Series 03: Joseph Banks - Endeavour journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 (vol. 2) - No. 0218
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[Page 218]
214.
Some account of New Zealand
us either to satisfy their curiosity or trade with us for whatever they might have taking in exchange cloth of any kind especialy linnen or the Indian cloth we had brought from the Islands, Paper, Glass bottles, sometimes peices of broken glass, Nails &c.
We saw few or signs of religion among these people they had no publick places of Worship among them as the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands: & only one private one came under my observation, which was in the neighbourhood of a plantation of their sweet potatoes;
[Margin note] Religion
it was a small square, borderd round with stones; in the middle was a spade, & on it was hung a basket of fern roots, an offering (I suppose) to the Gods for the success of the Crop, for so at least one of the natives explaind it. They however acknowledged the influence of superior beings & have nearly the same account of the creation of the World mankind &c. as Tupia he however seemd to be much better vers'd in such legends than any of them for whenever he began to preach as we calld it he was sure of a numerous audience who attended with most profound silence to his doctrines
The Burial of the Dead instead of being a