COCOA-NUT TREE. 329 



manufacture of " sinnet," some of which is beau- 

 tifully braided, and used by the natives for a 

 variety of useful purposes, and at Tahiti is called 

 Nape. At Tonga, (one of the Friendly Islands,) 

 the natives dye the " sinnet," called Kafa, of 

 various colours, using it in tying the rafters of the 

 huts, &c. and it has a very ornamental appear- 

 ance. The rope for their canvas is all manu- 

 factured from this substance. The husk, from 

 which the fibrous substance has not been sepa- 

 rated, is used in Ceylon in lieu of scrubbing- 

 brushes for the floor ; and also brooms, mats, and 

 bags are manufactured from it. A quantity of 

 coir cordage, such as cables, hawsers, &c., is 

 exported annually from Ceylon to various parts 

 of the globe. At the Pulowat Islands, (Carolina 

 Group, South Pacific Ocean,) we purchased an 

 abundance of cordage, an inch and one and a 

 half inch in diameter, for merely pieces of iron 

 hoop.* 



From the trunk of the cocoa-nut tree the 

 Tahitans extract a gummy substance, called by 

 them Pia, pia ; it possesses no fragrant property, 

 but is used by the native females to spread over 

 their hair, in the same manner that they are ac- 



* The Taliitans do not use the coir in the manufacture of 

 large ropes ; for that purpose they use the bark of the Hibis- 

 cus tiliaceus, or Purau. 



