394 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
times on the arm, and a pair of pantaloons worn 
one part of the day in a proper manner, and during 
another part thrown over the shoulders, the arms 
of the wearer stretched through the legs, and the 
waistband buttoned round the chest. 
Their own dress was remarkably simple in its 
form and appearance, and was generally more or 
less suited to their vocation. When employed 
in agricultural pursuits, or in fishing, in which 
occupation they were as much in the sea as out of 
it, the men seldom wore any other dress than their 
tihere or maro , a broad girdle passed several times 
round the body. At other times they wore a 
pareu, which reached from the w 7 aist to the calf of 
the leg. Over the shoulders, when not at work, 
they wore a loose ahu buu, a kind of scarf or 
mantle, in some degree resembling the Roman 
toga ; or they appeared in the tiputa , an article of 
dress, having an aperture in the centre through 
which the head is passed, the other parts extend¬ 
ing over the shoulders, breast, and back. The 
tiputa was generally worn by the chiefs and all 
persons of respectability. 
This article is common to all the South Sea 
Islanders, and resembles in every respect, except¬ 
ing the material of which it is fabricated, the 
poncho worn by the aborigines of South America, 
inhabiting the countries adjacent to the Pacific. 
The combination of these with some parts of the 
men’s apparel worn in Europe, produced an effect 
less pleasing than the apparel of the females. 
Appearance and convenience, however, were not 
much considered by the Society Islanders, and it 
was often amusing to see a native sans culotte, 
without waistcoat or shirt, with a maro or pareu 
round his waist, and a fashionably made black coat 
