ARTS
AND
SCIENCES
glofly white and Alining mats», called e-vanne, are made o f the
membranaceous and bell prepared part o f the lame leaves o f ewhdra-
or athrodattylis, and fometimes o f a kind o f grafs : another and very
llrong fort, manufadturetL o f mill, is ufed to* deep on,, which* evert
the name o f Moeya feems to imply :. very nearly related, to it is the
fort, which is often llriped or checked with black, and ufed o c-
cafionally for carpeting, or to dance on,, in their dramatic pieces ;
thefe lad mat s are 20 or 30 yards in len gth ; the bark o f a tree,
which I could never difcover, forms their largelt and very llrong
mats, called bohora, one o f which, when expanded upon a femb-
oval frame, is an eiya car fail for their canoes..
T h e Taheiteans have various o k v a *m e \ rT A 1. and c i U e m o »
nious drefles, which they manufacture in a moll ingenious
manner. After the death o f a perfon o f fome note, one of the next,
relations puts on a kind o f mafquerade drefs, called' by them Heva,
which is very remarkable, as well on account o f its curious
workmanlhip, as the drange affemblage of its parts and; extraordinary
appearance. T h e enumeration, o f all the pieces belonging to*
it, with a Ihort defcription o f them, will not perhaps be thought
fuperfluous, as it may let the arts o f this people and their curious
contrivances in no improper light. Th e fird part o f this drefs they
call T a-oopo or head-piece; it is formed o f a piece of mat tied
together into the form o f a cone or a cap, to which they palle a
6 piece
piece o f cloth reaching to the neck and Ihoulders, and covering the
.ears 5 they pade alternately red, brown and white tranfverfal flips,
in -order to make this cap, and on its top they place a thick garland
o f glofly dark green pigeons feather&i to which fometimes red
or yellow feathers are joined in Imall bunches, made o f coco-nut
filaments, the whole is encompafled by a kind of rope, formed of
two kinds o f Taheitee cloth, and other firings, tied together by
the bark o f various kinds o f convulvuli, died black and red ; this
is called Moyho. Th e next piece confids o f feveral parts, the fird of
which is namedpa-tha to which they faden the pa-rae, or frontlet;
the pa-ooto, or mafk before the mouth 5 and ladly, the hoop'd,
pr domacher, which form the mod curious part o f the whole drefs.
T h e pa-teea is a large Ihell, o f the oyder k in d ; they polilh away
its rough outfide, and leave only a brown coating, which gives it
much the appearance o f turtle-lhell; this Ihell is perforated on its
margin by many fmall holes, which ferve to faden to it a border
o f fhining dark green pigeons feathers, fixed on a plaited lid o f
coco-nut filaments, and into this margin they fix a great quantity
o f tail-feathers from the tropic bird in a diverging manner, fo as
to appear like the rays o f a luminous body : the pa-rae is commonly
joined to the pa-.teea by firings ; this is again a fhell o f the
fame kind as the former, and has a very narrow hole, through
winch the perfon looks who wears the mafk: below this- is
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