The social condition and general character of the Typees.
There seemed to be no rogues of any kind in Typee. In the darkest
nights the natives slept securely, with all their worldly wealth around
them, in houses the doors of which were never fastened. The disquieting
ideas of theft or assassination never disturbed them. Each islander
reposed beneath his own palmetto-thatching, or sat under his own
bread-fruit, with none to molest or alarm him. There was not a padlock
in the valley, nor anything that answered the purpose of one: still
there was no community of goods. This long spear, so elegantly carved
and highly polished, belongs to Warmoonoo—it is far handsomer than the
one which old Marheyo so greatly prizes—it is the most valuable article
belonging to its owner. And yet I have seen it leaning against a
cocoa-nut tree in the grove, and there it was found when sought for.
Here is a sperm-whale tooth, graven all over with cunning devices—it is
the property of Kurluna. It is the most precious of the damsel’s
ornaments. In her estimation, its price is far above rubies; and yet
there hangs the dental jewel, by its cord of braided bark, in the
girl’s house, which is far back in the valley; the door is left open,
and all the inmates have gone off to bathe in the stream.[5]
So much for the respect in which such matters are held in Typee. As to
the land of the valley, whether it was the joint property of its
inhabitants, or whether it was parcelled out among a certain number of
landed proprietors, who allowed everybody to roam over it as much as
they pleased, I never could ascertain. At any rate, musty parchments
and title-deeds there were none in the island; and I am half inclined
to believe that its inhabitants hold their broad valleys in fee simple
from nature herself.
Yesterday I saw Kory-Kory hie him away, armed with a long pole, with
which, standing on the ground, he knocked down the fruit from the
topmost boughs of the trees, and brought them home in his basket of
cocoa-nut leaves. To-day I see an islander, whom I know to reside in a
distant part of the valley, doing the self-same thing. On the sloping
bank of the stream were a number of banana trees. I have often seen a
score or two of young people making a merry foray on the great golden
clusters, and bearing them off, one after another, to different parts
of the vale, shouting and tramping as they went. No churlish old
curmudgeon could have been the owner of that grove of bread-fruit
trees, or of these gloriously yellow bunches of bananas.
From what I have said, it will be perceived that there is a vast
difference between “personal property” and “real estate” in the valley
of Typee. Some individuals, of course, are more wealthy than others.
For example: the ridge-pole of Marheyo’s house bends under the weight
of many a huge packet of tappa; his long couch is laid with mats placed
one upon the other seven deep. Outside, Tinor has ranged along in her
bamboo cupboard—or whatever the place may be called—a goodly array of
calabashes and wooden trenchers. Now, the house just beyond the grove,
and next to Marheyo’s, occupied by Ruaruga, is not quite so well
furnished. There are only three moderate-sized packages swinging
overhead; there are only two layers of mats beneath; and the calabashes
and trenchers are not so numerous, nor so tastefully stained and
carved. But then, Ruaruga has a house—not so pretty a one, to be
sure—but just as commodious as Marheyo’s; and, I suppose, if he wished
to vie with his neighbour’s establishment, he could do so with very
little trouble. These, in short, constitute the chief differences
perceivable in the relative wealth of the people in Typee.
They lived in great harmony with each other. I will give an instance of
their fraternal feeling.
One day, in returning with Kory-Kory from my accustomed visit to the
Ti, we passed by a little opening in the grove; on one side of which,
my attendant informed me, was that afternoon to be built a dwelling of
bamboo. At least a hundred of the natives were bringing materials to
the ground, some carrying in their hands one or two of the canes which
were to form the sides, others slender rods of the Habiscus, strung
with palmetto leaves, for the roof. Every one contributed something to
the work; and by the united, but easy, and even indolent, labours of
all, the entire work was completed before sunset. The islanders, while
employed in erecting this tenement, reminded me of a colony of beavers
at work. To be sure, they were hardly as silent and demure as those
wonderful creatures, nor were they by any means as diligent. To tell
the truth, they were somewhat inclined to be lazy, but a perfect tumult
of hilarity prevailed; and they worked together so unitedly, and seemed
actuated by such an instinct of friendliness, that it was truly
beautiful to behold.
Not a single female took part in this employment: and if the degree of
consideration in which the ever-adorable sex is held by the men be—as
the philosophers affirm—a just criterion of the degree of refinement
among a people, then I may truly pronounce the Typees to be as polished
a community as ever the sun shone upon. The religious restrictions of
the taboo alone excepted, the women of the valley were allowed every
possible indulgence. Nowhere are the ladies more assiduously courted;
nowhere are they better appreciated as the contributors to our highest
enjoyments; and nowhere are they more sensible of their power. Far
different from their condition among many rude nations, where the women
are made to perform all the work, while their ungallant lords and
masters lie buried in sloth, the gentle sex in the valley of Typee were
exempt from toil—if toil it might be called—that, even in that tropical
climate, never distilled one drop of perspiration. Their light
household occupations, together with the manufacture of tappa, the
platting of mats, and the polishing of drinking-vessels, were the only
employments pertaining to the women. And even these resembled those
pleasant avocations which fill up the elegant morning leisure of our
fashionable ladies at home. But in these occupations, slight and
agreeable though they were, the giddy young girls very seldom engaged.
Indeed, these wilful, care-killing damsels were averse to all useful
employment. Like so many spoiled beauties, they ranged through the
groves—bathed in the stream—danced—flirted—played all manner of
mischievous pranks, and passed their days in one merry round of
thoughtless happiness.
During my whole stay on the island I never witnessed a single quarrel,
nor anything that in the slightest degree approached even to a dispute.
The natives appeared to form one household, whose members were bound
together by the ties of strong affection. The love of kindred I did not
so much perceive, for it seemed blended in the general love; and where
all were treated as brothers and sisters, it was hard to tell who were
actually related to each other by blood.
Let it not be supposed that I have overdrawn this picture. I have not
done so. Nor let it be urged, that the hostility of this tribe to
foreigners, and the hereditary feuds they carry on against their
fellow-islanders beyond the mountains, are facts which contradict me.
Not so; these apparent discrepancies are easily reconciled. By many a
legendary tale of violence and wrong, as well as by events which have
passed before their eyes, these people have been taught to look upon
white men with abhorrence. The cruel invasion of their country by
Porter has alone furnished them with ample provocation; and I can
sympathize in the spirit which prompts the Typee warrior to guard all
the passes to his valley with the point of his levelled spear, and,
standing upon the beach, with his back turned upon his green home, to
hold at bay the intruding European.
As to the origin of the enmity of this particular clan towards the
neighbouring tribes, I cannot so confidently speak. I will not say that
their foes are the aggressors, nor will I endeavour to palliate their
conduct. But surely, if our evil passions must find vent, it is far
better to expend them on strangers and aliens, than in the bosom of the
community in which we dwell. In many polished countries civil
contentions, as well as domestic enmities, are prevalent, at the same
time that the most atrocious foreign wars are waged. How much less
guilty, then, are our islanders, who of these three sins are only
chargeable with one, and that the least criminal!
The reader will, ere long, have reason to suspect that the Typees are
not free from the guilt of cannibalism; and he will then, perhaps,
charge me with admiring a people against whom so odious a crime is
chargeable. But this only enormity in their character is not half so
horrible as it is usually described. According to the popular fictions,
the crews of vessels, shipwrecked on some barbarous coast, are eaten
alive like so many dainty joints by the uncivil inhabitants; and
unfortunate voyagers are lured into smiling and treacherous bays;
knocked on the head with outlandish war-clubs; and served up without
any preliminary dressing. In truth, so horrific and improbable are
these accounts, that many sensible and well-informed people will not
believe that any cannibals exist; and place every book of voyages which
purports to give any account of them, on the same shelf with Blue Beard
and Jack the Giant-killer. While others, implicitly crediting the most
extravagant fictions, firmly believe that there are people in the world
with tastes so depraved, that they would infinitely prefer a single
mouthful of material humanity to a good dinner of roast beef and plum
pudding. But here, Truth, who loves to be centrally located, is again
found between the two extremes; for cannibalism to a certain moderate
extent is practised among several of the primitive tribes in the
Pacific, but it is upon the bodies of slain enemies alone; and horrible
and fearful as the custom is, immeasurably as it is to be abhorred and
condemned, still I assert that those who indulge in it are in other
respects humane and virtuous.