1774*
A p r il » one of theft (hells there is a fmall hole cut out, through
■ which the wearer mull look in order to find his way. The
uppermoft (hell, and the long feathers round it, extend at
lead two feet beyond the natural height of the man. The
other parts of his drefs are not lefs remarkable. He puts
on a mat or a piece of cloth with a hole in the middle, like
the ufuai drefs of the country. Over this he places another
of the fame fort, but of which the fore part hangs
down almoft to the feet, and is befet with many rows of
buttons made o f pieces of coco-nut {hell. A belt, confiding,
of a twilled rope of brown and white cloth, is tied over this,
drefs round the waift; a large cloak of net-work, clofely
befet with great bluilh feathers, covers the whole back; and
a turban of brown and yellow cloth, bound with a great
quantity of fmall twifled ropes of brown and white cloth, is
placed on the head. An ample hood of alternate parallel;
ftripes of brown, yellow, and white cloth defcends from the
turban to cover the neck and Ihoulders, in order that as little
as poflible of the human figure may appear. Commonly
the neared relation of the deceafed wears this whim-
fical drefs, and carries in one hand a pair of large pearl-
fihells, which are clapped or beaten together continually,
and in the other a dick, armed with lhark’s teeth, with
which he wounds any of the natives who chance to come
near him *. What may have been the origin of this fingular
cudom we cannot determine; but to me it feems to be Ap” n.
calculated to infpire horror; and the fantaftical drefs in
which it is performed, has fo much of that drange and terrifying
lhape which our nurfes attribute to ghods and goblins,
that I am almod tempted to believe fome ridiculous fu-
perdition lurks under this funeral rite. The fpirit of the
deceafed, exadling a tribute of grief and tears from its fur-
vivors, and therefore wounding them with the lhark’s
teeth, would not be an idea too extravagant for men to have
adopted. Whatever it might be, we never could obtain any
intelligence from the natives on the fubjedt; they gave us
an account of the ceremony, and of the drefs, telling us
the names of every part ; but it was impoflible to make
ourfelves underdood, as foon as we wanted to know why it
was fo! The mod fingular fadt with which Mahine acquaint-
us, relative to the mourning rite, was, that at the death of
a man, a woman performs the ceremony ; but when a woman
dies, a man mud go the rounds with the fcare-crow
drefs. In England the curiofity has been fo great, that a
Taheitian mourning-drefs, which a failor brought over, has
been fold for five and twenty guineas. Bffl in this refpedl
the Taheitians are no way inferior to civilized nations. In
confequence of Mahine’s relation of his adventures, the
chiefs continually importuned us to give them curiofities
from Tonga-Tabboo, Waihoo, and Waitahoo*, indead of
* Amfterdam Ifland, Eafter Ifland, and St, Chriftina.
L 2