General information gathered at the festival—Personal beauty of the
Typees—Their superiority over the inhabitants of the other
islands—Diversity of complexion—A vegetable cosmetic and
ointment—Testimony of voyagers to the uncommon beauty of the
Marquesans—Few evidences of intercourse with civilized
beings—Dilapidated musket—Primitive simplicity of government—Regal
dignity of Mehevi.
Although I had been unable during the late festival to obtain
information on many interesting subjects which had much excited my
curiosity, still that important event had not passed by without adding
materially to my general knowledge of the islanders.
I was especially struck by the physical strength and beauty which they
displayed, by their great superiority in these respects over the
inhabitants of the neighbouring bay of Nukuheva, and by the singular
contrasts they presented among themselves in their various shades of
complexion.
In beauty of form they surpassed anything I had ever seen. Not a single
instance of natural deformity was observable in all the throng
attending the revels. Occasionally I noticed among the men the scars of
wounds they had received in battle; and sometimes, though very seldom,
the loss of a finger, an eye, or an arm, attributable to the same
cause. With these exceptions, every individual appeared free from those
blemishes which sometimes mar the effect of an otherwise perfect form.
But their physical excellence did not merely consist in an exemption
from these evils; nearly every individual of their number might have
been taken for a sculptor’s model.
When I remembered that these islanders derived no advantage from dress,
but appeared in all the naked simplicity of nature, I could not avoid
comparing them with the fine gentlemen and dandies who promenade such
unexceptional figures in our frequented thoroughfares. Stripped of the
cunning artifices of the tailor, and standing forth in the garb of
Eden,—what a sorry set of round-shouldered, spindle-shanked,
crane-necked varlets would civilized men appear! Stuffed calves, padded
breasts, and scientifically cut pantaloons would then avail them
nothing, and the effect would be truly deplorable.
Nothing in the appearance of the islanders struck me more forcibly than
the whiteness of their teeth. The novelist always compares the
masticators of his heroine to ivory; but I boldly pronounce the teeth
of the Typees to be far more beautiful than ivory itself. The jaws of
the oldest greybeards among them were much better garnished than those
of the youths of civilized countries; while the teeth of the young and
middle-aged, in their purity and whiteness, were actually dazzling to
the eye. This marvellous whiteness of the teeth is to be ascribed to
the pure vegetable diet of these people, and the uninterrupted
healthfulness of their natural mode of life.
The men, in almost every instance, are of lofty stature, scarcely ever
less than six feet in height, while the other sex are uncommonly
diminutive. The early period of life at which the human form arrives at
maturity in this generous tropical climate likewise deserves to be
mentioned. A little creature, not more than thirteen years of age, who
in other particulars might be regarded as a mere child, is often seen
nursing her own baby; whilst lads who, under less ripening skies, would
be still at school, are here responsible fathers of families.
On first entering the Typee valley, I had been struck with the marked
contrast presented by its inhabitants with those of the bay I had
previously left. In the latter place, I had not been favourably
impressed with the personal appearance of the male portion of the
population; although with the females, excepting in some truly
melancholy instances, I had been wonderfully pleased.
Apart, however, from these considerations, I am inclined to believe
that there exists a radical difference between the two tribes, if
indeed they are not distinct races of men. To those who have merely
touched at Nukuheva Bay, without visiting other portions of the island,
would hardly appear credible the diversities presented between the
various small clans inhabiting so diminutive a spot. But the hereditary
hostility which has existed between them for ages fully accounts for
this.
Not so easy, however, is it to assign an adequate cause for the endless
variety of complexions to be seen in the Typee valley. During the
festival, I had noticed several young females whose skins were almost
as white as any Saxon damsel’s, a slight dash of the mantling brown
being all that marked the difference. This comparative fairness of
complexion, though in a great degree perfectly natural, is partly the
result of an artificial process, and of an entire exclusion from the
sun. The juice of the “papa” root, found in great abundance at the head
of the valley, is held in great esteem as a cosmetic, with which many
of the females daily anoint their whole person. The habitual use of it
whitens and beautifies the skin. Those of the young girls who resort to
this method of heightening their charms, never expose themselves to the
rays of the sun; an observance, however, that produces little or no
inconvenience, since there are but few of the inhabited portions of the
vale which are not shaded over with a spreading canopy of boughs, so
that one may journey from house to house, scarcely deviating from the
direct course, and yet never once see his shadow cast upon the ground.
The “papa,” when used, is suffered to remain upon the skin for several
hours; being of a light green colour, it consequently imparts for the
time a similar hue to the complexion. Nothing, therefore, can be
imagined more singular than the appearance of these nearly naked
damsels immediately after the application of the cosmetic. To look at
one of them you would almost suppose she was some vegetable in an
unripe state; and that, instead of living in the shade for ever, she
ought to be placed out in the sun to ripen.
All the islanders are more or less in the habit of anointing
themselves; the women preferring the “aker” or “papa,” and the men
using the oil of the cocoa-nut. Mehevi was remarkably fond of
mollifying his entire cuticle with this ointment. Sometimes he might be
seen with his whole body fairly reeking with the perfumed oil of the
nut, looking as if he had just emerged from a soap-boiler’s vat, or had
undergone the process of dipping in a tallow-chandlery. To this cause,
perhaps, united to their frequent bathing, and extreme cleanliness, is
ascribable, in a great measure, the marvellous purity and smoothness of
skin exhibited by the natives in general.
The prevailing tint among the women of the valley was a light olive,
and of this style of complexion Fayaway afforded the most beautiful
example. Others were still darker, while not a few were of a genuine
golden colour, and some of a swarthy hue.
As agreeing with much previously mentioned in this narrative, I may
here observe, that Mendanna, their discoverer, in his account of the
Marquesas, described the natives as wondrously beautiful to behold, and
as nearly resembling the people of Southern Europe. The first of these
islands seen by Mendanna was La Madelena, which is not far distant from
Nukuheva; and its inhabitants in every respect resemble those dwelling
on that and the other islands of the group. Figueroa, the chronicler of
Mendanna’s voyage, says, that on the morning the land was descried,
when the Spaniards drew near the shore, there sallied forth, in rude
procession, about seventy canoes, and at the same time many of the
inhabitants (females, I presume) made towards the ships by swimming. He
adds, that “in complexion they were nearly white, of good stature, and
finely formed; and on their faces and bodies were delineated
representations of fishes and other devices.” The old Don then goes on
to say, “There came, among others, two lads paddling their canoe, whose
eyes were fixed on the ship; they had beautiful faces, and the most
promising animation of countenance, and were in all things so becoming,
that the pilot-mayor, Quiros, affirmed, nothing in his life ever caused
him so much regret as the leaving such fine creatures to be lost in
that country.”
Some of the natives present at the Feast of Calabashes had displayed a
few articles of European dress, disposed, however, about their persons
after their own peculiar fashion. Among these I perceived the two
pieces of cotton cloth which poor Toby and myself had bestowed upon our
youthful guides the afternoon we entered the valley. They were
evidently reserved for gala days; and during those of the festival they
rendered the young islanders who wore them very distinguished
characters. The small number who were similarly adorned, and the great
value they appeared to place upon the most common and most trivial
articles, furnished ample evidence of the very restricted intercourse
they held with vessels touching at the island. A few cotton
handkerchiefs of a gay pattern, tied about the neck, and suffered to
fall over the shoulders, strips of fanciful calico, swathed about the
loins, were nearly all I saw.
Indeed, throughout the valley, there were few things of any kind to be
seen of European origin. All I ever saw, besides the articles just
alluded to, were the six muskets preserved in the Ti, and three or four
similar implements of warfare hung up in other houses, some small
canvas bags, partly filled with bullets and powder, and half a dozen
old hatchet-heads, with the edges blunted and battered to such a degree
as to render them utterly worthless. These last seemed to be regarded
as nearly worthless by the natives; and several times they held up one
of them before me, and throwing it aside with a gesture of disgust,
manifested their contempt for anything that could so soon become
unserviceable.
But the muskets, the powder, and the bullets, were held in most
extravagant esteem. The former, from their great age and the
peculiarities they exhibited, were well worthy a place in any
antiquarian’s armoury. I remember, in particular, one that hung in the
Ti, and which Mehevi—supposing as a matter of course that I was able to
repair it—had put into my hands for that purpose. It was one of those
clumsy, old-fashioned English pieces known generally as Tower Hill
muskets, and, for aught I know, might have been left on the island by
Wallace, Carteret, Cook, or Vancouver. The stock was half-rotten and
worm-eaten; the lock was as rusty and about as well adapted to its
ostensible purpose as an old door-hinge; the threading of the screws
about the trigger was completely worn away; while the barrel shook in
the wood. Such was the weapon the chief desired me to restore to its
original condition. As I did not possess the accomplishments of a
gunsmith, and was likewise destitute of the necessary tools, I was
reluctantly obliged to signify my inability to perform the task. At
this unexpected communication Mehevi regarded me, for a moment, as if
he half suspected I was some inferior sort of white man, who after all
did not know much more than a Typee. However, after a most laboured
explanation of the matter, I succeeded in making him understand the
extreme difficulty of the task. Scarcely satisfied with my apologies,
however, he marched off with the superannuated musket in something of a
huff, as if he would no longer expose it to the indignity of being
manipulated by such unskilful fingers.
[Illustration: MEHEVI]
During the festival, I had not failed to remark the simplicity of
manner, the freedom from all restraint, and, to a certain degree, the
equality of condition manifested by the natives in general. No one
appeared to assume any arrogant pretensions. There was little more than
a slight difference in costume to distinguish the chiefs from the other
natives. All appeared to mix together freely, and without any reserve;
although I noticed that the wishes of a chief, even when delivered in
the mildest tone, received the same immediate obedience which elsewhere
would have been only accorded to a peremptory command. What may be the
extent of the authority of the chiefs over the rest of the tribe, I
will not venture to assert; but from all I saw during my stay in the
valley, I was induced to believe that in matters concerning the general
welfare it was very limited. The required degree of deference towards
them, however, was willingly and cheerfully yielded; and as all
authority is transmitted from father to son, I have no doubt that one
of the effects here, as elsewhere, of high birth, is to induce respect
and obedience.
The particular grades of rank existing among the chiefs of Typee, I
could not in all cases determine. Previous to the Feast of Calabashes,
I had been puzzled what particular station to assign to Mehevi. But the
important part he took upon that occasion convinced me that he had no
superior among the inhabitants of the valley. I had invariably noticed
a certain degree of deference paid to him by all with whom I had ever
seen him brought in contact; but when I remembered that my wanderings
had been confined to a limited portion of the valley, and that towards
the sea a number of distinguished chiefs resided, some of whom had
separately visited me at Marheyo’s house, and whom, until the festival,
I had never seen in the company of Mehevi, I felt disposed to believe
that his rank, after all, might not be particularly elevated.
The revels, however, had brought together all the warriors whom I had
seen individually and in groups at different times and places. Among
them Mehevi moved with an easy air of superiority which was not to be
mistaken; and he whom I had only looked at as the hospitable host of
the Ti, and one of the military leaders of the tribe, now assumed in my
eyes the dignity of royal station. His striking costume, no less than
his naturally commanding figure, seemed indeed to give him pre-eminence
over the rest. The towering helmet of feathers that he wore raised him
in height above all who surrounded him; and though some others were
similarly adorned, the length and luxuriance of their plumes were far
inferior to his.
Mehevi was in fact the greatest of the chiefs—the head of his clan—the
sovereign of the valley; and the simplicity of the social institutions
of the people could not have been more completely proved than by the
fact, that after having been several weeks in the valley, and almost in
daily intercourse with Mehevi, I should have remained until the time of
the festival ignorant of his regal character. But a new light had now
broken in upon me. The Ti was the palace—and Mehevi the king. Both the
one and the other of a most simple and patriarchal nature it must be
allowed, and wholly unattended by the ceremonious pomp which usually
surrounds the purple.
After having made this discovery I could not avoid congratulating
myself that Mehevi had from the first taken me as it were under his
royal protection, and that he still continued to entertain for me the
warmest regard, as far at least as I was enabled to judge from
appearances. For the future I determined to pay most assiduous court to
him, hoping that eventually through his kindness I might obtain my
liberty.