31 4f cook's voyage to may,, 



of eighteen men, seated themselves before us, in the 

 centre of the circle, composed by the numerous spec- 

 tators, the area of which was to be the scene of the 

 exhibitions. Four or five of this band, had pieces of 

 large bamboo, from three to five or six feet long, 

 each managed by one man, who held it nearly in a 

 vertical position, the upper end open, but the other 

 end closed by one of the joints. With this close end, 

 the performers kept constantly striking the ground, 

 though slowly, thus producing different notes, accord- 

 ing to the different lengths of the instruments, but all 

 of them of the hollow or base sort; to counteract 

 which, a person kept striking quickly, and with two 

 sticks, a piece of the same substance, split, and laid 

 along the ground, and, by that means, furnishing a 

 tone as acute as those produced by the others were 

 grave. The rest of the band, as well as those who 

 performed upon the bamboos, sung a slow and soft 

 air, which so tempted the harsher notes of the above 

 instruments, that no bye-stander, however accustomed 

 to hear the most perfect and varied modulation of 

 sweet sounds, could avoid confessing the vast power, 

 and pleasing effect, of this simple harmony. 



The concert having continued about a quarter of 

 an hour, twenty women entered the circle. Most of 

 them had, upon their heads, garlands of the crimson 

 flowers of the China rose, or others ; and many of 

 them had ornamented their persons with leaves of 

 trees, cut with a great deal of nicety about the edges. 

 They made a circle round the chorus, turning their 

 faces toward it, and began by singing a soft air, to 

 which responses were made by the chorus in the same 

 tone ; and these were repeated alternately. All this 

 while, the women accompanied their song with 

 several very graceful motions of their hands toward 

 their faces, and in other directions at the same time, 

 making constantly a step forward, and then back 

 again, with one foot, while the other was fixed. They 

 then turned their faces to the assembly, sung some 



