The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1922-06-09

Some Of the tapus for the guild
ance of the women would probably in
cite a suffragette to spectacular wrath.
Without exception on any island, wom-
en- might not eat 'long pig; nor brown
pig, a delicacy much enjoyed by the
men folks in the absence Of the longer
variety.
Nor daily with bonita or squid, the
two fishes most in favor with the
Marquesan palate.
Nor, except On special occasions, eat
fresh breadfruit, bananas, or coconut.
Nor could they go in canoes, a pro-
vision to keep them from being cap
tured by enemies lurking outside the
bay.
And, a tapu savoring of Solomon in
it's wisdom, women could not weep!
It would be a grave error to con-
clude from the taboos mentioned that
the life Of the Marquesan woman was
hard one.
They Had No Agriculture.
Agriculture in any form was un-
known. The natives took the bounti-
full variety of flora the islands provid-
ed, but to assist nature in any way
by tilling or replanting never occurred
to them. Content with their gratifica-
ton of the desires of the day, the
Marquesans took literally no thought
for the morrow.
The most favored intoxicant in the
Marquesas is namu-ehi, OF, as 1t is
more commonly known, koko. Ehi Is
Marquesan for coconut, and it is from
the coco palm that this most 1nsldious
and delectable of drinks is made. A
tall coco palm that has been wind
blown so that its plumy top leans far
out of the perpendicular, is chosen.
The buds, from which eventually fifty
or sixty nuts would be produced, grow
in a compact, oblong cluster near the
top of the palm. The native climbs
the tree and, using long strips of
bark or fiber, binds the cluster of
blossoms tightly round and round, until
the result resembles a huge, fat cigar
protruding from the fronds. Under
meath the point of this bowl Is sus-
pended and the tip end Of the wrap
ping sliced off.
After the second day it begins to
drip freely, but the end must be sliced
fresh every twenty-four hours to stim-
ulate the flow. In this manner tree
will furnish one or more gallons day
for several weeks.
When fresh from the tree the bev-
erage resembles a delicious lemonade,
with a flavor which would make the
| fortune Of a soft-drfhk manufacturer
| who could reproduce it. Fermentation
takes place speedily. however, and In
! a few hours your soft drink has "hard-
ened" into vicious man-killer that
only savage can go against with
| impunity.
Captain Cooks report placed the
Maruuesas literally and figuratively
ION the map" That was 145 years
ago, and since then the history of the
islands is the tragic story Of losing
| fight by a race Of savages against a
civilization represented In this instance
| by the whaler, the missionary, the
trader, the "blackbirder," and finally
their conquest and subjugation by
foreign power.
In 1912 Admiral Du Petit-Thouars
took possession of the entire group In
the name of France, ostensibly to pro-
tect the missionaries in their labors for
Christianity. Forts were built on sew
eral of the islands and troops Installed
to enforce French authority.
The ensuing fifty years is record
of desultory warfare between the
French soldiers and the Marquesan
warriors, in which the latter, always
at war with each other and poorly
armed, were constantly defeated; OF
'.blackblrders" from North and South
America, who raided the weakened
villages and sold the men and women
into slavery in far-off lands, and of
the frightful ravages of smallpox,
tuberculosis, leprosy, and other con-
l l.