7 o r e m a r k s O N TH E
cause s , as is commonly obferved in negro-women, and as we likewife no-
F V A R I - ,
E T i E s . ticed them in all the' Weftern illands, in New-Zeeland, and feme
o f the females o f the lower fort at the Society- Ifles. This has been
lately afcribed to the manner o f fuckling the children; * but I am
o f opinion that it cannot he.fol.ely owing to this ;. for the women of
the Arees never have them fo pendulous and long’. I fliould -rather
afcribe it to the greater relaxation o f the body in the women
o f the lower ckfs, who are more exposed to the .air and fun, than
thofs of;the: Aree tribe.,’.In the fame manner the negroe-women,
as well as thofe in the Weftern Ifles: o f Mallicollo, Tanna, and
N ew - Caledonia, are for the greater part more expofed to the air
and fun, being conftantly naked above the waift. Th e gentle
conllridtion o f the upper part o f the. body, b y the. finer forts’ 1 of
cloth in. which the O-Taheitean women o f quality gracefully
wrap themfelyes, contributes likewife to keep the breads, high
and. to prevent their fkccidity and pendulous date. . I fhw fotae.
very old fat women in the Society-Ifles, whofe breads, were relaxed
and’ enlarged, but b y no means long and pendulous,
which, however, was a very common circumftance in all the
women o f the Weftern-IJlca, who had borné .and fndded
children.
T h a
* Blumcnbach de Generis Huinani Varictatc Nativa, p. 73. •
Th e chiefs .in the Society-Ifles value themfelves on having long
nails on all, or on fome o f their f in g e r s i t is an evident proof of
thoir indolence,. and that they are not obliged to work, which
would foon deprive them of this diftinguifhing .mark o f their preeminence
; they are, however, very careful in keeping thefe long
nails clean, and free from any impurity.; the cuftom o f tattowing
the faces in fpirals : and various fcrolls, which prevails in N ew -
Zeeland, and the various figures with which the natives .of the M ar-
quefas - pundbure their faces, naturally deftroys the growth o f hair,
and to this we muft afcribe it, that In both places, thofe who are
much, pundtured, have very little.or no beards at all.
Thefe are the moft remarkable particulars which chiefly form
the variety o f the two great tribes, obferved by us in the South Sea
ifles; from whence may be inferred the powerful influence o f climate,
food, and peculiar cuftoms upon the colour,, fize, habit,
and form o f body, and certain defeats, exceffes, or modifications
o f the parts; but i t muft be acknowledged at the fame time, that
the caufes here enumerated are not. the only ones, and particularly
that climate alone does not produce fuch extraordinary effefis;
for we find that the Dutch, who have been fettled at. the Cape of
Good Hope, during an uninterrupted courfe o f 120 years, have
conftantly remained fair and limilar to Europeans in every relpedt j
notwithftanding, i f we compare them with the Hottentots, the na*
1 tive
C A U S E S
OF V A R I
E T I E S .