From some information we received, relative to the custom of tattowing, we were inclined to think that it is frequently intended as a sign of mourning on the death of a chief, or any other calamitous event. For we were often told, that such a particular mark was in memory of such a chief; and so of the rest. It may be here, too, observed, that the lowest class are often tattowed with a mark that distinguishes them as the property of the several chiefs to whom they belong.
The dress of the men generally consists only of a piece of thick cloth called the maro, about ten or twelve inches broad, which they pass between the legs, and tie round the waist. This is the common dress of all ranks of people. Their mats, some of which are beautifully manufactured, are of various sizes, but mostly about five feet long, and four broad. These they throw over their shoulders, and bring forward before; but they are seldom used, except in time of war, for which purpose they seem better adapted than for ordinary use, being of a thick and cumbersome texture, and capable of breaking the blow of a stone, or any blunt weapon. Their feet are generally bare, except when they have occasion to travel over the burnt stones, when they secure them with a sort of sandal, made of cords, twisted from the fibres of the cocoa-nut. Such is the ordinary dress of these islanders; but they have another, appropriated to their chiefs, and used on ceremonious occasions, consisting of a feathered cloak and helmet, which, in point of beauty and magnificence, is perhaps nearly equal to that of any nation in the world. As this dress has been already described with great accuracy and minuteness, I have only to add, that these cloaks are made of different lengths, in proportion to the rank of the wearer, some of them reaching no lower than the middle, others trailing on the ground. The inferior chiefs have also a short cloak, resembling the former, made of the long tail-feathers of the cock, the tropic and man-of-war birds, with a broad border of the small red and yellow feathers, and a collar of the same. Others again are made of feathers entirely white, with variegated borders. The helmet has a strong lining of wicker-work, capable of breaking the blow of any warlike instrument, and seems evidently designed for that purpose.
These feathered dresses seemed to be exceedingly scarce, appropriated to persons of the highest rank, and worn by the men only. During the whole time we lay in Karakakooa Bay, we never saw them used but on three occasions: in the curious ceremony of Terreeoboo’s first visit to the ships; by some chiefs who were seen among the crowd on shore when Captain Cook was killed; and afterward when Eappo brought his bones to us.
The exact resemblance between this habit, and the cloak and helmet formerly worn by the Spaniards, was too striking not to excite our curiosity to inquire whether there were any probable grounds for supposing it to have been borrowed from them. After exerting every means in our power of obtaining information on this subject, we found that they had no immediate knowledge of any other nation whatever; nor any tradition remaining among them of these islands having been ever visited before by such ships as ours. But notwithstanding the result of these inquiries, the uncommon form of this habit appears to me a sufficient proof of its European origin; especially when added to another circumstance, that it is a singular deviation from the general resemblance in dress which prevails amongst all the branches of this tribe, dispersed through the South Sea. We were driven indeed, by this conclusion, to a supposition of the shipwreck of some Buccaneer, or Spanish ship in the neighbourhood of these islands. But when it is recollected, that the course of the Spanish trade from Acapulco to the Manillas is but a few degrees to the southward of the Sandwich Islands, in their passage out, and to the northward, on their return, this supposition will not appear in the least improbable.
The common dress of the women bears a close resemblance to that of the men. They wrap round the waist a piece of cloth, that reaches half way down the thighs; and sometimes, in the cool of the evening, they appeared with loose pieces of fine cloth thrown over their shoulders, like the women of Otaheite. The pau is another dress very frequently worn by the younger part of the sex. It is made of the thinnest and finest sort of cloth, wrapt several times round the waist, and descending to the leg; so as to have exactly the appearance of a full short petticoat. Their hair is cut short behind, and turned up before, as is the fashion among the Otaheiteans and New Zealanders; all of whom differ, in this respect, from the women of the Friendly Islands, who wear their hair long. We saw, indeed, one woman in Karakakooa Bay, whose hair was arranged in a very singular manner; it was turned up behind, and brought over the forehead, and then doubled back, so as to form a sort of shade to the face, like a small bonnet.
Their necklaces are made of shells, or of a hard, shining red berry. Besides which, they wear wreaths of dried flowers of the Indian mallow; and another beautiful ornament called eraie, which is generally put about the neck, but is sometimes tied like a garland round the hair, and sometimes worn in both these ways at once. It is a ruff of the thickness of a finger, made, in a curious manner, of exceedingly small feathers, woven so close together as to form a surface as smooth as that of the richest velvet. The ground was generally of a red colour, with alternate circles of green, yellow, and black. Their bracelets, which were also of great variety, and very peculiar kinds, have been already described.
At Atooi, some of the women wore little figures of the turtle, neatly formed of wood or ivory, tied on their fingers in the manner we wear rings. Why this animal is thus particularly distinguished, I leave to the conjectures of the curious. There is also an ornament made of shells, fastened in rows on a ground of strong netting, so as to strike each other, when in motion; which both men and women, when they dance, tie either round the arm or the ankle, or below the knee. Instead of shells, they sometimes make use of dogs’ teeth, and a hard red berry, resembling that of the holly.
There remains to be mentioned another ornament, if such it may be called. It is a kind of mask, made of a large gourd, with holes cut in it for the eyes and nose. The top was stuck full of small green twigs, which, at a distance, had the appearance of an elegant waving plume: and from the lower part hung narrow stripes of cloth, resembling a beard. We never saw these masks worn but twice, and both times by a number of people together in a canoe, who came to the side of the ship laughing and drolling, with an air of masquerading. Whether they may not likewise be used as a defence for the head against stones, for which they seem best designed, or in some of their public games, or be merely intended for the purposes of mummery, we could never inform ourselves.
It has already been remarked, in a few instances, that the natives of the Sandwich Islands approach nearer to the New Zealanders, in their manners and customs, than to either of their less distant neighbours of the Society or Friendly Islands. This is in nothing more observable, than in their method of living together in small towns or villages, containing from about one hundred to two hundred houses, built pretty close together, without any order, and having a winding path leading through them. They are generally flanked, toward the sea, with loose detached walls, which probably are meant both for the purposes of shelter and defence. The figure of their houses has been already described. They are of different sizes, from eighteen feet by twelve, to forty-five by twenty-four. There are some of a larger kind; being fifty feet long and thirty broad, and quite open at one end. These, they told us, were designed for travellers or strangers, who were only making a short stay.
In addition to the furniture of their houses, which has been accurately described by Captain Cook, I have only to add, that at one end are mats on which they sleep, with wooden pillows, or sleeping stools, exactly like those of the Chinese. Some of the better sort of houses have a court-yard before them, neatly railed in, with smaller houses built round it, for their servants. In this area they generally eat, and sit during the day-time. In the sides of the hills, and among the steep rocks, we also observed several holes or caves, which appeared to be inhabited; but as the entrance was defended with wicker work, and we also found, in the only one that was visited, a stone fence running across it within, we imagine they are principally designed for places of retreat, in case of an attack from an enemy.