Officiousness of Kory-Kory—His devotion—A bath in the stream—Want of
refinement of the Typee damsels—Stroll with Mehevi—A Typee highway—The
Taboo groves—The hoolah hoolah ground—The Ti—Timeworn
savages—Hospitality of Mehevi—Midnight musings—Adventure in the
dark—Distinguished honours paid to the visitors—Strange procession, and
return to the house of Marheyo.
When Mehevi had departed from the house, as related in the preceding
chapter, Kory-Kory commenced the functions of the post assigned him. He
brought us various kinds of food; and, as if I were an infant, insisted
upon feeding me with his own hands. To this procedure I, of course,
most earnestly objected, but in vain; and having laid a calabash of
kokoo before me, he washed his fingers in a vessel of water, and then
putting his hand into the dish, and rolling the food into little balls,
put them one after another into my mouth. All my remonstrances against
this measure only provoked so great a clamor on his part, that I was
obliged to acquiesce; and the operation of feeding being thus
facilitated, the meal was quickly despatched. As for Toby, he was
allowed to help himself after his own fashion.
The repast over, my attendant arranged the mats for repose, and,
bidding me lie down, covered me with a large robe of tappa, at the same
time looking approvingly upon me, and exclaiming, “Ki-Ki, muee muee,
ah! moee moee mortarkee,” (eat plenty, ah! sleep very good.) The
philosophy of this sentiment I did not pretend to question; for
deprived of sleep for several preceding nights, and the pain in my limb
having much abated, I now felt inclined to avail myself of the
opportunity afforded me.
The next morning, on waking, I found Kory-Kory stretched out on one
side of me, while my companion lay upon the other. I felt sensibly
refreshed after a night of sound repose, and immediately agreed to the
proposition of my valet that I should repair to the water and wash,
although dreading the suffering that the exertion might produce. From
this apprehension, however, I was quickly relieved; for Kory-Kory,
leaping from the pi-pi, and then backing himself up against it, like a
porter in readiness to shoulder a trunk, with loud vociferations, and a
superabundance of gestures gave me to understand that I was to mount
upon his back, and be thus transported to the stream, which flowed
perhaps two hundred yards from the house.
Our appearance upon the verandah in front of the habitation drew
together quite a crowd, who stood looking on, and conversing with one
another in the most animated manner. They reminded one of a group of
idlers gathered about the door of a village tavern, when the equipage
of some distinguished traveller is brought round previous to his
departure. As soon as I clasped my arms about the neck of the devoted
fellow, and he jogged off with me, the crowd—composed chiefly of young
girls and boys—followed after, shouting and capering with infinite
glee, and accompanied us to the banks of the stream.
On gaining it, Kory-Kory, wading up to his hips in the water, carried
me half-way across, and deposited me on a smooth black stone, which
rose a few inches above the surface. The amphibious rabble at our heels
plunged in after us; and, climbing to the summit of the grass-grown
rocks, with which the bed of the brook was here and there broken,
waited curiously to witness our morning ablutions. I felt somewhat
embarrassed by the presence of the female portion of the company, but,
nevertheless, removed my frock, and washed myself down to my waist in
the stream. As soon as Kory-Kory comprehended from my motions that this
was to be the extent of my performance, he appeared perfectly aghast
with astonishment, and rushing toward me, poured out a torrent of words
in eager deprecation of so limited an operation, enjoining me by
unmistakable signs to immerse my whole body. To this I was forced to
consent; and the honest fellow regarding me as a froward, inexperienced
child, whom it was his duty to serve at the risk of offending, lifted
me from, the rock, and tenderly bathed my limbs. This over, and
resuming my seat, I could not avoid bursting into admiration of the
scene around me.
From the verdant surfaces of the large stones that lay scattered about,
the natives were now sliding off into the water, diving and ducking
beneath the surface in all directions; the young girls springing
buoyantly into the air, with their long tresses dancing about their
shoulders, their eyes sparkling like drops of dew in the sun, and their
gay laughter pealing forth at every frolicsome incident.
On the afternoon of the day that I took my first bath in the valley, we
received another visit from Mehevi. The noble savage seemed to be in
the same pleasant mood, and was quite as cordial in his manner as
before. After remaining about an hour, he rose from the mats, and
motioning to leave the house, invited Toby and myself to accompany him.
I pointed to my leg; but Mehevi in his turn pointed to Kory-Kory, and
removed that objection; so, mounting upon the faithful fellow’s
shoulders again—like the old man of the sea astride of Sinbad—I
followed after the chief.
The nature of the route we now pursued struck me more forcibly than
anything I had yet seen, as illustrating the indolent disposition of
the islanders. The path was obviously the most beaten one in the
valley, several others leading from either side into it, and perhaps
for successive generations it had formed the principal avenue of the
place. And yet, until I grew more familiar with its impediments, it
seemed as difficult to travel as the recesses of a wilderness. Part of
it swept around an abrupt rise of ground, the surface of which was
broken by frequent inequalities, and thickly strewn with projecting
masses of rocks, whose summits were often hidden from view by the
drooping foliage of the luxurious vegetation. Sometimes directly over,
sometimes evading these obstacles with a wide circuit, the path wound
along—one moment climbing over a sudden eminence, smooth with continued
wear, then descending on the other side into a steep glen, and crossing
the flinty channel of a brook. Here it pursued the depths of a glade,
occasionally obliging you to stoop beneath vast horizontal branches;
and now you stepped over huge trunks and boughs that lay rotting across
the track.
Such was the grand thoroughfare of Typee. After proceeding a little
distance along it—Kory-Kory panting and blowing with the weight of his
burden—I dismounted from his back, and grasping the long spear of
Mehevi in my hand, assisted my steps over the numerous obstacles of the
road; preferring this mode of advance to one which, from the
difficulties of the way, was equally painful to myself and my wearied
servitor.
Our journey was soon at an end; for, scaling a sudden height, we came
abruptly upon the place of our destination. I wish that it were
possible to sketch in words this spot as vividly as I recollect it.
Here were situated the Taboo groves of the valley—the scene of many a
prolonged feast, of many a horrid rite. Beneath the dark shadows of the
consecrated bread-fruit trees there reigned a solemn twilight—a
cathedral-like gloom. The frightful genius of pagan worship seemed to
brood in silence over the place, breathing its spell upon every object
around. Here and there, in the depths of these awful shades, half
screened from sight by masses of overhanging foliage, rose the
idolatrous altars of the savages, built of enormous blocks of black and
polished stone, placed one upon another, without cement, to the height
of twelve or fifteen feet, and surmounted by a rustic open temple,
enclosed with a low picket of canes, within which might be seen, in
various stages of decay, offerings of bread-fruit and cocoa-nuts, and
the putrefying relics of some recent sacrifice.
In the midst of the wood was the hallowed “hoolah hoolah” ground—set
apart for the celebration of the fantastical religious ritual of these
people—comprising an extensive oblong pi-pi, terminating at either end
in a lofty terraced altar, guarded by ranks of hideous wooden idols,
and with the two remaining sides flanked by ranges of bamboo sheds,
opening towards the interior of the quadrangle thus formed. Vast trees,
standing in the middle of this space, and throwing over it an
umbrageous shade, had their massive trunks built round with slight
stages, elevated a few feet above the ground, and railed in with canes,
forming so many rustic pulpits, from which the priests harangued their
devotees.
This holiest of spots was defended from profanation by the strictest
edicts of the all-pervading “taboo,” which condemned to instant death
the sacrilegious female who should enter or touch its sacred precincts,
or even so much as press with her feet the ground made holy by the
shadows that it cast.
Access was had to the enclosure through an embowered entrance on one
side, facing a number of towering cocoa-nut trees, planted at intervals
along a level area of a hundred yards. At the farther extremity of this
space was to be seen a building of considerable size, reserved for the
habitation of the priests and religious attendants of the grove.
In its vicinity was another remarkable edifice, built as usual upon the
summit of a pi-pi, and at least two hundred feet in length, though not
more than twenty in breadth. The whole front of this latter structure
was completely open, and from one end to the other ran a narrow
verandah, fenced in on the edge of the pi-pi with a picket of canes.
Its interior presented the appearance of an immense lounging-place, the
entire floor being strewn with successive layers of mats, lying between
parallel trunks of cocoa-nut trees, selected for the purpose from the
straightest and most symmetrical the vale afforded.
To this building, denominated in the language of the natives, the “Ti,”
Mehevi now conducted us. Thus far we had been accompanied by a troop of
the natives of both sexes; but as soon as we approached its vicinity,
the females gradually separated themselves from the crowd, and standing
aloof, permitted us to pass on. The merciless prohibitions of the taboo
extended likewise to this edifice, and were enforced by the same
dreadful penalty that secured the hoolah hoolah ground from the
imaginary pollution of a woman’s presence.
On entering the house, I was surprised to see six muskets ranged
against the bamboo on one side, from the barrels of which depended as
many small canvas pouches, partly filled with powder. Disposed about
these muskets, like the cutlasses that decorate the bulkhead of a
man-of-war’s cabin, were a great variety of rude spears and paddles,
javelins, and war-clubs. This then, said I to Toby, must be the armoury
of the tribe.
As we advanced farther along the building, we were struck with the
aspect of four or five hideous old wretches, on whose decrepid forms
time and tattooing seemed to have obliterated every trace of humanity.
Owing to the continued operation of this latter process, which only
terminates among the warriors of the island after all the figures
stretched upon their limbs in youth have been blended together—an
effect, however, produced only in cases of extreme longevity—the bodies
of these men were of a uniform dull green colour—the hue which the
tattooing gradually assumes as the individual advances in age. Their
skin had a frightful scaly appearance, which, united with its singular
colour, made their limbs not a little resemble dusty specimens of
verde-antique. Their flesh, in parts, hung upon them in huge folds,
like the overlapping plaits on the flank of a rhinoceros. Their heads
were completely bald, whilst their faces were puckered into a thousand
wrinkles, and they presented no vestige of a beard. But the most
remarkable peculiarity about them was the appearance of their feet; the
toes, like the radiating lines of the mariner’s compass, pointed to
every quarter of the horizon. This was doubtless attributable to the
fact, that during nearly a hundred years of existence the said toes
never had been subjected to any artificial confinement, and in their
old age, being averse to close neighbourhood, bid one another keep open
order.
These repulsive-looking creatures appeared to have lost the use of
their lower limbs altogether; sitting upon the floor cross-legged, in a
state of torpor. They never heeded us in the least, scarcely looking
conscious of our presence, while Mehevi seated us upon the mats, and
Kory-Kory gave utterance to some unintelligible gibberish.
In a few moments, a boy entered with a wooden trencher of poee-poee;
and in regaling myself with its contents, I was obliged again to submit
to the officious intervention of my indefatigable servitor. Various
other dishes followed, the chief manifesting the most hospitable
importunity in pressing us to partake, and to remove all bashfulness on
our part, set us no despicable example in his own person.
The repast concluded, a pipe was lighted, which passed from mouth to
mouth, and yielding to its soporific influence, the quiet of the place,
and the deepening shadows of approaching night, my companion and I sank
into a kind of drowsy repose, while the chief and Kory-Kory seemed to
be slumbering beside us.
I awoke from an uneasy nap, about midnight, as I supposed; and, raising
myself partly from the mat, became sensible that we were enveloped in
utter darkness. Toby lay still asleep, but our late companions had
disappeared. The only sound that interrupted the silence of the place
was the asthmatic breathing of the old men I have mentioned, who
reposed at a little distance from us. Besides them, as well as I could
judge, there was no one else in the house.
Apprehensive of some evil, I roused my comrade, and we were engaged in
a whispered conference concerning the unexpected withdrawal of the
natives, when all at once, from the depths of the grove, in full view
of us where we lay, shoots of flame were seen to rise, and in a few
moments illuminated the surrounding trees, casting, by contrast, into
still deeper gloom the darkness around us.
While we continued gazing at this sight, dark figures appeared moving
to and fro before the flames; while others, dancing and capering about,
looked like so many demons.
Regarding this new phenomenon with no small degree of trepidation, I
said to my companion, “What can all this mean, Toby?”
“Oh, nothing,” replied he; “getting the fire ready, I suppose.”
“Fire!” exclaimed I, while my heart took to beating like a trip-hammer,
“what fire?”
“Why, the fire to cook us, to be sure; what else would the cannibals be
kicking up such a row about, if it were not for that?”
“Oh, Toby! have done with your jokes; this is no time for them:
something is about to happen, I feel confident.”
“Jokes, indeed!” exclaimed Toby, indignantly. “Did you ever hear me
joke? Why, for what do you suppose the devils have been feeding us up
in this kind of style for during the last three days, unless it were
for something that you are too much frightened at to talk about? Look
at that Kory-Kory there!—has he not been stuffing you with his
confounded mushes, just in the way they treat swine before they kill
them? Depend upon it, we will be eaten this blessed night, and there is
the fire we shall be roasted by.”
This view of the matter was not at all calculated to allay my
apprehensions, and I shuddered when I reflected that we were indeed at
the mercy of a tribe of cannibals, and that the dreadful contingency to
which Toby had alluded was by no means removed beyond the bounds of
possibility.
“There! I told you so! they are coming for us!” exclaimed my companion
the next moment, as the forms of four of the islanders were seen in
bold relief against the illuminated background, mounting the pi-pi, and
approaching us.
They came on noiselessly, nay, stealthily, and glided along through the
gloom that surrounded us, as if about to spring upon some object they
were fearful of disturbing before they should make sure of it. Gracious
Heaven! the horrible reflections which crowded upon me that moment! A
cold sweat stood upon my brow, and spell-bound with terror, I awaited
my fate.
Suddenly the silence was broken by the well-remembered tones of Mehevi,
and at the kindly accents of his voice, my fears were immediately
dissipated. “Tommo, Toby, ki ki!” (eat). He had waited to address us,
until he had assured himself that we were both awake, at which he
seemed somewhat surprised.
“Ki ki! is it?” said Toby, in his gruff tones; “well, cook us first,
will you—but what’s this?” he added, as another savage appeared,
bearing before him a large trencher of wood, containing some kind of
steaming meat, as appeared from the odours it diffused, and which he
deposited at the feet of Mehevi. “A baked baby, I dare say! but I will
have none of it, never mind what it is. A pretty fool I should make of
myself, indeed, waked up here in the middle of the night, stuffing and
guzzling, and all to make a fat meal for a parcel of bloody-minded
cannibals one of these mornings! No; I see what they are at very
plainly, so I am resolved to starve myself into a bunch of bones and
gristle, and then, if they serve me up, they are welcome! But, I say,
Tommo, you are not going to eat any of that mess there, in the dark,
are you? Why, how can you tell what it is?”
“By tasting it, to be sure,” said I, masticating a morsel that
Kory-Kory had just put in my mouth; “and excellently good it is, too,
very much like veal.”
“A baked baby, by the soul of Captain Cook!” burst forth Toby, with
amazing vehemence. “Veal? why, there never was a calf on the island
till you landed. I tell you, you are bolting down mouthfuls from a dead
Happar’s carcass, as sure as you live, and no mistake!”
Emetics and lukewarm water! What a sensation in the abdominal regions!
Sure enough, where could the fiends incarnate have obtained meat? But I
resolved to satisfy myself at all hazards; and turning to Mehevi, I
soon made the ready chief understand that I wished a light to be
brought. When the taper came, I gazed eagerly into the vessel, and
recognized the mutilated remains of a juvenile porker! “Puarkee!”
exclaimed Kory-Kory, looking complacently at the dish; and from that
day to this I have never forgotten that such is the designation of a
pig in the Typee lingo.
The next morning, after being again abundantly feasted by the
hospitable Mehevi, Toby and myself arose to depart. But the chief
requested us to postpone our intention. “Abo, abo” (Wait, wait), he
said, and accordingly we resumed our seats, while, assisted by the
zealous Kory-Kory, he appeared to be engaged in giving directions to a
number of the natives outside, who were busily employed in making
arrangements, the nature of which we could not comprehend. But we were
not left long in our ignorance, for a few moments only had elapsed,
when the chief beckoned us to approach, and we perceived that he had
been marshalling a kind of guard of honour to escort us on our return
to the house of Marheyo.
The procession was led off by two venerable-looking savages, each
provided with a spear, from the end of which streamed a pennon of
milk-white tappa. After them went several youths, bearing aloft
calabashes of poee-poee; and followed in their turn by four stalwart
fellows, sustaining long bamboos, from the tops of which hung
suspended, at least twenty feet from the ground, large baskets of green
bread-fruit. Then came a troop of boys, carrying bunches of ripe
bananas, and baskets made of woven leaflets of cocoa-nut boughs, filled
with the young fruit of the tree, the naked shells, stripped of their
husks, peeping forth from the verdant wicker-work that surrounded them.
Last of all came a burly islander, holding over his head a wooden
trencher, in which lay disposed the remnants of our midnight feast,
hidden from view, however, by a covering of bread-fruit leaves.
Astonished as I was at this exhibition, I could not avoid smiling at
its grotesque appearance, and the associations it naturally called up.
Mehevi, it seemed, was bent on replenishing old Marheyo’s larder,
fearful, perhaps, that without this precaution his guests might not
fare as well as they could desire.
As soon as I descended from the pi-pi, the procession formed anew,
enclosing us in its centre; where I remained, part of the time carried
by Kory-Kory, and occasionally relieving him from his burden by limping
along with a spear. When we moved off in this order, the natives struck
up a musical recitative, which, with various alternations, they
continued until we arrived at the place of our destination.
As we proceeded on our way, bands of young girls, darting from the
surrounding groves, hung upon our skirts, and accompanied us with
shouts of merriment and delight, which almost drowned the deep notes of
the recitative. On approaching old Marheyo’s domicile, its inmates
rushed out to receive us; and while the gifts of Mehevi were being
disposed of, the superannuated warrior did the honours of his mansion
with all the warmth of hospitality evinced by an English squire, when
he regales his friends at some fine old patrimonial mansion.