The Life of Captain James Cook, the CircumnavigatorKitson, Arthur
History
The Life of Captain James Cook, the Circumnavigator
Kitson, Arthur
Cook, James, 1728-1779; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Geographers -- Great Britain -- Biography
As the wind proved contrary, and it was understood that the king's son
was to be initiated into the estate of manhood, eating with his father
for the first time, Cook determined to remain a few days longer. A party
of the officers went over to the island of Moa, where the ceremony was to
be held, and found the king in a very dirty enclosure, drinking kava; and
as the method of preparing this beverage was uninviting to Europeans,
they went for a walk till about ten o'clock. Finding large numbers of
people assembling in an open space near a large building they rejoined
the king, taking off their hats and untying their hair, "that we might
appear the more decent" in the eyes of the natives. The proceedings
consisted of marching of men laden with yams tied on to sticks, of
considerable speech-making, and various performances of which the
signification could not be understood, and then the prince made his
appearance. He seated himself with a few of his friends on the ground,
and some women wound a long piece of cloth round them, and after some
more speech-making and mysterious pantomime with sticks representing
yams, the proceedings ended for the day. As there were signs that so many
white onlookers was not altogether acceptable to the natives, some of the
party returned to the ships; but Cook resolved to see it out, and joined
the king at supper, and the latter enjoyed some brandy and water so much
that Cook says "he went to bed quite grogish. "
After breakfast Cook paid a visit to the prince and presented him was
enough English cloth to make a suit, receiving native cloth in return.
After dinner the people mustered for the remains of the ceremony, and
Cook determined to join the principal party, so he seated himself with
it, and would not understand when requested to leave. He was then
requested to bare his shoulders as a mark of respect, and immediately did
so, and was then no further molested. A somewhat similar performance was
gone through as the day before, but the significance of which could not
be ascertained, and then suddenly all the people turned their backs on
king and prince, who, Cook was afterwards informed, had had pieces of
roast yam given them to eat. An exhibition of boxing and wrestling was
then given, and after a speech or two the proceedings terminated. Cook
was informed that in about three months a much greater affair would take
place at which ten men would be sacrificed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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