Captain Cook's Journal During His First Voyage Round the World
which they Value themselves. They are called Arreoys, and have meetings
among themselves, where the men amuse themselves with Wrestling, etc.,
and the Women in dancing the indecent dance before-mentioned, in the
course of which they give full Liberty to their desires, but I believe
keep up to the appearance of decency. I never see one of these meetings;
Dr. Monkhouse saw part of one, enough to make him give Credit to what we
had been told.
Both sexes express the most indecent ideas in conversation without the
least emotion, and they delight in such conversation beyond any other.
Chastity, indeed, is but little valued, especially among the middle
people--if a Wife is found guilty of a breach of it her only punishment
is a beating from her husband. The Men will very readily offer the Young
Women to Strangers, even their own Daughters, and think it very strange
if you refuse them; but this is done merely for the sake of gain.
The Houses or dwellings of these People are admirably calculated for the
continual warmth of the Climate; they do not build them in Towns or
Villages, but seperate each from the other, and always in the Woods, and
are without walls, so that the air, cooled by the shade of the Trees, has
free access in whatever direction it hapens to blow. No country can boast
of more delightful walks than this; the whole Plains where the Natives
reside are covered with groves of Bread Fruit and Cocoa Nut Trees,
without underwood, and intersected in all directions by the Paths which
go from House to House, so that nothing can be more grateful in a Climate
where the sun hath so powerful an influence. They are generally built in
form of an Oblong square, the Roofs are supported by 3 Rows of Pillars or
posts, and neatly covered with Thatch made of Palm leaves. A middle-siz'd
house is about 24 feet by 12, extream heigth about 8 or 9, and heigth of
the Eves 3 1/2 or 4. The floors are cover'd some inches deep with Hay,
upon which, here and there, lay matts for the conveniency of sitting
down; few houses has more than one Stool, which is only used by the
Master of the family.
In their houses are no rooms or Partitions, but they all huddle and Sleep
together; yet in this they generally observe some order, the Married
people laying by themselves, and the unmarried each sex by themselves, at
some small distance from each other. Many of the Eares or Chiefs are more
private, having small movable houses in which they Sleep, man and Wife,
which, when they go by Water from place to place, are tied upon their
Canoes; these have walls made of Cocoa-Nut leaves, etc. I have said that
the houses are without walls, but this is only to be understood in
general, for many of them are walled with wickering, but not so close but
to admit a free circulation of Air. The matts which serve them to sit
upon in the daytime are also their beds in the night, and the Cloathes
they wear in the day serve for covering, a little wood Stool, block of
wood, or bundle of Cloth for a Pillow. Besides these common houses there
are others much larger, 200 feet long and upwards, 30 broad, and 20 in
heigth. There are generally 2 or 3 of these in every district, and seem'd
not only built for the accommodation of the principal people, but common
to all the inhabitants of that district, and raised and kept up by their
joint Labour; these are always without walls, and have generally a large
Area on one side neatly inclosed with low pallisades, etc.
[Tahitian Canoes.]
Their Canoes or Proes are built all of them very narrow, and some of the
largest are 60 or 70 feet long. These consist of several pieces; the
bottom is round and made of large logs hollow'd out to the thickness of
about 3 Inches, and may consist of 3 or 4 pieces; the sides are of Plank
of nearly the same thickness, and are built nearly perpendicular,
rounding in a little towards the Gunwale. The pieces on which they are
built are well fitted, and fastned or sewed together with strong platting
something in the same manner as old China, Wooden Bowls, etc., are
mended. The greatest breadth is at the after part, which is generally
about 18 or 20 Inches, and the fore part about 1/3 Narrower; the heigth
from the bottom to the Gunwale seldom exceeds 2 1/2 or 3 feet. They build
them with high curv'd Sterns which are generally ornamented with carved
work; the head or fore part curves little or nothing. The smaller Canoes
are built after the same plan, some out of one, 2, or more trees
according to their size or the use they are for. In order to prevent them
from oversetting when in the Water, all those that go single, both great
and Small, have what is called Outriggers, which are Pieces of Wood
fastened to the Gunwale and project out on one side about 6, 8, or 10
feet, according to the size of the Boat. At the end is fastened in a
Parrallel direction to the Canoe a long log of wood simply; or some have
it Shaped in the form of a small Boat, but this is not common; this lays
in the Water and Balances the Boat. Those that are for sailing have
Outriggers only on the other side abreast of the Mast; these serves to
fasten the Shrouds to, and are of use in Trimming the Boat when it blows
fresh; the sailing proes have some one and some 2 masts; the sails are of
Matting and are made narrow at the head and Square at the foot, something
like a Shoulder of Mutton Sail, such as are generally used in Man-of-War
Barges, etc.
I have mentioned above that the single Canoes have Outriggers, for those
that go double--that is 2 together, which is very common--have no need of
any; and it is done in this manner: 2 Canoes are placed in a parrallel
direction to each other, about 3 or 4 feet asunder, securing them
together by small Logs of Wood laid across and lashed to each of their
gunwales; thus the one boat supports the other, and are not in the least
danger of upsetting, and I believe it is in this manner that all their
large Proes are used, some of which will carry a great number of Men, by
means of a Platform made of Bamboo or other light wood and the whole
length of the Proes and considerably broader, but I never saw but one
fitted in this manner upon the whole Island. Upon the Forepart of all
these large double Proes was placed an Oblong Platform about ten or
twelve feet in length, and six or eight in Breadth, and supported about 4
feet above the Gunwale by stout Carved Pillars. The use of these
Platforms, as we were told, are for the Club Men to stand and fight upon
in time of Battle, for the large Canoes, from what I could learn, are
built most, if not wholly, for war, and their method of fighting is to
Graple one another and fight it out with Clubs, spears, and stones. I
never saw but one of these sort of Canoes in the water, the rest was all
hauled ashore and seemed to be going to decay, neither were there very
many of them upon the Island.* (* The war canoes of Tahiti exist no
longer. The others are still used, and merit all Cook's encomiums on
their sailing qualities.)
The Chiefs and better sort of People generally go from one part of the
island to another in small double Canoes which carry a little movable
House, this not only Skreens them from the Sun by day, but serves them to
Sleep in in the Night, and this way of Travelling is Extremely commodious
about such Islands as are inclosed by a reef as this is; for as these
Canoes draw but Little water they can always keep in the Reefs, and by
that means are never in danger.
They have some few other Canoes, Pahees as they call them, which differ
from those above discribed, but of these I saw but 6 upon the whole
Island, and was told they were not built here. The 2 largest was each 76
feet long, and when they had been in use had been fastned together. These
are built Sharp and Narrow at both Ends and broad in the Middle; the
bottom is likewise Sharp, inclining to a Wedge, yet Buldges out very much
and rounds in again very quick just below the Gunwale. They are built of
several pieces of thick plank and put together as the others are, only
these have timbers in the inside, which the others have not. They have
high Curved Sterns, the head also Curves a little, and both are
ornamented with the image of a man carved in wood, very little inferior
work of the like kind done by common Ship Carvers in England.
When one Considers the Tools these people have one cannot help but
admiring their workmanship; these are Adzes and small Hatchets made of a
hard Stone, Chizels and Gouges made of human bones, generally the bones
of the Forearm, but Spike Nails have pretty well supplyd the place of
these. With these ordinary Tools, that a European would expect to break
the first stroke, I have seen them work surprisingly fast. To plain or
polish their work they rub upon it, with a small stone, Coral Beat small
and Mixed with Water; this is done sometimes by scraping it with Shells,
with which alone they perform most of their Small wood work.
Their Proes or Canoes, large and Small, are row'd and Steer'd with
Paddles, and, notwithstanding the large ones appear to be very unweildy,
they manage them very dexterously, and I believe perform long and distant
Voyages in them, otherwise they could not have the knowledge of the
Islands in these Seas they seem to have. They wear for Shew or Ornament
at the Mast Head of most of their Sailing Canoes Pendants made of
Feathers.
Having described their fighting Canoes I shall next describe their Arms
with which they attack their Enemys, both by Sea and Land. These are
Clubs, Spears or Lances, Slings and Stones which they throw by hand. The
Clubs are made of a hard wood, and are about 8 or 9 feet long; the one
half is made flatish with 2 Edges, and the other half is round and not
thicker than to be easily grasped by the hand. The Lances are of various
lengths, some from 12, 20 or 30 feet, and are generally Arm'd at the
Small end with the Stings of Sting-rays, which makes them very dangerous
weapons. Altho' these people have Bows and Arrows--and those none of the
worst--we are told that they never use them in their wars, which
doubtless is very extraordinary and not easily accounted for. They have
very Curious breastplates, made of small wickers, pieces of Matting,
etc., and neatly Cover'd with Sharks' teeth, Pearl Oyster shells, birds'
feathers, and dogs' hair. Thus much for their Arms, etc.
[Tahitian Cloth.]
I shall now describe their way of making Cloth, which, in my opinion, is
the only Curious manufacture they have. All their Cloth is, I believe,
made from the Bark of Trees; the finest is made from a plant which they
Cultivate for no other purpose.* (* Broussonetia papyrifera. The
manufacture is common to all Polynesia, and the ordinary name for it in
the Pacific is Tapa. The Tahitians, however, called it Ahu.) Dr. Solander
thinks it is the same plant the bark of which the Chinese make paper of.
They let this plant grow till it is about 6 or 8 feet high, the Stem is
then about as thick as one's Thum or thicker; after this they cut it down
and lay it a Certain time in water. This makes the Bark strip off easy,
the outside of which is scraped off with a rough Shell. After this is
done it looks like long strips of ragged linnen; these they lay together,
by means of a fine paist made of some sort of a root, to the Breadth of a
yard more or less, and in length 6, 8 or 10 Yards or more according to
the use it is for. After it is thus put together it is beat out to its
proper breadth and fineness, upon a long square piece of wood, with
wooden beaters, the Cloth being keept wet all the time. The beaters are
made of hard wood with four square sides, are about 3 or 4 inches broad
and cut into grooves of different fineness; this makes the Cloth look at
first sight as if it was wove with thread, but I believe the principal