CHAPTER XXIV
General information gathered at the festival--Personal beauty of the Typees--Their superiority over the inhabitants of the other islands--Diversity of complexion--A vegetable cosmetic and ointment--Testimony of voyagers to the uncommon beauty of the Marquesans--Few evidences of intercourse with civilized beings--Dilapidated musket--Primitive simplicity of government--Regal dignity of Mehevi.
Although I had been unable during the late festival to obtain informationon many interesting subjects which had much excited my curiosity, stillthat important event had not passed by without adding materially to mygeneral knowledge of the islanders.
I was especially struck by the physical strength and beauty which theydisplayed, by their great superiority in these respects over theinhabitants of the neighbouring bay of Nukuheva, and by the singularcontrasts they presented among themselves in their various shades ofcomplexion.
In beauty of form they surpassed anything I had ever seen. Not a singleinstance of natural deformity was observable in all the throng attendingthe revels. Occasionally I noticed among the men the scars of wounds theyhad received in battle; and sometimes, though very seldom, the loss of afinger, an eye, or an arm, attributable to the same cause. With theseexceptions, every individual appeared free from those blemishes whichsometimes mar the effect of an otherwise perfect form. But their physicalexcellence did not merely consist in an exemption from these evils; nearlyevery individual of their number might have been taken for a sculptor'smodel.
When I remembered that these islanders derived no advantage from dress,but appeared in all the naked simplicity of nature, I could not avoidcomparing them with the fine gentlemen and dandies who promenade suchunexceptional figures in our frequented thoroughfares. Stripped of thecunning artifices of the tailor, and standing forth in the garb ofEden,--what a sorry set of round-shouldered, spindle-shanked, crane-neckedvarlets would civilized men appear! Stuffed calves, padded breasts, andscientifically cut pantaloons would then avail them nothing, and theeffect would be truly deplorable.
Nothing in the appearance of the islanders struck me more forcibly thanthe whiteness of their teeth. The novelist always compares the masticatorsof his heroine to ivory; but I boldly pronounce the teeth of the Typees tobe far more beautiful than ivory itself. The jaws of the oldest greybeardsamong them were much better garnished than those of the youths ofcivilized countries; while the teeth of the young and middle-aged, intheir purity and whiteness, were actually dazzling to the eye. Thismarvellous whiteness of the teeth is to be ascribed to the pure vegetablediet of these people, and the uninterrupted healthfulness of their naturalmode of life.
The men, in almost every instance, are of lofty stature, scarcely everless than six feet in height, while the other sex are uncommonlydiminutive. The early period of life at which the human form arrives atmaturity in this generous tropical climate likewise deserves to bementioned. A little creature, not more than thirteen years of age, who inother particulars might be regarded as a mere child, is often seen nursingher own baby; whilst lads who, under less ripening skies, would be stillat school, are here responsible fathers of families.
On first entering the Typee valley, I had been struck with the markedcontrast presented by its inhabitants with those of the bay I hadpreviously left. In the latter place, I had not been favourably impressedwith the personal appearance of the male portion of the population;although with the females, excepting in some truly melancholy instances, Ihad been wonderfully pleased.
Apart, however, from these considerations, I am inclined to believe thatthere exists a radical difference between the two tribes, if indeed theyare not distinct races of men. To those who have merely touched atNukuheva Bay, without visiting other portions of the island, would hardlyappear credible the diversities presented between the various small clansinhabiting so diminutive a spot. But the hereditary hostility which hasexisted between them for ages fully accounts for this.
Not so easy, however, is it to assign an adequate cause for the endlessvariety of complexions to be seen in the Typee valley. During thefestival, I had noticed several young females whose skins were almost aswhite as any Saxon damsel's, a slight dash of the mantling brown being allthat marked the difference. This comparative fairness of complexion,though in a great degree perfectly natural, is partly the result of anartificial process, and of an entire exclusion from the sun. The juice ofthe "papa" root, found in great abundance at the head of the valley, isheld in great esteem as a cosmetic, with which many of the females dailyanoint their whole person. The habitual use of it whitens and beautifiesthe skin. Those of the young girls who resort to this method ofheightening their charms, never expose themselves to the rays of the sun;an observance, however, that produces little or no inconvenience, sincethere are but few of the inhabited portions of the vale which are notshaded over with a spreading canopy of boughs, so that one may journeyfrom house to house, scarcely deviating from the direct course, and yetnever once see his shadow cast upon the ground.
The "papa," when used, is suffered to remain upon the skin for severalhours; being of a light green colour, it consequently imparts for the timea similar hue to the complexion. Nothing, therefore, can be imagined moresingular than the appearance of these nearly naked damsels immediatelyafter the application of the cosmetic. To look at one of them you wouldalmost suppose she was some vegetable in an unripe state; and that,instead of living in the shade for ever, she ought to be placed out in thesun to ripen.
All the islanders are more or less in the habit of anointing themselves;the women preferring the "aker" or "papa," and the men using the oil ofthe cocoa-nut. Mehevi was remarkably fond of mollifying his entire cuticlewith this ointment. Sometimes he might be seen with his whole body fairlyreeking with the perfumed oil of the nut, looking as if he had justemerged from a soap-boiler's vat, or had undergone the process of dippingin a tallow-chandlery. To this cause, perhaps, united to their frequentbathing, and extreme cleanliness, is ascribable, in a great measure, themarvellous purity and smoothness of skin exhibited by the natives ingeneral.
The prevailing tint among the women of the valley was a light olive, andof this style of complexion Fayaway afforded the most beautiful example.Others were still darker, while not a few were of a genuine golden colour,and some of a swarthy hue.
As agreeing with much previously mentioned in this narrative, I may hereobserve, that Mendanna, their discoverer, in his account of the Marquesas,described the natives as wondrously beautiful to behold, and as nearlyresembling the people of Southern Europe. The first of these islands seenby Mendanna was La Madelena, which is not far distant from Nukuheva; andits inhabitants in every respect resemble those dwelling on that and theother islands of the group. Figueroa, the chronicler of Mendanna's voyage,says, that on the morning the land was descried, when the Spaniards drewnear the shore, there sallied forth, in rude procession, about seventycanoes, and at the same time many of the inhabitants (females, I presume)made towards the ships by swimming. He adds, that "in complexion they werenearly white, of good stature, and finely formed; and on their faces andbodies were delineated representations of fishes and other devices." Theold Don then goes on to say, "There came, among others, two lads paddlingtheir canoe, whose eyes were fixed on the ship; they had beautiful faces,and the most promising animation of countenance, and were in all things sobecoming, that the pilot-mayor, Quiros, affirmed, nothing in his life evercaused him so much regret as the leaving such fine creatures to be lost inthat country."
Some of the natives present at the Feast of Calabashes had displayed a fewarticles of European dress, disposed, however, about their persons aftertheir own peculiar fashion. Among these I perceived the two pieces ofcotton cloth which poor Toby and myself had bestowed upon our youthfulguides the afternoon we entered the valley. They were evidently reservedfor gala days; and during those of the festival they rendered the youngislanders who wore them very
distinguished characters. The small numberwho were similarly adorned, and the great value they appeared to placeupon the most common and most trivial articles, furnished ample evidenceof the very restricted intercourse they held with vessels touching at theisland. A few cotton handkerchiefs of a gay pattern, tied about the neck,and suffered to fall over the shoulders, strips of fanciful calico,swathed about the loins, were nearly all I saw.
Indeed, throughout the valley, there were few things of any kind to beseen of European origin. All I ever saw, besides the articles just alludedto, were the six muskets preserved in the Ti, and three or four similarimplements of warfare hung up in other houses, some small canvas bags,partly filled with bullets and powder, and half a dozen old hatchet-heads,with the edges blunted and battered to such a degree as to render themutterly worthless. These last seemed to be regarded as nearly worthless bythe natives; and several times they held up one of them before me, andthrowing it aside with a gesture of disgust, manifested their contempt foranything that could so soon become unserviceable.
But the muskets, the powder, and the bullets, were held in mostextravagant esteem. The former, from their great age and the peculiaritiesthey exhibited, were well worthy a place in any antiquarian's armoury. Iremember, in particular, one that hung in the Ti, and whichMehevi--supposing as a matter of course that I was able to repair it--hadput into my hands for that purpose. It was one of those clumsy,old-fashioned English pieces known generally as Tower Hill muskets, and,for aught I know, might have been left on the island by Wallace, Carteret,Cook, or Vancouver. The stock was half-rotten and worm-eaten; the lock wasas rusty and about as well adapted to its ostensible purpose as an olddoor-hinge; the threading of the screws about the trigger was completelyworn away; while the barrel shook in the wood. Such was the weapon thechief desired me to restore to its original condition. As I did notpossess the accomplishments of a gunsmith, and was likewise destitute ofthe necessary tools, I was reluctantly obliged to signify my inability toperform the task. At this unexpected communication Mehevi regarded me, fora moment, as if he half suspected I was some inferior sort of white man,who after all did not know much more than a Typee. However, after a mostlaboured explanation of the matter, I succeeded in making him understandthe extreme difficulty of the task. Scarcely satisfied with my apologies,however, he marched off with the superannuated musket in something of ahuff, as if he would no longer expose it to the indignity of beingmanipulated by such unskilful fingers.
MEHEVI]
During the festival, I had not failed to remark the simplicity of manner,the freedom from all restraint, and, to a certain degree, the equality ofcondition manifested by the natives in general. No one appeared to assumeany arrogant pretensions. There was little more than a slight differencein costume to distinguish the chiefs from the other natives. All appearedto mix together freely, and without any reserve; although I noticed thatthe wishes of a chief, even when delivered in the mildest tone, receivedthe same immediate obedience which elsewhere would have been only accordedto a peremptory command. What may be the extent of the authority of thechiefs over the rest of the tribe, I will not venture to assert; but fromall I saw during my stay in the valley, I was induced to believe that inmatters concerning the general welfare it was very limited. The requireddegree of deference towards them, however, was willingly and cheerfullyyielded; and as all authority is transmitted from father to son, I have nodoubt that one of the effects here, as elsewhere, of high birth, is toinduce respect and obedience.
The particular grades of rank existing among the chiefs of Typee, I couldnot in all cases determine. Previous to the Feast of Calabashes, I hadbeen puzzled what particular station to assign to Mehevi. But theimportant part he took upon that occasion convinced me that he had nosuperior among the inhabitants of the valley. I had invariably noticed acertain degree of deference paid to him by all with whom I had ever seenhim brought in contact; but when I remembered that my wanderings had beenconfined to a limited portion of the valley, and that towards the sea anumber of distinguished chiefs resided, some of whom had separatelyvisited me at Marheyo's house, and whom, until the festival, I had neverseen in the company of Mehevi, I felt disposed to believe that his rank,after all, might not be particularly elevated.
The revels, however, had brought together all the warriors whom I had seenindividually and in groups at different times and places. Among themMehevi moved with an easy air of superiority which was not to be mistaken;and he whom I had only looked at as the hospitable host of the Ti, and oneof the military leaders of the tribe, now assumed in my eyes the dignityof royal station. His striking costume, no less than his naturallycommanding figure, seemed indeed to give him pre-eminence over the rest.The towering helmet of feathers that he wore raised him in height aboveall who surrounded him; and though some others were similarly adorned, thelength and luxuriance of their plumes were far inferior to his.
Mehevi was in fact the greatest of the chiefs--the head of his clan--thesovereign of the valley; and the simplicity of the social institutions ofthe people could not have been more completely proved than by the fact,that after having been several weeks in the valley, and almost in dailyintercourse with Mehevi, I should have remained until the time of thefestival ignorant of his regal character. But a new light had now brokenin upon me. The Ti was the palace--and Mehevi the king. Both the one andthe other of a most simple and patriarchal nature it must be allowed, andwholly unattended by the ceremonious pomp which usually surrounds thepurple.
After having made this discovery I could not avoid congratulating myselfthat Mehevi had from the first taken me as it were under his royalprotection, and that he still continued to entertain for me the warmestregard, as far at least as I was enabled to judge from appearances. Forthe future I determined to pay most assiduous court to him, hoping thateventually through his kindness I might obtain my liberty.