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Meadows Taylor, speaking of cromlechs in India, says, "Wherever I found them, the same tradition was attached to them, that they were Morie humu, or Mories' houses; these Mories having been dwarfs who inhabited the country before the present race of men."
After the Peace was thus concluded and ratified, every one was at liberty to go where he pleased, and the first thing Tupia did was to go and pay his Oblations at one of the Mories. This seem'd to be a common ceremony with this people, and I suppose always perform'd upon landing on each other's Territories in a peaceable manner.
During this day they had noticed several small villages perched on difficult eminences and surrounded by palisades, which Tupia declared were "Mories or places of worship," but, says Cook: "I rather think they are places of retreat or strongholds, where they defend themselves against the attack of an enemy, as some of them seem'd not ill design'd for that purpose."
Their Mories or Burial places stood generally upon these points of land that projected into the Sea, and were both better built and Ornamented than those about Royal Bay Tootaha's excepted. In general this district appear'd to be in a more flourishing state than the other, although it is not above one fourth part as big and cannot contain nothing near the Number of inhabitants. Thursday, 29th.
Their Mories, as well as the Tombs of the Dead, they seem to hold sacred, and the women never enter the former, whatever they may do the latter.
Over the box is a small roof or shade made of Palm thatch; in this Box are deposited the Oblations of the Gods, such as Pieces of Cloth, Human bone, etc., and these places they hold sacred, and some are placed in their Mories, and some not. They have a Custom of preserving the Sculls and under Jaw bones of the Dead, but wether of their Friends or Enemies I cannot pretend to say.
Squally weather with Showers of rain. This morning we left Tiaraboo and entered upon that of Opooreonoo, the North-West district of the Island. The first thing we met with worthy of note was at one of their Mories, where lay the scull bones of 26 Hogs and 6 Dogs. These all lay near to and under one of their Altars.
Not far from the Great Morie, was 2 or 3 pretty large altars, where lay the scull bones of some Hogs and Dogs. This monument stands on the south side of Opooreanoo, upon a low point of land about 100 yards from the sea. It appeared to have been built many years and was in a state of decay, as most of their Mories are.
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