326 AUSTRALASIAN AND POLYNESIAN 
I have known a lad, three years old, to be still suckled, but in 
general the period of suckling does not extend beyond two years. 
Too often infants are not suckled at all, on the plea that the 
“ mother’s milk is bad.” Such children are ‘‘mama paru,” Ze., 
brought up by hand. — Bits of “taro” (Caladium fetiolatum), well 
chewed, are given to it from time to time. The kernel of an old 
cocoanut is finely scraped, the rich, oily juice is then expressed 
from it, and given in small quantities to the infant. The spoon 
anciently used for the purpose is the leaf of the gardenia. I have 
often wondered how the stomach of the infants should be able to 
stand it ; but they do, and become fine men and women. Of late, 
however, the use of the cocoanut has gone out of fashion, much 
to the detriment of the children. The soft, half-formed kernel 
itself is much used as the child becomes stronger. 
Many natives feed their new-born children on “ paka,” z.e., the 
baked leaves of the “taro,” dipped in water. The mortality 
amongst infants thus reared is great, and should they attain to 
adult age they have a diminutive frame. 
A chief’s child would have three or four wet nurses, in order 
to produce the enormous frames for which they were famous. 
It is customary for a native woman, when visiting her friend, 
to suckle her infant. 
At Rarotonga, to regulate the shape of the child’s head, it 
was a common practice to apply slabs of soft wood (‘“ buka tea ”) 
to the forehead and back of the head to produce the desired 
shape, z.2.,a high head. This practice did not obtain on Mangaia, 
nor, I think, on any other island of the Hervey Group. 
It is still customary in the Hervey Group for mothers to press 
with the palm of the hand the noses of their infants, so that they 
may grow squat and round, “not (as I once overheard a woman 
say) like the ¢izn, starved nose of the white race.” 
When children are small they are spoiled by their parents ; 
but when of a useful age all this disappears, and many of them 
have a very hard life. The curse of native family life is adoption ; 
this makes discipline almost impossible. A cross word will make 
the youngster run off to its adopted parents, who sympathise 
where they ought to scold. I have known parents take a present 
of food to the runaway, and humbly entreat his return; but all 
in vain! These adopted parents, however, will resolutely set 
themselves to discharge the duties of real parents in teaching the 
youngster the arts needful in after life. 
The betrothal of the female child often takes place in the 
families of chiefs, in order to secure a suitable match. In that 
case the girl is continually receiving presents from the family 
into which, at adult (say 13 or 14 summers) age, she is to marry. 
Should the contract not be fulfilled, full payment is exacted for 
all these gifts; but, as a rule, the contracts are well kept, so 
many parties being interested in the the affair. 
