Their expression of 

 countenance. 



CUSTOMS OF THE FEEJEE GROUP. 



Mode of dressing their 

 hair. 



203 



useful arts, they are, in many respects, the most 

 barbarous and savage race now existing upon the 

 globe. The intercourse they have had with white 

 men has produced some effect on their political 

 condition, but does not appear to have had the 

 least influence in mitigating the barbarous ferocity 

 of their character. In this group, therefore, may 

 be seen the savage in his state of nature; and a 

 comparison of his character with that of the na- 

 tives of the groups in which the Gospel has been 

 profitably preached, will enable our readers to 

 form a better estimate of the value of missionary 

 labours than can well be acquired in any other 

 manner. 



The Feejeeans are generally above the middle 

 height, and exhibit a great variety of figure. 

 Among them the chiefs are tall, well-made, and 

 muscular; while the lower orders manifest the 

 meagreness arising from laborious service and 

 scanty nourishment. Their complexion lies, in 

 general, between that of the black and copper- 

 coloured races, although instances of both extremes 

 are to be met with, thus indicating a descent from 

 two different stocks. One of these, the copper- 

 coloured, is no doubt the same as that whence the 

 Tongese are derived. 



None of them equal the natives of Tonga in 

 beauty of person. The faces of the greater num- 

 ber are long, with a large mouth, good and well-set 

 teeth, and a well-formed nose. Instances, however, 

 are by no means rare, of narrow and high fore- 

 heads, flat noses, and thick lips, with a broad short 

 chin; still they have nothing about them of the 

 negro type. Even the frizzled appearance of the 

 hair, which is almost universal, and which at first 

 sight seems a distinct natural characteristic, I was, 

 after a long acquaintance with their habits, inclined 

 to ascribe to artificial causes. Besides the long 

 bushy beards and mustaches, which are always 

 worn by the chiefs, they have a great quantity of 

 hair on their bodies. This, with the peculiar pro- 

 portion between their thighs and the calves of 

 their legs, brings them nearer to the whites than 

 any of the Polynesian races visited by us. 



The eyes of the Feejeeans are usually fine, being 

 black and penetrating. Some, however, have them 

 red and bloodshot, which may probably be ascribed 

 to ava drinking. 



The expression of their countenances is usually 

 restless and watchful ; they are observing and 

 quick in their movements. 



The hair of the boys is cropped close, while that 

 of the young girls is allowed to grow. In the 

 latter it is to be seen naturally arranged in tight 

 cork-screw locks, many inches in length, which fall 

 in all directions from the crown of the head. The 

 natural colour of the hair of the girls can hardly 

 be ascertained, for they are in the habit of acting 

 upon it by lime and pigments, which make it white, 

 red, brown, or black, according to the taste of the 

 individual. 



When the boys grow up, their hair is no longer 

 cropped, and great pains is taken to spread it out 

 into a mop- like form. The chiefs, in particular, 

 pay great attention to the dressing of their heads, 

 and for this purpose all of them have barbers, 

 whose sole occupation is the care of their masters' 

 heads. The duty of these functionaries is held to 

 be of so sacred a nature, that their hands are 

 tabooed from all other employment, and they are 



not even permitted to feed themselves *. To dress 

 the head of a chief occupies several hours, and the 

 hair is made to spread out from the head, on every 

 side, to a distance that is often eight inches. The 

 beard, which is also carefully nursed, often reaches 

 the breast, and when a Feejeean has these im- 

 portant parts of his person well dressed, he ex- 

 hibits a degree of conceit that is not a little 

 amusing. 



In the process of dressing the hair, it is well 

 anointed with oil, mixed with a carbonaceous black, 

 until it is completely saturatedf. The barber then 

 takes the hair-pin, which is a long and slender rod, 

 made of tortoise-shell or bone, and proceeds to 

 twitch almost every separate hair. This causes it 

 to frizzle and stand erect. The bush of hair is 

 then trimmed smooth, by singeing it, until it has 

 the appearance of an immense wig. When this 

 has been finished, a piece of tapa, so fine as to 

 resemble tissue-paper, is wound in light folds 

 around it, to protect the hair from dew or dust. 

 This covering, which has the look of a turban, is 

 called sala, and none but chiefs are allowed to wear 

 it; any attempt to assume this head-dress by a kai- 

 si, or common person, would be immediately pun- 

 ished with death. The sala, when taken care of, 

 will last three weeks or a month, and the hair is 

 not dressed except when it is removed; but the 

 high chiefs and dandies seldom allow a day to pass 

 without changing the sala, and having their hair 

 put in order. 



The Feejeeans are extremely changeable in 

 their disposition. They are fond of joking, indulge 

 in laughter, and will at one moment appear to give 

 themselves up to merriment, from which they in 

 an instant pass to demon-like anger, which they 

 evince by looks which cannot be misunderstood by 

 those who are the subjects of it, and particularly if 

 in the power of the enraged native. Their anger 

 seldom finds vent in words, but has the character 

 of sullenness. A chief, when offended, seldom 

 speaks a word, but puts sticks in the ground, to 

 keep the cause of his anger constantly in his recol- 

 lection. The objects of it now understand that it 

 is time to appease him by propitiatory offerings, if 

 they would avoid the bad consequences. When these 

 have been tendered to the satisfaction of the offended 

 dignitary, he pulls up the sticks as a signal that he 

 is pacified. 



According to Whippy, who had an excellent 

 opportunity of judging, the Feejeeans are addicted 

 to stealing, are treacherous in the extreme, and, 

 with all their ferocity, cowards. The most univer- 

 sal trait of their character is their inclination to 

 lying. They tell a falsehood in preference, when 

 the truth would better answer their purpose; and 

 in conversing with them, the truth can be only 

 obtained by cautioning them not to talk like a 

 Feejee man, or, hi other words, not to tell any 

 lies. 



Adroit lying is regarded as an accomplishment, 

 and one who is expert at it is sure of a comfortable 

 subsistence and a friendly reception wherever he 

 goes. Their own weakness in this respect does not 

 render them suspicious, and nothing but what is 



* These barbers are called a-vu-ni-ulu. They are attached 

 to the household of the chiefs in numbers of from two to a 

 dozen. 



t The oil is procured by scraping and squeezing a nut 

 called maiketu ; the black is prepared from the laudi nut. 



