Otaheite

“ This is what appeared to me to be the then state of Otaheite. The other islands, that is, Huaheine, Ulietea, and Otaha, were in a more flourishing state than they were when I was there before. Since that time, they had enjoyed the blessing of peace; the people seemed to be as happy as any under heaven; and well they may, for they possess not only the necessaries, but many of the luxuries of life in the greatest profusion; and my young man told me that hogs, fowls, and fruits, are in equal plenty at Bola-bola, a thing which Tupia would never allow. ”

“ I had never met with a behaviour so free from reserve and suspicion, in my intercourse with any tribes of savages, as we experienced in the people of this island. It was very common for them to send up into the ship the several articles they brought off for barter; afterward, they would come in themselves, and make their bargains on the quarter-deck. The people of Otaheite, even after our repeated visits, do not care to put so much confidence in us. I infer from this, that those of Owhyhee must be more faithful in their dealings with one another, than the inhabitants of Otaheite are. ”

“ In the first missionary voyage, in the year 1797, the natives of Otaheite are thus described:
'Natural colour olive, inclining to copper; the women, who carefully clothe themselves, and avoid the sun-beams, are but a shade or two darker than an European brunette; their eyes are black and sparkling; their teeth white and even; their skin soft and delicate; their limbs finely turned; their hair jetty, perfumed and ornamented with flowers; they are in general large and wide over the shoulders; we were therefore disappointed in the judgement we had formed from the report of preceding visitors ”

“ The people at Otaheite, as we learn from Captain Cook, in his account of Tee's embalmed corpse, make use of cocoa-nut oil, and other ingredients, in rubbing the dead bodies. The people of the Ladrones, Father Le Gobien tells us, sometimes do the same—D'autres frottent les morts d'huile odoriferante. 8. The inhabitants of Otaheite believe the immortality of the soul ”

“ Particularly was this the case with the women; perhaps because they, in Otaheite as elsewhere, are more loving in their nature, and readier to give of their very life in love.
“When a woman takes a husband,” says a historian of the first missionary work in Otaheite, “she immediately provides herself with a shark’s tooth, which is fixed, with the bread-fruit gum, on an instrument that leaves about a quarter of an inch of the tooth bare, for the purpose of wounding the head, like a lancet. Some of these have two or three teeth, and struck forcibly they bring blood in copious streams ”

“ They have traditions concerning the creation, which, as might be expected, are complex and clouded with obscurity. They say, that a goddess, having a lump or mass of earth suspended in a cord, gave it a swing, and scattered about pieces of land, thus constituting Otaheite and the neighbouring islands, which were all peopled by a man and woman, originally fixed at Otaheite. ”

“ Eimeo, or, as the natives usually call it, Morea, is the nearest to Otaheite, its distance from the western coast being only about four leagues.--It is reckoned ten miles long, from north to south, and half as much in breadth. It has several harbours, and is intersected by considerable valleys of a fertile appearance. The natives, who are at present dependent on Otaheite, are said to be as much addicted to thieving as those of that island. The women are inferior in attractions to any in their neighbourhood. ”

“ The chiefs of districts at Otaheite are powerful princes, who have not more respect for Otoo than the Greek heroes had for the "king of men;" and the common people are so little noticed in the Iliad, that they appear to have had no greater consequence, than the towtows in the South Seas. ”

“ Having little or no wind, we rowed pretty fast towards Tofoa, which bore north-east about ten leagues from us. While the ship was in sight, she steered to the west-north-west; but I considered this only as a feint; for when we were sent away, “Huzza for Otaheite!” was frequently heard among the mutineers.
It will very naturally be asked, What could be the reason for such a revolt? In answer to which, I can only conjecture that the mutineers had flattered themselves with the hopes of a more happy life among the Otaheitans than they could possibly enjoy in England ”

“ They accordingly sailed from Toobouai about the latter end of the month, and arrived at Otaheite on the 6th June. The Otoo, or reigning sovereign, and other principal natives, were very inquisitive and anxious to know what had become of Lieutenant Bligh and the rest of the crew, and also what had been done with the bread-fruit plants? ”

“ Their manner of addressing strangers, from the king to the meanest subject, is courteous and affable in the extreme.... They certainly live amongst each other in more harmony than is usual amongst Europeans. During the whole time I was amongst them I never saw such a thing as a battle.... I never remember to have seen an Otaheitean out of temper. They jest upon each other with greater freedom than the Europeans, but these jests are never taken in ill part.... With regard to food, it is, I believe, an invariable law in Otaheite that whatever is possessed by one is common to all. ”

“ The language of Otaheite has many words, and even phrases, quite unlike those of the islands to the westward of it, which all agree; and this island is remarkable for producing great quantities of that delicious fruit we call apples, which are found in none of the others, except Eimeo. It has also the advantage of producing an odoriferous wood, called eahoi, which is highly valued at the other isles, where there is none; nor even in the south-east peninsula, or Tiaraboo, though joining it. ”

“ There cannot be a greater proof of the riches and fertility of Otaheite (not forty leagues in circuit) than its supporting such a number of inhabitants.
This island made formerly but one kingdom; how long it has been divided into two, I cannot pretend to say; but I believe not long. The kings of Tiarabou are a branch of the family of those of Opoureonu; at present, the two are nearly related; and, I think, the former is, in some measure, dependent on the latter. Otoo is styled Earee de hie of the whole island ”

“ A long time since there lived in Otaheite two men, called Taheeai, the only name they yet have for cannibals; none knew from whence they came, or in what manner they arrived at the island. Their habitation was in the mountains, from whence they used to issue, and kill many of the natives, whom they afterward [pg 131] devoured, and by that means prevented the progress of population. Two brothers, determined to rid their country of such a formidable enemy, used a stratagem for their destruction, with success. ”

“ The number of inhabitants at Otaheite have been estimated at above one hundred thousand. The island however is not cultivated to the greatest advantage: yet were they continually to improve in husbandry their improvement could not for a length of time keep pace with an unlimited population. ”

“ Nevertheless, the affinity of their language to that spoken in Otaheite and the Society Isles, shows that they are of the same nation. Oedidee could converse with them tolerably well, though we could not; but it was easy to see that their language was nearly the same.
The men are punctured, or curiously tattooed from head to foot. The figures are various, and seem to be directed more by fancy than custom. These punctuations make them look dark; but the women, who are but little punctured, youths, and young children who are not at all, are as fair as some Europeans. The men are in general tall ”

“ It is elsewhere remarked, that the bodies of both sexes are marked with the black stains called Amoco, like the tattowing of the Otaheitans, but that the women are not so lavish in the decoration as the men, and that whereas at Otaheite the breech is the choice spot for the display of their beautifying ingenuity, in New Zealand, on the contrary, it is almost entirely neglected as unworthy of embellishment. ”

“ Soon after our arrival, and while dinner was preparing, a messenger arrived from Eimeo, and related the conditions of the peace, or rather of the truce, it being only for a limited time. The terms were disadvantageous to Otaheite; and much blame was thrown upon Otoo, whose delay, in sending reinforcements, had obliged Towha to submit to a disgraceful accommodation. It was even currently reported, that Towha, resenting his not being supported, had declared, that, as soon as I should leave the island, he would join his forces to those of Tiaraboo, and attack Otoo at Matavai, or Oparre. ”

“ Those of Otaheite do not inter their dead, but expose them to waste by time and putrefaction, though the bones are afterward buried; and as this is the case, it is very remarkable that they should inter the entire bodies of their human sacrifices. They also offer other animals and vegetables to their gods; but are by no means attentive to the state of the sacred places where those solemn rites are performed; most of their morais being in a ruinous condition, and bearing evident marks of neglect. The people of Atooi, again, inter both their common dead and human sacrifices, as at Tongataboo ”

“ The Otaheiteans have the most perfect easiness of manners, equally free from forwardness and formality. When they offer refreshments if they are not accepted they do not think of offering them the second time ”

“ In this brief spell of daily increasing twilight the desolate region took on a grey-blue hue; the natives, as they appeared outside their shelters, looked like greyish spectres. Ootah felt the grim grey desolation color his soul.
He had regained his strength, and his wounds had healed with the remarkable rapidity that nature effects in people who lead a primitive life; only the hurt in his heart remained. Annadoah had often visited him, and while he lay on his bed of furs she had boiled ahmingmah meat and made hot water over the lamp very solicitously. ”

“ In the dancing shadows Annadoah saw the semblance of the form of the blond chief. Joylessly Ootah built his own home.
And in their houses, in celebration of the fall of night, the natives continued their grotesque dances. Beating membrane drums, and singing jerky chants, they danced frenziedly, forcing a false hilarity. They felt the overwhelming approach of the dread spectre of famine. In their dances some sobbed, others passed into uncontrollable hysteria.
Ootah alone did not indulge in the fierce ceremonies. His own igloo built, day after day, night after night, he sat alone. ”

“ For three days and nights, spell and spell, on the cover and in the water, we drifted over the ocean. Toward the last I was delirious most of the time, and there were times, too, when I heard Otoo babbling and raving in his native tongue. Our continuous immersion prevented us from dying of thirst, though the sea water and the sunshine gave us the prettiest imaginable combination of salt pickle and sunburn. In the end, Otoo saved my life; for I came to, lying on the beach twenty feet from the water, sheltered from the sun by a couple of cocoanut leaves. ”

“ A cripple is hardly ever seen among them in early life. A rickety child is never known; anything resembling it would reflect the highest disgrace on the mother.
'The Otaheitans have no partitions in their houses; but, it may be affirmed, they have in many instances more refined ideas of decency than ourselves; and one, long a resident, scruples not to declare, that he never saw any appetite, hunger and thirst excepted, gratified in public. It is too true that, for the sake of gaining our extraordinary curiosities, and to please our brutes, they have appeared immodest in the extreme. ”

“ His face sank dangerously near the face of the girl. She panted into full consciousness and struggled to free herself. Ootah helped her to her feet.
"The winter comes . . . and famine," muttered Annadoah, hopelessly. She pointed to the gaunt, hollow-eyed shadow, empurpled-robed, against the frozen cliffs. "My heart is cold—I am resigned to death."
"But I have come to give furs for thy couch," murmured Ootah, a beseeching look in his eyes. "Thou wilt need shelter—I shall build thee an igloo. Thou wilt need food—I shall share all that I have with thee and seek more. Thou wilt need oil for heat. ”

“ The persons of the Otaheitan men are in general tall, strong, well-limbed and finely shaped; equal in size to the largest of Europeans. The women of superior rank are also above the middle stature of Europeans, but the inferior class are rather below it. The complexion of the former class is that which we call a brunette, and the skin is most delicately smooth and soft. The shape of the face is comely, the cheek bones are not high, neither are the eyes hollow, nor the brow prominent ”

“ Nothing could be more dissimilar than the features and the respective characters of Otho and Warbeck. Otho’s countenance was flushed with the brown hues of health; his eyes were of the brightest hazel: his dark hair wreathed in short curls round his open and fearless brow; the jest ever echoed on his lips, and his step was bounding as the foot of the hunter of the Alps. Bold and light was his spirit; if at times he betrayed the haughty insolence of youth, he felt generously, and though not ever ready to confess sorrow for a fault, he was at least ready to brave peril for a friend. ”