It is no uncommon thing for the richest men to come to see us with a large quantity of cloth rolled round the loins, and all the rest of the body naked; though the cloth wrapped round them was sufficient to have clothed a dozen people. The women at sunset always bared their bodies down to the waist, which seemed to be a kind of easy undress to them; as it is to our ladies to pull off any finery that has been used during the course of the day, and change it for a loose gown or capuchin.
Both sexes shade their faces from the sun with little bonnets of cocoanut leaves, which they make occasionally in a very few minutes; some have these made of fine matting, but that is less common. Of matting they have several sorts; some very fine, which is used in exactly the same manner as cloth for their dresses, chiefly in rainy weather, as the cloth will not bear the least wet.
Ornaments they have very few. They are very fond of earrings, but wear them only in one ear. When we arrived they had their own earrings made of shell, stone, berries, red peas, and some small pearls, of which they wore three tied together; but our beads very quickly supplied their place. They are also very fond of flowers, especially of the Cape jasmine, of which they have great plenty planted near their houses. These they stick into the holes of their ears and into their hair, if they have enough of them, which is but seldom. The men wear feathers, often the tails of tropic birds stuck upright in their hair. They have also a kind of wig made upon one string, of the hair of men or dogs, or of cocoanut, which they tie under their hair at the back of the head. I have seen them also wear whimsical garlands made of a variety of flowers stuck into a piece of the rind of plantain, or of scarlet peas stuck upon a piece of wood with gum, but these are not common. But their great pride in dress seems to be centred in what they call tamou, which is human hair plaited scarcely thicker than common thread; of this I may easily affirm that I have seen pieces above a mile[1]
- ↑ 21st January 1772, measured one 6144 feet, another 7294 feet. (Note by Banks.)
