A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History; of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and; Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the; Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History; of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and; Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the; Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
Their cookery is exactly of the same sort with that already described in
the accounts that have been published of the other South Sea islands; and
though Captain Cook complains of the sourness of their tarrow puddings,
yet, in justice to the many excellent meals they afforded us in Karakakooa
Bay, I must be permitted to rescue them from this general censure, and to
declare, that I never eat better even in the Friendly Islands. It is
however remarkable, that they had not got the art of preserving the bread-
fruit, and making the sour paste of it called _Maihee_, as at the Society
Islands; and it was some satisfaction to as, in return for their great
kindness and hospitality, to have it in our power to teach them this useful
secret. They are exceedingly cleanly at their meals; and their mode of
dressing both their animal and vegetable food was universally allowed to be
greatly superior to ours. The chiefs constantly begin their meal with a
dose of the extract of pepper-root, brewed after the usual manner. The
women eat apart from the men, and are _tabooed_, or forbidden, as has been
already mentioned, the use of pork, turtle, and particular kinds of
plantains. However, they would eat pork with us in private; but we could
never prevail upon them to touch the two last articles.
The way of spending their time appears to be very simple, and to admit of
little variety. They rise with the sun; and, after enjoying the cool of the
evening, retire to rest a few hours after sun-set. The making of canoes and
mats forms the occupations of the _Erees_; the women are employed in
manufacturing cloth; and the _Towtows_ are principally engaged in the
plantations and fishing. Their idle hours are filled up with various
amusements. Their young men and women are fond of dancing; and on more
solemn occasions, they have boxing and wrestling matches, after the manner
of the Friendly Islands; though, in all these respects, they are much
inferior to the latter.
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