Mr. Bennett mentions two instances where old men were tattooed on the face as well as the body, one of them being a man who had been the high priest of the god Oro, the Polynesian Mars, who was worshipped with every accessory of bloodshed and cruelty. This deity, together with other objects of Tahitan worship, will be presently described.
The means that were employed to put an end to the practice of tattooing were of a very severe and rather despotic character, It was found that ordinary punishments were of little avail in checking a practice so much in consonance with the feelings and habits of the natives. Even after they had submitted themselves to the laws which the white colonists introduced, they could scarcely bring themselves to obey the edict which forbade the tattoo, and evaded it on every possible pretext. They would even voyage to another island, nominally on mercantile affairs, but in reality for the purpose of being tattooed while out of the reach of the white men and their laws.
As to the punishment which ensued, the delinquents cared little about it—the allotted task of road making or well digging was completed in time, whereas the decoration of the tattoo lasted throughout life. After trying to check the practice by various penal laws, the new legislators hit upon a plan described by themselves as merely disfiguring the pattern made by the tattoo. Dr. Bennett, however, uses more forcible terms. “The ancient practice of tattooing the skin is gradually declining amongst the Society Islanders generally. The missionaries have been much opposed to the custom, and among the laws framed for these islands was one which made tattooing criminal; but this has since been repealed, or continues in force only in the islands of Huahine, Raiatea, and Tahaa.
“When viewed in connection with the habits of the natives, tattooing is not, certainly, so innocent a display of savage finery as most Europeans imagine it to be; nevertheless, we felt much regret, not unmingled with indignation, when we beheld, in the house of the royal chief of Raiatea, a native woman of naturally agreeable features, disfigured by an extensive patch of charcoal embedded in her cheek—a punishment inflicted upon her by the judges for having slightly tattooed herself. While we were regarding this spectacle a second female showed us her hand, which afforded a similar instance of judicial severity.”
The various figures employed by the Tahitans have each a separate name, and these figures are imprinted not only upon the skin, but upon the bark cloth garments of both sexes.
The Tahitans are naturally a hospitable people, and have invented a complete code of etiquette for making presents, the most curious of which is that which is employed in giving bark cloth. Captain Cook’s description of this custom is very interesting. It is also [illustrated] on the 1054th page. “I went with Otoo to his father’s house, where I found some people employed in dressing two girls with a prodigious quantity of fine cloth, after a very singular fashion. The one end of each piece of cloth, of which there were a good many, was held up over the heads of the girls, while the remainder was wrapped round their bodies, under the arm-pits. Then the upper ends were let fall, and hung down in folds to the ground, one over the other, so as to bear some resemblance to a circular hoop-petticoat.
“Afterward, round the outside of all were wrapped several pieces of differently colored cloth, which considerably increased the size, so that it was not less than five or six yards in circuit, and the weight of this singular attire was as much as the poor girls could support. To each were hung two taames or breastplates, by way of enlivening the whole, and giving it a picturesque appearance. Thus equipped, they were conducted on board the ship, together with several hogs and a quantity of fruit, which, with the cloth, was a present to me from Otoo’s father.
“Persons of either sex, dressed in this manner, are called atee, but I believe it is never practised except when large presents of cloth are to be made. At least, I never saw it practised on any other occasion; nor, indeed, had I ever such a present before; but both Captain Clarke and I had cloth given to us afterward, thus wrapped round the bearers.”
These cloths are mostly put on the bearers by laying the end of the cloth on the ground. The girl then lies down on the end of the piece, holds it tightly to her body, and rolls over and over, until she has wound herself up in all the cloth that she is intended to present. When the bearers are taken into the presence of the chief to whom the offering is made, they reverse the process, and unroll themselves, by revolving on the floor in the contrary direction.
Food is presented in another way. The donor sends his servants with the hogs, bread-fruit, and other provisions, to the house of the person to whom the present is made. They do not enter the house, but simply spread leaves on the ground, lay the provisions on them, and then return to their master. The donor then enters the house, and calls upon his friend to come out and look at the present that has been brought for him. The latter signifies his acceptance by ordering his servants to carry the food within his house, but utters no thanks.