Page:Frazer (1890) The Golden Bough (IA goldenboughstudy01fraz).djvu/212

190 was an indignity never to be forgotten. Gattanewa, nay, all his family, scorned to pass a gateway which is ever closed, or a house with a door; all must be as open and free as their unrestrained manners. He would pass under nothing that had been raised by the hand of man, if there was a possibility of getting round or over it. Often have I seen him walk the whole length of our barrier, in preference to passing between our water-casks; and at the risk of his life scramble over the loose stones of a wall, rather than go through the gateway.” Marquesan women have been known to refuse to go on the decks of ships for fear of passing over the heads of chiefs who might be below. But it was not the Marquesan chiefs only whose heads were sacred; the head of every Marquesan was taboo, and might neither be touched nor stepped over by another; even a father might not step over the head of his sleeping child. No one was allowed to be over the head of the king of Tonga. In Hawaii (the Sandwich Islands) if a man climbed upon a chief’s house or upon the wall of his yard, he was put to death; if his shadow fell on a chief, he was put to death; if he walked in the shadow of a chief’s house with his head painted white or decked with a garland or wetted with water, he was put to death. In Tahiti any one who stood over the king or queen, or passed his hand over their heads, might be put to death. Until certain rites were performed over it, a Tahitian infant was