There is a decorum observed in the presence of their principal men, and particularly of their king, that is truly admirable. Whenever he sits, down, whether it be in an house, or without, all the attendants seat themselves at the same time, in a semicircle before him, leaving always a convenient space between him and them, into which no one attempts to come, unless he has some particular business. Neither is any one allowed to pass, or sit behind him, nor even near him, without his order or permission, so that our having been indulged with this privilege, was a significant proof of the great respect that was paid us. When any one wants to speak with the king, he advances and sits down before him, delivers what he has to say in a few words, and, having received his answer, retires again to the circle. But if the king speaks to any one, that person answers from his seat, unless he is to receive some order, in which case he gets up from his place, and sits down before the chief with his legs across, which is a posture to which they are so much accustomed, that any other mode of sitting is disagreeable to them.[189] To speak to the king standing, would be accounted here as a striking mark of rudeness, as it would be with us, for one to sit down and put on his hat, when he addresses himself to his superior, and that superior on his feet and uncovered.
[Footnote 189: This is peculiar to the men; the women always sitting with both legs thrown a little on one side. We owe this remark to Captain King.--D]
It does not, indeed, appear that any of the most civilized nations have ever exceeded this people in the great order observed on all occasions, in ready compliance with the commands of their chiefs; and in the harmony that subsists throughout all ranks, and unites them, as if they were all one man, informed with, and directed by the same principle. Such a behaviour is remarkably obvious, whenever it is requisite that their chiefs should harangue any body of them collected together, which is frequently done. The most profound silence and attention is observed during the harangue, even to a much greater degree than is practised amongst us, on the most interesting and serious deliberations of our most respectable assemblies. And whatever might have been the subject of the speech delivered, we never saw an instance, when any individual present shewed signs of his being displeased, or that indicated the least inclination to dispute the declared will of a person who had a right to command. Nay, such is the force of these verbal laws, as I may call them, that I have seen one of their chiefs express his being astonished, at a person's having acted contrary to such orders, though it appeared, that the poor man could not possibly have been informed in time to have observed them.[190]
[Footnote 190: Cantava gives us the same account of the profound submission of the Caroline islanders, to the orders of the Tamole. "Ils reçoivent ses ordres avec le plus profond respect. Ses paroles sont autant d'oracles, qu' on revere."--Lettres Edifiantes & Curieuses, tom. xv. p. 312.--D.]
Though some of the more potent chiefs may vie with the king in point of actual possessions, they fall very short in rank, and in certain marks of respect, which the collective body have agreed to pay the monarch. It is a particular privilege annexed to his sovereignty, not to be punctured nor circumcised, as all his subjects are. Whenever he walks out, every one whom he meets must sit down till he has passed. No one is allowed to be over his head; on the contrary, all must come under his feet, for there cannot be a greater outward mark of submission, than that which is paid to the sovereign, and other great people of these islands, by their inferiors. The method is this; the person who is to pay obeisance, squats down before the chief, and bows the head to the sole of his foot, which, when he sits, is so placed, that it can be easily come at, and having tapped, or touched it with the under and upper side of the fingers of both hands, he rises up and retires. It should seem that the king cannot refuse any one who chooses to pay him this homage, which is called moe moea; for the common people would frequently take it into their heads to do it when he was walking, and he was always obliged to stop, and hold up one of his feet behind him, till they had performed the ceremony. This, to a heavy unwieldy man, like Poulaho, must be attended with some trouble and pain; and I have sometimes seen him make a run, though very unable, to get out of the way, or to reach a place where he might conveniently sit down. The hands, after this application of them to the chief's feet, are, in some cases, rendered useless for a time; for, until they be washed, they must not touch any kind of food. This interdiction, in a country where water is so scarce, would seem to be attended with some inconvenience, but they are never at a loss for a succedaneum; and a piece of any juicy plant, which they can easily procure immediately, being rubbed upon them, this serves for the purpose of purification, as well as washing them with water. When the hands are in this state, they call it taboo rema. Taboo, in general, signifies forbidden, and rema is their word for hand.
When the taboo is incurred, by paying obeisance to a great personage, it is thus easily washed off. But, in some other cases, it must necessarily continue for a certain time. We have frequently seen women, who have been taboo rema, fed by others. At the expiration of the time, the interdicted person washes herself in one of their baths, which are dirty holes, for the most part, of brackish water. She then waits upon the king, and, after making her obeisance in the usual way, lays hold of his foot and applies it to her breast, shoulders, and other parts of her body. He then embraces her on each shoulder, after which she retires, purified from her uncleanness. I do not know that it is always necessary to come to the king for this purpose, though Omai assured me it was. If this be so, it may be one reason why he is, for the most part, travelling from island to island. I saw this ceremony performed by him two or three times, and once by Feenou, to one of his own women; but as Omai was not then with me, I could not ask the occasion.
Taboo, as I have before observed, is a word of an extensive signification. Human sacrifices are called tangata taboo; and when any thing is forbidden to be eat, or made use of, they say, that is taboo. They tell us, that if the king should happen to go into a house belonging to a subject, that house would be taboo, and could never be more inhabited by the owner; so that wherever he travels, there are particular houses for his reception. Old Toobou at this time presided over the taboo, that is, if Omai comprehended the matter rightly, he and his deputies inspected all the produce of the island, taking care that every man should cultivate and plant his quota, and ordering what should he eat, and what not. By this wise regulation, they effectually guard against a famine; a sufficient quantity of ground is employed in raising provisions, and every article thus raised, is secured from unnecessary waste.
By another prudent regulation in their government, they have an officer over the police, or something like it. This department, when we were amongst them, was administered by Feenou, whose business, we were told, it was to punish all offenders, whether against the state, or against individuals. He was also generalissimo, and commanded the warriors when called out upon service; but by all accounts this is very seldom. The king frequently took some pains to inform us of Feenou's office; and, among other things, told us, that if he himself should become a bad man, Feenou would kill him. What I understood by this expression of being a bad man, was, that if he did not govern according to law, or custom, Feenou would be ordered, by the other great men, or the people at large, to put him to death. There should seem to be no doubt, that a sovereign thus liable to be controuled, and punished for an abuse of power, cannot be called a despotic monarch.
When we consider the number of islands that compose this little state, and the distance at which some of them lie from the seat of government, attempts to throw off the yoke, and to acquire independency, it should seem, might be apprehended. But they tell us that this never happens. One reason why they are not thus disturbed, by domestic quarrels, may be this: That all the powerful chiefs, as we have already mentioned, reside at Tongataboo. They also secure the dependence of the other islands, by the celerity of their operations; for if, at any time, a troublesome and popular man should start up in any of them, Feenou, or whoever holds his office, is immediately dispatched thither to kill him. By this means, they crush a rebellion in its very infancy.
The orders, or classes, amongst their chiefs, or those who call themselves such, seemed to be almost as numerous as amongst us; but there are few, in comparison, that are lords of large districts of territory, the rest holding their lands under those principal barons, as they may be called. I was indeed told, that when a man of property dies, everything he leaves behind him falls to the king; but that it is usual to give it to the eldest son of the deceased, with an obligation to make a provision out of it for the rest of the children. It is not the custom here, as at Otaheite, for the son, the moment he is born, to take from the father the homage and title, but he succeeds to them at his decease, so that their form of government is not only monarchical, but hereditary.