38 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



among them. There is an authentic record of a skeleton found in a burial 

 cave that measured six feet seven and three-quarters inches in length, and there 

 is sufficient evidence to establish the fact that men of even larger stature were 

 by no means unusual. 



Instances of excessive corpulency have been common among Hawaiians, 

 especially among the chiefs who were always better nourished than were 

 the common people. Having plenty to eat and little to do, they grew 

 large and fat. This tendency to corpulency, as has been elsewhere noted, was, 

 however, more common among the women. JIan.v of them were perfectly enor- 

 mous in size, but this is not to be wondered at since the Hawaiian ideal of 

 female loveliness includes stoutness of figure as a fundamental requisite. 



The natives, before their mixtiire with foreigners, were a brown race, vary- 

 ing in color from light olive to a rich swarthy brown. Their hair, usually raven 

 black, was straight, wavy or curly, but never kinky. Their lips were of a little 

 more than medium thickness, with the upper lip slightly shortened. This gave 

 to the mouth a peculiar form that is characteristic of the race. Their teeth 

 were sound, regular and very beautiful, a fact frequently ascribed to the char- 

 acter of the food they ate. The nose, a rather prominent feature, was in most 

 cases broad and slighty flattened. The eyes of the pure-blooded Hawaiian 

 were always black and very expressive. Their foreheads wei-e unusually high, 

 and perhaps a trifle narrow in proportion. In general, their featui-es werr 

 strong, good-humored, and in many instances, when combined with their splendid 

 physiques, produced a striking and impressive personality that gave th? im- 

 pression of their belonging to a very superior race. 



Clothino of the People. 



At the time of their discovery the men wore the malo, a plain piece of tapa 

 flloth, al)out the loins in the form of a T bandage. The women wore the pa'u 



of tapa, wliii'h was a sinqili' ]V]i of bark cloth, wrapped about the waist, to 



form a short skirt, that iuing down to the knees. While the foregoin'.:' were thi- 

 usual articles of dress they were by im means averse to answcrinu- the call of 

 their environment by stalking alxuit naked or nearly so. if a pretense offered 

 Tliey were fond of certain kinds of adornment, particularly flowers, using them as 

 garlands about their necks or as wreaths about their heads. The children, while 

 often wearing flowers about theii- necks, went otherwise unadorned until six or 

 €ight years of age. 



("le.\nliness. 



Although the Hawaiians wore their tapa clnlli clothini,;- as long as it wouhi 

 hold together, the people as a wiuiic todk great |)ri(l(' in pei'scmal a])p<'arance 

 and cleanliness. They were fond of ornaments and were skillful in their manu- 

 facture. Both sexes wore ornaments fashioned from shells, nuts .-md ivory 

 about their heads and shoulders in addition to the flower gai-hinds just men- 

 tioned. While tattooing was indulged in as a form of decoration its use in this 

 reiipect was not carried to the extent that it was aniont:' th<' Xew Zealandfrs or 



