130 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
of the females. E taha miti noa oe na to medua, 
M ayest thou become a bottle, to hold saltwater 
for thy mother; or another, Mayest thou be baked 
as food for thy mother; were imprecations they 
were accustomed to denounce upon each other: 
or, Take out your eye-ball, and give it to your 
mother to eat. 
Their domestic habits were not only unsocial, 
but irregular, alike in their periods for refresh¬ 
ment and sleep, and their seasons of labour or 
amusement. 
The natives of the South Sea Islands had no 
regular times for eating, but arranged their meals, 
in a great measure, according to their avocations, 
or the supply of their provision. They usually eat 
some time in the forenoon; but their principal 
meal is taken towards the evening. Their food 
being lighter, and of a less stimulating kind, than 
that of Europeans, is usually consumed by them in 
much larger quantities at a time. They do not 
appear ever to have been very temperate in their 
diet, excepting from necessity, and many seem to 
have made the gratification of their appetite the 
means of shortening their existence. 
They had no stated periods for labour or rest. 
The morning they regard as the best part of the 
day: they rise early, generally with, and frequently 
before, day-break, though it is often late before 
they retire to rest, especially when the mild light 
of the moon illuminates their cool and pleasant 
evening hours. Much of their time, however, is 
passed in sleep, and unless urgent engagements 
forbid, all classes without hesitation resign them¬ 
selves to slumber during the sultry hours of the 
middle of the day. A strong healthy man feels it 
no disgrace to lie stretched on his mat from morn- 
