OTAlIEltEANS. 155 
thirds of them hold ho comhiuiiication Vvith the Cingalese, and have 
an utter antipathy to strangers. 
They worship a particular god, and their religious doctrine seems 
to consist of some indistinct notions of the fundamental }>rinciples of 
the brahminical faith. In some places they have erected temples; but 
for the most part they perform their worship at an altar constructed 
of bamboos, under the shade of a banyan tree. The Cingalese are 
the subjects of the king of Candy, and appear to have been, from time 
immemorial, a race of Hindoos, instructed in all the arts of civil life, 
nearly in as high a degree as the nations of the neighbouring con- 
tinent. They are a quiet inoffensive people ; very grave, temperate, 
and frugal. Their bodies partake of the ease of their minds, and it is 
with reluctance they are roused to any active exertion. When, how- 
ever, necessity obliges them to apply to any work, such as cultivating 
the land, they can undergo a great deal of labour. 
They use boats, hollowed out of the trunks of trees, about twelve or 
fourteen feet long, but only as many inches broad within. The tree part 
in the bottqm is much larger; but when the boat, on account of the 
size of the tree, is too small, they make a trough on the top of it, 
square at both ends. Some boats, however, are much larger, being 
built between two trees, and with these they coast along the shore; the 
others are for fishermen. 
They are pagans, and though they acknowledge a supreme God, 
they worship none but the inferior sort, among whom they reckon the 
sun and moon. In their temples are images well executed, though 
their figures are monstrous ; some are of silver, copper, &c. The 
different gods have various priests, who have all some privileges. 
The houses are small and low, with walls made of hurdles, smoothly 
covered with clay, and roofs thatched. They have lio chimneys, 
and their furniture is only a few earthen vessels, with two copper 
basons, and two or three stools, none but the king being allowed 
to sit in a chair. Even the most affluent have no other clothes than 
coarse linen wrapped about them. Their food is generally rice and salt, 
and their conimon drink water, which they pour into their mouths out 
of a vessel like a tea-pot, through the spout, never touching it with 
their lips. 
Inhabitants of Otaheite. 
The inhabitants of Otaheite are a stout, well-made, active, and 
comely people. The stature of the men in general is from five feet 
seven to five feet ten inches : the tallest men seen by Captain Wallis 
measured six feet three and a half inches ; and Captain Cook, in his 
second voyage, describes 0-Too, the king of Otaheite, to be of that 
height. They are of a pale brown complexion ; in general, their hair 
is bkck, and finely frizzled ; they have black eyes, flat noses, large 
mouths, and fine white teeth ; the men wear their beards in many 
fashions, but all of them pluck out a great quantity of it ; they have pro- 
minent bellies. The women, in general, are much smaller, especially 
those of the lower ranks. 
Their skin is most delicately smooth and soft ; they have no colour 
