The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-11-16

| tung the feast lasted SIX days and nights.
All depends upon the amount Of money
the village elders expend At a banquet
Of this sort quantity rather than quality
appears to be the prevailing principle
Whole roasted pigs, from little porcine
babes up 70 200 pound hogs, boiled pork,
| pigs liver, tripe, kidneys, feet, jowls,
brain and ribs, fresh fish, smoked fish,
dried fish, devilfsh, chicken, duck and
goose, boiled, roasted, steamed, stewed
and fricasseed, crabs. prawns, shrimps,
crdwfsh, mussels, scallops, periwinkles,
sea conches, potatoes, sweet potatoes,
yams, cabbage, picked cabbage, onion,
! garlic, beans, peas, rice, millet, lentils,
cauliiower, leeks, shalot, chileis, gin
| ger, fruits, preserves, candies, pastry,
| cake, nuts, dried fruits, sauces, tea,
! Chinese wines and liquors make up the
! lengthy bill of fare of the occasion
1 must say that everything is we'll
| cooked and served. The whole roasted
| pigs would be a revelation TO many of
| our cooks. The skin is so crisp as to be
! genuine cracking, and the flesh within
| Is so well done as TO melt within the
| lips. When brought from the oven, it
| looks more like rich, red carving rath-
CT than a substantial and soon TO be, de-
molished roast. The boiled poultry, and
| especially the steamed, are as white as
| ivory. They may be trifle overlooked,
but that in land where gastric and
| enteric troubles are the leading evil Is
an advantage rather than otherwise.
Barring the whole roasts, everything
| else is served in rather small quantities
ON medium sized bowls and salvers-
This prevents waste, and also the con-
sumption of the more dainty dishes long
! before the collation. is over.
The cooking is done in the temple
! likewise and within full view of the
convives at the board and the people
about the premises.
The Drama.
Everywhere something was going on
at every moment In one shady nook,
under tree, a public reader was recit-
ing some spirited tale to the evident de-
light of a score of auditors. He held the
book in his hand, but seemed to know
each word by heart, as he seldom
glanced at its pages. He had pleasant
manner and n good voice, but he pitched
the latter in such a high key as TO make
it rather dissonant to q European ear.
There was one theater devoted TO
comedy and farce and second to trag
edy and moral drama. These theaters are
not buildings, as at home, nor even in
closures. They are platforms about 20
feet square, erected four feet above the
level of the ground. The trunks and
properties form wings on either side of
the stage and afford a partial privacy to
the actors for dressing and undressing
In front of both shows were chairs,
stools and wooden benches, ON which
sat the women, girls and little children
of the village They were all exquisite
~ neat, clean and nicely dressed. The
young girls wore gowns of bright col
ors or of white bordered with color.
They seemed all absorbed by the play
and never permitted their eyes to wan
der from the stage. Some of them were
very pretty, having milk and rose COM
plexions, luxuriant black hair, large
brown eyes, good features and very
shapely figures. The silk trousers showed
off the graceful outlines of their lower
limbs. 1t would have been q delightful
picture but for the poor, disfgured feet,
which seemed all the more cruelty mon
strous by the contrast.
The Whole World Kin.
There were marionettes, smaller than
ours, with figures only or inches
high, moved by silk threads so fine as
to be invisible at the distance of foot.
There were "shadowgraphs'' like those
familiar to patrons of variety theaters.
There were tiger theaters, queer little
shows worked by single performer as
in Punch and Judy, but using a tiger
as the hero and all sorts of other ami
mails as mis- successive victims. 1t did
not appeal much to the grown folks, but
was immensely popular with the little
ones, who crowded the space in front
of the box and expressed the hveliest
terror and delight at the ferocious ex-
ploits of the great carnivore. There
were acrobats and jugglers, giadiators
and gamblers The gladiators were boys
and youths trained to the calling, who
fought with sword against sword, shield
and dagger against sword, shield and
sword against spear, shield and dagger
and double sword against single sword.
They were Q1ite expert and alert and
tireless to a remarkable degree. At the
end of an encounter of half hours du-
ration they were almost as fresh as
when they began their arduous labor.
All these mountebanks and public en-
tertainers are welcome guests at a
country festival and find III them their
best harvests. They get each modest
stipend from the general fund and new
er pass the hat without reasonable
tribute from their spectators. They pass
the hat with great regularity
Polite and Cheerful.
Beggars are conspicuous by their alb
sence. The day before the festivities
the committee fee the chief or king of
the beggars and the village constable.
The services OF the latter are seldom re-
uuired, as the former curious character
keeps all his unclean followers far away
from the banqueting hall
An outsider cannot fail 10 be impress
ed with the good nature, politeness and
happiness of the people. They seem TO
be devoting their entire energy TO pure