The ordinary dress of both sexes of the better class con sists of a piece of cloth or matting, several yards in length, wrapped round the body, and fastened below the breast by a peculiar kind of knot, from which it hangs loose down to the knees ; and, being tied close with a belt, is sufficiently long for the upper part to be thrown over the shoulders. This, however, is a costly dress, and is not always worn even by the chiefs. That which is more generally in use, is made of the leaves of the gee plant, which are broad and strong, and which, being finely shredded, are thickly entwined in a belt, and fastened round the waist, from which they hang down to the middle of the thigh like a full fringe. This, with the addition of a few strings of flowers,, is commonly the sole dress of the women in their festive dances. The inferior class, however, often wear only the maro, which is a belt about 4 or 5 inches broad, passed be tween the thighs, and fastened round the waist ; and, espe cially when engaged in war, in fishing, or any active occu pation, this covering composes the whole of their dress. Both men and women occasionally defend their faces from the sun with little bonnets, made of different materials. The ornaments, also, as well as the dress of both sexes, is the same, and consist chiefly of necklaces made of the fruit of the pandanus, and various odoriferous flowers, or of small shells, sharks' teeth, the wing and leg-bones of birds pendant on the breast ; rings of tortoise-shell on the fingers, and several of these joined together, forming bracelets, on the wrists ; a polished mother-of-pearl shell, or a ring, on the upper part of the arm; and cylindrical hits of ivory, or of reed stuffed with a yellow pigment, as ear-rings. They dye their hair of different colours, brown, purple, or orange, and wear it in a great variety of ways, sometimes growing to its full length, sometimes short on one side and long on the other, sometimes entirely cut away except a single lock on one side, or on the top of the head. The beard is cut short, and sometimes shaved close with sharp shells. Both sexes pluck the hair from their arm-pits, and anoint their body, especially the head and shoulders, with cocoa nut oil. The women rub a fine yellow powder like tur meric over the whole of their bodies, and have a few blue lines tattooed on the inside of their hands. The men are stained or punctured with these lines and figures from the middle of the belly half way down the thighs; and are also partially circumcised, or rather supercised, by cutting off the upper part of the foreskin. They are all remarkably cleanly in their persons, and bathe frequently in the ponds, which they prefer to the sea, as they reckon the salt wa ter injurious to the delicacy of their skin.
Polygamy prevails among the Friendly islanders with out any apparent limits; and the power of divorce to be equally unrestrained. Every man may take as many wives as lie can maintain ; and also dismiss them when he pleases. The greater part of the commonalty content themselves with one ; but the chiefs have generally from four to eight. The young women have no liberty of choice in their matrimonial connections, but at e disposed of by the father, or his repreaentative. They pride themselves much upon their virginity : and, as a token of that state, wear their hair uncut till they are married. The daugh ters of the chiefs are, from their birth, placed under the care of women, who may be called duennas ; and, even after marriage, similar attendants are provided by the hus band. The forms of courtship and marriage are suffi ciently simple. The intending husband makes known his wishes to the parents of the other party, sending at the same time a present of provisions. if the present is ac cepted, which is not always done at the first offer, his pro posal is considered as favourably received ; the alfair is then communicated to the daughter, who, having no power, never attempts to refuse. Upon a day being fixed, the
bride is brought in her best apparel, at the head of a large company of females, one of whom, taking her by the hand, places her by the side of.the bridegroom, who is waiting with his friends before his house to receive her ; and the ceremony concludes with a feast and a dance. Sometimes marriages are contracted, like the Jewish espousal, many years before the consummation of the nuptials. Where there are several wives, the children take the rank of their respective mothers ; and, in all cases, probably owing to the frequency of divorce, and of illicit intercourse, family dignity descends through the female. Their mode of do mestic life, especially among the chiefs, is much after the patriarchal form ; and the younger and inferior branches surround the head of the family in one household, and in the greatest harmony. There is much social intercourse among the members of the family, especially in the even ings, when they retire to their mattings, which is commonly clone about seven o'clock ; but instead of then going to sleep, they are accustomed to converse till ten or eleven with much cheerful pleasantry and shrewdness of remark ; and so fond are they of chatting in this familiar manner, that, should one chance to awake during the night, and find another in the same predicament, they will renew the conversation for an hour,- and perhaps rouse some of the rest to join in it. Vet, with all this freedom of intercourse, there is a strict observance of proper respect, and even of ceremonious politeness ; and the behaviour and language of the higher classes arc thus refined and improved above the lower, in the same proportion as in civilized countries.* This may he exemplified by the orderly manner in which the household of a chief is arranged and served at break fast, which consists in drinking kava, and eating baked yams, &c. and is taken at day-break, as soon as the family rise from bed. The company forms a large circle, sitting cross-legged before the chief, on each side of whom stand the principal servants, to direct the preparation of the kava by the younger persons, while the rest of the company are silently forming their temporary cups of plantain leaf. Per sons appointed to the office, then rising from the circle, approach the bowl with those plantain vessels ; and when the distributor of the liquor has filled one of them, he asks, " whose kava is this ?" The principal domestic replies, "take it to such a one ;" and the person, whose name is pronounced, claps his hands, as a signal to the waiter where to convey it. These waiters conduct themselves in the most becoming and regular manner, arranging their ap parel with the greatest neatness, walking with all possible grace, and presenting the cups with ceremonious politeness. Other servants, during the preparation of the Lava, are busily employed in baking the yams, which arc brought in as soon as the liquor is distributed, and placed before the company, who cat their pm tion, and talk together as they please ; and, in all the different steps of the process, the word of command is given and observed with an exactness and attention resembling a regiment at parade. At this entertainment they often continue from day-break to noon, and then lie down and sleep two or three hours. It is a favourite luxury of the principal people, to have their bodies and limbs, while they are asleep, thumped or beaten with the lists of women, who relieve each other (luring the operation. After rising, they proceed, like ton many of the higher ranks in most countries, to contrive amusement for the day.