Omoo: Adventures in the South Seas

by Herman Melville

  Kooloo was a blade. Standing up in the congregation in all the braveryof a striped calico shirt, with the skirts rakishly adjusted over apair of white sailor trousers, and hair well anointed with cocoa-nutoil, he ogled the ladies with an air of supreme satisfaction. Norwere his glances unreturned.

  But such looks as the Tahitian belles cast at each other: frequentlyturning up their noses at the advent of a new cotton mantle recentlyimported in the chest of some amorous sailor. Upon one occasion, Iobserved a group of young girls, in tunics of course, soiledsheeting, disdainfully pointing at a damsel in a flaming red one."Oee tootai owree!" said they with ineffable scorn, "itai maitai!"(You are a good-for-nothing huzzy, no better than you should be).

  Now, Kooloo communed with the church; so did all these censoriousyoung ladies. Yet after eating bread-fruit at the Eucharist, I knewseveral of them, the same night, to be guilty of some sadderelictions.

  Puzzled by these things, I resolved to find out, if possible, whatideas, if any, they entertained of religion; but as one's spiritualconcerns are rather delicate for a stranger to meddle with, I went towork as adroitly as I could.

  Farnow, an old native who had recently retired from active pursuits,having thrown up the business of being a sort of running footman tothe queen, had settled down in a snug little retreat, not fifty rodsfrom Captain Bob's. His selecting our vicinity for his residence mayhave been with some view to the advantages it afforded forintroducing his three daughters into polite circles. At any rate, notaverse to receiving the attentions of so devoted a gallant as thedoctor, the sisters (communicants, be it remembered) kindly extendedto him free permission to visit them sociably whenever he pleased.

  We dropped in one evening, and found the ladies at home. My longfriend engaged his favourites, the two younger girls, at the game of"Now," or hunting a stone under three piles of tappa. For myself, Ilounged on a mat with Ideea the eldest, dallying with her grass fan,and improving my knowledge of Tahitian.

  The occasion was well adapted to my purpose, and I began.

  "Ah, Ideea, mickonaree oee?" the same as drawling out--"By the bye,Miss Ideea, do you belong to the church?"

  "Yes, me mickonaree," was the reply.

  But the assertion was at once qualified by certain, reservations; socurious that I cannot forbear their relation.

  "Mickonaree ena" (church member here), exclaimed she, laying her handupon her mouth, and a strong emphasis on the adverb. In the same way,and with similar exclamations, she touched her eyes and hands. Thisdone, her whole air changed in an instant; and she gave me tounderstand, by unmistakable gestures, that in certain other respectsshe was not exactly a "mickonaree." In short, Ideea was

  "A sad good Christian at the heart--A very heathen in the carnalpart."

  The explanation terminated in a burst of laughter, in which all threesisters joined; and for fear of looking silly, the doctor and myself.As soon as good-breeding would permit, we took leave.

  The hypocrisy in matters of religion, so apparent in all Polynesianconverts, is most injudiciously nourished in Tahiti by a zealous andin many cases, a coercive superintendence over their spiritualwell-being. But it is only manifested with respect to the commonpeople, their superiors being exempted.

  On Sunday mornings, when the prospect is rather small for a full housein the minor churches, a parcel of fellows are actually sent out withratans into the highways and byways as whippers-in of thecongregation. This is a sober fact.

  These worthies constitute a religious police; and you always know themby the great white diapers they wear. On week days they are quite asbusy as on Sundays; to the great terror of the inhabitants, going allover the island, and spying out the wickedness thereof.

  Moreover, they are the collectors of fines--levied generally in grassmats--for obstinate non-attendance upon divine worship, and otheroffences amenable to the ecclesiastical judicature of themissionaries.

  Old Bob called these fellows "kannakippers" a corruption, I fancy, ofour word constable.

  He bore them a bitter grudge; and one day, drawing near home, andlearning that two of them were just then making a domiciliary visitat his house, he ran behind a bush; and as they came forth, two greenbread-fruit from a hand unseen took them each between the shoulders.The sailors in the Calabooza were witnesses to this, as well asseveral natives; who, when the intruders were out of sight, applaudedCaptain Bob's spirit in no measured terms; the ladies presentvehemently joining in. Indeed, the kannakippers have no greaterenemies than the latter. And no wonder: the impertinent varlets,popping into their houses at all hours, are forever prying into theirpeccadilloes.

  Kooloo, who at times was patriotic and pensive, and mourned the evilsunder which his country was groaning, frequently inveighed againstthe statute which thus authorized an utter stranger to interfere withdomestic arrangements. He himself--quite a ladies' man--had oftenbeen annoyed thereby. He considered the kannakippers a bore.

  Beside their confounded inquisitiveness, they add insult to injury, bymaking a point of dining out every day at some hut within the limitsof their jurisdiction. As for the gentleman of the house, his meekendurance of these things is amazing. But "good easy man," there isnothing for him but to be as hospitable as possible.

  These gentry are indefatigable. At the dead of night prowling roundthe houses, and in the daytime hunting amorous couples in the groves.Yet in one instance the chase completely baffled them.

  It was thus.

  Several weeks previous to our arrival at the island, someone's husbandand another person's wife, having taken a mutual fancy for eachother, went out for a walk. The alarm was raised, and with hue andcry they were pursued; but nothing was seen of them again until thelapse of some ninety days; when we were called out from the Calaboozato behold a great mob inclosing the lovers, and escorting them fortrial to the village.

  Their appearance was most singular. The girdle excepted, they werequite naked; their hair was long, burned yellow at the ends, andentangled with burrs; and their bodies scratched and scarred in alldirections. It seems that, acting upon the "love in a cottage"principle, they had gone right into the interior; and throwing up ahut in an uninhabited valley, had lived there, until in an unluckystroll they were observed and captured.

  They were subsequently condemned to make one hundred fathoms of BroomRoad--a six months' work, if not more.

  Often, when seated in a house, conversing quietly with its inmates, Ihave known them betray the greatest confusion at the suddenannouncement of a kannakipper's being in sight. To be reported by oneof these officials as a "Tootai Owree" (in general, signifying a badperson or disbeliever in Christianity), is as much dreaded as theforefinger of Titus Gates was, levelled at an alleged papist.

  But the islanders take a sly revenge upon them. Upon entering adwelling, the kannakippers oftentimes volunteer a pharisaicalprayer-meeting: hence, they go in secret by the name of"Boora-Artuas," literally, "Pray-to-Gods."

  CHAPTER XLVII.

  HOW THEY DRESS IN TAHITI

  EXCEPT where the employment of making "tappa" is inflicted as apunishment, the echoes of the cloth-mallet have long since died awayin the listless valleys of Tahiti. Formerly, the girls spent theirmornings like ladies at their tambour frames; now, they are loungedaway in almost utter indolence. True, most of them make their owngarments; but this comprises but a stitch or two; the ladies of themission, by the bye, being entitled to the credit of teaching them tosew.

  The "kihee whihenee," or petticoat, is a mere breadth of white cotton,or calico; loosely enveloping the person, from the waist to the feet.Fastened simply by a single tuck, or by twisting the upper cornerstogether, this garment frequently becomes disordered; thus affordingan opportunity of being coquettishly adjusted. Over the "kihee," theywear a sort of gown, open in front, very loose, and as negligent asyou please. The ladies here never dress for dinner.

  But what shall be said of those horrid hats! Fancy a bunch of straw,plaited into the shape of a coal-scuttle, and stuck, bolt upright,
onthe crown; with a yard or two of red ribbon flying about likekite-strings. Milliners of Paris, what would ye say to them! Thoughmade by the natives, they are said to have been first contrived andrecommended by the missionaries' wives; a report which, I reallytrust, is nothing but scandal.

  Curious to relate, these things for the head are esteemed exceedinglybecoming. The braiding of the straw is one of the few employments ofthe higher classes; all of which but minister to the silliest vanity.

  The young girls, however, wholly eschew the hats; leaving those dowdyold souls, their mothers, to make frights of themselves.

  As for the men, those who aspire to European garments seem to have noperception of the relation subsisting between the various parts of agentleman's costume. To the wearer of a coat, for instance,pantaloons are by no means indispensable; and a bell-crowned hat anda girdle are full dress. The young sailor, for whom Kooloo desertedme, presented him with a shaggy old pea-jacket; and with this buttonedup to his chin, under a tropical sun, he promenaded the Broom Road,quite elated. Doctor Long Ghost, who saw him thus, ran away with theidea that he was under medical treatment at the time--in the act oftaking, what the quacks call, a "sweat."

  A bachelor friend of Captain Bob rejoiced in the possession of a fullEuropean suit; in which he often stormed the ladies' hearts. Having amilitary leaning, he ornamented the coat with a great scarlet patchon the breast; and mounted it also, here and there, with severalregimental buttons, slyly cut from the uniform of a parcel of drunkenmarines sent ashore on a holiday from a man-of-war. But, in spite ofthe ornaments, the dress was not exactly the thing. From thetightness of the cloth across the shoulders, his elbows projectedfrom his sides, like an ungainly rider's; and his ponderous legs werejammed so hard into his slim, nether garments that the threads ofevery seam showed; and, at every step, you looked for a catastrophe.

  In general, there seems to be no settled style of dressing among themales; they wear anything they can get; in some cases, awkwardlymodifying the fashions of their fathers so as to accord with theirown altered views of what is becoming.

  But ridiculous as many of them now appear, in foreign habiliments, theTahitians presented a far different appearance in the originalnational costume; which was graceful in the extreme, modest to allbut the prudish, and peculiarly adapted to the climate. But the shortkilts of dyed tappa, the tasselled maroes, and other articlesformerly worn, are, at the present day, prohibited by law asindecorous. For what reason necklaces and garlands of flowers, amongthe women, are also forbidden, I never could learn; but, it is said,that they were associated, in some way, with a forgotten heathenobservance.

  Many pleasant, and, seemingly, innocent sports and pastimes, arelikewise interdicted. In old times, there were several athletic gamespractised, such as wrestling, foot-racing, throwing the javelin, andarchery. In all these they greatly excelled; and, for some, splendidfestivals were instituted. Among their everyday amusements weredancing, tossing the football, kite-flying, flute-playing, andsinging traditional ballads; now, all punishable offences; thoughmost of them have been so long in disuse that they are nearlyforgotten.

  In the same way, the "Opio," or festive harvest-home of thebreadfruit, has been suppressed; though, as described to me byCaptain Bob, it seemed wholly free from any immoral tendency. Againsttattooing, of any kind, there is a severe law.

  That this abolition of their national amusements and customs was notwillingly acquiesced in, is shown in the frequent violation of manyof the statutes inhibiting them; and, especially, in the frequencywith which their "hevars," or dances, are practised in secret.

  Doubtless, in thus denationalizing the Tahitians, as it were, themissionaries were prompted by a sincere desire for good; but theeffect has been lamentable. Supplied with no amusements in place ofthose forbidden, the Tahitians, who require more recreation thanother people, have sunk into a listlessness, or indulge insensualities, a hundred times more pernicious than all the games evercelebrated in the Temple of Tanee.

  CHAPTER XLVIII.

  TAHITI AS IT IS

  AS IN the last few chapters, several matters connected with thegeneral condition of the natives have been incidentally touched upon,it may be well not to leave so important a subject in a statecalculated to convey erroneous impressions. Let us bestow upon it,therefore, something more than a mere cursory glance.

  But in the first place, let it be distinctly understood that, in all Ihave to say upon this subject, both here and elsewhere, I mean noharm to the missionaries nor their cause; I merely desire to setforth things as they actually exist.

  Of the results which have flowed from the intercourse of foreignerswith the Polynesians, including the attempts to civilize andChristianize them by the missionaries, Tahiti, on many accounts, isobviously the fairest practical example. Indeed, it may now beasserted that the experiment of Christianizing the Tahitians, andimproving their social condition by the introduction of foreigncustoms, has been fully tried. The present generation have grown upunder the auspices of their religious instructors. And although itmay be urged that the labours of the latter have at times been moreor less obstructed by unprincipled foreigners, still, this in no wiserenders Tahiti any the less a fair illustration; for, with obstacleslike these, the missionaries in Polynesia must always, and everywherestruggle.

  Nearly sixty years have elapsed since the Tahitian mission wasstarted; and, during this period, it has received the unceasingprayers and contributions of its friends abroad. Nor has anyenterprise of the kind called forth more devotion on the part ofthose directly employed in it.

  It matters not that the earlier labourers in the work, althoughstrictly conscientious, were, as a class, ignorant, and, in manycases, deplorably bigoted: such traits have, in some degree,characterized the pioneers of all faiths. And although in zeal anddisinterestedness the missionaries now on the island are, perhaps,inferior to their predecessors, they have, nevertheless, in their ownway at least, laboured hard to make a Christian people of theircharge.

  Let us now glance at the most obvious changes wrought in theircondition.

  The entire system of idolatry has been done away; together withseveral barbarous practices engrafted thereon. But this result is notso much to be ascribed to the missionaries, as to the civilizingeffects of a long and constant intercourse with whites of allnations; to whom, for many years, Tahiti has been one of the principalplaces of resort in the South Seas. At the Sandwich Islands, thepotent institution of the Taboo, together with the entire paganism ofthe land, was utterly abolished by a voluntary act of the nativessome time previous to the arrival of the first missionaries amongthem.

  The next most striking change in the Tahitians is this. From thepermanent residence among them of influential and respectableforeigners, as well as from the frequent visits of ships-of-war,recognizing the nationality of the island, its inhabitants are nolonger deemed fit subjects for the atrocities practised upon meresavages; and hence, secure from retaliation, vessels of all kinds nowenter their harbours with perfect safety.

  But let us consider what results are directly ascribable to themissionaries alone.

  In all cases, they have striven hard to mitigate the evils resultingfrom the commerce with the whites in general. Such attempts, however,have been rather injudicious, and often ineffectual: in truth, abarrier almost insurmountable is presented in the dispositions of thepeople themselves. Still, in this respect, the morality of theislanders is, upon the whole, improved by the presence of themissionaries.

  But the greatest achievement of the latter, and one which in itself ismost hopeful and gratifying, is that they have translated the entireBible into the language of the island; and I have myself knownseveral who were able to read it with facility. They have alsoestablished churches, and schools for both children and adults; thelatter, I regret to say, are now much neglected: which must beascribed, in a great measure, to the disorders growing out of theproceedings of the French.

  It were unnecessary here to enter diffusely into matte
rs connectedwith the internal government of the Tahitian churches and schools.Nor, upon this head, is my information copious enough to warrant mein presenting details. But we do not need them. We are merelyconsidering general results, as made apparent in the moral andreligious condition of the island at large.

  Upon a subject like this, however, it would be altogether too assumingfor a single individual to decide; and so, in place of my own randomobservations, which may be found elsewhere, I will here present thoseof several known authors, made under various circumstances, atdifferent periods, and down to a comparative late date. A few verybrief extracts will enable the reader to mark for himself whatprogressive improvement, if any, has taken place.

  Nor must it be overlooked that, of these authorities, the two first inorder are largely quoted by the Right Reverend M. Kussell, in a workcomposed for the express purpose of imparting information on thesubject of Christian missions in Polynesia. And he franklyacknowledges, moreover, that they are such as "cannot fail to havegreat weight with the public."

  After alluding to the manifold evils entailed upon the natives byforeigners, and their singularly inert condition; and after somewhattoo severely denouncing the undeniable errors of the mission,Kotzebue, the Russian navigator, says, "A religion like this, whichforbids every innocent pleasure, and cramps or annihilates everymental power, is a libel on the divine founder of Christianity. It istrue that the religion of the missionaries has, with a great deal ofevil, effected some good. It has restrained the vices of theft andincontinence; but it has given birth to ignorance, hypocrisy, and ahatred of all other modes of faith, which was once foreign to theopen and benevolent character of the Tahitian."