Taheitean has no more than three holes, and is therefore incapable
o f a variety o f notes, and the mufic they execute upon this inftru-
ment is but a poor humming: even their vocal foufic has no greater
compafs than three or four notes, however fome o f their fongs
were not quite difagreeable. Th e inhabitants o f the Friendly
Iilands are better verfed in mufic than the Tahéiteans, and the
tunes of their women had fomething pleafing to our ears when we
firft heard them at E-Ao/mhe or Middleburgh. T h e inhabitants
o f Tanna * and New-Zeelätid have in their .longs greater variation
and extent, which certainly- intimate, better and more improved
talents for this branch o f thé polite arts.
T h e verses o f the Taheiteans are always delivered by finging,
in the true antient Greek ftyle, and what is Hill- more remarkable,
we found that many of thefe verfes were the productions] o f the
moment, for we obferved that their poetry had fome relation to the
perfons on board our fiiip, or to fome tranfaftions which happened
during our Hay: but they had likewife many couplets or fongs
which had ho reference to the perfons or transitions occafioned by
- i the
* When we were- at Tai>na, we heard every morning at day-break a fólemn fbngj iffuing
as it were from the point lying to the ÉaH óf the. harbour, and this circumftance feerns to.
prove that the natives of this ifland employ even their Muße as. part, o f , their, folemn. worfbip.
o f their Deity. We were ftill. more confirmed, in. our fufpicion, when we two or three times
attempted to vifit this Eaftexn point, and always found the natives ready-to defend the facredi
place by arms. See likewife Goorge Former’s Voyage, vol, ii. p. 300, and 362;
the prefence o f our {hip. Their verfes feem to be regularly divided a r t s
. . . I AND
into feet, and they obferve the quantity and exprefs it in finging. s c 1ENCes
A s to the beauties o f their poetical ftyle, we were not able to judge
o f them j jbecaufe we were not fufficiently acquainted with their
language; thus much however we obferved that many words
occurred in their poems which were not ufed in common converfa-
tion. Th e women on board our Ihip, feeing in the night the.
moon Ihine, frequently fung the following couplet or pehau
T e 00)wa no j te Ma[!ama.
T e 6o[wa te hee[naro.
T h e cloud within the moon
Th a t qloud I love 1
W e will tranfcribe one couplet from Hawkefworth which the
natives compofed when the. Endeavour was at O-Taheitee. *
Epaha) tayo| MalamaJ taiye- |
N o Taba|ne to| nota|wa whanno| maiyei
Perhaps with friendly light, this moon we tiew*
Has guided Banks, while to his friends he flew.
From the purport o f this couplet it appears, that it was made
yvhen the moon was Alining; and it may likewife be obferved,
that
f Hawkefworth, vol. ii. p.