2/2 Memoirs Bcniicc P. Bishop Miisctnii 



fail bark passed around the heavy spht niich-ih wliich fornied the upper edge of 

 tlie mat. The completed house was triangular in cross section, being in fact a 

 simple roof with the eaves resting on the ground. One of the ends was usually 

 closed with coconut mats, arranged like those on the roof, and tied to the end 

 rafter on each side and to the end pole. Houses of this type were simply shel- 

 ters made \\ith the minimum of labor, and were never decorated. Thev are still 

 in occasional use throughout the Marquesas, and appear to be the same in all the 

 islands. 



THE DWELLING TYPE 



THE lIOrSE PLATFORM (pAEPAE) 



The dwelling type includes practically all Marquesan buildings, whether 

 domicilary or ceremonial, although certain religious structures reveal a modified 

 form. Nearly all permanent houses in the Marquesas were built upon stone plat- 

 forms, known as pacpac. The use of stone platforms was so nearly universal in 

 Polynesia that it seems probable that the idea was brought to the Marquesas by 

 the original settlers, but the nature of the terrain was such as to greatly stimulate 

 its development. In most of the valleys it was necessary to either terrace or 

 excavate in order to have a level floor and the abundance of loose stone made 

 terracing easy. Many of the pacpac on hill slopes were simple terraces with a 

 trench at the rear to carry off water. The front height of such pacpac depended, 

 of course, upon the slope and the width of the level space desired. Front walls as 

 much as ten feet high were not uncommon but the back of the terrace was 

 usually at the level of the original surface, or only sufficiently raised to keep the 

 floor from being flooded in rainy weather. 



Even on le\-el ground nearly all the houses were elevated on stone sub- 

 structures which were sometimes remarkably massive. The natives stated that 

 these level ground pacpac were intended to keep pigs from entering the house. 

 The alternative of erecting the house on piles was prohibited by the danger that 

 children might get under it — a serious matter under the old regime, as anything 

 which passed over a child's head became tapu and had to be destroyed. Pacpac on 

 level ground ranged from simple ]mvements — a form usually limited to dry locali- 

 ties — to massive structures six to eight feet high. The average height for all the 

 ALarquesan pacpac is about three feet. Thev are highest in Nuku Hiva from 

 which island they steadily decrease southward, the Fatu Flivan pacpac being, on 

 the will lie, the smallest in the group. All pacpac were rectangular in outline, the 

 upper surface being divided longitudinallv into two unecjual parts one of which 

 was from eight to thirty inches higher than the other. The higher part, which 

 was always at the rear, served as the flimr of the house and the lower part as 

 a veranda and general lounging place. In Xuku Hiva and Ua Huka the pacpac 



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