174 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
species of long grass, called aretu , is curiously fixed 
or woven from one end to the other, so as to remain 
attached to the thatch, and yet cover the ridge of 
the house. 
The roof being finished, they generally level the 
ground within, and enclose the sides. In the 
erection of my house, this part was allotted to the 
king’s servants. About thirty of them came one 
morning with a number of bundles of large white 
purau poles, from two to three inches in diameter. 
After levelling the floor, they dug a trench a foot 
deep round the outside, and then, cutting the 
poles to a proper length, planted them an inch and 
a half or two inches apart, until the building was 
completely enclosed, excepting the space left for a 
door in the front and opposite sides. In order to 
keep the poles in their proper place, two or three 
light sticks, called tea, were tied horizontally along 
the outside. Partitions were then erected in the 
same manner, as we were desirous, contrary to the 
native practice, to have more than one room. The 
house was now finished, and in structure resem¬ 
bled a large birdcage. In two of the rooms we 
laid down boards which we had brought from Port 
Jackson, and either paved the remainder of the 
floor with stones, or plastered it with lime. The 
outside was skreened with platted cocoa-nut 
leaves, lined with native cloth. This also consti¬ 
tuted our curtains, and, hung up before the en¬ 
trance to some of the apartments, answered the 
purpose of a door. Thus fitted up, our native 
house proved a comfortable dwelling during the 
months we remained at Afareaitu. 
The houses of the natives, although varying in 
size and shape, were all built with the same kind 
of materials, and in a similar manner. Some of 
