10 



ETHNOGRAPHY. 



middle age. They have little hair on their bodies, and take pains 

 to eradicate it from the armpits and breasts, under a notion of 

 cleanliness. 



Almost as great a variety of physiognomy is observable in Poly- 

 nesia as among any people of Europe. Perhaps the only general 

 characteristic, besides the complexion and hair, is the slight spread of 

 the nostrils at the base, as though the nose had been a little depressed. 

 The eyes are black, but neither large nor very bright ; we observed a 

 few individuals in whom they were set obliquely, like those of the 

 Chinese, but in general their direction is rectilinear. The forehead 

 varies very much in height and angle of direction, but is usually 

 well developed. The cheek-bones project slightly, rather more for- 

 ward than laterally. The nose is commonly short and straight, but 

 in certain tribes, and in some individuals of all tribes, it is long and 

 aquiline, always appearing, however, to be slightly depressed and 

 widened at the lower part. The mouth is commonly the best feature 

 in the face, the lips being moderately full, and the teeth white, even, 

 and well set. The chin is short and seldom prominent. The ears 

 are large, standing out from the head. The whole contour of the 

 face is oval, and the features, though not strongly marked, are often 

 so regularly disposed as to be truly handsome. 



The form of the head is not such as accords with our ideas of 

 elegance. It is short and broad, the transverse diameter just above 

 the ears being nearly as great as the longitudinal, from the middle of 

 the forehead to the occiput. It is, at the same time, rather more 

 elevated than usual among barbarous races, rising highest at the 

 coronal region. The head is remarkably flat behind, a peculiarity 

 that is most striking in the women, from its contrast with the long, 

 graceful oval, which we are accustomed to admire in the female head. 



The foregoing general description is applicable to all the tribes of 

 Polynesia. But there are certain minor peculiarities which distin- 

 guish the inhabitants of the different groups from one another, and 

 which require to be noticed. 



The natives of the Samoan and Tongan Islands are a fine-looking 

 people. They are generally tall and well-proportioned, with full, 

 rounded faces and limbs, but without that grossness and laxity of 

 fibre common in the Tahitians. Their features, though not always 

 regular, are generally pleasing; and in particular, the forehead is 

 remarkable for its ample developement, which, with the breadth 

 between the eyes, gives to the countenance an expression of noble- 



