72 cook's second voyage august, 



At first we thought the people of this island, as 

 well as those of Erromango, were a race between the 

 natives of the Friendly Islands and those of Malli- 

 collo ; but a little acquaintance with them convinced 

 us that they had little or no affinity to either, except 

 it be in their hair, which is much like what the people 

 of the latter island have. The general colours of it 

 are black and brown, growing to a tolerable length, 

 and very crisp and curly. They separate it into small 

 locks, which they woold or cue round with the rind 

 of a slender plant, down to about an inch of the 

 ends; and, as the hair grows, the woolding is conti- 

 nued. Each of these cues or locks is somewhat thicker 

 than common whipcord ; and they look like a parcel 

 of small strings hanging down from the crown of their 

 heads. Their beards, which are strong and bushy, 

 are generally short. The women do not wear their 

 hair so, but cropped ; nor do the boys, till they ap- 

 proach manhood. Some few men, women, and chil- 

 dren, were seen, who had hair like ours ; but it was 

 obvious that these were of another nation ; and I 

 think we understood they came from Erronan. It 

 is to this island they ascribe one of the two languages 

 which they speak, and which is nearly, if not ex- 

 actly, the same as that spoken at the Friendly Isles. 

 It is therefore more than probable that Erronan was 

 peopled from that nation, and that, by long inter- 

 course with Tanna and the other neighbouring islands, 

 each hath learnt the other's language, which they use 

 indiscriminately. 



The other language which the people of Tanna 

 speak, and, as we understood, those of Erromango 

 and Annattom, is properly their own. It is different 

 from any we had before met with, and bears no affi- 

 nity to that of Mallicollo ; so that, it shoufd seem, 

 the people of these islands are a distinct nation of 

 themselves. Mallicollo, Apee, &c. were names en- 

 tirely unknown to them ; they even knew nothing of 



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