1777* TH E PACIFIC OCEAN. 4<65 



Poulaho's father, had a sister of equal rank, and elder 

 than himself ; that she, by a man who came from 

 the island of Feejee, had a son and two daughters ; 

 and that these three persons, as well as their mother, 

 rank above Futtafaihe the king. We endeavoured, 

 in vain, to trace the reason of this singular pre- 

 eminence of the Tammahas ; for we could learn 

 nothing besides this account of their pedigree. The 

 mother and one of the daughters, called Tooeela- 

 kaipa, live at Vavaoo. Latoolibooloo, the son, and 

 the other daughter, whose name is Moungoula-kaipa, 

 reside at Tongataboo. The latter is the woman who 

 is mentioned to have dined with me on the 21st of 

 June. This gave occasion to our discovering her 

 superiority over the king, who would not eat in her 

 presence, though she made no scruple to do so before 

 him, and received from him the customary obeisance, 

 by touching her foot. We never had an opportunity 

 of seeing him pay this mark of respect to Latooli- 

 booloo ; but we have observed him leave off eating, 

 and have his victuals put aside, when the latter came 

 into the same house. Latoolibooloo assumed the 

 privilege of taking any thing from the people, even 

 if it belonged to the king ; and yet in the ceremony 

 called Natche, he assisted only in the same manner 

 as the other principal men. He was looked upon 

 by his countrymen, as a madman ; and many of his 

 actions seemed to confirm this judgment. At Eooa, 

 they showed me a good deal of land, said to belong 

 to him ; and I saw there a son of his, a child whom 

 they distinguished by the same title as his father. 

 The son of the greatest Prince in Europe could not 

 be more humoured and caressed than this little 

 Tammaha was. 



The language of the Friendly Islands has the 

 greatest affinity imaginable to that of New Zealand, 

 of Wateeoo, and Mangeea ; and, consequently, to 

 that of Otaheite, and the Society Islands. There are 



VOL. V. I J U 



