FOOD--COOKING--LIQUORS.
_Animal and Vegetable Food._--Bread-fruit, taro, yams, bananas, and
cocoa-nuts formed the staff of life in Samoa. The lagoons and reefs
furnish a large supply of fish and shell-fish, of which the natives
are very fond; and occasionally all, but especially persons of rank,
regaled themselves on pigs, fowls, and turtle. A detailed account of
the flora and fauna in this and other groups in Central and Eastern
Polynesia will be found in the published volumes of the United States
Exploring Squadron of 1838-1842.
Taro, cocoa-nuts, and 'ava were said to have been brought from the
heavens by a chief called Losi. When on a visit there he was pleased
with the taste of taro, and tried to get some to take down with him.
He found a young shoot about the cooking-house, concealed it under his
clothing, but the Tangaloans were on the watch. They made him take off
his roundabout, snatched the plant from him, pulled his hair,
scratched and cut his skin, and back he came to the earth in a great
rage.
He engaged six of the gods to go up with him again and be avenged on
Tangaloa and his people. He proposed to take up a present of fish.
They caught ten, and were up before daybreak, and laid down a fish on
the doorstep of ten of the houses. When the people came out of their
houses they stumbled over the slippery fish, fell and cut their
foreheads. They cooked the fish, but ate it with bruised heads. And
hence the proverb in times of difficulty, "To eat with a bruise."
Then followed a number of schemes on the part of the Tangaloans to
kill Losi and his party similar to those described (p. 250). But all
failed, and then up jumped Losi and his party, and ran at the
Tangaloans, who fled and called out as they ran, "What do you want?"
"Cocoa-nuts," said Losi. "Take them all," was the reply. Losi again
called to his party to _chase_, and they rushed after the Tangaloans,
who again shouted back, "What do you want?" "Taro," said Losi, "to
compensate for ill usage and the tearing of my skin." "Take it, your
claim is just; take it and be off." Losi ordered still to pursue, and
again the call came from the frightened Tangaloans, "What else do you
want?" "I want 'ava," replied Losi. "Take it, all kinds of it, and be
off." Losi conquered, had his revenge, and got what he wanted, and so
came down from the heavens with taro, cocoa-nuts, and 'ava, and
planted them all about.
For about half the year the Samoans have an abundant supply of food
from the bread-fruit trees. During the other half they depend
principally on their taro plantations. Bananas and cocoa-nuts are
plentiful throughout the year. While the bread-fruit is in season
every family lays up a quantity in a pit lined with banana and
cocoa-nut leaves, and covered in with stones. It soon ferments; but
they keep it in that state for years, and the older it is they relish
it all the more. They bake this in the form of little cakes, when the
bread-fruit is out of season, and especially when there is a scarcity
of taro. The odour of these cakes is offensive in the extreme to a
European; but a Samoan turns from a bit of English cheese with far
more disgust than we do from his fermented bread-fruit.
A crop of bread-fruit is sometimes shaken off the trees by a gale
before it is ripe, and occasionally taro plantations are destroyed by
drought and caterpillars; but the people have wild yams in the bush,
preserved bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and fish to fall back upon; so that
there is rarely, if ever, anything like a serious famine. A scarcity
of food, occasioned by any of the causes just named, they were in the
habit of tracing to the wrath of one of their gods, called _O le Sa_
(or the Sacred One). The sun, storms, caterpillars, and all
destructive insects were said to be his _au ao_, or servants, who
were commissioned to go forth and eat up the plantations of those with
whom he was displeased. In times of plenty as well as of scarcity the
people were in the habit of assembling with offerings of food, and
poured out drink-offerings of _'ava_ to _Le Sa_, to propitiate his
favour.
A story is told of a woman and her child, who in a time of great
scarcity were neglected by the family. One day they cooked some wild
yams, but never offered her a share. She was vexed, asked the child to
follow her, and when they reached a precipice on the rocky coast,
seized the child and jumped over. It is said they were changed into
turtles, and afterwards came in that form at the call of the people of
the village.
_Cannibalism._--During some of their wars, a body was occasionally
cooked by the Samoans; but they affirm that, in such a case, it was
always some one of the enemy who had been notorious for provocation or
cruelty, and that eating a part of his body was considered the climax
of hatred and revenge, and was not occasioned by the mere relish for
human flesh, such as obtained in the Fiji, New Hebrides, and New
Caledonian groups. In more remote heathen times, however, they may
have indulged this savage appetite. To speak of roasting him is the
very worst language that can be addressed to a Samoan. If applied to a
chief of importance, he may raise war to avenge the insult. It is the
custom on the submission of one party to another to bow down before
their conquerors each with a piece of firewood and a bundle of leaves,
such as are used in dressing a pig for the oven; as much as to say,
"Kill us and cook us, if you please." Criminals, too, are sometimes
bound hand to hand and foot to foot; slung on a pole put through
between the hands and feet, carried and laid down before the parties
they have injured, like a pig about to be killed and cooked. So deeply
humiliating is this act considered that the culprit who consents to
degrade himself so far is almost sure to be forgiven.
From such references to cannibalism as we have at pp. 47, 48, and also
the following fragments from old stories, it is further apparent that
the custom was not unknown in Samoa.
During a great scarcity occasioned by a gale cannibalism prevailed.
When a light was wanted in the evening, two or three went to fetch
it--it was not safe for one to go alone. If a child was seen out of
doors, some one would entice it by holding up something white and
calling the child to get a bit of cocoa-nut kernel, and so kidnap and
cook.
A story is also told of a woman who had a child who was playing on the
surf on the beach. Three of her brothers came along and begged her to
let them have the child. She said that if a _bloody_ surf should
suddenly appear they might have the child, but not otherwise.
Presently the surf dashed red and bloody on the shore. She kept to
her word, and let the heartless fellows carry off the boy to the oven.
Here is another piece about Ae a Tongan, who attached himself to the
Samoan chief Tinilau. Tinilau travelled from place to place on two
turtles. Ae wished to visit Tonga, and begged from his master the loan
of the turtles. He got them, with the caution to be very careful of
them. As soon as he reached Tonga he called his friends to take on
shore the turtles, kill them, and have a feast, and this they gladly
did.
Tinilau, after waiting long for the return of the turtles, suspected
they had been killed. This was confirmed in his mind by the appearance
on the beach of a bloody wave. He called a meeting of all the avenging
gods of Savaii, and put the case into their hands. They went off to
Tonga, found Ae at midnight in a sound sleep, picked him up, brought
him back to Samoa, and laid him down in the front room of the house of
Tinilau.
At cock-crowing Ae woke up and said aloud, "Why, you cock! you crow
like the one belonging to the _pig_ I lived with." Tinilau called out
from his room, "Had the fellow you lived with such a fowl?" "Yes, the
_pig_ had one just like it." "Tell us more about him," and so Ae went
on chattering, and still using the abusive epithet _pig_ when speaking
of his master, and talked about the turtles, what a fine feast they
had, etc. As it got lighter, he looked up to the roof and said, "This
too is just like the house the _pig_ lived in." By-and-by he woke up,
as it got light, to the full consciousness that somehow or other he
was again in the very house of Tinilau, and that his cannibal master
was in the next room. He was dumb and panic-stricken. Orders were
given to kill him, and he was despatched accordingly, and his body
dressed for the oven. And hence the proverb for any similar action, or
if any one takes by mistake or intention what belongs to another, he
says in making an apology, "I am like Ae."
Another curious fragment goes from cannibalism to the origin of pigs.
A cannibal chief had human victims taken to him regularly, and was in
the habit of throwing the heads into a cave close by. A great many
heads had been cast in, and he thought no more about them. One day,
however, he was sitting on a rock outside the cave when he heard an
unusual noise. On looking in, the place was full of _pigs_, and hence
the belief that pigs had their origin in the heads of men, or, as some
would call it, a humbling case of evolution _downwards_!
_Cooking._--The Samoans had and still have, the mode of cooking with
hot stones which has been often described as prevailing in the South
Sea Islands. Fifty or sixty stones about the size of an orange, heated
by kindling a fire under them, form, with the hot ashes, an ordinary
oven. The taro, bread-fruit, or yams, are laid among the stones, a
thick covering of bread-fruit and banana leaves is laid over all, and
in about an hour all is well cooked. In the same oven they bake other
things, such as fish, done up in leaves and laid side by side with the
taro or other vegetables. Little bundles of taro leaves, too, mixed
with the expressed juice of the cocoa-nut kernel, and some other
dishes, of which cocoa-nut is generally the chief ingredient, are
baked at the same time, and used as a relish in the absence of animal
food. Salt water is frequently mixed up with these dishes, which is
the only form in which they use salt. They had no salt, and were not
in the habit of preserving fish or pork otherwise than by repeated
cooking. In this way they kept pork for a week, and fish for three
weeks or a month. However large, they cooked the entire pig at once;
then, using a piece of split bamboo as a carving-knife, cut it up and
divided it among the different branches of the family. The duties of
cooking devolved on the men; and all, even chiefs of the highest rank,
considered it no disgrace to assist in the cooking-house occasionally.
_Forbidden Food._--Some birds and fishes were sacred to particular
deities, as has been described, and certain parties abstained from
eating them. A man would not eat a fish which was supposed to be under
the protection and care of his household god; but he would eat,
without scruple, fish sacred to the gods of other families. The dog,
and some kinds of fish and birds, were sacred to the greater
deities--the _dii majorum gentium_ of the Samoans; and, of course, all
the people rigidly abstained from these things. For a man to kill and
eat anything he considered to be under the special protection of his
god, was supposed to be followed by the god's displeasure in the
sickness or death of himself, or some member of the family. The same
idea seems to have been a check on cannibalism, as there was a fear
lest the god of the deceased would be avenged on those who might cook
and eat the body.
_Liquors._--The young cocoa-nut contains about a tumblerful of a
liquid something resembling water sweetened with lump-sugar, and very
slightly acid. This is the ordinary beverage of the Samoans. A young
cocoa-nut baked in the oven yields a hot draught, which is very
pleasant to an invalid. They had no fermented liquors; but they made
an intoxicating draught from an infusion of the chewn root of the 'ava
plant (_Piper methysticum_). A bowl of this disgustingly-prepared
stuff was made and served out when a party of chiefs sat down to a
meal. At their ordinary meals few partook of it but the father, or
other senior members of the family. It was always taken before, and
not after the meal. Among a formal party of chiefs it was handed round
in a cocoa-nut shell cup with a good deal of ceremony. When the cup
was filled the name, or title rather, of the person for whom it was
intended was called out; the cup-bearer took it to him, he received
it, drank it off, and returned the cup to be filled again, as the
"portion" of another chief. The most important chiefs had the first
cups, and, following the order of rank, all had a draught. The liquor
was much diluted; few drank to excess; and, upon the whole, the
Samoans were perhaps among the most temperate 'ava drinkers in the
South Seas. The old men considered that a little of it strengthened
them and prolonged life; and often they had a cup the first thing in
the morning.
_Hospitality._--The Samoans were remarkable for hospitality.
Travelling parties never needed to take food for any place beyond the
first stage of their journey. Every village had its "large house,"
kept in good order, and well spread with mats for the reception of
strangers. On the arrival of a party some of the members of every
family in the village assembled and prepared food for them. It was the
province of the head of one particular family to decide, and send word
to the rest, how much it would be necessary for each to provide. After
all was cooked, it was taken and laid down in front of the house, and,
on presenting it, one of them would make a speech, welcoming them to
their village; and, although a sumptuous repast had been provided, an
apology would be made that there was nothing better. The strangers
replied, returned thanks, and exchanged kind words. In the event of
there being a chief of high rank among the party, it would probably be
decided that every man, woman, and child of the place turn out, dress
themselves in their best, walk in single file, each carrying a fish, a
fowl, a lobster, a yam, or something else in the hand, and, singing
some merry chant as they went along, proceed to the place, and there
lay down in a heap what they had provided for their guests. An evening
ball or night-dance was also considered an indispensable accompaniment
to the entertainment. A travelling party rarely spent more than one
night at a place.
_Meals._--The Samoans had a meal about 11 A.M., and their principal
meal in the evening. At the evening meal every family was assembled;
and men, women, and children all ate together. They had no tables, but
seated themselves cross-legged round the circular house on mats. Each
had his portion laid down before him on a bread-fruit leaf; and thus
they partook, in primitive style, without knife, fork, or spoon.
Should any strangers be present, due respect was shown to them by
laying before them "a worthy portion." After the meal, water to wash
was handed round, and a _rub_ on the post of the house was the usual
table-napkin.
The head of the family, in taking his cup of 'ava at the commencement
of the evening meal, would pour out a little of it on the ground, as a
drink-offering to the gods, and, all being silent, he would utter
aloud the following prayer:--
"Here is 'ava for you, O gods! Look kindly towards this family; let
it prosper and increase; and let us all be kept in health. Let our
plantations be productive; let fruit grow; and may there be
abundance of food for us, your creatures.
"Here is 'ava for you, our war gods! Let there be a strong and
numerous people for you in this land.
"Here is 'ava for you, O sailing gods![1] Do not come on shore at
this place; but be pleased to depart along the ocean to some other
land."
It was also very common to pray with an offering of "flaming fire,"
just before the evening meal. Calling upon some one to blow up the
fire and make it blaze, and begging all to be silent, a senior member
of the family would pray aloud as follows:--
"This light is for you, O king[2] and gods superior and inferior!
If any of you are forgotten do not be angry, this light is for you
all. Be propitious to this family; give life to all; and may your
presence be prosperity. Let our children be blessed and multiplied.
Remove far from us fines and sicknesses. Regard our poverty; and
send us food to eat, and cloth to keep us warm. Drive away from us
sailing gods, lest they come and cause disease and death. Protect
this family by your presence, and may health and long life be given
to us all."
It is related of an old chief in Savaii, that one night at the evening
meal he ordered a sea-crab to be reserved for his breakfast. In the
night some lads of the family got up and ate it. Next morning the old
man was in a great rage, rose, and said to his daughter that he was
going off to commit suicide, he could bear no longer the unkindness of
the family. He seized his staff and went off to the mountain, where
there is a deep ravine. When he reached the edge of the precipice he
called to his daughter, who had followed him, that he would jump over,
and cause a storm to arise and destroy the place--and over he went.
The daughter thought it was of no use to go home, and so she lay down
on the edge of the ravine, and became a mountain to shut up the storm
and save the people from the threatened wrath of her father.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Gods supposed to come in Tongan canoes and foreign
vessels.]
[Footnote 2: The principal god of the family.]