Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/447

Rh POLYNESIA 427 position of the noun in the sentence, or by prepositions. In the language of Ebon, one of the islands in the Marshall archipelago, nouns have the peculiarity which is characteristic of the Papuan languages : those which indicate close relationship as of a son to a father, or of the members of a person s body take a pro nominal suffix which gives them the appearance of inflexions. The present writer is not aware of the existence of this in any other Tarapon language, but would not make too much of this negative evidence. Many words are used indiscriminately as nouns, adjec tives, or verbs without any change of form. In some languages the personal pronouns are singular, dual, and plural. In others there are no special dual forms, but the numeral for two is used to indicate the dual. In the Ebon language there are inclusive and exclusive forms of the personal pronouns which, so far as has been ascertained, do not .occur in any of the other Tarapon languages. The verbs usually have no inflexions to express relations of voice, mood, tense, number of person, such distinctions being indicated by particles. In the Ebon language, however, the tenses are some times marked ; but in that the simple form of the verb is frequently given. All have verbal directive particles. In Ponape, one of the Caroline Islands, many words of ceremony are used in address ing chiefs, as they are used in Samoa. The custom of tabooing words is also found there as it is in the Sawaiori languages. For further particulars respecting the Tarapons, see MICRONESIA. Missions. The first mission was commenced in Tahiti by the agents of the London Missionary Society in 1797. Since then that society has continued and extended its labours until it now occupies the Society, Cook, Austral, Tuamotu, Samoan, Tokelauan, and Ellice groups, and several isolated islands, all peopled by the Sawaiori race, besides other islands in the Papuan and Tarapon areas. With the exception of a portion of the Tuamotu archi pelago, all the people in the groups mentioned are now nominal Christians. There are only three groups peopled by the Sawaioris where the London Missionary Society s agents do not labour ; and two of these are efficiently occupied by other societies Hawaii mainly by the American Board, and Tonga by the Wesleyan Mis sionary Society. These two groups are also entirely Christian. The Marquesas Islands have not been Christianized, but are partly occupied by missionaries from Hawaii. There are, there fore, only two groups peopled by the Sawaioris where any heathen are found at the present day. An estimate of the number of this people, based upon actual counting in many islands, would be about 179,000, of which number about 161,500 are nominal Christians, leaving about 17,500 still heathen. Of the Papuans a smaller proportion are Christians. In Fiji and Rotuma the great majority of the population have become nominal Christians through the labours of Wesleyan missionaries. The Wesleyans have also successfully laboured in Duke of York Island, near New Britain. In the Loyalty Islands most of the people have embraced Christianity through the labours of the London Missionary Society s agents, a part, however, being Roman Catholics. Aneityum in the New Hebrides has become wholly Christian through the agency of Presbyterian missions. In a few other islands in the New Hebrides, also in Banks and Santa Cruz groups, small com panies of converts have been gathered by the Presbyterian and the Episcopal (Melanesian) missions. The rest of the people in the Papuan area in Polynesia are still savages, and most of them are cannibals. The population of this area may be estimated at about 600,000. Of this number about 130,000 are nominal Christians. Excluding the inhabitants of the Ladrone and Pelew Islands, the Tarapon people may be estimated at about 84,000. The agents of the Hawaiian Board of Missions (taking the place of the American Board, under whose auspices the missionaries first laboured in this region) are the most numerous here, occupying portions of the Gilbert, _ Marshall, and Caroline Islands. Six atolls south of the equator in the Gilbert group are occupied by native missionaries from Samoa in connexion with the London Missionary Society. The number of nominal Christians in these groups is about 38,000. The aggregate population of Polynesia may thus be estimated at 863,000, of whom 539,500 are heathen and 323,500 are nominal or baptized Christians. From the records of the various missionary societies it appears that out of this number 69,605, or very nearly one -fifth, are communicants. In addition to the missionary societies already mentioned, which have done the main work in the evangelization of the Polynesians, there are French Protestant missionaries in Tahiti, and Protestant Episcopal i-lergymen in Hawaii and in Fiji. There are also in many islands French Roman Catholic missionaries ; but these have a comparatively small number of adherents. AVherever the missions have been planted schools have also been established, and the people have received more or less education. On the Christian islands nearly all the people can now read, most can write, and a large proportion are acquainted with the elements of arithmetic. General education, thus far, is much more common on those islands than it is at present in the British Isles. Advanced schools have been founded in connexion with some of the missions, and many of the native youths have shown considerable aptitude for some of the higher branches of knowledge. In most of the larger groups colleges for the education of native ministers have long been conducted. In these colleges, in addition to Biblical exegesis and theology, other subjects, such as history and elemen tary science, are taught. Many of the European and American missionaries have devoted themselves largely to literary work in the vernacular of the islands where they reside. Next to the translation of the Scriptures and the preparation of lesson books for the common schools, they have either translated works on history, science, &c., or they have written such books as they found the natives to need. In nearly every group occupied by the Sawaiori race there is now a considerable vernacular literature, embracing elementary works on most branches of knowledge. Amongst the other races the literature is of much smaller extent. The entire Bible has been translated into five of the principal Sawaiori languages of Polynesia. The entire New Testament, and a considerable portion of the Old, has been translated into a sixth language, besides smaller portions into others;. The American Bible Society has supplied the Bibles for the Hawaiian Islands. Many portions of the Scriptures for other islands have been printed either in the islands or in Australia. Of the number of copies thus circulated no record is easily accessible, but the British and Foreign Bible Society has issued 153,462 entire Bibles or New Testaments in the Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, Rarotongan, and Niuean languages. As among this race one translation serves for an entire group, and in some cases for two or three groups, nearly all the people possess the Scriptures. In no part of the world is the Bible more read than it is by these islanders ; and it has not been necessary to give the Scriptures to them without charge in order to induce them to read. In many islands the pastoral work is now mostly done by native ministers, the foreign missionaries who remain devoting them selves to superintendence, higher education, and literature. The native pastors are always supported by the voluntary gifts of the people to whom they minister. The people also build their own churches and schools, and meet all the expenses connected with public worship and education, upon the voluntary principle. No portion of Christendom is better supplied with religious instruction than the Christianized islands of Polynesia, and nowhere is there more regard paid by the people generally to Sabbath observance, to public worship, and to other outward duties of religion. Family worship is almost invariably observed. With all this, too many of the people are religious only in name ; and in the neighbourhood of ports, where casual visitors usually see and judge the native character, there are some who have added many of the white man s vices to their own. But in estimating the influence of Christianity upon these people we should remember that only about one- fifth of the nominal Christians are communi cants. If they be judged fairly, taking into consideration their past history and the short time they have been under Christian influence, the present writer is convinced that the verdict will be favourable as compared with any Christian people in the world. Every one will admit that social, moral, and spiritual reformations are not completed in a generation, but require time to bring them to maturity. Population its alleged Decrease. There is a general notion abroad that in all the islands of Polynesia the native races are rapidly decreasing ; and this supposed fact is sometimes attributed to the missionaries. The alleged diminution, however, is a general conclusion from particular premises, and facts drawn from wider observations do not confirm it. The question of the decrease of population in these islands is a wide one, which cannot be fully discussed within the limits of the present article ; but a few general observations, and a few particular facts, may help to throw some light upon it. (1) The estimates of population made by the first European or American visitors to Polynesia were far too high. In nearly all islands the people live almost entirely upon the coast ; hence it was an error to reckon the inland portions as having a population proportionate to the number of people seen upon the coast. Then, when the visits of foreign ships were a novelty, the people from other districts -would crowd to the place where the ships anchored to see them. Thus the population of particular villages was over-estimated. In the last edition of this Encyclo pedia the population of Samoa is said to be variously estimated at from 160,000 to as few as 38,000. It is now known that even the lowest estimate was somewhat over the actual number. 1 Most of the other groups were also greatly over-estimated. Hence the decrease of population in any of the islands since they have become known is not so great as it is supposed to be. (2) Those who have resided in Polynesia, and who have made observations on the sub ject, know that previous to the introduction of Christianity there had been a great decrease in the population of most of the islands. There are numerous evidences that they were formerly much more