Captain Cook's Journal During His First Voyage Round the World: Made in H. M. Bark "Endeavour", 1768-71Cook, James
History
Captain Cook's Journal During His First Voyage Round the World: Made in H. M. Bark "Endeavour", 1768-71
Cook, James
Oceania -- Discovery and exploration -- Early works to 1800; Voyages around the world -- Early works to 1800
Both sexes sometimes shade their faces from the Sun with little Bonnets
made of Cocoa-Nut leaves. Some have them of fine Matting, but this is
less common. They sometimes wear Turbands, but their Chief Headdress is
what they call Tomou, which is human Hair plaited scarce thicker than
common thread. Of this I can safely affirm that I have seen pieces near a
mile in length worked upon one end without a Knott. These are made and
worn only by the women, 5 or 6 such pieces of which they will sometimes
wind round their Heads, the effect of which, if done with taste, is very
becoming. They have Earings by way of Ornament, but wear them only at one
Ear. These are made of Shells, Stones, Berries, red pease, and some small
pearls which they wear 3 tied together; but our Beads, Buttons, etc.,
very soon supply'd their places.
[Customs of Tahiti.]
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
After their meals in the Heat of the day they often Sleep, middle Aged
people especially, the better sort of whom seem to spend most of their
time in eating and Sleeping. Diversions they have but few, shooting with
the Bow and Wrestling are the Chief; the first of which is confin'd
almost wholy to the Chiefs; they shoot for distance only, kneeling upon
one knee and dropping the Bow the instant of the Arrows parting from it.
I have seen one of them shoot an Arrow 274 yards, yet he looked upon it
as no Great Shotte.
Musick is little known to them, yet they are very fond of it; they have
only 2 Instruments--the flute and the Drum. The former is made of hollow
Bamboo about 15 inches long, in which are 3 Holes; into one of them they
blow with one Nostril, stopping the other with the thumb of the left
hand, the other 2 Holes they stop and unstop with their fingers, and by
this means produce 4 Notes, of which they have made one Tune, which
serves them upon all Occasions, to which they sing a number of songs
generally consisting of 2 lines and generally in rhime. At any time of
the day when they are Lazy they amuse themselves by singing these
Couplets, but especially after dark when their candles are lighted, which
are made of the Kernels of a Nutt abounding much in oil; these are stuck
upon a Skewer of Wood one upon another, and give a very Tolerable light,
which they often keep burning an hour after dark, and if they have
strangers in the House much longer. Their drums are made of a hollow
block of wood covered with Shark's Skin, and instead of Drumsticks they
use their hands. Of these they make out 5 or 6 tunes and accompany the
flutes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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