Ls | 
RACES BIBLIOGRAPHY COMMITTEE. 32 
MATURITY. 
When circumcised, a lad considers himself to be a man. This 
rite was not unfrequently delayed, so that the lad might become 
a finer man. It was performed about the age of 17 or 18. 
A Hervey Island girl may be considered mature at the age of 
14. It must not be imagined that the ages of children were 
marked off by years, as with us. 
For females, a slight tatooing, the patterns being different 
from those on males. 
She is expected to make her aéut by taking part in the next 
grand dance. The great requisites of a Polynesian beauty are to 
be fat and as fair as their dusky skins will permit. To insure 
this, favourite children in good families, whether boys or girls, 
were regularly fattened and imprisoned till nightfall, when a 
little gentle exercise was permitted. If refractory, the guardian 
would even whip the culprit for not eating more, calling out, 
“Shall I not be put to shame to see you so slim in the dance ?” 
These dances invariably took place in the open air, by torch- 
light. About a year was required for getting up one such 
entertainment. This long interval was needed, first, for the 
composing of songs in honour of the fair ones and the rehearsal 
of the performers ; secondly, for the growth of “taro,” &e., &e., 
to provide the grand feast necessary. The point of honour was 
to be the fairest and fattest of any young people present. I 
know of no more unpleasant sight than the cracking of the skin 
as the fattening process proceeds; yet this calls forth the 
admiration of the friends. 
There is no analogy between the initiation of males into the 
tribe and the grades of freemasonry, it being done once for all. 
No new name is taken, no special colours used at the ceremony. 
The advantage that accrues is simply this—he ranks as a man, 
can marry, take part in tribal dances, songs, recitations, and the 
various duties of adult native life. 
CIRCUMCISION. 
An imperfect sort of circumcision has been practised in the 
Hervey Islands from time immemorial. Captain Cook’s account 
of the ceremonies attending this rite at Tahiti applies to nearly 
all the branches of the great Polynesian family. In point of fact, 
the term ‘‘circum-cision,” as applied to these islanders is a solecism. 
The operation is sometimes attended with danger, and is usually 
performed about the age of sixteen. The lad invariably wears a 
necklace of fragrant flowers after his recovery, and takes the 
coveted rank of a man. 
Two reasons were assigned for this observance in heathenisin. 
First, in the event of being slain in battle, or being offered in 
