POLYNESIA. 



991 



impel these proas, which are painted red, and rubbed with some substance that gives them the 

 appearance of being varnished, and the dexterity with wliich they change their course and 

 manage their simple sails, are quite surprising. Although addicted to war, they have nni 

 spears nor bows .and arrows, thei. only arms being stones, clubs pointed wilh bones, and hatch 

 ets of shells. They appear to htve no religious ceremonies, idols, or [eni])les. They alone 

 of the Polynesians have the art of weaving stuffs from the silken threads of the banana tree, by 

 a kind of rude loom, and dyeing them with great beauty and taste. 'J'hey are of a darker com- 

 plexion, lighter form, and smaller features, than most of the other Polynesians, and the ava and 

 taboo seem to be unknown or not general among them. 



The Polynesians in general are of a tawny complexion, but of various shades, wilh black 

 hair, generally well made, vigorous, and active ; intelligent, but often indolent when not stimu- 

 lated by some particular object ; ferocious and warlike, yet mild and gentle in their manners, 

 and tender in their attachments ; many of them had already attained a certain degree of civili- 

 zation when first visited by Europeans, being organized into regular societies, having a religion 

 with its rites, priests, and sacrifices, laws and usages scrupulously followed, and castes with 

 distinct privileges. Others, however, particularly those upon the low coral formations, are gen- 

 erally inferior to the inhabitants of the larger islands, and the savage practices of cannibalism 

 and human sacrifices were common to most if not all of these interesting islands. 



When first discovered many of the islanders had no clothing but the n)«ro, a narrow strip of 

 cloth about a foot in width, and many were and still arc c[uite destitute of covering. Their 

 cloth is not made by weaving flexible fibies, but by beating out the bark of certain trees with a 

 mallet. Their mode of cooking is baking in subterranean ovens, or pits lined with heated 

 stones. They prepare an intoxicaung drink from the root of the kava or ava, a species of 

 pepper ; they have morals or temples in which human sacrifices are offered to their idols, and 

 they appear to be all addicted to cannibalism. The idols and cannibalism have of course dis- 

 appeared from those islands, which have been converted to Christianity. 



The arms of the Polynesians are in general the same ; bows and arrows are unknown among 

 them, but spears, battle-axes, and war-clubs are their usual weapons. The practice of tatooing 

 is also general ; this consists in drawing lines by incision in llie skin, and staining them with 

 coloring matter. The figures drawn and the parts tatooed are by no means entirely arbitrary, 

 but are indicative of the tribe, rank, or sex of the individual. 



The taboo is another singular usage, which appears to be peculiar to these islanders. The 

 chiefs and arikis or priests, have the power of declaring a place or object taboo to some par- 

 ticular person or to all ; it is then unlawful for the persons thus tabooed to touch the prohibited 

 object, and instant death is the penalty of a violation of the taboo ; in this way the chiefs and 

 priests, who are often the same, can deprive any person of his property, and even interdict him 

 from food, by declaring such articles taboo. Women are considered by the Polynesians as 

 impure, and are not allowed to eat in the presence of the men, or to enter the morais, or tem- 

 ples. These barbarous notions and usages have been for some time abolished in the Sandwich, 

 Society, and Friendly Islands, but they still prevail in most of the others. 



14. Climate, Productions, &c. Most of these islands lie within the tropics, but as the heat 

 is moderated by the vicinity to the sea, the climate is mild, and a perpetual spring seems to 

 reign by the side of a perpetual autumn. The inhabitants require little clothing or shelter, and 

 the air is pure and healthful. The productions of the soil, which is generally highly fertile, are 

 sandal-wood, pandanus, the banana tree, the cocoa-nut tree, bread-fruit tree, plantains, yams, 

 batatas or sweet potatoes, and the taro-root. 



The bread-fruit affords a nutritive food, either for immediate use, or made into a paste called 

 mahie, to keep ; the trunk supplies timber for building canoes and houses ; the gum, which 

 exudes from it, answers the purpose of pitch, and cloth is made from the inner bark. The 

 cocoa also furnishes food, a refreshing drink, and a material for making cloth. Taro-root is 

 much cultivated, and is an important article of food. 



Fish Is likewise much used ; hogs are now plentiful upon most of the islands, and bullocks 

 upon many. The hog and dog were found by the earliest European visiters, upon some of the 

 islands, but the largest quadrupeds upon others were rats. The sugar-cane, rice, pine-apple, 

 grape, and potato have also been introduced by Europeans. 



