210 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
barbarism, licentiousness, and cruelty with which 
they were associated, and by which they were 
supported* 
Connected with these athletic sports was 
another, less objectionable than either. This was 
the faatitiaxhe-mo raa, or foot-race, in which 
the young men of the opposite parties engaged. 
Great preparation was made for this trial of 
strength and agility. The bodies of the runners 
were anointed with oil; the maro , or girdle, the 
only garment they wore, was bound tight round 
the loins. A wreath of flowers adorned the brows, 
and alight white or coloured bandage of native cloth 
was sometimes bound like a turban round the head. 
A smooth line of sandy beach was usually selected 
for the course. Sometimes they returned to the 
place from which they had started, but in general 
they ran the prescribed distance in a straight line. 
One of these races took place at Afareaitu while 
we resided there. It was between one of the king’s 
servants, and a young man recently arrived from 
the Pearl Islands. The stranger was a tall, thin, 
handsome young man ; and, as they walked past 
my house to the course, the people in general 
seemed to think his rival had but little prospect of 
equalling the swiftness of his speed, and it was 
thought he had already secured the re, or prize. 
The result, however, disappointed their expecta¬ 
tions ; and, as the spectators returned, I learned 
that, although on the first effort it was impossible 
to determine to whom the prize belonged, after 
repeated trials it was adjudged to Pomare’s 
domestic. The faatitiaihe-mo raa vaa , or canoe- 
race, was occasionally practised on the smooth 
waters of the ocean, within the reefs, and appeared 
to afford a high degree of satisfaction. 
