An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands/Chapter VIII

by William Mariner

THE TONGA ISLANDS, 233 CHAPTER VIII. Arrival of Filimoeatoo at Foa— Description of the. sport caUed fanna kalai— Treaty of Filimoeatoo with the chi^f of Hihifo, respecting the bird kalai, for Finow— Desertion of several chiefs and warriors to Tonga— Island of Tofooa, and restrictions respecting cutting down the Toa tree (Casuarina)— Volcano on this island— Certain principles among the Fiji islanders alluded to— Grave of John Nor- ton, of Captain Bligh's boat, with some account of him— Extract from Bligh's narrative— Remarks upon the sub- ject—Some account of a ship arriving at the island of Tonga from Botany Bay— Account given of Botany Bay by a Tonga chief and his wife, who had returned from there — Finow's ideas respecting the value and circulation of money— General slaughter of the dogs at Vavaoo, on ac- count of their destroying the game—Their flesh cooked and eaten by several chiefs — Finow's first essay at the sport of fanna kalai with the bird from Tonga. Shortly after the arrival of the prince, with Toobo Toa and Mr. Mariner, at the island of Foa, there came a canoe from Vavaoo with the Tonga chief Filimoeatoo, who, it will, be recol- lected, was a relation of Finow, and had joined his cause at Pangaimotoo, leaving the island of Tonga for that purpose, by leave of his supe- rior, the chief of Hihifo. Filim6eatoo was now on his return to the island of Tonga, with a ^«i4 TRANSACTIONS AT commission from Finow to treat with the chief of Hihifo respecting a particular bird of the species called kalai (trained for sport). This latter chief, although belonging to the island of Tonga, was never professedly Finow's enemy, otherwise than as Finow had been associated with the late Toobo Nuha, whom the chief of Hihifo mortally hated* j but as Toobo Nuha was. now dead, and consequently all cause of enmity removed, Finow was in hopes he should be able to prevail upon the chief of Hihifo to make him a present of one of the first and best trained birds, of the kind in question, that ever was known, and which this chief had trained up with great care, and had long had in his possession, though it was the envy of every chief that had seen it. This particular bird Finow was ardently desirous of, to prac- tise the sport called fanna kalai, of which we shall give a description. The sportsman, armed with a bow and arrows, conceals him- self within a large cage, made of a sort of wicker-work, covered over with green leaves, but not so much but what he may see his game: on the top of this cage is the cock bird tied by the leg, who makes a noise, and flaps his wings, as if calling other birds to come and fight him:

• The cause of this enmity, Mr. Mariner is not well ac-

quainted with. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 235 within is a smaller cage, in which there is the hen bird, who also makes a peculiar noise, as if in answer to the one on the outside ; but be this as it may, both cock birds and hens are attracted towards the spot, and are shot by the sportsman. This sport is practised by none but the king and very great chiefs, for training and keeping these birds require exceeding great care as well as great expense. One man is ap- pointed to each pair of birds, and he has no- thing else to do but to attend to the management of them J and, if this is not done with great skill, they will not make the noise necessary to attract others. So much attention, in short, is paid to these birds, that their keepers are authorised to go and demand plantains for them, of whomsoever it may be, and howsoever scarce may be this article of food, even if there Were a famine, and the people almost starving : if a keeper, even on such occasions, sees a fine bunch of plantains, he will go and taboo it, which he does by sticking a reed in the tree, and telling the proprietor that those plantains are tabooed for the use of the birds. These keepers live well, and are, in general, very inso- lent fellows, sometimes committing very great depredations, under frivolous pretensions of procuring food for their birds. The sufferer sometimes makes a complaint to the king, or 236 TRANSACTIONS AT whatever chief the keeper belongs to ; and if the chief thinks the offence really outrageous, he orders the naan a severe beating, which is usually done by inflicting heavy slaps with the open hand upon his bare back, or striking him about the head and face with the fist. rilim6eatoo soon departed from Foa, on his way to Hihifo, and arrived at this place without any accident. He was not, however, so suc- cessful in the object of his journey as he ex- pected to be ; for the chief of Hihifo was by no means willing to part with a bird, which, he said, had cost great hazard to himself, and the loss of many lives, to preserve; for he had sus- tained wars with so many other chiefs, who had quarrelled with him on account of his refusing to give it them, that he felt, he said, more than ever resolved to keep it : but, however, as Fi- now had so strong a desire for an excellent and well trained bird of that kind, he would make him a present of a pair, which, although not quite so good as the one in question, yet would be found exceedingly valuable. Before part- ing, however, he qualified his refusal of the rare bird by saying, that if he ever did give it away, it must be after very mature deliberation, for it had already cost him a vast deal, and was cer- tainly the best bird that had ever been trained. He was heartily glad to hear of the death of THE TONGA ISLANDS. 237 Toob6 Nuha, and declared that no personal en- mity existed on his part towards Finow ; but, on the contrary, he felt so great an attachment for him, that he would most willingly return with Filimoeatoo to Vavaoo to pay a visit to Finow, but that his matabooles would not allow him. Filimoeatoo having remained a day and a night with this chief, returned with the two birds to Finow, and gave him an account of his interview with the chief of Hihifo. Finow re- ceived the present, but was by no means well pleased with the refusal of the bird, on which he had so much set his heart. The following morning, however, he went out to try his sue-' cess with these two, and which so far exceeded his expectations, that he wanted more than ever to have the excellent bird, and he immediately set about to obtain it by rich presents. He accordingly got ready sea-horses' teeth, beads* axes, a looking-glass, several iron bolts, and a grinding stone, all of which he had procured from European ships, and chiefly from the Port au Prince. Besides these things, he ordered to be got ready several bales of Vavaoo gnntoOy fine Hamoa mats, and a large quantity of cava ; the whole of which he gave in charge to Fili- moeatoo to take immediately to Hihifo, and present them to the chief, except some of the cava, which he was to distribute among the 23B TRANSACTIONS AT lower chiefs and matabooles, to engage them more readily in his interest. Finow himself ac- companied Filimoeatoo as far as Haano, (one of the Hapai islands,) and took many of his prin- cipal chiefs along with him, with a view of les- sening the consumption of food at Vavaoo. On this expedition there were five canoes, all of which arrived safe at Hiiano ; and from this island Filimoeatoo proceeded in one canoe with thirty men to Hihifo, where he also arrived safe, and distributed his presents. The chief of Hihifo, on this second urgent application from Finow, after some considera- tion, answered, that as he could not make any use of the bird himself, his time being so touch taken up in constant warfare with his neigh- bours, and as it would not be consistent xvith the character of a chiefs to retain from another that which he could not use himself, he would, at once, resign the bird to Finow, notwith- standing the high value he placed on it, and the immense- care and trouble it had cost him. This famous bird was accordingly consigned to the charge of Filimoeatoo, who returned with all convenient speed to tell the king the success of his journey. Finow was still at the

• The chiefs, among themselves, use this sort of expres-

sion, — as in civilized countries one would say, it is not acting like a gentleman. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 239 Hapai islands, when he received his long wished-for present ; but he made no use of it till about three weeks afterwards, when he had returned to Vavaoo. In the mean time Mac- capapa, Lolo hea Bibigi, and three others, all chiefs and warriors, secretly left Vavaoo, and sailed for Tonga, to join Taky^ chief of the fortress of Bea (who formerly burnt Finow's fortress of Nioocalofa in so treacherous a man- ner). They took this step, being apprehensive that the king might hereafter wreak his ven- geance on them for fighting against him : the sequel will show how far their apprehensions were well grounded. Whilst Finow was yet at the Hapai islands^ Mr. Mariner accompanied the prince to the island of Tofooa, to procure iron-wood, which is found there in great abundance. The prince first obtained leave from Tooitonga, (the divine chief,) for this island is his property, and therefore considered sacred ; besides, it is sup- posed to be the residence of the sea gods, and on this account the people firmly believe that no sharks will hurt a man who is swimming near upon its coast, but, on the contrary, swim round him, and even pass so close as to touch him, without shewing the least hungry dispo- sition. Mr. Mariner, however, never had an 240 TRANSACTIONS AT opportunity of witnessing the miraculous absti- nence of this sort of fish. On the island of Tofooa there is a small vol- cano, situated near the northern extremity, from which smoke almost constantly issues, and pumice-stones are very frequently thrown out. An eruption of flame takes place, sometimes twice or thrice a week, and at other times scarcely once in two months, and generally lasts from one to two or three days. The way to the top is extremely difficult ; but Mr. Ma- riner, taking one of the natives of the island for a guide, resolved to ascend it. They began the ascent early in the morning, and, although their progress was much impeded by the quan- tity of loose pumice-stone, and often rendered very dangerous, they reached the top in about four hours. There was at this time no erup- tion of flame, which had ceased a few hours before, after having lasted three days j smoke there was, however, in abundance, but which did not much annoy them, as they were on the windward side : sundry explosions were also heard from within, like the noise of water being thrown upon burning pitch. The crater was about thirty feet diameter. Whilst they wer^ here, Mr. Mariner took care not to let his cdDapanion approach too near, lest he might THE TONGA ISLANDS. 241 have some sinister intent : such precaution was by no means unnecessary, as this species of treachery, when it can be performed secretly, is not unusual, particularly among great war- riors, when they have some petty interest to consult. This, however, is not to be consi- dered the natural disposition of the Tonga peo- ple, but a practice which, along with that of war, they have learned from the natives of the Fiji islands, where a man seldom goes out, even perhaps with his greatest friend, without being armed, and cautiously upon his guard. Mr. Mariner had, therefore, provided himself with a pistol, as a defence against any violent mea- sures on the part of his companion. On their return down the mountain, he told his compa- ^ nion that he might have shot him dead, and nobody would have been the wiser, to which the man replied, " I see you are loto hoto*^ like

• ' the Fiji people meaning that he possessed

policy and caution against treachery j and added, *' as I am unarmed, it is a proof that 1 " had no ill design, and therefore did not sus- " pect any in you." Whilst on this island, Mr. Mariner went to see the grave of an Englishman, John Norton, belonging to the boat of the Bounty, Captain Bligh, whose crew had mutinied. He was led

• Of a wise mind.

VOL. r. ' R 242 TRANSACTIONS AT to visit this spot from a motive of curiosity, excited by the account which the natives had given him of the death of this man. Lest, however, the reader may have forgotten this particular circumstance in the narrative of Captain Bligh, we shall first give the accoun as related by this gentleman. Having put into this island for supplies, and after having re- mained a few days, he discovered that the na- tives had a design against him ; in consequence of which he made the best of his way with his meti to the boat : the narrative then proceeds in the following words : " When I came to the boat, and was seeing the people embark, Nageete wanted me to stay to speak to Eefow ; but I found he was en- couraging them to the attack, and I deter- mined, had it then begun, to have killed him for his treacherous behaviour. I ordered the carpenter not to quit me until the other people - were in the boat. Nageete, finding I would not stay, loosed himself from my hold, and went off, and we all got into the boat, except . one man, who, while I was getting on board, quitted it, and ran up the beach to cast the stern-fast off, notwithstanding the master and others calling him to return, while they were hauling me out of the water. " I was no sooner in the boat than the attack THE TONGA ISLANDS. 243 began by about two hundred men ; the unfor- tunate poor man, who had run up the beach, was knocked down, and the stones flew like a shower of shot. Many Indians got hold of the stern rope, and were near hauling us on shore, and would certainly have done it, if I had not had a knife in my pocket, with which I cut the rope. We then hauled oiF to the grapnel, every one being more or less hurt. At this time I saw five of the natives about the poor man they had killed, and two of them were beating him about the head with stones in their hands. " We had no time to reflect, before, to my. surprise, they filled their canoes with stones, and twelve men came off after us to renew the attack, which they did so effectually as nearly to disable all of us. Our grapnel was foul, but Providence here assisted us ; the fluke broke, and we got to our oars and pulled to sea. They, however, could paddle round us, so that we were obliged to sustain the attack without being able to return it, except with such stones as lodged in the boat, and in this I found we were very inferior to them. We could not close, because our boat was lumbered and heavy, and that they knew very well : I therefore adopted the expedient of throwing overboard some clothes, which they lost time in picking R 2 244 TRANSACTIONS AT up ; and, as it was now almost dark, they gave over the attack, and returned towards the shore, leaving us to reflect on our unhappy situation. " The poor man I lost v/as John Norton : this was his second voyage with me as quarter- master, and his worthy character made me lament his loss very much. He has left an aged parent, I am told, whom he supported^" The account the natives gave was- to the following purport.- Part of Captain Bligh's crew had been on shore to procure water, and had all returned into their boat, except one man who was making the best of his way after his companions, with an axe in his hand ; some of the natives, perceiving the axe, resolved to possess tliemselves of it, particularly one of them, who was a carpenter ; they accordingly pursued him, and this carpenter, throwing a stone at him, knocked him down, and, coming up, beat him on the head with stones till he was dead. They then stripped the body, and dragged it up the country towards a malai, where they left it exposed two or three days, and afterwards buiied it near the spot. They said very little about a general attack, merely stating, that some of the natives threw stones at Captain Bligh's boat; and Mr. Mariner, at that time, not having read the narrative, did THE TONGA ISLANDS. 245 not enquire into such particulars as he other- wise would have done: but the most wonderful part of the story is, that the whole track of ground through which the body was dragged had ever since been destitute of grass, as well as the spot on which it lay for two or three days. It was this cii'cumstance, principally, that engaged Mr. Mariner to visit the place, and there, indeed, he found the bare track of o'l'ound from the beach to near the place where they say he was buried; nor has it much the appearance of a beaten path, besides that it leads to and from places, where there are but few inhabitants: at the termination of this track there is a bare place, lying transversely, about the length and breadth of a man. However trivial such relations may appear in themselves, they are worth mentioning, with a view to contrast them with the accounts given by credible travellers, that they may tend to prove how far the statements of the natives may be depended on; besides which, in some instances, as in the present, they shew what kind of superstitions they are subject to (for another instance of this kind, see the affair of the missionaries, p. 61). As to the bare track, although it may not now have much the appear- ance of a beaten path, owing to the grass hav- ing grown irregularly on either side, yet there is every probability that, some years back, it was such, in a great degree, though now little trod : but those who are willing to keep up the spirit of the wonderful have attributed it to this supernatural cause. Superstitions, in all countries, are much of the same kind ; we have similar ones in our own; but, whilst men of cultivated minds disregard them, the vulgar in general most firmly give their belief, particu- larly where there is some sensible object that appears to corroborate the tale *. Whilst Finow was yet at the Hapai islands, he often held conversations at his cava par- ties with Filimoeatoo, respecting the state of iaffairs at Tonga. Among other things, this chief related, that a ship from Botany Bay had touched there about a week before he arrived, on board of which there was a Tonga chief, Paloo Mata Moigna, and his wife, Fataf6hi, both of whom had formerly left Tonga (before the death of Toogoo Ahoo), and had resided some years at the Fiji islands, from which place they afterwards went along with one Selly (as they

• I observe that some readers have looked upon the above

explanation as if I had considered it perfectly satisfactory in regard to all the phenomena : this 1 did not intend : I have merely ventured to state what I consider to be the probable cause of the long track. As to the short transverse one, suffice it to say, that I do not believe it to have been occa- sioned by poor Norton's body. THE TONGA ISLANDS. 247 pronounced it), or, probably, Selby, an English- iiicin, in a vessel belonging to Botany Bay, to reside there. At this latter place he and his wife remained about two years, and now, on their return to Tonga, finding the island in such an unsettled state, they chose rather, (notwith- standing the earnest entreaties of their friends) to go back again to Botany Bay. The account they gave of the English customs at this place, and the treatment they at first met with, it may be worth while to mention. The first thing that he and his wife had to do, when they ar- rived at the governor's house, where they went to reside, was to sweep out a large court yard, and clean down a great pair of stairs ; in vain . they endeavoured to explain, that in their own country they were chiefs, and, being accustomed to be waited on, were quite unused to such employments : their expostulations were taken no notice of, and work they must. At first their life was so uncomfortable, that they wished to die ; no one seemed to protect them ; all the houses were shut against them ; if they saw any body eating, they were not invited to partake : nothing was to be got without money, of which they could not comprehend the value, nor how this same money was to be obtained in any quantity ; if they asked for it, nobody would give them any, unless they worked for it, and then it was so small in quantity, that they could not get one tenth part of what they wanted with it. One day, whilst sauntering about, the chief fixed his eyes upon a cook's shop, and, seeing several people enter, and others, again, coming out with victuals, he made sure that they were sharing out food, according to the old Tonga fashion, and in he went, glad enough of the occasion, expecting to get some pork; after waiting some time, with anxiety to be helped to his share, the master of the shop asked him what he wanted, and, being answered in an unknown language, straightway kicked him out, taking him for a thief, that only wanted an opportunity to steal. Thus, he said, even being a chief did not prevent him being used ill, for, when he told them he was a chief, they gave him to understand, that money made a man a chief. After a time, however, he acknowledged that he got better used, in proportion as he became acquainted with the customs and language. He expressed his astonishment at the perseverance with which the white people worked from morning till night, to get money: he could not conceive how they were able to endure so much labour.

After having heard this account, Finow asked several questions respecting the nature of money: what is it made of?—is it like iron? can it be fashioned like iron into various useful instruments? if not, why cannot people procure what, they want in the way of barter? — but where is money to be got? — if it be made, then every man ought to spend his time in making money; that when he has got plenty, he may be able afterwards to obtain whatever else he wants. In answer to the last observation, Mr. Mariner replied that the material of which money was made was very scarce and difficult to be got, and that only chiefs and great men could procure readily a large quantity of it; and this either by being inheritors of plantations or houses, which they allowed others to have, for paying them so much tribute in money every year; or by their public services; or by paying small sums of money for things when they were in plenty, and afterwards letting others have them for larger sums, when they were scarce: and as to the lower classes of people, they worked hard, and got paid by their employers in small quantities of money, as the reward of their labour: &c. That the king was the only person that was allowed to make (to coin) money, and that he put his mark upon all that he made, that it might be known to be true; that no person could readily procure the material of which it was made, without paying money for it and if contrary to the taboo of the king, he turned this material into money, he would scarcely have made as much as he had given for it. Mr. Mariner was then going on to shew the convenience of money as a me- dium of exchange, when Filimoeatoo interrupted him, saying to Finow, I understand how it is ; — money is less cumbersome than goods, and it is very convenient for a man to exchange away his goods for money ; which, at any other time, he can exchange again for the same or any other ^oods that he may want ; whereas the goods themselves may perhaps spoil by keeping (par- ticularly if provisions) but the money he sup- posed would not spoil ; and although it was of no true value itself, yet being scarce and diffi- cult to be got without giving something useful and really valuable for it, it was imagined to be of value ; and if every body considered it so, and would readily give their goods for it, he did not see but what it was of a sort of real value to all who possessed it, as long as their neighbours chose to take it in the same way. Mr. Mariner found he could not give a better explanation, he therefore told Filimoeatoo that his notion of the nature of money was a just one. After a pause of some length, Finow re- plied that the explanation did not satisfy him : he still thought it a foolish thing that people should place a value on money, when they either could not or would not apply it to any useful (physical) purpose: "if," said he, "it were made of iron, and could be converted into knives, axes, and chisels, there would be some sense in placing a value on it; but as it is, I see none: if a man," he added, "has more yams than he wants, let him exchange some of them away for pork or gnatoo; certainly money is much handier, and more convenient, but then as it will not spoil by being kept, people will store it up, instead of sharing it out, as a chief ought to do, and thus become selfish; whereas, if provision were the principal property of a man, and it ought to be, as being both the most useful and the most necessary, he could not store it up, for it would spoil, and so he would be obliged either to exchange it away for something else useful, or share it out to his neighbours, and inferior chiefs and dependants, for nothing." He concluded by saying, "I understand now very well what it is that makes the Papalangis so selfish;—it is this money!"

"When Mr. Mariner informed Finow that dollars were money, he was greatly surprised, having always taken them for páänga^[1], and things of little value; and he was exceedingly sorry he had not secured all the dollars out of the Port au Prince, before he had ordered her to be burnt: "I had always thought," said he, that your ship belonged to some poor fellow, perhaps to king George's cook^[2]; for captain Cook's ship, which belonged to the king, had plenty of beads, axes, and looking-glasses on board, whilst yours had nothing but iron hoops, oil, skins, and twelve thousand páänga as I thought: but if every one of these was money, your ship must have belonged to a very great chief indeed."

Finow and his chiefs having now remained at the Hapai islands nearly six weeks, resolved to return to Vavaoo, and the following day set sail: the prince and Mr. Mariner accompanying them. As soon as they arrived at Vavaoo, the king gave orders that all the dogs in the island, except a few that belonged to chiefs, should be killed, because they destroyed the game, particularly the kalai; after which he promised himself great sport with his favourite bird. As the breed of dogs was scarce at these islands, there were not more than fifty or sixty killed on the occasion; but on these several of the chiefs made a hearty repast. Finow was particularly fond of dog's flesh, but he ordered it to be called pork; because women and many men had a degree of abhorrence at this sort of diet. The parts of the dog in most esteem are the neck and hinder quarters. The animal is killed by blows on the head, and cooked in the same manner as a hog: Mr. Mariner has frequently partaken of it, and found it very good; the fat is considered excellent. At the Sandwich islands the practice was almost universal in Mr. Mariner's time, so that more dog's flesh was eaten than pork: the hogs being preserved to be used as a trading commodity with European and American vessels. At these last mentioned islands most of the male dogs are operated upon, and afterwards fattened for the express purpose; and Mr, Mariner thinks their flesh is nearly as good and tender as that of a sucking pig.

Finow having ordered all things to be got ready, went out early in the morning after his arrival, to try the excellence of his bird; and had very great sport. The day following he went out again; but the bird, from some cause or another, would not make any noise; and this made him so angry that he knocked it on the ground, and beat it with an arrow, and, after having almost killed it, gave it away to one of his chiefs, declaring how vexatious it was to have a bird that would not speak after having had so much trouble with it. He afterwards used the two birds that were first sent to him, and was tolerably well satisfied with them.

1. Paanga is the name they give to a certain kind of bear which is used in one of their games (see Laffo among the games at the end of the second volume): they supposed dollars to be used among us for a similar purpose.
2. At these islands a cook is considered one of the lowest of mankind in point of rank.