_Friendly Reception at Tongataboo.--Manner of distributing a baked Hog
and Kava to Poulaho's Attendants.--The Observatory, &c. erected.--The
Village where the Chiefs reside, and the adjoining Country,
described.--Interviews with Mareewagee, and Toobou, and the King's
Son.--A grand Haiva, or Entertainment of Songs and Dances, given by
Mareewagee.--Exhibition of Fireworks.--Manner of Wrestling and
Boxing.--Distribution of the Cattle.--Thefts committed by the
Natives.--Poulaho, and the other Chiefs, confined on that
Account.--Poulaho's Present and Haiva._
Soon after we had anchored, having first dined, I landed, accompanied by
Omai and some of the officers. We found the king waiting for as upon the
beach. He immediately conducted us to a small neat house, situated a
little within the skirts of the wood, with a fine large area before it.
This house, he told me, was at my service during our stay at the island;
and a better situation we could not wish for.
We had not been long in the house before a pretty large circle of the
natives were assembled before us, and seated upon the area. A root of
the _kava_ plant being brought, and laid down before the king, he
ordered it to be split into pieces, and distributed to several people of
both sexes, who began the operation of chewing it, and a bowl of their
favourite liquor was soon prepared. In the mean time, a baked hog, and
two baskets of baked yams, were produced, and afterward divided into ten
portions. These portions were then given to certain people present; but
how many were to share in each I could not tell. One of them, I
observed, was bestowed upon the king's brother, and one remained
undisposed of, which, I judged, was for the king himself, as it was a
choice bit. The liquor was next served out, but Poulaho seemed to give
no directions about it. The first cup was brought to him, which he
ordered to be given to one who sat near him. The second was also brought
to him, and this he kept. The third was given to me, but their manner of
brewing having quenched my thirst, it became Omai's property. The rest
of the liquor was distributed to different people, by direction of the
man who had the management of it. One of the cups being carried to the
king's brother, he retired with this, and with his mess of victuals.
Some others also quitted the circle with their portions, and the reason
was, they could neither eat nor drink in the royal presence; but there
were others present, of a much inferior rank, of both sexes, who did
both. Soon after most of them withdrew, carrying with them what they had
not eat of their share of the feast.
I observed that not a fourth part of the company had tasted either the
victuals or the drink; those who partook of the former I supposed to be
of the king's household. The servants who distributed the baked meat and
the _kava_, always delivered it out of their hand sitting, not only to
the king but to every other person. It is worthy of remark, though this
was the first time of our landing, and a great many people were present
who had never seen us before, yet no one was troublesome, but the
greatest good order was preserved throughout the whole assembly.
Before I returned on board, I went in search of a watering-place, and
was conducted to some ponds, or rather holes, containing fresh water, as
they were pleased to call it. The contents of one of these indeed were
tolerable, but it was at some distance inland, and the supply to be got
from it was very inconsiderable. Being informed that the little island
of Pangimodoo, near which the ships lay, could better furnish this
necessary article, I went over to it next morning, and was so fortunate
as to find there a small pool that had rather fresher water than any we
had met with amongst these islands. The pool being very dirty, I ordered
it to be cleaned; and here it was that we watered the ships.
As I intended to make some stay at Tongataboo, we pitched a tent in the
forenoon, just by the house which Poulaho had assigned for our use. The
horses, cattle, and sheep, were afterward landed, and a party of
marines, with their officer, stationed there as a guard. The observatory
was then set up, at a small distance from the other tent; and Mr King
resided on shore, to attend the observations, and to superintend the
several operations necessary to be conducted there. For the sails were
carried thither to be repaired; a party was employed in cutting wood
for fuel, and plank for the use of the ships; and the gunners of both
were ordered to remain on the spot, to conduct the traffic with the
natives, who thronged from every part of the island with hogs, yams,
cocoa-nuts, and other articles of their produce. In a short time our
land post was like a fair, and the ships were so crowded with visitors,
that we had hardly room to stir upon the decks.
Feenou had taken up his residence in our neighbourhood; but he was no
longer the leading man. However we still found him to be a person of
consequence, and we had daily proofs of his opulence and liberality, by
the continuance of his valuable presents. But the king was equally
attentive in this respect, for scarcely a day passed without receiving
from him some considerable donation. We now heard that there were other
great men of the island whom we had not as yet seen. Otago and Toobou,
in particular, mentioned a person named Mareewagee, who, they said, was
of the first consequence in the place, and held in great veneration,
nay, if Omai did not misunderstand them, superior even to Poulaho, to
whom he was related; but being old, lived in retirement, and therefore
would not visit us. Some of the natives even hinted that he was too
great a man to confer that honour upon us. This account exciting my
curiosity, I this day mentioned to Poulaho that I was very desirous of
waiting upon Mareewagee; and he readily agreed to accompany me to the
place of his residence the next morning.
Accordingly, we set out pretty early in the pinnace, and Captain Clerke
joined me in one of his own boats. We proceeded round, that is, to the
eastward of the little isles that form the harbour, and then, turning to
the S., according to Poulaho's directions, entered a spacious bay or
inlet, up which we rowed about a league, and landed amidst a
considerable number of people, who received us with a sort of
acclamation, not unlike our huzzaing. They immediately separated, to let
Poulaho pass, who took us into a small inclosure, and shifted the piece
of cloth he wore for a new piece, neatly folded, that was carried by a
young man. An old woman assisted in dressing him, and put a mat over his
cloth, as we supposed, to prevent its being dirtied when he sat down. On
our now asking him where Mareewagee was, to our great surprise, he said
he had gone from the place to the ship just before we arrived. However,
he desired us to walk with him to a _malaee_, or house of public resort,
which stood about half a mile up the country. But when we came to a
large area before it, he sat down in the path, and desired us to walk up
to the house. We did so, and seated ourselves in front, while the crowd
that followed us filled up the rest of the space. After sitting a little
while, we repeated our enquiries, by means of Omai, Whether we were to
see Mareewagee? But receiving no satisfactory information, and
suspecting that the old chief was purposely concealed from us, we went
back to our boats much piqued at our disappointment; and when I got on
board I found that no such person had been there. It afterward appeared,
that in this affair we had laboured under some gross mistakes, and that
our interpreter Omai had either been misinformed, or, which is more
likely, had misunderstood what was told him about the great man, on
whose account we had made this excursion.
The place we went to was a village, most delightfully situated on the
bank of the inlet, where all, or most of the principal persons of the
island reside, each having his house in the midst of a small plantation,
with lesser houses, and offices for servants. These plantations are
neatly fenced round; and, for the most part, have only one entrance.
This is by a door, fastened on the inside by a prop of wood, so that a
person has to knock before he can get admittance. Public roads, and
narrow lanes, lie between each plantation, so that no one trespasseth
upon another. Great part of some of these inclosures is laid out in
grass-plots, and planted with such things as seem more for ornament than
use; but hardly any were without the _kava_ plant, from which they make
their favourite liquor. Every article of the vegetable produce of the
island abounded in others of these plantations; but these, I observed,
are not the residence of people of the first rank. There are some large
houses near the public roads, with spacious smooth grass-plots before
them, and uninclosed. These, I was told, belonged to the king; and
probably they are the places where their public assemblies are held. It
was to one of these houses, as I have already mentioned, that we were
conducted soon after our landing at this place.
About noon, the next day, this Mareewagee, of whom we had heard so much,
actually came to the neighbourhood of our post on shore, and with him a
very considerable number of people of all ranks. I was informed, that he
had taken this trouble on purpose to give me an opportunity of waiting
upon him; having probably heard of the displeasure I had shewn on my
disappointment the day before. In the afternoon, a party of us,
accompanied by Feenou, landed, to pay him a visit. We found a person
sitting under a large tree near the shore, a little to the right of the
tent. A piece of cloth, at least forty yards long, was spread before
him, round which a great number of people of both sexes were seated. It
was natural to suppose that this was the great man, but we were
undeceived by Feenou, who informed us that another, who sat on a piece
of mat, a little way from this chief, to the right hand, was Mareewagee,
and he introduced us to him, who received us very kindly, and desired us
to sit down by him. The person who sat under the tree, fronting us, was
called Toobou; and, when I have occasion to speak of him afterward, I
shall call him old Toobou, to distinguish him from his namesake, Captain
Furneaux's friend. Both he and Mareewagee had a venerable appearance.
The latter was a slender man, and, from his appearance, seemed to be
considerably above threescore years of age; the former was rather
corpulent, and almost blind with a disorder of his eyes, though not so
old.
Not expecting to meet with two chiefs on this occasion, I had only
brought on shore a present for one. This I now found myself under a
necessity of dividing between them; but it happened to be pretty
considerable, and both of them seemed satisfied. After this, we
entertained them for about an hour with the performance of two French
horns and a drum. But they seemed most pleased with the firing off a
pistol, which Captain Clerke had in his pocket. Before I took my leave,
the large piece of cloth was rolled up, and, with a few cocoa-nuts,
presented to me.
The next morning old Toobou returned my visit on board the ship. He also
visited Captain Clerke; and if the present we made to him the evening
before was scanty, the deficiency was now made up. During this time
Mareewagee visited our people ashore, and Mr King shewed to him, every
thing we had there. He viewed the cattle with great admiration, and the
cross-cut saw fixed his attention for some time.
Toward noon Poulaho returned from the place where we had left, him two
days before, and brought with him his son, a youth about twelve years of
age. I had his company at dinner; but the son, though present, was not
allowed to sit down with him. It was very convenient to have him for my
guest. For when he was present, which was generally the case while we
stayed here, every other native was excluded from the table, and but few
of them would remain in the cabin. Whereas, if by chance it happened
that neither he nor Feenou were on board, the inferior chiefs would be
very importunate to be of our dining party, or to be admitted into the
cabin at that time, and then we were so crowded that we could not sit
down to a meal with any satisfaction. The king was very soon reconciled
to our manner of cookery. But still I believe he dined thus frequently
with me more for the sake of what we gave him to drink, than for what we
set before him to eat. For he had taken a liking to our wine, could
empty his bottle as well as most men, and was as cheerful over it. He
now fixed his residence at the house, or _malaee_, by our tent; and
there he entertained our people this evening with a dance. To the
surprise of every body the unwieldy Poulaho endeavoured to vie with
others in that active amusement.
In the morning of the 15th I received a message from old Toobou that he
wanted to see me ashore. Accordingly Omai and I went to wait upon him.
We found him, like an ancient patriarch, seated under the shade of a
tree, with a large piece of the cloth, made in the island, spread out at
full length before him, and a number of respectably looking people
sitting round it. He desired us to place ourselves by him; and then he
told Omai, that the cloth, together with a piece of red feathers, and
about a dozen cocoa-nuts, were his present to me. I thanked him for the
favour, and desired he would go on board with me, as I had nothing on
shore to give him in return.
Omai now left me, being sent for by Penlaho; and soon after Feenou came,
and acquainted me that young Fattafaihe, Poulaho's son, desired to see
me. I obeyed the summons, and found the prince and Omai sitting under a
large canopy of the finer sort of cloth, with a piece of the coarser
sort spread under them and before them, that was seventy-six yards long,
and seven and a half broad. On one side was a large old boar, and on the
other side a heap of cocoa-nuts. A number of people were seated round
the cloth, and amongst them I observed Mareewagee, and others of the
first rank. I was desired to sit down by the prince; and then Omai
informed me, that he had been instructed by the king to tell me, that,
as he and I were friends, he hoped that his son might be joined in this
friendship, and that, as a token of my consent, I would accept of his
present. I very readily agreed to the proposal; and it being now dinner
time, I invited them all on board.
Accordingly, the young prince, Mareewagee, old Toobou, three or four
inferior chiefs, and two respectable old ladies of the first rank,
accompanied me. Mareewagee was dressed in a new piece of cloth, on the
skirts of which were fixed six pretty large patches of red feathers.
This dress seemed to have been made on purpose for this visit; for, as
soon as he got on board, he put it off, and presented it to me; having,
I guess, heard that it would be acceptable, on account of the feathers.
Every one of my visitors received from me such presents, as, I had
reason to believe, they were highly satisfied with. When dinner came
upon table, not one of them would sit down, or eat a bit, of any thing
that was served up. On expressing my surprise at this, they were all
_taboo_, as they said; which word has a very comprehensive meanings but,
in general, signifies that a thing is forbidden. Why they were laid
under such restraints, at present, was not explained. Dinner being over,
and, having gratified their curiosity, by shewing to them every part of
the ship, I then conducted them ashore.
As soon as the boat reached the beach, Feenou, and some others,
instantly stepped out. Young Fattafaihe following them, was called back
by Mareewagee, who now paid the heir-apparent the same obeisance, and in
the same manner, that I had seen it paid to the king. And when old
Toobou, and one of the old ladies, had shewn him the same marks of
respect, he was suffered to land. This ceremony being over, the old
people stepped from my boat into a canoe that was waiting to carry them
to their place of abode.
I was not sorry to be present on this occasion, as I was thus furnished
with the most unequivocal proofs of the supreme dignity of Poulaho and
his son, over the other principal chiefs. Indeed, by this time, I had
acquired some certain information about the relative situations of the
several great men, whose names have been so often mentioned. I now knew,
that Mareewagee and old Toobou were brothers. Both of them were men of
great property in the island, and seemed to be in high estimation with
the people; the former, in particular, had the very honourable
appellation given to him, by every body, of _Motooa Tonga_; that is to
say, Father of Tonga, or of his country. The nature of his relationship
to the king was also no longer a secret to us; for we now understood,
that he was his father-in-law; Poulaho having married one of his
daughters, by whom he had this son; so that Mareewagee was the prince's
grandfather. Poulaho's appearance having satisfied us, that we had been
under a mistake in considering Feenou as the sovereign of these islands,
we had been, at first, much puzzled about his real rank; but that was,
by this time, ascertained. Feenou was one of Mareewagee's sons; and
Tooboueitoa was another.
On my landing, I found the king, in the house adjoining to our tent,
along with our people who resided on shore. The moment I got to him, he
bestowed upon me a present of a large hog and a quantity of yams. About
the dusk of the evening, a number of men came, and, having sat down in a
round group, began to sing in concert with the music of bamboo drums,
which were placed in the centre.[165] There were three long ones, and
two short. With these they struck the ground endwise, as before
described. There were two others, which lay on the ground, side by side,
and one of them was split or shivered; on these a man kept beating with
two small sticks. They sung three songs while I stayed; and, I was told,
that, after I left them, the entertainment lasted till ten o'clock. They
burnt the leaves of the _wharra_ palm for a light; which is the only
thing I ever saw them make use of for this purpose.
[Footnote 165: The same sort of evening concert is performed round the
house of the chief, or _Tamole_, at the Caroline Islands. "Le _Tamole_
ne s'endort qu'au bruit d'un concert de musique que forme une troupe de
jeunes gens, qui s'assemblent le soir, autour de sa maison, et qui
chantent, à leur manière, certaines poësies."--_Lettres Edifiantes &
Curieuses_, tom, xv. p. 314.--D.]
While I was passing the day in attendance on these great men, Mr
Anderson, with some others, made an excursion into the country, which
furnished him with the following remarks: "To the westward of the tent,
the country is totally uncultivated for near two miles, though quite
covered with trees and bushes, in a natural state, growing with the
greatest vigour. Beyond this is a pretty large plain, on which are some
cocoa-trees, and a few small plantations that appear to have been lately
made; and, seemingly, on ground that has never been cultivated before.
Near the creek, which runs to the westward of the tent, the land is
quite flat, and partly overflowed by the sea every tide. When that
retires, the surface is seen to be composed of coral rock, with holes of
yellowish mud scattered up and down; and toward the edges, where it is a
little firmer, are innumerable little openings, from which issue as many
small crabs, of two or three different sorts, which swarm upon the spot,
as flies upon a carcase; but are so nimble, that, on being approached,
they disappear in an instant, and baffle even the natives to catch any
of them.
At this place is a work of art, which shews that these people are
capable of some design, and perseverance, when they mean to accomplish
any thing. This work begins, on one side, as a narrow causeway, which,
becoming gradually broader, rises, with a gentle ascent, to the height
of ten feet, where it is five paces broad, and the whole length
seventy-four paces. Joined to this is a sort of circus, whose diameter
is thirty paces, and not above a foot or two higher than the causeway
that joins it, with some trees planted in the middle. On the opposite
side, another causeway of the same sort descends; but this is not above
forty paces long, and is partly in ruin. The whole is built with large
coral stones, with earth on the surface, which is quite overgrown with
low trees and shrubs; and, from its decaying in several places, seems to
be of no modern date. Whatever may have been its use formerly, it seems
to be of none now; and all that we could learn of it from the natives
was, that it belonged to Poulaho, and is called _Etchee_.
On the 16th, in the morning, after visiting the several works now
carrying on ashore, Mr Gore and I took a walk into the country; in the
course of which nothing remarkable appeared, but our having
opportunities of seeing the whole process of making cloth, which is the
principal manufacture of these islands, as well as of many others in
this ocean. In the narrative of my first voyage, a minute description is
given of this operation, as performed at Otaheite; but the process,
here, differing in some particulars, it may be worth while to give the
following account of it:
The manufacturers, who are females, take the slender stalks or trunks of
the paper-mulberry, which they cultivate for that purpose, and which
seldom grow more than six or seven feet in height, and about four
fingers in thickness. From these they strip the bark, and scrape off
the outer rind with a muscle-shell. The bark is then rolled up, to take
off the convexity which it had round the stalk, and macerated in water
for some time (they say, a night). After this, it is laid across the
trunk of a small tree squared, and beaten with a square wooden
instrument, about a foot long, full of coarse grooves on all sides; but,
sometimes, with one that is plain. According to the size of the bark, a
piece is soon produced; but the operation is often repeated by another
hand, or it is folded several times, and beat longer, which seems rather
intended to close than to divide its texture. When this is sufficiently
effected, it is spread out to dry; the pieces being from four to six, or
more, feet in length, and half as broad. They are then given to another
person, who joins the pieces, by smearing part of them over with the
viscous juice of a berry, called _tooo_, which serves as a glue. Having
been thus lengthened, they are laid over a large piece of wood, with a
kind of stamp, made of a fibrous substance pretty closely interwoven,
placed beneath. They then take a bit of cloth, and dip it in a juice,
expressed from the bark of a tree, called _kokka_, which they rub
briskly upon the piece that is making. This, at once, leaves a dull
brown colour, and a dry gloss upon its surface; the stamp, at the same
time, making a slight impression, that answers no other purpose, that I
could see, but to make the several pieces, that are glued together,
stick a little more firmly. In this manner they proceed, joining and
staining by degrees, till they produce a piece of cloth, of such length
and breadth as they want; generally leaving a border, of a foot broad,
at the sides, and longer at the ends, unstained. Throughout the whole,
if any parts of the original pieces are too thin, or have holes, which
is often the case, they glue spare bits upon them, till they become of
an equal thickness. When they want to produce a black colour, they mix
the soot procured from an oily nut, called _dooedooe_, with the juice of
the _kokka_, in different quantities, according to the proposed depth of
the tinge. They say, that the black sort of cloth, which is commonly
most glazed, makes a cold dress, but the other a warm one; and, to
obtain strength in both, they are always careful to join the small
pieces lengthwise, which makes it impossible to tear the cloth in any
direction but one.
On our return from the country, we met with Feenou, and took him, and
another young chief, on board to dinner. When our fare was set upon the
table, neither of them would eat a bit; saying, that they were _taboo
avy_. But, after enquiring how the victuals had been dressed, having
found that no _avy_ (water) had been used in cooking a pig; and some
yams, they both sat down, and made a very hearty meal; and, on being
assured that there was no water in the wine, they drank of it also. From
this we conjectured, that, on some account or another, they were, at
this time, forbidden to use water; or, which was more probable, they did
not like the water we made use of, it being taken up out of one of their
bathing-places. This was not the only time of our meeting with people
that were _taboo avy_; but, for what reason, we never could tell with
any degree of certainty.
Next day, the 17th, was fixed upon by Mareewagee, for giving a grand
_Haiva_, or entertainment, to which we were all invited. For this
purpose a large space had been cleared, before the temporary hut of this
chief, near our post, as an area where the performances were to be
exhibited. In the morning, great multitudes of the natives came in from
the country, every one carrying a pole, about six feet long, upon his
shoulder; and at each end of every pole, a yam was suspended. These yams
and poles were deposited on each side of the area, so as to form two
large heaps, decorated with different sorts of small fish, and piled up
to the greatest advantage. They were Mareewagee's present to Captain
Clerke and me; and it was hard to say, whether the wood for fuel, or the
yams for food, were of most value to us. As for the fish, they might
serve to please the sight, but were very offensive to the smell; part of
them having been kept two or three days, to be presented to us on this
occasion.
Every thing being thus prepared, about eleven o'clock they began to
exhibit various dances, which they call _mai_. The music[166] consisted,
at first, of seventy men as a chorus, who sat down; and amidst them were
placed three instruments, which we called drums, though very unlike
them. They are large cylindrical pieces of wood, or trunks of trees,
from three to four feet long, some twice as thick as an ordinary sized
man, and some smaller, hollowed entirely out, but close at both ends,
and open only by a chink, about three inches broad, running almost the
whole length of the drums; by which opening, the rest of the wood is
certainly hollowed, though the operation must be difficult. This
instrument is called _naffa_; and, with the chink turned toward them,
they sit and beat strongly upon it, with two cylindrical pieces of hard
wood, about a foot long, and as thick as the wrist; by which means they
produce a rude, though loud and powerful sound. They vary the strength
and rate of their beating, at different parts of the dance; and also
change the tones, by beating in the middle, or near the end, of their
drum.
[Footnote 166: Mr Anderson's description of the entertainments of this
day being much fuller than Captain Cook's, it has been adopted, as on a
former occasion.--D.]
The first dance consisted of four ranks, of twenty-four men each,
holding in their hands a little, thin, light, wooden instrument, above
two feet long, and, in shape, not unlike a small oblong paddle. With
these, which are called _pagge_, they made a great many different
motions; such as pointing them toward the ground on one side, at the
same time inclining their bodies that way, from which they were shifted
to the opposite side in the same manner; then passing them quickly from
one hand to the other, and twirling them about very dextrously; with a
variety of other manoeuvres, all which were accompanied by corresponding
attitudes of the body. Their motions were, at first, slow, but quickened
as the drums beat faster; and they recited sentences, in a musical tone,
the whole time, which were answered by the chorus; but at the end of a
short space they all joined, and finished with a shout.
After ceasing about two or three minutes, they began as before, and
continued, with short intervals, above a quarter of an hour; when the
rear rank dividing, shifted themselves very slowly round each end, and,
meeting in the front, formed the first rank; the whole number continuing
to recite the sentences as before. The other ranks did the same
successively, till that which, at first, was the front, became the rear;
and the evolution continued, in the same manner, till the last rank
regained its first situation. They then began a much quicker dance
(though slow at first), and sung for about ten minutes, when the whole
body divided into two parts, retreated a little, and then approached,
forming a sort of circular figure, which finished the dance; the drums
being removed, and the chorus going off the field at the same time.
The second dance had only two drums, with forty men for a chorus; and
the dancers, or rather actors, consisted of two ranks, the foremost
having seventeen, and the other fifteen persons. Feenou was at their
head, or in the middle of the front rank, which is the principal place
in these cases. They danced and recited sentences, with some very short
intervals, for about half an hour, sometimes quickly, sometimes more
slowly, but with such a degree of exactness, as if all the motions were
made by one man, which did them great credit. Near the close, the back
rank divided, came round, and took the place of the front, which, again
resumed its situation, as in the first dance; and when they finished,
the drums and chorus, as before, went off.
Three drums (which, at least, took two, and sometimes three men to carry
them) were now brought in; and seventy men sat down as a chorus to the
third dance. This consisted of two ranks, of sixteen persons each, with
young Toobou at their head, who was richly ornamented with a sort of
garment covered with red feathers. These danced, sung, and twirled the
_pagge_, as before; but, in general, much quicker, and performed so
well, that they had the constant applauses of the spectators. A motion
that met with particular approbation, was one in which they held the
face aside, as if ashamed, and the _pagge_ before it. The back rank
closed before the front one, and that again resumed its place, as in the
two former dances; but then they began again, formed a triple row,
divided, retreated to each end of the area, and left the greatest part
of the ground clear. At that instant, two men entered very hastily, and
exercised the clubs which they use in battle. They did this, by first
twirling them in their hands, and making circular strokes before them
with great force and quickness; but so skilfully managed, that, though
standing quite close, they never interfered. They shifted their clubs
from hand to hand, with great dexterity; and, after continuing a little
time, kneeled, and made different motions, tossing the clubs up in the
air, which they caught as they fell; and then went off as hastily as
they entered. Their heads were covered with pieces of white cloth, tied
at the crown (almost like a night-cap) with a wreath of foliage round
the forehead; but they had only very small pieces of white cloth tied
about their waists; probably, that they might be cool, and free from
every encumbrance or weight. A person with a spear, dressed like the
former, then came in, and in the same hasty manner; looking about
eagerly, as if in search of somebody to throw it at. He then ran
hastily to one side of the crowd in the front, and put himself in a
threatening attitude, as if he meant to strike with his spear at one of
them, bending the knee a little, and trembling, as it were with rage. He
continued in this manner only a few seconds, when he moved to the other
side, and having stood in the same posture there, for the same short
time, retreated from the ground, as fast as when he made his appearance.
The dancers, who had divided into two parties, kept repeating something
slowly all this while: and now advanced, and joined again, ending with
universal applause. It should seem that this dance was considered as one
of their capital performances, if we might judge from some of the
principal people being engaged in it. For one of the drums was beat by
Futtafaihe, the brother of Poulaho, another by Feenou, and the third,
which did not belong to the chorus, by Mareewagee himself, at the
entrance of his hut.
The last dance had forty men, and two drums, as a chorus. It consisted
of sixty men, who had not danced before, disposed in three rows, having
twenty-four in front. But, before they began, we were entertained with a
pretty long preliminary harangue, in which the whole body made responses
to a single person who spoke. They recited sentences (perhaps verses)
alternately with the chorus, and made many motions with the _pagge_, in
a very brisk mode, which were all applauded with _mareeai!_ and
_fufogge!_ words expressing two different degrees of praise. They
divided into two bodies, with their backs to each other; formed again,
shifted their ranks, as in the other dances; divided and retreated,
making room for two champions, who exercised their clubs as before; and
after them two others; the dancers, all the time, reciting slowly in
turn with the chorus; after which they advanced and finished.
These dances, if they can properly be called so, lasted from eleven till
near three o'clock; and though they were, doubtless, intended,
particularly, either in honour of us, or to shew a specimen of their
dexterity, vast numbers of their own people attended as spectators.
Their numbers could not be computed exactly, on account of the
inequality of the ground; but, by reckoning the inner circle, and the
number in depth, which was between twenty and thirty in many places, we
supposed that there must be near four thousand. At the same time, there
were round the trading place at the tent, and straggling about, at least
as many more; and some of us computed, that, aft this time, there were
no less than ten or twelve thousand people in our neighbourhood; that
is, within the compass of a quarter of a mile; drawn together, for the
most part, by mere curiosity.
It is with regret I mention, that we could not understand what was
spoken, while we were able to see what was acted, in these amusements.
This, doubtless, would have afforded us much information, as to the
genius and customs of these people. It was observable, that, though the
spectators always approved of the various motions, when well made, a
great share of the pleasure they received seemed to arise from the
sentimental part, or what the performers delivered in their speeches.
However, the mere acting part, independently of the sentences repeated,
was well worth our notice, both with respect to the extensive plan on
which it was executed, and to the various motions, as well as the exact
unity, with which they were performed. Neither pencil nor pen can
describe the numerous actions and motions, the singularity of which was
not greater, than was the ease and gracefulness with which they were
performed.
At night, we were entertained with the _bomai_, or night dances, on a
space before Feenou's temporary habitation. They lasted about three
hours; in which time we had about twelve of them performed, much after
the same manner as those at Hepaee. But, in two, that were performed by
women, a number of men came and formed a circle within their's. And, in
another, consisting of twenty-four men, there were a number of motions
with the hands, that we had not seen before, and were highly applauded.
The music was, also, once changed, in the course of the night; and in
one of the dances, Feenou appeared at the head of fifty men who had
performed at Hepaee, and he was well dressed with linen, a large piece
of gauze, and some little pictures hung round his neck. But it was
evident, after the diversions were closed, that we had put these poor
people, or rather that they had put themselves, to much inconvenience.
For being drawn together on this uninhabited part of their island,
numbers of them were obliged to lie down and sleep under the bushes, by
the side of a tree, or of a canoe; nay, many either lay down in the open
air, which they are not fond of, or walked about all the night.
The whole of this entertainment was conducted with far better order,
than could have been expected in so large an assembly. Amongst such a
multitude, there must be a number of ill-disposed people; and we,
hourly, experienced it. All our care and attention did not prevent their
plundering us, in every quarter; and that in the most daring and
insolent manner. There was hardly any thing that they did not attempt to
steal; and yet, as the crowd was always so great, I would not allow the
sentries to fire, lest the innocent should suffer for the guilty. They
once, at noon day, ventured to aim at taking an anchor from off the
Discovery's bows; and they would certainly have succeeded, if the flook
had not hooked one of the chain-plates in lowering down the ship's side,
from which they could not disengage it by hand; and tackles were things
they were unacquainted with. The only act of violence they were guilty
of, was the breaking the shoulder-bone of one of our goats, so that she
died soon after. This loss fell upon themselves, as she was one of those
that I intended to leave upon the island; but of this, the person who
did it was ignorant.
Early in the morning of the 18th, an incident happened, that strongly
marked one of their customs. A man got out of a canoe into the quarter
gallery of the Resolution, and stole from thence a pewter bason. He was
discovered, pursued, and brought alongside the ship. On this occasion,
three old women, who were in the canoe, made loud lamentations over the
prisoner, beating their breasts and faces in a most violent manner, with
the inside of their fists; and all this was done without shedding a
tear. This mode of expressing grief is what occasions the mark which
almost all this people bear on the face, over the cheek-bones. The
repeated blows which they inflict upon this part, abrade the skin, and
make even the blood flow out in a considerable quantity; and when the
wounds are recent, they look as if a hollow circle had been burnt in. On
many occasions, they actually cut this part of the face with an
instrument, in the same manner as the people of Otaheite cut their
heads.
This day, I bestowed on Mareewagee some presents, in return for those we
had received from him the day before; and as the entertainments which he
had then exhibited for our amusement, called upon us to make some
exhibition in our way, I ordered the party of marines to go through
their exercise on the spot where his dances had been performed; and, in
the evening, played off some fire-works at the same place. Poulaho, with
all the principal chiefs, and a great number of people, of all
denominations, were present. The platoon firing, which was executed
tolerably well, seemed to give them pleasure; but they were lost in
astonishment when they beheld our water-rockets. They paid but little
attention to the fife and drum, or French horns that played during the
intervals. The king sat behind every body, because no one is allowed to
sit behind him; and, that his view might not be obstructed, nobody sat
immediately before him; but a lane, as it were, was made by the people
from him, quite down to the space allotted for the fire-works.
In expectation of this evening show, the circle of natives about our
tent being pretty large, they engaged, the greatest part of the
afternoon, in boxing and wrestling; the first of which exercises they
call _fangatooa_, and the second _foohoo_. When any of them chooses to
wrestle, he gets up from one side of the ring, and crosses the ground in
a sort of measured pace, clapping smartly on the elbow joint of one arm,
which is bent, and produces a hollow sound; that is reckoned the
challenge. If no person comes out from the opposite side to engage him,
he returns in the same manner, and sits down; but sometimes stands
clapping in the midst of the ground, to provoke some one to come out. If
an opponent appear, they come together with marks of the greatest
good-nature, generally smiling, and taking time to adjust the piece of
cloth which is fastened round the waist. They then lay hold of each
other by this girdle, with a hand on each side; and he who succeeds in
drawing his antagonist to him, immediately tries to lift him upon his
breast, and throw him upon his back; and if he be able to turn round
with him two or three times, in that position, before he throws him, his
dexterity never fails of procuring plaudits from the spectators. If they
be more equally matched, they close soon, and endeavour to throw each
other by entwining their legs, or lifting each other from the ground; in
which struggles they shew a prodigious exertion of strength, every
muscle, as it were, being ready to burst with straining. When one is
thrown, he immediately quits the field, but the victor sits down for a
few seconds, then gets up, and goes to the side he came from, who
proclaim the victory aloud, in a sentence delivered slowly, and in a
musical cadence. After sitting a short space, he rises again and
challenges; when some-times several antagonists make their appearance;
but he has the privilege of choosing which of them he pleases to
wrestle with; and has, likewise, the preference of challenging again, if
he should throw his adversary, until he himself be vanquished; and then
the opposite side sing the song of victory in favour of their champion.
It also often happens, that five or six rise from each side, and
challenge together; in which case, it is common to see three or four
couple engaged on the field at once. But it is astonishing to see what
temper they preserve in this exercise; for we observed no instances of
their leaving the spot, with the least displeasure in their
countenances. When they find that they are so equally matched as not to
be likely to throw each other, they leave off by mutual consent. And if
the fall of one is not fair, or if it does not appear very clearly who
has had the advantage, both sides sing the victory, and then they engage
again. But no person, who has been vanquished, can engage with his
conqueror a second time.
The boxers advance side-ways, changing the side at every pace, with one
arm stretched fully out before, the other behind; and holding a piece of
cord in one hand, which they wrap firmly about it, when they find an
antagonist, or else have done so before they enter. This, I imagine,
they do, to prevent a dislocation of the hand or fingers. Their blows
are directed chiefly to the head; but sometimes to the sides; and are
dealt out with great activity. They shift sides, and box equally well
with both hands. But one of their favourite and most dextrous blows, is,
to turn round on their heel, just as they have struck their antagonist,
and to give him another very smart one with the other hand backward.
The boxing matches seldom last long; and the parties either leave off
together, or one acknowledges his being beat. But they never sing the
song of victory in these cases, unless one strikes his adversary to the
ground; which shews, that, of the two, wrestling is their most approved
diversion. Not only boys engage, in both the exercises, but frequently
little girls box very obstinately for a short time. In all which cases,
it doth not appear, that they ever consider it as the smallest disgrace
to be vanquished; and the person overcome sits down, with as much
indifference, as if he had never entered the lists. Some of our people
ventured to contend with them in both exercises, but were always
worsted; except in a few instances, where it appeared, that the fear
they were in of offending us, contributed more to the victory, than the
superiority of the person they engaged.
The cattle, which we had brought, and which were all on shore, however
carefully guarded, I was sensible, run no small risk, when I considered
the thievish disposition of many of the natives, and their dexterity in
appropriating to themselves, by stealth, what they saw no prospect of
obtaining by fair means. For this reason, I thought it prudent to
declare my intention of leaving behind me some of our animals; and even
to make a distribution of them previously to my departure.
With this view, in the evening of the 19th, I assembled all the chiefs
before our house, and my intended presents to them were marked out. To
Poulaho, the king, I gave a young English bull and cow; to Mareewagee, a
Cape ram, and two ewes; and to Feenou, a horse and a mare. As my design,
to make such a distribution, had been made known the day before, most of
the people in the neighbourhood were then present. I instructed Omai to
tell them, that there were no such animals within many months sail of
their island; that we had brought them, for their use, from that immense
distance, at a vast trouble and expence; that, therefore, they must be
careful not to kill any of them, till they had multiplied to a numerous
race; and, lastly, that they and their children ought to remember, that
they had received them from the men of _Britane_. He also explained to
them their several uses, and what else was necessary for them to know,
or rather as far as he knew; for Omai was not very well versed in such
things himself. As I intended that the above presents should remain with
the other cattle, till we were ready to sail, I desired each of the
chiefs to send a man or two to look after their respective animals,
along with my people, in order that they might be better acquainted with
them, and with the manner of treating them. The king and Feenou did so;
but neither Mareewagee, nor any other person for him, took the least
notice of the sheep afterward; nor did old Toobou attend at this
meeting, though he was invited, and was in the neighbourhood. I had
meant to give him the goats, viz. a ram and two ewes; which, as he was
so indifferent about them, I added to the king's share.
It soon appeared, that some were dissatisfied with this allotment of
our animals; for, early next morning, one of our kids, and two
turkey-cocks, were missing. I could not be so simple as to suppose, that
this was merely an accidental loss; and I was determined to have them
again. The first step I took was to seize on three canoes that happened
to be alongside the ships. I then went ashore, and, having found the
king, his brother, Feenou, and some other chiefs, in the house that we
occupied, I immediately put a guard over them, and gave them to
understand, that they must remain under restraint, till not only the kid
and the turkeys, but the other things that had been stolen from us, at
different times, were restored. They concealed, as well as they could,
their feelings, on finding themselves prisoners; and, having assured me,
that every thing should be restored, as I desired, sat down to drink
their _kava_, seemingly much at their ease. It was not long before an
axe, and an iron wedge, were brought to me. In the mean time, some armed
natives began to gather behind the house; but, on a part of our guard
marching against them, they dispersed; and I advised the chiefs to give
orders, that no more should appear. Such orders were accordingly given
by them, and they were obeyed. On asking them to go aboard with me to
dinner, they readily consented. But some having afterward objected to
the king's going, he instantly rose up, and declared he would be the
first man. Accordingly we came on board. I kept them there till near
four o'clock, when I conducted them ashore; and, soon after, the kid,
and one of the turkey-cocks, were brought back. The other, they said,
should be restored the next morning. I believed this would happen, and
released both them and the canoes.
After the chiefs had left us, I walked out with Omai, to observe how the
people about us fared; for this was the time of their meals. I found
that, in general, they were at short commons. Nor is this to be wondered
at, since most of the yams, and other provisions which they brought with
them, were sold to us; and they never thought of returning to their own
habitations, while they could find any sort of subsistence in our
neighbourhood. Our station was upon an uncultivated point of land; so
that there were none of the islanders, who, properly, resided within
half a mile of us. But, even at this distance, the multitude of
strangers being so great, one might have expected, that every house
would have been much crowded. It was quite otherwise. The families
residing there were as much left to themselves, as if there had not been
a supernumerary visitor near them. All the strangers lived in little
temporary sheds, or under trees and bushes; and the cocoa-trees were
stripped of their branches, to erect habitations for the chiefs.
In this walk we met with about half a dozen women, in one place, at
supper. Two of the company, I observed, being fed by the others, on our
asking the reason, they said _taboo mattee_. On farther enquiry we
found, that one of them had, two months before, washed the dead corpse
of a chief; and that, on this account, she was not to handle any food
for five months. The other had performed the same office to the corpse
of another person of inferior rank, and was now under the same
restriction; but not for so long a time. At another place, hard by, we
saw another woman fed; and we learnt, that she had assisted in washing
the corpse of the above-mentioned chief.
Early the next morning, the king came on board, to invite me to an
entertainment, which he proposed to give the same day. He had already
been under the barber's hands; his head being all besmeared with red
pigment, in order to redden his hair, which was naturally of a
dark-brown colour. After breakfast, I attended him to the shore; and we
found his people very busy, in two places, in the front of our area,
fixing, in an upright and square position, thus [::], four very long
posts, near two feet from each other. The space between the posts was
afterward filled up with yams; and as they went on filling it, they
fastened pieces of sticks across, from post to post, at the distance of
about every four feet, to prevent the posts from separating by the
weight of the inclosed yams, and also to get up by. When the yams had
reached the top of the first posts, they fastened others to them, and so
continued till each pile was the height of thirty feet, or upward. On
the top of one, they placed two baked hogs; and on the top of the other,
a living one; and another they tied by the legs, half-way up. It was
matter of curiosity to observe, with what facility and dispatch these
two piles were raised. Had our seamen been ordered to execute such a
work, they would have sworn that it could not be performed without
carpenters; and the carpenters would have called to their aid a dozen
different sorts of tools, and have expended, at least, a hundred weight
of nails; and, after all, it would have employed them as many days as it
did these people hours. But seamen, like most other amphibious animals,
are always the most helpless on land. After they had completed these two
piles, they made several other heaps of yams and bread-fruit on each
side of the area; to which were added a turtle, and a large quantity of
excellent fish. All this, with a piece of cloth, a mat, and some red
feathers, was the king's present to me; and he seemed to pique himself
on exceeding, as he really did, Feenou's liberality, which I experienced
at Hepaee.
About one o'clock they began the _mai_, or dances; the first of which
was almost a copy of the first that was exhibited at Mareewagee's
entertainment. The second was conducted by Captain Furneaux's Toobou,
who, as we mentioned, had also danced there; and in this, four or five
women were introduced, who went through the several parts with as much
exactness as the men. Toward the end, the performers divided to leave
room for two champions, who exercised their clubs, as described on a
former occasion. And, in the third dance, which was the last now
presented, two more men, with their clubs, displayed their dexterity.
The dances were succeeded by wrestling and boxing; and one man entered
the lists with a sort of club, made from the stem of a cocoa-leaf, which
is firm and heavy; but could find no antagonist to engage him at so
rough a sport. At night we had the _bomai_ repeated; in which Poulaho
himself danced, dressed in English manufacture. But neither these, nor
the dances in the daytime, were so considerable, nor carried on with so
much spirit, as Feenou's, or Mareewagee's; and, therefore, there is less
occasion to be more particular in our description of them.
In order to be present the whole time, I dined ashore. The king sat down
with us, but he neither ate nor drank. I found that this was owing to
the presence of a female, whom, at his desire, I had admitted to the
dining-party; and who, as we afterward understood, had superior rank to
himself. As soon as this great personage had dined, she stepped up to
the king, who put his hands to her feet, and then she retired. He
immediately dipped his fingers into a glass of wine, and then received
the obeisance of all her followers. This was the single instance we
ever observed of his paying this mark of reverence to any person. At the
king's desire, I ordered some fire-works to be played off in the
evening; but, unfortunately, being damaged; this exhibition did not
answer expectation.