4i6 Memoirs Bcniicc P. BisJiop Museum 



CLOTHING AXD BODY DECORATIONS 



The Marquesaiis rarely went entirely nude although, among the men at 

 least, the practice was not unknown. Ouiros (51 ) says that the first men seen hy 

 the Spaniards were nude and Krusenstern (34, pp. 156-159) is specific on this 

 point. He says : 



Even this girdle fthe liami) is not worn by all the Xukahiwers, for the liandsome Mau- 

 ha-u for instance, always effected to go naked ; and. although on two occasions I presented him 

 with a girdle, he came on board the next time without it. 



Even when entirely nude the Marquesan sense of modesty required that the head 

 of the ]ienis should he covered. The foreskin, which was slit but not removed in 

 the native form of circumcision, was drawn over it and confined h\ a ligature. 



GARMENTS 



The simplest form of clothing consisted of a few fan leaves wrapped 

 around the genitals. This was employed by men when working on plantations at 

 some distance from the village. The ordinary male garments were the Jiami, or 

 loin cloth, and the cloak, both made of tapa. The cloak was usually dispensed with 

 when at work. The ordinary Jiauii consisted of a single strip of tapa approximately 

 2 feet wide and 8 feet long which was put on as follows : One end of the strip was 

 passed between the legs, leaving a tail about 18 inches long in front. The rear end 

 was then carried up and around the body to the right, and attached to itself by a 

 few twists in the rear. The front tail was thrust up under the girdle thus formed, 

 its end hanging down on the outside like a short apron. This simple //o;;// was 

 amplified in various ways on dress occasions. The commonest modification seems 

 to have been the addition of a tail tied into large knots at equal intervals and long 

 enough to drag on the ground behind. Handy obtained descriptions of two varia- 

 tions : the hami koliifo. worn by old men, had three pendant strips in front, and a 

 single tail behind; the hami tafataka had tails at the sides. 



The cloak was made from a large rectangular piece of tapa with its upper 

 corners knotted together. The knot was considered ornamental and was as large 

 as a man's fist. The men's cloak was usually worn with the knot in front, on the 

 breast, so that onlv the back of the body was covered. When in position its low- 

 er edges fell below the knee. 



The complete clothing for w^omen consisted of a loin cloth, apparently iden- 

 tical in arrangement with the ordinary man's hami, or of a kilt, made from a strip 

 of tapa wrapped several times around the waist and reaching to the knee. A cloak 

 was also worn. Stewart (59, p. 255) says that the younger women frequently 

 wore onlv the cloak, which was wrapped around the body, the edges held together 

 with the hand. The woman's cloak was identical with that of the men, but might 



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