TAHITI: THE PLAYGROUND OF NATURE 



307 



clad when wearing overalls and a light 

 undershirt, except on Sundays and holi- 

 days. In town I saw only a few wearing 

 the brightly colored kilt, the prevailing 

 garment worn by Polynesian males living 

 outside Papeete. 



Since I was to remain in Tahiti several 

 weeks, I joined with a Frenchman in 

 renting a house that stood on an old 

 French-Tahitian battleground. Our prem- 

 ises were almost surrounded by a mock 

 coffee hedge, and here grew coffee, ba- 

 nanas, passion fruit, pineapples, tree 

 melons, and other fruits, together with 

 roses and cannas. Around us breadfruit 

 and coconut palms hung heavily with 

 food. 



Our neighbors everywhere met us with 

 friendly greetings, and inquisitive, bash- 

 ful boys and girls peered at us through 

 gate and window. Some of these people 

 were musical. On the back doorstep of 

 an adjoining yard a native woman nightly 

 played "Swanee River" and other famil- 

 iar compositions on an accordion, and 

 near at hand a busy phonograph re- 

 minded us of home. 



DANCE MUSIC SUPPLIED BY KEROSENE CAN 



On our first night among these people 

 we saw an exhibition of native dancing. 

 In this more life was displayed in one 

 minute by each participant than is usually 

 shown by the ordinary islander in one 

 day. The dance was interpreted by four- 

 teen persons, only one of whom was a 

 man. He provided rapid-fire "music" on 

 a kerosene can, accompanying a brawny 

 young woman, who manifested equal 

 vigor and zeal on a similar vessel. The 

 other members of the company were 

 dancers, with the exception of a tall girl 

 who stood between the drummers and 

 was both director and assistant to the 

 clamorous male. 



On a platform in the rear of the hall 

 a band of four pieces played frenzied 

 music like that heard at Mexican bull- 

 fights. 



The supple bodies of the dancers — clad 

 chiefly in white, with a sash or a ribbon 

 about the waist and a circle of blossoms 

 or leaves on bare head — were automatons 

 of vibration ; the next instant they were 

 masses of distorted limbs. Amid it all the 



sharp-eyed leader twisted and whirled, 

 directing with short, loud cries as she 

 urged or rebuked. 



On the whole, the dance was far from 

 graceful. The writhings were violent, 

 and at times the movements of the hips 

 attained the rapid tempo of the music. 



EVERY ONE EXCEPT THE TOURIST RISKS 

 EARLY IN PAPEETE 



On my first morning in Papeete I 

 found that everybody there rises early 

 except the tourist. The capital believes 

 in making the most of the cool hours of 

 the dawn. The market opens at 5.30. the 

 shops remove their shutters thirty min- 

 utes later, and the laborer begins work 

 at the same hour. 



All this activity, however, is quiet 

 bustle. The only noise is the rattle of 

 lantern-lighted carts driven furiously by 

 native Jehus. These men of the whip 

 love speed, and they insist on getting it, 

 even though the horse they drive looks 

 like a cadaver. 



At 11 o'clock, and in some cases an 

 hour sooner, Papeete pauses to take a 

 siesta of an hour or two. During this 

 period all places of business are closed, 

 barring Chinese shops, which keep open 

 uninterruptedly until bedtime. 



The most animated moment of the 

 town's daily life begins shortly after its 

 5,000 inhabitants awaken. The site of 

 this activity is the market square. Sun- 

 day is the chief market day of the week. 

 At that time neatly dressed men and wo- 

 men from many parts of Tahiti assemble 

 at the market half an hour before the 

 opening bell clangs its signal. 



On the previous day and night, boat- 

 loads of feis (plantains) and oranges are 

 laid outside the market building in prep- 

 aration for the morning rush, and in the 

 Sabbath dawn strings of fish and wagons 

 filled with soil products are hurried to 

 the victualers' stands. 



RAPID BUYING IS THE PRACTICE 



The scene is enlivening; the crowd is 

 friendly and gay. There meet comrades 

 and relatives who have long been sepa- 

 rated ; there white and brown elbow each 

 other in neighborly fashion. 



Within thirty minutes after the first 



