SOME NATIVES OF AUSTRALASIA. 615 



human migrations and revolutions have taken place in this region 

 on a scale large enough to cause the displacement of whole races. 

 The curious monuments of Easter Island, although far inferior in 

 artistic work to the wood-carvings of Birara and New Zealand, 

 may perhaps be the witnesses of a former culture, no traditions of 

 which have survived among the present aborigines. These mon- 

 uments may possibly be the work of a Papuan people, for skulls 

 found in the graves differ in no essential feature from those of 

 New Guinea. 



The Polynesians, properly so called, to whom the collective 

 terms Mahori and Savaiori have also been applied, and who call 

 themselves Kanaka, that is, " men/' have a light-brown or coppery 

 complexion, and rather exceed the tallest Europeans in stature. 

 In Tonga and Samoa nearly all the men are athletes of fine pro- 

 portions, with black and slightly wavy hair, fairly regular feat- 

 ures, and proud glance. They are a laughter-loving, light-hearted 

 people, fond of music, song, and the dance, and where not visited 

 by wars and the contagion of European " culture/' the happiest 

 and most harmless of mortals. When Dumont d'Urville ques- 

 tioned the Tukopians as to the doctrine of a future life, with re- 

 wards for the good and punishment for the wicked, they replied, 

 " Among us there are no wicked people." 



Tattooing was wide-spread, and so highly developed, that the 

 artistic designs covering the body served also to clothe it ; but 

 this costume is now being replaced by the cotton garments intro- 

 duced by the missionaries. In certain islands the operation lasted 

 so long that it had to be begun before the children were six years 

 old, and the pattern was largely left to the v skill and cunning of 

 the professional tattooers. Still, traditional motives recurred in 

 the ornamental devices of the several tribes, who could usually 

 be recognized by their special tracings, curved or parallel lines, 

 diamond forms, and the like. The artists were grouped in schools, 

 like the Old Masters in Europe, and they worked not by incision 

 as in most Melanesian islands, but by punctures with a small, 

 comb-like instrument slightly tapped with a mallet. The pig- 

 ment used in the painful and even dangerous operation was usu- 

 ally the fine charcoal yielded by the nut of Aleurites triloba, an 

 oleaginous plant used for illuminating purposes throughout east- 

 ern Polynesia. 



In Samoa the women were much respected, and every village 

 had its patroness, usually the chief's daughter, who represented 

 the community at the civil and religious feasts, introduced 

 strangers to the tribe, and diffused general happiness by her 

 cheerful demeanor and radiant beauty. But elsewhere the wom- 

 en, though as a rule well treated, were regarded as greatly in- 

 ferior to the men. At the religious ceremonies the former were 



