island cut their hair quite short, whereas the men wear it long,
sometimes hanging loose on their shoulders, and at others tied in a knot
on the crown of their heads, in which they stick the feathers of birds
of various colours.
Both sexes frequently wear a piece of cloth of the manufacture of the
island tied round their heads in the form of a turban; and the women
take no little pains in plaiting human hair into long strings, which
being folded into branches, are tied on their foreheads by way of
ornament.
There is a custom likewise prevalent among them of anointing their heads
with an oil extracted from the cocoa-nut. The smell of which is not
altogether agreeable, as the climate is hot, and they are not provided
with any thing similar to a comb, their heads are not clear from vermin:
it evidently appeared, however, to be more the effect of necessity than
inclination, as those to whom they gave combs immediately got rid of
these disagreeable companions.
They stain their bodies, by indenting or pricking the flesh with a small
instrument made of bone, cut into short teeth; which indentures they
fill with a dark blue or blackish mixture, prepared from the smoke of an
oily nut, burnt by them instead of candles and water; this operation,
which is called by the natives Tattaowing, is exceedingly painful, and
leaves an indelible mark on the skin. It is usually performed when they
are about ten or twelve years of age, and on different parts of the
body; but those which suffer most severely are the breech and the loins,
which are marked with arches, carried one above another a considerable
way up their backs.
At the operation of _Tattaowing_, performed upon the posteriors of a
girl about twelve years of age, Mr. Banks was present, it was executed
with an instrument that had twenty teeth, and at each stroke, which was
repeated every moment, serum mixed with blood issued. She bore it with
great resolution for several minutes; but at length the pain became so
violent, that she murmured and complained, and then burst into the most
violent lamentations; but her operator was inexorable, whilst some
females present chid, and even beat her. Mr. Banks was a spectator for
near an hour, during which time it was performed only on one side, the
other having undergone the ceremony sometime before; and the arches upon
the loins, which are the most painful, but upon which they the most
pique themselves, were yet to be made.
They cloath themselves in cloth and matting of various kinds; the first
they wear in fair, the latter in wet weather. They are in different
forms, no shape being preserved in them, nor are the pieces sewed
together. The women of a superior class wear three or four pieces; one,
which is of considerable length, they wrap several times round their
waists, and it falls down to the middle of the leg. Two or three other
short pieces, with a hole cut in the middle of each, are placed on one
another, and their heads coming through the holes, the long ends hang
before and behind, both sides being open, by which means they have the
free use of their arms.
[Illustration: _A Woman & Boy, of the new discovered Islands, in the
Dress of the Country._]
The mens dress is very similar, differing only in one instance, which is
that part of the garment instead of falling below the knees, is brought
between the legs. This dress is worn by all ranks of people, the only
distinction being quantity in the superior class. At noon both sexes
appear almost naked, wearing only the piece of cloth that is tied round
the waist. Their faces are shaded from the sun with small bonnets, made
of cocoa-nut leaves or matting which are constructed in a few minutes.
The men sometimes wear a sort of wig, made of human or dogs hair, or of
cocoa-nut strings, woven on a single thread, which is fastened under
their hair, and hangs down behind. Both men and women wear ear-rings on
one side, consisting of shells, stones, berries, or small pearls; but
they soon gave the preference to the beads, brought by the Endeavour’s
company.
The boys and girls go quite naked; the first till they are seven or
eight years old; the latter till they are about five. Their houses,
which have been described already, they seldom use but to sleep in, or
to avoid the rain, as they eat in the open air, under the shade of a
tree. Their clothes serve them at night for covering, and there are no
divisions or apartments. The master and his wife repose in the middle,
then the married people; next to these the unmarried females, and at a
small distance the men who are unmarried; and the servants sleep in the
open air in fair weather. The houses of the Chiefs, however, differ in
some degree; there are some very small, and so built as to be carried in
canoes: all sides of them are inclosed with the leaves of the cocoa-nut;
the air, nevertheless, penetrates, in these the Chief and his wife alone
sleep. There are also houses which are general receptacles for the
inhabitants of a district. These are much larger, many being more than
two hundred feet in length, forty in breadth, and seventy or eighty feet
high. They are constructed at the common expence, and have an area on
one side surrounded with low pallisades; but like the others have no
walls.
When a Chief kills a hog, which is but seldom, he divides it equally
among his vassals; dogs and fowls are more common.
When the bread-fruit in not in season, they are supplied by cocoa-nuts,
bananas, plantains, &c.
Their cookery consists chiefly of baking, the manner of doing which has
been already described. They bake their bread-fruit in the same way,
which renders it something like a mealy potatoe; of this fruit three
dishes are made, by beating it to a paste, and mixing it with bananas,
plantains, or the sour paste, which the natives nominate _Mahie_.
This paste is made by taking bread-fruit, which is not thoroughly ripe,
and laying it in heaps, covered with leaves, by which means it ferments,
the core is then taken out, and the fruit put into a hole lined with
grass; it is then again covered with leaves, upon which large stones are
placed; this produces a second fermentation, after which it grows sour,
and undergoes no change for a long time; they take it from this hole as
they have occasion for it, and making it into balls, it is rolled up in
plantain-leaves and baked; as it will keep for some weeks after it is
dressed, they eat it both hot and cold.
Such is the food of these people, their sauce to which never consists of
any thing but salt water. As to their drink, it is generally confined to
water, or the milk of the cocoa nuts, though there were instances in
which some of them drank so freely of the English liquors, as to become
quite intoxicated; this, however, seemed to proceed more from ignorance
than design, as they were never known to repeat a debauch of this kind a
second time. They were told indeed that the Chiefs sometimes became
inebriated by drinking the juice of a plant called _Ava_, but of this
they saw no instance during the time they remained on the island.
The Chiefs generally eat alone, unless when visited by a stranger, who
is sometimes permitted to become a second in their mess; having nothing
to supply the want of a table; they sit on the ground in the shade;
leaves of trees being spread before them serve as a table-cloth; their
attendants, who are numerous, having placed a basket by the Chiefs,
containing their provisions, and a cocoa-nut shell of fresh and salt
water, seat themselves round them; they then begin by washing their
mouth and hands, after which they eat a mouthful of bread-fruit and
fish, dipt in salt water alternately, till the whole is consumed, taking
a sup of salt water likewise between almost every morsel. The
bread-fruit and fish being all eaten, they next have either plantains or
apples, which they never eat without being pared. During this time a
soft paste is prepared from the bread-fruit, which they sup out of a
cocoa-nut shell; this finishes the meal, and the hands and mouth are
again washed as at the beginning.
It is astonishing how much food they eat at a meal; Mr. Banks and some
other gentlemen were present when one man devoured three fish the size
of a middling carp, four bread fruits as large as a common melon,
thirteen or fourteen plantains seven or eight inches long, and above
half as big round, and about a quart of the paste made of bread-fruit.
It is not a little surprizing, that the inhabitants of this island, who
seemed exceedingly sensible of the pleasures of society, should have an
universal aversion to the least intercourse with each other at their
meals, and so rigid are they in the observance of this unusual custom,
that even brothers and sisters have their separate baskets to contain
their provisions, and generally sit some yards distance when they eat,
with their backs turned towards each other, not exchanging a single word
during the whole time of their repast; the middle aged of superior rank
usually betake themselves to sleep after dinner, but what is remarkable,
the older people are not so lazy; music, dancing, wrestling, and
shooting with the bow, or throwing a lance, constitute a chief part of
their diversions.
Flutes which have been mentioned before, and drums, are the only musical
instruments among them; their drums are formed of a circular piece of
wood, hollow at one end only, which is covered with the skin of a shark,
and they are beaten with the hand instead of a stick. Their songs are
extempore, and frequently in rhime, but consist of only two lines; these
couplets are often sung by way of evening amusements, between sun-set
and bed-time, during which time they are not destitute of lights, having
candles which they make of an oily nut, fixing them one above another,
upon a small stick run through the middle; some of these candles burn a
long time, and afford a pretty good light.
Among their other amusements, they have a dance named _Timorodee_, which
is performed by ten or a dozen young females, who put themselves into
the most wanton attitudes that can possibly be imagined, keeping time
during the performance with the greatest nicety and exactness, from
these dances the women are immediately excluded on their becoming
pregnant.
Many of the principal people of this island, of each sex, have united
into an association, in which no woman confines her favours to any
particular man; in this manner they obtain a perpetual variety, no one
object ever gratifying them but a few days.
These societies are named _Arreoy_, the members of which have meetings
where the men amuse themselves by wrestling; and notwithstanding the
frequent intercourse which the women have with a variety of men, they
dance the _Timorodee_ in such a manner, as they imagine will most excite
the desires of the male sex, and which are often gratified upon the
spot. There are yet much worse practices. In case any of the women prove
with child, which in this manner of life seldom happens, they destroy
the helpless infant as soon as it is brought into the world, that it may
not be a burden to the father, nor interrupt the mother in the pursuit
of her lascivious amusements. Natural affection, however, for the child
sometimes happily produces a reformation in the mother, but when this
happens, the child’s life is always forfeited, unless the mother can
procure a man to adopt it as his child, in which case this inhuman
murder is prevented, but both the man and woman are for ever expelled
this society. The woman being particularized by the appellation of
_Whannownow_, “bearer of children”, which among these people, is
considered as a term of the greatest reproach.
Their personal cleanliness is an object that merits peculiar attention.
Both sexes never omit to wash with water three times a day; when they
rise, at noon, and before they go to rest. They also keep their cloaths
extremely clean; so that in the largest communities no disagreeable
effluvia ever arises, nor is there any other inconvenience than heat.
The chief manufacture of Otaheite is cloth; of this cloth there are
three different sorts, which are made of the bark of as many different
trees, viz. the mulberry, the bread-fruit, and a tree not very unlike
the wild fig-tree, which is found in some parts of the West Indies. The
mulberry-tree, which the Indians call _Aouta_, produces the finest
cloth, which is seldom worn but by those of the first rank. The next
sort, which is worn by the lower class of people, is made of the
bread-fruit tree, and the coarsest of the tree resembling the fig-tree.
This last sort, though more useful than the two former on account of its
keeping out water, which neither of the others will, is exceedingly
scarce, being manufactured but in small quantities.
The same method is used in manufacturing these three cloths,
notwithstanding they are all different; a description therefore of their
manner of making one, will suffice for the whole.
Having stript off the bark of the trees, it is soaked in water for two
or three days, they then take it out and separate the inner bark from
the external coat, by scraping it with a shell, after which it is spread
out on plantain-leaves, placing two or three layers one over another,
and taking care to make it of an equal thickness in every part; it
continues in this state till it is nearly dry, when it adheres together
so firmly, that it may be taken from the ground without breaking. After
this process it is laid on a smooth board, and beaten with an instrument
made for that purpose, of a compact heavy wood, called by the natives
_Etoa_. This instrument is about fourteen inches long, and seven in
circumference; it is of a quadrangular shape, and each of the four sides
is marked with longitudinal grooves or furrows, differing in this
instance, that there is a regular gradation in the width and depth of
the grooves on each of the sides, the coarser side containing not more
than ten of these furrows, and the finest above sixty.
They begin to beat their cloth with that side of the mallet where the
grooves are deepest and widest, and proceeding regularly with the
others, finish with that which has the greatest number; by this beating
it is extended in a manner similar to the gold which is formed into
leaves by the hammer, and is marked with an appearance of little
channels, not unlike those which are visible on paper, but rather
deeper; it is in general beat very thin, and when they want it thicker
than common, they take two or three pieces and paste them together with
a kind of glue, prepared from a root called _Pea_.
This cloth becomes exceedingly white by bleaching, and is died of a red,
yellow, brown, or black colour: the first of which is exceedingly
beautiful, and equal, if not superior, to any in Europe. They make this
red colour from a mixture of the juices of two vegetables, neither of
which used separately has this effect.
Matting of various kinds is another considerable manufacture, in which
they excel, in many respects, the Europeans. They make use of the
coarser sort to sleep on, and in wet weather they wear the finer.
They greatly excel in the basket and wicker-work; both men and women
employ themselves at it, and can make it of a great number of different
patterns.
They make ropes and lines of all sizes of the bark of the _poerou_, and
their nets for fishing are made of these lines: the fibres of the
cocoa-nut they make thread of, such as they use to fasten together the
several parts of their canoes; the forms of which are various, according
to the use to which they are applied.
Their fishing-lines are esteemed the best in the world, made of the bark
of the _Erowa_, a kind of nettle which grows on the mountains; they are
strong enough to hold the heaviest and most vigorous fish, such as
bonetas and albicores; in short, they are extremely ingenious in every
expedient for taking all kinds of fish.
The tools which these people make use of for building houses,
constructing canoes, hewing stone, and for felling, cleaving, carving
and polishing timber, consist of nothing more than an adze of stone, and
a chissel of bone, most commonly that of a man’s arm; and for a file or
polisher, they make use of a rasp of coral, and coral sand.
The blades of their adzes are extremely tough, but not very hard; they
make them of various sizes, those for felling weigh six or seven pounds;
and others which are used for carving, only a few ounces; they are
obliged, every minute, to sharpen them on a stone, which is always kept
near them for that purpose.
The most difficult task they meet with in the use of these tools, is the
felling of a tree, which employs a great number of hands for several
days together.
The tree which is in general use is called _Avie_, the stem of which is
strait and tall. Some of their smaller boats are made of the bread-fruit
tree, which is wrought without much difficulty, being of a light spongy
nature. Instead of planes, they use their adzes with great dexterity.
Their canoes are all shaped with the hand, the Indians not being
acquainted with the method of warping a plank.
They have two kinds of canoes, one they call _Ivahahs_, the other
_Pahies_; the former is used for short voyages at sea, and the latter
for longer ones. These boats do not differ either in shape or size; but
they are in no degree proportionate, being from sixty or seventy feet to
ten in length, and not more than the thirtieth part in breadth. Some are
employed in going from one island to another, and others used for
fishing. There is also the Ivahah, which serves for fighting; these are
by far the longest, and the head and stern are considerably raised above
the body. These Ivahahs are fastened together, side by side when they go
to sea, at the distance of a few feet, by strong wooden poles, which are
laid across them and joined to each side. A stage or platform is raised
on the fore-part about ten or twelve feet long; upon which stand the
fighting men, whose missile weapons are slings and spears. Beneath these
stages the rowers sit, who supply the place of those who are wounded.
The fishing Ivahahs are from thirty or forty to ten feet in length; and
those for travelling have a small house fixed on board, which is
fastened upon the fore-part, for the better accommodation of persons of
rank, who occupy them both day and night.
The Pahies differ also in size, being from sixty to seventy feet long,
they are likewise very narrow, and are sometimes used for fighting, but
chiefly for long voyages. In going from one island to another, they
sometimes are out a month, and often at sea a fortnight or twenty days,
and if they had convenience to stow more provisions, they could stay out
much longer.
These vessels are very useful in landing, and putting off from the shore
in a surf; for by their great length and high sterns they landed dry,
when the Endeavour’s boats could scarcely land at all.
They are very curious in the construction of these boats, the chief
parts or pieces whereof are formed separately without either saw, plane,
chissel, or any other iron tool, which renders their fabrication more
surprizing and worthy observation.
These parts being prepared, the keel is fixed upon blocks, and the
planks are supported with props, till they are sewed or joined together
with strong plaited thongs, which are passed several times through holes
bored with a chissel of bone, such as they usually make use of; and when
finished, they are sufficiently tight without caulking.
They keep these boats with great care in a kind of shed, built on
purpose to contain them.
Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were at a loss to find out their method of
dividing time; they always made use of the term _Malama_, which
signifies moon, whenever they spoke of time, either past or to come;
they reckon thirteen of these moons, beginning again when they are
expired. This proves that they have some idea of the solar year; but
these gentlemen could not discover how they computed their months, so as
to make thirteen of them equal to the year; for the natives say, that
their month consists of twenty-nine days, one day, in which the moon is
invisible, being included. They knew the fruits that would be in season,
and even the prevailing weather of the months to come.
They divide the day into twelve parts, each consisting of two hours, six
belonging to the day, and the other six to the night. They reckon from
one to ten when they numerate, making use of their fingers, and changing
hands till they come to the number which they intend to express, and in
conversation they joined signs to their words, which were remarkably
expressive of their meaning.
They are not so expert in measuring distances, as in computing numbers;
for when they speak of the distance from one place to another, they are
obliged to express it by the time that would be taken to pass it.
Their language is soft and musical, abounds with vowels, and is easy to
be pronounced. But whether it is copious, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander
were not sufficiently acquainted with it to know. As very few either of
their nouns or verbs are declinable, it must consequently be very
imperfect. They found means, however, to be mutually understood without
much difficulty.
The following specimen will possibly enable the reader to form some idea
of their language.
Teine, _a brother_.
Tooaheine, _a sister_.
Tane, _a husband_.
Aree, _a chief_.
Midee, _a child_.
Aheine, _a woman_.
Erowroo, _the head_.
Matau, _the eyes_.
Eahoo, _the nose_.
Meyoooo, _the nails_.
Huaheine, _a wife_.
Oowhau, _the thighs_.
Kipoo a meemhee, _a chamber-pot_.
Oorè dehaiya, _a large nail_.
Oorè eeteea, _a small nail_.
Pahiè, _a ship_.
Aihoo, _a garment_.
Parawei, _a shirt_.
Tumatau, _a bonnet_.
Poe, _ear-rings_.
Epanoo, _a drum_.
Toonoah, _a mole in the skin_.
Hooare, _spittle_.
Epeènei, _an eccho_.
Mahana, _a day_.
Poa, _a night_.
Otaowa, _yesterday_.
Aouna, _to day_.
Oboboa, _to-morrow_.
Tatta te Hàmannee Màitài, _a good-natured person_.
Amawhattoo, _a shrew_.
Epehe, _a song_.
Teà, _white_.
Marroowhai, _dry_.
Myty, _good_.
Porai, _to talk_.
Mutee, _to kiss_.
Eàwow, _to scold_.
Emòto, _to box_.
Eei, _to eat_.
Matte roah, _to die_.
Mayneenee, _to tickle_.
Itopa, _to fall_.
Ainao, _take care_.
Eeyo, _look you_.
Neeheeo, _good night_.
Waow, _I_.
Tooanahoe, _you and I_.
Wahaa, _fire_.
Avy, _water_.
In respect to diseases, the natives are seldom afflicted with any,
except sometimes an accidental fit of the cholic. They are subject to
the erisypelas, attended with cutaneous eruptions, not unlike the
leprosy; and if they have had it for any time to a certain degree, they
are secluded from all society, and live alone in a small house, in some
unfrequented part of the island.
Here the management of the sick falls to the lot of the priests, and
their method of cure consists chiefly of prayers and ceremonies, which
are repeated till the patients recover or die. If they recover, they
attribute the cure to these remedies; if they die, like the medical
tribe of this and every other country, they say the disease was
incurable.
From their connection with the Europeans, they have entailed upon
themselves that dreadful curse, the venereal disease; which, upon
enquiry, evidently appeared to have been brought among them by the
vessels under the command of Mons. Bougainville. It was called by a name
somewhat similar, in meaning, to _rottenness_, but of a much stronger
import; and they gave a most shocking account of the sufferings of those
who were first infected with it; telling them, that their nails and hair
fell off, and the flesh even rotted from their bones: and so greatly
were they terrified at the dreadful effects of this alarming disease,
that the infected person was forsaken even by his own relations, and
left to perish by himself, in such a state of misery and pain as he had
never before experienced.