TE PITO TE HENUA, OR EASTER ISLAND. 4G7 



by a stem. Fr the coronet, a Hue extended around tin- outside edge 



of the car, with a circle on the lobe. The lips were freely tattooed, 

 after the manner of the Maoris, with lines curving around the chin and 

 extending towards the check hones ; the entire neck and throat covered 

 with oblique or wavy lines, with occasional patches of solid coloring; 

 a broad, wide girdle (Fig. 1, <i) about the waist, from which hands rise 

 in front and behind, representing trees and foliage, surmounted by large 

 laces on the breast and back, and smaller ones on each side of the 

 body. Below the waist belt the lines were line, like lace-work, and 

 from the thigh to the knee the appearance was that of silk tights with 

 variegated pattern. Below the knee there were various designs, termi- 

 nating in a point at the feet. 



SALUTATION. 



The form of salutation is "Kbhomai," literally interpreted, "Come to 

 me." This is always heartily expressed, and parties meeting often 

 shout out the kohomai while some distance apart. The greeting is varied 

 by the addition of a word of respect when addressed to a superior in 

 rank, or a stranger, and by a term of endearment, when to a child or 

 to a relation. 



DRESS. 



The costume of the natives is at present made up of the cast-off 

 clothing obtained from ships of all nations that have called at the 

 island, but principally old uniforms of the French, Spanish, and En- 

 glish vesselsof war. Brass buttons appeal strongly to the native love 

 for adornment, and many were made happy by the liberal contributions 

 from the Mohican. Very little tappa cloth is made on the island at. 

 [•resent, but specimens of the ancient handiwork are treasured rip in 

 every family. The mode of manufacture is quite similar to that prac- 

 ticed on the various groups of the South Sea, but the patterns are 

 much less elaborate. The bark is stripped from the branches of the 

 Hibiscus, in a manner to obtain the greatest possible length, and rolled 

 into coils with the inner bark outside, in order to make it flat and 

 smooth. It is then scraped with a piece of obsidian to remove the 

 bark, the coils being occasionally soaked in water to remove the res 

 inous substances. The strips are laid across a log and beaten for 

 many hours with a heavy mallet. The mallets are made of the lieav 

 iest and hardest wood that can bft obtained (toromiro), about afoot long 

 and .'J inches on each face, some of which are smooth and others 



carved into grooves or ribs, to suit the different stages in the process of 

 manufacture. Several strips of bark are beaten into one thickness of 

 cloth, according to the purpose for which it was intended, some being 

 made quite fine and others coarse and heavy. No gum is used except 

 thai naturally contained in the bark, and the fillers adhere closely 



when kept dry. The fabrication of the tappa speaks well for the native 



