TAHITI: THE PLAYGROUND OF NATURE 



319 



ment. At other meals fei, yams, and taro 

 replace the loaf. 



As I sat at breakfast on my first day 

 in Papara, I heard a frightful moaning 

 in the front part of the house. I sup- 

 posed that some one had been hurt or 

 had received distressing news. After the 

 crying had continued without abatement 

 for fifteen minutes, I investigated the 

 cause, and to my astonishment found that 

 the apparent sufferer was an old woman, 

 and that the seeming cause of her grief 

 was my gnide, who had been called away 

 while breakfasting. She sat at his side 

 and sobbed piteonsly on his shoulder. I 

 conld not imagine what had led to all this 

 lamentation. It conld not have been 

 cruelty on the part of Tairua, for he, 

 wearing a solemn look, had an affection- 

 ate arm about the anguished one. 



As soon as I got Tairua aside I asked 

 him, 'A\ 'hat is the trouble with the old 



woman 



?" 



"She is my grandmother," he replied. 

 "I been long time away and she come to 

 jnve me welcome.'" 



o 



KILLING THE FATTED PIG FOR TTIF 

 PRODIGAL 



That morning a pig was killed in honor 

 of my conductor and was to be served 

 for dinner. Thus it is in Tahiti. When 

 the long absent prodigal or favorite son 

 reaches his home again, the fatted pig is 

 slain for him as a mark of esteem. 



To this island the porker is what pota- 

 toes are to Ireland and the oaten cake to 

 Scotland. Without it Tahiti would be 

 disconsolate and would quickly become 

 a discontented land which only spare-ribs 

 and bacon could restore to bliss. Almost 

 everywhere along its coasts I heard the 

 squeal of this indispensable animal, as, 

 tethered by a leg to a banana plant or 

 coconut tree, it fretfully sought to break 

 its fetters. In the wild, unpeopled hills 

 it enjoyed a roving freedom, but even 

 there was pursued by vengeful foes, 

 armed with formidable spears, who cut 

 it into small pieces and carried these to 

 their homes in bamboo rods. 



The hog killed in Tairua's honor was 

 served with yam. fei, coconut sauce, and 

 milk. 



My hosts and Tairua ate with their 



fmgers, but I was supplied with a knife 

 and a fork. 



Tahitians still have an aversion for 

 artificial aids in eating, for they believe 

 that nothing surpasses their own digits as 

 food conveyors. When Wallis visited 

 the island a native who had been face- 

 tiously named Jonathan thought otherwise 

 after he had put on European clothes, 

 and he resolved to elevate himself in 

 society by feeding with a fork. He made 

 a heroic attempt, but every time he -trove 

 to establish a connection between the in- 

 strument and his mouth his hand en- 

 countered his lips, leaving the food poised 

 at his ear. 



AT A TAHITI CONCERT 



After supper this day. Tairua and I 

 went up the road to hear the local sing- 

 ing society give its weekly rehearsal. 

 Every district in Tahiti has such an as- 

 sociation, I w r as told, and Papara was 

 then more noted than any of the others 

 for choral performances. 



The Papara society held its practices 

 in a long, narrow building with open 

 sides and ends and a palm-thatched roof, 

 near the highway. Its members squatted 

 on the ground, with the women in front. 

 Tairua told me that their program in- 

 cluded a selection about Adam and Eve 

 and another about the miraculous catch 

 of fishes on the Sea of Galilee. They 

 sang with vim and their unison was ex- 

 cellent. 



At times their efforts were marked by 

 a humming and droning something like 

 that of a bagpipe and by high and long- 

 drawn notes. Sometimes, when they ap- 

 peared to be on the point of ending in a 

 lengthy drone, a sharp crescendo from 

 the leading woman caused an instant re- 

 vival. 



The rapid changes, blending, and sus- 

 tained efforts were amazing. For a while 

 I was spellbound, but the droning lulled 

 me and with my head on a log- I slum- 

 bered. 



On the second day of my stay in Pa- 

 para I went on a hunt for fei in the ad- 

 jacent mountains. The fei is a species 

 of plantain, and it is the island's most 

 waluable article of food. It grows in the 

 mountains and is available at all times 

 of the year. It closely resembles the 



