Temple Furnishings

With the growth of religious ritual, houses were built on the hitherto open court to accommodate the priests and their assistants during the temple ceremonies. It must be remembered, however, that the temples were not in constant use. Early European explorers, who wrote about the neglected state of some of the temples, saw them at a time when they were not being used for an actual ceremony. In the tropics, plants grow very quickly, of course, and the atmosphere of permanent disuse is deceptive. Before an important ceremony, the people were assembled by the priests, and the temple courtyard and surroundings were cleared and weeded. Any necessary repairs to the stonework and woodwork upon the court were made by the priests and their attendants.

In addition to the house or houses for accommodation, a sacred house was provided for the images or other material representatives of the gods. In the Society Islands, a wooden litter was provided for the national god, and during the ceremony the litter was carried by special attendants and placed on a low stone pavement in front of the large stone platform of the temple. Drums used during the ceremony were also kept on the court together with other temple regalia, such as the costumes of the priests. The in-page 28creased quantity of the offerings necessitated the building of raised wooden platforms to support the pigs and other offerings to be made to the gods and subsequently eaten by the priests.

In some temples stone pillars were erected on various parts of the temple. In the Society Islands, carved wooden slabs were placed upright in various parts for ornamentation. In Hawaii, an oracle tower in three tiers was built on the court and covered with bark cloth. Large wooden temple images were erected on the court in Hawaii, and large images of stone were similarly displayed in the Marquesas, Austral Islands, and Easter Island. Hence in the various groups, the place where religious ritual was conducted varied from a simple stone shrine to an open paved temple with various furnishings.