396 THE INHABITANTS. [1841. 



by the inhabitants Fanua Loa, or the " Great Land," to dis- 

 tinguish it from the other islands ; it is about eight miles 

 long and four wide, and its population numbers not far from 

 six hundred. 



The people inhabiting these islands resemble, both in form 

 and feature, the natives of the Samoan Group, and their dia- 

 lect is also similar. Some of the young men and women are 

 quite good-looking, and have very light complexions. They 

 have had but little intercourse with the whites, and still en- 

 tertain the notion that the latter came from the skies in their 

 ships. They are a quiet, harmless, timid, and tractable 

 people, but much addicted to thieving. The young persons 

 of both sexes go entirely naked, but the adults wear the maro, 

 which is made of pandanus leaves of the finest texture. 

 The maro worn by the males is from six to eighteen inches 

 wide, and is often bordered with fringe : that of the females 

 resembles the liku of the Feejeean women, and consists of a 

 great number of leaves tied to a cord, slit into fine threads, 

 and made perfectly pliable by frequent oiling ; they form a 

 thick mat about the body, and sometimes weigh as much as fifty 

 pounds. Tattooing is practiced by both sexes ; their cheeks, 

 breasts, legs and loins, being ornamented with the figures 

 of turtles, fish, arrows, and divers other designs, some intended 

 to imitate nature, and others originating with the fancy of 

 the operator. On their heads they wear a piece of matting 

 or tortoise-shell, shaped like the front of a cap, or an eye 

 shade, to protect their faces from the scorching heat of the 

 sun : some of them are adorned with the feathers of the tropic 

 bird, to indicate the superiority of the wearer. For ornaments 

 they have necklaces and ear-rings of shell and bone. 



Their houses are built in clusters, or villages, surrounding 

 an open space called malcc. They are of an oblong form, 

 about fifteen feet high in the centre, and sloping down grad- 

 ually with a slight convexity to within two or threo feet of 

 the ground. The rafters are secured to the supporting posts 

 and to the ridge pole by lashings of sennit. At the gable- 

 ends, the roof, which is a loose thatching of pandanus loaves. 



