The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-29

,.,ch Thouo Of inferior rank, who were
Obliged in the exercise of their calling 70 DO
much exposed 10 the sun and air, were OF q DARK
brown, while those of superior rank, VINO spens
most of their time in their houses under shelter.
wero seldom browner tho women particularly
than that kind Of brunette which many In Eu-
roma prefer TO the finest red and WHITE
Banks noted that what We term complexion
they seldom have, though some he saw
show a blush very manifestly. Thie
he attributed to the thickness OF their
skin. but that fault was. in his opinion, well
| compensated by their infinite smoothness, much
superior to anything TO be met with In Europe.
The men. as we have said, W. should deem
large. Banks found ono who measured six feeo
| three and a-half inches. The superior women,
also, were MS tall as Europeans, but the infS..e7
sort were generally small. Their hair war ale
most universally black, and rather coarse; this
the women always wore cropped short arouhA
their cars. The men. on the other hand. woreN
| in various ways. sometimes allowing It TO grow
very long. and tying It at the top OF
| their heads, or letting IL hang loose on
their shoulders. Their boards tho mon wore
in many different fashions, always. however,,
~plucking out q large part Of them. and keeping
what was left very clean and neat. Both sexes
eradicated every hair from under their armpitas
and they looked upon Il as q great mark OF un.
cleanliness In the Englishmen that they did NOE
do the same. They were certainly as cleanly q
people as any under the sun. They all washed
their whole bodies In running water as soon 40
they rose in the morning. again at noon. and
again before they slept at night. II they had
not such waterN4n ar their houses, A. often
happens. they would 20 G long way to get Il.
Their clothes. also, as we'll rs their persona.
wero kept almost without spot or stain; the
superior people spent much of tholr time IN 70.
pairing and dyeinR cloths, which seemed to be
favorite occupation for tho women. Their
clothes were mado either of q kind OF
cloth manufactured from the bark of Q tree, or
from mats of several sorts. A piece OF CLOTH
generally two yards wide and eleven long, was
accounted sunicient clothing for any one. ana
this was put on in . thousand different waya.
The formal dress, however, for the women was
q kind of petticoat wrapped around their hips.
and reaching to about the middle OF their legs.
To this was added one. two, or three pieces Of
thick cloth, about two and a half yards long and
q yard wide, through q hole in tho middle OF
which they put their heads, and suffered the
sides to hang before and behind. the open edges
giving their arms liberty of movement. The
formal dress of tho mon differed but little
from this, their bodies being rather more
bare, however,; instead OF tho p~etticoas
they had a piece of cloth passed. between their
legs and around their waist Tho women
ut sunset always barred their bodies down
to tho waist, which seemed to DO for them .
kind of easy undress. Both sexes would shade
their faces from tho sun with little bonnets Of
cocoanut leaves. OF mating they had several
sorts. some very fine, which was used instead Of
cloth for their dresses, chiefly in rainy weather.
as their clothes would not bear the least wet.
OF ornaments they had but few. They wore
very fond Of earrings. but wore them only in
ono ear. They wero also very fond Of flowers,
especially of tho Capo Jasmine. These they
stuck into tho holes OF their ears. and into their
hair, IL they had enough Of them, which was
but seldom. The mon woro feathers, often the
tails Of tropic birds. stuck upright in their hair.
They also had a kind of wig. made upon one
string. Of tho hair Of men or dora, or
of cocoanut fibre, which they tied on
their hair at tho back of the head.
Their pride in dress seemed to be centred in
what they called Tdmou- which was human
hair plated scarcely thicker than common
thread. or this Banks afirms that he had seen
pieces above q mile in length. worked on end
without q single knot, and he had seen nve or
six of such pieces wound round the head of one
woman. the effect Of which was most becoming.
Disagreeable to Europeans was their custom of
amounting their heads with oil. The oil used was 0
that of the cocoanut. in which some sweet-smell-
ing woods or flowers had been infused Most
commonly. however. 1t was very rancid. Hence
the wearers of 1t smelled unpleasantly. but
Banks found that he soon got reconoiled to Il.
Tho practice OF tattooing Banks found uni
sSho@As Az wv oo"s ao - oihkhG uutk Q
son who was untattooed. Tho operation was per-
formed between the ages Of fourteen and eigh-
teen: what WAS done was to inlay lampblack IN
der the skin, In such o manner as to be indelible.
Tho instruments for pricking this under the
skin were made Of fiat bono or shell, the lower
part of which was cut into sharp teeth. The
teeth were dipped into lampblaok made nuid by
the addition of water. and then driven by quick.
sharp blows struck upon tho handle. with Q
stick used for that purpose, into the skin, 90
deeply that every stroke was followed by Q
small effusion of blood, and the part 90 marked
remained sore for many days. The operation
seems to have been e1quisitely painful: Banks
saw it performed on tho buttocks of . girl
about IA years of age; for some time she
bore it with great fortitude. but after
ward began TO ~whimper. and In q little
time grew so outrageous that all tho threats
and force her friends could use could hardly
prevail on her to endure It. 1t appears that the
faces were generally left without any marks; 90
to tho rest OF the body, the number and situa-
tion of the figures depended. for tho most part,
entirely on the humor of tho individual. AL
most all the islanders, however. soon by Banks
agreed In having their buttocks covered with q
deep black. Above this most had arches, per-
haps q quarter Of an inch broad. drawn one
above the other as high as tho short riba.
These arches were sources of great pride.
Both men and women showed them with keen
pleasure. whether as a mark of beauty or asa
proof of their resolution in bearing pain,
~.
The houses. or rather dwellings. of these pee
pie wero admirably adapted tn the continual
warmth of the climate. They wero not olus.
tered in villages and towns. but placed separate.
each from the other, according to tho size of the
estate possessed by tho owner. They were al.
ways in the woods. and no moro ground was
cleared for each house than was Just sun1cient
to hinder the dropping from the branches from
rottinE the matched roof. Consequently, one
stepped from the house Immediately under
shade, and that the most beautiful Imaginable.
Sir Joseph Banks declared that no country in
Europe could boast OF such delightful walks.
for the whole Of the plains where tho people
lived were covered with groves of bread fruit