1835. OTAHEITAN CUSTOMS MEETING. 527 



lish nor Otaheitan. Before she became sovereign, she was known 

 by the name of Aimatta, which signifies ' eye-eater ;'* but Po- 

 mare has since been adopted as the royal name. In affixing her 

 signature, 'Vahine' is added, which means ' female' — thus ' Po- 

 mare Vahine.' Her husband is a young, intelh gent man; but 

 he has no share in the government, being only king-consort. 

 This man was the only native of the island, that I saw, 

 whose nose was sharp and projecting. It is amusing to think 

 that they call a man ' long nose,' in this country, when they 

 wish to wound his feelings deeply. 



During the first few days after a child is born, the mother 

 or her attendants keep pressing the back of the infant's head 

 with one hand, and the forehead and nose with the other, to 

 make the head hia;h and the nose and brow flat. Children of 

 the higher ranks undergo more compression, because they are 

 more carefully attended.f How the queen's husband escaped, 

 or could be chosen by her with such a nose, I am at a loss to 

 discover. 



24th. With all the officers who could be spared from the 

 duty of the ship, Mr. Darwin and I repaired early to Papiete. 

 Mr. Wilson, Mr. Henry, and Hitote, were of the party. Ar- 

 rived at the hospitable abode of Mr. Pritchard, we waited until 

 a messenger informed us of the queen's arrival at the appointed 

 place of meeting — the English chapel. From our position we 

 had just seen the royal escort — a very inferior assemblage. It 

 appeared that the chiefs and elderly people had walked to the 

 chapel when our boats arrived, leaving only the younger 

 branches of the community to accompany Pomare. The Eng- 

 lish chapel is a small, wooden structure, with a high, angular 

 roof; it is about fifty feet in length and thirty feet wide ; near 

 the eastern end is a pulpit, and at each corner a small pew- 

 The rest of the building is occupied by strong benches, exten- 

 ding nearly from side to side ; latticed windows admit light and 

 air ; the roof is thatched in a partly Otaheitan manner ; none 



* I need not remark upon the offering made to the king- in the time of 

 human sacrifice. 



+ Mitchell, the native pilot, described this process to me minutely. 



