CAPACIOUS BUILDINGS, 
175 
them were exceedingly large, capable of contain¬ 
ing two or three thousand people. Nanu , a house 
belonging to the king, on the borders of Pare, 
was three hundred and ninety-seven feet in length. 
Others were a hundred or a hundred and forty 
feet long. These, however, were erected only for 
the leading chiefs. As the population has de¬ 
creased, a diminution has also taken place in the 
size of the dwellings, yet, for some time after our 
arrival, several remained an hundred feet in length. 
The chiefs seem always to have been attended by 
a numerous retinue of dependants, or Areois, and 
other idlers. The unemployed inhabitants of the 
districts where they might be staying, were also 
accustomed to attend the entertainments given for 
the amusement of the chiefs, and this probably 
induced the people to erect capacious buildings for 
their accommodation. 
Some of the houses were straight at each end, 
and resembled in shape an English dwelling; this 
was called hanpape: but the most common form 
for the chiefs’ houses was what they called pote , 
which was parallel along the sides, and circular at 
the ends. Houses of this kind have a very neat, 
light, and yet compact appearance. The above 
are the usual forms of their permanent habitations, 
and the durability of the house depends much upon 
the manner in which it is thatched; if there is 
much space between the reeds, it soon decays; 
but if they are placed close together, it will last 
five or seven years without admitting the rain. 
Occasionally two or three coverings of thatch are 
put on the same frame. The Tahitians are a social 
people, naturally fond of conversation, song, and 
dance; hence a number often resided under the 
same roof. 
