HOW THEY DRESS IN TAHITI
Except where the employment of making “tappa” is inflicted as a
punishment, the echoes of the cloth-mallet have long since died away in
the listless valleys of Tahiti. Formerly, the girls spent their
mornings like ladies at their tambour frames; now, they are lounged
away in almost utter indolence. True, most of them make their own
garments; but this comprises but a stitch or two; the ladies of the
mission, by the bye, being entitled to the credit of teaching them to
sew.
The “kihee whihenee,” or petticoat, is a mere breadth of white cotton,
or calico; loosely enveloping the person, from the waist to the feet.
Fastened simply by a single tuck, or by twisting the upper corners
together, this garment frequently becomes disordered; thus affording an
opportunity of being coquettishly adjusted. Over the “kihee,” they wear
a sort of gown, open in front, very loose, and as negligent as you
please. The ladies here never dress for dinner.
But what shall be said of those horrid hats! Fancy a bunch of straw,
plaited into the shape of a coal-scuttle, and stuck, bolt upright, on
the crown; with a yard or two of red ribbon flying about like
kite-strings. Milliners of Paris, what would ye say to them! Though
made by the natives, they are said to have been first contrived and
recommended by the missionaries’ wives; a report which, I really trust,
is nothing but scandal.
Curious to relate, these things for the head are esteemed exceedingly
becoming. The braiding of the straw is one of the few employments of
the higher classes; all of which but minister to the silliest vanity.
The young girls, however, wholly eschew the hats; leaving those dowdy
old souls, their mothers, to make frights of themselves.
As for the men, those who aspire to European garments seem to have no
perception of the relation subsisting between the various parts of a
gentleman’s costume. To the wearer of a coat, for instance, pantaloons
are by no means indispensable; and a bell-crowned hat and a girdle are
full dress. The young sailor, for whom Kooloo deserted me, presented
him with a shaggy old pea-jacket; and with this buttoned up to his
chin, under a tropical sun, he promenaded the Broom Road, quite elated.
Doctor Long Ghost, who saw him thus, ran away with the idea that he was
under medical treatment at the time—in the act of taking, what the
quacks call, a “sweat.”
A bachelor friend of Captain Bob rejoiced in the possession of a full
European suit; in which he often stormed the ladies’ hearts. Having a
military leaning, he ornamented the coat with a great scarlet patch on
the breast; and mounted it also, here and there, with several
regimental buttons, slyly cut from the uniform of a parcel of drunken
marines sent ashore on a holiday from a man-of-war. But, in spite of
the ornaments, the dress was not exactly the thing. From the tightness
of the cloth across the shoulders, his elbows projected from his sides,
like an ungainly rider’s; and his ponderous legs were jammed so hard
into his slim, nether garments that the threads of every seam showed;
and, at every step, you looked for a catastrophe.
In general, there seems to be no settled style of dressing among the
males; they wear anything they can get; in some cases, awkwardly
modifying the fashions of their fathers so as to accord with their own
altered views of what is becoming.
But ridiculous as many of them now appear, in foreign habiliments, the
Tahitians presented a far different appearance in the original national
costume; which was graceful in the extreme, modest to all but the
prudish, and peculiarly adapted to the climate. But the short kilts of
dyed tappa, the tasselled maroes, and other articles formerly worn,
are, at the present day, prohibited by law as indecorous. For what
reason necklaces and garlands of flowers, among the women, are also
forbidden, I never could learn; but, it is said, that they were
associated, in some way, with a forgotten heathen observance.
Many pleasant, and, seemingly, innocent sports and pastimes, are
likewise interdicted. In old times, there were several athletic games
practised, such as wrestling, foot-racing, throwing the javelin, and
archery. In all these they greatly excelled; and, for some, splendid
festivals were instituted. Among their everyday amusements were
dancing, tossing the football, kite-flying, flute-playing, and singing
traditional ballads; now, all punishable offences; though most of them
have been so long in disuse that they are nearly forgotten.
In the same way, the “Opio,” or festive harvest-home of the breadfruit,
has been suppressed; though, as described to me by Captain Bob, it
seemed wholly free from any immoral tendency. Against tattooing, of any
kind, there is a severe law.
That this abolition of their national amusements and customs was not
willingly acquiesced in, is shown in the frequent violation of many of
the statutes inhibiting them; and, especially, in the frequency with
which their “hevars,” or dances, are practised in secret.
Doubtless, in thus denationalizing the Tahitians, as it were, the
missionaries were prompted by a sincere desire for good; but the effect
has been lamentable. Supplied with no amusements in place of those
forbidden, the Tahitians, who require more recreation than other
people, have sunk into a listlessness, or indulge in sensualities, a
hundred times more pernicious than all the games ever celebrated in the
Temple of Tanee.