4L0 AMUSEMENTS. [1841. 



of their masters, though they sometimes form temporary 

 connections with the unmarried females in the group. 



Where a female is betrothed at her birth, no ceremony of 

 marriage is requisite. In other cases the friends of the 

 parties, who are left to choose for themselves, as women are 

 not esteemed articles of traffic, assemble at the house of the 

 bride's father, all clad in their gayest attire. The couple are 

 seated on a mat in the midst of the company ; the priest then 

 presses their foreheads together, pours a little cocoa-nut oil 

 over their heads, and sprinkles their faces with the branch of 

 a tree dipped in water, at the same time uttering a prayer 

 for their happiness and prosperity. The friends now offer 

 their congratulations and rub noses — the latter being their 

 customary mode of salutation. The ceremony being com- 

 pleted, feasting and dancing succeed, which are commonly 

 kept up till a late hour in the evening, and for several days 

 in succession. On the third day, the bridegroom takes his 

 A'ife to his own habitation, and for the first ten days the house 

 where she lives is screened with mats, an 1 she remains at home 

 to receive the calls of her friends. Both parties are expected to 

 contribute either land or household goods, or both, to the com- 

 mon stock : but no questions are asked by the suitor, in regard 

 to the dowry of an intended wife, of her parents, till after the 

 consummation of the marriage, and sometimes not until 

 shortly before the birth of the first child. 



Playing at foot-ball, sailing miniature canoes, swimming 

 in the surf with a board like that of the Hawaiians, and fly- 

 ing kites made of split pandanus leaves drawn over a frame, 

 are the principal amusements of the men. The other sex 

 join them in singing and dancing, of which they are extrav- 

 agantly fond. Most of their dances resemble those of other 

 Polynesians, consisting of violent motions of the bodies, rock- 

 ing themselves to and fro, and clapping their hands together 

 and slapping them upon their thighs. They have, however, 

 a peculiar dance that consists of a combination of fencing and 

 singing with dancing. They often collect in large parties 

 for dances, intermingled with songs, in tho evenings, and 



