1769. known, and always extorted the strongest promises of fecrecy. Domestic life, and amufe ments. Among themselves, even two brothers and two fifters have each their feparate baskets, with provifion and the apparatus of their meal. When they firft vifited us at our tents, each brought his basket with him; and when we fat down to table, they would go out, fit down upon the ground, at two or three yards diftance from each other, and, turning their faces different ways, take their repast without interchanging a fingle word. The women not only abftain from eating with the men, and of the fame victuals, but even have their victuals feparately prepared by boys kept for that purpofe, who depofit it in a feparate fhed, and attend them with it at their meals. But though they would not eat with us or with each other, they have often afked us to eat with them, when we have vifited those with whom we were particularly acquainted at their houses; and we have often, upon fuch occasions, eaten out of the fame basket, and drunk out of the fame cup. The elder women, however, always appeared to be offended at this liberty; and if we happened to touch their victuals, or even the basket that contained it, would throw it away. After meals, and in the heat of the day, the middleaged people of the better fort generally fleep; they are indeed extremely indolent, and fleeping and eating is almost all that they do. Thofe that are older are lefs drowly, and the boys and girls are kept awake by the natural activity and fprightlinefs of their age. Their amufements have occafionally been mentioned, in my account of the incidents that happened during our refidence in this ifland, particularly mufic, dancing, wrestling, and fhooting with the bow; they alfo fometimes vie with each other in throwing a lance. As fhooting is not at a mark, but for a distance, throwing the lance is not for distance, but at a mark; the weapon is about nine feet long, the mark is the bole of a plantain, and the distance about twenty yards. Their only mufical inftruments are flutes and drums; the flutes are made of a hollow bamboo, about a foot long, and, as has been obferved before, have only two stops, ftops, and confequently but four notes, out of which they seem hitherto to have formed but one tune; to thefe ftops they apply the fore finger of the left hand, and the middle finger of the right. The drum is made of a hollow block of wood, of a cylindrical form, folid at one end, and covered at the other with fhark's fkin; thefe they beat, not with flicks, but their hands, and they know how to tune two drums of different notes into concord. They have alfo an expedient to bring the flutes that play together into unifon, which is to roll up a leaf fo as to flip over the end of the shortest, like our fliding tubes for telefcopes, which they move up or down till the purpofe is anfwered, of which they seem to judge by their ear with great nicety. To these inftruments they fing; and, as I have obferved before, their fongs are often extempore: they call every two verfes, or couplet a fong, Pehay; they are generally, though not always, in rhime; and when pronounced by the natives, we could difcover that they were metre. Mr. Banks took great pains to write down some of them, which were made upon our arrival, as nearly as he could exprefs their founds by combinations of our letters; but when we read them, not having their accent, we could fcarcely make them cither metre or rhime. The reader will eafily perceive that they are of very different ftructure. Tede pahai de parow-a Ha maru no mina, E pahah Tayo malama tai ya E Turai eattu terara patee whennua toai Of these verses our knowledge of the language is too imperfect to attempt a translation. They frequently amufe themselves by finging fuch couplets as thefe when they are alone, or with their families, efpecially after it is dark; for though they need no fires, they are not without the comfort of artificial light between funfet E 3 1769. 1769. funfet and bed-time. Their candles are made of the kernels of an oily nut, which they stick over one another upon a skewer, that is thruft through the middle of them; the upper one being lighted burns down to the second, at the fame time confuming that part of the skewer which goes through it; the second taking fire burns in the fame manner down to the third, and fo of the reft: fome of thefe candles will burn a confiderable time, and they give a very tolerable light. They do not often fit up above an hour after it is dark; but when they have strangers who fleep in the house, they generally keep a light burning all night, poffibly as a check upon fuch of the women as they wish not to honour them with their favours. Of their itinerary concerts, I need add nothing to what has been already faid; especially as I fhall have occafion, more particularly, to mention them, when I relate our adventures upon another island. In other countries, the girls and unmarried women are supposed to be wholly ignorant of what others, upon fom occafions, may appear to know; and their conduct and converfation are confequently restrained within narrower bounds, and kept at a more remote ditance from whatever relates to a connection with the other fex; but here it is juft the contrary. Among other diverfions, there is a dance called Timorodee,which is performed by young girls, whenever eight or ten of them can be collected together, confifting of motions and gefures beyond imagination wanton, in the practice of which they are brought up from their earliest childhood, accompanied by words, which, if it were poffible, would more explicitly convey the fame ideas. In thefe dances, they keep time with an exactnefs which is fcarely excelled by the beft performers upon the ftages of Europe. But the practice which is allowed to the virgin, is prohibited to the woman from the moment that he has put thefe hopeful leffons in practice, and realized the fymbols of the dance. It cannot be fuppofed that, among these people, chastity is held in much eftimation. It might be expected that fiters and daughters would be offered to frangers, either as a courtefy, or for reward; and that breaches of conjugal fidelity, even in the wife, fhould fhould not be otherwife punished than by a few hard words, or perhaps a flight beating, as indeed is the cafe: but there is a fcale in diffolute fenfuality, which these people have afcended, wholly unknown to every other nation, whose manners have been recorded from the beginning of the world to the present hour, and which no imagination could poffibly conceive, A very confiderable number of the principal people of Otaheite, of both fexes, have formed themselves into a fociety, in which every woman is common to every man thus fecuring a perpetual variety, as often as their inclination prompts them to feek it, which is fo frequent, that the fame man and woman feldom cohabit together more than two or three days. These societies are distinguished by the name of Arreoy; and the members have meetings, at which no other is prefent, where the men amuse themselves by wrestling, and the women, notwithstanding their occafional connection with different men, dance the Timorodee in all its latitude, as an incitement to defires, which, it is faid, are frequently gratified upon the fpot. This, however, is comparatively nothing. If any of the women happen to be with child, which in this. manner of life happens lefs frequently than if they were to cohabit only with one man, the poor infant is fmothered the moment it is born, that it may be na incumbrance to the father, nor interrupt the mother in the pleasures of her diabolical prostitution. It fometimes indeed happens, that the paffion which prompts a woman to enter into this fociety, is furmounted when she becomes a mother, by that inftinctive affection which Nature has given to all creatures for the prefervation of their offspring; but even in this cafe, the is not permitted to fpare the life of her infant, except the can find a man who will patronife it as his child; if this can be done, the murder is prevented; but both the man and woman, being deemed by this act to have appropriated each other, are ejected from the community, and forfeit all claim to the privileges and pleasures of Arreoy for the future the woman from that time being diftinguished by the term Whannownow," bearer of children," which is bere a term of reproach; though none can be more bonourable E 4 1769. 1769. honourable in the estimation of wisdom and humanity, of right reason, and every passion that distinguishes the man from the brute. It is not fit that a practice fo horrid and fo ftrange fhould be imputed to human beings upon flight evidence, but I have fuch as abundantly juftifies me in the account I have given. The people themfelves are fo far from concealing their connection with such a society as a difgrace, that they boaft of it as a privilege; and both myself and Mr. Banks, when particular perfons have been pointed out to us as members of the Arreoy, have queftioned them about it, and received the account that has been here given from their own lips. They have acknowledged, that they had long been of this accurfed fociety, that they belonged to it at that time, and that feveral of their children had been put to death. But I must not conclude my account of the domestic life of these people, without mentioning their perfonal cleanliness. If that which leffens the good of life, and increases the evil, is vice, furely cleanlinefs is a virtue; the want of it tends to deftroy both beauty and health, and mingles difguft with our best pleasures. The natives of Otaheite, both men and women, conftantly wash their whole bodies in running water three times every day; once as foon as they rise in the morning, once at noon, and again before they fleep at night, whether the fea or river is near them or at a distance. I have already obferved, that they wash not only the mouth, but the hands at their meals, almoft between every morfel; and their clothes, as well as their persons, are kept without fpot or ftain; so that in a large company of these people, nothing is fuffered but heat, which perhaps is more than can be faid of the politeft affembly in Europe. CHAP. |