On Tahiti - Birds; Fish & Fisheries Home James Morrison On Tahiti - Division, Government &c.
Revised 2010-03-20
As to Minerals, there are few in these Islands but Iron and that scarce, tho in fact there were few who were sufficient Judges amongst us to know any other.
It is on all hands allowed that Necessty is the Mother of Invention and tho the Divine bounty has rendered Art almost useless for procuring the Necessarys of life in this Country yet the Ingenuity of these people is highly Conspicuous in evry article of their Manufacture, of which their Cloth Matting and oil are particular Articles of their Trafic, if it may be so Calld, but this is Generally carried on by making presents rather then by Exchange of Commoditys.
Their Cloth, of which the General Name is Ahhoo, is of Different sorts and and made from the Bark of different trees but the process of all is the Same.
The Best and finest white Cloth Calld Hoboo or Parrawye is made from the Yowte or Cloth Plant and is made thus—The plants having to their proper length (10 or i 2 feet) are cut by the Men and brought in by them which is their part of the work, the Weomen then Strip off the bark by entring a pointed Stick between the bark and the Plant and ripping it the whole length on one Side, & the Bark peels off. After they have Stripd all the Plants they take the Bark to the Water where they wash it, [and] spreading it on a board for the Purpose Scrape it Clean, taking off the Outside rind with a large Cockle shell and having freed it from the Sap and Slime it is wrapd in plantain leaves and covered with Grass, where it remains for two three or four days when it becomes Clammy and glutinous, & is then fit for working, it is then spread of a regular thickness of several strips forming a band of 7 or 8 inches broad and of what length the piece is intended to be and the Ground where they intend to work is spread with plantain leaves to keep it from the dirt—the Beans are then placed at equal distances about 6 feet asunder & at each of them two weomen work, having the Piece between them, beating it with square beetles to its proper breadth; this they perform by a Song given by one & Chorous'd by the rest and keep regular time and Shifting the Piece backwards and forwards till it is all beat out to a regular Breadth and thickness—it is then spread in the sun to Dry for one Day, after which it is bleachd in the Morning Dew till it is perfectly white, being kept from the sun till it is sufficiently bleachd, and then it is spread one or two days in the Sun to dry it and put up for Store or Use.
Sometimes they notch the Outward bark with a stone and wrap the Plants in leaves for two or three Days before they Strip them which makes the Clothbeautifully Clouded with several shades of Brown. They also Mix the Cloth plant with Breadfruit bark, but this is of a Coarser kind and does not bleach so well tho the Cloth is equally strong—Some of this Cloth is very fine and neck cloths made of it might be mistaken at a small distance for the labour of the Loom. If a landed Man wants a large quantity of Cloth made at once, he informs his Tennants when he means to Cut his plants and on the Day appointed all the Weomen attend with each their Beam & Beetle and a proportion of Breadfruit being prepared they bring the Work together and some times to the Number of 200 strike off together, making as much noise as so many Coopers. The piece is finishd in one Day and is sometimes 40 or 50 fathoms long and 4 fathoms wide.
They make another sort of several Thicknesses which are not placed regular or above half beaten, this is Calld Marro; of this they make their Upper Garments by Striping from one part and pasting on to another till they bring it to a regular breadth & thick ness and trim the Fragments off with a piece of split bamboo which answers the purpose of a knife—These they Paint with Mattde, a Beautiful red extracted from Berries of that name, & leaves before discribed, which they prepare thus—the Berries & leaves being gathered several hands begin & Nip them till they emitt a drop of Yellow Juice which they out on a leaf and so proceed till all are done the leaves with the juice on them are then put into a platter and sprinkled with Water when they are wrought up by squeesing till they become red and after they are sufficiently squeesed they are thrown out and the Juice put into a shell for use, a Bunch of the Fibers of the Mo'oo is then procured to dip in the paint and Wet the leaves and Sprigs they mean to imprint on the Cloth which being placed on it and pressd by the hand leaves the print behind and in this manner they paint it in many fanciful forms.
Beside this method of Painting they dye the Hoboo of Several Collours—as Brown of several shades from the Bark of Several trees, scraped off & infused in Cold water into which they dip the Cloth and the Sun heightens the Collour; twice dipping and 6 or 8 days Sun is sufficient to produce the highest shade, which never fades till the Cloth is worn out. The Black is produced from the Sap of the Mountain Plantain or Payee—or by soaking the Cloth under the root of some particular Cocoa nut trees which Grow in Swampy Ground where in a Nights time, or three or four seperate dippings, it becomes Jett black. The Brown is Call'd Heere or Poowhirri and after it has been Worn some time makes a Good Black, being then better then Clean White for receiving the Collour. The Black they Call Oowerre. The Yellow they extract from Turmeric & the roots of the Nonno—and with the latter, being a pale light collour they dye the lining of their Brown Cloth which they past in very Curiously and paint the border with red which gives it a very showy appearance this is now Calld Hapaa—they also take of Red, Black, Yellow & White a piece of equal dimentions, and paste them together Cutting them in Curious Forms so as to shew all the Collours—another Method is taking old brown Cloth, which they tear in pieces and Mix with some New bark, beating the Whole into one piece and when finishd it is spotted all over. This they dip in the Yellow dye and line it in the Same Manner, Infusing Sweet Scents in their dye. This is Calld Opottapotta.
The Ora is a Grey strong Cloth made of the Bark of the Sloe tree—Large quantitys of these trees grow in the Mountains, particularly Near Vyeooredee, where there is a great lake which they Call Vye Heereea from a large kind of Eels which they say it produces as big round as a Man; to the Banks of this lake resort Numbers of the Areeuoy (Who are Generally good Cloth Makers tho it is Chiefly the Weomens employment) to make the Cloth, it being held in great esteem being the Strongest & Best for wear.
They Generally stay some months on the Banks of this lake where they have plenty of Provisions—some few Inhabitants live Constantly there and are mostly employd making Cloth—the lake emptys itself into the Vally of Vyeooredee and they say that they have never yet found bottom, to it they Waft themselves from side to side on rafts made of the trunk of the Mountain Plantain. They Make Cloth of several different trees but these are the most common.
It is Chiefly the Work of the Weomen tho the Arreuoys are very excellent hands in evry branch of the work but expecially at Dyeing & Painting—the only tools requisite for making the Cloth after the Plants are Strip'd, are a Shell to Scrape the Bark, a Board about a foot wide and two feet long to scrape it on_a Beam of 8 inches Square and 10 or 12 feet long to beat it on, and Beetle of 2 J or 3 inches square and 14 or 16 inches long to beat it with—the Beam is made of Marra, a hard wood, & the Beetle of Toa having Grooves on each square of 4 different sizes, for the different kinds of Cloth they are intended to work.
The Beam is Calld Tdootdooa and the beetle Ayyey. The Cloth serves them for Dry weather and they can wash and dress it as often as they please, scenting it with the Tommannoo Nuts, which are bitter to the tast but of an agreeable Smell and by infusing them (when pounded) into water and dipping the Cloth into it; the smell will remain for several weeks, and generally till the Cloth wants dressing afresh.
Matting Is No Inconsiderable branch of their manufacture. Of this they make Sails for their Canoes, Bed Mats, Cloathing for Wet Weather, Sashes for Dress and Carpets for Acting their Heiva or Plays upon—Those for Sails, Carpets & Bedding are made from the leaves of the Palm & Palmetto; the former is Calld Moya and the Latter Evanne. Some of which are ten twelve & fourteen fathoms long, and two fathoms wide and are wrought with great regularity, and are Coarse or fine as the Makers fancy being from two to Sixteen parts to an inch—Those for Dress are known by the Name of Ahhoo with the name of the Bark &c of which they are made perfixd, they are made of different sizes, for the different parts of Dress, and from the Bark of the Poorow, Mattde, Roaa Cocoa nut leaves &c. and
Some are very fine, and have from twenty to thirty parts to an Inch. They are all made by the Weomen who work them by hand, without the Assistance of any machine except a Muscle shell to split the stuff. The Weomen also make matt Bags or Baskets, with Black and White, neatly disposed, and of Many different Patterns. The Wicker Baskets are made by the Men, from a running Vine Calld Eayeeay and are equal In workmanship to those of Europe. Their Platters, Stools, Chests &c are all neatly made and Well Finished & are the more admirable when we consider their Tools, which are no other then Stone Adzes of Different sizes, Shells, Sharks teeth, Bones, Sand to scower, and Fish Skins to polish, and with these tools they Build their Houses, & Canoes their Toil and pains have been much lessend since they have known the Use of Iron then which they esteem nothing most Valuable—they work the Pearl shells into Many forms for Fish hooks, having a different Shaped hook for evry different Fish; with this they Compose the Ornaments of their Mourning Dress which are Neatly disposed and it is surprizing to see with what exactness and dispatch they put it into form and Drill holes with a Sharks tooth (fixd in a long stick which they work between their hands) which will scarce admit the point of a Common pin.
Their lines for Fishing &c. are made from the Bark of several Shrubbs, but the Best is made of the Roaa and are Equal if not superior to any in the World. They twist them on their thigh in two or three Strands for their different purposes, and Ball them up as they make them.
The rope for their Canoes, Fishing Seeins &c. is chiefly made of the Poorow which being stripd of its outside rind and laid in water to Steep for three Days, to take off the Slime, is then Dryd and twisted by hand, making two strands first, and then laying in the third^—they make the Strands as they lay them by supplying them with more Bark as they twist up and when it is finished is smooth and as regular as if spun on hooks in a rope Ground, and with the Help of Tar, would be good rope and is nearly as strong as Common hemp. They seldom make any larger then three Inch, but to any length they have Occasion for and for particular occasions they lay three of these together.
Their method of making Oil is this—The Cocoa Nuts being full grown, are Gatherd in and freed from the Husk. They are then Broke in halves and the Milk which is then sour is thrown away and the Inside of the Nut grated into a Trough made for the Purpose—a piece of Coral tyed on a kind of Horse on which they sit to steady it serves for a Grater.
The Nuts being all grated, the trough is hung up, or fixd on a stand and the stuff left to disolve, and in a few days the Oil begins to run, then they Grate into it Sandal wood and mix into it the Dust from the palm blossoms and other sweet flowers herbs &c—and when all is disolvd they strain it off, and put into Bamboos for Use, the Oil retaining the Scent while it is kept Close stoppd—this Process of making it takes up near three Weeks, during which time they mostly turn it over and Mix it evry day—Another Method is by placing the Nuts in the sun to melt, which is done in a few days, but the Oil thus made is always rank—The Cocoa Nut is the only oil they make and the Chief use of it is for Dressing their Hair or Anointing their Bodys where they Chance to be sunburnt—it is Calld Monnoe. Their Manner of Trafic which they Call Tarahow & Eho is this—If a Man has occasion for more Cloth then he can procure from his neighbours, he takes a large hog or two, to the House of some of the People who Inhabit the Valleys and whose Chief Employment it is, and agrees with him to make the Cloth by such a time and in such quantity as shall be deemd the Value of the Hogs—which being settled, the Undertaker calls his neighbours together, and tells them He wants so much Cloth made by such a day and those who Choose to be concerned signify it to him; the Hogs are then killd and a feast made, after which each Furnish their proportion & the Weomen meet and put it together, and when finished it is delivered to the purchaser—but should the Undertaker not fulfil His agreement, or delay the time, through Negligence the other may if He is able plunder his house as for a theft. If a Man wants a house or a Canoe built, he employs one or more Carpenters, paying them before hand one half of what shall be Judged the Value of the Work they are to perform in Hogs, Cloth, Oil, Matting &c—and finds them in provisions all the time they are at work and when the Work is Compleat he pays the remainder according to Agreement, but should he refuse or neglect and the Neighbours think the labour worth the stipulated agreement then they may plunder him of all that he is worth.
If a Man wants to be Constantly Supplied with Fish He takes a Hog to a Fisherman and according to the size He agrees with the Fisherman to supply Him with Fish for one or more months, which they seldom fail to perform, Weather permitting for the stated time. What they look upon as fulfiling the Agreement is bringing as much Fish evry day as the Family can Eat, and for Failure of Promise they may be Plundered as before. Sometimes they agree for a supply evry other day and when the Fisherman fulfils His promise well they make Him a Feast—and the Fish they bring are sometimes equal to ten times the price at a Fair exchange. Such is the Method they use in trade, and if a Man wants help to Cultivate a piece of Ground for Cloth, Yava, Tarro &c.—he Employs his labourers in the same manner, always paying them the whole or one half of their hire before hand—but their Principal Method is by Gifts and Presents to each other, and it is not Common to refuse the Greatest Stranger any thing he stands in need of whether Food raiment or any thing else.
On Tahiti - Birds; Fish & Fisheries Home James Morrison On Tahiti - Division, Government &c.