has been described already, (page 10), in the account of an entertainment prepared for us by Tupia. Hogs, and large fish, are extremely well dreffed in the fame manner; and, in our opinion, were more juicy and more equally done than by any art of cookery now practifed in Europe. Bread-fruit is alfo cooked in an oven of the fame kind, which renders it foft, and fomething like a boiled potatoe: not quite fo farinaceous as a good one, but more fo than those of the middling fort.

Of the bread-fruit they also make three dishes, by putting either water or the milk of the cocoa-nut to it, then beating it to a paste with a fstone pestle, and afterwards mixing it with ripe plantains, bananas, or the four paste which they call Mahie.

The mahie, which has been mentioned as a fuccedaneum for ripe bread-fruit, before the feafon for gathering a fresh crop comes on, is thus made:-The fruit is gathered just before it is perfectly ripe, and being laid in heaps, is closely covered with leaves; in this ftate it undergoes a fermentation, and becomes difagreeably fweet: the core is then taken out entire, which is done by gently pulling the stalk, and the reft of the fruit is thrown into a hole which is dug for that purpose, generally in the houses, and neatly lined in the bottom and fides with grafs; the whole is then covered with leaves, and heavy ftones laid upon them: in this state it undergoes a fecond fermentation, and becomes four, after which it will fuffer no change for many months: it is taken out of the hole as it is wanted for ufe, and being made into balls, it is wrapped up in leaves and baked; after it is dreffed, it will keep five or fix weeks. It is eaten both cold and hot, and the natives feldom make a meal without it, tho' to us the taste was as disagreeable as that of a pickled olive generally is the first time it is eaten.

As the making of this mahie depends, like brewing, upon fermentation, fo, like brewing, it fometimes fails, without their being able to ascertain the cause; it is very natural, therefore, that the making it should be connected with fuperftitious notions and ceremonies. It generally falls to the lot of the old women, who will fuffer no creature to touch any thing belonging to it,

but

1769.

1769.

but those whom they employ as affistants, nor even to go into that part of the houfe where the operation is carrying on. Mr. Banks happened to fpoil a large quantity of it only by inadvertently touching a leaf which lay upon it. The old woman, who then prefided over these myfteries, told him, that the procefs would fail; and immediately uncovered the hole in a fit of vexation and despair. Mr. Banks regretted the mischief he had done, but was fomewhat confoled by the opportunity which it gave him of examining the preparation, which perhaps, but for fuch an accident, would never have offered.

Such is their food, to which falt-water is the univerfal fauce, no meal being eaten without it: thofe who live near the fea have it fetched as it is wanted; those who live at fome distance keep it in large bamboos, which are fet up in their houses, for ufe. Salt-water, however, is not their only fauce; they make another of the kernels of cocoa-nuts, which being fermented till they diffolve into a paste somewhat refembling butter, are beaten up with falt-water. The flavour of this is very ftrong, and was, when we first tafted it, exceedingly naufeous; a little use, however, reconciled fome of us to it fo much, that they preferred it to our own fauces, especially with fish. The natives feemed to confider it as a dainty, and do not use it at their common meals; poffibly, because they think it ill management to use cocoa-nuts fo lavishly, or perhaps, when we were at the island, they were scarcely ripe enough for the purpose.

For drink, they have in general nothing but water, or the juice of the cocoa-nut; the art of producing liquors that intoxicate, by fermentation, being happily unknown among them; neither have they any narcotic which they chew, as the natives of fome other countries do opium, beetle-root, and tobacco. Some of them drank freely of our liquors, and in a few inftances became very drunk; but the perfons to whom this happened were fo far from defiring to repeat the debauch, that they would never touch any of our liquors afterwards. We were however informed, that they became drunk by drinking a juice that is expreffed from the leaves of a plant which they call Ava Ava. This plant

plant was not in season when we were there, so that we faw no inftances of its effects; and as they confidered drunkenness as a difgrace, they probably would have concealed from us any inftances which might have happened during our stay. This vice is almoft peculiar to the Chiefs, and confiderable perfons, who vie with each other in drinking the greatest number of draughts, each draught being about a pint. They keep this intoxicating juice with great care from their

women.

Table they have none; but their apparatus for eating is fet out with great neatnefs, though the articles are too fimple and too few to allow any thing for fhow, and they commonly eat alone; but when a stranger happens to vifit them, he fometimes makes a fecond in their mess. Of the meal of one of their principal peo ple I fhall give a particular defcription.

He fits down under the fhade of the next tree, or on the fhady fide of his houfe, and a large quantity of leaves, either of the bread-fruit on banana, are neatly fpread before him upon the ground, as a table-cloth; a basket is then set by him that contains his provifion, which, if fish or flesh, is ready dreffed, and wrapped up in leaves, and two cocoa-nut fhells, one full of falt and water, and the other of fresh: his attendants, which are not few, feat themselves round him, and when all is ready, he begins by washing his hands and his mouth thoroughly with the fresh water, and this he repeats almoft continually throughout the whole meal; he then takes part of his provifion out of the basket, which generally consists of a small fish or two, two or three bread-fruits, fourteen or fifteen ripe bananas, or fix or feven apples: he first takes half a bread-fruit, peels off the rind, and takes out the core with his nails; of this he puts as much into his mouth as it can hold, and, while he chews it, takes the fish out of the leaves, and breaks one of them into the falt water, placing the other, and what remains of the bread-fruit, upon the leaves that have been spread before him. When this is done, he takes up a small piece of the fish that has been broken into the salt water, with all the fingers of one hand, and fucks it into his mouth, fo as to get with it as much of the falt water VOL. II.

E

as

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1769.

as poffible; in the fame manner he takes the reft by 'different morfels, and between each, at least very frequently, takes a small fup of the falt water, either out of the cocoa-nut fhell, or the palm of his hand; in the mean time one of his attendants has prepared a young cocoa-nut, by peeling off the outer rind with his teeth, an operation which to an European appears: very furprising; but it depends fo much upon flight, that many of us were able to do it before we left the ifland, and fome that could fcarcely crack a filbert: the master, when he chooses to drink, takes the cocoa-nut, thus prepared, and boring a hole through the shell with his finger, or breaking it with a flone, he fucks out the liquor. When he has eaten his bread-fruit and fifh, he begins with his plantains, one of which makes but a mouthful, though it be as big as a black pudding; if, instead of plantains he has apples, he never tastes them till they have been pared; to do this, a fhell is picked up from the ground, where they are always in plenty, and toffed to him by an attendant; he immediately begins to cut or fcrape off the rind, but fo aukwardly, that great part of the fruit is wafted. If, inftead of fish, he has flesh, he must have some fuccedaneum for a knife to divide it ; ad for this purpose a piece of bamboo is toffed to him, of which he makes the neceffary implement, by fplitting it tranfverfely with his nail. While all this has been doing, fome of his attendants have been employed in beating bread-fruit with a stone peftle upon a block of wood; by being beaten in this manner, and fprinkled from time to time with water, it is reduced to the confiftence of a foft pafte, and is then put into a veffel fomewhat like a butcher's tray, and either made up alone, or mixed with banana or mahie, according to the tafte of the mafter, by pouring water upon it by degrees, and fqueezing it often through the hand; under this operation it acquires the confiftence of a thick cuftard, and a large cocoa-nut fhell full of it being fet before him, he fips it as we should do a jelly, if we had no fpoon to take it from the glass the meal is then finished, by again washing his hands and his mouth. After which the cocoa-nut

fhells

fhells are cleaned, and every thing that is left is replac- 1769. ed in the basket.

The quantity of food which these people eat at a meal is prodigious; I have feen one man devour two or three fishes as big as a perch; three bread-fruits, each bigger than two fifts; fourteen or fifteen plantains, or bananas, each of them fix or seven inches long, and four or five round; and near a quart of the pounded bread-fruit, which is as fubftantial as the thickest unbaked cuftard. This is fo extraordinary that I fcarcely expect to be believed; and I would not have related it upon my own fingle teftimony, but Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, and most of the other gentlemen, have had ocular demonftration of its truth, and know that I mention them upon the occasion.

It is very wonderful that these people, who are remarkably fond of fociety, and particularly that of their women, should exclude its pleasures from the table, where, among al other nations, whether civil or favage, they have been principally enjoyed. How a meal, which every where else brings families and friends together, came to feparate them here, we often enquired, but could never learn. They eat alone, they faid, because it was right; but why it was right to eat alone, they never attempted to tell us; fuch, however, was the force of habit, that they expreffed the strongest diflike, and even difguft, at our eating in fociety, especially with our women, and of the fame victuals. At firit, we thought this ftrange fingularity arofe from fome fuperftitious opinion; but they conftantly affirmed the contrary. We obferved alfo fome caprices in the custom, for which we could as little account as for the custom itself. We could never prevail with any of the women to partake of the victuals at our table, when we were dining in company; yet they would go, five or fix together, into the fervants apartments, and there eat very heartily of whatever they could find, of which I have before given a particular inftance; nor were they in the least difconcerted if we came in while they were doing it. When any

of us have been alone with a woman, fhe has fometimes eaten in our company; but then the has exprefied the greatest unwillingness that it should be

known,