1 52 SAMOAN GROUP. 



" Good above all is the part before, 

 Bad above all is the part behind." 



The uneasiness, from his account, does not only proceed from the 

 small place left to sit upon, but also from the constant apprehension 

 of being precipitated into the sea. This Faa Samoa, or Samoan 

 fashion, is any thing but agreeable. 



Having both a prow and stern, these canoes cannot be manoeuvred 

 without tacking; consequently the out-rigger, that constitutes their 

 safety, is, in using their sail, alternately to leeward and windward, and 

 does not, when to leeward, add much to the stability of the canoe. 

 They carry less sail than the canoes of the other natives of Polynesia, 

 and to guard against the danger of upsetting, the natives rig a sprit 

 or boom (suati), projecting from the opposite side to that on which the 

 out-rigger is fitted. This boom is secured with guys to the top of the 

 mast. When the wind blows fresh, some of the men go out upon it, 

 and thus balance or counteract the force of the wind. Those on the 

 other side of the canoe are kept ready to go out on the out-rigger when 

 that becomes necessary. The sail is made of a mat, of a triangular 

 shape, with its apex below : some of these are ten feet high. 



None of the canoes we saw at the Samoan Group are calculated 

 for long voyages. Those used in their intercourse with the Tonga 

 Islands, are the large double Feejee canoe, of which I shall speak 

 when I treat of those islanders. 



In their trips from town to town, they are generally in parties of 

 pleasure, termed malanga, and are frequently to be met with singing 

 their boat-songs. 



These songs have but little variety, are destitute of melody, and 

 have small pretensions to harmony. They consist, for the most part, 

 of two short strains, repeated alternately, the first by a single indi- 

 vidual, at the second by several. Their voices are loud, and have 

 generally a tenor character ; the strains are mostly in the minor scale, 

 and sung in the key of two or three flats. 



The following boat-songs will give an idea of them : 



First Voice. 



— D —\ — -i-t \i 1 -j-i — i— {-, — -<-+\ 9\y- i — ;j-j- 



Fo - fa - e Fo - fa - e. 



Second Voice. 



5- °-i — \— \\ • \m-m-9-m-\\ — »\ — i — j-i 9\ 0-0-0 -i|-f- 



na - agi le foe na ogi - le. 



