1777 THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 439 



The natural colour, I believe, almost without ex- 

 ception, is black ; but the greatest part of the men, 

 and some of the women, have it stained of a brown 

 or purple colour; and a few of an orange cast. 

 The first colour is produced by applying a sort of 

 plaster of burnt coral, mixed with water ; the second 

 by the raspings of a reddish wood, which is made up. 

 with water into a poultice, and laid over the hair ; 

 and the third is, I believe, the effect of turmeric root. 

 When I first visited these islands, T thought it 

 had been an universal custom for both men and 

 women to wear the hair short ; but, during our 

 present longer stay, we saw a great many exceptions. 

 Indeed they are so whimsical in their fashions of 

 wearing it, that it is hard to tell which is most 

 in vogue. Some have it cut off one side of the 

 head, while that on the other side remains long ; 

 some have only a portion of it cut short, or perhaps 

 shaved ; others have it entirely cut off, except a single 

 lock, which is left commonly on one side, or it is 

 suffered to grow to its full length without any of 

 these mutilations. The women in general wear it 

 short. The men have their beards cut short, and both 

 men and women strip the hair from their arm-pits. 

 The operation by which this is performed has been 

 already described. The men are stained from about 

 the middle of the belly, to about half way down the 

 thighs, with a deep blue colour. This is done with 

 a flat bone instrument cut full of fine teeth, which 

 being dipped in the staining mixture, prepared 

 from the juice of the dooe dooe, is struck into the 

 skin with a bit of stick, and by that means indelible 

 marks are made. In this manner they trace lines 

 and figures, which, in some are very elegant, both 

 from the variety, and from the arrangement. The 

 women have only a few small lines or spots, thus 

 imprinted on the inside of their hands. Their 

 kings, as a mark of distinction, are exempted from 



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