38 NATl'RAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



ainouy' tliein. There is an authentic record of a skeleton foiiiid iu a burial 

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

 is sufficient evidence to establish tlie tact tliat men of even larger stature were 

 b}' 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. IMany 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 mixture 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, Imt never kinky. Their lips were of a little 

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

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

 were sound, regular and very beautiful, a fact frecpiently 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-hlooded Hawaiian 

 were always black and very expressive. Their foreheads were usually high, 

 and perhaps a trifle narrow in proportion. In general, their features were 

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

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

 pression of their belonging to a very sui)erior race. 



Clothing of the People. 



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

 cloth, about the loins in the form of a T bandage. The W(mien Avore the pa'u 

 of tapa, which was a simple piece of bark cloth, wrapiied about the Avaist, to 

 form a short skirt, that hung down to tht^ knees. While the foregoing were the 

 usual articles of dress they were by no means averse to answering the call of 

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

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

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

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

 eight years of age. 



Cleanliness. 



Although the Hawaiians wore their tapa cloth clothing as long as it would 

 hold together, the people as a whole took great pride in personal appearance 

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

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

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

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

 respect was not carried to the extent that it was among the New Zealanders or 



