The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-06-20
# the man .aulshed for breaking the taboo, and


of the man 1ulshed for breaking the taboo, and
whose body was exposed before the idol.
During thu pFiod called Macaheite, which
lasts A whole MID, and takes place in November,
the priests areTTH loyed in collecting the taxes,
which are paid Ehe chiefs in proportion to the
extent Of theirtEtit0ries they consist Of mats,
feathers. and the produce Of the country. The
people celebrate AS festival by dancing, wres-
Ting and other aA lsemeuts.
The king -emdAs in the moral for the whole
ueriod: before Offering it, a singular ceremony
takes place. He.s obliged to stand till three
spears are dartedSat him He must catch the
first with his hanGtAnd with it ward of the other
two. This is moth mere formality. The spear
il thrown with the utmost force, and should the
king lose his life, there is no help for it.
At the Macaheie, which happened when | was
on the island, the oldest son of Tamaahmaab, a
youth about fifteen was invested with royal hon
ors, and entitled TO the same marks of respect as
his father. What share he bad in the govern
ment | did not learn bat l observed no altera-
ton in the exercise of the kings authority.
The houses of he natives are OF the simplest
form they are ObOng, with very low side walls,
and high-thatcheC roofs within, they are not
divided into separate apartments, nor have they
any tables or seats.
Ii is only by SIZE that the houses of the chiefs
are distinguished rom those of the lower orders,
for the same barnlike shape is universal. They
are, however, kept very clean and their house
nDl0 UTENSILS, CoLcihliUR Ul NOOQCu uleucS anu
calabashes, are hung, neatly arranged, upon the
walls. While the floors of the meaner houses
are bare, except the place for sleeping, where q
few mats are spTetd, those of the higher orders
are entirely covered over with mats, many of
which are worked with great elegance into differ
ent patterns. At one end, a platform raised
about three feet from the ground, which extends
the whole breadth of the apartment, is spread
with a layer of rushe, and covered with mats.
This forms the sleeping place for the upper part
of the family; the attendants sleep at the oppo-
site end.
As the two sexes never eat together, the chiefs
have always a sepaate eating-house, and even
the lower ranks haze one to every six or seven
families for the men. The women take their
food in the same houses in which they sleep.
Few of the houses, except the largest, have
any windows; the light being admitted by the
the upper ranks are generally surrounded by a
paling. In all of them the utmost attention to
cleanliness prevails.
Their mode of cooking has been often described.
Poey, or tarO-pud1ing, which is the. principal
food of all ranks, Is prepared by baking the root
poured. 1t is afterwards scraped, mashed, and
mixed with cold water. When newly made 1t is
not unpalatable, but it soon turns sour.
Fish are often eaten raw, seasoned with salt
water. When cooked, they are either done in
their usual manner, under ground, or broiled, by
putting them, hfdfJ III ledfesy upon tHe HIe-
When the leaves are burnt, they consider them
ready.
They preserve pork by taking out the bones,
and rubbing 1t well with salt after which it is
made up in rolls, and dried.
They frequently eat with their pork a kind of
pudding made of hro-root, which is previously
cut in slices, and dried in the sun it keeps a
great length of time, and is a good substitute for
bread. In this state it is preferred by the white
people. The natives preserve it for taking to sea,
by MASKING and forming 1T into a solid paste,
when it is wrapped in leaves, and will keep fresh
for five or six weeks.
The sugar-cane, which they chew, is also a
general article Of food.
Instead of candles, the ~tootooee nut is used,
which being of an'oily nature, yields a consider
able quantity of light. 1t grows upon Il small
tree and is about the size of a hOrse-chesnut.
When pulled, they are thrown into water, and
those that sink are reckoned sound they are
then baked under ground, and their shells broken
off, in which state they are kept till required.
When used as candles, they string twenty or
thirty upon a slit of bamboo, each of which will
burn five or six. minutes; but they require con-
slant trimming, and 1T is necessary to reverse the
torch whenever a nut is consumed, that the one
under it may catch fire. IT mnst. therefore, be
held by q person whose business 1t IS to keep It
always in order, 49, -
Ihis nut, when pressed, yields an oil well
adapted for mixing with paint. The black color
by which their canoes are painted, is produced
by burning the nuts after they are pressed, and
by the cinders of the torches, which are carefully
preserved for the purpose these are reduced to
powder, and mixed with oil.
CTO be contiRHeI.l