A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18) by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18)

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50

Accordingly, we set out pretty early in the pinnace, and Captain Clerke
joined me in one of his own boats. We proceeded round, that is, to the
eastward of the little isles that form the harbour, and then, turning to
the S., according to Poulaho's directions, entered a spacious bay or
inlet, up which we rowed about a league, and landed amidst a
considerable number of people, who received us with a sort of
acclamation, not unlike our huzzaing. They immediately separated, to let
Poulaho pass, who took us into a small inclosure, and shifted the piece
of cloth he wore for a new piece, neatly folded, that was carried by a
young man. An old woman assisted in dressing him, and put a mat over his
cloth, as we supposed, to prevent its being dirtied when he sat down. On
our now asking him where Mareewagee was, to our great surprise, he said
he had gone from the place to the ship just before we arrived. However,
he desired us to walk with him to a _malaee_, or house of public resort,
which stood about half a mile up the country. But when we came to a
large area before it, he sat down in the path, and desired us to walk up
to the house. We did so, and seated ourselves in front, while the crowd
that followed us filled up the rest of the space. After sitting a little
while, we repeated our enquiries, by means of Omai, Whether we were to
see Mareewagee? But receiving no satisfactory information, and
suspecting that the old chief was purposely concealed from us, we went
back to our boats much piqued at our disappointment; and when I got on
board I found that no such person had been there. It afterward appeared,
that in this affair we had laboured under some gross mistakes, and that
our interpreter Omai had either been misinformed, or, which is more
likely, had misunderstood what was told him about the great man, on
whose account we had made this excursion.

The place we went to was a village, most delightfully situated on the
bank of the inlet, where all, or most of the principal persons of the
island reside, each having his house in the midst of a small plantation,
with lesser houses, and offices for servants. These plantations are
neatly fenced round; and, for the most part, have only one entrance.
This is by a door, fastened on the inside by a prop of wood, so that a
person has to knock before he can get admittance. Public roads, and
narrow lanes, lie between each plantation, so that no one trespasseth
upon another. Great part of some of these inclosures is laid out in
grass-plots, and planted with such things as seem more for ornament than
use; but hardly any were without the _kava_ plant, from which they make
their favourite liquor. Every article of the vegetable produce of the
island abounded in others of these plantations; but these, I observed,
are not the residence of people of the first rank. There are some large
houses near the public roads, with spacious smooth grass-plots before
them, and uninclosed. These, I was told, belonged to the king; and
probably they are the places where their public assemblies are held. It
was to one of these houses, as I have already mentioned, that we were
conducted soon after our landing at this place.

About noon, the next day, this Mareewagee, of whom we had heard so much,
actually came to the neighbourhood of our post on shore, and with him a
very considerable number of people of all ranks. I was informed, that he
had taken this trouble on purpose to give me an opportunity of waiting
upon him; having probably heard of the displeasure I had shewn on my
disappointment the day before. In the afternoon, a party of us,
accompanied by Feenou, landed, to pay him a visit. We found a person
sitting under a large tree near the shore, a little to the right of the
tent. A piece of cloth, at least forty yards long, was spread before
him, round which a great number of people of both sexes were seated. It
was natural to suppose that this was the great man, but we were
undeceived by Feenou, who informed us that another, who sat on a piece
of mat, a little way from this chief, to the right hand, was Mareewagee,
and he introduced us to him, who received us very kindly, and desired us
to sit down by him. The person who sat under the tree, fronting us, was
called Toobou; and, when I have occasion to speak of him afterward, I
shall call him old Toobou, to distinguish him from his namesake, Captain
Furneaux's friend. Both he and Mareewagee had a venerable appearance.
The latter was a slender man, and, from his appearance, seemed to be
considerably above threescore years of age; the former was rather
corpulent, and almost blind with a disorder of his eyes, though not so
old.

Not expecting to meet with two chiefs on this occasion, I had only
brought on shore a present for one. This I now found myself under a
necessity of dividing between them; but it happened to be pretty
considerable, and both of them seemed satisfied. After this, we
entertained them for about an hour with the performance of two French
horns and a drum. But they seemed most pleased with the firing off a
pistol, which Captain Clerke had in his pocket. Before I took my leave,
the large piece of cloth was rolled up, and, with a few cocoa-nuts,
presented to me.

The next morning old Toobou returned my visit on board the ship. He also
visited Captain Clerke; and if the present we made to him the evening
before was scanty, the deficiency was now made up. During this time
Mareewagee visited our people ashore, and Mr King shewed to him, every
thing we had there. He viewed the cattle with great admiration, and the
cross-cut saw fixed his attention for some time.

Toward noon Poulaho returned from the place where we had left, him two
days before, and brought with him his son, a youth about twelve years of
age. I had his company at dinner; but the son, though present, was not
allowed to sit down with him. It was very convenient to have him for my
guest. For when he was present, which was generally the case while we
stayed here, every other native was excluded from the table, and but few
of them would remain in the cabin. Whereas, if by chance it happened
that neither he nor Feenou were on board, the inferior chiefs would be
very importunate to be of our dining party, or to be admitted into the
cabin at that time, and then we were so crowded that we could not sit
down to a meal with any satisfaction. The king was very soon reconciled
to our manner of cookery. But still I believe he dined thus frequently
with me more for the sake of what we gave him to drink, than for what we
set before him to eat. For he had taken a liking to our wine, could
empty his bottle as well as most men, and was as cheerful over it. He
now fixed his residence at the house, or _malaee_, by our tent; and
there he entertained our people this evening with a dance. To the
surprise of every body the unwieldy Poulaho endeavoured to vie with
others in that active amusement.

In the morning of the 15th I received a message from old Toobou that he
wanted to see me ashore. Accordingly Omai and I went to wait upon him.
We found him, like an ancient patriarch, seated under the shade of a
tree, with a large piece of the cloth, made in the island, spread out at
full length before him, and a number of respectably looking people
sitting round it. He desired us to place ourselves by him; and then he
told Omai, that the cloth, together with a piece of red feathers, and
about a dozen cocoa-nuts, were his present to me. I thanked him for the
favour, and desired he would go on board with me, as I had nothing on
shore to give him in return.

Omai now left me, being sent for by Penlaho; and soon after Feenou came,
and acquainted me that young Fattafaihe, Poulaho's son, desired to see
me. I obeyed the summons, and found the prince and Omai sitting under a
large canopy of the finer sort of cloth, with a piece of the coarser
sort spread under them and before them, that was seventy-six yards long,
and seven and a half broad. On one side was a large old boar, and on the
other side a heap of cocoa-nuts. A number of people were seated round
the cloth, and amongst them I observed Mareewagee, and others of the
first rank. I was desired to sit down by the prince; and then Omai
informed me, that he had been instructed by the king to tell me, that,
as he and I were friends, he hoped that his son might be joined in this
friendship, and that, as a token of my consent, I would accept of his
present. I very readily agreed to the proposal; and it being now dinner
time, I invited them all on board.

Accordingly, the young prince, Mareewagee, old Toobou, three or four
inferior chiefs, and two respectable old ladies of the first rank,
accompanied me. Mareewagee was dressed in a new piece of cloth, on the
skirts of which were fixed six pretty large patches of red feathers.
This dress seemed to have been made on purpose for this visit; for, as
soon as he got on board, he put it off, and presented it to me; having,
I guess, heard that it would be acceptable, on account of the feathers.
Every one of my visitors received from me such presents, as, I had
reason to believe, they were highly satisfied with. When dinner came
upon table, not one of them would sit down, or eat a bit, of any thing
that was served up. On expressing my surprise at this, they were all
_taboo_, as they said; which word has a very comprehensive meanings but,
in general, signifies that a thing is forbidden. Why they were laid
under such restraints, at present, was not explained. Dinner being over,
and, having gratified their curiosity, by shewing to them every part of
the ship, I then conducted them ashore.

As soon as the boat reached the beach, Feenou, and some others,
instantly stepped out. Young Fattafaihe following them, was called back
by Mareewagee, who now paid the heir-apparent the same obeisance, and in
the same manner, that I had seen it paid to the king. And when old
Toobou, and one of the old ladies, had shewn him the same marks of
respect, he was suffered to land. This ceremony being over, the old
people stepped from my boat into a canoe that was waiting to carry them
to their place of abode.

I was not sorry to be present on this occasion, as I was thus furnished
with the most unequivocal proofs of the supreme dignity of Poulaho and
his son, over the other principal chiefs. Indeed, by this time, I had
acquired some certain information about the relative situations of the
several great men, whose names have been so often mentioned. I now knew,
that Mareewagee and old Toobou were brothers. Both of them were men of
great property in the island, and seemed to be in high estimation with
the people; the former, in particular, had the very honourable
appellation given to him, by every body, of _Motooa Tonga_; that is to
say, Father of Tonga, or of his country. The nature of his relationship
to the king was also no longer a secret to us; for we now understood,
that he was his father-in-law; Poulaho having married one of his
daughters, by whom he had this son; so that Mareewagee was the prince's
grandfather. Poulaho's appearance having satisfied us, that we had been
under a mistake in considering Feenou as the sovereign of these islands,
we had been, at first, much puzzled about his real rank; but that was,
by this time, ascertained. Feenou was one of Mareewagee's sons; and
Tooboueitoa was another.

On my landing, I found the king, in the house adjoining to our tent,
along with our people who resided on shore. The moment I got to him, he
bestowed upon me a present of a large hog and a quantity of yams. About
the dusk of the evening, a number of men came, and, having sat down in a
round group, began to sing in concert with the music of bamboo drums,
which were placed in the centre.[165] There were three long ones, and
two short. With these they struck the ground endwise, as before
described. There were two others, which lay on the ground, side by side,
and one of them was split or shivered; on these a man kept beating with
two small sticks. They sung three songs while I stayed; and, I was told,
that, after I left them, the entertainment lasted till ten o'clock. They
burnt the leaves of the _wharra_ palm for a light; which is the only
thing I ever saw them make use of for this purpose.

[Footnote 165: The same sort of evening concert is performed round the
house of the chief, or _Tamole_, at the Caroline Islands. "Le _Tamole_
ne s'endort qu'au bruit d'un concert de musique que forme une troupe de
jeunes gens, qui s'assemblent le soir, autour de sa maison, et qui
chantent, a leur maniere, certaines poesies."--_Lettres Edifiantes &
Curieuses_, tom, xv. p. 314.--D.]

While I was passing the day in attendance on these great men, Mr
Anderson, with some others, made an excursion into the country, which
furnished him with the following remarks: "To the westward of the tent,
the country is totally uncultivated for near two miles, though quite
covered with trees and bushes, in a natural state, growing with the
greatest vigour. Beyond this is a pretty large plain, on which are some
cocoa-trees, and a few small plantations that appear to have been lately
made; and, seemingly, on ground that has never been cultivated before.
Near the creek, which runs to the westward of the tent, the land is
quite flat, and partly overflowed by the sea every tide. When that
retires, the surface is seen to be composed of coral rock, with holes of
yellowish mud scattered up and down; and toward the edges, where it is a
little firmer, are innumerable little openings, from which issue as many
small crabs, of two or three different sorts, which swarm upon the spot,
as flies upon a carcase; but are so nimble, that, on being approached,
they disappear in an instant, and baffle even the natives to catch any
of them.

At this place is a work of art, which shews that these people are
capable of some design, and perseverance, when they mean to accomplish
any thing. This work begins, on one side, as a narrow causeway, which,
becoming gradually broader, rises, with a gentle ascent, to the height
of ten feet, where it is five paces broad, and the whole length
seventy-four paces. Joined to this is a sort of circus, whose diameter
is thirty paces, and not above a foot or two higher than the causeway
that joins it, with some trees planted in the middle. On the opposite
side, another causeway of the same sort descends; but this is not above
forty paces long, and is partly in ruin. The whole is built with large
coral stones, with earth on the surface, which is quite overgrown with
low trees and shrubs; and, from its decaying in several places, seems to
be of no modern date. Whatever may have been its use formerly, it seems
to be of none now; and all that we could learn of it from the natives
was, that it belonged to Poulaho, and is called _Etchee_.

On the 16th, in the morning, after visiting the several works now
carrying on ashore, Mr Gore and I took a walk into the country; in the
course of which nothing remarkable appeared, but our having
opportunities of seeing the whole process of making cloth, which is the
principal manufacture of these islands, as well as of many others in
this ocean. In the narrative of my first voyage, a minute description is
given of this operation, as performed at Otaheite; but the process,
here, differing in some particulars, it may be worth while to give the
following account of it:

The manufacturers, who are females, take the slender stalks or trunks of
the paper-mulberry, which they cultivate for that purpose, and which
seldom grow more than six or seven feet in height, and about four
fingers in thickness. From these they strip the bark, and scrape off
the outer rind with a muscle-shell. The bark is then rolled up, to take
off the convexity which it had round the stalk, and macerated in water
for some time (they say, a night). After this, it is laid across the
trunk of a small tree squared, and beaten with a square wooden
instrument, about a foot long, full of coarse grooves on all sides; but,
sometimes, with one that is plain. According to the size of the bark, a
piece is soon produced; but the operation is often repeated by another
hand, or it is folded several times, and beat longer, which seems rather
intended to close than to divide its texture. When this is sufficiently
effected, it is spread out to dry; the pieces being from four to six, or
more, feet in length, and half as broad. They are then given to another
person, who joins the pieces, by smearing part of them over with the
viscous juice of a berry, called _tooo_, which serves as a glue. Having
been thus lengthened, they are laid over a large piece of wood, with a
kind of stamp, made of a fibrous substance pretty closely interwoven,
placed beneath. They then take a bit of cloth, and dip it in a juice,
expressed from the bark of a tree, called _kokka_, which they rub
briskly upon the piece that is making. This, at once, leaves a dull
brown colour, and a dry gloss upon its surface; the stamp, at the same
time, making a slight impression, that answers no other purpose, that I
could see, but to make the several pieces, that are glued together,
stick a little more firmly. In this manner they proceed, joining and
staining by degrees, till they produce a piece of cloth, of such length
and breadth as they want; generally leaving a border, of a foot broad,
at the sides, and longer at the ends, unstained. Throughout the whole,
if any parts of the original pieces are too thin, or have holes, which
is often the case, they glue spare bits upon them, till they become of
an equal thickness. When they want to produce a black colour, they mix
the soot procured from an oily nut, called _dooedooe_, with the juice of
the _kokka_, in different quantities, according to the proposed depth of
the tinge. They say, that the black sort of cloth, which is commonly
most glazed, makes a cold dress, but the other a warm one; and, to
obtain strength in both, they are always careful to join the small
pieces lengthwise, which makes it impossible to tear the cloth in any
direction but one.

On our return from the country, we met with Feenou, and took him, and
another young chief, on board to dinner. When our fare was set upon the
table, neither of them would eat a bit; saying, that they were _taboo
avy_. But, after enquiring how the victuals had been dressed, having
found that no _avy_ (water) had been used in cooking a pig; and some
yams, they both sat down, and made a very hearty meal; and, on being
assured that there was no water in the wine, they drank of it also. From
this we conjectured, that, on some account or another, they were, at
this time, forbidden to use water; or, which was more probable, they did
not like the water we made use of, it being taken up out of one of their
bathing-places. This was not the only time of our meeting with people
that were _taboo avy_; but, for what reason, we never could tell with
any degree of certainty.

Next day, the 17th, was fixed upon by Mareewagee, for giving a grand
_Haiva_, or entertainment, to which we were all invited. For this
purpose a large space had been cleared, before the temporary hut of this
chief, near our post, as an area where the performances were to be
exhibited. In the morning, great multitudes of the natives came in from
the country, every one carrying a pole, about six feet long, upon his
shoulder; and at each end of every pole, a yam was suspended. These yams
and poles were deposited on each side of the area, so as to form two
large heaps, decorated with different sorts of small fish, and piled up
to the greatest advantage. They were Mareewagee's present to Captain
Clerke and me; and it was hard to say, whether the wood for fuel, or the
yams for food, were of most value to us. As for the fish, they might
serve to please the sight, but were very offensive to the smell; part of
them having been kept two or three days, to be presented to us on this
occasion.

Every thing being thus prepared, about eleven o'clock they began to
exhibit various dances, which they call _mai_. The music[166] consisted,
at first, of seventy men as a chorus, who sat down; and amidst them were
placed three instruments, which we called drums, though very unlike
them. They are large cylindrical pieces of wood, or trunks of trees,
from three to four feet long, some twice as thick as an ordinary sized
man, and some smaller, hollowed entirely out, but close at both ends,
and open only by a chink, about three inches broad, running almost the
whole length of the drums; by which opening, the rest of the wood is
certainly hollowed, though the operation must be difficult. This
instrument is called _naffa_; and, with the chink turned toward them,
they sit and beat strongly upon it, with two cylindrical pieces of hard
wood, about a foot long, and as thick as the wrist; by which means they
produce a rude, though loud and powerful sound. They vary the strength
and rate of their beating, at different parts of the dance; and also
change the tones, by beating in the middle, or near the end, of their
drum.

[Footnote 166: Mr Anderson's description of the entertainments of this
day being much fuller than Captain Cook's, it has been adopted, as on a
former occasion.--D.]

The first dance consisted of four ranks, of twenty-four men each,
holding in their hands a little, thin, light, wooden instrument, above
two feet long, and, in shape, not unlike a small oblong paddle. With
these, which are called _pagge_, they made a great many different
motions; such as pointing them toward the ground on one side, at the
same time inclining their bodies that way, from which they were shifted
to the opposite side in the same manner; then passing them quickly from
one hand to the other, and twirling them about very dextrously; with a
variety of other manoeuvres, all which were accompanied by corresponding
attitudes of the body. Their motions were, at first, slow, but quickened
as the drums beat faster; and they recited sentences, in a musical tone,
the whole time, which were answered by the chorus; but at the end of a
short space they all joined, and finished with a shout.

After ceasing about two or three minutes, they began as before, and
continued, with short intervals, above a quarter of an hour; when the
rear rank dividing, shifted themselves very slowly round each end, and,
meeting in the front, formed the first rank; the whole number continuing
to recite the sentences as before. The other ranks did the same
successively, till that which, at first, was the front, became the rear;
and the evolution continued, in the same manner, till the last rank
regained its first situation. They then began a much quicker dance
(though slow at first), and sung for about ten minutes, when the whole
body divided into two parts, retreated a little, and then approached,
forming a sort of circular figure, which finished the dance; the drums
being removed, and the chorus going off the field at the same time.

The second dance had only two drums, with forty men for a chorus; and
the dancers, or rather actors, consisted of two ranks, the foremost
having seventeen, and the other fifteen persons. Feenou was at their
head, or in the middle of the front rank, which is the principal place
in these cases. They danced and recited sentences, with some very short
intervals, for about half an hour, sometimes quickly, sometimes more
slowly, but with such a degree of exactness, as if all the motions were
made by one man, which did them great credit. Near the close, the back
rank divided, came round, and took the place of the front, which, again
resumed its situation, as in the first dance; and when they finished,
the drums and chorus, as before, went off.

Three drums (which, at least, took two, and sometimes three men to carry
them) were now brought in; and seventy men sat down as a chorus to the
third dance. This consisted of two ranks, of sixteen persons each, with
young Toobou at their head, who was richly ornamented with a sort of
garment covered with red feathers. These danced, sung, and twirled the
_pagge_, as before; but, in general, much quicker, and performed so
well, that they had the constant applauses of the spectators. A motion
that met with particular approbation, was one in which they held the
face aside, as if ashamed, and the _pagge_ before it. The back rank
closed before the front one, and that again resumed its place, as in the
two former dances; but then they began again, formed a triple row,
divided, retreated to each end of the area, and left the greatest part
of the ground clear. At that instant, two men entered very hastily, and
exercised the clubs which they use in battle. They did this, by first
twirling them in their hands, and making circular strokes before them
with great force and quickness; but so skilfully managed, that, though
standing quite close, they never interfered. They shifted their clubs
from hand to hand, with great dexterity; and, after continuing a little
time, kneeled, and made different motions, tossing the clubs up in the
air, which they caught as they fell; and then went off as hastily as
they entered. Their heads were covered with pieces of white cloth, tied
at the crown (almost like a night-cap) with a wreath of foliage round
the forehead; but they had only very small pieces of white cloth tied
about their waists; probably, that they might be cool, and free from
every encumbrance or weight. A person with a spear, dressed like the
former, then came in, and in the same hasty manner; looking about
eagerly, as if in search of somebody to throw it at. He then ran
hastily to one side of the crowd in the front, and put himself in a
threatening attitude, as if he meant to strike with his spear at one of
them, bending the knee a little, and trembling, as it were with rage. He
continued in this manner only a few seconds, when he moved to the other
side, and having stood in the same posture there, for the same short
time, retreated from the ground, as fast as when he made his appearance.
The dancers, who had divided into two parties, kept repeating something
slowly all this while: and now advanced, and joined again, ending with
universal applause. It should seem that this dance was considered as one
of their capital performances, if we might judge from some of the
principal people being engaged in it. For one of the drums was beat by
Futtafaihe, the brother of Poulaho, another by Feenou, and the third,
which did not belong to the chorus, by Mareewagee himself, at the
entrance of his hut.