beach and partly in the water of the sea, fronting the marai. Two of
the priests, with some of the attendants, were sitting by the canoe,
the others at the marai. Our company stopped about twenty or thirty
paces from the priests. Here Otoo placed himself; we, and a few others
standing by him, while the bulk of the people remained at a greater
distance. The ceremony now began. One of the priest's attendants
brought a young plantain tree, and laid it down before Otoo. Another
approached with a small tuft of red feathers, twisted on some fibres
of the cocoanut husk, with which he touched one of the King's, feet
and then retired with it to his companions. One of the priests, seated
at the marai, facing those who were upon the beach, now began a long
prayer; and, at certain times, sent down young plantain trees, which
were laid upon the sacrifice. During this prayer, a man, who stood by
the officiating priest, held in his hands two bundles, seemingly of
cloth. One of them, as we afterward found, was the royal Maro; and the
other, if I may be allowed the expression, was the ark of the Eatooa.
As soon as the prayer was ended, the priests at the marai, with their
attendants, went and sat down by those upon the beach, carrying with
them the two bundles. Here they renewed their prayers, during which
the plantain trees were taken, one by one, at different times, from
off the sacrifice, which was partly wrapped up in cocoa-leaves and
small branches.
It was now taken out of the canoe and laid upon the beach, with the
feet to the sea. The priests placed themselves around it, some sitting
and others standing; and one, or more of them, repeated sentences for
about ten minutes. The dead body was now uncovered, by removing the
leaves and branches, and laid in a parallel direction with the
seashore. One of the priests then, standing at the feet of it,
pronounced a long prayer, in which he was, at times, joined by the
others, each holding in his hand a tuft of red feathers. In the course
of this prayer, some hair was pulled off the head of the sacrifice,
and the left eye taken out; both of which were presented to Otoo, and
wrapped up in a green leaf. He did not, however, touch it; but gave,
to the man who presented it, the tuft of feathers, which he had
received from Towha. This, with the hair and the eye, was carried back
to the priests. Soon after, Otoo sent to them another piece of
feathers, which he had given me in the morning to keep in my pocket.
During some part of this last ceremony, a kingfisher making a noise in
the trees, Otoo turned to me saying, "That is the Eatooa;" and seemed
to look upon it to be a good omen.
The body was then carried a little way, with its head toward the
marai, and laid under a tree, near which were fixed three broad, thin
pieces of wood, differently but rudely carved. The bundles of cloth
were laid on a part of the marai, and the tufts of red feathers were
placed at the feet of the sacrifice, round which the priests took
their stations, and we were now allowed to go as near as we pleased.
He seemed to be the chief priest who sat at a small distance, and
spoke for a quarter of an hour, but with different tones and gestures;
so that he seemed often to expostulate with the dead person, to whom
he constantly addressed himself, and sometimes asked several
questions, seemingly with respect to the propriety of his having been
killed. At other times, he made several demands, as if the deceased
either now had power himself, or interest with the divinity, to engage
him to comply with such requests. Among the petitions we understood,
he asked him to deliver Eimeo (Moorea), Maheine its chief, the hogs,
women and other things of the island into their hands; which was,
indeed, the express intention of the sacrifice. He then chanted a
prayer, which lasted nearly half an hour, in whining, melancholy tone,
accompanied by two other priests, and in which Potatou and some others
joined. In the course of this prayer, some more hair was plucked by a
priest from the head of the corpse, and put upon one of the bundles.
After this, the chief priest prayed alone, holding in his hand the
feathers which came from Towha. When he had finished, he gave them to
another, who prayed in like manner. Then all the tufts of the feathers
were laid upon the bundles of cloth, which closed the ceremony at this
place.
The corpse was then carried up to the most conspicuous part of the
marai, with the feathers, the two bundles of cloth, and the drums, the
last of which beat slowly. The feathers and bundles were laid against
the pile of stones, and the corpse at the foot of them. The priests
having again seated themselves round it, renewed their prayers, while
some of their attendants dug a hole about two feet deep, into which
they threw the unhappy victim, and covered it over with earth and
stones. While they were putting him into the grave, a boy squeaked
aloud and Omai (Captain Cook's interpreter) said that it was the
Eatooa.
The human sacrifice was followed by the offering of dogs and pigs. The
many prayers and complicated ceremonies attending human sacrifice
stamp it as a religious rite which has undoubtedly been practiced for
centuries. In this particular instance it meant a message through the
instrumentality of the unfortunate victim to implore Eatooa for
assistance in the impending war with Moorea.
It is very interesting indeed to have an account of this ceremony
preserved by an eyewitness like Captain Cook, and no apology is
necessary here to have it reappear in all its minute details. Another
religious ceremony of lesser import is circumcision. How this custom was
introduced into Tahiti no one knows. It is more than probable that, in
some way it came from the distant Orient in a modified form. It differs
from the Jewish rite in that it is not performed on infants, but on boys
approaching the age of puberty. Captain Cook gives the following
description of the operation as he observed it:
When there are five or six lads pretty well grown up in a neighborhood
the father of one of them goes to a Tahoua, or man of knowledge, and
lets him know. He goes with the lads to the top of the hills, attended
by a servant; and, seating one of them properly, introduces a piece of
wood underneath the foreskin, and desires him to look aside at
something he pretends is coming. Having thus engaged the young man's
attention to another object, he cuts through the skin upon the wood,
with a shark's tooth, generally at one stroke. He then separates, or
rather turns back, the divided parts; and, having put on a bandage,
proceeds to perform the same operation on the other lads. At the end
of five days they bathe, and the bandages being taken off, the matter
is cleaned away. At the end of five days more they bathe again, and
are well; but a thickness of the prepuce, where it was cut, remaining,
they go again to the mountains with the Tahoua and servant; and a fire
being prepared, and some stones heated, the Tahoua puts the prepuce
between two of them, and squeezes it gently, which removes the
thickness. They then return home, having their heads and other parts
of their bodies, adorned with odoriferous flowers, and the Tahoua is
rewarded for his services by their fathers, in proportion to their
several abilities, with presents of hogs and cloth; and if they be
poor, their relations are liberal on the occasion.
How the wise man managed to keep the boys together during two such
painful ordeals is not easy to understand, but as they remained at their
posts until all had passed through it speaks volumes for their good
behavior and manly courage. That the Tahitians possessed many admirable
virtues during their paganism proves only too clearly that
Virtue is shut out from no one; she is open to all, accepts all,
invites all, gentlemen, freedmen, slaves, kings and exiles; she
selects neither house nor fortune; she is satisfied with a human
without adjuncts.
SENECA.
These virtues, the prayers, the sacrifices, the belief in a supreme
being and eternity, show that the Tahitians were imbued with a natural
religion, for
The existence of God is so many ways manifest and the obedience we owe
Him so congruous to the light of reason, that a great part of mankind
give testimony to the law of nature.
LOCKE.
The natives had no literature nor any communication with the outside
world farther than the neighboring island groups. Their only book was
nature, and this was read and studied with eagerness and intelligence.
Their ancient history consisted of legendary lore handed down from
generation to generation. But
There are books extant which they must needs allow of as proper
evidence; even the mighty volumes of visible nature, and the
everlasting tables of right reason.
BENTLEY.
From century to century, from generation to generation, these people,
without leaving a permanent record of what had happened and without
being conscious of art or science, lived and died in a state of
happiness and contentment.
For he had no catechism but the creation, needed no study but
recollection, and read no book but the volume of the world.
SOUTH.
That ignorance and vice should have existed among this primitive people,
so completely isolated from the progressive part of the world, is not
strange, as they lived in a land of plenty, fed and clothed, as it were,
by the almost unaided resources of nature, conditions largely
responsible for their inborn laziness. Ignorance and superstition go
hand in hand. The Tahitians have always been extremely superstitious and
both civilization and Christianization have been powerless in
eradicating this national evil. We must, however, judge them not too
severely in this matter, as superstition is by no means uncommon amongst
us at the present day. Our best poets are not exempt from it.
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this wondrous apparition:
It comes upon me!
SHAKESPEARE.
Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth unseen, both when we
wake and when we sleep.
MILTON.
A person terrified with the imagination of spectres is more reasonable
than one who thinks the appearance of spirits fabulous and groundless.
ADDISON.
With the progress and spread of education of the masses, superstition
will gradually be starved out here as elsewhere. The greatest vice of
the Tahitians is licentiousness, which remains as when Captain Cook
visited the island. In speaking of the looseness of the marital
relations, he says:
And so agreeable is this licentious plan of life to their disposition,
that the most beautiful of both sexes thus commonly spend their
youthful days, habituated to the practice of enormities which would
disgrace the most savage tribes, but are peculiarly shocking amongst a
people whose general character in other respects has evident traces of
the prevalence of humane and tender feelings.
The Tahitians have reason to claim that
The vices collected through so many ages for a long time past flow in
upon us.
SENECA.
Intemperance among the natives has never had a firm foothold in the
island and tobacco is used with moderation. Gambling, such a common vice
among the peoples of the Orient, has never been cultivated and practiced
to any extent in Tahiti. These ocean-bound people, living in happy and
contented isolation, had no desire for national or personal wealth or
fame, neither had they any inclination or desire for art or the
sciences. They believed in the mottoes:
If you are but content, you have enough to live upon with comfort.
PLAUTUS.
and
Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of
gratitude.
SIR WALTER SCOTT.
They lived a restful, unselfish life, happy in the companionship of
their families, relatives and friends, with no morbid desires to
distract them from the full enjoyment of what Nature showered upon them
with bountiful never-failing liberality.
Their customs are by Nature wrought; But we, by art, unteach what
Nature taught.
DRYDEN.
THE INSIGNIA OF TAHITIAN ROYALTY
Tahitian royalty was hereditary, and women were not excluded. There were
chiefs and chiefesses governing tribes, and head chiefs and head
chiefesses ruling over several tribes or the whole island. There were no
crowns and no sceptres. The insignia of royalty was a belt ornamented
with feathers. The red feathers were what the diamonds and other
precious stones are in ancient and modern crowns. This belt was called
Maro. Captain Cook gives the following description of a maro:
It is a girdle, about five yards long, and fifteen inches broad; and,
from its name, seems to be put on in the same manner as is the common
maro, or piece of cloth used by these people to wrap round the waist.
It was ornamented with red and yellow feathers; but mostly with the
latter, taken from a dove found upon the island. The one end was
bordered with eight pieces, each about the size and shape of a
horseshoe, having their edges fringed with black feathers. The other
end was forked, and the points were of different lengths. The feathers
were in square compartments, ranged in two rows, and otherwise so
disposed to produce a pleasing effect. They had been first pasted or
fixed upon some of their own cloth, and then sewed to the upper end of
the pendant which Captain Wallis had displayed, and left flying
ashore, the first time that he landed at Matavai.
This insignia of office was highly respected by the natives and was
handed down from one generation of rulers to the other, carrying with it
the sovereignty of the office. One of the civil wars in the island was
caused by a failure on the part of one of the chief esses (Purea) to
deliver the maro to her legitimate successor.
DISEASES OF TAHITI
Before the Europeans came to Tahiti, the beautiful little island was a
sanatorium. The natives were temperate, frugal in their habits,
subsisting almost exclusively on fish, fruit and vegetables, and lived
practically an outdoor life even in their bamboo huts. They were
unencumbered by useless clothing and spent, as they do now, much of
their time in sea and fresh-water bathing. They were almost exempt from
acute destructive diseases. They were free from the most fatal of acute
contagious and infectious diseases, such as smallpox, measles,
scarlatina, cholera, etc. Tuberculosis and venereal diseases were
unknown before the white man invaded the island. The immediate effect of
the European civilization on the health and lives of the natives was
frightful. On this subject I will let Ariitaimai speak:
When England and France began to show us the advantages of their
civilization, we were, as races then went, a great people. Hawaii,
Tahiti, the Marquesas, Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand made a respectable
figure on the earth's surface, and contained a population of no small
size, better fitted than any other possible community for the
condition in which they lived. Tahiti, being the first to come in
close contact with the foreigners, was first to suffer. The people,
who numbered, according to Cook, two hundred thousand in 1767,
numbered less than twenty thousand in 1797, according to the
missionaries, and only about five thousand in 1803. This frightful
mortality has been often doubted, because Europeans have naturally
shrunk from admit ting the horrors of their own work, but no one
doubts it who belongs to the native race. Tahiti did not stand alone
in misery; what happened there happened everywhere, not only in the
great groups of high islands, like Hawaii with three or four hundred
thousand people, but in little coral atolls which could only support a
few score.
These are strong words, but they are nevertheless only too true.
Civilization brings to savage races curses as well as blessings. The
primitive people are more receptive of new vices than new virtues.
In 1880 the number of inhabitants had again increased to thirteen
thousand five hundred, but since that time it has been reduced to eleven
thousand, as shown by the last census. When Captain Cook visited the
island he emphasized particularly the absence of acute diseases. In
speaking of chronic diseases he remarks:
They only reckon five or six which might be called chronic, or
national disorders, amongst which are the dropsy and the _fefai_, or
indolent swellings before mentioned as frequent at Tongataboo.
The fearful, swift depopulation of the island was caused by the
introduction of new acute infectious and contagious diseases, such as
smallpox, measles, whooping-cough, la grippe, etc., which among these
people was attended by a frightful mortality. It was only three years
ago that an epidemic of measles, a trifling disease with us, claimed
several hundred lives, including many adults, and extended to nearly all
of the islands of the entire group. The disease that is now threatening
the extinction of the race in a short time is pulmonary tuberculosis.
The natives are extremely susceptible to this disease, and the small
native houses, crowded with large families, are the breeding stations
for infection.
The French government has at last recognized the need of taking active
measures to improve the sanitary conditions of their colony and protect
the natives against the spread of infectious diseases. A corps of three
physicians, sent by the French government on this mission, made the
voyage from San Francisco to the island on the steamer _Mariposa_ with me.
The names of these physicians are: Dr. Grosfillez, surgeon-major of the
first class of the colonial troops; Dr. H. Rowan, a graduate of the
Pasteur Institute, and Dr. F. Cassiau, of the clinic of Marseilles. The
military surgeon receives an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars,
the two civil doctors twelve hundred dollars each. They are under
contract for five years. They have been given judicial power to enforce
all sanitary regulations they see fit to institute. They will be
stationed at different points and will establish a requisite number of
lazarettos, something which will fill a long-felt and pressing need.
PRESENT PREVAILING DISEASES
The average temperature of the inhabited part of the island, which can
not be less than 78 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, has a relaxing influence
on the natives and much more so on the small contingent of whites. The
Europeans and Americans find it necessary every three to five years to
seek for a few months a cooler climate to restore their energies and
vigor. The government officials and officers of the small garrison are
not obliged to serve for more than the same time consecutively, when
they are relieved from their posts and commands. It is this relaxation
which, to a certain extent, at least, is responsible for the great
mortality of comparatively mild, acute, infectious diseases, and the
severity of pulmonary tuberculosis among the natives. Tuberculosis of
the lymphatic glands, skin, bones and joints appears to be extremely
rare. The moisture-laden atmosphere and the suddenness with which the
cool land and ocean breezes set in after the heat of the day, are
conducive to the development of rheumatic affections, which are
prevalent in all parts of the island, more especially during the rainy
season in midwinter. The same can be said of bronchial affections and
pneumonia. The free and unrestrained intercourse among natives accounts
for the rapid spread of tuberculosis and acute infectious diseases among
the entire population and from island to island.
The sanitary commission now engaged, in efforts to reduce the mortality
of the natives will establish rules and regulations which will have for
their object the prevention of dissemination of acute as well as chronic
infectious diseases, and will undoubtedly accomplish much toward the
preservation of the race; but these officers will meet with stubborn
opposition on the part of the natives when attempts are made, in their
interest, to curtail their personal liberties. The ties of relationship
and friendship among the natives are very strong, and become most
apparent in case of misfortunes and sickness. Smallpox breaks out almost
every year, and claims its share of victims. Vaccination is supposed to
be compulsory, but the natives are inclined to escape it. Vaccination is
done gratuitously at the Military Hospital for all natives who can be
induced to submit to it. Under present conditions it is almost
impossible to reach the inhabitants of the small atoll islands.
Like in all tropic countries, tetanus is of quite frequent occurrence.
The small native pony is found everywhere, and as the rural natives are
all barefooted and spend much of their time in the jungles in
impregnating the flower of the vanilla-bean and gathering fruits, wounds
prone to infection with the tetanus bacillus are of frequent occurrence.
Malarial diseases are comparatively rare, although the
plasmodium-carrying mosquitoes are numerous and aggressive, and children
in the country districts are nude, and the men limit their clothing to
the wearing of a loin-cloth. No case of typhoid fever has been known to
have originated in the island. For this there exists a satisfactory
explanation. The exemption in this island from this disease, so widely
distributed over the entire part of the inhabited globe, is due entirely
to an abundant supply of the purest drinking water supplied by the
numerous mountain streams. Nearly all the inhabitants live on the coast,
near the outlet of a brook or stream, where, consequently, there is no
danger whatever of water-contamination. I found three cases of typhoid
fever in the Military Hospital, members of one family, who had been
brought there from one of the neighboring atoll islands.
Varicose veins, varicocele and hydrocele are very common. The absence of
anything like a large ulcer in many cases of large and numerous varicose
veins of the leg, I attributed to the toughness of the skin of the bare
legs. Venereal diseases are widespread throughout the entire island, and
more especially in Papeete and the near-by larger villages. For over a
hundred years the natives have suffered from this scourge brought there
by the European sailors and adventurers. Syphilis has been transmitted
from generation to generation until it has contaminated the major part
of the population, for
The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children.
EURIPIDES.
and
The wickedness of a few brings calamity on all.
PUBLIUS SYRUS.
The length of time the disease has existed among the natives has
established a certain degree of tolerance or immunity, as it pursues a
comparatively mild course, as I found very few instances of the ravages
of the remote results of syphilis. I saw only one case of saddle nose,
caused by tertiary syphilis.
Leprosy is not as prevalent as in the Hawaiian Islands, but isolated
cases are found in nearly all the islands belonging to this group, being
more prevalent in some than in others. Segregation has never been
attempted. The lepers mix freely with the members of their families and
neighbors, and are not shunned by any one. I was informed that many of
the lepers, much disfigured by the disease, seek an island where many of
these unfortunates have founded a colony for the purpose of escaping
from public gaze. There, away from relatives and friends, they spend
their short span of life and await patiently the final relief which only
death can bring.
O Death, the Healer, scorn thou not, I pray. To come to me; of
cureless ills thou art The one physician. Pain lays not its touch upon
a corpse.
ÆSCHYLUS.