As soon as the Governor had taken his seat in the verandah of the large and elegant residence of the chieftain, or warden of the district (for in Tahiti every office, with all rights pertaining thereto, descends among the female members of the chief's family likewise),[82] a number of girls, dressed all in white
and wearing elegant garlands of flowers, stepped forward and began to sing a national Tahitian hymn; after which the orator of the day, a handsome man, dressed partly in the European, partly in the native manner, wearing a black round felt hat and feathers, and a variegated bark shirt over a black coat(!) delivered a very pathetic address. His delivery and his gestures recalled strongly to mind the New Zealand orators, but, unlike the latter, he was considerate enough not to tax unduly the patience of his foreign guests, to whom not one word of his very moving discourse was intelligible. This preliminary over, a number of girls presented themselves one after the other to the Governor, and in token of allegiance presented their garlands and the nicely prepared upper robe of bast. In this manner about 100 crowns and bast-mantilles were delivered, the most elegant of which the Governor kindly presented to the members of our Expedition.
In the reception-court a perfect mountain of bananas had been piled up, together with an immense heap of cocoa-nuts; these were also presented to the Governor and his suite, with the remark that every inhabitant of the district had contributed his mite to the festival, and bade the foreign guests a cordial welcome. "We may stay days, weeks, ay! months," exclaimed the orator, "and every house and all that was in it will be placed at our disposal; every one will take a pleasure in doing our bidding and forestalling all our wishes!"
After this hearty, idyllic ceremonial, the inhabitants of Punataná, an adjoining district, came up, amid a flourish of
drums and trumpets, and arranged themselves on the wide road right in front of the chieftainess of Faáa, in consequence of Maheanú, their chieftainess, a zealous Protestant, not permitting on her grounds the execution of any improper dances, or the singing of broad songs. In fact, neither the Upa-Upa nor any other of the numerous Tahitian "Cancans à la Chicard" were suffered to be danced; the consequence of which was that they danced it all the more eagerly on the road. Six drummers, each with his little kettle-drum, squatted cross-legged on the floor, the right hand being employed to strike the instrument. To this primitive music, enlivened at times by a shrill cry, both men and girls now began to go through the most indecent gestures, accompanied by leaping on and toying with their partners till they had worked themselves up to such an artificial frenzy of excitement, that each couple at last retired exhausted and bathed in perspiration, under a flourish of drums and a loud shriek from the orchestra.
The French Governor, the representative of European decorum, was one of the most animated of the spectators, and gave full swing to the recklessness of the Tahitians, who are accustomed to push the law of hospitality to the extent of prostituting their daughters, remarking, with much naïveté, that the natives would take it exceedingly ill were any one to refuse to take part in certain old habits and customs, or were to declare themselves openly opposed to their continuance!
At the close of the fête the Governor ordered some French
wines, "the cocoa milk of the Europeans," to be set before the inhabitants of Faáa. A déjeûner à la fourchette was laid out under tents, where, at twenty long tables covered in the European manner, the most distinguished personages took their seats. Every family had contributed something, the whole having the appearance of a regular pic-nic.
On each table were displayed flowers, bananas, bread-fruit, and other delicious products of the vegetable world. The European guests were seated at a large table erected at the upper end of an alley of trees. The chieftainess and her husband sat beside the Governor. Next in order was the Government interpreter, a Mr. Darling, the son of one of the oldest English missionaries sent out to Tahiti, on whom devolved the interpretation into Tahitian or French, as the case might be, of the various speeches and toasts.
The dinner-service, at our table at least, was entirely in the European manner, which seemed to me a pity; a meal without knives or forks, as is the custom among the natives, would have been infinitely more interesting and peculiar. The husband gave the health of the ruler of France, and—evidently in honour of the guests from the banks of the Danube—that of the Emperor of Austria! Immediately thereafter the Governor rose suddenly and left the table, with the intention, it would seem, of escaping some untimeous speeches of the natives. The company presently broke up, and while a few of the guests returned straight to the port, the majority,