The first dance consisted of four ranks, of twenty-four men each, holding in their hands a little, thin, light, wooden instrument, above two feet long, and, in shape, not unlike a small oblong paddle. With these, which are called pagge, they made a great many different motions; such as pointing them toward the ground on one side, at the same time inclining their bodies that way, from which they were shifted to the opposite side in the same manner; then passing them quickly from one hand to the other, and twirling them about very dextrously; with a variety of other manoeuvres, all which were accompanied by corresponding attitudes of the body. Their motions were, at first, slow, but quickened as the drums beat faster; and they recited sentences, in a musical tone, the whole time, which were answered by the chorus; but at the end of a short space they all joined, and finished with a shout.
After ceasing about two or three minutes, they began as before, and continued, with short intervals, above a quarter of an hour; when the rear rank dividing, shifted themselves very slowly round each end, and, meeting in the front, formed the first rank; the whole number continuing to recite the sentences as before. The other ranks did the same successively, till that which, at first, was the front, became the rear; and the evolution continued, in the same manner, till the last rank regained its first situation. They then began a much quicker dance (though slow at first), and sung for about ten minutes, when the whole body divided into two parts, retreated a little, and then approached, forming a sort of circular figure, which finished the dance; the drums being removed, and the chorus going off the field at the same time.
The second dance had only two drums, with forty men for a chorus; and the dancers, or rather actors, consisted of two ranks, the foremost having seventeen, and the other fifteen persons. Feenou was at their head, or in the middle of the front rank, which is the principal place in these cases. They danced and recited sentences, with some very short intervals, for about half an hour, sometimes quickly, sometimes more slowly, but with such a degree of exactness, as if all the motions were made by one man, which did them great credit. Near the close, the back rank divided, came round, and took the place of the front, which, again resumed its situation, as in the first dance; and when they finished, the drums and chorus, as before, went off.
Three drums (which, at least, took two, and sometimes three men to carry them) were now brought in; and seventy men sat down as a chorus to the third dance. This consisted of two ranks, of sixteen persons each, with young Toobou at their head, who was richly ornamented with a sort of garment covered with red feathers. These danced, sung, and twirled the pagge, as before; but, in general, much quicker, and performed so well, that they had the constant applauses of the spectators. A motion that met with particular approbation, was one in which they held the face aside, as if ashamed, and the pagge before it. The back rank closed before the front one, and that again resumed its place, as in the two former dances; but then they began again, formed a triple row, divided, retreated to each end of the area, and left the greatest part of the ground clear. At that instant, two men entered very hastily, and exercised the clubs which they use in battle. They did this, by first twirling them in their hands, and making circular strokes before them with great force and quickness; but so skilfully managed, that, though standing quite close, they never interfered. They shifted their clubs from hand to hand, with great dexterity; and, after continuing a little time, kneeled, and made different motions, tossing the clubs up in the air, which they caught as they fell; and then went off as hastily as they entered. Their heads were covered with pieces of white cloth, tied at the crown (almost like a night-cap) with a wreath of foliage round the forehead; but they had only very small pieces of white cloth tied about their waists; probably, that they might be cool, and free from every encumbrance or weight. A person with a spear, dressed like the former, then came in, and in the same hasty manner; looking about eagerly, as if in search of somebody to throw it at. He then ran hastily to one side of the crowd in the front, and put himself in a threatening attitude, as if he meant to strike with his spear at one of them, bending the knee a little, and trembling, as it were with rage. He continued in this manner only a few seconds, when he moved to the other side, and having stood in the same posture there, for the same short time, retreated from the ground, as fast as when he made his appearance. The dancers, who had divided into two parties, kept repeating something slowly all this while: and now advanced, and joined again, ending with universal applause. It should seem that this dance was considered as one of their capital performances, if we might judge from some of the principal people being engaged in it. For one of the drums was beat by Futtafaihe, the brother of Poulaho, another by Feenou, and the third, which did not belong to the chorus, by Mareewagee himself, at the entrance of his hut.
The last dance had forty men, and two drums, as a chorus. It consisted of sixty men, who had not danced before, disposed in three rows, having twenty-four in front. But, before they began, we were entertained with a pretty long preliminary harangue, in which the whole body made responses to a single person who spoke. They recited sentences (perhaps verses) alternately with the chorus, and made many motions with the pagge, in a very brisk mode, which were all applauded with mareeai! and fufogge! words expressing two different degrees of praise. They divided into two bodies, with their backs to each other; formed again, shifted their ranks, as in the other dances; divided and retreated, making room for two champions, who exercised their clubs as before; and after them two others; the dancers, all the time, reciting slowly in turn with the chorus; after which they advanced and finished.
These dances, if they can properly be called so, lasted from eleven till near three o'clock; and though they were, doubtless, intended, particularly, either in honour of us, or to shew a specimen of their dexterity, vast numbers of their own people attended as spectators. Their numbers could not be computed exactly, on account of the inequality of the ground; but, by reckoning the inner circle, and the number in depth, which was between twenty and thirty in many places, we supposed that there must be near four thousand. At the same time, there were round the trading place at the tent, and straggling about, at least as many more; and some of us computed, that, aft this time, there were no less than ten or twelve thousand people in our neighbourhood; that is, within the compass of a quarter of a mile; drawn together, for the most part, by mere curiosity.
It is with regret I mention, that we could not understand what was spoken, while we were able to see what was acted, in these amusements. This, doubtless, would have afforded us much information, as to the genius and customs of these people. It was observable, that, though the spectators always approved of the various motions, when well made, a great share of the pleasure they received seemed to arise from the sentimental part, or what the performers delivered in their speeches. However, the mere acting part, independently of the sentences repeated, was well worth our notice, both with respect to the extensive plan on which it was executed, and to the various motions, as well as the exact unity, with which they were performed. Neither pencil nor pen can describe the numerous actions and motions, the singularity of which was not greater, than was the ease and gracefulness with which they were performed.
At night, we were entertained with the bomai, or night dances, on a space before Feenou's temporary habitation. They lasted about three hours; in which time we had about twelve of them performed, much after the same manner as those at Hepaee. But, in two, that were performed by women, a number of men came and formed a circle within their's. And, in another, consisting of twenty-four men, there were a number of motions with the hands, that we had not seen before, and were highly applauded. The music was, also, once changed, in the course of the night; and in one of the dances, Feenou appeared at the head of fifty men who had performed at Hepaee, and he was well dressed with linen, a large piece of gauze, and some little pictures hung round his neck. But it was evident, after the diversions were closed, that we had put these poor people, or rather that they had put themselves, to much inconvenience. For being drawn together on this uninhabited part of their island, numbers of them were obliged to lie down and sleep under the bushes, by the side of a tree, or of a canoe; nay, many either lay down in the open air, which they are not fond of, or walked about all the night.
The whole of this entertainment was conducted with far better order, than could have been expected in so large an assembly. Amongst such a multitude, there must be a number of ill-disposed people; and we, hourly, experienced it. All our care and attention did not prevent their plundering us, in every quarter; and that in the most daring and insolent manner. There was hardly any thing that they did not attempt to steal; and yet, as the crowd was always so great, I would not allow the sentries to fire, lest the innocent should suffer for the guilty. They once, at noon day, ventured to aim at taking an anchor from off the Discovery's bows; and they would certainly have succeeded, if the flook had not hooked one of the chain-plates in lowering down the ship's side, from which they could not disengage it by hand; and tackles were things they were unacquainted with. The only act of violence they were guilty of, was the breaking the shoulder-bone of one of our goats, so that she died soon after. This loss fell upon themselves, as she was one of those that I intended to leave upon the island; but of this, the person who did it was ignorant.
Early in the morning of the 18th, an incident happened, that strongly marked one of their customs. A man got out of a canoe into the quarter gallery of the Resolution, and stole from thence a pewter bason. He was discovered, pursued, and brought alongside the ship. On this occasion, three old women, who were in the canoe, made loud lamentations over the prisoner, beating their breasts and faces in a most violent manner, with the inside of their fists; and all this was done without shedding a tear. This mode of expressing grief is what occasions the mark which almost all this people bear on the face, over the cheek-bones. The repeated blows which they inflict upon this part, abrade the skin, and make even the blood flow out in a considerable quantity; and when the wounds are recent, they look as if a hollow circle had been burnt in. On many occasions, they actually cut this part of the face with an instrument, in the same manner as the people of Otaheite cut their heads.