynesia, where both cultivable foods and animal food in the form of pork were abundant, the food offerings to the gods also became greater not only in variety but in quantity. We have seen that when the canoe builders of that area made their offerings to their tutelary god, they retained the simple pattern of older times. In the great celebrations on the national temples, however, ritual elaboration took place to a marked degree. This was primarily due to the growth of a powerful hereditary priesthood, who interpreted the wants of the gods in terms of their own human desires. The temple celebrations, like all social gatherings of importance, were marked page 23by the accumulation of large quantities of vegetables, fruit, fish, and pork to provide a feast for the congregation. The food, according to Polynesian custom, was divided into shares for the chiefs and family groups and, as the gathering was of a religious nature, a fitting share had to be set aside for the gods. On such occasions the gods, as represented by a numerous priesthood and their attendants, were no longer satisfied with the symbolism of a morsel of taro or a tuft of pig's hair. As interpreted by the priests, the gods required both quantity and quality. Hence the best vegetables, fruits, fish, and fattened pigs were brought in by the various family groups as their offerings to the gods. The priests took charge of the offerings and, with an elaborate ritual, presented them to the gods. The food was rendered taboo and could not be eaten by anyone outside of the priesthood. The gods, having partaken of the spiritual essence of the offerings, the food itself was eaten by the priests and their attendants on the temple courtyard. The congregation on the outside of the temple were then at liberty to feast on the secular food that had been allotted to them. Thus, just as man created god in his own image, so an organized priesthood interpreted, him in terms of their own human needs.