TONGA OR FRIENDLY ISLANDS 



was but 14 inches. . . . 

 The manly beauty of 

 the young men is very 

 remarkable; one in par- 

 ticular, who had decked 

 his hair with the flowers 

 of the scarlet hibiscus, 

 might have sat for An- 

 tinous. Their features 

 are often beautiful, 

 although the nose is 

 somewhat flatter than 

 with us; but this, I 

 believe, is done by the 

 mothers in the children's 

 early youth as an im- 

 provement to their ap- 

 pearance." 



The following brief 

 account of the Tow-Tow, 

 a religious festival which 

 was extremely popular 

 before the conversion 

 of the Tongans to 

 Christianity, will serve 

 to show how fond the 

 people are of boxing, 

 wrestling, and fighting, 

 in a good-hnmoured 

 way, among themselves. 

 The Tow-Tow was really 

 a special form of thanks- 

 giving to the god of the 

 weather for ripening the 

 fruits. It began early 

 in November, when 

 yams are ripe, and the 

 proceedings used to be 

 continued for about 

 three months, with in- 

 tervals of about ten days. 



In the first place, the people collected plenty of food, yams, plantains, and sugar-canes. These 

 they piled up in great heaps. The priest of the weather-god sent a small procession, accom- 

 panied by a girl about nine years old, who was supposed to represent the wife of the god. 

 She resided at the temple of the god, and presided at feasts, or at Jcava -drinking parties. 

 The men were dressed in mats, with green leaves tied round their necks. They offered up 

 prayers to Alo-Alo, asking him to give good weather for their crops. Some of the piles of 

 food went to the chief, and others were scrambled for as soon as the drums were beaten. 

 Then followed a regular ''free fight." The men arranged for "sides," and the chiefs joined 

 in the game. They fought with great pluck and determination, but always observed the 

 rule that no one must lose his temper. It was all done in perfect good-humour. 



A man who had been knocked down would get up again, smiling blandly, even if his 



Pltolo by Th 



[Apia, Samoa. 



A SAMOAX GIRL. 



