I had but just time to get into my boat, when news was brought, that Towha had concluded a treaty with Maheine, and had returned with his fleet to Attahooroo. This unexpected event made all further proceedings in the military way quite unnecessary, and the war-canoes, instead of rendezvousing at Oparre, were ordered home to their respective districts. This alteration, however, did not hinder me from following Otoo to Oparre, accompanied by Mr. King and Omai. Soon after our arrival, and while dinner was preparing, a messenger arrived from Eimeo, and related the conditions of the peace, or rather of the truce, it being only for a limited time. The terms were disadvantageous to Otaheite; and much blame was thrown upon Otoo, whose delay in sending reinforcements had obliged Towha to submit to a disgraceful accommodation. It was even currently reported, that Towha, resenting his not being supported, had declared, that as soon as I could leave the island he would join his forces to those of Tiaraboo, and attack Otoo at Matavai or Oparre. This called upon me to declare, in the most public manner, that I was determined to espouse the interest of my friend against any such combination; and that whoever presumed to attack him, should feel the weight of my heavy displeasure, when I returned again to their island. My declaration probably had the desired effect; and if Towha had any such hostile intention at first, we soon heard no more of the report. Whappai, Otoo’s father, highly disapproved of the peace, and blamed Towha very much for concluding it. This sensible old man wisely judged, that my going down with them to Eimeo must have been of singular service to their cause, though I should take no other part whatever in the quarrel. And it was upon this that he built his arguments, and maintained that Otoo had acted properly by waiting for me, though this had prevented his giving assistance to Towha so soon as he expected.
Our debates at Oparre, on this subject, were hardly ended, before a messenger arrived from Towha, desiring Otoo’s attendance the next day at the morai in Attahooroo, to give thanks to the gods for the peace he had concluded; at least such was Omai’s account to me of the object of this solemnity. I was asked to go; but being much out of order was obliged to decline it. Desirous, however, of knowing what ceremonies might be observed on so memorable an occasion, I sent Mr. King and Omai, and returned on board my ship, attended by Otoo’s mother, his three sisters, and eight more women. At first I thought that this numerous train of females came into my boat with no other view than to get a passage to Matavai. But when we arrived at the ship, they told me, they intended passing the night on board, for the express purpose of undertaking the cure of the disorder I complained of; which was a pain of the rheumatic kind, extending from the hip to the foot. I accepted the friendly offer, had a bed spread for them upon the cabin floor, and submitted myself to their directions. I was desired to lay myself down amongst them. Then, as many of them as could get round me, began to squeeze me with both hands, from head to foot, but more particularly on the parts where the pain was lodged, till they made my bones crack, and my flesh became a perfect mummy. In short, after undergoing this discipline about a quarter of an hour, I was glad to get away from them. However, the operation gave me immediate relief, which encouraged me to submit to another rubbing-down before I went to bed; and it was so effectual, that I found myself pretty easy all the night after. My female physicians repeated their prescription the next morning, before they went ashore, and again, in the evening, when they returned on board; after which, I found the pains entirely removed; and the cure being perfected, they took their leave of me the following morning. This they call romee; an operation which, in my opinion, far exceeds the flesh-brush, or any thing of the kind that we make use of externally. It is universally practised amongst these islanders; being sometimes performed by the men, but more generally by the women. If, at any time, one appears languid and tired, and sits down by any one of them, they immediately begin to practise the romee upon his legs; and I have always found it to have an exceeding good effect.[[6]]
In the morning of the 25th, Otoo, Mr. King, and Omai, returned from Attahooroo; and Mr. King gave me the following account of what he had seen:
“Soon after you left me, a second messenger came from Towha, to Otoo, with a plantain-tree. It was sunset when we embarked in a canoe and left Oparre: about nine o’clock we landed at Tettaha, at that extremity which joins to Attahooroo. Before we landed, the people called to us from the shore, probably to tell us that Towha was there. The meeting of Otoo and this chief I expected would afford some incident worthy of observation. Otoo and his attendants went and seated themselves on the bench, close to the canoe in which Towha was. He was then asleep; but his servants having awaked him, and mentioning Otoo’s name, immediately a plantain-tree and a dog were laid at Otoo’s feet; and many of Towha’s people came and talked with him, as I conceived, about their expedition to Eimeo. After I had, for some time, remained seated close to Otoo, Towha neither stirring from his canoe, nor holding any conversation with us, I went to him. He asked me if Toote was angry with him. I answered, No: that he was his taio; and that he had ordered me to go to Attahooroo to tell him so. Omai now had a long conversation with this chief; but I could gather no information of any kind from him. On my returning to Otoo, he seemed desirous that I should go to eat, and then to sleep. Accordingly, Omai and I left him. On questioning Omai, he said, the reason of Towha’s not stirring from his canoe was his being lame; but that, presently, Otoo and he would converse together in private. This seemed true; for, in a little time, those we left with Otoo came to us; and, about ten minutes after, Otoo himself arrived, and we all went to sleep in his canoe.
“The next morning, the ava was in great plenty. One man drank so much that he lost his senses. I should have supposed him to be in a fit, from the convulsions that agitated him. Two men held him, and kept plucking off his hair by the roots. I left this spectacle to see another more affecting. This was the meeting of Towha and his wife, and a young girl, whom I understood to be his daughter. After the ceremony of cutting their heads, and discharging a tolerable quantity of blood and tears, they washed, embraced the chief, and seemed unconcerned. But the young girl’s sufferings were not yet come to an end. Terridiri[[7]] arrived; and she went, with great composure, to repeat the same ceremonies to him, which he had just performed on meeting her father. Towha had brought a large war-canoe from Eimeo. I enquired if he had killed the people belonging to her; and was told, that there was no man in her when she was captured.
“We left Tettaha, about ten or eleven o’clock, and landed, close to the morai of Attahooroo, a little after noon. There lay three canoes, hauled upon the beach, opposite the morai, with three hogs exposed in each: their sheds, or awnings, had something under them which I could not discern. We expected the solemnity to be performed the same afternoon; but as neither Towha nor Potatou had joined us, nothing was done.
“A chief from Eimeo came with a small pig, and a plantain-tree, and placed them at Otoo’s feet. They talked some time together; and the Eimeo chief often repeating the words, Warry, warry, “false,” I supposed that Otoo was relating to him what he had heard, and that the other denied it.
“The next day (Wednesday), Towha and Potatou, with about eight large canoes, arrived, and landed near the morai. Many plantain-trees were brought, on the part of different chiefs, to Otoo. Towha did not stir from his canoe. The ceremony began by the principal priest bringing out the maro, wrapped up, and a bundle shaped like a large sugar-loaf. These were placed at the head of what I understood to be a grave. Then three priests came and sat down opposite, that is, at the other end of the grave; bringing with them a plantain-tree, the branch of some other tree, and the sheath of the flower of the cocoa-nut tree.
“The priests, with these things in their hands, separately repeated sentences; and, at intervals, two, and sometimes all three, sung a melancholy ditty, little attended to by the people. This praying and singing continued for an hour. Then, after a short prayer, the principal priest uncovered the maro; and Otoo rose up, and wrapped it about him, holding, at the same time, in his hand, a cap or bonnet, composed of the red feathers of the tail of the tropic bird, mixed with other feathers of a dark colour. He stood in the middle space, facing the three priests, who continued their prayers for about ten minutes; when a man, starting from the crowd, said something which ended with the word heiva! and the crowd echoed back to him, three times, Earee! This, as I had been told before, was the principal part of the solemnity.
“The company now moved to the opposite side of the great pile of stones, where is what they call the king’s morai; which is not unlike a large grave. Here the same ceremony was performed over again, and ended in three cheers. The maro was now wrapped up, and encreased in its splendour by the addition of a small piece of red feathers, which one of the priests gave Otoo when he had it on, and which he stuck into it.