A NEW ZEALANDER’S NOTES ON THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XIII, Issue VII, 18 August 1894, Page 145

A NEW ZEALANDER’S NOTES ON THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS.

THE photograph reproduced in this issue needs very little explanation. The group of women and girls

is from a view taken in one of the many burial places which may be seen scattered over the islands. The faces are thoroughly typical of the Friendly Islanders, and the figures are represented in their every-day dress. The natives are very fond of flowers, sometimes using them for personal decoration, as will be seen in our illustration. The starry white blossom of the ‘ Charley ’ is the favourite, perhaps owing to its great fragrance. For this reason it is used to perfume the cocoanut oil so liberally used by the natives for anointing the skin. In most localities the graves are covered by large mounds of shells and coral, which the women decorate with streamers made from native plants, and sometimes strings of flowers and berries.