SAMOAN GROUP. 141 



was upset, and although a few saved themselves by swimming to the 

 shore, the greater part of them were destroyed. When asked if it 

 was not a shark, (of which they have two kinds, the tanifa or great 

 white shark, and the masi, or small blue one), they replied, it was 

 a monstrous pasi, which is the name applied to the muroena or 

 conger eel. 



Their dances and other amusements are in a great degree abolished, 

 but they are still practised in the heathen villages, and even the 

 Christian women may still be induced to exhibit the former, which 

 they call siva. The mode of performing it differs from that of the 

 Tahitians, but is like it lascivious, and neither of them would be 

 called dances in our sense of the term. The dance is usually per- 

 formed by young girls, who stand up before the audience throwing 

 their arms, legs, feet, and hands, in numerous strange attitudes, 

 which are any thing but graceful. The others who are present sing 

 amusing words, in two or three parts, while a third or fourth part is 

 kept up in a coarse grunt or guttural sound, in the bass clef. The 

 words are comprised in short sentences, each of which finishes sud- 

 denly with a staccato note, and a violent gesture. The music of one 

 of the dances at Tutuila was as follows : 



- 1 N^N ^ Nfr 



SSwfafi-"? =^F^ =r«EF 



^r 



& 



~&w\ 



0-0-0 



I 



•pyy 





The females, unlike those of Tahiti, have not many musical voices 

 among them, but in common with other uncivilized races, have a 

 perfect knowledge of time. 



The men, on the contrary, produce round rich sounds, rather 

 below tenor, but as wild as nature would have them to be. 



The dance of the girls at Upolu consisted entirely of motions of 

 the body, and was so indelicate as to produce disgust. The chaunt 

 which accompanied it was sung with a high voice, and three or four 

 women were employed in beating time on the mats with short sticks, 

 in which most of the spectators joined with their hands. In all cases 

 they kept time with the greatest accuracy. 



The Samoan drum is made of a part of a tree, hollowed out ; they 

 have also an instrument formed of a loose slat, fitted into a board, on 

 which they beat time with two sticks. Their flute, if it may be so 



vol. ii. 30 



