ABSTRACT
It will be remembered that the initial ceremony of the seasonal Work, the ‘Throwing of the Firestick’, plunged the whole of die island into a state of tapu which prevented the people from dancing, from shouting loudly, and even from sitting in groups on the beach in the evening for general conversation. The morning of the appointed day was one of great excitement. From earliest dawn the children were awake, and told by their parents that today the land was free, they ran about through the village between the houses, shrieking at the topmost pitch of their voices. The breaking or cutting of coconut leaves was a further sign that the tapu had been removed - it was a subsidiary element of the ritual directly related to the ceremonies of Kafika temple. The food offerings were carried to the houses of the respective Ariki who were in residence in Uta.
