The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World, Vol. III. Being the First of the Second VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World, Vol. III. Being the First of the Second Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
Their clothing is the same as at Otaheite, and made of the same
materials; but they have it not in such plenty, nor is it so good. The
men, for the most part, have nothing to cover their nakedness, except
the _Marra_, as it is called at Otaheite, which is a slip of cloth
passed round the waist and betwixt the legs. This simple dress is quite
sufficient for the climate, and answers every purpose modesty requires.
The dress of the women is a piece of cloth, wrapped round the loins like
a petticoat, which reaches down below the middle of the leg, and a loose
mantle over their shoulders. Their principal head-dress, and what
appears to be their chief ornament, is a sort of broad fillet, curiously
made of the fibres of the husk of cocoa-nuts. In the front is fixed a
mother-of-pearl shell wrought round to the size of a tea-saucer. Before
that another, smaller, of very fine tortoise-shell, perforated into
curious figures. Also before, and in the centre of that, is another
round piece of mother-of-pearl, about the size of half-a-crown; and
before this another piece of perforated tortoise-shell, the size of a
shilling. Besides this decoration in front, some have it also on each
side, but in smaller pieces; and all have fixed to them the
tail-feathers of cocks or tropic-birds, which, when the fillet is tied
on, stand upright; so that the whole together makes a very sightly
ornament. They wear round the neck a kind of ruff or necklace, call it
which you please, made of light wood, the out and upper side covered
with small red peas, which are fixed on with gum. They also wear small
bunches of human hair, fastened to a string, and tied round the legs and
arms. Sometimes, instead of hair, they make use of short feathers; but
all the above-mentioned ornaments are seldom seen on the same person.
I saw only the chief, who came to visit us, completely dressed in this
manner. Their ordinary ornaments are necklaces and amulets made of
shells, &c. I did not see any with ear-rings, and yet all of them had
their ears pierced.
Their dwellings are in the valleys, and on the sides of the hills, near
their plantations. They are built after the same manner as at Otaheite;
but are much meaner, and only covered with the leaves of the bread-tree.
The most of them are built on a square or oblong pavement of stone,
raised some height above the level of the ground. They likewise have
such pavements near their houses, on which they sit to eat and amuse
themselves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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