119 



Tattooing. — Mnnufncture of tafia 

 and HHi 



TilM S A MOANS 



The ir canoes. 

 Their boal-aongs. 



flower^, which gave thriii a picturesque and plea- 

 sant appearance; hut the use of flowers as orna- 

 ments has been interdicted hy Uie misaionary 

 teachers. 



Tat tuning, if not in reality, at least in appear- 

 ance, may he said to form a part of dress. It is 

 performed by persons who make it a regular busi- 

 ness. The age at which it takes place is from 

 fourteen to eighteen, and is usually considered the 

 initiation to manhood. The usual colouring matter 

 Lb obtained from the kernel of the caudle-nut. Tat- 

 tooing is here called ta-ta-tau, and is tastefully 

 drawn. Tltc natives are very fond uf it. It is 

 expensive to the family, for the operator always 

 receives a high price for his labour, consisting of 

 the ft tun i runts, smpo, and other property, as agreed 

 upon before the Operation is begun. The instru- 

 ment used is made of bone, sharp like the teeth of 

 a cumb, and requires but a slight blow to enter tin- 

 skin. The part tattooed nn (he mah-s i- from the 

 loins to the thighs, hot the women have only a few 

 lines «n their hands and bodies. 



The articles *•( which iheir dress is composed are 

 mauufuetured by the females, who are exceedingly 

 industrious. The eomuii.ii cloth or tapa is made of 

 the inner hark of the pnpt r-mulherry, which is eul- 

 tivateil for the purpose in nurseries. It is cut when 

 the stem is about one and a half inches in diameter; 

 the inner hark is separated and washed in water, 

 which deprives it of some of its gum ; it is then 

 beaten until the adhesion of the fibres forms numy 

 of the strips into a single mass. The mallet used 

 for tins purpose is about two inches square, and 

 about fourteen inches l"Ug, with a handle at one 

 end; two of its faces are grooved and the other run 

 smooth ; the bark is laid on a board, and struck 

 with the ton Met in a direction at right angles with 

 its fibres ; the grooved sides are used to spread out 

 the fibres, and the smooth ones to knit them 

 together. The grooves also give a thready appear- 

 ance to the surface. 



This method dilFcrs from that practised at Tahiti, 

 whero the bark is be.att.-n with a smaller mallet, 

 upon a spring-board ; and the tapa made here is of 

 inferior quality. The tapa is often printed with 

 colours in patterns. This is performed in a mode 

 similar to Unit practised in Kurope before the 

 introduction of copper rollers. Instead of engraved 

 blocks, they form tablets, about as thick as binders* 

 boards, uf pieces of large cocoa-nut leav es, by sew- 

 ing them together. One side of the tablet is kept 

 smooth and even, and upon this cocoa-nut fibres 

 are sowed so as to form the required pattern, which 

 is of course raised upon the surface of the tablet. 

 These tablets are wet with a piece of cloth well 

 soaked in the dye, after which the tapa, which for 

 this purpose is well bleached and beautifully white, 

 is laid upon them and pressed into close contact. 

 The dye is made from herbs and roots, and is of 

 various colours. 



The women also manufacture the mats. Some of 

 these have been mentioned in describing the dress 

 of the natives : the finest kinds are made of the 

 inner bark of the paper-mulberry; those of coarser 

 texture of the leaves of the pan dan us, which are 

 nicely scraped and blenched. The mats are all 

 made by hand, and by interlacing the fibres; one of 

 the finest description will require the industrious 

 labour of a year. 



Among the mats are some of as fine a texture 



and as soft as if made of cotton. These are rarely 

 or never manufactured at present, and arc solely 

 possessed by the chiefs, in who-i- family tiny are 

 handed down from father to son, as heir-looms. 

 They are considered as their choicest treasures, 

 and are so nun h coveted that wars have been 

 mnde to obtain p«»ssession of them. 



There are several distinct trades among the 

 men besides that of tattooing; among the most 

 esteemed is that of canoe-building, in which there 

 is no little skill displayed. 



The usual fishing-canoe is made of a single tree, 

 with a small out-rigger to balance it. Tiny have 

 no large double canoes, such as arc seen in Tonga 

 and Feejee. 



The largest canoes are from thirty to sixty feet 

 long, and capable of carrying from ten to twelve 

 persons. They are formed of several pieces of 

 plonk, fostcued together with senuit. These pieces 

 are ol no regular size or shape. On the edge of 

 eiich plank ts a ledge or projection, which serves to 

 attach the sennit, and to connect and bind it closely 

 to the adjoining one. It is surprising to see the 

 labour bestowed on uniting so tunny small pieces, 

 u hep- larrje and good planks might he obtained. 

 Before the pieces are- joined, the gum from the 

 bark of the bread-fruit tree is used to cement them 

 close rind prevent leakage. These canoes retain 

 their form much more truly than one would have 

 supposed, and I saw few whose original model had 

 been impaired by ser\ ice. Un the outside, the pieces 

 are so clou l y lifted as frequently to require close 

 examination before the seams can bo detected. 

 This perfection of workmanship is astonishing to 

 those who see the tools with which it is executed. 

 They are now made of no more than a piece of iron 

 tied to a stick, and used as an adze. This, with a 

 gimlet, is all they have, and before they obtained 

 these iron tools, they used adzes made of hard 

 stone or fish-bones. These canoes arc built with a 

 deck forward and aft. They are long and narrow, 

 and their shape is elegant. They are paddled by 

 natives, who sit two abreast, and arc guided by a 

 steersman. The seat of honour is on the forward 

 deck, in the centre of which is a row of pegs, to 

 which the large white ovula shell is attached by 

 way of ornament. The natives find no difficulty in 

 occupying this place, as they manage to sit in 

 almost any position with ease to themselves; but a 

 stranger who attempts it, and is for any time con- 

 fined to one of these places of honour, will repent 

 of the distinction he enjoys before many minutes 

 are over. One of our gentlemen was treated with 

 this distinction, ond will long recollect the words 

 of the song they sing. 



" Lelei tu»ilnva le Utti miia. 

 I.eango tu*ilav» It- rail muri." 



•• Good above nil ia ihc part before, 

 ttorl above ah in the part behind." 



The uneasiness, from his account, doeB not only 

 proceed from the small place left to sit upon, but 

 also from the constant apprehension of being pre- 

 cipitated into the sea. This faa Samoa, or Samoan 

 fashion, is any thing but agreeable. 



Having both a prow and Bteni, these canoes can- 

 not be manteuvred without tacking; consequently 

 the out-rigger, that constitutes their safety, is, in 

 using their sail, alternately to leeward and wind- 

 ward, and does not, when to leewftrd, add much to 



