Joseph Banks's Descriptions of Places, South Sea Islands, page 145

Page 145

Joseph Banks's Descriptions of Places

South Sea Islands

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South Sea Islands (continued)

Yet they love much to have carvd work and figures stuck about their canoes, the great ones especialy, which generaly have a figure of a man at the head and another at the stern of them. Their marai's also are ornamented with different kinds of figures, one sort of which represent many men standing on Each others heads; they have also the figures of animals, and Planks whose faces are carvd in patterns of squares and circles &c. but every part of their carving is in an equaly bad taste. All their work however acquires a certain neatness in the finishing for they polish every thing, even the side of a canoe or a Post of a house, with Coral sand rubbd on in the outer husk of a Cocoa nut and rays skin, which makes them very smooth and neat.

Their Boats all at least that I have seen of them may be divided into two general classes. The first which are calld by the natives Ivahah are the only sort which are usd at Otahite; they serve for fishing, and for short trips to sea but do not at all seem calculated for long ones. The others again which are calld Pahei and are usd by the inhabitants of the Societies Isles viz. Ulhietea, Bola Bola, Huaheine &c. are rather too clumsey for fishing,

Voyaging Accounts

© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol.1) 390, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-145.html