The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks 1768–1771 [Volume One]

June 1769

page 284

June 1769

1. The boat could not be got ready till after dinner when we set out; we rowd most of the night and came to a grapling just under the land of Imáo.

2. Soon after day break we saw an Indian canoe and upon hailing her she shewed us an inlet through the reef, into [which] we pulld and soon fixd upon a Coral rock about 150 yards from the shore as a very proper situation for our Observatory;¹ it was about 80 yards long and 60 broad and had in the middle of it a bed of white sand large enough for our tents to stand upon. The 2^nd Lieutent and people therefore immediately set about it while I went upon the main Island to trade with the inhabitants for provisions, of which I soon bought a sufficient supply. Before night our observatory was in order, telescopes all set up and tried &c. and we went to rest anxious for the events of tomorrow; the evening having been very fine gave us however great hopes of success.

3. Various were the Changes observd in the weather during the course of last night, some one or other of us was up every half hour who constantly informd the rest that it was either clear or Hazey, at day break we rose and soon after had the satisfaction of seeing the sun rise as clear and bright as we could wish him. I then wishd success to the observers M^SRS Gore and Monkhouse and repaird to the Island, where I could do the double service of examining the natural produce and buying provisions for my companions who were engagd in so usefull a work. About eight a large quantity of provisions were procurd when I saw two boats coming towards the place where I traded; these I was told belongd to Tarróa² the King of the Island who was coming to pay me a visit. As soon as the boats came near the shore the people formd a lane; he landed bringing with him his sister Nuna³ and both came towards the tree under which I stood. I went out and met them and brought them very formaly into a circle I had made, into which I had before sufferd none of the natives to come. Standing is not the fashion among these people, I must provide them a seat, which I did by unwrapping a turban of Indian cloth which I wore instead of a hat and spreading it upon the ground; upon this we all sat down and the kings present was brought Consisting

¹ This was the islet of Irioa, just inside the reef beyond the Taotoi pass, almost at the north-west point of Moorea.

² Ta'aroa.

³ This may be the correct form of the name.

page 285 of a hog, a dog and a quantity of Bread fruit Cocoa nuts &c. I immediately sent a canoe to the Observatory to fetch my present, an adze a shirt and some beads with which his majesty seemd well satisfied. Tubourai and Tamio who came with us now came from the observatory; she said that she was related to Tarroa and brought him a present, a long nail and a shirt, which she gave to Nuna. After the first Internal contact was over I went to my Companions at the observatory carrying with me Tarroa, Nuna and some of their cheif atendants; to them we shewd the planet upon the sun and made them understand that we came on purpose to see it. After this they went back and myself with them. I spent the rest of the day in examining the produce &c. of the Island and found it very nearly similar to that of Otahite, the people exactly the same, indeed we saw many of the Identical same people as we had often seen at Otahite, and every one knew well every kind of trade we had and the value it bore in that Island. The hills in general came nearer to the water and flats were consequently less, and less Fertile, than at Otahite—the low point near which we lay was composd intirely of sand and coral. Here neither Breadfruit nor any usefull vegetables would grow; it was coverd over with Pandanus tectorius¹ and with these grew several plants we had not seen at Otahite, among them Iberis,² which M^r Gore tells me is the plant calld by the voyagers scurvy grass which grows plentifully upon all the low Islands.

At sunset I came off having purchasd another hog from the King. Soon after my arrival at the tent 3 hansome girls came off in a canoe to see us, they had been at the tent in the morning with Tarroa, they chatted with us very freely and with very little perswasion agreed to send away their carriage and sleep in [the] tent, a proof of confidence which I have not before met with upon so short an acquaintance.

4. We prepard ourselves to depart, in spite of the intreaties of our fair companions who persuaded us much to stay. What with presents and trade our stock of Provisions was so large that we were obligd to give away a large quantity. This done we put off and before night arrivd at the tents, where we had the great satisfaction that the observation there had been attended with as much success as M^r Green and the Cap^tn could wish, the day having been

¹ There are many varieties of Fara or pandanus, growing both on high and on low ground; Banks is probably referring to the common Fara-iri, much used in the islands for mats.

² Lepidium bidentatum Montin (L. piscidium Forst. <JDH>). Parkinson's drawing is labelled ‘Ulhietea [i.e. Raiatea] 1769’. Thellung refers this sp. to L. hyssopifolium.

page 286 perfectly clear not so much as a cloud interveining. We also heard the melancholy news that a large part of our stock of Nails had been purloind by some of the ships company during the time of the Observation, when every body was ashore who had any degree of command. One of the theives was detected but only 7 nails were found upon him out of 100 W^t and he bore his punishment without impeaching any of his acomplices. This loss is of a very serious nature as these nails if circulated by the people among the Indians will much lessen the value of Iron, our staple commodity.

5. During our absence at Imao an old woman of some consequence, a relation of Tamio, was dead and was plac'd not far from the fort to rot above ground as is the custom of the Island. I went this morn to see her. A small square was neatly raild in with Bamboe and in the midst of it a Canoe awning set up upon two posts, in this the body was laid coverd with fine cloth. Near this was laid fish &c. meat for the gods not for the deceasd, but to satisfie the hunger of the deitys least they shoud eat the body, which Tubourai told us they would certainly do if this ceremony was neglected. In the front of the square was a kind of stile or place lower than the rest, where the relations of the deceasd stood when they cry'd or bled themselves, and under the awning were numberless rags containing the blood and tears they had shed. Within a few yards were two occasional houses; in one of them some of the relations constantly remaind generaly a good many; in the other the cheif male mourner resided and kept a very remarkable Dress in which he performd a ceremony, both which I shall describe when. I have an opportunity of seeing it in perfection which Tubourai promises me I shall soon have.

This day we kept the Kings birthday which had been delayd on account of the absence of the two observing parties; several of the Indians dind with us and drank his majesties health by the name of Kihiargo, for we could not teach them to pronounce a word more like King George. Tupia however to shew his Loyalty got most enormously drunk.

6. In walking into the woods yesterday I saw in the hands of an Indian an Iron tool made in the shape of the Indian adzes, very different I was sure from any thing that had been carried out or made either by the Dolphin or this ship. This excited my curiosity, much the more so when I was told that it did not come out of either of those ships but from two others which came here together. This was a discovery not to be neglected. With much dificulty and labour page 287 I at last got the following account of them, viz. that in their month of Pėpėrė which answers to our January 1768¹ 2 Spanish ships came here commanded by a man whoom they calld To Otterah;² that they lay 8 days in a bay calld Hidea,³ some leagues to the eastward of Matavie where the ship now lies; that during their stay they sent tents ashore and some slept in them; that they were cheifly connected with a cheif whose name was Orėttė,⁴ whose younger brother⁵ they carried away with them promising to return in nine months; that they had on board their ships a woman;⁶ and that on their departure they stood to the westward as long as they were seen from the Island. I was very particular in these inquiries as the Knowledge got by them may be of some consequence. The methods I took to gain this account would be much too tedious to mention: one of my greatest dificulties was to determine of what nation they were which was done thus, I pointed to our colours and ask'd whether the ships had such or not. No, was the answer when the question was thouroughly understood. I opend a large sheet of Flaggs and askd which of them they had: Tubourai lookd stedfastly over them and at last pitchd upon the Spanish⁷ ensign and to that he adhered tho we tryd him over and over.

7. We were this morn visited by several of Dootahahs relations women especialy, probably to sound us upon the score of our usage at Atahourou. We had resolvd at that place rather to put up with our losses than to mattow⁸ or frighten the Indians, the consequence of which we knew to be scarcity of provisions;

¹ The lunar month Pipiri, generally taken to include parts of February and March. The MS is amended; Banks first had February 1767, then changed the year to 1768 and the month (apparently) to May, and finally deletes all this for January 1768. But it was in the first half of April 1768 that Bougainville paid his visit.

² This name is generally given as Toottera, as in Cook. It may be a rendering of Duclos, Bougainville's second in command; he himself was known as Putaveri.

³ Hitiaa was the district, but Haitaa is in the immediate vicinity of Bougainville's anchorage, and Hidea may signify this latter name.

⁴ Reti, Ereti, Oreti—there is some slight doubt about the chief's name.

⁵ The name Outorrou is given marginally: Ahutoru.

⁶ This was true—and a fact which astonished the French themselves. It was Jeanne Bare or Baret, whom, dressed as a man, the naturalist Philibert Commerson said he engaged in good faith as his valet on the quay-side at Brest. Her deceit was suspected, but not admitted, until the arrival in Tahiti, when a glance from the natives served to dispel it. Unfortunately for Commerson, he was a man of the most elevated and tedious sentiments on the subject of morality and refinement of taste, at the expense of his shipmates. The ribald laughter in which these shipmates then indulged may well have seemed to poor Commerson one of the corruptions of civilization with which he compared the primitive virtues of the Isle of Cythera, in his famous letter published in the Mercure de France, November 1769.

⁷ Bougainville disclaimed ever having flown the Spanish ensign.

⁸ matau, to fear; to frighten would be faa-matau. There is a note here in S: ‘Mattow in their Language signifies to frighten, or affront. Indeed the general consequence of frightening them, was their being affronted’.

page 288 we therefore treated these people very well, making them presents to tempt them to come again and bring Dootahah, king of the hogs as we calld him and certainly have always found him.

8. Fresh proofs of the Spanish ships every day in thing[s] of theirs which have been left here, among the rest a course shirt and a woolen jacket both of manufacture different from any English.

9. Yesterday and today the Heiva no Meduah¹ or funeral ceremony walkd. My curiosity was raisd by his most singular dress. I was desirous of knowing what he did during his walk; I askd Tubourai, at the same time desird leave to atend him tomorrow which upon my consenting to perform a character was readily granted. Tomorrow therefore I am to be smutted from head to foot and to do whatever they desire me to do. Bread fruit has for some time been scarce with us; about 10 days ago the trees were thinnd all at once from their being a great shew of fruit; every one was employd in making Mahie² for about a week. Where the breadfruit we now have comes from we cannot tell, but we have more than the woods in our neighbourhood can supply us with. Probably our consumption has thinnd the trees in this neighbourhood, as the Dolphins who came here about this time saw great plenty all the time they stayd; if this is the case what we now get may be brought from some neig[h]bouring place where the trees are not yet exhausted.

10. This evening according to my yesterdays engagement I went to the place where the medua lay, where I found Tubourai, Tamio, Hoona³ the Meduas daughter and a young Indian prepard to receve me. Tubourai was the Heiva, the three others and myself were to Ninėvėh.⁴ He put on his dress, most Fantastical tho not unbecoming, the figure annexd will explain it far better than

¹ Heiva no metua; metua, a parent, of either sex. As we see from the next entry and that for 26 June below, it was a ceremony of mourning for the mother of a young woman called Hoona or Huna.

² mahi, the ‘sour-paste’ made from breadfruit. See pp. 344–5 below.

³ Huna ?

⁴ neneva means fool or foolish, giddy; and nevaneva, mad, distracted (Davies, 1851). Some confusion of words is not unlikely. Cf. Journal of James Morrison, p. 233: ‘This Ceremony is also Calld Tyehaa [taihaa; tai, to weep or grieve] or Mourning, the Performers are Called Naynevva, Madmen Hevva tyehaa—Mourning Spirits, Gosts, or Spectres’. It is clear from Banks's description, the earliest we have, as well as from later ones, that the near-naked assistants were to act in as thoroughly terrifying a manner as possible, as if they were violently out of their minds with grief. There is no figure annexed in the MS to explain the dress of the Heiva (which was properly the ceremony itself, not the principal figure in it); but there is a drawing in B.M. Add. MS 15508, f. 9, entitled ‘Chief Mourner’, on which is founded the presentment in Plate V in Hawkesworth, II. There is also a pencil drawing by Spöring, entitled ‘Dress of the Chief Mourner’, B.M. Add. MS 23921.32. Henry (Ancient Tahiti, p. 293) says the ceremony was called hevatupapau, mourning for the corpse; the principal, a priest, seems to have represented the ghost of the deceased. See pl. 15.

page 289 words can.¹ I was next prepard by stripping off my European cloths and putting me on a small strip of cloth round my waist, the only garment I was allowd to have, but I had no pretensions to be ashamd of my nakedness for neither of the women were a bit more coverd than myself. They then began to smut me and themselves with charcoal and water, the Indian boy was compleatly black, the women and myself as low as our shoulders. We then set out. Tubourai began by praying twice, once near the Corps again near his own house. We then proceeded towards the fort: it was nesscessary it seems that the procession should visit that place but they dare not to do it without the sanction of some of us, indeed it was not till many assurances of our consent that they venturd to perform any part of their ceremonies. To the fort then we went to the surprize of our freinds and affright of the Indians who were there, for they every where fly before the Heiva like sheep before a wolf. We soon left it and proceeded along shore towards a place where above 100 Indians were collected together. We the Ninevehs had orders from the Heiva to disperse them, we ran towards them but before we cam[e] within 100 yards of them they dispers'd every way, running to the first shelter, hiding themselves under grass or whatever else would conceal them. We now crossd the river into the woods and passd several houses, all were deserted, not another Indian did we see for about £½ an hour that we spent in walking about. We the Ninevehs then came to the Heiva and said imatata,² there are no people; after which we repaird home, the Heiva undressd and we went into the river and scrubbd one another till it was dark before the blacking would come off.

11. This Evening Tubourai came to the tents bringing a bow and arrows, in consequence of a challenge M^r Gore had given him sometime ago to shoot. This challenge was however misunderstood, Tubourai meant to try who could shoot the farthest,³ M^r Gore to shoot at a mark and neither was at all practisd in what the other valued himself upon. Tubourai to please us shot in his

¹ S footnotes this as follows: ‘Alluding to a drawing of the Heiva note tatta Matte Dress [‘tatta Matte’ is presumably taata mate, dead man]. Besides the Nineveh going before, by way of giving notice of the approach of the Heiva; he (the Heiva) carries in one hand Shells of Mother of Pearl; which by his knoucking together, gives farther notice of his approach: and, should any Indian not get out of his way, he would beat him unmercifully with a Staff he carries: the top of which has many small, jagged points’. The British Museum has in its ethnological collection a specimen of the ‘Heiva's’ dress, together with the shell ‘clackers’ and a very dangerous-looking staff.

² aima taata.

³ Archery was an aristocratic sport in Tahiti, confined to the arii and generally held with great ceremony from sacred platforms; shooting was always for distance. The best description is in Ellis, Polynesian Researches, I, pp. 217–19.

page 290 way; he knelt down and drew the bow and as soon as he let slip the string droppd the bow from his hand, the arrow however went 274 yards.

12. In my mornings walk today I met a company of traveling musicians;¹, they told me where they should be at night so after supper we all repaird to the place. There was a large concourse of people round this band, which consisted of 2 flutes and three drums, the drummers acompanying their musick with their voices; they sung many songs generaly in praise of us, for these gentlemen like Homer of old must be poets as well as musicians. The Indians seeing us entertaind with their musick, askd us to sing them an English song, which we most readily agreed to and receivd much applause, so much so that one of the musicians became desirous of going to England to learn to sing. These people by what we can learn go about from house to house, the master of the house and the audience paying them for their musick in cloth, meat, beads or any thing else which the one wants and the other can spare.

13. M^r Monkhouse our surgeon met to day with an insult from an Indian, the first that has been met with by any of us. He was pulling a flower from a tree which grew on a burying ground and consequently was I suppose sacred,² when an Indian came behind him and struck him; he seiz'd hold of him and attempted to beat him, but was prevented by two more who coming up seizd hold of his hair and rescued their companion after which they all ran away.

14. I lay in the woods last night as I very often did. At day break I was calld up by M^r Gore and went with him shooting, from which party we did not return till night when we saw a large number of Canoes in the river behind the tents, of which we had this account. Last night an Indian was clever enough to steal a Coal rake out of the fort without being perceivd. In the Morning it was missing and Cap^tn Cooke being resolvd to recover it, as also to discourage such atempts for the future, went out with a party of men and seizd 25 of their large sailing Canoes which were just come in from Tethuroa,³ a neighbouring Island, with a supply of fish for the inhabitants of this. The Coal rake was upon this soon brought back but Cap^tn Cooke thought he had now in his hands an opportunity of recovering all the things which had been stolen: he therefore

¹ A company of arioi

² By ‘burying-ground’ Banks means a marae, which would certainly be tapu.

³ The atoll Tetiaroa, a group of five small islets within one reef, about 26 miles northwest of Moorca; it belonged to the arii of Pare, to whom it served as a sort of countryseat. Teturoa was an older name.

page 291 proclaimd to every one that till all the things which had been stolen from us were brought back the boats should not stir, a list of these was immediately drawn up and read several times to the Indians, who readily promisd that every thing should be brought back. Great application was made to me in my return that some of these might be releasd. I did not till I got to the fort understand the reason of their being detaind, and when I did nothing apeard so plain as that no one of them should on any account be let go from favour, but the whole kept till the things were [returnd] if ever they were, which I much doubted as the Canoes pretty certainly did not belong to the people who had stolen the things. I confess had I taken a step so violent I would have seizd either the persons of the people who had stolen from us, most of whoom we either knew or shrewdly suspected, or their goods at least instead of those of people who are intirely unconcernd in the affair and have not probably interest enough with their superiors (to whoom all valuable things are carried) to procure the restoration demanded.

15. Some few presents today but no trade at all. We found ourselves today involvd in an unexpected dificulty with regard to the boats: they were loaded with provisions which their owners must live upon or starve, in consequence of which they ask leave to go and take them out and are allowd to do so as much as they can eat. We are not able however to distinguish the true owners, so many avail themselves of this indulgence by stealing their neighbours which we cannot prevent, indeed in a few days more the whole consisting cheifly of fish (curd to keep about that time) will be spoild.

16. Some presents today but no trade. Several petitions for canoes backd by our principal freinds but none complied with. In the afternoon the body of the old woman which lay near us was removd, but to what place or on what account we could not learn.

17. This morn M^r Gore and myself went to Oparre¹ to shoot Ducks,² little thinking what the consequence of our expedition would be; for before we had half filld our baggs we had frigh[t]ned away Dootahah and all his household and furniture, a matter of no small diversion to us to find his majesty so much more fearfull than his ducks.

¹ Pare; Banks has merely prefixed O instead of his earlier E, perhaps showing his increasing acquaintance with the language.

² It seems probable that these were the common duck of the South Sea islands, the Australian Gray Duck, Anas superciliosa Gm.

page 292

18. This morn the boat was sent to get Ballast for the ship; the officer sent in her not finding stones convenient began to pull down a burying ground.¹ To this the Indians objected much and [a] messenger came to the tents saying that they would not suffer it. I went with the 2^nd Lieutenant to the place. They had desird them to desist from destroying the burying ground they had began upon, but shewd them another. The officer however though[t] it best not to molest any thing of the kind and sent the people to the river where they gatherd stones very Easily without a possibility of offending anybody.

19. The fish in the Canoes stink most immoderately so as in some winds to render our situation in the tents rather disagreable. This evening Oborea, Otheothea and Tuarua² came to visit us for the first time since the affair of the Jacket; they were very desirous of sleeping in the fort but my Marque[e] was full of Indians and no one else chose to entertain them, so they were obligd to repair to their Canoes to sleep there rather out of humour.³

20. This morn early Oborea and Co came to the tents bringing a large quantity of provisions as a present, among the rest a very fat dog. We had lately learnt that these animals were eat by the Indians and esteemd more delicate food than Pork, now therefore was our oportunity of trying the experiment. He was immediately given over to Tupia who finding that it was a food that we were not acustomd to undertook to stand butcher and cook both. He killd him by stopping his breath, holding his hands fast over his mouth and nose, an operation which took up above a quarter of an hour; he then proceeded to dress him much in the same manner as we

¹ A ‘burying ground’ undoubtedly here means a marae. If men serving under Cook could be so almost criminally thoughtless, one can hardly be surprised that the history of race-contacts in the Pacific includes more than one incident of bloodshed.

² ‘Tuarua’ has not previously come into the journal; the name as it stands may be correct.

³ There seems to have been more behind this brief account than meets the eye. Cook is also brief, expressing surprise that Purea should appear without restoring stolen property, and noting her excuse that ‘her gallant’ was responsible and that ‘she had beat him and turn'd him away’; but Parkinson (p. 32) tells a story which is inherently far from improbable. According to him, two of the girls ‘were very assiduous in getting themselves husbands’; Monkhouse the surgeon took one, and one of the lieutenants the other; all went well ‘till bed-time, and then they determined to lie in Mr. Banks's tent, which they did accordingly; but one of the engaged coming out, the surgeon insisted that she should not sleep there, and thrust her out, and the rest followed her, except Otea Tea, who whined and cried for a considerable time, till Mr. Banks led her out also. Mr. Monkhouse and Mr. Banks came to an eclaircissement some time after; had very high words, and I expected they would have decided it by a duel, which, however, they prudently avoided’.—Clearly Mr Banks experienced the penalties as well as the delights of popularity. It was very agreeable to have the charming Tiatia in his tent—‘my flame’—when she did not whine and cry; but it was difficult when everybody wanted to sleep there.

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Pl. V. Barringtonia speciosa
Tahiti

page break page 293 would do a pig, singing him over the fire which was lighted to roast him and scraping him clean with a shell. He then opend him with the same instrument and taking out his entrails pluck &c. sent them to the sea where they were most carefully washd, and then put into Cocoa nut shells with what blood he had found in him. The stones were now laid and the dog well coverd with leaves laid upon them. In about two hours he was dressd and in another quarter of an hour compleatly eat. A most excellent dish he made for us who were not much prejudicd against any species of food; I cannot however promise that an European dog would eat as well, as these scarce in their lives touch animal food, Cocoa nut kernel, Bread fruit, yams &c, being what their masters can best afford to give them and what indeed from custom I suppose they preferr to any kind of food.

21. This Morning came Oámo,¹ a cheif we had not before seen; with him came a boy and a young woman to whoom all the people present shewd a most uncommon respect, every one taking their garments from their shoulders and wrapping them round their breasts. We were upon this very desirous of shewing them all the respect we could as well as learning who they were: we could not however prevail upon the woman to come into the tents tho she seemd very desirous of it, the people all joind in preventing her by their advice at some times almost using force; the boy was in the same manner kept without. D^r Solander met him by accident close by the gate and laying hold of his hand he followd him in before the people were aware; those in the tents however very soon sent him out again. Upon inquiry we find that this boy is son to Oamo and Oborea who are husband and wife, but have long ago been parted by a mutual consent which gives both leave to enjoy the pleasures of this life without controul from their former engagements. The girl about 16 is intended for his wife but he being not more than 8 years old they have not yet cohabited together.²

22. Our visiters returnd early this morn, Oborea, Otheothea,

¹ Amo.

² This was the famous appearance of Temarii or Teriirere, the arii rahi or arii nui of Teva-i-uta, who had his great marae in the Papara district. His person was sacred, hence the removal of the upper garments. The young woman was Te arii na vaho roa, the sister of Tu of Pare. Both being of such exalted rank, their presence in the tents would under Tahitian custom have made them tapu, and hence unusable by commoners. Cook notes that Teriirere was carried on a man's back—which was again due to his sacredness, lest his feet should render the ground he trod on tapu. Cook thought the boy was about 7 and the young woman 18 or 20 and that she was his sister, but this last assumption was a natural consequence of the Tahitian language. She was duly married to Teriirere, but died childless.

page 294 Oamo &c. &c. The latter begins to shew himself a very sensible man by the shrewd questions he asks about England its manners and customs &c. Much interest is made to procure the release of the boats, indeed Cap^tn Cooke is now tird of keeping them as he finds that not the least motion is made towards returning any of the stol'n goods; four of them are therefore set at liberty.

23. Our Freinds with us as usual. One of our seamen a Portugese¹ was last night missing; as there was no news of him this Morning we concluded that he was run away and meant to stay among the Indians. Cap^tn Cooke therefore offerd a hatchet to any man who would bring him back, one soon offerd and returnd with him at night. He said that two Indians seizd him and stopping his mouth forcd him away, but as he was out of the fort after a woman this account apeard improbable, the man was however not punishd.

24. Our freinds all went to the westward last night; nothing material happend during our solitude. The market has been totaly stoppd ever since the boats were seizd, nothing being offerd to sale but a few apples; our freinds however are liberal in presents so that we make a shift to live without expending our bread, which and spirits are the most valuable articles to us. Late in the evening Tubourai and Tamio returnd from Eparre bringing with them several presents, among the rest a large peice of thick cloth² which they desird that I would carry home to my Sister Opia,³ and for which they would take no kind of return. They are often very inquisitive about our families and remember any thing that is told them very well.

25. Prayers today it being sunday, soon after Potattow and Polotheara⁴ came to see us.

26. At 3 O'clock this morn Cap^tn Cooke and myself set out to the

¹ Emanuel Pereira, who volunteered into the ship at Rio.

² This was evidently tapa of the very best quality, such as was appropriated to chiefly wear.

³ Sophia.

⁴ Potatau, an Atehuru arii, and Poro-tahiara. Corney, III, p. 266 gives her name as Purutifara. They have not been previously mentioned, though they appear to have been prominent people, who made their presence felt both at this time and later. George Forster, on Cook's second voyage, picked up a curious story which does not appear elsewhere: ‘Polatchera, his [Potatow's] former wife, was so like him in stature and bulk, that we unanimously looked upon her as the most extraordinary woman we had ever seen. Her appearance and her conduct were masculine in the highest degree, and strongly conveyed the idea of superiority and command. When the Endeavour bark lay here, she had distinguished herself by the name of captain Cook's sister, (tuaheine no Toote;) and one day, being denied admittance into the fort on Point Venus, had knocked down the sentry who opposed her, and complained to her adopted brother of the indignity which had been offered to her’.—Voyage round the World (1777), I, p. 361. It is odd that the story is not otherwise known, but it is not impossibly true.

page 295 eastward in the pinnace, intending if it was convenient to go round the Island, the weather calm and pleasant. We rowd till 8 and then went ashore in a district calld Ohíana¹ governd by a cheif calld Ahío,² who favourd us with his company to breakfast. Here we saw our old acquaintances Tituboalo³ and Hoona,⁴ who carried me immediately to their House near which was placd the body of the old woman which was removd from Matavie on the 16^th. This it seems was the estate which descended to Hoona by inheritance from her and it was on that account nescessary that she should be brought here. From hence we proceeded on foot, the boat atending within call, till we came to Ahidea⁵ the place where the Spanyards were said to lay. We met with the cheif their freind Oréttė, whose brother Outorrou went with them. Our inquiries here were very particular and we had the account I have before given confirmd; they shewd us also the place where the ships lay, which is situate on the west side of the great bay under the shelter of a small Island calld Boooúrou⁶ near which is another calld Taawirry.⁷ The breach in the reef was here very large but the shelter for ships indifferent. We saw also the place where their tents were pitchd: they pointed out the hole in which each pole stood and shewd one corner in which they set up a cross I had made for them, and said Turu turu which in their language signifies the knees.⁸ In searching about upon this spot I found a small peice of potsheard or tile, a sure proof tho a small one that in place at least the indians had not deceivd me.

Soon after this we took boat and askd Tituboaro to go with us. He refusd and advisd us not to go: on the other side of the bay he said livd people who were not subjects to Dootahah and who would kill him and us.⁹ On seeing us put balls into our musquets

¹ Haapaianoo, which Banks had before reached on his walk with Solander on 24 April.

² Ahaio.

³ ?Te aitu-poaro.

⁴ This, it will be remembered, was the young woman who was Banks's fellow ‘nineveh’ on 10 June.

⁵ Haitaa, or Hitiaa. One is not always finally certain what sounds Banks's vowels are intended to carry. Cf. p. 274, n. 2 above.

⁶ Puaru or Puuru.

⁷ Taaupiri.

⁸ Turi is the word for knee. Turu or turuturu means side-posts of a house, and the late Mr J. Frank Stimson suggested that the word may have once by metaphor signified the two knees as well; or the shape of the cross may simply have reminded the Tahitians of side-posts. Or if turi was the word they used, possibly they simply meant that the ‘Spaniards’ had fallen on their knees before a cross similar to the one Banks made.

⁹ It is difficult to know what is meant by this. The other side of the bay was the northern coast of Taiarapu, and its people were certainly not subject to Tuteha (nor were the people of Hitiaa); but we have no record of enmity at this time. Indeed Tuteha and the high chief of Taiarapu had recently been allies against Purea and Amo. Certainly a few years later, 1772–3, Tuteha attacked Taiarapu, with disaster to himself.

page 296 he however consented to go with us. We rowd till dark at which time we arrivd at the bottom of the deep bay; we were not yet among our enemies, we might go ashore and sleep with safety. We did so but found few houses, here were however some double canoes whose owners were known to us; they provided us with supper and lodgins, for my share of which I was indebted to Ourattooa a Lady remarkable among us for the ceremonies she performd on the 12^th of May last.

27. At day break we turnd out to see a little of the countrey about us which we did not arrive at last night till dark. We found the traces of Canoes having been hauld inland and the people told us that the Island was in this place very narrow and that they draggd their canoes quite across cheifly over soft boggs.¹—We now prepard to set out for the other Kingdom for so we are told it is, Calld Tiarreboo and governd by Waheatua,² as ours is called Oboreonoo and governd by Dootahah.³ Tituboalo is in better spirits now than yesterday, they will not kill us he says but they have got no meat. Indeed we had not since we came out seen a bit of breadfruit; we thought that we might have exhausted it in this part of the Island but hop'd to find plenty in the other, the people of which if enemies had certainly not traded with us. After a few miles rowing we landed in a District calld Annuúhé,⁴ the Name of the cheif of which was Maraitátá⁵ (the burying place of men) and his father Pahairėdo⁶ (the stealer of boats) names which did not a little confirm Tituboalos relation. These gentlemen however notwithstanding their terrible titles receivd us with all manner of civility, gave us provisions and after some delay sold us a very large hog for a hatchet. We saw among the crowd only two people whose faces we knew and not one bead or ornament which came out of our ship, tho there were several European ones; in one of the houses lay 2 12 pound shot one of which was markd with the English broad arrow, these they said had been given them by Toottero the Spanish commander.—We now walkd forward on foot till

¹ This was the isthmus of Taravao, about 1½ miles across.

² Taiarapu or Tahiti-iti (Little Tahiti), as a political division called Teva-i-tai or Seaward Teva; its high chief bore the traditional title of Vehiatua.

³ Oboreonoo=Porionuu or Te Porionuu; Cook and Banks, having picked up the name in the country close to Matavai Bay, gave it a far wider significance than it really had, applying it to the whole of Tahiti-nui, or Great Tahiti. But it included only the two small districts of Pare and Arue, and did not even extend to Matavai Bay. Nor was it all governed by Tuteha, whose importance came from his personality and not his rank, nor by any other one man.

⁴ Anuhi, the name then used for the present Pueu.

⁵ Maraetaata; burial place was not necessarily the main significance of marae here.

⁶ ?Pahi-riro; pahi, a canoe, riro, lost or missing

page 297 we came to the district which particularly belongd to Waheatua, it was situate on the westernmost point of the large bay before mentiond, a large and most fertile flat.¹ On it was a river so large that we were obligd to ferry over in a canoe² and our Indian train to swim, which they did with as much facility as a pack of hounds taking the water much in the same manner. Here were no houses but ruind remains of very large ones. We proceeded along shore and found at last Waheatua setting near some pretty Canoe awnings which seemd to be intended to furnish him with lodgins, he was a thin old man with very white hair and beard; with him was a well looking woman of about 25 year old whose name was Toudidde,³ we had heard her name mentiond very often and by what the people told she was a woman of much consequence in this part of the Island, answering in some measure to what Oborea is in the other. From this place Tearre⁴ son to Waheatua acompanied us after having sold us a hog. The countrey we went through was more cultivated than any thing we have seen in the Island; the brooks were every where bankd into narrow channels with stone and the very sea was confind by a wall of stone also. The houses were not very large or very numerous but the large canoes which were hauld up every where along shore almost innumerable; they were of a different built from those which we have seen at Oboreonoo, longer and their heads and sterns higher. Upon these were kind of crotches which we suppos'd were to support large images many of which we saw hanging up in their houses; their awnings also were supported on pillars. At almost every point was a morai or burying place and many within land. They were like those of Oboreonoo raisd into the form of the roof of a house, but these were cleaner and better kept and also ornamented with many carvd boards set upright, on the tops of which were various figures of birds and men; on one particularly a figure of a cock painted red and yellow in imitation of the feathers of that bird. In some of them were figures of men standing on each others heads which they told me was the particular ornament of Burying grounds.⁵—But

¹ This is the peninsula of Tautira (then called Fatutira) where Vehiatua had his residence; ‘westernmost’ is an obvious slip for ‘easternmost’.

² The Vaitepiha river.

³ Tautiti. Cf. Corney, Quest and Occupation of Tahiti, II, pp. xxiv-xxv.

⁴ i.e. Te arii, the chief; Banks spells the name Tearee below, which looks like Terii, short for Te arii (cf. Teriirere, the son of Purea and Amo). His more personal name was Taata-uraura.

⁵ In this description of the marae Banks describes a part as the whole. It was the ahu, the principal feature of the marae, a stone platform at the end of the marae court, that was ‘raisd into the form of the roof of a house’. The ‘carvd boards set upright’ were called unu; they were erected in honour of departed chiefs whose bones were deposited at the marae. The figures of men, carved in flat relief, were called tii; they were symbolical and not representational, and in no sense ‘idols’. Birds were believed to be ‘shadows’, or symbols, or temporary dwelling-places, of the gods. What Banks took to be a cock was perhaps the manu ura or sacred bird; red and yellow were sacred colours (cf. the maro-ura and maro-tea, the sacred red and yellow feather girdles with which arii rahi were invested); but it may also possibly have been a cock, sacred to Ruaifaatoa, a god of warriors and strength whose diversion was cock-fighting.

page 298 fertile as this countrey was we did no[t] get or even see a single breadfruit, the trees were intirely bared, the people seemd to live intirely on Ahee Fagifera¹ which were plentifull here.

After tiring ourselves with walking we calld up the boat but both our Indians were missing, they had it seems staid behind at Waheatuas, depending upon a promise we had made to the old man of returning and sleeping with him (a promise we were often forcd to make without any intention of performing it). Tearee and another went with us. We rowd till we came abreast a small Island calld Tuarrite² when it became dark and our Indians piloted us ashore to a place where they said that we might sleep; it was a deserted house and near it was a very snug cove for the boat to lay, so we wanted nothing but Victuals of which article we had met with very little since morning. I went into the woods, it was quite dark so that neither people nor victuals could I find except one house where I was furnishd with fire, a breadfruit and a half and a few ahees, with which and a duck³ or 2 and a few curlews⁴ we were forcd to go to sleep, which I did in the awning of a Canoe that followd us belonging to Tearee.

28. This morn at day break we rose and agreed to stay here an hour or two in hopes to get some provision: salt beef we had with us but nothing of the bread kind, for that we depended on the natives who had on all former occasions been both able and willing to supply us with any quantity of Breadfruit. I went out meaning to go among the houses; in my way I went through several burying grounds (Marai) on the pavements of which I saw several vertebræ and sculls of men laying about as if no care was taken to bury them, in every thing else they were quite like what we had seen before. In my excursion I could not procure the least supply of provision so we were forcd to set out in hopes of meeting some countrey where provision was less scarce. We walkd and the boat followd

¹ ihi, the fruit of the mape or Tahitian chestnut (Inocarpus edulis). ‘Fagifera’ is added in pencil in a blank left for the purpose.

² Cook spells this name on his chart Otooareite. It is probably the islet now called Tiere, one of a cluster of three; its former name was Tiare-iti, and from the spellings given perhaps also Tuarae-iti.

³ Probably Anas superciliosa Gm., the Australian Gray Duck.

⁴ Probably the Bristle-thighed Curlew, Numenius tahitiensis (Gm.). Non-breeding birds of this species sometimes winter in Polynesia.

page 299 us. In about 3 miles we arrivd at a place where were several large canoes and a number of people with them; we were not a little surprizd to find that these people were our intimate acquaintance, several at least, who we had often seen at the tents and other places, Towia¹ who we were told was brother to Towdidde, Roudėro² &c. Here we thought ourselves sure o getting a supply of provisions and apply'd to our freinds accordingly. They told us we should have some if we would wait, we did till we were out of patience; we then desird them to get us some cocoa nuts the kernels of which make a substitute for bread, they said yes but nobody went up the trees. We were resolvd to [have] them at least so calling for a hatchet we threatned to cut down the trees if our demands were not complied with; nobody objected to our doing so if we chose it, nor did any body atempt to climb the trees to supply us. Just now however we luckily saw two men busy in stripping a parcel of them, these we obligd to sell their stock consisting of 16, with these we embarkd taking with us Tuahów³ one of our Indians who had returnd to us last night long after dark. When we in the boat talkd over this behaviour of our freinds we were inclind to beleive that they were strangers here, and consequently had not the disposal of the provisions; indeed we never had before met with any dificulty in getting from them any provisions of which they had enough.

The reef here was irregular and the ground very foul so that the boat was continualy surroundd with breakers. We followd a canoe which led us to a passage where by waiting for a slatch⁴ of still water we got out, tho not without danger, for the sea broke quite across almost as soon as the boat was clear. We were now off the SW end of the Island. The land apeard very barren, no ree to shelter the coast and the hills every where butting out to the sea without any flatts;⁵ here were however some houses and inhabitants, and on ledges of the hills here and there a little breadfruit and higher up large quantities of Faé.⁶ This lasted for about a League when we again saw the ree and a flat on which we went ashore by the recomendation of our Indian guide, who told us that the countrey was rich and good. The name of this district or whennua⁷ was Ahowe:⁸ the cheif Mathíabo⁹ soon came down to us, he seemd

¹ ?Tohaia.

² Roudero sic.

³ Tuahou or Tuahau.

⁴ A nautical term for a brief spell or interval.

⁵ This was Pari (pari=the cliffs).

⁶ Fei, mountain plantains.

⁷ fenua.

⁸ Ahui, the old name for a sub-district called Vai-ao-tea, now included in the district of Teahupoo. It is not to be confused with another sub-district of the same name on the northern coast of Tahiti-iti.

⁹ Matahiapo—i.e. the ‘first-born’ of a great arii family.

page 300 a total stranger both to us and our trade. His subjects brought down plenty of Cocoa nuts and about 20 breadfruits, which latter we bought at a very dear rate, while his majesty sold us a pig for a glass bottle preferring that to any thing we could give him. We saw here an English goose and a turkey cock which they told us had been left by the Dolphin, both of them immensely fat and as tame as possible, following the Indians every where who seemd immensely fond of them.¹ In a long house in this neighbourhood I saw a sight quite new to me: 15 underjaw bones of men were fastned to a semicircular peice of board and hung up at one end of it, they appeard quite fresh, not one at all damagd even by the Loss of a tooth. I askd many questions about them but the people would not attend at all to me and either did not or would not understand either words or signs upon that subject.² On our departure from hence Mathiabo desird leave to acompany us which was granted, he provd a good pilot but persuaded us to land often, 5 or 6 times in as many miles. In all these districts we saw nothing remarkable; the general face of the countrey was greener than on our side of the Island and the hills were coverd with wood almost down to the waters edge, the flats in general small but fertile enough. At last we opend a large bay, which being opposite to as large a one on the other side almost intersects the Island at the place over which they drag their canoes; about 2 thirds down this bay we resolvd to lodge at a large house which we saw and which Mathiabo informd us belongd to a freind of his. From this place many Canoes came off to meet us and in them some very hansome women who by their behaviour seemd to be sent out to entice us to come ashore, which we most readily did, and were receivd in a very freindly manner by Wivėrou³ who was cheif of the district which was calld Owiourou⁴ He orderd his people to assist us in dressing our provisions, of which we had now got a tolerable stock about 30 breadfruit some plantains and fish, enough to last us two days. I stuck close to the women hoping to get a snug lodging by that means as I had often done; they were very kind, too much so for they promisd more than I ask'd, but when they saw that we were resolvd to stay they dropd off one by one and at last left me jilted 5 or 6 times and obligd to seek out for a

¹ These were trophies of war; they had come from Matavai Bay to Papara, and been snatched away with other trophies when Amo and Purea were defeated.

² These were also trophies of war; they were the jawbones of the Papara men.

³ Corney, Discovery of Tahiti, III, Descriptive Index, gives his name as Tuivirau or Tuivivirau—which last he says is incorrect; but it tallies better with the name picked up by Banks and Cook.

⁴ Vaiuru, the old name for the district of Vairaao.

page 301 lodging myself. Supper was by this time ready and we repaird to that part of the house where Wiverou was to eat it; he sent for his at the same time and Mathiabo supping with us we made a snug party. As soon as we had done we began to think of sleeping and askd for a bed. We were shown a part of the house where we might lay; we then sent for our cloaks and began to prepare ourselves, myself as my constant custom was by stripping myself and sending my cloaths into the boat, covering myself only with a peice of Indian cloth after their fashion which I have done ever ever since I had my Jacket &c. stolen at Atahourou. Mathiabo complaind of cold and a cloak was sent for for him also, Cap^tn Cooke and myself agreed that he had behavd so well to us that there was not the least doubt of his honesty. We laid down, Mathiabo did not come, I imagin'd that he was gone to wash as the Indians always do in the evening. I was almost asleep when an Indian who was a stranger to me came and told me that he was gone off with the Cloak, I did not beleive him but laid down again. Tuahow our Indian then came and confirmd the report; I then found it was high time to give chase so I leapd up and declard my case to the company, shewing one of my pocket pistols which I always kept with me. They took the alarm and began to walk of, I seizd however the best looking man I could see and told him that if he did not find out where Mathiabo was I would shoot him in his stead. The threat had the desird effect: he offerd to accompany me in the chase: the Cap^tn myself and him set out as hard as we could run and in about ten minutes met a man bringing back the cloak; but our freind Mathiabo was fled and by that means escapd a severe thrashing which we had decreed to be a proper reward for his breach of trust. When we returnd every body was gone from the house; we quickly however made them sensible that our anger was intirely confind to Mathiabo and they all returnd, Wiverou and his wife taking up their lodging within 10 feet of us.

29. About 5 O'Clock our sentry awakd us with the alarming intelligence of the boat being missing, he had he said seen her about £½ an hour before at her grapling which was about 50 yards from the shore, but that on hearing the noise of Oars he lookd out again and could see nothing of her. We started up and made all possible haste to the waterside, the morn was fine and starlight but no boat in sight. Our situation was now sufficiently disagreable: the Indians had probably attackd her first and finding the people asleep easily carried her, in which case they would not fail to attack page 302 us very soon, who were 4 in number armd with one musquet and cartouch box and two pocket pistols without a spare ball or charge of powder for theem. In about a quarter of an hour however we had the satisfaction to see the boat return, which had drove from her grapling by some effect of the tide probably as it was perfectly calm.

As soon as the boat returnd we got our breakfast and set out. The first district on which we landed was the last in Tiarreboo, it was governd by Omóė.¹ He was employd in building a house for which purpose he wanted a hatchet very much and was inclind to offer any price for it but our stock was quite spent; after some conversation we found that he would not deal for nails and put off the boat. He and his wife Whannoouda² followd in a canoe; we took them into the boat and after rowing about a league they desird we would put ashore, which we did and found his people who had brought a very large hog. We had much chafering about the price of it, it was worth any ax we had in the ship but we had no ax at all in the boat. We therefore told Omoe that if he would come to Matavie with his hog he should have a large ax and a nail into the bargain for his trouble; which he after having consulted his wife readily agreed to, and gave us a large peice of cloth as a pledge of his intention to perform this agreement.

At this place we saw a singular curiosity, a figure of a man made of Basket work, roughly but not ill designd; it was 7 feet high and two bulky in proportion to its hight; the whole was neatly coverd with feathers, white to represent skin and black to represent hair and tattow;³ on the head were three protuberances which we should have calld horns but the Indians calld them tata ete⁴ little men. The image was calld by them Maúwė; they said it was the only one of the kind in Otahite and readily atempted to explain its use, but their language was totaly unintelligible and seemed to referr to some customs to which we are perfect strangers.⁵ —After this we got into the boat and rowd several miles before we went ashore. When we did we saw nothing remarkable but a burying ground whose pavement was unusualy neat; it was ornamented by a pyramid about 5 feet high coverd intirely with the fruits of

¹ Moe. Cook writes Omae.

² ?Fanau-tua (cf. p. 328, n. 2 below).

³ tatau, the tattooing of the skin.

⁴ taata iti.

⁵ This is rather mysterious. The image apparently represented the great Polynesian culture-hero Maui; but I do not know of any other reference to it, besides that in Cook on this same occasion, nor what the three taata iti—‘little men’—were. Cook writes (pp. 111–12) that it was ‘said by the Natives to be used in their Heiva's or publick entertainments, probably as punch is in a Puppet Show’; he says there were ‘four nobs resembling stumps of horns’, three in front and one behind. This was at what Cook calls ‘the first Whennua in Opooreonoo’—Vaiari, now Papeari

page 303 Pandanus [tectorius] and Cratæva [gynandra].¹ In the middle of all near the Pyramid was a small image of stone very roughly workd, the first instance of carving in stone I have seen among these people, and this they seemd to value as it was coverd from the weather with a kind of shed built purposely over it; near it were three sculls of men laid in order, very white and clean and quite perfect. From hence we proceeded to Papárra,² the district of our freinds Oamo and Oborea, where we proposd to sleep tonight; we came there an hour before night and found that they were both from home, they were gone to Matavie to see us. This did not alter our resolution of sleeping here and we chose for that purpose the house of Oborea, which tho small was very neat and had nobody in it but her father who was very civil to us. After having setled our matters we took a walk towards a point on which we had from far observd trees of Etoa,³ Casuarina equisetifolia, from whence we judgd that thereabouts would be some marai; nor were we disapointed for we no sooner arrivd there than we were struck with the sight of a most enormous pile, certainly the masterpeice of Indian architecture in this Island so all the inhabitants allowd. Its size and workmanship almost exceeds beleif, I shall set it down exactly. Its form was like that of Marais in general, resembling the roof of a house, not smooth at the sides but formd into 11 steps, each of these 4 feet in hight making in all 44 feet, its length 267 its breadth 71. Every one of these steps were formd of one course of white coral stones most neatly squard and polishd, the rest were round pebbles, but these seemd to have been workd from their uniformity of size and roundness. Some of the coral stones were very large, one I measurd was 3½ by 2½ feet. The foundation was of Rock stones likewise squard, one of these corner stone[s] measurd 4^ft:7ⁱⁿ by 2^ft:4ⁱⁿ. The whole made a part of one side of a spatious area which was walld in with stone, the size of this which seemd to be intended for a square was 118 by 110 paces, which was intirely pavd with flat paving stones. It is almost beyond beleif that Indians could raise so large a structure without the assistance of Iron tools to shape their stones

¹ The two names in square brackets have been added in pencil, to supply blanks in the text, apparently in the hand of Robert Brown, the eminent botanist and Banks's later librarian. Hooker altered the former to Pandanus odorus, without indicating in any way what he had done. This is only one of many instances of ‘mutilation’ perpetrated by Hooker (cf. Warren Dawson, Jour. Soc. Bibliog. Nat. Hist. 2 : 218–22). No Crataeva coll. has been located but Parkinson's coloured drawing of ‘Crataeva frondosa mscr.’ dated 1769 and Solander's usual full description are preserved. Britten identifies this as C. uliginosa L. It is C. religiosa Forst. f. See Pl. 29.

² Papara.

³ Toa or Aito, ironwood, Casuarina equisetifolia. The scientific name has not changed. As Banks had noticed, it was a characteristic tree about marae.

page 304 or mortar to join them, which last appears almost essential as the most of them are round; it is done tho, and almost as firmly as a European workman would have done it, tho in some things it seems to have faild. The steps for instance which range along its greatest lengh are not streight, they bend downward in the middle forming a small Segment of a circle: possibly the ground may have sunk a little under the greatest weight of such an immense pile, which if it happend regularly would have this effect. The labour of the work is prodigious: the quarry stones are but few but they must have been brought by hand from some distance at least, as we saw no signs of quarry near it tho I lookd carefully about me; the coral must have been fishd from under water, where indeed it is most plentifull but generaly coverd with 3 or 4 feet water at least and oftenest with much more. The labour of forming them when got must also have been at least as great as the getting them; they have not shewn us any way by which they could square a stone but by means of another, which must be most tedious and liable to many accidents by the breaking of tools. The stones are also polishd and as well and truly as stones of the kind could be by the best workman in Europe, in that particular they excell owing to the great plenty of a sharp coral sand which is admirably adapted to that purpose and is found everywhere upon the seashore in this neighbourhood.¹ About 100 yards to the west of this building was another court or pavd area² in which were several ewhattas,³ a kind of altars raisd on wooden pillars about 7 feet high, on these they offer meat of all kinds to the gods; we have seen large Hogs offerd and here were the Sculls of above 50 of them besides those of dogs, which the preist who accompanied us assurd us were only a small part of what had been here sacrafisd. This marai and aparatus for sacrafice belongd we were told to Oborea and Oamo. The greatest pride of an inhabitant of Otahite is to have a grand Marai, in this particular our freinds far exceed any one in the Island, and in the Dolphins time the first of them exceeded every one else in riches

¹ Thus Banks describes the great marae called Mahaiatea, built 1766–8, the greatest work of architecture in all the islands, the symbol of Purea's pride and of her pride in her son. Banks's measurements differ in some details from Cook's: Cook over-estimates the size of the enclosure. The squared ‘Rock stones’ of the foundation were volcanic. The remains of the ahu, that great edifice, once about 45 or 50 feet high, can still be seen at Mahaiatea, a melancholy witness to the passage of time and the destructive stupidity of man. The early accounts have been collated, and careful diagrams drawn, by Kenneth P. Emory, in his Stone Remains in the Society Islands (Bernice P. Bishop Mus. Bull. 116, Honolulu 1933) pp. 30, 72–4.

² This was the ancient marae of Tetooarai.

³ e fata, an altar. These are described by Emory, op. cit., p. 15, as ‘small tables (fata ‘ai ‘ai) set up on the court’, for sacrificial offerings of food.

page 305 and respect as much. The reason of the difference of her present apearance from that I found by an accident which I now relate: in going too and coming home from the Marai our road lay by the the sea side, and every where under our feet were numberless human bones cheifly ribbs and vertebræ. So singular a sight surprizd me much; I enquird the reason and was told that in the month calld by them Owiráhėw¹ last, which answers to our December 1768, the people of Tiarreboo made a descent here and killd a large number of people whose bones we now saw; that upon this Occasion Oborea and Oamo were obligd to fly for shelter to the mountains, that the Conquerors burnt all the houses which were very large and took away all the hoggs &c., that the turkey and goose which we had seen with Mathiabo were part of the spoils, as were the jaw bones which we saw hung up in his house; they had been carried away as trophies and are usd by the Indians here in exactly the same manner as the North Americans do scalps.

30. After having slept last night without the least interuption we proceeded forwards but during the whole day saw little or nothing worth observation. We bought a little bread fruit which article has been equaly scarce all round the Island, more so even than it is at Matavie. At night we came to Atahourou, the very place at which we were on the 28^th of May: here we were among our intimate freinds, who expressd the pleasure they had in entertaining us by giving us a good supper and good beds, in which we slept the better for being sure of reaching Matavie tomorrow night at the farthest. Here we learnd that the bread fruit (a little of which we saw just sprouting upon the trees) would not be fit to use in less than 3 months.

¹ Varehu, the lunar month December-January. Banks seems first to have written ‘Owo-’ and altered it to ‘Owi-’.

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The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks 1768–1771 [Volume One]

June 1769

June 1769