Among the more singular secret societies which mankind have formed, is one in Otaheite and the neighbouring islands for the destruction of their own species, called Arreoy, Arehoe, or Earowie; and it is not a little remarkable that it should subsist among tribes distinguished for courteousness and humanity. We read in the older authors that there is an absolute prohibition against the females of Formosa rearing children before the age of thirty-six, though it does not appear that there is any limitation as to the age at which their espousals may take place. But in the event of pregnancy, it is necessary that abortion should follow, which is accomplished by the aid of the priestesses of the island. Among the Arreoys, however, extirpation of the infant being constitutes the leading feature of their ordinances.

Whether Mendana, Quiros, and the earlier navigators of the South Pacific Ocean, discovered this society, does not appear: it has, at any rate, been reserved for those of later date to unfold its principles and peculiarities, though, indeed, its constitution is still enveloped in much mystery, the members being bound to the strictest secrecy.

The society of Arreoys consists of hundreds or perhaps thousands of both sexes, who engage to destroy their own offspring at the moment of birth. It is chiefly composed of persons distinguished by valour and merit, and hence one or more individuals of each family of the chiefs are of the number. It has been remarked, that all the men profess themselves warriors, and are in general stout and well made; that the greatest trust and confidence are reposed in them; and it rather appears that the women consist of the higher ranks only. There are different gradations in this community, which are to be recognised from the mode of tattooing: the more profusely the men are tattooed, the higher is their rank in society; the first are called Avabla arecma tutowe; 2, Areema bly; 3, Ahoehow; 4, Harrotea; 5, Eote ole; 6, 7, Po; and youths training up are designated Mo; but the meaning of these names is not explained.

By the fundamental laws of the society, the offspring must be destroyed, yet it is not known with certainty by whom or in what particular manner; the murder is always perpetrated in secret, probably by strangulation; all the attendants are excluded; for it is said, were they to witness it they would be adjudged guilty of participation, and put to death. Sometimes the mother, animated by natural affection, tries to preserve her infant, and resists the persuasions of her husband and his brother Arreoys, who wish to consign it to destruction. But in general the enormity of the crime does not appal the females, though they are described to be affectionate and tender. We find a dancing girl pregnant by an Arreoy expressing herself thus to the English navigators: "Perhaps the Etooq or deity of England might be offended with the practices of the Arreoys, but her own was not displeased with them. However, she promised if we would come from England for her child, she might perhaps keep it alive, provided we gave her a hatchet, a shirt, and some red feathers." That the rules of the community are very strict, may be inferred from an instance given by Captain Bligh. A chief, a member of the society, married a sister of the king of Otaheite, by whom he had eight children, and the whole were destroyed at their birth! Nor did this enormity seem to originate from any other source, as the parents afterwards adopted a nephew as their heir.

It may here be observed, that there are other practices among these people regarding infanticide, which, though we want materials for positively affirming the fact, may perhaps be connected with the institutions of the Arreoys. When an Otaheitan chief has a child by a woman of the lower orders, it is never suffered to live; and the like seems to take place reciprocally among the higher ranks of females. The king and queen of Otaheite having ceased to cohabit, he had taken another wife, and she associated with one of her attendants of low rank. When pregnant, the missionaries endeavoured to persuade her to spare her child, which she said she would have done had it been her husband's, but now it would be base-born, and must perish; and she resisted all entreaties to the contrary. Afterwards, having visited them, she excused herself for having put the infant to death, stating that it was the custom of the country to murder all base-born children, and hers being by a low man, she had only complied with the usual practice. Indeed it is affirmed by the missionaries who visited that island in 1797 to be a common proceeding among all ranks to strangle infants the moment they are born. "A perpetrator of this horrid act," the narrator observes, "was among those whom curiosity attracted to visit us. She was a good-looking woman, and esteemed by the natives a great beauty, which I suppose to be the inducement that tempted her to murder her child; for here the number of women bearing no proportion to the men, those esteemed handsome were courted with great gifts, and got so accustomed to change their husbands, to go with them from place to place, and run after the diversions of the island, that rather than be deprived of those pleasures, they stifle a parent's feelings, and murder their tender children." Thus many hundreds born into the world are never suffered to see the light; and so little criminality in the opinion of the natives is attached to the deed, that many women disclose the number they have put to death without scruple. It has been calculated that at least two thirds of the births on the island perish in this manner.

The Arreoys enjoy great privileges, and are everywhere united by the reciprocal ties of friendship and hospitality. When they visit different islands, they receive presents, and are entertained with feasting and dramatic exhibitions; and all this they seem to expect rather as a matter of right than of courtesy. Their clothes are of the finest materials. They pass their time in luxurious idleness, perfuming their hair with fragrant oils, singing and playing on the flute, and passing from one amusement to another. "Wherever they go," says Forster, "the train of sensual pleasure awaits them." They feast on the choicest vegetables; and an abundance of dogs' flesh and poultry are liberally provided by the lower classes for their entertainment. They are copiously supplied with kava; and for them are performed nocturnal sports of music and lascivious dances, to which no other spectators are admitted. Their presence seems to enliven the whole country; and among the various entertainments to which it gives birth, is one called hopoupak, of a dramatic nature, in which they themselves act a part. As soon as one Arreoy visits another, though a stranger, he immediately has his wants supplied and his wishes gratified; he is introduced to other members, who vie with each other in loading him with courtesies and presents. They are of all others the most luxurious and profuse, often consuming the whole provisions of a district. When Captain Cook lay at Huahine, no less than 70 canoes were observed crossing over to another island with 70 Arreys on board; and thus they keep great meetings at appointed times, and travel in companies from one island to another. It has been affirmed, but perhaps without sufficient foundation, that a promiscuous intercourse of the sexes prevails in their society; however, they are permitted great latitude in their amours, except in times of danger, as almost all are fighting men. Sufficient inducements are, therefore, held out to be admitted into this mysterious community.

Any one may withdraw at pleasure from the society; and an example is given of a chief who had killed his first-born child, but preserved the second, having withdrawn in the interval. A woman who ceases to be an Arrey incurs a reproachful name, signifying "bearer of children." Thus, while in most other countries the name of parent confers honour and respect, among the Arreys of Otaheite it is used as a term of contempt and reproach. A chief of some repute, hearing that the king of Great Britain had a numerous offspring, declared that "he thought himself a much greater man, because he belonged to the Arreys."

With respect to the origin of this society, Forster was the first to offer any conjectures. "In a country," says he, "which has emerged so lately from barbarism as Otaheite, we cannot suppose that such a community, which is evidently injurious to the rest of the nation, would have maintained itself to the present time, were not its advantages so considerable as to require its continuance." There are two causes, he adds, which favour the existence of the Arreys: first, the necessity for entertaining a body of warriors to defend their fellow-citizens from the invasions and depredations of enemies; secondly, it was necessary, by such an association, to prevent the too rapid increase of the number of their chiefs. "Perhaps," he remarks, "some intelligent Otaheitan lawgiver might foresee that the common people would at length groan under the yoke of such petty tyrants, whose number was ever multiplying." The ordinary practice of infanticide is ascribed by Mr Wilson, who visited the South Seas in 1801, merely to the love of pleasure and avarice, which latter passion had gained great ascendancy since the intercourse of the islanders with Europeans: "being well aware," says he, "that the beauty of females rearing families experiences an earlier decay, it is anxiously preserved for their visitors, by destruction of their offspring, or even by procuring abortion." Before offering any opinion on this point, we shall notice a custom in the northwest of India somewhat analogous, which also is attended with mystery.

Amongst certain tribes called Jarejahas, which are more particularly disseminated in the peninsula of Guzerat, the whole females are devoted to death at the moment of their birth. But this is in consequence of general custom, not of any special association. The immediate death of a daughter is viewed as the inevitable consequence of its birth; and the innocent beings falling a sacrifice to this barbarous ordinance yearly amount to many thousands. When a woman is delivered of a daughter, the event is communicated by the female attendants to the father, who desires them to do as is customary; an injunction said to be followed by the mother applying a little opium on the nipple of her breast, which is sucked in by the child. More usually it is strangled by herself, or drowned in a basin of milk; but women of rank, who have attendants, never perform the office themselves. However, from the mystery observed, it is, as among the Arreys, difficult to obtain correct information. In some districts, any of the female attendants may put the infant to death; in others, a kind of domestic priest becomes the executioner; and the infant being placed naked in a small basket, it is carried out to be interred, for which he receives a trifling fee. Among the Arreys, those who preserve their children seem to suffer a degree of degradation; and they plead as an apology for their destruction, that it is necessary to preserve the privileges of their tribe. With the Jarejahs, the father is obeyed on signifying his desire for preservation; but if he continues silent on receiving the intelligence, the usual custom must be complied with. The mother is generally averse to the sacrifice, but her scruples to preserve her offspring are seldom attended to; should a short interval elapse, however, before the bloody deed is done, it then becomes unlawful, and the child must be spared.

Perhaps the murderous practices of the Arreys in the South Sea islands may have originated in some religious principle. At the same time, it appears that, in the ordinary destruction of infants by the islanders of the South Pacific Ocean, there is nothing of a sacrificial nature; for though they do not suppose that their displeasure is thereby incurred, they do not pretend that the practice is acceptable to any of their divinities. Mr Malthus, we may add, ascribes the origin of the Arrey institutions to a superabundance of population, and the necessity of adopting some forcible expedients to bring it within the limits of subsistence. (See Forster's Voyage, vol. ii.; Cook's First and Second Voyages; Bligh's Voyage; Missionary Voyage; Hamilton's Account of the Loss of the Pandora.)