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POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
at night, and slept as soundly as the inhabitants of more 
civilized parts would do on the softest down. 
In general, they sat cross-legged on mats spread on 
the floor; but occasionally used a stool, which they 
called iri or nohoraa. This resembled the pillow in 
shape, and, though much larger, was made out of a 
single piece of wood. The tamanu, or callophyllum, was 
usually selected, and immense trees must have been cut 
down for this purpose. I have seen iris four or five 
feet long, three feet wide, and at each end three feet six 
inches high; yet the whole cut out of one solid piece of 
timber. The upper part was curved, and the extremes 
being highest, the seat resembled the concave side of a 
crescent, so that, however large it might be, only one sat 
on it at a time. The iri was finely polished, and the 
wood, in its grain and colour resembling the best Jdnds 
of mahogony, rendered it, although destitute of carv¬ 
ing or other ornament, a handsome piece of furniture 
in a chieftain’s dwelling. The rank of the host was 
often indicated by the size of this seat, which was used 
on public occasions, or for the accommodation of a dis¬ 
tinguished guest. Those in more ordinary use were low, 
and less curved, but always made out of a single piece 
of wood. 
Next to these, their weapons, drums, and other musical 
instruments, were their most important furniture; a 
great portion, however, of what might be called their 
household furniture, was appropriated to the preparation 
or preservation of their food. 
The umete, or dish, was the principal. Sometimes it 
was exceedingly large, resembling a canoe or boat more 
than a dish for food. It was frequently made with the 
wood of the tamanu, exceedingly well polished; some 
