ORNAMENTS. HOUSES. 367 



by a piece of string or a bone bodkin ; the other piece was 

 wrapped round the waist, and reached nearly to the ground. 

 This garment, however, was worn by the men only on par- 

 ticular occasions. 



For ornament they wore combs of wood or bone, feathers, 

 necklaces, bracelets, and anklets of bones and shells, and 

 ear-rings made of albatross-down. Many of them had also 

 small grotesque figures of jade, which were suspended from 

 the neck and were regarded as very precious. The New Zea- 

 landers were also tattooed with great dexterity and elegance ; 

 not only on the body, but even on the face, the general 

 effect of which was in many cases far from unpleasant. The 

 process, however, was extremely painful, so much so, indeed, 

 that it could not be supported all at once, but was sometimes 

 spread over several months, or even years. The lips and the 

 corners of the eyes were the part that hurt most. To have 

 shrunk from it would, however, have been a great disgrace. 



Their houses were about eighteen or twenty feet long, 

 eight or ten broad, and five or six high. The sides sloped 

 quite down to the ground, differing in this respect from those 

 of Tahiti, which are left open at the sides. This was done, 

 however, not for the sake of privacy, but to keep out the 

 wind and rain. The sides were made of sticks, closely 

 thatched with grass and hay, and the door was at one end, 

 just high enough to admit a man on all fours. Another hole 

 served both for window and chimney. The roof was often 

 carved, and they frequently attached to the end of the ridge 

 pole a monstrous representation of the proprietor.* 



Their villages were all fortified. They chose the strongest 

 natural situations, and fortified them with a pallisade about 

 ten feet high. The weaker sides were also defended "by 

 a double ditch, the innermost of which has a bank, and 

 an additional pallisade." The stakes were driven obliquely 

 * Dieffenbach, I.e. p. 69. 



