G H A P X X^VjJ. .
dtf the People and' their! Eupidmv.— O f them ’Ware P}ss.- 0 ;'
their Funerals.— Religion.—^rveraP CheerdBer{-6f
the .Natives.
n p H -E natives of thefc iflands are a flout, :;welLmade
"*■ people, rather above the middling ftature; their complexions
are of a far deeper colour than what is understood
by the Indian copper, but not black.— Theirdiair js long and
flowing, rather difpofed to curl, which they moftly form into
one large locde curl round their heads; fome of the women,
who have remarkably long hair, let it hang loofe down their
■ backs.—It has already been obferved, that the men were entirely
naked; the women wore only two little aprons, or
rather thick fringes, one before and one behind, -about ten
inches deep and feven wide; thefe were made of the hulks
of the cocoa-nut Stripped into narrow flips, which they dyed
See plate v. with different (hades of yellow : this, their only drefs, they
' tied round their waifts,. commonly with a piece of line, though
luch as were of higher rank ufed a firing of' fome kind of
beads; the one figured in plate VI. fig . x, was of a coarfe fort
of cornelian, and was worn by E r r e B e s s ; who, understanding
that Captain W ilson had a daughter, gave it to
Mr.
Mr. fd. WiLSPNi before his departure, as a prefent for his
filter»
B0Q1 tam afid 'WoHien were tatooed, o tr as th e y o i l it,.
melgo-fbed', this’, operation' m o lL place,; as b u r people eon-* 1
' G e iV id , a t aeerfaMi pe tiod o f youth, th e y h a v ing never feeii
any ehiMrefff-of effher fe x marked b y it.— T h e men h a d
fbefe'leittea f bw ed , and th e women both >;? a* few -of th e f&*ff
w o re beads uH the p u t either fom e -
« h to ig lb ; or an ear^ttog i f f twtoife-ffibll inlaid. T h e
cartilage b e tw een th e h o ftr f ls was; alfo bored, in both fefcs'j,.
th ro u gh w h ich they frequently p u t a’ little fp r ig or b lo f-
femi Of ifome plant o r th rub th a t accidentally c a u g h t th e ir
■ fancy *.
When the mefrand women grew up,.their teeth were
Blaekedp tMs was done by: the means of fome dye; out
people,-. Whiiff they remained at Pelew, had no Opportunity
of feeing how the effect was produced, underftanding. only if .
Was an operation that was- both tedious and painful; but it
Was afterwards fully explained by L ee Boo to Captain Wilson,
on his paffage to England.—At Saint He l en a , Lee.
goo appeared much delighted ’ at finding fome groundfel,
and chewing'it,, rubbed hi:s teeth with it.—Captain W ilson :
telhng him it was not good to eat,. he. gave him to underftand.
* Perhaps it is owing to the defire of having die .fcent of flowers, without the inconvenience
of B B i t e m ; that fhe Eajfeni people bore the cartilage between the aoftrils.
The common people in alfo wear fweet-fmeUi.ng, flowers Ruck behind the-ear, «<
fuch a manner as to Jail on the face, that they may enjoy their fragrance when working on
walking.
3 that