C H A P. VIII.
A more, particular. Jiccoupjt . tiefl^hdiftanfs of Otaheite, ■ and of their dgnuftic Life, Manners., and '.Arts.
1767. T T A V IN G lain off this ifland from the 24th o f June to the
. Ju'y- ■ £ i ' 27th o f July, I fhall npw g ive the belt account of'its
•Monday 27, inhabitants, with their irtariners and arts,-chat I ;can; but
having been in a~ very bad ftaie o f health the whole time,
and for great part of it confined to my bed, it w ill of necef-
fxty be much lefs accurate and particular than I might other-
wife have made it.
The inhabitants of this ifland are a flout, well-made,
aftive, and comely people. The ftature o f the men, in general,
is from five feet feven to five feet ten inches, though
a few individuals are taller, and a few Ihorter; that o f the
women from five feet to five feet fix. The complexion of
the men is tawney, but thofe that go upon the water are
much redder than thofe who live on fliore. Their hair in
general is black, but in fome it is brown, in fome red, and
in others flaxen, which is remarkable, becaufe the hair of
all other natives of Afia, Africa, and Americans black, without
a Angle exception. It is generally tied up, either in one
bunch, in the middle o f the head, or in two, one on each
fide, but fome wear it loofe, and it then curls very ftrongly:
in the children o f both fexes it is generally flaxen. They
have no combs, yet their hair is very neatly drefied, and
tfioje who had combs from us, made good ufe of them. It is
a univerfal cuftom to anoint the head with cocoa-nut oil, in
which
which a root has been fcraped that fmells fomething like |||h
rofes. The women are all handfome, and fome o f them i_— ,—.
extremely beautiful. Chaftity does not feem to be con-
fidered as a virtue among them, for they not only readily
and openly trafficked .with our people for perfonal favours,
but were brought down by their fathers and brothers for
that purpofe: they were; however, confcious o f the value of
beauty, arid the fize of the nail that was demanded for the
enjoyment iof the lady, was always in proportion to her
charms. The men who came down to the fide of the river,
at the fame time that they prefented the girl, fhewed a flick
o f thefize o f 'the nail that was to be her price, and if out
people agreed, Ihe was fent over to them, for the men were
not permitted to crofs the river. This commerce was carried
on a confiderable time before the officers difeovered it,
for while fome draggled a little way to receive the lady, the
others kept a look-out. When I was acquainted with it, I
no longer wondered that the fliip was in danger of being
pulled to pieces for the nails and iron that held her together,
which I had before puzzled myfelf to account for in vain,
the whole fliip’s company having daily as much frefh pro-
wifion and fruit as they could eat. Both men and women
are not only decently but gracefully clothed, in a kind of
white cloth, that is made o f the bark of a fhrub, and very
much refembles coarfe China paper. Their drefs confifts of
two pieces o f this c loth: one of them, a hole having been
made in the middle to pun the head through, hangs down
from the Ihoulders to the mid-leg before and behind; another
piece, which is between four and five yards long, and
about one yard broad, they wrap round the body in a very
eafy manner., This cloth is not woven, but .is made, like
paper, of the macerated fibres of an inner bark, fpread out
and beaten together. Their ornaments are feathers, flowers,
pieces