68. CHAPTER LXVIII.
It was just in the middle of the merry, mellow afternoon,
that they ushered us to dinner, underneath a green shelter of
palm boughs; open all round, and so low at the eaves, that we
stooped to enter.
Within, the ground was strewn over with aromatic ferns—
called “nahee”—freshly gathered; which, stirred under foot,
diffused the sweetest odor. On one side was a row of yellow
mats, inwrought with fibres of bark, stained a bright red.
Here, seated after the fashion of the Turk, we looked out, over
a verdant bank, upon the mild, blue, endless Pacific. So far
round had we skirted the island, that the view of Tahiti was
now intercepted.
Upon the ferns before us, were laid several layers of broad,
thick “pooroo” leaves; lapping over, one upon the other.
And upon these were placed, side by side, newly plucked
banana leaves, at least two yards in length, and very wide;
the stalks were withdrawn, so as to make them lie flat. This
green cloth was set out and garnished, in the manner following:—
First, a number of “pooroo” leaves, by way of plates, were
ranged along on one side; and by each was a rustic nut-bowl,
half-filled with sea-water, and a Tahitian roll, or small bread-fruit,
roasted brown. An immense flat calabash, placed in the
centre, was heaped up with numberless small packages of
moist, steaming leaves: in each was a small fish, baked in the
earth, and done to a turn. This pyramid of a dish, was flanked
on either side by an ornamental calabash. One was brimming
with the golden-hued “poee,” or pudding, made from the red
plantain of the mountains: the other was stacked up with
cakes of the Indian turnip, previously macerated in a mortar,
kneaded with the milk of the cocoa-nut, and then baked. In
the spaces between the three dishes, were piled young cocoa-nuts,
stripped of their husks. Their eyes had been opened and
enlarged; so that each was a ready-charged goblet.
There was a sort of side-cloth in one corner, upon which, in
bright, buff jackets, lay the fattest of bananas; “avees,” red-ripe;
guavas, with the shadows of their crimson pulp flushing
through a transparent skin, and almost coming and going there
like blushes; oranges, tinged, here and there, berry-brown;
and great, jolly melons, which rolled about in very portliness.
Such a heap! All ruddy, ripe, and round—bursting with the
good cheer of the tropical soil, from which they sprang!
“A land of orchards!” cried the doctor, in a rapture; and
he snatched a morsel from a sort of fruit of which gentlemen
of the sanguine temperament are remarkably fond; namely,
the ripe cherry lips of Miss Day-Born, who stood looking on.
Marharvai allotted seats to his guests; and the meal began.
Thinking that his hospitality needed some acknowledgment, I
rose, and pledged him in the vegetable wine of the cocoa-nut;
merely repeating the ordinary salutation, “Yar onor boyoee.”
Sensible that some compliment, after the fashion of white
men, was paid him, with a smile, and a courteous flourish
of the hand, he bade me be seated. No people, however
refined, are more easy and graceful in their manners than the
Imeeose.
The doctor, sitting next our host, now came under his
special protection. Laying before his guest one of the packages
of fish, Marharvai opened it; and commended its contents
to his particular regards. But my comrade was one of those,
who, on convivial occasions, can always take care of themselves.
He ate an indefinite number of “Pehee Lee Lees” (small
fish), his own and next neighbor's bread-fruit; and helped
himself, to right and left, with all the ease of an accomplished
diner-out.
“Paul,” said he, at last, “you don't seem to be getting along;
why don't you try the pepper sauce?” and, by way of example,
he steeped a morsel of food into his nutful of sea-water.
On following suit, I found it quite piquant, though
rather bitter; but, on the whole, a capital substitute for salt.
The Imeeose invariably use sea-water in this way, deeming it
quite a treat; and considering that their country is surrounded
by an ocean of catsup, the luxury can not be deemed an expensive
one.
The fish were delicious; the manner of cooking them in the
ground, preserving all the juices, and rendering them exceedingly
sweet and tender. The plantain pudding was almost
cloying; the cakes of Indian turnip, quite palatable; and the
roasted bread-fruit, crisp as toast.
During the meal, a native lad walked round and round the
party; carrying a long staff of bamboo. This he occasionally
tapped upon the cloth, before each guest; when a white clotted
substance dropped forth, with a savor not unlike that of a
curd. This proved to be “Lownee,” an excellent relish, prepared
from the grated meat of ripe cocoa-nuts, moistened with
cocoa-nut milk and salt water, and kept perfectly tight, until a
little past the saccharine stage of fermentation.
Throughout the repast there was much lively chatting among
the islanders, in which their conversational powers quite exceeded
ours. The young ladies, too, showed themselves very
expert in the use of their tongues, and contributed much to the
gayety which prevailed.
Nor did these lively nymphs suffer the meal to languish; for
upon the doctor's throwing himself back, with an air of much
satisfaction, they sprang to their feet, and pelted him with
oranges and guavas. This, at last, put an end to the entertainment.
By a hundred whimsical oddities, my long friend became
a great favorite with these people; and they bestowed upon
him a long, comical title, expressive of his lank figure and
Roora combined. The latter, by the by, never failed to excite
the remark of every body we encountered.
The giving of nicknames is quite a passion with the people
of Tahiti and Imeeo. No one, with any peculiarity, whether
of person or temper, is exempt; not even strangers.
A pompous captain of a man-of-war, visiting Tahiti for the
second time, discovered that, among the natives, he went by the
dignified title of “Atee Poee”—literally, Poee Head, or Pudding
Head. Nor is the highest rank among themselves any
protection. The first husband of the present queen was commonly
known in the court circles, as “Pot Belly.” He carried
the greater part of his person before him, to be sure; and so
did the gentlemanly George IV.—but what a title for a king
consort!
Even “Pomaree” itself, the royal patronymic, was, originally,
a mere nickname; and literally signifies, one talking
through his nose. The first monarch of that name, being on
a war party, and sleeping overnight among the mountains,
awoke one morning with a cold in his head; and some wag
of a courtier, had no more manners than to vulgarize him
thus.
How different from the volatile Polynesian in this, as in all
other respects, is our grave and decorous North American
Indian. While the former bestows a name, in accordance
with some humorous or ignoble trait, the latter seizes upon
what is deemed the most exalted or warlike: and hence,
among the red tribes, we have the truly patrician appellations
of “White Eagles,” “Young Oaks,” “Fiery Eyes,” and
“Bended Bows.”
