The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.Cook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
Their clothing consists of cloth or matting of different kinds, which
will be described among their other manufactures. The cloth which will
not bear wetting they wear in dry weather, and the matting when it
rains: they are put on in many different ways, just as their fancy leads
them; for in their garments nothing is cut into shape, nor are any two
pieces sewed together. The dress of the better sort of women consists of
three or four pieces: one piece, about two yards wide, and eleven yards
long, they wrap several times round their waist, so as to hang down like
a petticoat as low as the middle of the leg, and this they call _Parou_:
two or three other pieces, about two yards and a half long, and one
wide, each having a hole cut in the middle, they place one upon another,
and then putting the head through the holes, they bring the long ends
down before and behind; the others remain open at the sides, and give
liberty to the arms: this, which they call the _Tebuta_, is gathered
round the waist, and confined with a girdle or sash of thinner cloth,
which is long enough to go many times round them, and exactly resembles
the garment worn by the inhabitants of Peru and Chili, which the
Spaniards call _Poncho_. The dress of the men is the same, except that,
instead of suffering the cloth that is wound about the hips to hang down
like a petticoat, they bring it between their legs so as to have some
resemblance to breeches, and it is then called _Maro_. This is the dress
of all ranks of people, and being universally the same as to form, the
gentlemen and ladies distinguish themselves from the lower people by the
quantity; some of them will wrap round them several pieces of cloth,
eight or ten yards long, and two or three broad; and some throw a large
piece loosely over their shoulders, in the manner of a cloak; or perhaps
two pieces, if they are very great personages, and are desirous to
appear in state. The inferior sort, who have only a small allowance of
cloth from the tribes or families to which they belong, are obliged to
be more thinly clad. In the heat of the day, they appear almost naked,
the women having only a scanty petticoat, and the men nothing but the
sash that is passed between their legs and fastened round the waist. As
finery is always troublesome, and particularly in a hot country, where
it consists in putting one covering upon another, the women of rank
always uncover themselves as low as the waist in the evening, throwing
off all that they wear on the upper part of the body, with the same
negligence and ease as our ladies would lay by a cardinal or double
handkerchief. And the chiefs, even when they visited us, though they had
as much cloth round their middle as would clothe a dozen people, had
frequently the rest of the body quite naked.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account