A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 13 by Robert Kerr

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The canoes, or boats, which are used by the inhabitants of this and the
neighbouring islands, may be divided into two general classes; one of
which they call _Ivahahs_, the other _Pahies_.

The Ivahah is used for short excursions to sea, and is wall-sided and
flat-bottomed; the Pahie for longer voyages, and is bow-sided and
sharp-bottomed. The Ivahahs are all of the same figure, but of different
sizes, and used for different purposes: Their length is from seventy-two
feet to ten, but the breadth is by no means in proportion; for those of
ten feet are about a foot wide, and those of more than seventy are
scarcely two. There is the fighting Ivahah; the fishing Ivahah, and the
travelling Ivahah; for some of these go from one island to another. The
fighting Ivahah is by far the longest, and the head and stern are
considerably raised above the body, in a semicircular form; particularly
the stern, which is sometimes seventeen or eighteen feet high, though
the boat itself is scarcely three. These never go to sea single; but are
fastened together, side by side, at the distance of about three feet, by
strong poles of wood, which are laid across them and lashed to the
gunwales. Upon these, in the fore-part, a stage or platform is raised,
about ten or twelve feet long, and somewhat wider than the boats, which
is supported by pillars about six feet high: Upon this stage stand the
fighting men, whose missile weapons are slings and spears; for, among
other singularities in the manners of these people, their bows and
arrows are used only for diversion, as we throw quoits: Below these
stages sit the rowers, who receive from them those that are wounded, and
furnish fresh men to ascend in their room. Some of these have a platform
of bamboos or other light wood, through their whole length, and
considerably broader, by means of which they will carry a great number
of men; but we saw only one fitted in this manner.

The fishing Ivahahs vary in length from about forty feet to the smallest
size, which is about ten; all that are of the length of twenty-five feet
and upwards, of whatever sort, occasionally carry sail. The travelling
Ivahah is always double, and furnished with a small neat house about
five or six feet broad, and six or seven feet long, which is fastened
upon the fore-part for the convenience of the principal people, who sit
in them by day, and sleep in them at night. The fishing Ivahahs are
sometimes joined together, and have a house on board; but this is not
common.

Those which are shorter than five-and-twenty feet, seldom or never carry
sail; and, though the stern rises about four or five feet, have a flat
head, and a board that projects forward about four feet.

The Pahie is also of different sizes, from sixty to thirty feet long;
but, like the Ivahah, is very narrow. One that I measured was fifty-one
feet long, and only one foot and a half wide at the top. In the widest
part, it was about three feet; and this is the general proportion. It
does not, however, widen by a gradual swell; but the sides being
straight, and parallel, for a little way below the gunwale, it swells
abruptly, and draws to a ridge at the bottom; so that a transverse
section of it has somewhat the appearance of the mark upon cards called
a Spade, the whole being much wider in proportion to its length. These,
like the largest Ivahahs, are used for fighting; but principally for
long voyages. The fighting Pahie, which is the largest, is fitted with
the stage or platform, which is proportionably larger than those of the
Ivahah, as their form enables them to sustain a much greater weight.
Those that are used for sailing are generally double; and the middle
size are said to be the best sea-boats. They are sometimes out a month
together, going from island to island; and sometimes, as we were
credibly informed, they are a fortnight or twenty days at sea, and could
keep it longer if they had more stowage for provisions, and conveniences
to hold fresh water.

When any of these boats carry sail single, they make use of a log of
wood which is fastened to the end of two poles that lie cross the
vessel, and project from six to ten feet, according to the size of the
vessel, beyond its side, somewhat like what is used by the flying proa
of the Ladrone Islands, and called in the account of Lord Anson's
Voyage, an Outrigger. To this outrigger the shrouds are fastened, and it
is essentially necessary in trimming the boat when it blows fresh.[20]

[Footnote 20: For a short but sufficient notice of what is called an
Outrigger, see our account of Anson's Voyage, in vol. xi. p. 464. The
reader will find a drawing representing it in the translation of the
Account of Bougainville's Voyage.--E.]

Some of them have one mast, and some two; they are made of a single
stick, and when the length of the canoe is thirty feet, that of the mast
is somewhat less than five-and-twenty; it is fixed to a frame that is
above the canoe, and receives a sail of matting about one-third longer
than itself: The sail is pointed at the top, square at the bottom, and
curved at the side; somewhat resembling what we call a
shoulder-of-mutton sail, and used for boats belonging to men-of-war: It
is placed in a frame of wood, which surrounds it on every side, and has
no contrivance either for reefing or furling; so that, if either should
become necessary, it must be cut away, which, however, in these equal
climates, can seldom happen. At the top of the mast are fastened
ornaments of feathers, which are placed inclining obliquely forwards.

The oars or paddles that are used with these boats, have a long handle
and a flat blade, not unlike a baker's peel. Of these every person in
the boat has one, except those that sit under the awning; and they push
her forward with them at a good rate. These boats, however, admit so
much water at the seams, that one person at least is continually
employed in throwing it out. The only thing in which, they excel is
landing, and putting off from the shore in a surf: By their great length
and high sterns they land dry, when our boats could scarcely land at
all; and have the same advantages in putting off by the height of the
head. The Ivahahs are the only boats that are used by the inhabitants of
Otaheite; but we saw several Pahies that came from other islands. Of one
of these I shall give the exact dimensions from a careful admeasurement,
and then particularly describe the manner in which they are built.

Feet. Inches.

Extreme length from stem to stern, not reckoning
the bending up of either 51 0
Breadth in the clear of the top forward 1 3
Breadth in the midships 1 6
Breadth aft 1 3
In the bilge forward 2 8
In the midships 2 11
Aft 2 9
Depth in the midships 8 4
Height from the ground on which she stood 3 6
Height of her head from the ground, without the
figure 4 4
Height of the figure 0 11
Height of the stern from the ground 8 9
Height of the figure 2 0

The first stage, or keel, is made of a tree hollowed out like a trough;
for which the longest trees are chosen that can be got, so that there
are never more than three in the whole length: The next stage is formed
of straight plank, about four feet long, fifteen inches broad, and two
inches thick: The third stage, is, like the bottom, made of trunks,
hollowed into its bilging form; the last is also cut out of trunks, so
that the moulding is of one piece with the upright. To form these parts
separately, without saw, plane, chissel, or any other iron tool, may
well be thought no easy task; but the great difficulty is to join them
together.

When all the parts are prepared, the keel is laid upon blocks, and the
planks being supported by stanchions, are sewed or clamped together with
strong thongs of plaiting, which are passed several times through holes
that are bored with a gouge or auger of bone, that has been described
already; and the nicety with which this is done, may be inferred from
their being sufficiently water-tight for use without caulking. As the
platting soon rots in the water, it is renewed at least once a-year; in
order to which, the vessel is taken entirely to pieces. The head and
stern are rude with respect to the design; but very neatly finished, and
polished to the highest degree.

These Pahies are kept with great care, in a kind of house built on
purpose for their reception; the houses are formed of poles set upright
in the ground, the tops of which are drawn towards each other, and
fastened together with their strongest cord, so as to form a kind of
Gothic arch, which is completely thatched quite to the ground, being
open only at the ends; they are sometimes fifty or sixty paces long.

As connected with the navigation of these people, I shall mention their
wonderful sagacity in foretelling the weather, at least the quarter from
which the wind shall blow at a future time; they have several ways of
doing this, of which however I know but one. "They say, that the
Milky-way, is always curved laterally; but sometimes, in one direction,
and sometimes in another: And that this curvature is the effect of its
being already acted upon by the wind, and its hollow part therefore
towards it; so that, if the same curvature continues a night, a
corresponding wind certainly blows the next day. Of their rules, I shall
not pretend to judge; but I know that, by whatever means, they can
predict the weather, at least the wind, with much greater certainty than
we can. [21]

[Footnote 21: It is injudicious and unphilosophical to slight the
observations of the vulgar on subjects level to their capacities and
habits of thought. But, on the other hand, it is almost always necessary
to distrust their reasonings and theories about them. This is one of the
cases in which both cautions are to be practised. The common people in
all countries are more accustomed to make remarks upon the weather, than
those who are given to literary or scientific pursuits. It would be
worth some person's while to make a collection of their observations on
the subject. For a man of science, learning, and ingenuity, no one
perhaps has paid more attention to the signs of the weather than Mr
Jones,--_See his Physiological Disquisitions, published at London_
1781.--E.]

In their longer voyages, they steer by the sun in the day, and in the
night by the stars; all of which they distinguish separately by names,
and know in what part of the heavens they will appear in any of the
months during which they are visible in their horizon; they also know
the time of their annual appearing and disappearing with more precision
than will easily be believed by an European astronomer.[22]

[Footnote 22: Mr Bryan Edwards has been at pains to compare together the
Otaheitans and the original inhabitants of some of the West India
islands. On the whole, he gives the preference to the latter. But he is
far indeed from being unjust to the former, in the description he has
given of them. A few quotations may be made from his work, to the
edification of the reader, and it is conceived, that though some of them
seem to respect subjects discussed in the next chapter, this is the best
place for giving them. "Having mentioned the natives of the South-Sea
Islands, I cannot but advert to the wonderful similarity observable, in
many respects, between our ill-fated West Indians and that placid
people. The same frank and affectionate temper, the same cheerful
simplicity, gentleness, and candour;--a behaviour, devoid of meanness
and treachery, of cruelty and revenge, are apparent in the character of
both; and although placed at so great a distance from each other, and
divided by the intervention of the American continent, we may trace a
resemblance even in many of their customs and institutions; their
national songs and dances, their domestic economy, their system of
government, and their funeral ceremonies. I pretend not, however, to
affirm that this resemblance is so exact as to create the presumption of
common origin. The affinity perceivable in the dispositions and virtues
of these widely-separated tribes, arose probably from a similarity in
their circumstances and situation, operating on the general principles
of human nature. Placed alike in a happy medium; between savage life,
properly so called, and the refinements of polished society, they are
found equally exempt from the sordid corporeal distresses and sanguinary
passions of the former state, and from the artificial necessities, the
restraints, and solicitudes of the latter."--"In those inventions and
arts, which, varying the enjoyments, add considerably to the value of
life, I believe the Otaheitans were in general somewhat behind our
islanders; in agriculture they were particularly so. The great support
of the inferior territories of the South-sea consists of the bread-fruit
and the plantain; both which flourish there spontaneously; and although
the inhabitants have likewise plantations of yams, and other excellent
roots, yet the cultivation of none of them appears to be as extensive as
was that of the maize in the West Indies, or to display equal skill with
the preparation of the Cassavi-bread from the maniock. The West Indians,
notwithstanding that they possessed almost every variety of vegetable
nature which grew in the countries I have mentioned, the bread-fruit
excepted, raised also both the maize and the maniock in great abundance;
and they had acquired the skill of watering their lands from distant
rivers, in time of drought. It may likewise be observed, that although
the Otaheitans possess the shrub which produces cotton, they neither
improve it by culture, nor have the knowledge of converting its wool
into cloth, but content themselves with a far meaner production as a
substitute. Our islanders had not only the skill of making excellent
cloth from their cotton, but they practised also the arts of dying it,
with a variety of colours, some of them of the utmost brilliancy and
beauty. In the science of shipbuilding (if the construction of such
vessels as either people used may be distinguished with that
appellation) the superiority is on the side of the Otaheitans; yet the
_piraguas_ of the West Indians were fully sufficient for the navigation
they were employed in, and indeed were by no means contemptible
sea-boats."--"On the other hand, our islanders far surpassed the people
of Otaheite, in the elegance and variety of their domestic utensils and
furniture; their earthen-ware, curiously woven beds, and implements of
husbandry." For the particulars of the comparison here entered into, the
reader who is interested will have recourse to the work itself, in
which, besides, he will find several circumstances related of another
people, the Charaibes, which much resemble what he has now read in the
account of the Otaheitans. This note is already too large to admit of
their being specified in any satisfactory manner, and it was thought
improper to be continually calling off the attention of the reader,
from the text, to smaller notes at the individual instances.--E.]

SECTION XIX.

_Of the Division of Time in Otaheile; Numeration, Computation of
Distance, Language, Diseases, Disposal of the Dead, Religion, War,
Weapons, and Government; with some general Observations for the Use of
future Navigators_.

We were not able to acquire a perfect idea of their method of dividing
time; but observed, that in speaking of it, either past or to come, they
never used any term but _Malama_, which signifies Moon. Of these moons
they count thirteen, and then begin again; which is a demonstration that
they have a notion of the solar year: But how they compute their months,
so that thirteen of them shall be commensurate with the year, we could
not discover; for they say that each month has twenty-nine days,
including one in which the moon is not visible. They have names for them
separately, and have frequently told us the fruits that would be in
season, and the weather that would prevail, in each of them; and they
have indeed a name for them collectively, though they use it only when
they speak of the mysteries of their religion.

Every day is subdivided into twelve parts, each of two hours, of which
six belong to the day, and six to the night. At these divisions they
guess pretty nearly by the height of the sun while he is above the
horizon; but there are few of them that can guess at them, when he is
below it, by the stars.[23]

[Footnote 23: It is distinctly proved by President Goguet, that the
course of the moon, and her various appearances, served mankind in
general, in the first ages, for the measurement of time. What is here
said of the Otaheitans confirms his observations. We are told too, in
another work, that the natives of the Pellew Islands reckon their time
by months, and not by years; in which, however, we see they are inferior
to the former as to extent of science. Now there are two sorts of lunar
month, called in the language of astronomers, synodical and periodical;
the first is the time from new moon to new moon, consisting of 29 days,
12 hours, 44 min. 3 seconds, which is the month most commonly used by
the early observers; the second, consisting of 27 days, 7 hours, 43 min.
5 seconds, is that portion of time which the moon takes to finish her
course round the earth. Neither of these multiplied by 13 will make up
the solar year exactly. In what manner then the Otaheitans reckon, it is
not easy to comprehend. The probability is, that they have no notion of
the periodical month.--E.]

In numeration they proceed from one to ten, the number of fingers on
both hands; and though they have for each number a different name, they
generally take hold of their fingers one by one, shifting from one hand
to the other, till they come to the number they want to express. And in
other instances, we observed that, when they were conversing with each
other, they joined signs to their words, which were so expressive that a
stranger might easily apprehend their meaning.

In counting from ten they repeat the name of that number, and add the
word _more_; ten, and one more, is eleven; ten, and two more, twelve;
and so of the rest, as we say one-and-twenty, two-and-twenty. When they
come to ten and ten more, they have a new denomination, as we say a
score; and by these scores they count till they get ten of them, when
they have a denomination for two hundred; and we never could discover
that they had any denomination to express a greater number: Neither,
indeed; do they seem to want any; for ten of these amount to two
thousand, a greater number than they can ever apply.[24]

[Footnote 24: The reader cannot but be pleased with what Goguet says on
the practice of numbering with the fingers, so common in most nations,
and adopted we see by the Otaheitans. "Nature has provided us with a
kind of arithmetical instrument more generally used than is commonly
imagined; I mean our fingers. Every thing inclines us to think, that
these were the first instruments used by men to assist them in the
practice of numeration. We may observe in Homer, that Proteus counts his
sea-calves by fives and fives, that is, by his fingers. Several nations
in America have no other instruments of calculation. It was probably the
same in the primitive ages. It is another strong presumption of the
truth of what I now advance, that all civilized nations count by tens,
tens of tens, or _hundreds_, tens of hundreds, _thousands_, and so on;
still from ten to ten. We can discover no reason why the number ten
should be chosen rather than any other for the term of numeration,
except this primitive practice of counting by the fingers." The whole of
his observations on this subject are well worthy of minute
consideration. On such elements, the provision of nature, are founded
the most sublime and important sciences.--E.]

In measuring distance they are much more deficient than in computing
numbers, having but one term which answers to fathom; when they speak of
distances from place to place, they express it, like the Asiatics, by
the time that is required to pass it.

Their language is soft and melodious; it abounds with vowels, and we
easily learnt to pronounce it: But found it exceedingly difficult to
teach them to pronounce a single word of ours; probably not only from
its abounding in consonants, but from some peculiarity in its structure;
for Spanish and Italian words, if ending in a vowel, they pronounced
with great facility.

Whether it is copious, we were not sufficiently acquainted with it to
know; but it is certainly very imperfect, for it is almost totally
without inflexion, both of nouns and verbs. Few of the nouns have more
than one case, and few of the verbs more than one tense; yet we found no
great difficulty in making ourselves mutually understood, however
strange it may appear in speculation.

They have, however, certain _affixa_, which, though but few in number,
are very useful to them, and puzzled us extremely. One asks another,
_Harre hea?_ "Where are you going?" the other answers _Ivahinera_, "To
my wives;" upon which the first repeating the answer interrogatively,
"To your wives?" is answered, _Ivahinereira_; "Yes, I am going to my
wives." Here the suffixa _era_ and _eira_ save several words to both
parties.[25]

[Footnote 25: A table of some words of the language follows in the
copy.--It is omitted here, because an opportunity will occur, to give
one more full and correct; and it seemed injudicious to run the hazard
of being charged with unnecessary repetition.--E.]

Among people whose food is so simple, and who in general are seldom
drunk, it is scarcely necessary to say, that there are but few diseases;
we saw no critical disease during our stay upon the island, and but few
instances of sickness, which were accidental fits of the cholic. The
natives, however, are afflicted with the erysipelas, and cutaneous
eruptions of the scaly kind, very nearly approaching to a leprosy. Those
in whom this distemper was far advanced, lived in a state of seclusion
from all society, each in a small house built upon some unfrequented
spot, where they were supplied with provisions: But whether they had any
hope of relief, or languished out the remainder of their lives in
solitude and despair, we could not learn. We observed also a few who had
ulcers upon different parts of their bodies, some of which had a very
virulent appearance; yet they seemed not much to be regarded by those
who were afflicted with them, for they were left entirely without
application even to keep off the flies.[26]

[Footnote 26: The affection of the skin, called leprosy in the text, is,
in the missionary account, ascribed to the excessive use of the _yava_,
the intoxicating beverage of the Otaheitans, and is there said to be
regarded by many as a _badge of nobility_. This perhaps is something on
the same principle as the gout is accounted among us, an evidence of a
person's being rich; for it appears, that the common people in general
are as unable to procure the yava in Otaheite, as they are on our side
of the world to indulge in luxurious living. What excellency there is in
the scabbed skins of the Otaheitan lepers, to entitle them to the
estimation of nobility, or what advantage they find in this to
compensate the sufferings of so grievous a malady, is difficult indeed
to divine; but it may be very safely affirmed of those among us, who
have prospered so well as to obtain the gout for a possession, that they
really require all the comforts of riches, though tenfold more than
imagined, to render the residue of life any way tolerable. Yet such is
the inconsistency of human nature, and so formidable its weakness of
resolution, when pernicious habits are once formed, that few persons,
though even writhing at the bare remembrance of its horrors, and
dreading its approach as the attack of

Perverse, all monstrous, all prodigious things,
Abominable, unutterable, and worse
Than fables yet have feign'd, or fear conceived,
Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire,

can be prevailed on to swear rebellion against it "For," says Dr
Heberden, "this seems to be the favourite disease of the present age in
England; wished for by those who have it not, and boasted of by those
who fancy they have it, though very sincerely lamented by most who in
reality suffer its tyranny. For, so much respect hath been shown to this
distemper, that all the other evils, except pain, which the real or
supposed gouty patient ever feels, are imputed most commonly not to his
having too much of this disease, but to his wanting more; and the gout,
far from being blamed as the cause, is looked up to as the expected
deliverer from these evils." "The dread of being cured of the gout," he
further remarks, "was and is still much greater than the dread of having
it; and the world seems agreed patiently to submit to this tyrant, lest
a worse should come in its room." It is not difficult to account for
such absurdity, though it be quite impracticable to palliate it; and
what is worse, from its being founded on something more congenial to
human nature than even prejudice, it is almost impossible to remove it.
A single quotation more from the same author, so much in repute among
his professional brethren, will at once unravel the mystery, and show
how rare a thing a cure is, where the means essential to it are
necessarily dependent on the self-denial of the patient. "Strong wines,
and in no small quantity, have the reputation of being highly beneficial
to gouty persons; which notion they have very _readily_ and _generally_
received, not so much perhaps from a reasonable persuasion of its truth,
as from a desire that it should be true, because they love wine. Let
them consider, that a free use of vinous and spirituous liquors
peculiarly hurts the stomach and organs of digestion, and that the gout
is bred and fostered by those who indulge themselves in drinking much
wine; while the poorer part of mankind, who can get very little stronger
than water to drink, have better appetites than wine-drinkers, and
better digestions, and are far less subject to arthritic complaints. The
most perfect cures, of which I have been a witness, have been effected
by a total abstinence from spirits, and wine, and flesh, which in two or
three instances hath restored the helpless and miserable patients from a
state worse than death, to active and comfortable life: But I have seen
too few examples of the success of this method, to be confident or
satisfied of its general utility." The language of the missionary
account is very similar and equally encouraging. "On the discontinuance
of the practice of drinking the yava, the skin of the leprous persons
soon becomes smooth and clear, and they grow fat, though few are found
who deny themselves the use of it." If drugs could remove either of
these calamities, it is certain there would be no difficulty in getting
them to be swallowed; for most men, it seems, prefer any sorts of bitter
and nauseating substances, though taken by the pound, and without
intermission, to the salutary restraints on appetite and vicious
propensities, which common sense as well as common experience so
authoritatively enjoin. It is as unjust to censure physicians for
failing to cure the gout, as it would be to censure a surgeon for the
lameness or deformity of the leg of a man, who, while under treatment
for a fracture, should make daily attempts to dance or ride on
horseback.--E.]