TYPEE, OR LIFE IN THE MARQUESAS.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8666, 15 December 1893, Page 2

TYPEE, OR LIFE IN THE MARQUESAS.

Bt Herman Melville. (Weekly Phess.) CHAPTER XXX. A Professor op thr Fine Arts—His Persecutions — Something about Tattooing and Tαbooing — Two Anecdotes in Illustration of the • Latter— A few Thoughts on this Types. Dialect. In one of my strolU with Kory-Kory, in passing along the border of a thick growth of boshes, ruy attention was arrested by a singular noise. On entering the thicket I witnessed for the first time the operation of tattooing as performed by these islanders. I beheld a man extended flat upon his back on the ground, and, despite the forced composure ot hiacountenance,it was evident tliac he was suffering agony. His tormentor bent over him, workiug away for all the world like a stone-cutter with mallet and chisel. In one hand he held a short slender stick, pointed with a shark's tooth, on the upright end of which hetapped with a small hammer-like piece of wood, thus puncturing the skin, and charging it with the colouring matter in j which the instrument was dipped. A cocoa-nut shell containing this fluid way placed upon the ground. It is prepared bs mixing with a vegetable juice the ashes of the ''armor," or candle-nut, always pre- j served for the purpose. Beside the savage, and spread ouj upon a piece of soiled tappa, were a great number of curious black-looking Katie implements of bone and wood, used in the various divisions of 'hU art. A few terminated in a single fine point, and. like very delicate pencils, were employed in giving the finishing touches, or in operating upon the more sensitive portions of the bo'ly, as was the case in the present iustance. Others presen ed several point* distributed in a line, somewhat; resembling the teeth of a saw. These were employed iv the coarser parrs of the work, and particularly iv pricking in straight marks. Some presented their i points disposed in small figures, and being placed upon the body, were, by a single blow of the, hammer, made to leave their indelible imprt-a-ion. I observod a few, the handles of which were mysteriously curved, as if "intend* d to be introduced into the oriflue of the ear, with a view perhaps of beating (he tattoo upon the tympanum. Altogether, the aighr. of these strange instruments recalled to mind that display of cruel-looking mother-of-pearl-handled things which one sees in their velvet-lined cases at the elbow of a dentist. The artist was not at this time engaged on an original sketch, his snbject being a venerable savage, whose tattooing had become somewhat faded with age, and needed' a few repairs, aud accordingly he was merely employed in touching up the works of some of the old masters of the Typee school, as delineated upon the human canvas before him. The parts operated upon were the eyelids, where a longitudinal streak, like the one which adorned Kory-Kory, crossed the countenance of the victim. Iv spite of all the efforts of the poor old man, sundry twitching* and screwing* of the muscles of the face denoted the exquisite sensibility of these shutters to the windows of hw'jiou!. which he was now havJrig repainted. Bat the artist, with a heart as callous as•that of an army surgeon, continued his performance, enlivening his labours with a wild cliant, tapping away the while as merrily as a woodpecker. . ■ # So deeply engaged was he in his work, (hah he had not observed our approach, until, after having enjoyed an unmolested view of the operation, i chose to attract his attention. As soon as he perceived mc, supposing that I sought him in his professional capacity, he seized hold of mc in a paroxysm of delight, and was all eagerness to begin the work. When, however, I gave-him. to understand that he had altogether mistaken my viewa, nothing could exceed hie grief and disappointment. But recovering from this, he s «mcd determined not to credit my assertion! and grasping his implements, he flourished theih aboutin fearful vicinity to my face, going through an imaginary performance of his art, and every moment burnt i'-g into somf admiring exclamation at »he b-auty of hi-* , ' .. Horrified at the bare thought lot being rendered hideous for life if the wretch were to execute his purpose upon mc, I struggled to get away from him, while Kory-Kory. turned traitor, stood by, and besought mc to comply with the outrageous request! On my reiterated refusals the excited artist got half be-kle himself, and was overwhelmed with sorrow at losing so noble an opportunity of distinguishing himself in his profession. The ideaof engrafting bin caltooing noon my white skin filled him with all a painter , * enthusiasm : again and aeaisi he gazed into my countenance,,'and every fre«h.glimpse seemed to ffld to the vehemence of his ambition. Not knowing- to what extremities he mighr, proceed, and shuddering at theruinbemightirifllct upon my flgnre-he.ad, X now endeavoured to draw off his attention from it, and holding out my arm in a fit of desperation, nigued to him to commence operations. But.he rejected the compromise indignantly, and still continued hb attack on my face, «•••» though nothing sijorr. of that would satisfy him. When his fore-finger swept across my features, in laying out: the borders of those parellel hands which were to encircle ray countenance, ihe flesh fairly ciawied upon my bones. At last, half wild with terror and indignation, I succeeded in breaking away from the three savages, and fled towards old Marheyo's house, pursued by the indomituble artiet. who ran after mc, implements in hand. KoryKorv, however, at- Jast interfered, and drew hint off from the chase.

This incident opened nay eyes to a new danger; and I nowfelt convinced that in som« lnckless hoar I Should be disfigured in such a manner .as never more to have the face to return fo my countrymen, even should an.opporturiity offer. ... These apprehensions were greatly increased by the desire which King Mehevi and several of the inferior chiefs nowmanifested that I should be tattooed. The pleasure of the king was first signified to mc some three days after my casual encounter with Xarky" the arti«r. Heaven & ! whac imprecations I showered upon that Karky! Doubtless he had plotted a conspiracy against mc and my countenance, and would never rest until his diabolical purpose was accomplished. Several times I met him in various parts of the valley, and, invariably, whenever he descried mc, he came runninar after, mc with his mallet and chisel, flourishing them about my face as if he longed to begin. What an object he would have made of mcl

When the king first expressed his wish to mc, I made known to him my titter abhorrence of the measure, and worked myself in'o «uch a state of excitement, that he absolutely stared at mc in amazement. Ie evidently'snrpassed his majesty** comprehension how any sober-minded and sensible individual 'could entertain the least possible objection to bo Beautifying an operation.

Soon afterwards'be repeated his suggestion, and meeting with a like repulse, showed some symptoms of displeasure at ray obduracy. On hU a third time renew in/? hi* request, I plainly perceived thac something mast be done, or my vi«age was ruined for ev«r; I therefore screwed up my courage to the sticking point, and declared my willingness) o haye both arms tattooed from just above- the wrist to the shoulder. His majt-sty wan greatly pleased at the propaeitiou, and I was congraculaffng myself with having thus compromised the matter, when he intimated that as a thing of courtiemy face was first to undergo the operation. I was fairly driven to despair ; nothing but the utter ruin of my " face diviae," as the poets call it, would, I perceived, satisfy the Inexorable Mehevi and lm chiefs, or rather, that infernal Karky, for he was at the bottom of it oil.

! The only consolation afforded mc was A I choice of pattern* : I waa at perfect liberty to have my face spanned by three horizontal b*ra, after the fashion of ray serving man's; or to have as many oblique stripes el*ntin« across it; or if, like a true courtier, I chose 10 model my style on that of royalty, I might wear a\eorc of freemason badge upon ray countenance in the Hhape. of a mystic triangle. However, I wouM. have nonrf of these, though the king most earnestly impressed upon my mind J hat my choice was wholly unreal ricted. At last, seeing my unconquerable repugnance, he ceased to importune mc.

But not *o some other of the savages. Hardly a day passed but I was subjected to their annoying requests, until at last my existence became a burden to mc; the pleasures I had previously enjoyed no longer afforded mc delight, and all my former desires to escape from the valley now revived with additional force. A fact which I soon afterwards learned augmented ivy apprehension. The whole system of tattooing was, I found, connected with their religion; and it was evident, therefore, that they were resolved to make & convert of mc.

In the decoration of the chiefs it seems to be necessary to exercise the most elaborate pencilling; while some of the inferior native* looked as if they had been daubed over indiscriminately with a house painter's brush. I remember one fellow who prided himself hugely upon a great oblong patch; placed high upon his back and who always reminds mc of a man with a blister of Spanish flies stuck between his shoulders. Another whom I frequently met had the hollow of hi* eyes tattooed In two regular squares, and his visual organs >>eing remarkably brilliaut, they gleamed forth from out'this* setting like a couple of diamonds inserted in ebony.

Although convinced that tattooing was a religious observance, still the nature of the connection between is and , the superstitious idolatry of the people was a point upon which I could never obtain any information. Like the still more important system of the "Taboo," it always appeared inexplicable to mc. There is a marked similarity, almost an identity, between the religious institutions of most of the Polynesian inlands, and in all exists the mysterious "Taboo," restricted in its uses to a greater or less extent. So strange and complex in its arrange men fes Is this remarkable system, that I have in several cases met with individuals who, after residing for years among the islands in the PaciSc, and acquiring a considerable knowledge of the language, have nevertheless been altogether unable to give any satisfactory account of its operations. Situated as I was in the Typee valley, I perceived every hour the effects of this all-controlling power, without in the least comprehending if,. . These effects were, indeed, widespread and universal, pervading the most important as well as the minutest transactions of life. The savage, in short, lives in the continual observance of ics dictates, which guide aud control every action of his being.

For several day« after entering the valley 1 had been saluted fifsy times in the twenty-four hours with the talismanic word "Taboo" shrieked iv my eara, at Home groaa violalioa of its provisions, of which I had unconsciously been guilty. The day after our arrival I happened to hand some tobacco to Toby over the heed of a native who sac between us. He started up, as if stung by an adder ; while ttie whole company, manifesting an ec[ual degree of horror, simultaneously screamed out " taboo I" I never again perpetrated a similar piece of ill-matmera, which, indeed, was forbidden by the Canons of good breeding, as well as by the mandates of the taboo. Bat it was not always no easy to perceive wherein you had contravened the spirit; of this institution. I was many times called to order, if I may use the phrase, when I Could not for the life of mc conjecture what particular offence 1 had committed. Ono day I was strolling through a secluded portion of the valley, and hearing the musical sound of the cloth-mallet at a little distance, I turned down a path that conducted mc in a few moments to a house where there were some half-dozen girls employed iv making tappa. This was an operation I had frequently witnessed, and had handled the bark in all the various stages of its preparation. On the present occasion the females were intent upon their occupation, and after looking up and talking gaily to mc for a few moments, they returned their employment. I regarded thorn for awhile in silence, and then carelessly picking up a haudful of the material that lay around, proceeded unconsciously to pick it apart. Whilei , thus engaged, I Was suddenly startled by a scream, like that of a whole boarding-school of young ladies jaat on the point of going into hysterics. Leaping up with the idea of seeing a score of Huppar warriore about to perform anow the Sabine atrocity, I found myself confronted by. the company of girls, whj>, having dropped their work, stood before mc with starling eyes, swelling bo joins, autl fingers pointed in horror towards mc. Thinking that some venomous repile must, be concealed in-the bark which I held in my hand, 1 began cautiously to separate and examine it. Whilst I did so the horrified girls redoubled their shrieks. Their Mild cries and frightened mo ions actually alarmed mc, and throwing down the tappa, I was about to rush from the houau, when iv the same instant their clamours and one of them seizing mc by the arm, pointed to the broken fibres that, had just fallen from my grasp, and screamed iv my ears the fatal word Taboo!

I subsequently fouiyl out that the fj brie they were eugnged in making was of a pccnliur kiud, destined to be worn on the head's of the females, and through every stage of its manufacture was guarded by a vigorous taboo, which interdicted the whole masculine gender from even so much as touching ir. Frequently in walking through tha grove* I observed bread-fruit ana cocoanut trees, wiih a wreath of leaves twined in a peculiar fashion about their trunk*. This was che mark of the taboo. The trees themselves, tiieir fruit, and even the shadows they cast upon the ground, were cousecrated by its presence. In the same way a pipe, which the king bad bestowed uppn mc, was rendered sacred in the eyes of the natives, none of whom could I ever prevail upon to smoke from it. The bowl was encircled by a woven band of grass, somewhat resembling those Turks' heads occasionally worked lv the handles of our whip-stalks. A similar badge wa9 once braided about mywrlnt by the royal hand of Mehevi himself, who, as noon an he had concluded the operation, pronounced mc '* Taboo." This occurred shortly after Toby'y disappearance ; and were it not that from the ißst moment I had entered the valley the natives had treated mc with uniform kindness I should have supposed that their conduct afterwards was to be ascribed to the fact that I had leceived this sacred investiture. The capricious operation of the taboo is not its lee so remarkable feature; to enumerate i hem all would be impossible. Black hogs—mLuiti to a certain age— women in an IWiitfesfiog situation—young men while the operation of tattooing their faces is g iug on—and certain parts of the valley during the continuance of a shower —are alike fenced about by the operations of the taboo. I witnessed a striking instance of its effects in the bay of Tior, nay visit to which place has been alluded to in a former part of thin narrative. On that occasion our won by captain formed one of the party. .lie was a most insatiable sportsman. Outward bound, and off the pitcii of Cape H'>ruj he use to sit on the taffrail. and keep the steward loading three or four old fowling-pieces, with which he would biing down albatrosses, Cape pigeons, jays, petrels, and divers other marine fowl, who followed chattering in bur wake. The sailors were struck aghast at hit impiety, and one and all attributed our forty days' beating about that horrid headland to*his sacrilegious slaughter of these inoffensive bird;?. At Tior he evinced 'he same disregard forthereligious prejudices of the islanders, as he had previously shown for the superstitions of the sailors. Having heard that there were a considerable number of fowls in the valley—the progeny of some cocks and hens accidentally left there by an English vessel, and which, being strictly tabooed, flew about almost in a wild state he determined to break tbrongh all restraints, and be the death of them. Accordingly, he provided himself with a most formidable looking gun, and announced his landing on tbe beach by shooting down a noble cock that was crowing what S roved.to be his ovrn funeral direre. on the rob of an adjoining tree. "Taboo," shrieked the affrighted savages. "Oh, hang your taboo," Rays the nautical sportsman; "talk taboo to the marines;" and bang went the piece again, and down came another victim. At this the natives ran scampering through the groves, horror-struck at the enormity of tbe act. All that afternoon the rocky sides of the valley rang with successive, reports, and the superb plumage of many a beautiful fowl was ruffled by the fatal bullet Had it not been that tbe French admiral, with a large party, was then in the glen, I have no doubt that the natives, although their tribe was •mail and dispirited,

would have inflicted euramary vengeance upou tho wan who thus outraged their most sacred lualitutious; as If. was, they contrived to annOy him not a little. Thirsting with his exertions, the skipper directed hie to a stream ;'but ihe savages, who bad followed at a H'tlo distance, his object. ro«hed towards him and forced him awny from ite bank—his lips would have polluted It, Wearied at last, he sought to cuter a home, that ho might rest for awhile on ihe mats ; its inmates gathered tumultuously about tho door and denied him ad inittance. He coaxed and blustered by turus, but in vain: tho natives were neither to be intimidated nor appeased, and as a final resovt he was obliged to call together his boat's crew, and pull away from what he termed the most infernal place he ever stepped upon. Lucky was it for him and for us that we were not honoured on our departure by a salute of stones from the hands of the exasperated Tiors. In this way, on the neighbouring island of Hopo, were killed, but ft few week-* previously, and for a nearly similar offence, the master and three of the crew of the X ■

I cannot determine witli anything approachlug to certainty, what power it is that Imposes the taboo. Whnn I consider the slight disparity of condition a'uong the islander*—tho very limited and inconsiderable prerogat Ives of the king and chiefs—and the loose and indefinite functions of the priesthood, most of whom were hardly to be distinguished from the rest of their countrymen, I am wholly at a loss where to look for the authority which regulates this potent institution. It is imposed upon something to-day, and withdrawn to-morrow; while Its operations in other cases are perpetual. Sometimes its restrictions only affect a single individual—sometimes a particular family —sometimes a whole tribe ; and in a fewinstances they extend not merely over the various clans ou a single Island, but over nil the inhabitants of an entire group. In illustration of this latter peculiarity, I may cite the law which forbids a female to enter a canoe —a prohibition which prevails upon all the northern Marquesas Inlands. The word itself (laboo) is used in more than one signification. Ifc is something used by a parent to his child, when in the exercise of parental authority he forbids it to perform a particular action. Anything opposed to the ordinary customs of the islftnders, although not expressly prohibited, is said to be " taboo." The Typee language ia one very difficult to be acquired; it bears a close resemblance to the other Polynesian dialects, allot which show a common origin. The duplication of words, a* "luiueo lumee," " poee poee," " rauee muee," is one of their peculiar features. But another, aad a more annoying one, is the different senses in which one and the same word 1% employed ; its vnriode meanings all have a certain convection, which only makes the matter more puzzling. So one brUk, lively little word is obliged, like a servant in a poor family, to perform all sorts of dutii.-s;for instance, one particular combination of syllables expresses the ideas of sleep, rest, reclining, RUting, leaning, and ail other things anywise analogous thereto, tho particular meaning being shown chiefly by a variety of gestures and the eloquent expreattion of the countenance. The intricacy of these dialects is another peculiarity. In the Missionary College at Labalnaluna, or Mawee, one of the Sandwich Islands, I saw a tabular exhibition of a Hawaiian verb, conjugated through all its mood? and tenses. It covered the side of a considerable apartment, and I doubt whether Sir William Jones himself would not have despaired of mastering it.