One of these raids on the idols was conducted after a very curious manner.
When the converts had reached the temple in which were deposited the idols that they had so long worshipped, their hearts failed them, and not a man dared to enter the house and lay his hands on the sacred images. They bethought themselves, however, of trying the effect of fire-arms, with which they were furnished, and, in the presence of the terrified population, made ready to fire upon the idols. After calling upon the images, warning them that they were about to be fired upon, and calling upon them to avenge themselves if they could, they fired a volley into the house. Finding that no harm ensued, they advanced more boldly, and burned down the temple together with its occupants.
A curious instance of courage similar to that of Pomaré occurred at the island of Rurutu. A native teacher recommended at a public assembly that a feast should be held, and that the king, his chiefs, his people, and their wives should together partake of turtle and pork, both these articles of diet being prohibited to women in Rurutu. The test was accepted, and the party assembled, having by a curious coincidence selected ignorantly a piece of ground sacred to Oro, the vengeful god of war. That any one should eat on so sacred a spot would have been sufficient to draw upon the delinquents the full terrors of Oro’s anger; but that men and women should eat together on the spot, and that women should absolutely eat both turtle and pork, were enormities almost too great to be conceived.
The feast took place, and, as writes Mr. Bennett, “when the Rurutuans saw that, they said, ‘No doubt they will die for this trespass on the sacred ground,’ and looked earnestly, expecting some one to have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly; but after they had looked for a considerable time and saw no one come, they changed their minds, and said, ‘Surely theirs is the truth; but perhaps the god will come in the night and kill them: we will wait and see.’
“One man actually went in the night to the wife of the chief Auüra, who also ate a part of a hog or turtle on the sacred spot, and said, ‘Are you still alive?’ When the morning arrived, and the Rurutuans found that no harm had happened to any of them, they became exceedingly disgusted at their having been deceived so long by the evil spirit.”
Like many other Polynesians, the Tahitans are of fair complexions, and very well made. Both men and women are good-looking, and many of the latter may be called beautiful, their graceful robe of bark cloth, and the flowers with which they love to entwine their hair setting off their charms in an admirable manner. It is rather strange, by the way, that the women of Eimeo, one of this group, are very inferior to those of the other islands, being darker, of lower stature, and not so graceful, and, as Captain Cook remarked, if a handsome woman were seen at Eimeo, she was sure to have come from another island.
The men dress in rather a variable manner. All wear the primitive garment of Polynesia, namely, a piece of bark cloth passed round the waist, then through the legs, and the end tucked into the girdle. Over this garment many wear a sort of mantle made of finer cloth, gathered neatly round the waist, and sometimes flowing over their shoulders; while others wear the tiputa, or tibuta, a garment made in poncho fashion, with a hole in the middle through which the head passes, and hanging down in front and behind, but open at the sides. This garment is found in a very great number of Polynesian islands, the material and the form varying according to the locality. The bark cloth is made exactly after the fashion employed in Tonga and Samoa.
Both sexes usually cut their hair short, and sometimes crop it so closely at the crown of the head that it looks as if shaven. They anoint their locks freely with scented cocoa-nut oil, or with a resinous gum, which gives it a moist and glossy appearance, and causes it to retain the shape into which it is twisted. Beside the flowers worn in the hair and ears, and the garlands twisted round the head, the women wear a very elegant and striking ornament. They take the very young stipe of the cocoa-nut palm, peel it into long strips, and dry it. When properly prepared, it is of a glossy, pure white, looking much like white satin ribbon, and is worn twisted into rosettes and similar ornaments. The normal color of the hair is mostly black, but in some cases it takes a lighter and reddish hue. In children it is often light, but assumes a dark hue in the course of a few years.
The Tahitans think that the shape of the head is much improved by being flattened at the back. Accordingly, the mothers have a way of supporting their children during infancy by the heels and back of the head, and, as they think that the shape of the nose can be improved by art, they continually squeeze and press it with the hand while it is tender and plastic.
Tattooing was once much esteemed, and the operation was performed by means of a comb and mallet, as has been described when treating of Samoa. Professional artists executed the tattoo, and were accustomed to travel about the islands, remaining for some months at each spot, and being paid highly for each lad whom they decorated. The face was almost invariably left untouched; the bust, legs, arms, and even hands being covered with the graceful patterns. The women also employed the same decoration, but in a less degree, wearing the tattoo mostly on the arms, ankles, and feet, the latter being tattooed nearly half-way to the knees, so that at a little distance the woman looked as if she were wearing boots or socks fitting tightly to the skin. The missionaries, however, discouraged the tattoo, which by degrees came to be accepted as a mark of a revolutionary spirit, and rendered the offender liable to punishment.