Their nourishment.
Vegetables and fish are their principal food; they seldom eat flesh, their children and young girls never eat any; and this doubtless serves to keep them free from almost all our diseases. I must say the same of their drink; they know of no other beverage than water. The very smell of wine or brandy disgusted them; they likewise shewed their aversion to tobacco, spices, and in general to every thing strong.
There are two races of men in the isle.
The inhabitants of Taiti consist of two races of men, very different from each other, but speaking the same language, having the same customs, and seemingly mixing without distinction. The first, which is the most numerous one, produces men of the greatest size; it is very common to see them measure six (Paris) feet and upwards in height. I never saw men better made, and whose limbs were more proportionate: in order to paint a Hercules or a Mars, one could no where find such beautiful models. Nothing distinguishes their features from those of the Europeans: and if they were cloathed; if they lived less in the open air, and were less exposed to the sun at noon, they would be as white as ourselves: their hair in general is black. The second race are of a middle size, have frizzled hair as hard as bristles, and both in colour and features they differ but little from mulattoes. The Taiti man who embarked with us, is of this second race, though his father is chief of a district: but he possesses in understanding what he wants in beauty.
Account of some of their customs.
Both races let the lower part of the beard grow, but they all have their whiskers, and the upper part of the cheeks shaved. They likewise let all their nails grow, except that on the middle finger of the right hand. Some of them cut their hair very short, others let it grow, and wear it fastened on the top of the head. They have all got the custom of anointing or oiling it and their beard with cocoa-nut oil. I have met with only a single cripple amongst them; and he seemed to have been maimed by a fall. Our surgeon assured me, that he had on several of them observed marks of the small-pox; and I took all possible measures to prevent our people’s communicating the other sort to them; as I could not suppose that they were already infected with it.
Their dress.
The inhabitants of Taiti are often seen quite naked, having no other clothes than a sash, which covers their natural parts. However, the chief people among them generally wrap themselves in a great piece of cloth, which hangs down to their knees. This is likewise the only dress of the women; and they know how to place it so artfully, as to make this simple dress susceptible of coquetry. As the women of Taiti never go out into the sun, without being covered; and always have a little hat, made of canes, and adorned with flowers, to defend their faces against its rays; their complexions are, of course, much fairer than those of the men. Their features are very delicate; but what distinguishes them, is the beauty of their bodies, of which the contour has not been disfigured by a torture of fifteen years duration.
Custom of puncturing the skin.
Whilst the women in Europe paint their cheeks red, those of Taiti dye their loins and buttocks of a deep blue. This is an ornament, and at the same time a mark of distinction. The men are subject to the same fashion. I cannot say how they do to impress these indelible marks, unless it is by puncturing the skin, and pouring the juice of certain herbs upon it, as I have seen it practised by the natives of Canada. It is remarkable, that this custom of painting has always been found to be received among nations who bordered upon a state of nature. When Cæsar made his first descent upon England, he found this fashion established there; omnes vero Britanni se vitro insiciunt, quod cæruleum efficit Colorem. The learned and ingenious author of the Recherches philosophiques sur les Americains[[101]], thinks this general custom owes its rise to the necessity of defending the body from the puncture of insects, multiplying beyond conception in uncultivated countries. This cause, however, does not exist at Taiti, since, as we have already said above, the people there are not troubled with such insupportable insects. The custom of painting is accordingly a mere fashion, the same as at Paris. Another custom at Taiti, common to men and women, is, to pierce their ears, and to wear in them pearls or flowers of all sorts. The greatest degree of cleanliness further adorns this amiable nation; they constantly bathe, and never eat nor drink without washing before and after it.