(3.) To another family he was incarnate in the cuttle-fish (_Octopus_). To another in the mullet. To another in the turtle. If, through a stranger or by any member of the family, an incarnation had been cooked in the family oven, it could not be used again until some one had been laid there as a mock burnt-offering, and gone through the "make-believe" process of cooking. It was death to the family if the oven was used without this ceremony.
A village god in Upolu, noted for mischief-making, and supposed to be the cause of quarrels, war, and darkness. Seen in the lightning. If there was much of it in a time of war it was believed that the god had come to help and direct. Constant lightning in a particular place indicated an ambushment of the enemy. Continued flashes in front was a sign that the troops of the enemy were driven. But if the lightning moved from the front backwards, that betokened danger, and was an order to retreat.
The name of a village god in Savaii, and worshipped at the new moon, when he appeared to them like a bright shining leaf girdle. At that time all work was suspended for a day or two. The cocoa-nut leaf blinds were kept down, and the people sat still in their houses. Any one walking in front of the house risked a beating. After prayer and feasting a man went about and blew a shell-trumpet as a sign to all that the ceremonies were over, and that the usual routine of village and family life might be resumed. Out of respect to the god the name of the leaf girdle, titi, was changed into savalinga, or walking. The said girdle is made of the ti leaves (_Dracaena terminalis_).
1. This was the name of a war god, and incarnate in the owl. If it hovered over or flew before the troops, that was a sign of victory. If it crossed the path or flew back on them, that was a warning to retreat.
A dead owl found under a tree in the settlement was at once covered over with a piece of white native cloth by the person who discovered it. Then all the village would assemble around it, sit down and beat and bruise their foreheads with any stones they could lay their hands on. This was "an offering of blood" to Tongo, and, with an accompanying death wail, expressed their sympathy with the god over the calamity. Tongo, however, still existed, and was seen in all the remaining owls, which continued to be his incarnations.